Disclaimer: All rights belong to the creator and distriburors of the original series "Naruto", "Naruto Shippuden" and "Boruto". Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), places, events, companies, etc is purely coincidential. Texts are solely written for entertainment purposes. Disclaimer applies to all following chapters.
Pairing: SasuSaku
World: Alternate End 699
Rating Warning: non
Their last fight is over and just one made it out alive, Sakura-centric
Loose End
A sudden gust of warm wind made pink hair dance around a young woman's face. Shinobi of different villages who had become more than comrades in arms shouted out their victory and punched each others shoulders, some had to be held up by their friends but most of them wore a glorious smile.
She knew she was supposed to be happy as well, relieved at least. The Allied Shinobi Forces had made it, the 4th Great Ninja War was over. They had lost many but the afterglow of victory was still in the air and common happiness outweighed sorrow and grief. The time to mourn had yet to come. The rational part of herself tried to accept that, in the end, there had been no other way, maybe there had never been one and her hopes were nothing but a naive pipe dream.
When she tried to move, her body felt heavy. Like she carried iron chains around her neck and it took everything to just stand upright. She secretly felt ashamed of herself and her weakness of mind, felt guilty for her self-pity. She was the apprentice of the Fifth Hokage after all, a kunoichi, someone who was supposed to endure. She had no right, no excuse to fall to her knees and cry the way she wanted to, because she had not lost a mother or a brother like others. There were friends to mourn, yes, but they did not belong to her specifically, their death was a loss to many people. Tears started to build and silently slide down her cheeks, leaving bright trails on her dirt covered face. All she was ever left with where loose ends it seemed. Would one even call it loss, if something never belonged to you in the first place?
She looked around and found Kakashi sitting on the ground, he held his head high and stared at the clouds with an inscrutable look an his face. It made her wonder what he thought about. Maybe he simply wanted to turn his vision away from the battleground for a while and she could empathize, because she desperately tried to keep her eyes from wandering as well . It would do no good to actually face what she already knew had happened, not now, but a morbid curiosity drove her, a masochistic, scientific part of herself wanted a final confirmation and she had to catch herself several times. Kakashi noticed her stare and lowered his chin, a small smile appeared on his face, though she noticed that it did not reach his eyes. She took a few steps and knelt down beside him. Invading his personal space earned her a quizzical look.
"Don't act the hero Kakashi-sensei. Let me heal you, I can tell that you're hurt."
The young woman reached out to place one of her hands on his neck, infusing healing chakra, which emitted a low green glow. The familiar action was soothing, to heal had become second nature to her after all. They sat in silence, each following their own train of thought when a strong and familiar chakra signature approached them quickly. She tensed up and her mind went blank as she tried to come up with something to say. But their blond teammate came to a stop in front of them way too fast, hands on his knees to take a deep breath.
"Kakashi-sensei! Sakura-chan! I- I hope everything is alright...I mean...you're OK, right?"
Naruto was well aware that it was a poor attempt at being casual. His voice sounded foreign, empty even to himself. He had no idea how to handle the situation, the only thing he knew was that he had to be strong for them - just a little bit longer. He faced her back as she continued to heal their teacher. The white haired jonin locked eyes with his blonde student and his gaze held a certain intensity, meant to reassure this remarkable young man, who carried enough burdens as it was.
"It's fine Naruto" - it will be.
"You know what people say 'Time cures all sore ones'", he stated and shot a quick glance at the young kunoichi.
She sighed at the subliminal meaning of his words, he had always been a talented lair. Naruto's expression softened the least bit as he nodded at Kakashi and turned to leave.
"Well I'm actually supposed to -I'm sorry I cant stay, just came here to make sure you're...you're both OK."
"Thank you, Naruto."
There. She was not able to give him more than that, a low 'thank you', unsure if it was actually true. She knew in the deepest pits of her heart that something had changed between the two of them. Something basic, the foundation of their friendship bore cracks and rough edges now. She still loved him, her brother, her teammate. But at the same time she had no idea how to forgive him, ever. Guilt washed over the pinkette. She was sure Naruto wouldn't even hold it against her.
Regardless of Kakashi's comment about time, she knew he just wanted to lighten his student's burden in that moment. Kakashi, who visited his teammates' graves once a week. Time made people aware that no one could change the past, made one accept and go on but never erased your memory and the feelings that came with it.
She would never forget the moment he killed him. It didn't sink in right away, her logical mind trying to come up with an explanation other than the obvious, because there was no way Naruto just...there was no way he would...
It felt like being trapped in the middle of a tornado, where no sound was heard and the world outside seemed nonexistent. A few heartbeats later the truth hit her with the force of nature, merciless winds tearing into her heart, pushing it around like a rag doll. The fight was over and there was only one person standing upright.
Of course he had betrayed them.
Sasuke.
He had betrayed them again. What had she expected to happen to him? For Naruto to magically fix everything and talk him out of it? For Sasuke to suddenly see reason after years of living in the shadows? She knew someone had to stop him and there was only one person able to do so.
Her friends would not understand her, she knew, and she couldn't hold it against them because she barely understood herself . She loved him, after everything she still loved him. What did that make her, loving a monster?
She pulled her hand back from Kakashi and reluctantly turned her head to face the battlefield. For a short moment she allowed this pain to overwhelm her.
AN: Yeay? Nay? Let me know
