Title: Parting Words
Fandom: Naruto
Pairing/Characters: Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke
Warning(s): Spoilers, Gore, Character Death
Genre: Angst
Sakura only had so much energy to spare. The travel was long, their supplies were limited, and the amount of obstacles they faced were countless. Madara would not have Sasuke disposed of so easily, and there were many illusions they had to break themselves from. Naruto took it upon himself to be the one to take Sasuke's life, and Sakura took it upon herself to back him up. No one followed. They made a point to leave their path untraceable.
When Sasuke and Naruto finally met they faced off immediately. Very few words were exchanged, mostly fists. The battle was intense.
She was mesmerized, keeping a fair distance, but still kept them in sight. They were swift and held nothing back. With one last fire of Chidori and Rasengan they knocked each other back, and they were both soaked in blood.
Sakura didn't want either of them to die. She hoped for so long that they could save Sasuke, but they just couldn't. Sasuke expressed no desire to be saved and no intention of coming back to them; however, with his last gurgled, bloodied cough he turned to see Sakura approaching them. He was smiling, laughing even. It was maddening. His wounds were fatal, one of his eyes was blown out, and his internal organs were exposed to the world, gushing. The smile was so out of place, and she couldn't quite make out the exact words that rolled off his tongue, at least not all of them. "Naruto" was his only unmistakable parting word.
So Sakura invested all of her remaining energy into reviving Naruto, who was in a similar state as Sasuke. There was little hope, but she poured all of her being into him and prayed. There was no reason why they should both lose their lives. Even Sasuke agreed.
END