Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters they are the property of their respective creators. Please be aware that no profit is being made from this work of fan fiction.
Like most promises, it was made without thinking, a boy swearing to do a seemingly impossible task for the girl he loved, although said girl was in love with another man. Where once they were three, now they were two. The third one, their friend and team mate had gone away, betrayed them and their village on a quest for something he could not find there. She had wept for him, standing alongside the one who was left behind, the one who died a little inside every time he saw the pain in her eyes, who swore that he would bring the missing member of their team back, the promise of a lifetime. She would not, could not accept that it had come to pass, and in time, long after he had already tried and failed did she realise, that she had not wanted to lose him as well. Even when he came back he was never the same, for whenever she spoke with him he would always speak of that same goal, his promise of a lifetime.
Time passed and he tried yet again, but this time was different, for he found there was nothing left to save. They fought, to the death this time; and when at last the dust settled he was alone. Blood coated his body; both his opponents and his own, his clothes stained dark red, making him look as if he had been swimming in a sea of blood. The injuries he had sustained were almost beyond counting, the only thing that kept him standing was his vice like grip on the wooden support pillar of the village's main gate. He sent one of the guards to fetch her, to call her from that office, vowing to hold on until she arrived so that she would hear it from his lips and no other, he swore those would be his last words before he died. She arrived sooner than he expected, her eyes dark with worry. At once she closed the distance between them, gathering chakra in her hands to heal his wounds yet he brushed her away, he had now desire to be healed, to live with his sorrows.
"I'm sorry…but I couldn't keep my promise."
His message finally delivered he fell forward, embracing the darkness as it swept upwards to greet him. A sense of panic swept over her as he fell into her arms, a dark and primal fear uncurling in the base of her chest, too many people she cared for had already died…she could not bear to lose another. She was instantly at his side, desperately checking for any signs of a pulse, all her years of medical training forgotten in her mad rush to save him. At first she found nothing, growing ever more desperate she pulled away the bloody cloth that covered his chest, pressing her ear against it only to here the faintest of sounds, his heart was still beating. Ignoring the guards she lifted him into her arms, allowing no-one else to touch him, she ran all the way to the hospital, absolutely determined that she would make it there before it was too late.
When he woke it was to a body wracked with pain but free from injury, despite his best efforts she had still managed to save his life. He could feel her now, the weight and warmth of her body draped across his chest. She must have exhausted herself in healing him because now she was sound asleep, oblivious to the fact her mask was gone and for once he saw her as she truly was. He forced himself into a sitting position, ignoring the protests his muscles made, he wanted so badly to see her face. For a brief moment he bore witness to the woman beneath. All of his life he had wanted this, just to be with her, without her guard up pushing him away. There was a time where he would have given anything for this moment, but now it had come he felt the price he paid was too high. He reached out with one hand, shaking slightly as he did so, and brushed a single strand of hair away from her face. At the contact she stirred slightly, starting to wake.
Even as her eyes slid open, her mask slid back into place. She looked up at him, her eyes filled with a storm of joy and rage. Had it been a moment longer, had she not reached him when she did he would have left her alone again…looking into his gaze she found it heavy with sadness and guilt, even now he shouldered the burned of his team mate along with his own, even though nothing that had happened had been his fault. She cursed that promise, wishing he had never made it, perhaps then this could have all been brought to an end so many years before and so many innocent live could have been saved…no matter how hard it had been for him to kill the man he had once called friend, in the end there could be no other way. She slipped her arms around him, holding him as he sniffed slightly yet no tears would fall for he had none left to cry.
Her mind drifted back to their younger days, all the time he had cried back then, how he had always been behind, dead last at the academy. He was a prankster and a loudmouth and everyone who knew him thought he would never amount to anything. However, in time he had grown stronger, stronger than her, eventually he had even surpassed their sensei, becoming someone respected and feared by everyone in the village…slowly, the tears began to form in her eyes, silently falling into the material of his hospital gown as she cried not just for her but for them both. She cried for all the time she they had lost, for all the things that had passed them by because her thoughts had always lain with the other one. For that brief instant she finally saw a truth long forgotten, feelings unrequited she had almost forgotten that could never be returned if he had gone away.
His arms lifted slightly, moving around her waist, returning her embrace. All these years he had longed to hold her this way and to have the gesture returned. Slowly, carefully, he lowered his lips onto hers, afraid that at any moment she would pull away. She didn't, and for the first time, the very first time, the two of them shared a kiss, filled with a lifetimes worth of unspoken pain. Even as they pulled away, gazes locked, their eyes seeing none but the other as they silently exchanged feelings that had almost come too late.
On the far side of the room, their students stood watching, each with matching blushes on their face from their teacher's display. While the boy was determined, swearing silently to himself that things with his own former team mate would not turn out that way. The girl meanwhile finally had understood something important. Watching her sensei, she had seen herself in her teacher's place years from now, as that final lesson hit home she finally understood what must be done even as she pulled him into a tight embrace.
"S-Sakura-chan!"
She simply ignored his exclamation, tightening her embrace even as she moved to position herself in front of his face.
"Promise me Naruto."
He paused for a moment, looking confused before realisation dawned and his trademark grin spread across his face.
"I told you Sakura-chan. I'll bring him home, that's my ninja way."
Releasing one arm to smack him upside the head, albeit softly, she corrected him loudly.
"No you idiot! Promise me no matter what happens you will come home!"
For a moment, he simply stood there, stunned, until at last he saw the look on her face. He would have waited a lifetime for her too look at him that way, yet here and now he had everything he ever wanted, all wrapped up in a single smile. Gently, the Rokudaime lowered his lips over those of his wife, whispering a few simple words as he did so.
"I promise…for the both of you."
AN: And there you have it, another one in the vault.
Hououza
Chapter preread by That Other Guy