Miracle
by Diana-san

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

He glanced up into the sky as he lied there on the cold, hard ground. His hand reached up to clutch his heart. He closed his eyes and wondered if today was his last day to live. It was going to take a miracle to be able to survive through another day. He needed a miracle if he wanted to get his life back.

"Oh my gosh!" a voice cried out.

He opened his eyes as a young girl ran over to him. She looked to be his age but what struck him odd was that the color of her hair was the color of the cherry blossoms when in full bloom. What in tarnations…

She bent down beside him as she examined his body. "You're injured!" she exclaimed.

He glanced at where she was looking at. It was at his chest where his hand was clutching the spot where his heart should be. There was no physical signs of him being injured.

Quickly, the girl held out her hands on top of his hand as a green glow appeared. What the hell… he thought to himself as he watched in astonishment at the sight before him.

The pain that was inside his chest was slowly disappearing. As if by magic, he could no longer feel the throbbing pain that was inside of him just moments earlier. As soon as the girl's hands stopped glowing, he sat up with widened eyes.

He turned to look at her with his dark obsidian eyes. There had to be no doubt about it. This girl in front of him was a miracle. She must be an angel.

The girl smiled. "Hi, what's your name?" she asked. "I'm Sakura, your rescue angel here to give you a miracle!" she continued on before he could answer.

He said nothing at first but muttered out his name when she continued to stare at him with those big emerald orbs of hers. "Sasuke," he finally muttered out.

"Hi Sasuke-kun!" she cried out happily.

He looked at her as he gazed her up and down before his eyes settled down on one spot at her chest. Or more specifically, the location of her heart. He licked his lips. If he could eat her heart, he could live forever as an immortal. He had been living his life as a mortal demon hidden amongst the living posing as a human. Ever since the brand of the cursed seal on the back of his neck given by yours truly, Orochimaru, Devil of the Underworld, he had been turned into a demon with demonic powers. He had only been given one option. To eat the heart of a full-fledged angel and thus be granted immortality. If not, he would slowly die and go straight to the depths of hell.

Sasuke looked hungrily at the girl. It was his luck that an angel would appear before him to save him only to later be consumed by him. No, it wasn't luck. It was a miracle. Angels were not allowed to mingle amongst the living and could only watch from above. The one time they were able to cross the fine line that separated the living from the heavens was when a dying person was in need of a miracle. Then an angel can come down to grant the person their last dying wish.

He smirked. Normally, mortal humans cannot see angels until that miracle was to occur. But as a demon, his powers allowed him to see angels regardless of the miracle. He had been scouring for weeks to find angels performing miracles in the cities. He visited hospitals and accident sites in hopes to catch an angel at their work. It was kind of ironic that he would only come to see one when he was the one about to die.

The girl was peering at him now as she waved a hand in front of him to break his thoughts. "Soo, what is your dying wish?"

He smiled smugly. How should he phrase it for the best impact right before he grabbed her heart from her chest?

Then he noticed something strange. This girl in front of him looked like a normal girl. He can tell she was an angel but something was missing. He couldn't put his finger to it.

"W-where are your wings?" he blurted out. A full-fledged angel would have wings. But this girl didn't. Not even the slightest. Not even fake ones from the dollar store. He turned her around to look at her back. Nope, no wings. Were they hidden? Can angels do that?

"U-uh," she started with an embarrassed smile on her face. "Y-you see… I'm not exactly a full-fledged angel." She stuck out her tongue shyly. "I-I didn't pass the final test to become one." Sakura hung her head. "In fact, I think this is the 33rd time I failed."

Sasuke couldn't believe it. Of all angels he had to get, it was one with a track record of failing. She wasn't a full-fledged angel which meant her heart was useless to him. He was so mad, he could just kill himself. He collapsed back down on the ground in despair. He would have at most a week more to live as this incompetent angel of his would follow him around to grant his last dying wish. Maybe he should wish to die today so that his misery would end.

He wish he could ask for his immortality but angels do not grant such wishes. After all, this angel thinks he is a human. She was probably waiting for a request such as 'take care of my ailing mother' or 'help me confess to my crush before I go'. He sighed. It was pathetic. It was as if death was already mocking him by sending him a useless angel.

Sakura followed him around all day and night as she pestered him for what his last dying wish was. She followed him up to his small apartment and perched herself right on the couch. He told her that the neighbors will give him strange looks if she keeps staying inside her house. She told him that only he could see her so it didn't matter. She wasn't going to leave until she heard his last request. He sighed. Not only was she useless, she was also damned annoying.

He went out to the hospitals the next day and she followed him. She kept pandering at him to explain why he was going to hospital after hospital. He didn't answer her as he shoved his hands in his pockets and continued on with his search. If he had a week left then he was going to try his hardest to find a full-fledged angel.

He wondered if she could bring him to her angel friends. "Hey, are there other angels around here besides you?" he asked as he turned to her. They were in the parking lot of the hospital and it was empty except for the two of them.

"Hospitals usually have a lot of people wishing for miracles. But the thing is, it's usually not made by the dying person. Maybe a family member or a loved one. So, us angels don't usually frequent the hospitals."

Sasuke clenched his fists. He had been searching in the wrong places this whole time?

"Then what the hell good are you for?" he yelled.

Sakura looked taken aback. "Why?" she asked. "Why do you ask? You got your miracle though! You had the courage to wish to live even though you knew you were dying! Most times, the hospital patients seem to have accept that they are dying and they don't wish for anything more beyond that." She glanced sadly at her hands. "Even though they have a lot of last wishes, they are usually selfless such as wishing for their families to be able to move on without them. Even though we can hear their thoughts, we can't do anything because we can't cross the boundary line that separates us. So to hear them wish for a miracle is a miracle in itself."

Sakura closed her eyes as she clasped her hands together. She looked like she was about to cry from the tears brimming at her eyes. "I understand it may seem like we are useless because we aren't able to grant all those wishes! But trust me, I'll do my best to grant your last wish Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke sighed. That wasn't exactly the answer he was going for.

For the rest of the week, she followed him everywhere again and continued to pester him about his request. She babbled on and on about useless matters and eventually seemed to have told him her whole life story when she couldn't get any information out of him. It turned out that she died less than a year ago when she rescued her friend from a fire. She had ran into the burning house to drag him outside. He fought to go back inside because the picture of his parents was still in his room. He was an orphan so the picture meant a lot to him. Sakura promised to get it for him since he had injured his leg. But when she ran back inside the second time, it was already too late for her to leave. She found the picture and threw the framed photo outside the window, hoping it would land far away from the burning house. The flames were already growing too strong and she had succumbed to the fumes.

Sasuke glanced out the window as he listened to her story. It was gruesome almost. To hear how she died. Sakura continued on and said that she had wished for a miracle as well. Somehow, she got more than she bargained for when she was given the chance to become an angel.

"Tsunade-sama! She's my mentor and the Goddess of the Heavens. Many of the angels refer to her as Hime-sama though. She's so kind! Even though she always fails me for the last test! She keeps telling me that I will know the moment I pass. Like what does that even mean?"

Sakura babbled on and on some more. She seemed to jump subjects and topics multiple times and Sasuke could hardly keep up with her self-conversation. He said nothing as he got up from his seat inside the coffeehouse. If he said anything, customers were going to look at him and think he was strange for talking to himself.

He left the coffeehouse as he glanced up into the sky. It was almost sundown and he could sense that his time was coming. After being given a miracle, he still hadn't found what he needed.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura called out from behind him.

He turned around. She stood there on the sidewalk with a shy expression on her face. "U-um, Sasuke-kun," she repeated again. "It's been really fun for me to spend all this time with you this past week. Even though… even though you're dying… it is a bit selfish of me to say that I've been having fun by myself. But I come to notice that even as much as you shut yourself out from the world, you have a beautiful soul and a caring heart."

He wasn't sure what she was saying. Him? A beautiful soul? A caring heart? He was a demon. He had no heart. Her words seem to almost be taunting him with the fact that an angel is telling him that he had a heart.

"Sasuke-kun," she said for the third time. She ran up to him as she stood a foot away from him. "I-I think I love you."

He was shocked. What in the world is happening? Is she confessing? Is she about to…

Then she did it. She leaned in and kissed him on the lips. He was stunned as he stood there with an angel planted against him. The world seemed to have stopped as his eyes widened in shock. He got a hold of himself as he pulled himself away and brought a hand to his lips.

"W-what was that?" he sputtered out.

She looked at him shyly as she blushed. "Sorry, I got caught in the moment and wanted to see what a kiss felt like."

She was using him. As a guinea pig. For kissing. His stomach churned. He was a demon but he got played by a lowly angel. Sasuke winced as he felt a sharp pain in his chest. The sun was beginning to set. He was about to die.

Sakura must have realized something was wrong because she rushed back over to Sasuke's side as he fell to the ground. "Sasuke!" she cried out as she held his hand.

He winced again as he squeezed her hand and closed his eyes shut. The pain was getting to be almost unbearable. Sakura cried as she continued to yell out his name over and over. He could feel tears falling down on his face. They were Sakura's tears. "Tell me Sasuke! Tell me your last wish!" Sakura shouted.

"G-give me… your heart."

Sakura froze. Was he confessing to her? Was his last wish to be with her?

She glanced down at her heart. Her body was glowing. And she knew. She finally knew what Tsunade-sama meant by knowing when she will pass the last test. She clutched at her heart. This feeling inside of her. The feeling of love. That's right. She finally passed to become a full-fledged angel. She fell in love for the first time in her life. Even though the person she loved was dying right before her. It wasn't fair.

"Yes," she whispered as she buried her head on Sasuke's chest. "I'll give you my heart because I love you."

Sasuke groaned despite the pain surging through his body. Sakura didn't quite understand the literal meaning behind his words. He opened his eyes as he glanced at Sakura. There was a strange pink glow surrounding her. Then he saw it. Expansive white angelic wings. She had turned into a full-fledged angel.

It was a miracle after all. He raised his left hand. Now, all he had to do was grab her heart and then he could become immortal. But as he reached up towards her, his hand couldn't do it. He looked at his hand in shock. Why was it not moving the way he wanted?

He flinched as another shock of pain came at him. He had to do this now. Before it was too late for him. But he couldn't. Once again, his hand refused to move. His mind raced as to why. Did he perhaps turn to the dark side? Was he, a mortal demon, falling as well for an angel? Why was it? Was it her talkative nature that never would shut up? Or the way she cried when she found herself helpless in her role as an angel? Or how she sacrificed her life to save a friend? Or maybe it was the way she was crying into his chest right now and saying over and over that she loves him.

I hate this. The words repeated over and over in his head. She had an effect on him. On his mortal side that still yearned to live as a human. His demon side must have slowly been fading this whole time. He could feel his powers crumbling inside.

"Sakura," he uttered out. Sakura glanced up as she hiccupped between her now quiet sobs.

"I'm a demon," he confessed. If she was going to insist that she loves him, she might as well hear the truth now. So that she can take back her words and not feel regretful that she had fallen for a demon. Angels and demons do not belong together. It was a fact of life.

Sakura's eyes widened at his revelation. "S-so, you really did want my heart. Literally."

He nodded as he closed his eyes. "But my last wish…is that you live."

The words stunned Sakura as she heard him say it. He wanted her to live? That meant he didn't want to take her heart anymore? But in doing so, he would be given the chance to live again and be immortal. She didn't understand.

Sakura wiped away her tears. She looked down at her heart again. It was faintly glowing inside of her as it responded to her every thought and feeling. If I give this to him, he would live, right?

With no ounce of regret, she reached inside herself to remove her heart. It glowed and looked more like a glowing pink mineral than an actual heart. She slowly placed it on top of Sasuke's chest as the heart was inserted inside of him. Her body slowly collapsed on top of his. She didn't care that he was a demon. To her, he was Sasuke. That was all that mattered to her. She loved him even to her last dying breath. She knew though that her sacrifice would mean her end as an angel. To deny the person of their last wish and go against it would mean she would be sent to limbo. It was a punishment for any angel to defy the rule. Her eyes closed. It was okay though. Because Sasuke was going to live.

He saw a light at the end. Was this it? He opened his eyes slowly. The sky was a shade of orange and dark blue. He felt the hard ground beneath him. To the left and right of him, it looked like the same alleyway as he was in before. Was hell like this? A boring version of Earth? Where were the flames and pits of doom?

He felt a heavy weight on his body. He glanced down as he slowly lifted his head up. Sakura was lying still on top of him. His eyes widened as he turned her over to her side and shook her gently. "Sakura!" he yelled out. She gave no response and remained still as her face was an ashy white.

He brought one hand up to his chest as he felt his chest. His heart. It was beating. He had a heart. He had a beating heart. Which meant…

He looked at Sakura as the realization sank in. She had sacrifice her life again. This time, for him. He let out a scream. "FUCK!" he yelled as the reality set in deeper. She gave him his heart. Even though that meant she would die. She would die and go to limbo. Why was she so stupid? Why couldn't she just listen to his dying request?

A light appeared as someone appeared in front of them. A dark wind blew past as another being showed up. It was Orochimaru.

"Well, Tsunade, it looks like I win the bet," Orochimaru chuckled as he held out a hand to the woman in front of him.

The woman named Tsunade only looked down in annoyance as she took out a pouch of coins from her clothes before handing it over to Orochimaru.

"Dammit Sakura," she muttered.

Sasuke could only blink in surprise. What was the meaning of all this?

"Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru called out with a slight hiss. "Seems like you completed your task and gained full immortality. You are no longer a mortal demon." Orochimaru walked up towards him as he bent down and removed the cursed seal from Sasuke's neck. "But," he continued. "You did a foolish thing in giving your last wish in wanting to save the girl. Your heart has been corrupted by this thing called love. So I guess you have to die anyways."

"Wait!" Tsunade barked out. "He was selfless in his request. As stated in the rules under Section 8b, he is allowed a second chance at life as a mortal human."

"There was such a rule?" Orochimaru asked as he got up.

"But, however, Sakura has failed her role as an angel and did not grant Sasuke's last wish. Therefore, she is bounded to go to limbo where she will spend all of eternity," Tsunade continued.

"How cruel," Orochimaru murmured. "But, his last wish was special since he wished her to live. She was selfless and sacrificed herself to save him. Doesn't that also fall under the rules of Section 8b?"

Tsunade smiled. "So I guess Sakura will also get a second chance at life as a mortal human."

Sasuke couldn't believe it. He and Sakura were granted another chance? To be human?

Tsunade cleared her throat. "Hm, Orochimaru. Looks like the bet is nullified. Your student may have lived. But so did mine."

Orochimaru only narrowed his eyes as he tossed back the pouch of coins to Tsunade. "Next time, my dear." With that said, he disappeared in a haze of darkness.

Tsunade bent down as she crouched over her student before patting her on the head. "Take care of her," she said to Sasuke as she also disappeared but in a blinding, bright light.

Sasuke sat there stunned. He heard a small cough and saw Sakura open her eyes.

"Sakura!" he cried out again as he lifted her up so that she was resting against him.

"Sasuke-kun?" she asked in confusion. "What happened?"

He could only laugh as he hugged her. "Thank you," he whispered.

It was a miracle after all.