AN: Set in an Alternate Universe.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
First fanfiction I've written and posted – it's dark, but I hope you enjoy :)
0000
His grip is stiff around her neck.
His fingernail slowly rakes up her jugular vein, drawing a thin line of blood. Behind her trembling neck, the palm of his hand is cold against her raw skin. In front of them, a blonde boy trembles with rage.
His fingers tense and her neck pales against his stifling grip. Slowly, the bright light begins to leave her sharp viridian eyes. Her pink hair is mattered with blood, some dry, some fresh, and her forehead protector has slid off her hair. Blood is trickling down her face. Her red vest is tattered, her gloves shredded.
The man tightens his grip again and her lips begin to gurgle with blood. Her eyes lock onto the blonde boy's and she gazes upon the man with her fate in his hands, silently pleading.
The blonde boy is young, just like her. His hair hangs messily across his bright blue eyes – eyes fixed upon the masked man with the girl in his grips. With one last look at the forlorn girl, he wipes away his tears hastily with a torn orange sleeve, his previous demonic power ebbing away. He is gravely injured, I can tell. His right leg propped in a rather awkward angle and his breath is coming out in haggard puffs.
But he takes a deep breath and steadies himself, turning to the other victim – a boy with the most startling red eyes.
The red-eyed boy with dark ebony hair is being held by the scruff of his neck by the same masked-man. Behind him, the man holding both captives is bleeding from the mouth. Half his mask has been ripped off, exposing a pair of thin chapped lips – lips currently pressed firmly onto the handle of a battered knife.
The masked man eyes the blonde boy steadily and presses the knife closer to the boy's neck, fingers piercing the girl's neck as he does so.
"One of them, Naruto-kun," he hisses through the blade, "You can only choose one of them."
I turn my gaze back to the blonde-haired boy – 'Naruto-kun'. I should leave now I know – this is a private moment - but I am too interested in how this will turn out. There is so much ardour, so much feeling and passion.
Yet even with all this emotion, all four people here are dying.
I know that it is not my place to witness their last moments so I turn to leave. But before I can fully disappear, I cannot resist one last glance back.
"I'm sorry Sakura-chan," Naruto finally says. His voice wavers and tears begin to drip down his face. He's shaking, trembling, staring at her desperately. He's probing her, memorising her every feature, then suddenly-
The masked man lets go of the raven-haired boy. He stumbles away, and Naruto turns his eyes from the girl to glance at the freed boy for just a second-
But when he looks back, she is dead.
0000
The next time I see any of the four is when I am looking for fish in the river. I'm scanning the water intently for my next meal, weapons poised, ready to swoop. However, what I do not expect is a familiar flash of pink at the bank.
It stops me in my track because I know I've seenthat colour before. I rack my brain but I can't seem to remember so I make my way towards it cautiously, trying to see if the sight will jolt my memory.
I am nearly at the river bank when the day of the four dying people flashes into my mind. And I think – it's not possible – she cannot have lived. But now that I look closer, I see the familiar rising and falling of her shoulders – she is breathing.
I make my way towards her, driven more by curiosity than anything else. But before I can reach her someone else does. He has dark ebony hair, quite like the boy from the previous time, and the same red eyes. He stoops low and picks up the girl, the dying girl (and I am positive she is dying), in his arms.
I am baffled - quite baffled – and I am open my mouth to voice my thoughts. But before I can, he turns around and stares at me, his eyes the same blood red of the boy before- and I am stunned. For a second, his eyes meet mine, and I am terrified.
I freeze, dead still and silent, then slowly, he turns around and disappears in a flurry of ravens. I am safe.
It is only later that I realise that his eyes - his haunting, ghastly eyes - speak of more suffering than all three combined.
0001
I do not encounter any of the five for quite a while and when I do, I only see four and they are separated. I see the first two at a village, where I am looking for a place to stay.
I am floating around the crowds when I see familiar blonde hair and dark ebony. At first I am not sure if it is them, but then I spot the small but distinctive limp in the blonde and I know it is them – the blonde who killed the girl and the man he saved.
They both look relatively happy and seem to be quite popular with the crowd, being stopped numerous times to chat. However, I can tell that their peace is not complete as they stop in front of a certain hospital and stare, never moving for a whole minute.
"She's gone." The dark-haired boy finally says to Naruto, placing a firm hand on his shoulder.
And so they leave and I decide that this is not the place for me.
I turn away and continue my journey to search for a home. It is only a mere half-hour later when I see, amongst all the green of the forest, a distinctive flash of pink.
I do not believe it – three of the original, so close yet so far apart. I advance closer and see that she is alive – healthy even – with only a thin scar across her neck to remind her of her past. She is laughing, a carefree bubble of happiness, and such a contrast to the state I had last seen her in.
I even think she is alone for a second before a large man pounces on her. For a second I am worried for her, and then I realise that the strange blue-man is laughing with her. It is only then that I notice that they are wearing the same cloak adorned by her mysterious saviour. And I think – what a baffling circumstance.
And just like that he appears – her saviour – with his ebony hair flowing softly in the wind. She grins widely and jumps on him, enveloping him in a big hug. His eyes slowly morph from red to black as the corner of his lips twitch up. Awkwardly, he puts an arm around her too.
She pulls back, eyes full of hope.
"Did it work? Did the poison work?" she says hurriedly.
And finally now does the man allow himself to smile fully. "It did. Madara is dead."
And she laughs, more wholeheartedly and passionately then before, and hugs him again and again before she is pulled back by the other man. He grins, revealing a set of sharp teeth before slapping the man heartily on the back.
The scene makes even me happy and I slowly venture forward. The girl catches my eye and she grins even wider before turning her attention back to the pair.
And so I decide that this is where I want to live.
0003
I see them regularly after that – the girl and the ebony-haired man. They often disappear for weeks on end, but they always seem to return here. Occasionally, the blue man is with them as well.
Once there was a long-haired blonde with them who blew up a portion of the forest. They disappeared for months after that and my home was constantly surrounded by ninja from the village.
I was rather fine with the new intruders for the first few days but then I got restless with all their poking and prodding. The day I finally decided that I had had enough I ventured out to protest, only to be stopped in my tracks by the faces of Naruto and his dark companion.
"Akatsuki," the blonde had declared reluctantly.
"Itachi," was all his companion could force out.
And that was when the forest was burnt down a second time by whirling black flames and the word 'Amaterasu'.
Now, exactly 61 days after the original incident, the girl and her companion return. The man stoops down and scrapes up some of the remaining ash from the second burning with his finger.
"Amaterasu," he says.
"Sasuke," the girl breathes in response.
And then, she hits the floor with one frustrated punch, successfully dismantling several trees and cracking the ground to no repair.
And that is when I finally decide that I have no idea what goes on in the minds of ninja.
0005
It is a moonlit night two years later when I witness their first fight. The pink haired girl is flushed and I can even make out a light tinge in the cheeks of the elder brother (by now, I am sure that Naruto's companion is the younger brother of Sakura's companion). They are talking deeply and the man seems to be in pain.
"You have to understand Sakura – you can't breathe a word of this."
She nods, tears brimming at her eyes. "I just- I mean- the Uchiha massacre- all this time– Itachi."
And then she pulls him into a hug and breaks down into tears. For a second he stands there frozen, but then he wraps his arms around her and he cries too.
And they stay like that before Sakura pulls back. And under the light of the full moon, she pulls him in to kiss his cheek. But he's stunned and she misses- catching his lips instead.
His eyes widen and I can see the sparks flying. I feel like I am intruding on a private moment, an outsider amidst this beauty. So I retreat, but then I hear shouting-
I turn back around and see that the man – Itachi – is trying to say something but the girl looks mortally offended – and hurt. And then, just like that, she breaks free of his hold and runs.
.
.
.
A mere six hours later, I catch them kissing fervently against the tree bark. Young people these days.
But I suppose she deserves it. And I suppose he does too.
0009
I see Sakura and Itachi regularly now, and the blue man every so often. It's been six years since my last sighting of Naruto and Sasuke, nine since the masked man.
This interest I take in these five ninja confuses all my kinsmen, but I suppose they are justified – after all, they are the only names I bother to remember despite others being much more honourable and prestigious.
The masked man I suspect I will never see again but I am curious - very curious - as to how the story of Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, and the two Uchiha brothers will end. But I am getting old and my fellow kinsmen say it is unhealthy to take part in such affairs. I will die without a mate or children and my only wish is to see an end to this story.
I can feel it in my bones – I am dying, just like the four were dying this very day nine years ago. But I wish desperately to see the end of this story and so, as I see the pink-haired maiden and the Uchiha prodigy leave this sunny morning, I decide to take a chance. I leave all my kinsmen and follow them, hoping for luck to be on my side.
After fifteen minutes I am already tired and a thought passes me – one that wonders if maybe this is useless- but then we approach a clearing very familiar. And I realise that we're headed towards the village. Energy springs to my limbs and I follow them feverishly all the way up the cobblestone path.
They pause just outside the gates where a figure completely enveloped in a grey cloak is waiting for them. He has a large bulge in his cloak pocket, one in the shape of a distinct package.
The two beckon him over, straw hats covering his ebony hair and her bright pink locks.
"I have the scrolls," the man whispers in a raspy voice.
"The mission reports on the Uchiha massacre?" Sakura confirms, pitching her voice lower than usual. The man nods and reaches into his cloak.
But suddenly Naruto and Sasuke spring from behind the bushes, weapons in hands, striking to attack.
Sakura freezes in astonishment and so does Itachi, but he manages to recover in a millisecond and blocks the attack.
Naruto throws a 'Thanks Ino!' at the man who promptly drops down unconscious, just as Sakura leaps forward into the fight. The four engage in one of the most intense fights I have ever witnessed, and in the ensuing chaos the two hats are knocked off their heads.
And suddenly it is like time has frozen.
"Sakura," Naruto finally forces out, "Is that really you?"
In the meantime, Sasuke tears his eyes from the pink-haired maiden to face his kin.
"…Nii-san?"
In a flash I feel a stab of pain in my heart and I know. I am dying, quickly now - I can feel it in my bones. The pain is throbbing, all-consuming and I decide to take the last advice of my kin.
I struggle to right myself, nearly falling off the branch I am perched on. The pain intensifies and blots of red start to form across my vision but I struggle and resist, trying to catch the last few words of their conversation.
But it doesn't work, and I know I must accept my death. Slowly orientating myself again, I take one last look at the ninja.
They are embracing. A tearful, loving, but slightly restraining one between the blonde and the girl (things will never be the same between them again), and one full of anguish and long-gone love between the brothers.
I do not know if this is a happy ending, or simply closure, but I decide to shut humans out of my life and embrace myself for the last few minutes of my life (for I know it has now come to that moment – those last few glimpses of light before death).
For a second, I wonder what life would have been like should I have been born a human. But I rid these questions from my mind as I ready myself for my last flight, tearing my gaze away from the ninja. This is my time now.
And so, I spread my wings and soar into the sky, cawing my final goodbye.
Fin.
AN: I hope you enjoyed! Feel free to review and tell me what you thought – I'd love to hear your thoughts on this :)