Spoiler warning: This one-shot contains SPOILERS from the manga till chapter 617! If you are not up to date DO NOT READ! YOU WILL BE SPOILED! YOU ARE WARNED!

Author's Note: It's funny how muses work... mine wouldn't stop nagging me about this small one-shot so I finally sat down and wrote it. Thanks to Sakura Meiko Uchiha for helping me out with it. The lyrics are from LiSA's version of Ichiban no Takaramono, from the anime Angel Beats. You can easily find it on youtube, I highly recommend you check out both the anime and the song.

..~**~..

Hitori demo yuku yo Tatoe tsurakute mo
Kimi to mita yume wa Kanarazu motteku yo
Kimi to ga yokatta Hoka no dare mo demo nai
Demo mezameta asa Kimi wa inain da ne

(Even if I'm alone, I'll go, even if it's difficult,
I'll definitely bring the dream I had with you.
I'm glad it was with you, and nobody else
But when I woke up in the morning, you weren't there.)

..~**~..

It was bad.

It was so, so bad.

Sakura didn't know how many hours she'd been fighting but it seemed no matter how many clones she pummeled to the ground, more and more kept coming.

And the Juubi – the damn monstrous demon wouldn't let up and every now and again showered them with deadly spikes.

Madara had been dealt with. Naruto and surprisingly Sasuke were fighting Obito. Now all Sakura could do was follow Kakashi's plan that a Suna nin had relayed to her and hope for the best.

At least seeing Sasuke fight alongside Naruto had considerably lifted her spirits. Even Kakashi's face seemed less worried since the missing member of team 7 had suddenly appeared. Sakura didn't know the reason why – she hadn't exactly had a moment to ask about it during all the fighting – but his unexpected arrival had been witnessed by most of the shinobi alliance.

At some point during Naruto and Obito's battle, the Uchiha had had the advantage and knocked the Kyuubi back across half the battlefield, causing Naruto to crash through clones and shinobi alike until his body skidded to a halt in the middle of the battle. Sakura had watched eyes wide with horror as her best friend tried to pick himself and failed. The yellow flames surrounding his body snuffed out as Obito appeared in the blink of an eye standing tall above him.

The blade of Obito's sword glinted as he lifted it above his head ready to strike down.

It was almost as if her worst nightmare had come to life - Naruto at the enemy's mercy and Sakura too damn far to do anything about it.

"NARUTO!"

Obito's blade swiped down but another blade swiftly intercepted it.

Uchiha Sasuke had appeared out of nowhere.

His Kusanagi repelled Obito and the older Uchiha fell back, just as surprised as the Alliance to see Sasuke show up and intervene in the battle. Sakura vividly remembered an incredible feeling rush through her as she watched with stunned green eyes Sasuke kneel beside Naruto and help the blond pick himself up.

The look on Naruto's face as he realised exactly who had saved him was priceless and brought tears of joy to Sakura's eyes.

However, the moment was short-lived as the Juubi above them roared in anger and showered the battlefield once more with his spikes.

Eventually, Kakashi, it seemed, had come up with a plan and spread the word among the shinobi. His plan was simple. Neutralise the Juubi and then hit it with everyone's deadliest jutsu in a simultaneous attack. It wasn't the most thought-out plan but then again Sakura knew they hadn't had much time to analyse the beast's weaknesses whilst fighting for their lives.

Kakashi had seen the effect of Bee's bijuudama. Although the chakra bomb hadn't outright killed the Juubi, it had still weakened it. The Alliance couldn't count on Bee or Naruto to repeat such a monstrous attack. Now all it could do was rally the strongest shinobi and hope that their most destructive attacks would finish the job.

Sakura stood to one side, ready to leap on the Juubi and aim for its head. If the Alliance hoped to succeed than aiming for the head made the most sense.

Kakashi gave the signal, chidori suddenly rippling around his arm and in a flash every shinobi sprang forward, jumping for the demon's head.

Sakura grit her teeth, summoning as much chakra as she could in her right fist until her entire arm lit up bright green. At the precise moment, her fist made contact with the demon and she released all the pent up chakra, watching almost in awe at the crater slowly forming around her fist.

Explosions and blinding lights surrounded her as every shinobi unleashed their attacks as one. The amount of energy that hit the Juubi was incredible and the backlash suddenly Sakura reeling backwards hard towards the battlefield. She caught herself just in time to see the Juubi roar once more in pain before staggering to the ground.

A cloud of dust uplifted from the ground, quickly engulfing the entire battlefield and causing Sakura to shut her eyes close. When she opened them again, she could barely see through the thick dust and even the Juubi's giant form was hidden from her.

Her heart raced inside her ribcage as she realised her vulnerable position and set out to find Kakashi and the others. As she stepped forward, however, she suddenly stumbled when an overwhelming dark chakra appeared ahead.

Gasping slightly, Sakura immediately recognised Obito's deadly aura.

Shouts and screams erupted all around her and Sakura whipped out a kunai, instantly alert. Obito, it seemed, had taken advantage of the giant cloud of dust to teleport through shinobi lines and kill all in his way.

The bastard!

Despite her anger, Sakura noticed the kunai in her hand begin to tremble and gripped it harder.

Damn it all, it was Obito Uchiha.

Obito Uchiha.

The man who had gathered the Akatsuki and declared war on the five great nations. The man who had been battling both Naruto and Sasuke and still wasn't dead. And now, not only was he killing her comrades, his chakra levels had skyrocketed to a whole new level, which Sakura knew could only mean one thing -

He was pissed.

The Juubi had been part of Obito's big plan and the Alliance had successfully brought it down. Obito's plan was thwarted and now he was out for revenge. And if he attacked her, Sakura knew she was screwed. He would slaughter her. She tried to control her breathing as she felt fear slowly creeping through her limbs, locking her in place.

I can do this, she repeated to herself like a mantra, fighting against the urge to run off blindly and no doubt getting herself killed. I can do this, I can – damn it, where the hell are Naruto and Sasuke?

Surely they would come after Obito. Hadn't they just been fighting him? Surely they wouldn't let the enemy slip away like that

Unless something happened to them… a small voice spoke up in the back of her mind, causing the fear to coil around her like a snake. Maybe Obito had already dealt with them… Naruto and Sasuke were already…

A spur of chakra suddenly erupted behind her and just in time, Sakura jumped to one side, narrowly avoiding the glinting blade of a sword.

Her heart beat frantically against her ribcage and blood rushed to her ears, shutting off all the screams and shouts. Sakura stared wide-eyed at the shinobi standing before her, wearing a purple, high-collared long sleeve mantle.

Obito glared back at her, his Sharingan and Rinnegan eyes narrowed in hate.

Sakura made sure not to make eye contact with the Uchiha before her, although she didn't know how much help that would be considering who she was facing.

"Haruno Sakura," he announced, his voice deep and rumbling. "The Hokage's apprentice and Kakashi's student."

The venom in his voice locked her in place.

"You attacked the Juubi," he continued, anger filtering through his voice. "You hit it at its weakest spot. Now you and this pathetic alliance will die."

Her heart jumped in her throat and Sakura barely had time to block as Obito closed the gap between them in an instant and swung his sword at her. Sakura pushed him back, jumping as far away from him as she could before swinging her fist to the ground in an attempt to force him to retreat.

However, she immediately realised her mistake when the giant crater forming around her, kicked up another cloud of dust in the air and turned her blind once more.

When Sakura opened her eyes again, Obito was nowhere to be seen. She couldn't sense him and time was running out. The cloud of dust would only last so long and Obito, she knew, would attack before it settled.

She needed to come up with some sort of plan before that. She needed to find a way to either fight him or escape.

However, she realised in a panic that Obito could attack from anywhere. Besides his teleportation skills, his time-space ninjutsu also made it possible for him to be intangible.

How the hell was she supposed to defend herself from someone like that?

Sakura felt her body break into a cold sweat. She knew she had very little chance of making it out alive. Since her training with Tsunade she had prided herself on becoming stonger. On being the best damn medic nin in Konoha following her mentor. People had done nothing but compliment her skills since she had become a chuunin. It was even thought she would surpass Tsunade one day.

But no matter how much she had grown or what people said, fighting against Obito was far beyond her skills. The man was on another level altogether.

Uchihas always were. There was no surpassing them.

A sudden shift in the air caused her to spin on her heel and her arm instinctively lashed out at the enemy behind her in a wide arc. Obito Uchiha's merciless eyes fixed Sakura as she watched in horror the blade of her kunai slash through the enemy's intangible neck.

A second passed.

A second in which Sakura foolishly looked into the Uchiha's eyes and saw all the hate, rage and pain buried within her enemy's soul.

A second in which Sakura realised she had been doomed from the start and this time around, no one would arrive to save her.

Then, Obito made his move and Sakura's eyes could barely keep up with his speed. One moment the Uchiha stood still before her; the next his hand had her shoulder in a tight grip whilst the other ran the length of his blade through her chest. The force of Obito's strike caused Sakura to stumble but his iron grip on her shoulder kept her in place.

Slowly, her eyes widened with shock and looked down at the result of his attack. Feeling numb, Sakura watched with morbid fascination as a stream of blood slowly trickled down the steel blade.

His blade.

Her blood.

Whoever once told her she would see her life flash before her eyes at that instant was an idiot. There were no flashes. No memories. Just the brutal and ugly realisation of her sudden situation.

The first thought that ran through Sakura's mind was that she couldn't feel any pain. A long sword had cleanly cut through her chest and yet she couldn't feel a thing.

Her second thought was that the sword had cut through her liver, sliced several ribs, important arteries and muscles and that it was going to be a total bitch to heal.

The thoughts stopped when Obito suddenly released his grip and viciously ripped the blade out with a grunt. Or maybe she had been the one to grunt? Whichever it was Sakura couldn't care less as excruciatingly pain ripped through her body and caused her to fall to her knees. A scream eventually tore through her mouth and her hand flew to her wound, glowing green, as she tried her best to soothe the pain with chakra.

"SAKURAAA!"

She heard a shout in the distance and vaguely recognised it as Naruto's.

The blood collecting in her hand soon overflowed and pooled beneath her. Sakura felt the world around her spin and very suddenly she had the urge to lie down and close her eyes.

Her body finally gave way but instantly two strong arms deftly caught her and carried her away in a blur. Sakura barely managed to keep her eyes open but when she did the sight gave her renewed strength.

Handsome aristocratic features framed by raven black hair.

She would recognise that face anywhere. It haunted her dreams almost every night.

"S-Sasuke… k-kun…"

He stopped, laying her gently down on the ground as shadows swarmed towards them. Sakura ignored her surroundings focusing only on the inky depths of Sasuke's eyes, showing a mixture of emotions so strong, it jolted her heart.

"Oh Kami, Sakura!" Ino's shriek distracted her and when Sakura looked back, Sasuke was gone.

Ino immediately appeared in his spot above her, a sudden green glow lighting up her face as she used the Mystical Palm technique. Sakura opened her mouth to speak but she coughed up blood instead, her body contorting in pain.

"Easy, Sakura, easy," a male voice spoke beside her, running a soothing hand through her pink locks. When Sakura looked up, she spotted Kakashi.

"Lie still," he told her, a deep frown on his face. "It's okay, we got you."

Sakura couldn't move even if she wanted to. Her limbs were unresponsive and she was struggling to keep herself awake again.

"Ino, how can we help?" a third voice whispered above that Sakura recognised as Shikamaru's.

"Find me Tsunade!" Ino said quickly, her eyes focused on her task. "Fine me Shizune, find me Hinata, hell just find me as many medic nins as you can!"

Instantly the crowd around her disappeared except for Ino and Kakashi, who stayed by her side.

"Ka…kakashi… sensei," Sakura croaked, suddenly hating the way her voice sounded. A sword had ran through her chest, she had lost too much blood already and it would be a miracle if she made it out alive, but she didn't want to die sounding so fucking pathetic and frail.

She didn't want to die sounding so weak.

"Sakura, don't talk," Ino whispered harshly.

"Kakashi… how many did he kill?" Her eyes silently pleaded with her sensei to tell her the truth.

"Almost a dozen," he answered honestly, his thumb stroking her forehead softly.

"Rookie nine?" she asked almost in a whisper and felt a wave of relief when he shook his head.

A high-pitched, piercing shrill could suddenly be heard in the distance and Sakura recognised the distinctive sound of Naruto's rasen shuriken.

"Kakashi…" she called softly, bringing his attention back to her. "Are they… are they kicking his ass?"

She could see his lips tug upwards through the mask. "What do you think?"

She smiled in return despite the pain as she imagined her two boys going all out to bring Obito down.

"They fucking better be!" Ino muttered, unable to look at the battle raging behind her as she concentrated on Sakura's wound. The pinkette was thankful her friend had managed to dim the pain down to a tolerable level and taken her drowsiness away.

They heard footsteps running towards them and Hinata appeared in Sakura's line of sight opposite Ino.

"Sakura!" she cried out, her hands immediately joining Ino's.

More footsteps accompanied hers.

"Where's Tsunade?" Ino asked confused, looking up behind Hinata.

"She's badly injured from fighting Madara," Shikamaru's voice answered quickly. "Shizune's taking care of her right now."

Sakura noticed a flash of panic cross her best friend's face before she glanced back down at her hands, her expression focused once again.

"It's okay, Forehead," she continued, her voice strong which Sakura knew she used when trying to reassure herself. "We can do this. Hinata-chan is here now, together we can heal you."

Sakura smiled at their determined faces as her chakra told her a different story. She probed the wound gently with the small amount of chakra she had left and quickly realised it was too much for the two medics to handle. The cut was too severe and the blood loss was too great no matter how Ino and Hinata tried to heal her. Part of her lung had also been punctured, which explained why it was so damn difficult for her to breathe.

At best she had twenty minutes left, give or take, before she bled out.

Kami, I'm going to die, Sakura thought numbly, her green eyes staring up into the sky above her. It seemed the giant cloud of dust had finally settled at some point and the gorgeous blue sky and bright sun were visible once again.

I'm only sixteen and I'm going to die.

She was living her last moments in this world and the injustice of it all was more painful than Obito ripping his sword from her chest.

She couldn't die now.

She had still so much left to do. So much left to say.

Yet all she could do was lie still and watch as her friends desperately tried to save her.

They had all lost so much already during the war. Ino had barely lost her father and now she would lose her best friend as well and it broke Sakura's heart thinking about it.

As for Naruto and Sasuke, they were still nowhere to be seen. And thinking that she might die before they could reach her…

Stop it! Don't think like that - they will make it, Sakura scolded herself. They will defeat Obito in time and come find me. I know it. I trust them. I just need to hold on.

She needed to be strong. She needed to be strong for her team, like Hinata, she realised as her gaze crossed the purple-haired beauty. She had been so strong after Neji's death. Standing by Naruto's side, giving him courage and heading straight into battle no matter how heavy her heart was.

Her love for Naruto had given Hinata strength it seemed. It was so obvious how much she loved him that Sakura felt a little better knowing someone would be there to look out for her idiotic best friend once she was gone.

Hinata would be there for him now and love him the way Sakura couldn't.

"Ne, Hinata…" Sakura spoke up, ignoring the raspy sound her voice was making as she struggled to swallow down the blood.

The Hyuuga heiress startled upon hearing Sakura's voice and turned to face her.

"Can you… p-promise me something?" Sakura continued softly, feeling Kakashi's hand lie still in her hair.

"Forehead, please don't talk," Ino pleaded with her, sudden tears in her eyes.

"Will you… will you make sure Naruto is happy… after I'm gone?" Sakura whispered, taking deep breaths as she spoke. Punctured lung or not, she'd be damned if she couldn't say everything she wanted to before dying. "I know m-my death… will hit him hard."

Panting, she kept her gaze on Hinata, who was trying her best not to cry despite her trembling chin.

"I promise you, Sakura," she finally answered, the resolve behind her pale eyes confirming her words.

Sakura smiled in relief and her eyes then flicked towards Ino, who caught her gaze.

"No, Forehead, don't say anything," her best friend started, furiously wiping the tears from her eyes before her hands glowed even brighter. "I won't let you die!"

"Ino," Shikamaru's quiet voice tried to reason with her, but the blonde stubbornly shook her head.

"No!" she screamed, her voice tight with emotion. "I won't let her die! I'm a medic nin for Kami's sake! What kind of person would I be if I let my own best friend die? Damn it, Sakura, I won't let you go – I have to save you, I have to –"

She stopped as Sakura used what little strength she had left to move her hand and catch Ino's glowing one.

"It's okay, Pig," Sakura said reassuringly, feeling blood fill her mouth again. "We both know it's too late."

Still staring down at their joined hands, Ino's face slowly began to crumble.

"You'll… you'll tell my parents… ne?" Sakura asked in a strained voice as she thought about her parents hidden away in a civilian camp somewhere, waiting for her return.

Ino nodded, unable to speak as she covered her mouth with her hand before bursting into choked sobs.

A sudden blinding white light illuminated their surroundings, followed by a loud explosion that caused everyone to jump.

Sakura remained still. She tried to call Kakashi's name but breath abruptly escaped her and she coughed badly instead, spitting up blood. Ino immediately placed her hands over Sakura's chest as Kakashi answered her unvoiced question.

"It's okay, Sakura," he reassured her. "The fight is over."

"I'm going to clear out the blood that's filled your lung already to help you breathe better," Ino explained in a small voice, her hands glowing again. "They'll be here soon and I know you'll want to talk to them."

Sakura nodded, her eyes expressing all the gratitude she couldn't say in words and Ino smiled sadly in return through her tears.

"Sensei…" Sakura whispered, her voice wheezing every time she took a breath. "You'll… look after everyone… won't you?"

Before Kakashi had a chance to answer, she coughed again more violently this time as the blood amassed in her lungs came out. She knew it was the only way for Ino to clear her collapsed lung but it still hurt like a bitch and it scared her to see such large amounts of dark fluid spill from her mouth. Every breath was a struggle as she heaved the blood out, her head turned to one side as Ino and Kakashi helped her as best they could.

Finally the assault lessened and Sakura could suddenly breathe deeply again.

"Sakura… chan..." a quiet voice spoke and when Sakura looked up, she caught Naruto's shocked expression.

She watched anxiously as his wide eyes took in the sight before him. She tried her best to smile at him as Ino gently wiped off the blood from her chin. Naruto's clothes were torn and sullied and his body showed all the signs of his battle against Obito. His blue eyes, however, were bright and stood out against his stained face.

Sasuke, from what Sakura could tell, stood to the side and out of her line of sight.

"I don't… I don't understand. What's happening?" Naruto stammered, his voice small and hurt. After a moment, he finally seemed to notice everyone around them and his face immediately darkened. "What are you all doing standing around? Why aren't you helping her?"

"Dobe -"

He ignored Sasuke, his voice resonating loudly among the silent circle of friends. "Where's Baa-chan? Why isn't she here? Did anyone even try to find her? Where are the other medic nin? Damn it, why the hell isn't anyone helping Sakura?!"

"Naruto," Kakashi cut in, his voice unusually strained and immediately catching the blond's attention. "Tsunade's injured after battling Madara. We did what we could but… Sakura doesn't have much time."

Naruto's blue eyes widened, his mouth opened slightly in shock as the inevitable dawned upon him.

"No..." he whispered, his shoulders starting to shake as he stepped forward and knelt beside Sakura.

"Naruto," Sakura called out softly to him, tears forming in her eyes as she caught the devastated look on his face.

"Sakura-chan," he spoke, his voice shaking as he gently held her shoulders. "You can't die… you can't! Teme and I… we defeated Obito. The war is over. We can all go home now, Sakura-chan, we can all…

His voice cracked and Sakura watched as he slowly fell to pieces. He shook uncontrollably before he slammed his fist hard on the ground beside him, a cry of anguish suddenly escaping his lips. After several moments of dry sobbing, his head slumped forward in defeat and his eyes shut tight as tears finally leaked down his whiskered cheeks.

Sakura hadn't seen him cry like this since Gaara's death. The vulnerability in his voice and the hopelessness written across his face crushed her heart and made her wonder how she could ever find the words to ease his pain.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto gasped, his voice broken and desperate as his warm tears fell on her face and neck. "Please... don't die..."

Her hands moved on their own accord gently cupping his face and slowly stroking his cheeks. She could feel the tension in his jaw as he tried to keep the tears from falling.

"It's okay…" she coaxed him softly. "Hey… Naruto… it's o-okay."

She panted slightly and stared straight into his bright blue eyes as they connected with her own.

"I can't lose you as well…" he breathed, his voice barely above a whisper, "Please… Sakura-chan… I can't do this without you."

"Yes… you can," she assured him, ignoring the hoarse sound of her voice as she spoke in low tones. "You are… the strongest p-person… I k-know, Naruto."

His eyes widened slightly at her words and Sakura breathed hard as she continued to stare into his face. She could feel her voice tighten with emotion but if she broke down now, she knew she wouldn't be able to say everything she wanted – needed to say.

"You st-stopped Obito… you won the war… you b-believed in Sasuke… no matter what… and he c-came back… and one d-day…" She smiled at him as tears blurred the world around her. "One day…y-you will make a great Hokage... Uzumaki Naruto…"

Naruto's face crumpled as tears spilled freely from his brilliant blue eyes. "Sakura-chan…"

Sakura smiled sadly at him through her tears. "I only regret… that I won't see you… f-fulfil your dream… Protect our village, N-Naruto… Live… and be happy… f-for me."

He clutched her hands in his own, kissing them gently before nodding at her words.

After speaking so much, breathing became unbearable for Sakura and she started to cough again, blood trickling from her mouth and lips. If Ino hadn't intervened before she knew she would have been dead by now and she silently thanked her best friend for giving her these few more minutes with her teammates.

"Sa-Sasuke…?" Sakura asked, her entire body beginning to tremble slightly as blood filled her lung once more.

"I'm here," his deep voice spoke close to her and raven hair entered her line of sight. Sakura realised that at some point he must have traded places with Ino.

Slowly, she turned her head to face him and her green eyes drank in the sight. It had been so long since she had been able to him - the real Sasuke - without all the anger and darkness distorting his handsome face.

"You're back…" she whispered, smiling for him the way she used to.

"Aa," he responded in kind, his strong hand reaching for her face and wiping the traces of blood away.

After three years of chasing Sasuke with Naruto, Sakura never thought this would be the final outcome. She cursed her bad luck and timing. It simply wasn't fair that the day they finally got him back would also be the day that she died.

"I'm s-sorry… I tried... to kill y-you," she continued, gasping for breath as she spoke.

His brows furrowed, his dark, unreadable eyes watching her closely. "Sakura…"

"Do you… r-remember… the night you l-left?"

She caught the glimpse of guilt and regret in his eyes and used the last of her strength to move her hand and clasp it tightly around his own still holding her face.

"I didn't w-want you… to be alone… Sasuke-kun…" she whispered softly.

Her green eyes stared right into his, flicking back and forth slightly as, in her last moments, she tried her best to convey all the words she couldn't say.

"All I ever w-wanted… was for you… to be happy… to f-find peace…"

She trailed off, desperate to fight off the pain shooting through her body and failing. She winced, breathing harshly through her mouth. She felt Sasuke's hand caress her face and looked up to find his obsidian eyes unguarded, betraying his concern for her and were those… tears?

"Sasuke…" She struggled, choking on her own blood, but keeping her smiling eyes fastened to his one last time. "Thank you… Now… t-team seven… is finally… w-whole again."

She smiled as best she could as her vision began tunneling around the faces of Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi.

Her teammates, her friends, her family.

And slowly, very slowly, her bright eyes dimmed and her smile faded.

There was nothing Kakashi could do but look on with a sombre face as Naruto cried out Sakura's name in despair whilst Sasuke silently cradled her body in his arms and buried his face in her neck.

Team seven had finally been reunited – if only for one day.

The End

..~**~..

Hitori demo yuku yo Shinitaku natte mo
Koe ga kikoeru yo Shinde wa ikenai to
Tatoe tsurakute mo Sabishisa ni naite mo
Kokoro no oku ni wa Nukumori wo kanjiru yo

(Even if I'm alone, I'll go, even if I want to die,
I can hear your voice; saying I shouldn't die.
Even if it's difficult, even if I'm crying in sadness,
I can feel warmth from deep inside my heart. )

..~**~..

I know, I'm terrible - I killed Sakura. Forgive me? I highly doubt Kishimoto would ever kill her off but yeah... it's pretty sad imagining any member of team 7 dying, although I have a feeling Sasuke might die at some point in order to protect Naruto and thus redeem himself.

This was very hard to write for me, especially Sakura and Naruto's last moment. I didn't think Sakura telling Sasuke out loud that she loved him really fit... for me, everything she needed to tell him she said through her eyes. Besides he already knew her feelings for him.

Thank you all for reading this. All comments and reviews are more than welcome :)