A/N - I have been dying to write this for days now, ever since i seen that preview for Battle LA. I did it because of the music, not because of the preview. I loved it. I have been listening to it for awhile now, just so angry cuz i didn't know how to start or howto describe it. but i finally did it. hours of staying in one spot, determined to finish. I didnt even study for my final because of this, but i will stay up an extra hour just do to that.
The song is called "The Sun's Gone Dim as the Sky's Turned Black" Listened to it the whole time.
DISCLAIMER - I do not own Naruto.
The land was vibrant with life. Shady green grass that was draping over the earth, waving back and forth with the wisp of the wind. No flowers the clearing, just a solitary, towering, tree that stood amidst of all the life. The leaves hung over powerful trunks of the stronghold, lightly flowing with the breeze. And with a flaming yellow sun that floated in such an angle, the tree casted a black lengthy shadow, doubling over the actual height. Far beyond the clearing were the wrinkles of mountains, looking as small hills from such a distance.
So pure, was this clearing. So peaceful for both mind and body. It was an image of tranquility. Of complete silence. Of harmony. A recommended place to forget all stress, tension, and worry. A place to release the heavy heart, heavy mind, and heavy soul.
A place to let go.
Of the sorrow so deeply imbedded in ones body.
Of the cut so perfectly sliced through ones soul.
And of the child within, so badly broken, clinging close to ones core.
This was the very threshold that would hold the heart aching war.
A fitting place to let go.
A fitting place to die.
For miles, all she could see was punched and abused earth, ground dipped ten feet under, and men and women sprinkled on the ground from the wars decoration. Moans and screams filled her ears as more men fell, kunai knives punctured women, and bloody bruised summoning animals crashing towards the earth. But above everything, the explosions denominated all. Shaking with a terrifying 'BOOM', causing the ears to ring from deafness and the eyes to jolt inside their sockets.
Around her, the shinobi who were still standing jumped into the air, yelling as their eyes faced death. Continuously, they all leaped, as if rain reversing, falling to the sky instead to earth. It was a never ending flow. Medical ninja ran towards the moans, dodging as the reverse rain fell back to the ground, hitting with a sickening thud.
Was this war?
The thought ran through her head, watching as everything in front of her kept trickling on as time continued. It wouldn't stop, even as her heart screamed, it would not sop.
More moans.
More screams.
More thuds.
It made her heart ach in pain that couldn't be healed by her soothing chakra. Her eyes filled with nothing but the blood that was staining her vision. Her mind buzzing in constant thought, though the buzz was numbing over from shock. Her limps stood frozen in horror, the scene in front of her slowly freezing her away.
This is not war, but death.
That is exactly what one would think, especially her, the sun kissed cherry blossom who only knew the sweetness and tenderness of spring, not the bitter and bite of winter. So ignorant she was. So pure. And as everything passed her eyes, playing through her brain, her ignorance was being snatched away, piece by agonizing peace. Snatched away so harshly it left cuts, cuts so deep that even years after wouldn't make the flow of blood stop.
No. Years after, the blood would rush like a raging river.
Years after, the cuts will sting still fresh and tender to the touch.
Centuries could not take this pain away.
Centuries would not heal this wound.
No. Centuries would only widen the wound until a gapping hole was all that's left, yearning to be filled.
"This means war, and we will need to align with every nation to fight it." Tsunade slammed her fist on her desk. The tabled moaned a creak in response of the abuse. They all stood before her, the new generation of shonbi.
Months ago, war seemed fine, as if a challenged handed from the gods above, asking for one to prove oneself. Asking Sakura to prove herself. And already, the war was proving difficult. War was scratching and snatching so fast, so swift, that her tower was slowly crumbling, moaning and creaking as the weight as gravity fought to push her down. Just as the war won over the strong, solitary tree, it having crashed to earth long ago.
More blood, moans, and screams.
More deaths, lives, souls passing on.
Continuous. Always continuous.
There wasn't a moment that passed when the frozen girl didn't feel a chakras presence slowly fading away, going from bright, vibrant, beautiful blue, to sick, weak, cancering gray, until finally it was just. Gone. The process of it all repeated, as if stuck in a time continuum only held for the routine of death.
Yes, it continued religiously.
A 'thud' of a body was what jolted her out of her frozen state, it landing right next to her. She jumped away from the body. The jolt was fast, quick, like a strike from a cobra, leaving one weak and dizzy from fright. She stared as the woman's eyes slowly faded away, red liquid traveling slowly down the side of her lips, blood gushing from her stomach, a kunai still fixed inside of her.
Sakura flinched again, another body landing beside her.
Her heart pumped blood through her quickly, hammering inside of her chest. Warmth finally unfroze her limps and joints, at last causing her to move in small, shivering steps, still recovering from the frostbite.
Again another body.
There was no longer time to spare for slow recovery. Realizing this, she looked to the sky, seeing as the reverse rain sped towards her as if an angry thunderstorm hurling droplets to earth. Quickly, she jumped, moving in precise, swift movements, no more than a second passing as she hit the earth with her feet, and jumped again.
She fought through the pain, her eyes dimmed from the staining of blood, her hearing deaf from the sickening thuds, and her mind completely numb from all her ignorance being stanched away.
Instead, what filled her vision was the enemy ahead.
What filled her hearing was her heart gently beating.
And what filled her mind was only a solitary, strong person, towering over all her thoughts.
"War?" Ignorant Sakura whispered, walking along a golden man.
"Things have plummeted." The man said in an even tone, his voice void from emotions, his face empty from expression, "Everything went from peaceful to war in the matter of years. Pervy sage was right, it's as if peace can never be kept and people do not have the strength or power to understand each other."
Emerald eyes dragged to the man, her heart hurting from such an empty sounding lecture, "What will we do?"
The man continued to look ahead, "We will fight. And we will continue to fight until I figure out the way to make peace permanent. That is what Pervy Sage, my father, and Pein believed in. That one day, everyone would truly understand one another, and they have left it up to me to figure it out."
"Why do you consist on doing things by yourself?" The blossom chastised, "It's as if you count on no one, not even me."
But the man only smiled, grinning with all his teeth as he looked at Sakura, "Because everyone put their faith in me Sakura. They believe in me. Don't you?"
The beautiful clearing, was no more. Tall shady green grass was now replaced with fresh, soft, dug up dirt. It sprung everywhere with every touch of the earth, causing Sakura to be covered with a fine layer of grime as she crushed her feet in the ground, running as fast as she could.
Out of all the chakra's that were fading away, there was only one she kept intuned to, and it was close by, glowing red with anger and hate. Instinct of pure nature told her not to go towards the dangerous, unstable, chakra. But instinct was snatched away with ignorance and common sense.
"Medical Ninja must always be able to dodge an enemy attack." Tsunade said strictly, her arms crossed.
"Why?" A weak Sakura asked meekly.
Tsunade sighed, "Because who will heal the rest of the team if the Medical Ninja is dead?"
Common sense would have told her she was never suppose to purposely go towards battle, but always stay hidden, for medical ninja were not valuable hurt.
Her fist began to glow vibrant blue, her eyes set dead on her target, which was a man in a cloak that had blood red clouds on top of pure black skies. She yelled out her frustration as he ran towards her, a smile that screamed amusement. Suddenly he stopped and disappeared, three straight horizontal lines floating where he stood for a moment, before disappearing as well. Quick, she took out her scroll, summing her axe weapon, a trick she had learned from Ten-Ten. She wielded it in her hand, turning it in ways that made her get familiar with her weapon, just like warming up before a spar.
The amused man was quick, appearing next to her and aiming to stab. But an enraged Sakura couldn't be beaten by such slowness, as soon as he appeared, she had been wielding her axe towards him. As he moved to stab her, the back of the weapon was already hitting his side, knocking him away as Sakura avoided getting hurt, and before he could get his footing, Sakura spun the axe over her head ,and with chakra added her wield speed went ten fold and sliced the mans head clean off. Dropping the axe, she continued to run.
"Never cover your eyes! In order to dodge, you have to see what is coming!" Tsunade yelled after making the weak blossom flinch.
Kunai sped towards her face, as fast as a speeding bullet, instead of dodging and breaking her stride, she skillfully moved her hands, snatching one from the air then jumping towards the sky, and blocking the new death knives that followed her. Dropping to the earth, she continued to run, the knives falling behind her.
Common sense would have told her that that was too close of a call, and she needed to fall back quickly.
"You must protect your hands!" Tsunade said harshly, "You are worth nothing without them. You are just like any ninja without any type of value."
Common sense would have told her to stay safe and protect her hands, the most precious part of her.
Still, she bruised them as she punched a man who was coming towards her, not having time to coat them with chakra. And as another enemy came, she punched him with chakra, sending him flying into the air.
Then with such strong force, she turned and hit the ground, sending ten enemies tumbling for safety as surviving shonbi took their chance and killed them quickly.
She continued to run.
"I believe in you, of course." Sakura said carefully, looking away from the man and out at the small lake that was under the red bridge, "But that doesn't stop me from worrying."
She chanted as she sprinted down the battlefield. Chanting to move faster.
Swifter.
Stronger.
She needed to check on him. He would be reckless, as he always was. He would get hurt, as he always did. He could make a false move, and…
"Believing in me means that you don't worry about me," Naruto said casually, leaning against the bridge, "Because you would trust that I would be ok. You would trust that everything would be fine."
More men came at her, and with a cry of frustration, she pulled out her battle hatchets and threw them at the men, each hitting them square in the forehead, causing them to stand there for a second and then collapse.
If there was a thud, she didn't hear it, for she was still hearing the beating of her now hammering heart.
If anyone needed her healing, he was the most important out of them all. He needed top priority.
"But I do worry." Sakura sighed out, staring at the crystals that were glaring at her from the water, the sun almost making it blinding, "There isn't a moment that I am not worrying about you."
"I've always ended up fine." The man said with a shrug.
But Sakura shook her head, "It's because of that, that I worry. Using up all your luck now, as you continue to be reckless…" She paused, her heart thudding nervously as she struggled out, "What if, one day, your luck-"
"Rasgengan!" The mans voice roared, speeding towards him with read glowing eyes, chakra covering his whole body in a mold of a fox.
But the man he was fighting also had red eyes, and moved with speed as quick as his, and he punched the glowering red fox in the back as he passed, laughing in entertainment.
Her heart was speeding towards the ground as the blossom slowly began to shiver in fear. She needed to get there soon enough. If she got there fast enough, she could take him away to regroup. Heal him before he was beyond repair. Have him rest so he could fight another day.
"It isn't luck Sakura," He said, cutting her off softly, "It is skill that has me always winning and healing. So, if one day I am defeated, it is because I did not have enough skill."
Sakura closed her eyes, tears stinging, "Luckily, you have a lot of skill then." She cracked out, turning her head and wiping her eyes quickly.
"You are not quiet there yet, Uzumaki Naruto." The man laughed sickly, kicking the now normal looking man who was struggling on the ground, "But you are dangerously close."
Sakura's eyes widened in fear, her heart speeding faster, "No." She whispered to herself, meaning to yell but her voice not coming out loud enough.
"And because of that, I feel a bit threatened," The man complemented with another laugh, "So I think I will kill you now. Why should I deal with you later, right?"
"Coward." The man named Uzumaki Naruto mumbled as he laid on the ground, looking up with struggling defiance.
But the man shook his head, looking down at Uzumaki with a smile, "No, it isn't cowardness. See, the one who thinks ahead, always wins."
"It isn't going to be bad, Sakura. Don't cry." The man soothed softly, placing his hand on hers cautiously, "When we get back, everything will be normal and I'll even let you treat me to ramen."
Sakura sniffed out a laugh, "Treat you?"
The man nodded with a slight smile, "Yes, for proving you wrong, because I will live. I mean. How could I ever leave you right?" He paused, saying the next words more carefully, afraid of overstepping his boundary, "You're my world. How could I leave the beautiful smell of my cherry blossom tree…"
"What always wins is heart, and love." Uzumaki coughed out, "And there will be one with so much heart, he or she will crush you."
The man laughed loudly, "Heart? No Uzumaki, patients is what wins. It always wins. Look at me, I have waited for so long, years of planning, and it is all falling into place."
Sakura tried to run faster. She needed to get to him, she needed to heal him. The reckless stupid man who never tried to let anyone help. The stupid man who mumbled in defiance even as he faced death in the eyes.
Instead of being punched or pushed away as expected, he was allowed to keep his hand on hers. And with that, he was happy enough.
"Just…" Sakura whispered out, breathing in shakily, "Just come back, ok. For…your cherry blossom tree that you say smells so nice."
The man laughed happily, rubbing her hand with his thumb softly, "It's a promise of a life time."
"Watch, the day will come, and I will laugh in the heavens above at your agony." Uzumaki said, a soft, childish smile on his lips.
The man frowned angrily, having enough, "Good bye Uzumaki Naruto, say hello to that father of yours, and that mother, they were both trouble as well."
But all Uzumaki did was laugh, coughing up blood and smiling, "I can already tell you they said go to hell."
The man raised his hand with fierce intent in his eyes.
"No." Sakura said as she watched with dread, "No…NO. NARUTO!" She continued to run, pulling out her axe hatchets and throwing them helplessly, knowing the man was too far away. It seemed as if she had been running in a nightmare, running as fast as she could but not getting any closer.
Naruto, who had been smiling with carefree, looked startled in his deathly state, and frowned as he saw Sakura, confusion as he knew she was suppose to be no where near this far out in the battle zone. Panic hit him swift. Panic of the possibility of Sakura getting hurt, "Run!" He rasped, the voice traveling up his throat feeling as if it had been sucked away, like trying to blow up a balloon with a hole in it.
The man didn't stop though, not paying attention to the whole ideal. He brought his fist straight down, directly to Uzumaki's heart. The blow was with so much force, Naruto felt a gasp of breath escape him. Everything was a bit fuzzy as he stared at the sky, a bit confused.
Sakura collapsed beside him, on her knees with her chakra already glowing. She looked down at him with so much panic, so much hurt, so much pain.
"Sakura…what are you….doing here?" Uzumaki questioned, his breath feeling short.
"Shh. Shh." Sakura said quickly, tears streaming down her face, "Don't talk. You're…you're really hurt."
"I don't get it…..why didn't he….kill me." Uzumaki mumbled, looking up at the clouds that were turning gray.
Sakura struggled not to sob out, avoiding his eyes as she focused on his wound.
But funny enough, he didn't feel it.
"Sakura…"
"Shh!" Sakura hushed, sobbing as she did so, "Don't talk Naruto, your hurt. Your hurt so badly." She sobbed again, but tried to regain control.
Naruto chuckled, "Then fix me up… Doctor Haruno." He said with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
He waited for his punch.
It didn't come.
Naruto tried to move.
"Baka! Don't move!" She said, but instead of yelling, Sakura's voice was soft.
Naruto coughed, then noticed she had stopped trying to heal him, "Am I all… better now?"
Sakura shook her head, staring down at his body but not into his eyes.
"Why'd you stop?" Naruto asked curiously, but oddly, he still felt out of breath.
Sakura just continued to shake her head.
"Sakura…"
"Naruto…" She started, practically whispering, "Do you know how long a body lasts without it's heart?'
Naruto's eyebrows came together, "No…I….don't…" He panted.
Sakura sobbed out, wiping her tears away, "Seven minutes."
The golden man blinked, confused, "That's….real-….really weird…"
The cherry blossom nodded, "It's pretty incredible."
He tried to move again.
Sakura pushed him back down gently.
Suddenly, he couldn't feel his legs, "Sakura…"
"Yes?" She asked, wiping her eyes.
"I can't…feel my legs…" He breathed out.
Sakura nodded, "It's the farthest from you're body."
Uzumaki looked confused. Then. Out of no where, it clicked. "The bastard…took my heart…"
Sakura sobbed out, nodding, wiping her eyes.
"What a sick…son of a bitch." He coughed out with a laugh.
Sakura continued to sob, "Baka." She sobbed, her body shaking, "You promised. You promised to come back alive. A promise of a life time."
He smiled softly, "What do you mean…, I will… And you will… treat me to ramen…, cuz I was right."
Sakura just sniffed, sobbing.
"I just can't…keep my promises… to you." He said faintly, sadly.
Sakura smiled, sobbing out, "What do you mean, you're coming back home. And after ramen I will let you take me out on a date."
He smiled child like, "I always knew…you loved…me."
Sakura nodded, "I wanted to tell you before the war, but, I was so nervous. And you were so close."
His eyes twinkled as they started to fade, "I make you…nervous." With a struggle, he tried to wiggle his eyebrows. It only twitched, but Sakura laughed away.
"Yes baka," She whispered, leaning down towards his face, "You make me very nervous."
Naruto smiled, lifting his lips slightly for the kiss, and Sakura kissed him long and gently, and he enjoyed every second of it.
"See you at home Naruto." Sakura whispered softly on his lips, tears dripping on his face.
He smiled faintly, his last breaths coming out, "Bye…I…Love…"
And then he faded away.
Just like all the other chakras that were still in a continuous motion.
Sakura sobbed out, her heart broken, her body shaking, "I love you too." She repeated it as she hugged his body, bombs still flying through the air as she did so. Rain starting to fall, making the fresh, scared earth, muddy.
The land was filled with death. The clearing was nothing more than mud, craters ten feet deep, and dead bodies decorated from the war…
The stump of the solitary tree stood at the middle, torn and broken…
In the distance, you can no longer see the wrinkles of mountains, the land no longer flat to have such luxury…
This was in image of sorrow. A recommended home to let tears flow and a place to never let go…
Of the sorrow so deeply imbedded in ones body.
Of the cut so perfectly sliced through ones soul.
And of the child within, so badly broken, clinging close to ones core.
Hoped you like it.