"…this war," he breathes breathlessly, "is all my fault." His hands clutch the kunai pointed at his chest tighter.
"Wait! Yamato!" I scream at him, but my words don't reach him. No one's do.
"Why do I exist?" He looks up at me.
"Why was I created?" He draws the kunai in closer.
"Was it for this? For all this?" He starts to tear up, "Look what's happened because of me!" He gestures all around him. All around us. "…and if I'm still alive it could all just happen again," he says, the last two words leaving his lips as if they were kunai themselves. Cutting whatever restraint he had left.
"Senpai," he smiles up at me, "we had the best of times didn't we?"
I can see the look in his eyes. The daunted, disheartened look in his eyes. These are the eyes of a defeated man. A broken man. One who has completely given up. And if I don't do something quick, his death will be on me.
"Hey now. We still do," I try to fake a smile back at him. If my words could somehow just get through to him… "and there's still so much more ahead of us," I stretch out my hand desperately trying to reach him, but then it falls as I drop my head. I can do nothing but stare at the ground. How many times had I sworn on my life that I would protect him? How many times?! And now look where we're standing. A battlefield with nothing but fallen shinobi strewn all around us. How fitting.
"Senpai…," he whispers. Barely audible.
I snap my head back up and stare into his eyes. They're nothing but black holes now. His eyes used to have such life to them. Such beauty. And now…
"Senpai." He says with gumption now.
"Yamato," I say acknowledgingly. He was still holding the kunai to his chest.
"Why do I exist?"
I press my fingers to the temples of my forehead. Why do you have to ask me such questions? Always with the questions. Ever since you were young. There are some things I'm just not ready to explain to you Tenzou, especially not here. Not now. The timing isn't right!
I lower my hands back down to my sides. I only have one chance at saving him. "Because my Kohai…" I say as I start to walk slowly towards him, and it puts him obviously on edge.
"I need you."
"What?! What did he say? Can anyone hear him?" Naruto yells from the distance.
"No, Naruto we can't hear anything either," Hinata whispers.
"Wha- what did you say, Sen… pai?" Tenzou asks unsure if his ears just stopped working.
I've closed the distance between us now. I place my hands on top of his holding the kunai. "I said," I don't breathe, "because I need you."
His eyes grow wide, and it's as if I can almost see color return to them. Almost.
"That's why you exist, Tenzou. That's why you were created. And that's why I can't let you do this," I say as I take the kunai from his lifeless hands. He doesn't even try to fight me.
"Yo- you… need… me?" he asks clearly not listening to a thing I'm saying to him now.
"Tenzou, I know I've vowed countless times to protect you. And I know countless times I've let you down. Just look at where we're standing. I know I won't ever be able to make what happened to you ok…," I trail off, lost in my own reverie.
Obito, Rin, Minato-Sensei, Father. I couldn't protect you. I failed all of you. But I know that I can protect him. Because this time I won't fail.
"Oi, Sensei! Is he okay?" Naruto snaps me back into reality.
I glance over my shoulder at my pupil, the genin who has just saved the entire world, and I chuckle. Minato-Sensei, how proud you must be.
"Yea, Naruto! He's more than okay," I say as I look back into Tenzou's eyes, "you're more than okay."
I sweep him up into my arms and begin the trek back over to where the others are standing. "Senpai…"
I glance down at the man in my arms. "Hmm?"
"I'm so sorry." Was all he said before there was no life left in his fragile body.
"Oi! Tenzou! Wake up!" I shake him violently. This is no time to be playing games.
"Sakura! Get over here now!"
You don't get to die on me. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not any day. "Do you hear me, Tenzou?! You don't get to die!"