Protection
by Original Blue
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Sakura didn't think it would hurt this much.
Dying.
Feeling the blood seep between her fingers as she tried not to collapse from the pain. Someone, Naruto, she realized vaguely, was shouting at her. She closed her eyes. Maybe if she could finally stop hurting him he would mourn her.
She felt her lungs contract sharply as her body expelled the blood pooling in her lungs. The cough that spattered blood from her lips hurt more than the original strike, if that was possible. Again, she was dimly aware of screaming. She smiled slightly, feeling herself fall to her bruised knees.
Death was a constant companion in her area of specialty. She'd seen countless shinobi and civilians die in her arms, and the knowledge still left her speechless.
This was it, she guessed. It was too bad she'd never gotten to see Naruto become Hokage.
The darkness lurking on the edges of her mind swallowed her whole, letting her drown in her last glimpse of a world that was stained red.
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Naruto couldn't stop shouting as he saw the katana heading for her unprotected back. She was healing Konohamaru, green eyes focused on the chunin beneath her glowing palms. There was no chance to stop it, no time.
He saw the blade enter her flesh. He saw her eyes flicker, almost in greeting to the familiar sensation.
His feet carried him faster than he'd ever run before, feeling the same wrenching pain in his gut that he experienced whenever she was injured. But he wasn't fast enough. He was never fast enough. Not fast enough to catch Sasuke and too slow to reach Sakura. He was never where he needed to be.
He slid to Sakura's side as she hit the ground, life pouring from a hole two inches below her heart. He was crying, words howling from his mouth as he felt a familiar presence behind him. He snarled up at the third member of their team – who was he to be with her? – but there was no need. He was just standing there, scarlet eyes wide and frozen, unable to look away as Sakura's eyes fluttered shut.
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Sasuke hadn't considered the idea that Sakura might die on this mission. It was S-Class, but he and Naruto were there. They were supposed to protect her.
But he felt helpless and hopeless, the world roaring in his ears. Her heart was beating erratically, skipping beats and stuttering as blood coursed over her lips.
It was his family all over again, because that's what Naruto and Sakura had become – his family. He had to keep her alive.
Trying to settle his own pounding pulse, he raised a hand and gathered chakra. The lightning came quickly. He folded it into his grasp, charging the chidori with everything he had, and plunging it towards her still form. He could do it, he could save her–
No.
His hand stopped a hair's breadth from her wound.
No.
This much could wake her up and then kill her all over again. He focused his chakra into a dense, tight burst and pressed his fingertips to her ravaged skin. Her features lit eerily in the electric glow, mouth opening in a silent shriek, and then he heard it. Her heart, thudding once more against her fragile ribcage, even as Naruto fought to apply what little healing jutsu he knew. Sasuke prayed it would be enough.
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Sakura woke up, unexpectedly. She had a slight headache, and she felt like she'd been kicked by a mule, but she was alive, and on the whole that was more than she had hoped for.
Seeing her teammates slumped in chairs next to her hospital bed, she smiled weakly. "Naruto. Sasuke."
They woke immediately. She saw that coarse red circles surrounded their eyes and fought the urge to start crying herself; she had something to say before the tears could flood her sight.
Breath stirring on her lips, she looked at them with her heartbreaking candy–colored eyes.
"Thank you," -for saving me, for being there, for healing my wounds, for loving me, for keeping me, for needing me, for helping me- "Thank you so much."
And then, despite her best intentions, she started crying into her sheets, laughing and thanking Kami for teammates who could protect her from death.