Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They all belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
Full Summary: War was something that brought out peoples most deep secrets. The Fourth Great Shinobi War was no exception. Sakura realizes it firsthand. "Is it as sin, smiling to suppress the pain?"-"When you hurt others doing so, yes."
"Naruto! Open your eyes! Naruto!"
He opened them.
A dark sky, littered with stars. The same he had contemplated with him and her. Once. Long ago. Oh, how they had been ignorant, that time. They thought that the world was black and white. They thought that they could achieve anything, if only they believed in it.
Children dreams.
He felt numb. Empty. Void.
A sigh of relief. He looked to his left, inwardly wincing at the pain the simple gesture brought him. The sight took his breath away.
She was beautiful.
So, so beautiful.
Her hair was cut short, oily and colored red from the blood she had shed. She was completely covered in the red liquid and it stood out against her ivory skin. She looked dirty and muddy and completely beaten. Black and blues, scratches, cuts, splinters, and whatnot. Gone was the fiery, determined spark from her apple green eyes. Instead, a dull and frightening myrtle that saw the worlds' ugliest secrets stared at him.
But to him, she was the most beautiful being in this world.
This awful world.
The same world that took everything he cherished.
The same world that leaved him broken and scarred and lost.
"I thought i lost you too."
The hoarse feminine voice made him grin. Just the corners of his lips turning up.
He felt so tired.
This world had drained everything from him.
He hated it.
He hated it with his whole heart, his whole soul. If he had anything left of them, that is.
"You lost me, Sakura."
His voice was hoarse and barely audible. Pathetic.
She appeared shocked. Because of his scaring words or the fact that he didn't add the suffix -chan to her name, he didn't know.
Probably never will.
"You lost me long ago." He whispered, more loud.
She dropped her head, forgetting that her hair was too short to cover her face. He didn't feel sorry for her. He didn't feel anything but hate.
Now, he knew how Sasuke had felt, for so many years.
Sasuke.
Killed in their final battle. By his own hands.
Just before his fight with Uchiha Madara.
But it was Sakura who ended the Immortal's life. He remembered how she had placed her petite hand on the enemies heart. How she had looked the Uchiha straight in the eyes. Muttered something, tears flowing down her pure face and simply sucked the life out of him.
"When you ignored me." Four years old.
That isn't true. Her parents beat her when they saw her talking to him. He had been the one who suggested to break their friendship.
"When you rejected me." Twelve years old.
She desperately wanted to love him but her heart had belonged to another, at the time. She didn't want to hurt him.
"When you left me." Thirteen years old. Seventeen years old. Nineteen years old.
He was the one who left her. First with Jiraiya and then for the War. He was the one who turned his back to her and walked away without looking back.
"When you hurt me." The whole fucking time.
They hurt each other equally.
She buried her face in her hands and let out a long wail.
It shattered his scarred heart.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Please, forgive me! Please! Kami, please! Forgive me! I'm sorry!" She begged while shaking her head like a crazed woman.
He tried to tune her out, tried to be cold, to not care. He couldn't.
He couldn't hurt her. He couldn't protect himself by letting her suffer. He couldn't do it.
Slowly, his hand reached out to touch her. The moment his fingers brushed her hands, she stopped. Hesitantly, she let them drop. He cupped her cheek and brushed his thumb on the bruise, just under her eye. Undecided, she closed her eyes and laid her own hand on his.
This time, he smiled. Just his eyes twinkling.
He loved her.
She was everything he had left.
"But, you found me, right?"
Angst, Hurt-Comfort, Tragedy, Romance, Friendship, Drama.
Prepare yourself for the most breathtaking Sakura-centered one-shots.
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