Chapter 31: Cracks
Sakura wiggled her wet toes and stepped into another pool of golden light. Streams of morning sun angled down through the canopy of Konoha’s ancient forests, dappling the shinobi trails. Scuffing over a patch of moss, dew flung out from the ends of Sakura’s shoes and sparkled in the air in front of her. She smiled lightly, relishing the early morning solitude.
Sakura had always loved the deep forests that hid her village. As a child she would peer out wide-eyed at the green-black world beyond the huge gates. The woods were so full of mystery to her.
But as she grew older, became a shinobi and ventured beyond the safety of the walled village, her childhood awe of the great woods dimmed. Sakura recognized it was a tactical necessity, a defensive zone encircling Konoha that was in turn patrolled and protected by her shinobis. And she knew now that all the hidden villages had similar defensive barriers. Each dangerously beautiful and deceptively empty.
But in that first year of becoming a shinobi and shedding her childhood views, Sakura had discovered a cool pocket of the great forest that was still special. Still mysterious. And neither time nor experience diminished it.
She turned at a familiar bend in the trail and breathed deeply. The path curved and dipped down into a quiet copse. The trees stood closer together here, casting the area in perpetual green shade. A haze of moss crept from under the leaves and clung to the trunks.
She followed the trail down into the little glade, and the trees closed their ranks around her. Deeper in, the moss covered everything, creeping over the ground like a thick carpet. Even the path was soft here.
The area always felt hallowed to her. And perhaps, that’s because it was. To someone, at least.
Sakura slowed, craning her neck and watching between the huge trunks for a glimpse of the misshapen stone, the slight rise in the ground. Every so often she could just make out the grey shape, hovering like a ghost behind the trees.
Another step, and there it was: She had come even with a small grey stone, barely visible from the shinobi path. It tilted cozily toward the base of a tree, half-sunk in moss, as if an errant river rock has been washed up in the green tide. But even from the path, Sakura could see it smiling at her.
The dimpled roundness caught her eye years before, when she was a fresh genin and she should have been paying more attention to her team. But her attention flitted to other things…like her hair, and Sasuke-kun, and strange rocks that seemed to be smiling at her….
In those first harrowing years, she adopted the quiet space and the little rock as a talisman. When her feet padded over the soft ground she knew she was close to home.
But one afternoon a bird happened to find the moss on Sakura’s rock much more appealing for her nest than any other. The bird plucked up a thatch and flew off. And Sakura nearly tripped over herself on the path.
A round eye squinted out. That the fat little stone really was smiling at her.
Ahead of her Team 7 bobbed around the bend and out of sight. Sakura gave in to impulse. Dress whipping at her knees, she dashed off the trail toward the rock, squashing deep footprints in the green carpet behind her.
Sakura hunched down and quickly flaked off the rest of the moss until she uncovered the smiling face of a little monk. She sat back and beamed at her discovery.
Only the slightest carving had been done to accentuate the natural shape of the rock, but she could make out clasped hands and the edges of a robe under the cloak of moss. Round head tipped to the side, he smiled up as if he were in on some secret that Sakura was only just figuring out.
In fact, he was so jubilant, so captivating with his great dimpled smile, that the question of why he was in a dark corner of the woods came only as an afterthought. Sakura pushed the long hair out her eyes and looked around. It was beautiful and dreamlike in it’s haze of green but it didn’t quite make sense. Until she saw it. Something old and grey and lurking in the shadows of another row of trees behind the little monk. Sakura rose slowly and made her way toward it.
Tucking short curls behind her ears, Sakura fondly recalled the memory. She may be older, but the alluring qualities of the glade had never waned. In fact, it had become even more special to her over the years.
Giving in to impulse again, as she had done when she was 12, Sakura left the path. But this time her footsteps were soft and soundless, and, out of habit, she left no trace on the thick moss.
She paused at the monk’s little round head and brushed off a stray leaf. The green haze of the moss had crept back over his face. But Sakura didn’t disturb it. He still grinned up as cheekily as ever.
She passed him by and wove down through a line of enormous grey tree trunks. The moss-covered ground dipped and swelled. The cloistered spot where the ground rose just slightly seemed to be a natural shrine. And it was here that someone generations before her had decided to place a statue of the deity Jizo. The serene protector of travelers. Of mothers and children. Of those lost, in this world and the next.
She often wondered if those who placed him there knew how important he would be to the shinobis who were forever leaving on this trail, many never to return again.
But there was no one to ask. Both statues looked to be centuries old. And over time, the forest had proved to be a greater force than the original caretakers.
Moss lapped at the base of the statue. It had settled over the years, and now the Jizo listed gently in the dim green light. Which made his serene expression even more poignant. His down-swept eyes and slight knowing smile made it seem he perfectly accepted the changes around him. He had escaped the moss covering of the smaller statue, but his once-smooth stone was a grey and pitted as the surrounding tree bark. It looked more like he grew there than he was ever set by human hands.
Sakura stood in front of the statue and soaked up the silence. She knew she was not the only one who took a measure of comfort from it. Over the years she noticed small offerings left at the base — nothing more than a flower or a stone — but they spoke of the obvious solace given in the face of the unknown. She wondered if they were the prayers of those leaving or of those left behind that accompanied these little gifts.
Sakura bobbed a quick prayer for protection then turned back to the path. Her thoughts were already speeding ahead as she walked on out of the glade. The broad woodlands continued for a little while longer, until the trees thinned and opened up to fields and pastures.
The sun was warm on her shoulders. Her solemn reflections burned away like morning mist. Looking out over the bright countryside, Sakura felt the familiar stirrings at the thought of seeing Katsuro. She smiled to herself and descended down the path as it wound away from Konoha and into the vast farmlands of the Fire country.
29 Apr 2012 No Comments
Chapter 31 Preview
Chapter 31: Cracks
Sakura wiggled her wet toes and stepped into another pool of golden light. Streams of morning sun angled down through the canopy of Konoha’s ancient forests, dappling the shinobi trails. Scuffing over a patch of moss, dew flung out from the ends of Sakura’s shoes and sparkled in the air in front of her. She smiled lightly, relishing the early morning solitude.
Sakura had always loved the deep forests that hid her village. As a child she would peer out wide-eyed at the green-black world beyond the huge gates. The woods were so full of mystery to her.
But as she grew older, became a shinobi and ventured beyond the safety of the walled village, her childhood awe of the great woods dimmed. Sakura recognized it was a tactical necessity, a defensive zone encircling Konoha that was in turn patrolled and protected by her shinobis. And she knew now that all the hidden villages had similar defensive barriers. Each dangerously beautiful and deceptively empty.
But in that first year of becoming a shinobi and shedding her childhood views, Sakura had discovered a cool pocket of the great forest that was still special. Still mysterious. And neither time nor experience diminished it.
She turned at a familiar bend in the trail and breathed deeply. The path curved and dipped down into a quiet copse. The trees stood closer together here, casting the area in perpetual green shade. A haze of moss crept from under the leaves and clung to the trunks.
She followed the trail down into the little glade, and the trees closed their ranks around her. Deeper in, the moss covered everything, creeping over the ground like a thick carpet. Even the path was soft here.
The area always felt hallowed to her. And perhaps, that’s because it was. To someone, at least.
Sakura slowed, craning her neck and watching between the huge trunks for a glimpse of the misshapen stone, the slight rise in the ground. Every so often she could just make out the grey shape, hovering like a ghost behind the trees.
Another step, and there it was: She had come even with a small grey stone, barely visible from the shinobi path. It tilted cozily toward the base of a tree, half-sunk in moss, as if an errant river rock has been washed up in the green tide. But even from the path, Sakura could see it smiling at her.
The dimpled roundness caught her eye years before, when she was a fresh genin and she should have been paying more attention to her team. But her attention flitted to other things…like her hair, and Sasuke-kun, and strange rocks that seemed to be smiling at her….
In those first harrowing years, she adopted the quiet space and the little rock as a talisman. When her feet padded over the soft ground she knew she was close to home.
But one afternoon a bird happened to find the moss on Sakura’s rock much more appealing for her nest than any other. The bird plucked up a thatch and flew off. And Sakura nearly tripped over herself on the path.
A round eye squinted out. That the fat little stone really was smiling at her.
Ahead of her Team 7 bobbed around the bend and out of sight. Sakura gave in to impulse. Dress whipping at her knees, she dashed off the trail toward the rock, squashing deep footprints in the green carpet behind her.
Sakura hunched down and quickly flaked off the rest of the moss until she uncovered the smiling face of a little monk. She sat back and beamed at her discovery.
Only the slightest carving had been done to accentuate the natural shape of the rock, but she could make out clasped hands and the edges of a robe under the cloak of moss. Round head tipped to the side, he smiled up as if he were in on some secret that Sakura was only just figuring out.
In fact, he was so jubilant, so captivating with his great dimpled smile, that the question of why he was in a dark corner of the woods came only as an afterthought. Sakura pushed the long hair out her eyes and looked around. It was beautiful and dreamlike in it’s haze of green but it didn’t quite make sense. Until she saw it. Something old and grey and lurking in the shadows of another row of trees behind the little monk. Sakura rose slowly and made her way toward it.
Tucking short curls behind her ears, Sakura fondly recalled the memory. She may be older, but the alluring qualities of the glade had never waned. In fact, it had become even more special to her over the years.
Giving in to impulse again, as she had done when she was 12, Sakura left the path. But this time her footsteps were soft and soundless, and, out of habit, she left no trace on the thick moss.
She paused at the monk’s little round head and brushed off a stray leaf. The green haze of the moss had crept back over his face. But Sakura didn’t disturb it. He still grinned up as cheekily as ever.
She passed him by and wove down through a line of enormous grey tree trunks. The moss-covered ground dipped and swelled. The cloistered spot where the ground rose just slightly seemed to be a natural shrine. And it was here that someone generations before her had decided to place a statue of the deity Jizo. The serene protector of travelers. Of mothers and children. Of those lost, in this world and the next.
She often wondered if those who placed him there knew how important he would be to the shinobis who were forever leaving on this trail, many never to return again.
But there was no one to ask. Both statues looked to be centuries old. And over time, the forest had proved to be a greater force than the original caretakers.
Moss lapped at the base of the statue. It had settled over the years, and now the Jizo listed gently in the dim green light. Which made his serene expression even more poignant. His down-swept eyes and slight knowing smile made it seem he perfectly accepted the changes around him. He had escaped the moss covering of the smaller statue, but his once-smooth stone was a grey and pitted as the surrounding tree bark. It looked more like he grew there than he was ever set by human hands.
Sakura stood in front of the statue and soaked up the silence. She knew she was not the only one who took a measure of comfort from it. Over the years she noticed small offerings left at the base — nothing more than a flower or a stone — but they spoke of the obvious solace given in the face of the unknown. She wondered if they were the prayers of those leaving or of those left behind that accompanied these little gifts.
Sakura bobbed a quick prayer for protection then turned back to the path. Her thoughts were already speeding ahead as she walked on out of the glade. The broad woodlands continued for a little while longer, until the trees thinned and opened up to fields and pastures.
The sun was warm on her shoulders. Her solemn reflections burned away like morning mist. Looking out over the bright countryside, Sakura felt the familiar stirrings at the thought of seeing Katsuro. She smiled to herself and descended down the path as it wound away from Konoha and into the vast farmlands of the Fire country.
by tricksie in Preview