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Meet me at the top of the Hokage Monument at 7 PM, Sakura-chan!
Sakura read the note that was on her table once she got back to her office. She knew exactly who it was as the perpetrator drew in his face shaped like a naruto.
If it was 5 years ago, she’d scrunch her face in disgust. But now she smiles and places the note in her pocket.
Uzumaki Naruto was her boyfriend of 2 years already. Now that she thinks about it, it was a surprise that she never really knew what would happen in her life.
To her, the day—the night that she realized Naruto was not just a friend was always vivid. She remembers how his eyes got confused at the way she tried to tell him. The anger he momentarily felt that she might have been playing with him again.
And how he finally saw through it. Her denial came to the forefront of their conversations. All the times she had to reassure him how it was real.
“Sakura-chan,” Naruto called for her as she was busy reading, and he played with her hair while his head was on her lap.
She hummed at him to continue as she read on.
“You love me….” He says, “real or not?”
Sakura held his hand and Naruto was surprised as she kissed him deeply while he was on her lap.
“Tell me then, Naruto.” Sakura whispers with a hint of seduction. “Do I love you enough?”
Naruto murmurs as Sakura bumps her nose to his, “I love you…”
She had a satisfied smile on her face as she saw his dazed look before picking up the book she was reading again. As she read, Naruto couldn’t help but notice how her fingers moved through his hair, touching anything he’d allow her.
“Sakura!” Ino suddenly appeared at her office door, “Are you done with your shift?”
The pink haired shinobi checked her calendar, where her secretary placed various sticky notes on what she has to do for the day. She grabs it and nods to Ino, “Yeah, I guess so.”
Ino squealed and fully entered the room to lock arms with Sakura, “We deserve a relaxing day! To the spa!”
Sakura smiled tiredly at the blonde’s energetic claim. She looked at her watch as she let Ino drag her out and saw that she had a long time before Naruto’s requested time at the monument.
“Stay safe out there, Naruto.” Sakura melancholy said to Naruto at the gates.
Naruto was about to travel for months once more, to find more about himself as a shinobi of peace. He wanted to make sure that his dreams were not just from his childish hopes.
He laughs at how Sakura looked quite sad at his departure, “Don’t worry, Sakura-chan!” he says as he pats his stomach, “I’m the Tailed Beasts’ guardian. It’ll have to be a world-ending threat that’ll kill me!”
Sakura’s eyebrows furrowed, “Baka!” She says as she hits his arm, “Don’t do anything foolish to ruin Konoha!”
Naruto smiled even wider at her hitting him, which had Sakura pause. “I won’t.” He said solemnly that Sakura stared at how much his blue eyes changed over the years.
Without much thought, she launched herself onto him with a tight hug that surprised the blonde. She didn’t have to be disappointed in doing it, as she felt him hug her back.
“I’ll come back to you, Sakura-chan.” he whispered as they hugged.
No one saw them and how they had so much feelings that they held back that day.
Naruto was at his parents’ graves, which he just knew about months ago. Since the war ended, the people around Konoha became friendlier to him. He even found out more about his parents than what he hoped for as a child.
Uzumaki Kushina, Namikaze Minato
Konoha’s Heroes
As he read the writings on the graves, he knelt to pull out some weeds and dust.
“Kaa-chan, Tou-san, I’m finally close to my dreams.” he whispered out, and he held the necklace Sakura gave him on his birthday. His source of strength at times like this.
“Please keep watching for me out there.” he prays as he remembers how devastated he felt after the war.
As the shinobis of Konoha gathered at the graveyard, Naruto was given a seat at the front to mourn.
He saw Hinata who was a few seats away and her sister Hanabi who tried to comfort the blue haired girl. Naruto saw how much pain Hinata had as her tears came down on her face and felt his own eyes stinging.
Tsunade and Kakashi tried to calm him down for most days, that the deaths of people aren’t solely his to bear. That these shinobi fought for the era of peace they’re about to enter. He knew that, and yet the pain couldn’t be healed with their words.
Naruto let himself silently cry at the deaths of the people he couldn’t protect. How Neji died to save him.
The day was already over and Naruto found himself at the graveyard once more. He knelt at Neji’s grave and felt how drained he was.
“I promised to protect everyone…” he mumbles, “I swore to myself I won’t lose anyone again.”
As his voice cracked, he felt Sakura’s presence come to him and knelt beside him.
“You saved the world, Naruto.” she said, trying to comfort the blonde.
Naruto shakes his head with tears continuing to flow, “I wasn’t able to save all of us.”
Sakura watched Naruto’s whole body tremble in sadness. She didn’t back away for once out of fear the Kyuubi might take over, she knew better now.
Silently, she wrapped her arms around him and let him grieve as much as he wanted. To allow him to lean on someone besides himself.
A spa day with Ino was always pleasantly chaotic, as the blonde had the staff be more careful with them. That they’d be allowed to relax after a long day.
Sakura stretched her body as she walked to the monument. She knew how odd Naruto would think as she wore a red dress that stopped on the knees. It had ruffles on its skirt and an off-shoulder sleeve to match. She knew how out of her style it was, and yet Ino was too insistent for her to say no.
Not with that persuasive merchant… she thought as she recalled being ganged up on by the two.
As she reached the top of the monument, she saw Naruto, who was also apparently in a different style. With him ditching his new black ninja outfit and wearing a long black polo with a pair of jeans that shaped his figure too well.
Raising an eyebrow, she continued to approach the shinobi as she knew he’d sense her.
She walks towards him, and he smiles brightly in a way that was only for her. Uzumaki Naruto could never give that smile to anyone else even if it was the Hokage title and how glorious it felt for her to know that.
“Why are you sweating, Naruto- kun? ” She teasingly asked him, which jolted him from the way she said his name.
“Sakura-chan, don’t tease me like that. It gives me the tingles, ya know. ” He says as he scratches his neck awkwardly.
Sakura giggled and hugged him, “Sorry, I just had a great day and I wanted to tease you.”
Naruto placed his arms around her, and she could feel him kiss the top of her head as he hummed, “I heard Ino took you out to relax today.”
“She did,” Sakura said with a sigh, “but she dragged me after shopping for clothes. All I bought was this.” She says as she wiggles out of his arms to slightly flaunt her outfit.
She could feel his intense eyes staring at her body, and she knew he was appreciating the way the outfit hugged her curves. As she looked into his eyes, a sound caught their attention.
A series of fireworks went into the Konoha night sky. In awe, Sakura stared at it and looked at her boyfriend to ask if this was his surprise, “I heard they had a firework display tonight at the Hokage office and I couldn’t help it.”
The two watched the fireworks light up the sky, and Sakura remembers all the times Naruto dragged her to this very spot to watch any show that he’ll hear.
She laughs softly and glances at Naruto who was intently looking at her.
“Sakura-chan,” he says in a soft voice she rarely heard, “I swore to myself I’d never go back on my word.”
The two locked eyes, “With everything that we had to go through to get here, I never told you a promise I made for us.”
This got Sakura shocked, Naruto never kept secrets from her for so long.
It was more surprising that he pulls out a velvet box from his pocket and kneels as he opens it.
“Sakura-chan,” he says as he stares into her eyes, “I promised that I’ll carry the world if you ever get tired of doing it alone.”
Sakura felt tears on her face as she smiled, remembering how dramatic his promise of a lifetime to her was.
“Wouldn’t it be nice to have a marriage between friends?” He asks her and Sakura laughs, it was just like him to make the proposal too cheesy.
But she loved it, she loved the way he’s nervously grinning at her silence.
Before another firework could launch, Sakura tackled him onto the stone pavement, but Naruto knew she’d do that, and he held onto the ring and hugged her with the same intensity.
She sobbed as she hugged him as hard as she could, “Of course it is.”
The two stared at each other with cheesy grins, and they heard cheers behind the bushes.
“Finally you two!” Ino says as she comes out with the others, “But I can’t believe that’s how’d you ask Forehead, Naruto!”
Sakura slightly let go of Naruto, he scratched his cheek lightly, “I know Sakura-chan would love it.”
“Well, it is a thing you two would like, Dickless. ” Sai says as he gathers the scroll and gives it to Sakura.
Before the two lovebirds can react, their friends congratulated them that they couldn’t get mad at how Sai was implying they were a cheesy couple.
As Sakura grabbed Naruto away from the crowd, she opened Sai’s scroll.
To their surprise, Sai managed to draw the exact moment that Sakura said yes. And how he was right, they were quite a cheesy romance.