Here you go. My first Naruto one-shot. The idea came to me, and I'm glad it was one that could be worked as a one-shot, because it demanded to be written. It's not long, but I hope you all enjoy it, regardless.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the associated characters. But this one-shot is mine.

Choose.

How?

One of them will die.

Why?

Who will you save?

I'm supposed to kill one?

No.

Haruno Sakura's mind was in complete turmoil. Naruto. Sasuke-kun. What was going on?

One of them would die? She had to pick one to live?

Sakura blinked, and she found herself… sealed. It was like… what was this? It was like she was held in some kind of glass container. That's when she saw them.

Naruto. He was fighting with everything he had. Why?

For Sakura-chan. Because I love her.

Sasuke. He was fighting Naruto just as viciously. They were friends. Why?

I am an Avenger. Konoha deserves destruction, for the glory of the Uchiha Clan!

No… why? Why had things turned out like this?

Why, when she knew what he had been, what he had become, and what he was turning into, was she unable to stop it?

Because you're a fool.

Where were these voices coming from?

Suddenly, the Cursed Seal spread over Sasuke's body, he laughed in delight as his skin turned the color of coal, his eyes turned black and red—like a devil—and grotesque wing-like hands exploded from his back.

I'm more special than you! Sasuke.

I don't care! I'm bringing you back to her! Naruto.

Choose. Now.

I can't.

Then your heart will choose. Uzumaki Naruto… will die.

No… Naruto…

It's too late.

The Chidori plunged straight for Naruto's heart.

"NO!" screamed Sakura. "NARUTO! DON'T DIE! I NEED YOU!"

Sakura wasn't sure what made her scream those words, but the instant she did, it happened.

The cloak of the demon fox sprung up around Naruto. Its claw collided with the Chidori, overpowering it. Sasuke screamed in agony as his arm, even with the power of the Cursed Seal, disintegrated under the powerful demonic force.

And Naruto's Rasengan suddenly expanded, transforming into the Rasenshuriken.

An explosion blinded Sakura before her world was consumed in darkness.

"… kura," said the voice.

What is this? It's so warm… my heart… this voice…

"Sakura," came the voice again, just as softly as before. Slowly, Sakura struggled to lift her eyes to see the face of Uzumaki Naruto hovering over her. He smiled. "You're awake." He straightened up, allowing Sakura to see him clearly. "Are you alright?"

This was… who was this? He looked like the Yondaime Hokage… no, that wasn't it. He was Naruto. A hero. A true hero. He wasn't anything like that traitor.

Images flashed before Sakura's eyes. Sounds and voices passed her ears. Soft fingers caressed her skin. A divine flavor tasted her tongue. Smells pressed against her nose.

And feelings filled her heart.

Sakura smiled, perhaps the truest smile in her life.

"I'm fine… Aisuru," she replied, accepting the hand he held out to her. Her smile grew as she saw the matching engagement rings they wore. "Everything's perfect. At long last, it really is."

That's right. Naruto came back to her, sobbing and miserable, to tell her that, during the fight, he'd accidentally killed Sasuke. She'd done what she could for him. When Jiraiya tried to take him from the village, everyone vehemently stood against the Toad Sage and forced him to train Naruto in Konoha. Sakura had gone to Tsunade for training, and with Kakashi-sensei's help, they grew and grew.

When they'd come, they'd each fallen, one after the other. Deidara. Sasori. Orochimaru. Hidan. Kakuzu. Zetsu. Kisame. Pein. Itachi. Madara.

And now…

As Naruto sat on the bench next to her, Sakura leaned against him.

Tomorrow. When Naruto proposed to her, she'd thought she couldn't be happier. Yet here she was, already happier, and tomorrow would only be better.

Tomorrow, the two would be wed. And Naruto's lifelong dream of becoming Hokage would be made a reality.

And all it truly took to come to this point was the death of Uchiha Sasuke at the Valley of the End that day. He was a good friend. He was part of Team 7, but his hatred, his darkness, his evil… his nature as an Uchiha. All of it would've weighed on them as it shouldn't have.

Sakura had been given the gift of seeing that. She understood now. Snuggling slightly more into Naruto's warmth, her happiness and the warmth in her heart only grew.

Yes. Everything was finally, impossibly… perfect.

Author's Notes: Really, just fluff. The basic idea is that the Sakura of the current canon has some sort of dream in which she's challenged to either save Naruto or save Sasuke, and in the end, she ends up asking for Naruto to live. This "dream" then alters everything, with Naruto killing Sasuke at the Valley of the End, essentially turning Sakura's life around in the style of The Butterfly Effect. Short, sweet, simple.

I'm thinking that, one day, I may expand on this and turn it into a full blown fanfic showing everything between Sasuke's death and this moment, and ending with an epilogue of "the day after", but until that time, this remains a one-shot. While I realized the implications for a full story, I'm glad it was a one-shot, as I have too much on my plate right now, but this was one of those things that demanded it be written.

So, to all my fans, I hope you all enjoyed this. I'm trying to get myself back to work on everything, but it's been kind of hard with the recent pulling of my wisdom teeth. Fortunately, my recovery is about sixty to seventy percent complete, and should be finished in time for my birthday four days from now.

Wish me the best, and please let me know what you think of this. Sayōnara!