Konoha!
Age: 13
"Konoha!"
There was this old man. Sakura stumbled across him on her way to the training grounds for her first meeting with Team Kurenai after passing her test. He was covered in many bandages and looked injured enough to be confined in the hospital. He walked with the help of a cane, wore an arm sling and an eye patch but even through all his handicapped features, Sakura could still sense that this person was strong. That this person was proud and wise.
Sakura always greets him whenever she passes by him, he was always sitting under the shade of one of the big sprawling trees on the way to the training grounds. Sakura's made it a habit to go to the training grounds at least thirty minutes early in the occurrence that the old man asks her to come sit with him and drink tea.
She once asked him why he never ate any dango or other such sweets with his tea. He just looked at her from the corner of his eyes and told her in a stern voice that such things would only rot her teeth and make her drowsy during training.
The pinkette wondered if his grandchildren lamented the fact that their grandfather would never dote on them and give them sweets. Sakura likes to imagine that her own grandfather, 'Kashi's father, would be doting but has an inkling that he may have been rather similar to the old man she sat with, had he been alive.
Sakura mentions this to the old man. He says nothing in reply and only continues to look towards Konoha as he sipped his tea. He does this sometimes. Doesn't reply, only listening to what she has to say. Sakura would have felt offended but she felt that his silence meant that he listened with the utmost attention. He seemed like the kind of person who loathed saying anything without any purpose. Some days they would spend their usual thirty minutes of tea, with him not saying a single word after he greets her while Sakura will prattle on about interesting things she's encountered on missions with her team.
But today, he looked towards her, averting his unwaivering gaze from Konoha and concentrating all that focus on her being. Sakura felt small, almost unworthy, underneath the older man's gaze. She wants to fidget, but she knew well enough that the older man would be irked by such an obvious sign of discomfort.
"Look towards the village."
She gulps, feeling her spit slide down her throat smoothly, the slick feeling of it almost uncomfortable. She looks to the view that the other always seemed to admire. The more she looks at the wooden tops of buildings, the dusty earthen streets and the copious green clusters of trees—the more she relaxes and feels herself wanting to take apart the sight before her. Piece by piece—what was the village of Konoha made of?
"What do you see?"
Who built the roofs on top of these sprawling buildings? Who paved the dirt path which we tread upon? Who spread the growth of the innumerable trees within the village?
People, many of them, in different sizes and colors.
She tells him this. Tells him that all these people, no matter their strength or intelligence—they all had a role they must fulfill. A role that is vital for the continued prosperity of the village.
As she finishes answering his question, she looks towards him. He was no longer looking at her, his gaze was back towards the village while calmly sipping is perpetually steaming tea.
She doesn't know if she answered the question correctly. Not even sure if there was a correct answer to such a broad question.
But there, between their seated forms, was a stick of dango.
As she happily bites into the sweet snack, she thinks, if she had a grandfather, one like him might not be so bad after all.