She never imagined she'd be the last one standing, fighting on a battlefield that was making the gruesome transition into a graveyard. She was never the fastest, or smartest, and she may have her strength but what good does that do when you have no chakra left?
As she hurdles over another body, Sakura realizes that if things keep going the way they are now, everyone will die. There won't be anyone left to oppose Madara if Naruto doesn't wake up soon, and if Obito decides to change his mind again, she may as well surrender.
But Naruto's heartbeat is steadily increasing, Minato's kyuubi chakra is finally sealed within him, and Obito is keeping Madara occupied while Kakashi finishes off what's left of black zetsu.
Biting her tongue she pushes her legs as fast as they'll carry her, dodging flying rocks and rubble that shoot her way.
Trying to keep her mind focused, she can't help but repeat Madara's chilling words in her head.
"It would be wise of you to think twice about this, Obito," he'd threatened the man, whose hand was still firmly stuck inside his ancestor's chest. "I didn't want to become the last Uchiha this way, but if you make me eliminate you as well, it is your own fault…"
Skidding past a large, stone slab — most likely left over from an Iwa nin's jutsu — she steadied her feet and continued to sprint forward.
"S-Sasuke - kun?"
She'd frozen at his words, almost ceasing CPR on Naruto, although thankfully Gaara was there to yell at her, and snap her out of her haze. She'd resumed manually pumping his heart, but before she knew it, tears were prickling at her eyes.
"Focus, Sakura!" The Kazekage had yelled toward her.
"But I — is Sasuke alright?"
"We don't know," Kakashi had shouted, chiming in beside Gaara, "but we can't think about that now."
Unfortunately, her sudden turmoil hadn't gone unnoticed by a certain Uchiha.
"Hm? You wouldn't be referring to the young Uchiha now, would you?"
The moment she saw his attention directed toward her, she almost flinched back from the curious, yet menacing look in his eye. Almost. Yet as she watched the evil mischief swim throughout his gaze she wanted to hit herself.
She was always so bad at hiding her emotions.
"Sasuke has appeared to have chosen a different path than I have," he spoke, still addressing Sakura, seeming to ignore the others, even if only for a moment, "because of this I had to kill him." He'd shot her a disgustingly unsympathetic look. "My apologies. I did make it quick though. My promise."
Thankfully, Kakashi had been by her side in an instant, blocking Madara from her view and leaning down to grab her face in between his hands. For almost a full minute he talked to her non-stop, reminding her to focus on Naruto, telling her that Madara could be lying, urging her not to be swayed by his words so easily.
She tried hard to keep her tears at bay, and for the most part she succeeded. Yet after many long, arduous minutes, the nine-tails chakra was once more sealed within Naruto, with help from not only Minato, but surprisingly enough from Obito as well.
It was the moment she sealed up his chest when the tears began to fall.
Out of nowhere Gaara was before her with Naruto already placed securely on his sand. Reaching out a hand he beckoned for Sakura to come with them in order to make it back to the rest of the alliance.
"We need to find a medic who has some chakra left," he shouted, his hand outstretched.
"I can't," she called over the noise of the battle around her, "I have to find Sasuke-kun!"
She didn't know if it was the tears in her eyes or the desperation in her voice that made him actually leave her behind, but whatever it was, she was thankful.
And now as she ran amidst the chaos surrounding them, she fought hard against her exhaustion. Her chest burned and her muscles ached and she was almost in awe of how her body hadn't given out on her yet. Her chakra was depleted and she idly wondered how long it would take for her body to shut down against her will.
He has to be okay, he has to be okay, he has to be alright.
But the farther she ran the more worried she grew. If he were alright, wouldn't he have been fighting Madara with everyone? If he were alright wouldn't she be able to sense his presence even just a little bit?
When she finally spots him, she skids to a stop clumsily, not believing her eyes. And through the dust and smoke, as she identifies the person hunched over his still body, she almost explodes.
"Get AWAY from him!"
Her voice screeches loud above the blasts around her as she launches herself toward him. Kabuto was a sick, evil man, and she'd be damned if she sat by as he did something to Sasuke.
Sasuke… who was lying, completely still on the dirty ground beneath her feet. Sasuke… who was drenched in blood that stained his clothes and face. Sasuke… who was completely vulnerable and unguarded.
Letting out another shout just as she's within reach of Kabuto, she's suddenly yanked back roughly. The force of it is enough to render her completely lightheaded and dazed; her head had been jerked back so hard for a moment she realizes that if she'd been pulled any harder, her neck would've snapped.
Still seething with fury, she reels on whoever has a grip on her, ready to punch them into oblivious. But when they easily catch her fist and refuse to release their hold on her, she screams out of frustration.
"Let go of me!" She cries, struggling to get out of her captor's grip. Looking over her shoulder she works hard to keep her fear under control; the man holding her still is a giant with his red hair sitting atop his head, a slight frown on his face.
"I cannot do that," he says to her calmly.
"Like hell you can't! Get off me!" She struggles more, harder than before, even trying to land some kicks on him. But he's holding her too tightly, she can't even move her legs enough to swing them forward or backward any degree.
She's about to let out another shout when Orochimaru suddenly appears, stepping into her line of sight and getting directly between her and Sasuke.
Not expecting to see him, she chokes on her shout, the sound coming out as a muffled cry. Biting her tongue she refuses to let her tears resurface, but she's helpless right now.
"Get away from him! Now!" She brings herself to shout, trying hard to ignore the angry tears flowing down her cheeks. "Don't you dare hurt him or I'll… or I'll kill you!"
"No harm will come to him," the eerily calm voice speaks from behind her, "Sasuke will be healed and he will remain safe."
"I don't believe you," she struggles more, trying hard to maintain her anger. If her fury dissipates then all she is left with is her grief and worry. And she refuses to look weak now of all times in her life. "Let go of me! Get away! I need to help him!"
"You'd be wise to listen to Jugo," Orochimaru hisses quietly, shooting her a sideways look before fixing his sights back on Kabuto, "Sasuke-kun is being healed as we speak."
"Liar!" She screeches, tears falling to the dirt below her, "you're just trying to steal his body!"
"Trust me," another voice chimes in from behind her. She gets a quick look at him when she takes a moment to look over her shoulder, only to see a white-haired man with his arms crossed. "Jugo won't let him."
It's there, in the moment she looks at this strange, sharp-toothed man, when Sakura spots her.
"You," she chokes out, "it's you."
The red-headed girl she'd encountered months before is sitting on the ground beside the man, her hands gripping her hair as she rocks back and forth. Sakura can see the tears slowly streaming down her face as she watches with wide eyes as Kabuto hunches over Sasuke.
The red-head's eyes shift for a moment, only long enough for her to recognize Sakura. "You're the medic that healed me," she says, her voice trembling.
"Yes," Sakura breathes, "Now please," she turns back toward Orochimaru, "let me heal him."
"I know you're a competent medical ninja, Sakura," Kabuto's voice is as eerie and calm as ever, "but I have things under control. Besides," he shoots her a quick look over her shoulder, and there she sees his face bare of his glasses, "you're probably low on chakra anyways."
"Please, just," she hiccups slightly, her emotions getting the best of her, "just don't hurt him. Please I'm begging you. I'll do anything."
"There's no need to make such promises, Sakura," Kabuto says, his voice still calm as he stands up, letting the chakra in his hands dissipate. "Besides, I've done all I can. Now we'll just have to wait."
Before Kabuto turns to walk away, he shoots her an indecipherable look. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have another friend of yours to heal."
For a moment she wants to grab him and shake him, and she wants to demand to know what his motives are. But when he walks away all she can think about is how she needs to check on Sasuke, and how she needs to know that he's okay.
"Please," she begs, her voice much quieter than before, "please let me go."
Jugo seems to hesitate but Sakura can see Orochimaru nod out of the corner of her eye. "It appears that even after all these years," the Sannin begins, "you are still as fond of him as ever." He speaks as if he's amused by the thought, and all Sakura wants to do is spit at him and yell at him to leave.
But that thought is abruptly ended as she's let go suddenly. Not fully prepared, she falls to her knees, catching herself on her hands. As soon as she hits the ground she's scrambling forward, not caring if she looks pathetic as she crawls desperately across the ground.
The moment her fingertips brush across his skin, she recoils, gasping in shock. His skin was so cold. Too cold for a living body.
Lifting her hand to his neck and lowering her head to his chest simultaneously she waits for a sign that he is, in fact, alive.
It takes a few seconds to find a pulse, and when she does, it's incredibly weak. But for a moment she doesn't care because a heartbeat is a heartbeat and that means he's alive.
She doesn't know when she starts to sob, but before she can contain herself, she's gripping his shirt tightly, crying hysterically. She can't keep her eyes off the hole in his shirt that used to be where the hole in his chest resided. His heart was definitely struck, that was for sure.
"You idiot," she cries, gripping his shirt tightly, "you fucking idiot. You're not allowed to die. Neither of you are," she sniffs loudly, burying her face into his bloodied shirt.
She has the blood of both of her teammates on her hands but their hearts were beating and she couldn't care less.
"You morons better not leave me alone," she sobs, "you're stronger than that. You can't — " she hiccups, "you can't leave me alone again."
Before she can finish her sentence, she feels something light brush against her cheek. Turning her head she almost gasps as she watches Sasuke place his hand on the back of her head, gently holding her to him.
Looking up at his face she takes note of how his eyes are still closed, but the rise and fall of his chest is steadily growing deeper and his heartbeat is readily increasing.
At the intimate gesture, a new round of tears envelops her as she wraps her arms around him tightly.
"Sasuke-kun," she cries, "please be more careful. You can't leave me like that you… you idiot! Don't go dying, please! Just — "
"Sa… kura…"
She gasps, lifting her head and glancing up at his face. His eyes are just beginning to open as he blinks to adjust them to his surroundings.
Then, he says her name again.
"Sakura," he pulls her head back against his chest, holding her to him tightly. He's delirious, she knows this, but it doesn't make the impact of his words any less intense. "I won't — " his words are cut off my a violent series of coughing, but he forces them out anyways, "I won't leave again."
And she swears at that moment, she thinks she's the one whose heart has finally stopped.
"If you do," she cries, still clinging to him desperately, "I'll kill you myself."
She can almost hear the smirk in his voice as he replies. "I'll hold you to it."