hello sunshine, how are you?

first, i would like to extend my thanks. things are getting tougher now—our defenses are weakening and i'm tired as hell—but it's because of you that we even made it this far, so i'm not going to complain. we're going to make it through. we are.

sasuke still doesn't talk much, but he's getting better every day. today, he even said good morning to me. it made me happy.

he loves me, did you know? he always has. i was too blind to see it back then—but i know now. he might not be able to say it with words, but it's with the way he lets me make him breakfast and drift off beside him in bed that i can tell.

they're still carving your face into the mountain. sometimes, i get the urge to draw all over your nose. maybe i will, someday.

hello, sunshine—do you still love me? i wonder that from time to time, but it's getting better. i've never deserved someone like you—but i never got to tell you.

god, i hate this. you promised to bring sasuke back—and you did. you fought and you bled and you broke to do it, but you did. you made a miracle happen. if i knew you would do so much to keep a single promise, i should've made you promise that team seven would've been together and whole 'til the very end.

it's going to be sunny out today. i like sunny days because they remind me of you, and the way you shine.

sasuke's due to be back pretty soon. technically, i should be at the hospital right now, but shishou sent me home because she said i was overexerting myself (again). i think i'm just doing what i can. that's what you'd do, right? sasuke would scold me for writing this. but hey, i'm just voicing out the feelings he can't afford to express.

to be honest, if i had to choose you or sasuke, i'd choose you.

(i am officially going to burn this once i'm done writing it.)

sasuke is sasuke. of course i love him, and of course i want to be there for him—but if i knew this was what we had to sacrifice—what you had to sacrifice—oh, i don't know. i just—i just miss you, is that so wrong?

now i'm crying, you jerk. great. you said you'd never make me cry, didn't you? you liar. you're such a dirty liar.

sunshine. sunshine. i should've called you that before you left. you would've been happy.

kakashi's doing well. well, as well as he can be, anyway. you know how he is. you can never quite tell what he's thinking, but once you get to know him, you can read him like an open book. he's sad. but you know what? we're all sad. the blame's on you. and hinata—oh, that poor girl, she's absolutely devastated. you always go around unintentionally hurting people, don't you? like me. i never told you, but you always hurt me.

and sai? well, he's doing the best out of all of us, as expected. he's the one keeping all of us together. aren't you proud of him?

sasuke just came back. he stared at me, and then asked what i was doing. i told him honestly that i was writing to you. he just stood there for a really long moment, and then padded into the bathroom. this piece of paper is all stained with my tears and i bet i look horrid right now, thanks to you.

i suppose i should just get to the point, shouldn't i? well, you see—i hate you. all of these years and i've told you more than i can remember that i hate you and you're annoying and you're stupid—and rightfully so. every day when i walk outside, i'm going to see your face on that mountain. when i look up at the sky, i'm going to think of you because you were the sun up there and your eyes could see farther than the sky, up into space and even beyond that. you're the one who got me to stop writing with the proper capitalization and i hate it because i can't stop because if i do it'll feel like i'm losing a part of you and shishou always scolds me for my improper grammar and i hate you, i just hate you for making me hurt this way

sorry, that was a little out of line. that was my verbal way of punching you, could you tell?

actually, i changed my mind. i'm not going to burn this. i'm going to put my heart in here, seal it with a kiss, and lay it on your grave. it's the least i can do.

i love you, sunshine. naruto. you were my hope—the quilt that kept my broken pieces from scattering everywhere and helped me glue everything back together, little by little. i'm forever grateful for what you've done for us—for me—but if only you could've done more for yourself, you know? you deserved more than just two days of being hokage. all of konoha believes that. i suppose you got what you wanted in the end though, didn't you?

congratulations. i love you. and just to be safe, so does sasuke. and kakashi. and sai too, sometimes. i should stop rambling. sorry.

i'll see you later,
sakura-chan

p.s. your face really helped my target practice. thanks for that.


a/n: depending on the feedback, i might move this onto my lj. it's pretty short.

probably riddled with typos. i'm going to go shower and then study for math. :( despite being asian, that subject is the death of me.