Hi!
A/N: The name is Ramen-chan cuz I love Ramen :p This is my first story. This is a one-shot because I'm not really ready for a multi-chapter story. I accept flames and criticism. So yeah... here goes nothing.
Summary: After a fight between Naruto and Sasuke which leaves Naruto comatose, Sakura is panicking when she realizes that Naruto has a big chance of dying. By walking through memory lane, will Sakura find feelings for her blonde idiot or will her heart remain with Sasuke? And will Naruto even survive?
Author of Naruto: Masashi Kishimoto
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. He belongs to Kishimoto. Also, this plot and story was heavily inspired by the author DigiFruit. You should really read his stories!
"Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye." -H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
Hoarse coughs filled the cave, resonating in the air. Water dripped onto the dusty rubble, making a soft tapping sound as it collided against the rough texture of the ground. Naruto coughed again, wincing as pain racked his body. Sasuke stared impassively as he clutched his own wound, blood leaking between his fingers.
"S-sasuke-teme," Naruto wheezed, wiping at the dribble of blood that escaped his mouth. Despite the circumstances, he smiled through his pain. "You dumb bastard. Why couldn't you just come back to Konoha?"
"Konoha lacked power," Sasuke said, answering the rhetorical question in a neutral tone. He narrowed his eyes, squinting as he tried to make out Naruto's blurry figure. Damn it, he thought angrily, although his outer face didn't show his internal conflict. I'm almost blind. How can I crush Konoha in this state?
"We're both dangerously wounded," Naruto managed, his body trembling as he leaned against the cave wall for support. "I told you we would both die." He sighed, the dampness of the air soothing against his skin.
"Shut up!" Sasuke snapped, finally losing it. "I'll find a way!"
Naruto's legs wobbled underneath him, barely strong enough to hold him up. His hands, burned and bloody, slipped from the cavern wall, and he was suddenly falling down to meet the cold ground. He was falling down, down, down.
But he never touched the anticipated ground.
"I've got you," a smooth voice whispered, barely trembling.
"Sakura-chan," Naruto breathed in relief, and closed his eyes.
"Don't close your eyes! Don't fall asleep!" Sakura's voice raised in pitch, high and panicked.
Sasuke snorted before collapsing to the ground. He struggled to get up, but eventually gave up and instead looked up to meet Sakura's emerald eyes. "He's going to die," he sneered, blinking away the blood clouding his vision. "I made sure of that. And there's nothing you can do."
"He won't die," Sakura vowed, conviction lying under the thickness of her voice. She swallowed the huge lump in her throat, shutting her eyes to trap her hot, unshed tears.
She faced a difficult decision; she could only take one person with her to Konoha. If she took Naruto, someone from Akatsuki would most likely pick up Sasuke. Naruto would live, though, so they could hunt their best friend another day.
However, if she dropped Naruto and took Sasuke home, they would capture a missing-nin and Naruto and her would fulfill their lifelong mission. She could just imagine Naruto's voice berating her if she left this opportunity: "Sakura-chan, how could you do this? We could have saved Sasuke!" However, Naruto would die and the village would lose their future hokage and jinchuuriki.
Sakura made up her mind quickly. Tightening her grip on Naruto's arm, she murmured, "Goodbye, Sasuke-kun." She cast a prolonged glance at him, upset and disappointed that he had chosen power and revenge over his friends, but she could kind of understand on some level.
Abandoning the cavern, a shiver crawled up her spine as cold raindrops beat down on her relentlessly. Strands of her pink hair plastered across her face as she roughly pushed them behind her right ear. I have to keep moving, she kept thinking, and pushed more chakra into her feet.
"Naruto!" she yelled hysterically as she realized he stopped breathing.
Sakura stopped on a tree branch and jumped down onto a small clearing, ignoring the moist grass blades clinging to her legs. Laying Naruto down, she prepared to do CPR on him. As she pressed her lips against his, she absently noticed that his chapped lips put a warm feeling in her heart.
Abruptly, she could feel a sticky substance under her hands. "Oh Kami!" she squeaked as she suddenly noticed the gaping hole in his chest (A/N: I meant for this to happen cuz I thought it was funny. I mean, how does a medic-nin not notice a hole in someone's chest?!). Immediately, she placed her hands over the hole and pumped some chakra there.
"The tissues and tendons are ripped, and the thoracic cavity is damaged. Since the pleural cavity is breached, air in the cavity may result, which requires immediate medical attention (1)," Sakura recited, her words so fast they became slurred.
As soon as the hole scabbed over, Sakura crumpled to the ground from chakra exhaustion. She strained her eyes to see through the impending darkness. 'Were the looming stars really that beautiful before?' she wondered, gazing at the bright lights hanging from the sky.
Sasuke-kun, Sakura thought, and hot tears escaped her eyelids. Sasuke-kun, I miss you. Come back to Konoha, Sasuke-kun.
She turned to Naruto, and saw his lifeless face, limp limbs still. Naruto, Naruto, Naruto. Naruto, her big ball of sunshine that she could depend on. Naruto, the one that annoyed her yet always cheered her up. Naruto, the one that worked hard to keep the promise of a lifetime to save Sasuke. Naruto, I'm so sorry. If I wasn't so weak, this wouldn't have happened.
The bleary world started fading as sleep started to claim Sakura. She struggled to stay awake by pinching herself; the pain, although intense, began to blend in with the piercing wind cutting against her skin.
Pants racked her body, her chest heaving. She blinked as a white moon suddenly emerged from the darkness, hovering over her like a ghost. Sakura peered through her lashes and recognized the white moon as the dog mask in ANBU. "You're here," she breathed, and then felt the night take over.
When Sakura woke up, she could feel the smooth sheets underneath her bare legs. The sunlight shining from the window glazed her face, highlighting her pale features. Sakura stepped out of the safety of her bed, and grabbed the nightstand for support as her knees buckled.
Slowly but steadily, Sakura place one foot in front of the other until she got to the main desk (thank Kami her room was on the first floor!).
"Uzumaki Naruto," she choked out in a strangled voice, gravelly from underuse. "What room is he?"
The receptionist flipped the little book in front of her and pushed up her glasses that were sliding down her nose. "Room 16, right down the hall." She glanced at Sakura and noticed her pale skin. "Are you alright?"
Sakura ignored her, too busy padding towards Naruto's room. "Naruto. Naruto!" Her throat constricted with unshed tears.
Bursting into his room, Sakura leaned onto the white wall, gasping for breath.
"Sakura?"
"Tsunade-sensei?"
Tsunade shot a concerned look at Sakura, her medical ninjutsu waning as her focus withered. The Godaime Hokage quickly turned her attention back to Naruto.
"Naruto," Sakura whispered, clenching her trembling fists. "Will he be alright?" She was almost afraid of her sensei's answer.
"He," Tsunade began, and hesitated. Sakura bit her lip in anticipation, expecting the worst but hoping for the best. "He...he is in a coma. There is a fifty percent chance he will die."
And her world came crashing down upon her.
Sakura was barely aware of her surroundings. All she heard was the echoing in her head: fifty percent chance, he will die, he will die, he will die.
He will die. Naruto, the future hokage, will die. Naruto, the kyuubi's jinchuuriki, will die. Naruto, her precious blonde idiot, will die.
And then Sakura slipped away from the world.
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I'm going to be the future hokage!" His loud entrance scraped at her eardrums, and Sakura clutched her ears in a desperate but futile attempt to shut away the sound. This new kid of the Academy was not making a good first impression.
"Who is that loud-mouth brat?!" Ino snapped in annoyance, her screeches almost as irritating as Naruto.
"Kami, are we stuck with him as our classmate?" Sakura muttered.
Naruto walked up the aisle, ignoring the giggles and snickers that were obviously aimed at him. His gaze fell upon Sakura. He saw her, and his face broke out into a cheerful smile.
"Hi, my name is Naruto, and I'm going to be the future hokage!" he yelled as if he hadn't already announced that in front of the whole class.
Sakura stared in disgust at his hand. She turned away from him, rejecting his greeting. But still he didn't give up.
"I'll find out your name another time!" Naruto declared, withdrawing his hand and flashing her another wide smile. "That's a promise, and I don't go back on my word!"
"What's your name?"
Sakura tried to ignore the blonde at her side as she studied some scrolls about basic taijutsu stances. Ino was absent today so they couldn't pick flowers together.
"What's your name?"
That voice. That voice, so loud it was piercing her eardrums. Why did Kami pit her with this idiot?!
"What's your name?"
Her patience finally snapped. "My damn name is Haruno Sakura! Alright?! Now get away from me, dammit!"
"I told you I would get your name!" Naruto said, bouncing up and down. "I told you!"
"Yeah, whatever," she grumbled.
Splash!
"Argh! Standing on water is so much harder than just walking up trees!"
"That's why you have to concentrate, Sakura," Kakashi said absently, too enamored in his porn-ahem, Icha Icha Fantasy-to really care.
"I'm trying!" Sakura shot back, and then a big grin crept up her face. She did it! She was standing on water-
Not.
Treading the water, Sakura was ready to yell, "I give up!" when she remembered Naruto's words: "I won't give up! That's my ninja way!" Naruto, she thought, and new conviction flooded her body. I can do it! Shannaro!
"I'll get Sasuke for you. It's a promise of a lifetime!"
And all she could do was cry.
"Sakura? Sakura, wake up!"
She could feel a soft palm gently slap her cheeks. Absently, she brushed her fingertips against her tears streaming down her face. She was on all fours; she probably collapsed due to shock from the news.
The bad news.
"Sakura, get up."
Sakura grasped the unwavering hand in front of her. The ringing in her ears dissolved, and she gripped the hand like it was her lifeline.
"Tsunade-sensei, thank you."
Tsunade, with a ghost of a smile on her face, wearily sighed. "Sakura, I hate to ask this from you, but could you take over? I'm drained." She paused. "But Sakura. Your mind must be steady. Your emotions must not get in the way of your duty. Do you understand?"
Sakura nodded vigorously. Tsunade grinned and left the room.
Sitting on the stool next to Naruto's bed, she started her medical ninjutsu.
"Naruto," she said quietly. "I remember now. I remember your unyielding nindo about never giving up, about never going back on your word. You have a pure heart, unlike Sasuke-kun." She stopped speaking for a moment. Swallowing, she continued.
"Sasuke-kun is buried in hatred and revenge. He hates everything. He would never accept my love." Another shaky breath. "And I realized...I don't love him anymore.
"The first time I met you...I thought you were a stupid, loud brat...and it turned out you were." She laughed without humor, the sound bitter and dry. "I don't know what drew you to me; I just knew that I didn't want your friendship. That was really idiotic of me. I can't imagine how hurt you were when I turned away. But you kept pursuing me, never giving up. Thank you, Naruto, for never giving up. You helped me become a strong kunoichi. Thank you, Naruto." During her whole speech, she was holding back tears, but now...now the dam broke. The moisture on her cheek tickled her skin, and she furiously wiped them away. Naruto wouldn't want her crying. He would never want her to cry. She was stronger than this. Sakura was strong...so why was she crying? Why couldn't the damn tears stop?
"Naruto, you always pushed me to be the best I could be. You..." she choked back another sob. "You always inspired me...Naruto, your nindo of not giving up, of never going back on your word...you promised me that you would bring Sasuke-kun back. You said it was a promise of a lifetime...and this might be the first promise you break if you die. Naruto, you always do so much for me, and yet how come I don't do anything for you?"
"You do everything for me, Sakura-chan."
Sakura's head shot up and met his shockingly blue eyes. "N-naruto?!" Although his usually tan skin looked deathly pale, Naruto, the one who had a fifty percent chance of living, hung onto life and lived. No one in the Elemental Countries could be happier than she was.
Naruto smiled, and held up a shaking hand that cupped her cheek. "Sakura-chan, you're the light in my darkness. If it weren't for you, I don't think I would have been able to come this far."
"Naruto...I have to tell you something," Sakura began hesitantly. How could she tell him? But his near-death had woken her up as if someone had poured a bucket of ice cold water onto her. And not to mention the trip to memory lane cleared her mind. "Naruto, I...never really loved Sasuke-kun. In my heart, I always loved someone else, and I think I just realized it. Naruto...I love you."
Naruto's eyes widened before giving her a poignant, heartbreaking smile. "Sakura-chan, you know I love you."
Sakura felt elated, like she was soaring through the sky. But then her wings got chopped off and then she was falling down into the frigid ocean, crashing into its deep depths. Naruto's tone of voice-why did it sound so...melancholy? Shouldn't he be happy? Sakura could only guess what was coming up. "Naruto?"
"Sakura-chan," Naruto said, sitting up. He held her hand, and Sakura felt the warmth creep up her veins like icy fire. "When I was in a coma, I was talking to Kyuubi."
And then Sakura felt the cool dread at the back of her mind. She shook it off hastily.
"Kyuubi said...I won't have much time to live."
And then everything was over. Sakura felt so numb; she felt nothing and everything at the same time. Her sight blurred, and the blunt aching in her chest hurt. Go away, she said to the pain, but it only increased, swallowing her up until-
"Sakura-chan?"-until his voice pulled her out of the retreating darkness, because he was her light, because he was her everything, because he was-
"Don't worry, I'll complete the promise. I'll save Sasuke if it's the last thing I'll do!" Because it will be, Sakura realized, because you're leaving me like everyone else.
Naruto, baka, I love you. Don't leave me. But he will and he does, and he leaves her all alone.
The End
A/N: Yeah, so this is it. Sorry for the cliff-hanger ending (lol I'm not so sorry). This is my first oneshot just thought I would clear this up.
(1) Sorry if I got stuff wrong. I just wanted Sakura to demonstrate her medical knowledge so sorry if I got anything wrong.
Review, please?
Bye!
~Ramen-chan