A/N: Don't own don't sue, everyone's happy unless you're a lawyer
Chapter 1
NOO! This wasn't fair. It wasn't supposed to be him. They were supposed to be happy, not overcome with so much anger that everything around her had been broken. Even the boy lying in front of her was broken. She wanted to scream, to do something about this, but no matter what she did, it didn't help. It will never be enough.
Tears rolled down the pink haired kunoichi's cheeks. There was nothing worth living for anymore. Nothing worth so much suffering had ever existed. Death was the only peace left in this world. Chaos, destruction, fear, and anger... sufferings, joys, triumphs, and pain. What else was there? Joys and triumphs weren't enough. Triumph of killing another person was not peace. Joy was only a sad attempt to show the world as a lie. There was no joy in this world, only fools stupid enough to believe that something better existed.
Sakura stared at the body in front of her. The boy she had loved had poured her heart out to, was gone. Why him? Why him? Why? What had Sasuke done to deserve this much suffering? So what if he left the village? Who cared? He had come back with Orochimaru's corpse. He had proved that he really cared about someone besides himself. If setting free the entire Sound Village, killing the man who had destroyed so many people, and returning with the corpse of his brother wasn't enough to undo his betrayal to Konoha, then what was?
"Sakura!" She heard the call, but ignored it. Tears flowed onto the seventeen-year-old body, never to age again. There was a peace about him, but it wasn't enough for Sakura to feel comforted. She had never gotten over the childish crush.
Looking up through her tears, Sakura found that the sun was setting. Sunset had always been her favorite time. Everything was peaceful and quiet. A calming aura surrounded the world at sunset, but all Sakura felt was cold. Cold hearted to Sasuke's killers, cold like death had encased her, never allowing her to leave its grasp.
Sasuke! She had shouted, but it was too late. The kunai hit its target. Sasuke coughed once, twice before collapsing. The dagger like knife protruded from his back. The fire in his eyes extinguished and a cold grey look took over.
-Flashback-
Sakura kicked at Kakashi. The jounin ducked laughing. "You can do better than that. Come at me with all you've got if you want to win."
The girl punched. Again Kakashi laughed. "Try something different."
Now it was Sakura's turn to laugh. "I did." It was then that the man realized he couldn't move.
"Paralysis jutsu, very good," Kakashi muttered.
"I couldn't hear that last part could you speak up a little bit?" Sakura smiled at the look of anger she had received from her sensei.
"Kai." The paralysis jutsu slowly released him. Flexing his fingers, he turned to watch Naruto and Sasuke spar. They kicked and punched at each other. Neither was winning, but neither was losing.
A small movement in the bushes had caught Sakura's eyes and she followed the kunai.
"Sasuke!" she shouted, but it was too late. Coughing twice, he fell to the ground. Naruto stepped back in horror as Sakura and Kakashi raced over.
Death had enveloped Sasuke's body, never to breathe, never to fight, never to live again.
---
Sakura held on to the memories she had left. They slipped away like grains of sand in her palm. She slipped into insanity. There was no way out. There was no other way than death. Everyone died, so why try to live?
Kakashi called her name softly once more. There was still no response from the crying kunoichi. A true shinobi never lets their emotions show. Emotions are a weakness and no ninja can afford to be weak.
The words echoing in her head meant nothing. Any bits of sanity Sakura still contained were slowly deteriorating. Crying out in anger, she slammed her fist into the ground. Again and again, until Kakashi had run up and grabbed her fist. She tried wrenching it from his grasp, but his grip only became firmer.
Turning around and punching her sensei, she ripped her wrist out of his hand and sprinted off.
Kakashi stared after her before looking down. Sitting on the ground, he reached for the deceased chuunin. Putting his fingers on Sasuke's eyelids, he closed them. It had finally hit him. Fighting back tears, Kakashi picked up Sasuke's body and walked out of the training grounds.
---
Sakura lay in bed staring at her ceiling. The tears never ended. Her pillow was damp along with the bed covers around her. She sat up and threw her pillow at the wall. She screamed with frustration. Aggravation coursed through her body. Retching over the side of her bed, Sakura fell into darkness.
---
Naruto sat on his stool at Ichiraku Ramen with his head on the counter. Fighting back tears took all of his willpower as he remembered his best friend. They had gotten off to a rocky start, but when Sasuke had come back on bended knee, begging for forgiveness, they began to click.
Every so often, they went out for ramen and almost every Friday they had spent at a bar. The two had become closer and closer, until their bickering was considered brotherly. Sakura had thought it funny when she had come to the bars with them. The three friends had become a family and any crushes were no longer. Each felt like they needed to protect the other, but now, now the family was one member short.
---
Kakashi knocked on Sakura's door. He had already been to comfort Naruto even though he was sure it didn't work.
When there was no answer, Kakashi began pounding harder.
"GO AWAY!" If that wasn't a sign to turn around and leave her alone, he didn't know what was. But for some reason, he ignored it. He needed to make sure that she was all right. He had to know how she was holding up, because he was cracking. It was to comfort himself as much as her, so he continued knocking
The door was wrenched open so hard, Kakashi was surprised that it stayed on its hinges. "I'VE TOLD YOU ONCE TO LEAVE ME ALONE! GO AWAY!"
The door was almost closed when a foot stopped it. Sakura pulled the door back kicked Kakashi's foot out of the way, and slammed it shut.
Kakashi looked down. There was something different about Sakura. Something was missing. He remembered the glare in her eyes. There was no fire, no hope left in them. She was dead.
He knocked again, semiconsciously. This time the response did split the door of the hinges. It slammed into a wall, with drywall pieces falling to the ground.
"WHAT?" Sakura screamed.
"Want to go train?" Kakashi's attempt to cheer her up had been lame in the first place, but this was just plain stupid. She wasn't going to say yes to some foolish question like that, was she?
"No," she said, simply. She picked up the door and put it back where it was supposed to go. She bolted the door and started replacing the screws. The drywall, she couldn't do anything about so it was just going to remain like that until someone decided to fix it for free. So it was going to stay like that forever.
Kakashi turned away disgusted at his sad attempts to lighten a broken girl's mood. Shuffling his feet, he finally walked away.
---
Naruto screamed, cleaving at the logs in front of him with his elongated nails. Red chakra coursed through his body and his eyes were bloodshot. Scarlet roses crumpled beneath his feet as the nine-tailed fox overcame the boy.
Ashes floated to the ground when a sudden burst of chakra poured out of his claw-like fingers.
Hinata turned away and ran through the trees grateful Naruto hadn't noticed her. She felt his pain and she wanted to comfort him, but no words worth saying appeared in her mind. Letting Naruto destroy everything that got in his way, she ran back to the village.
No! This isn't fair! This wasn't supposed to happen! He was supposed to be accepted not killed. Whoever had done this will need a good explanation to survive my wrath. I kill him. I'LL KILL HIM! He shouted the last words. His voice was low and raspy as he took that oath. He drove another fist into the wood. It shattered into a pile of splinters. He didn't pull his hand back as he surrendered to the darkness.
---
Tsunade's eyes were filling with tears, but she fought them back easily. She still hadn't trusted the Uchiha boy completely, but to die to be murdered, there was no honor in that death. She wanted to rip off the homicidal maniac's head, but she knew that the sweet taste of revenge would be short lived.
She had become something like a mother to team 7, even Sasuke. She wanted to make sure that no more suffering had come their way. What a foolish promise. She knew that she couldn't stop people from suffering, only prolong their peace. There was no way that anyone could really believe that Tsunade felt the pain team 7 was experiencing. No one would understand that team 7 considered her their mother. Team 7 was suffering and so was she.
---
The village as a whole had a completely different reaction. Most people were laughing and going on with their lives. Very few people felt remorse as they watched team 7 walk by. Naruto and Sakura stared loathingly at the merry villagers surrounding them, mocking their feelings, laughing at their pain. Had it been up to them, they never would have left their apartments.
Kakashi walked behind them careful not to be conspicuous about his anger toward the laughter and excitement. The three walked up to Ichiraku Ramen.
Shooing some people away, Teuchi made room for Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi. He brought out three bowls of ramen and dragged a stool up to sit in front of the suffering family.
The bowls of food were ignored as they stared at the wooden counter, each vowing revenge. Not a word passed through their lips and no tear was shed. They were beyond feeling sorry; they wanted to see Sasuke's killer dead.
The ramen shop owner let them keep their quiet. He didn't want to disturb them.
They were suffering so much. They had experienced too much pain and death for even a ninja. It was suffocating to know that nothing would help them; nothing could be even remotely cheering. They were dead to the world and nothing could bring them back.
---
Kakashi felt guilty as he took another swig of sake. So this was the only way he could drown his sorrows, by getting drunk? How he had fallen over the years. Despicable to show that Hatake Kakashi was falling so much.
Gai, Genma, and Anko sat around him. Kurenai and Asuma walked back to their table carrying another bottle of sake. They set it down and looked up at their friend.
His head had fallen to the table with a soft thunk. The group of jounin stared at Kakashi. They had never seen their friend show self-pity. He hated any pity that came his way. It made him feel weak and scorned.
Kurenai and Anko poked him. No response was given. In return, they shook him. He wrenched his shoulder from their grasp and continued sulking. His self-pity disgusted himself, but he didn't raise his head. He didn't want to show anyone his shame, his tears.
No longer could he hold it in. He sprinted out of the bar and ran to a small oak tree he had dubbed his own. To his horror, Sakura was sitting in his spot, pouring out her sorrow, shedding tear after tear. He had to be strong for her, for himself, but he couldn't. There was no way he could stop his pain from showing.
Something warm slid down his cheek. Reaching up he wiped the tear from his cheek. Kakashi recoiled. He hadn't cried since he was four years old. Why now? He shook himself, but it didn't help.
Ashamed, the silver haired shinobi sat at the base of the tree and hid his head in his hands. Tears rolled silently down his cheeks. He cried for the fourth Hokage, for Obito and Rin, and for Sasuke. They were his friends and they all had died. He could do nothing to help them they were gone forever.
Discontent was etched on his face when Sakura finally looked down. She saw the tears between his fingers. Breaking down completely, Sakura jumped down and hugged her sensei.
---
Naruto looked out the window of his apartment, moaning. He whispered the name of his friend, the name of his eternal rival, the name of his brother.
"Sasuke." That name had always been in his mind. It pushed him to limits unknown when he thought of that name.
"Sasuke." The name echoed and he toughened. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he thought of his brother. They had always fought, but everyone, including Sakura had thought it brotherly. Sasuke had been one of a kind, Naruto's brother, Naruto's friend, Naruto's eternal rival, but now, now, he was no longer.
"Sasuke," garbled Naruto, "what did you do?" What did you do to deserve this? What did you do to deserve a horrible death, so dishonorable?
Naruto wept. He cried out in pain and agony. Screaming, he punched the ground. "SASUKE!" That name had kept him living. He wanted to better the Uchiha. He wanted to prove himself to that boy. But now, all he would prove himself to was a gravestone and a never aging corpse.
---
"Get up," Kakashi said to Sakura. Sakura shook her head. Tears rolled down the kunoichi's face. Blood and sweat caked on her shirt. Kakashi yanked her up. Her body accepted defeat, but her mind refused to comply.
They were training beside the oak tree. Kakashi let go of Sakura. She fell back down on the ground, refusing to get up.
Gazing at the oak tree, Kakashi sat beside her. She lay on the ground, face down. Tears rolled down her cheeks and into the green grass. The kunoichi's mentality was cracking. Plummeting into insanity, Sakura gave up any optimism in the world. All she saw was a melancholy world without anything worth living.
Kakashi glanced down at his student. Fighting to remain composed, he found what he was looking for and it broke his heart. To see his student give up, give in, was worse than watching Sasuke die. Her mind was disintegrating, deteriorating; there was nothing to do. He could only watch from the sidelines and pray for her.
Sakura screamed, making Kakashi jump with dread. He had known that she would give in, but it still came as a shock. He begged for her sake, that she wouldn't surrender, but it was futile.
Her fingernails scraped the dirt, struggling against herself. She couldn't scream, she had no voice. Darkness encased her body, bringing her under its spell. Kakashi tried shaking her, snapping her out of it. All he earned were scratches. Battling against Sakura, he sedated her.
The kunoichi stopped thrashing and she regained control of her body. Crying and clutching her sensei, she let him carry her to the hospital.
---
Tsunade rushed to Sakura's room. Medic-nin were trying to suppress the thrashing girl. No matter how many ropes, no matter how many medics, she only grew more and more determined to get free.
Sakura screamed, tears streaming into her hair. Crying out in anguish, the kunoichi admitted defeat. Tsunade dismissed the medic-nin and sat next to her apprentice in a visitor's chair. She wiped the tears away and stroked Sakura's cheek. She bowed her head.
No, she mustn't cry. She can't show weakness, not in front of Sakura. Pain gripped at her stomach, wrenching at her mind. She can't give in, she can't surrender.
Fruitless attempts to get Sakura back into the world were made, but nothing worked. She was gone, just another body occupying a hospital bed.
---
Naruto clenched his teeth as Kakashi relayed the news of Sakura, or what was left of her. She didn't deserve that. What Sakura was going through was worse than any suffering. No one justified being dead to the world, a vegetable. People needed to live life, not be forced to stay in this world because your body refuses to submit. Her psyche was gone. Nothing could bring Sakura back. It was hopeless.
---
Ino stared at Sakura's body. Every so often, she would move. When she moved, Ino's heart skipped a beat, only to sink lower. There was nothing worth living for anymore. Her best friend was no more.
Forming hand seals, she inserted her soul into Sakura's body. She saw flashes of the past and Inner Sakura beating herself up. Ino couldn't take it anymore.
"Kai." Her soul raced back into its original body. There was pain in Ino's eyes as she stared at her friend. She gritted her teeth, clenching her eyes shut. Forcing back tears, Ino ran out of the room.
---
Sasuke blinked. Wasn't he supposed to be dead? He reached for the wound on his back. It was there, but why didn't it hurt? Sitting up, he looked around. He was still at the training grounds. Nobody was there. No Sakura, no Naruto, no Kakashi, where was everybody?
Standing, the raven-haired boy raced to the village. Stopping in front Ichiraku, he walked up to Naruto and Kakashi.
"Hey," he said, sitting on a stool. Neither of his friends looked at him. He expected to get a reaction from Naruto when he waved a hand in front of his face. The blonde boy looked through it as if it wasn't there.
"Huh?" Sasuke said. Just then, he realized he was translucent. No one could see him.
A/N: Okay, for those of you who might be getting ideas, no this is NOT a romance fanfiction. Oh, and sorry about the cliffhanger.