The battle had raged for days now and death was simply inevitable, even for the medic nin that had managed to save a few souls, she knew the situation within itself was a lost cause. The villages had lost everything and to say it all laid in ruins was putting it gently when in fact nothing but ash riddled their surroundings.
Sakura stayed by Naruto's side, both of their strengths fading while they continued to fight this no name enemy that had emerged from a self proclaimed village beyond any of the explored borders. She knew they'd die there; eventually her male companion would be taken down first with her soon to follow. She wanted to die, she wanted her eyes to close and to eternally be rid of the pain that tormented her soul and body that had made her heart brittle against her thickened exterior. She longed to be free of her emotional and physical distress; she had given her all in the fight and as her knees slammed into the disfigured earth she knew she could give no more. She hung her head in defeat, strands of her blushed hair slowly slipping down her cheekbones to conceal the single tear that dripped from her weary green eyes, her lips moving to utter one simple name before her departure.
"Sasuke…" She braced herself for the slow death that she was doomed to face, never raising her head to take in the image of her opponent. Her ears picked up on the clanking metal pieces that sliced through the air, no doubt in her mind that they were aimed for her and in her final moments she clutched her hands around her skirt strings and sucked what she presumed to be her final breath of air through clenched teeth. She cringed at the sound of metal skipping and sliding against flesh, but felt nothing admits the sounds she heard and hesitantly she opened her eyes to take in the image of her cherished comrade turned traitor.
There he kneeled, crouched on all fours while he braced himself against the rugged earth, a trickle of blood streaming from his clenched jaw and bared teeth. Her eyes grew with shock at the realization of what had happened and her face became etched with horror, her eyes scanning the Uchiha's body. His back had been riddled with weaponry and as if to insure the slaughtering, a solitary sword punctured his back and protruded through his abdomen. Sakura said nothing, her lips and tounge numb against the emotions that left her speechless.
He was the last person she ever expected to come to her aid, the last person she ever expected to see again on the battle field and last person she ever expected to die for her. She watched the life fade from his eyes, feeling helpless in her weakened and emotionally distraught state while tears filled her wavering eyes as she came to the undeniable realization of Sasuke's actions, he cared. She watched him crumble to the ground, those last moments with him and the shallow breaths he made becoming more precious to Sakura than all of her memories with him combined. And as he lay dying she did her best to ease his pain, her eyes scanning the destruction around her and in the wake of the Sasuke's death and the perished land that concealed no hope, she made her decision.
Skin braced against steel she took her own life with the sword that had stricken Sasuke lifeless, taking her final resting place next to his hallow corpse she delicately laced her fingers with his hands, finding comfort in the remaining warmth they still contained. Through her self inflicted pain and glazed expression she smiled and closed her weary eyes, finding unrequited bliss in the white noise that filled her mind against the last remanding pieces of human thought that floated through her blackening soul.
They were free…
AN: Dedication for this peice goes to Nami86 and her BEAUTIFUL devation "He Cares." Please visist her website at www. nami86 . deviantart. com (no spaces) and look for her devation titled "He Cares." All right belong to the orginal artist but this written peice belongs to me.