The village was quieter than Sakura remembered.
Not peaceful—just… still.
Sakura Haruno stood atop the Hokage Tower, pink hair fluttering in the evening wind. Below her, Konoha glowed with lantern light, rebuilt walls, and laughter that had finally learned how to exist again after war. She should have felt content.
But there was a familiar absence at her side.
"You're thinking too hard again, Sakura-chan."
Her heart skipped before she could stop it.
Naruto Uzumaki leaned against the railing beside her, hands behind his head, blue eyes reflecting the sunset. He was taller now—broader, steadier—but that grin was the same one that had carried her through years of chaos.
"You always say that," she replied, smiling despite herself.
"That's 'cause it's always true!"
She laughed softly, then sighed. "You're late."
"Hey, the Hokage kept me hostage," Naruto complained. "Something about paperwork being a 'shared responsibility' or whatever."
Sakura glanced at him. "You volunteered."
Naruto scratched his cheek sheepishly. "Okay, yeah. Maybe."
They fell into a comfortable silence. That was new. Once, silence between them had been awkward—filled with unspoken regrets and things they were too afraid to say. Now it felt like a bridge instead of a wall.
"You're leaving again," Sakura said quietly.
Naruto's smile faded just a little. "Yeah. Recon mission. Couple weeks, probably."
She nodded, eyes fixed on the horizon. She hated how familiar this feeling was—the waiting, the worry, the fear that one day he wouldn't come back.
Naruto noticed.
"Sakura," he said softly. "I'll be fine. I promise."
She turned to him, green eyes sharp. "You always promise that."
"And I always come back, don't I?"
That was true.
What he didn't say—but what they both felt—was that things were different now. He wasn't the reckless boy chasing her approval anymore. And she wasn't the girl chasing someone who couldn't see her.
Somewhere along the way, Naruto had stopped running toward her… and started running with her.
Naruto hesitated, then spoke, voice quieter than usual. "When I get back… can we talk?"
Sakura blinked. "About what?"
He met her gaze, earnest and vulnerable in a way that made her chest tighten. "About us."
The wind carried cherry blossom petals between them.
Sakura smiled—soft, certain, and a little scared.
"I'd like that," she said.