Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, never have never will. If you thought otherwise ... cut back on the pocky, dude.
Summary: AU: Set in the future when Naruto and the gang would be about three years or so older than the current manga. Warning, spoiliers, character death and one rabid fangirl trying to keep the characters In Character.
"You are so damned annoying. You know that?" Sasuke muttered out, glaring at her. Oryx eyes strangely blank of emotion. But from Sasuke Uchiha, the Avenger that wasn't so strange. The focus of his attention didn't respond, as if shell shocked the Uchiha was once again talking to her.
"All your useless askings for dates, your fawning, you're annoying Sasuke-Kun this, Sasuke-Kun that, I don'tsee what Naruto saw in you, vain shallow creature." Sasuke spat out, one hand clenching the pink tresses tightly. But no yelp of pain followed.
"This isn't how it's supposed to be happening, you idiot!" Sasuke yelled out, as if in responce to the lack of action or reaction from the pink haired teenager. For only one month since finally being beaten to an inch of his life and senses, the seventeen year old Sasuke had lost more people closer to him than he would admit. And he'd be damned if he lost another one!
... even though he most likely was damned. He didn't expect to be redemed in the eyes of Kohona, or even his own team mates. But Sakura and Naruto... they had been there, after finally getting around the betrayl issue. But it had been shakey ground. Very shakey.
"Sakura, you promised." Sasuke hissed out, shaking Sakura furiously. "You promised damnit! Don't die on me! DON'T DIE ON US!" But his screaming was lost as the blank and lifeless emerald green eyes stared up at him. A half choked sob came from infront of him, Naruto had been crying out Sakura's name over and over, his voice growing more younger and childish at each utterance of 'Sakura-Chan'.
"Sakura-Chan, please wake up. We can go for Ramen, my treat. Please Sakura-Chan, you can't die. You can't!" Naruto sobbed out, tears and snot marring his face unlike the Uchiha's. Naruto had been through the death of others before, or near death experiences, but never had he lost someone he had seen as a crush and then later as a sister. Sakura was his damnit! HIS ... and Sasuke's, but even so, Sakura was HIS! Meaning nothing should kill her! She had to be faking, that old woman had taught Sakura everything she knew, how could one bastard with red eyes defeat her so easily?
"You're so annoying," Sasuke snarled out, but didn't lossen up his grip on Sakura's body as Naruto clutched tighter at the girls limp arm. Somewhere out there was Sakura's killer, hunting them the same way he had hunted Sakura down.
Sasuke's fragile state of mind, and it was fragile, was almost shattered. He has lost someone he hadn't even realized had grown so dear to him. Something more than a sister, he didn't know what, couldn't allow it. Had never noticed it. And now it was too late.
"Dead last." Sasuke spat out, his voice dead and flat. 'I can't beat him, can I?' he seemed to say with his eyes as he glared at Naruto, his eyes already starting to slugishly churn black and red as the Sharigan started to activate.
"Bastard." Naruto snapped out, childish antics and personality lost as the red chakra started to envelope his body as he drew on the Kyuubi's reserves once more. Blue eyes turning a bright blood red/orange mixture as the pupils took on a more cat like(or fox like) appearence while his hands seemed to become more animalistic. 'Not alone. No.' Seemed to dance across his eyes as his head snapped to the right.
Kisame had always been the more clumsy of the two that seemed to be obsessed over Naruto. Or rather what Naruto carried. As Sasuke seemed to all but phase out, Naruto looked down at Sakura's prone form on the branch of the tree. Even with the disfigurment that Kisame had done to her while he and Sasuke had been distracted and held at bay by Itachi, Naruto still saw her as he always had.
"Don't worry Sakura. We won't leave you. I promise you this." He whispered out harshly, almost in a growl before leaping away in the direction Sasuke had gone. They had a meeting with the devil, and his name was Itachi.