I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!
Sakura dropped to her knees pulling Naruto's head into her lap. He was gasping for air as blood gushed from his body. She started healing him as fast as she could, pouring her chakra over his wounds willing her jutsus and the power of the Kyuubi to patch him up. He looked up at her with dull eyes and gave a little smirk. "I'm sorry I couldn't save him." He whispered. Sakura shook her head as tears came to her eyes. "I tried. I couldn't let him hurt you again."
"Shut up." She said as he looked at her. "Just shut up and save your strength." She told him harshly as she fought to hold her tears at bay. He looked up at her and shook his head as best he could. "Naruto." She warned as he tried to speak again. He just looked at her a moment longer before his eyes slid shut and his body went limp. Her eyes went wide as she felt his heart beat fade. 'No.' She thought. 'This can't be happening. He can't die. No.' She felt her tears start to fall as Kakashi arrived holding his injured arm. They had all tried to get there in time to help Naruto, to stop Sasuke from killing him but the battlefields were too harsh and Sakura had been the only one to slip past. The only one to see and hear the fight between Naruto and Sasuke.
"Sakura…?" Kakashi asked but only saw a shake of her head as her body began to tremble. He looked to the sky, lost in thought, as Sakura could not hold back the sobs. She leaned over him, his head in her lap, body limp. The tears rolled from her face, dropping onto his as she begged.
"Naruto…" She tried softly. "Don't go." She repeated and begged him not to leave her, it was the only thing she could do as thoughts burst through her mind. What would she do now? Sasuke had narrowly missed being killed and was still out there somewhere while Naruto lay with his head in her lap, dead. She bent lower, crying over Naruto. "I'm sorry I couldn't help. Just don't leave me. Naruto, don't go." She begged again. The clouds overhead that Sasuke had used for his powered up Kiri were now beginning to part and let the blue sky above show through.
Naruto looked up at a blue sky as he lay back in the water. "You did well, Naruto." He heard making him sit up and see Jiraiya and his father standing there.
"I didn't want him to hurt anyone anymore." Naruto said looking up. "I wasn't able to stop others from becoming like him though." He sighed looking away.
"I'm proud of you." Minato said as he bent and put his hand on his son's head with a smile. "You stopped his evil to protect those you love."
"Eventually the world will begin to see what the cost of the power is. The world will become peaceful." Jiraiya assured him. "And I think this war and the battles you held through it will show the others." Naruto gave a small smile.
Naruto looked at the two men before Minato helped him to his feet. "Does this mean I lost? Am I dead?" He wondered looking around. "Not much of a place to be stuck forever." He scrunched his face up making Minato smile as Jiraiya laughed.
"No." His father shook his head. "You are very near though."
"So I can go back?" Naruto asked with a bright smile. "I can wake up and see Kakashi-sensei and all the others, and Sakura?" He asked hopeful.
"Yes." Minato explained. "If you wish to, you can pull yourself back. You will be fighting pain and consciousness if you do, but I believe that won't matter." Minato smirked, as Naruto looked confused.
"Sakura seems very upset." Jiraiya said making Naruto drop his eyes to the ground sadly.
"It's my fault." Naruto whispered. "It's all because I had to hurt Sasuke so bad." He clenched his fists thinking about the sadness he had seen on her face before it all slipped away. He jumped feeling a hand on either shoulder. Looking up he found the two men smiling at him.
"I don't think that's why she's upset." Jiraiya told him. "She may have a temper but that and her jutsus aren't the only thing Tsunade passed on to her."
"It may not seem it but it's there, you just need to open your eyes, Naruto." Minato advised his son.
"Don't waist the precious time you have like Tsunade and me did." Jiraiya added. "I'm sure she'll forgive you for anything you were forced to do to Sasuke." Naruto looked at his godfather and father. He did not understand what they were talking about. He just smiled at the tenderness on their faces, and the touch of their hands on his shoulders. Suddenly he felt cold wetness on his face. Blinking a few times he felt Minato and Jiraiya shove him backwards hard. He stumbled and fell as everything went back.
"Naruto, don't leave me. Please don't go." He heard Sakura cry as another drop hit his face. Slowly he opened his blue eyes to see her bent over him sobbing. She jumped when she felt something touch her face. Opening her eyes wide she found Naruto smiling up at her. He gave a chuckle before she moved to grab him in a tight hug as she cried even harder. "Naruto!" She cried making Kakashi look to find her holding him. Naruto looked shocked a minute before he settled with a soft smile and wrapping his arms around her as best he could.
"It's good to see you back with us." Kakashi said as he knelt beside his students as Sakura leaned back with a bright smile as she started to heal the wounds to his body again. "You had us all worked up." He said as a tear fell from his eye. Naruto was like a little brother to him, he had watched the young man grow up from a brat into a powerful, caring man and when he thought he had died, he felt his heart break apart.
"Yeah, sorry about that." Naruto said hoarsely.
"Naruto, don't talk. Just rest while you heal." Sakura said softly as a few silent tears still fell from her eyes as others began to join them. Sakura smiled as Ino ran to her side, dropping to her knees to help stop the bleeding.
"How did you survive these wounds?" Ino asked mostly to herself making Naruto chuckle, only ending in a coughing fit that Sakura tried to ease.
"Naruto, relax. We're all here now." Sakura told him softly as she helped him lay on the ground gently. As soon as she finished speaking she saw his eyes slide shut and she went back to work with a questioning look from Ino. "Technically he didn't survive." She said as Ino looked at her more confused. "He died, Ino. He was gone." She said as more tears came to her eyes. Ino just nodded before helping her friend heal the young man who had become such a big part of every one's lives.
It had been a day since everyone arrived home. Tsunade was in critical condition and Sakura had healed her as much as she could, it was now a waiting game. Not only for her teacher but for her teammate as well. Sakura was settling into her chair for another night of sitting in the dark room watching Naruto breath to try to realize that everything was all right and that he was still alive. Ino knocked on the doorway making Sakura look at her as she walked farther into the room.
"You staying here again tonight?" Ino asked and watched Sakura nod. "When are you going to believe he's alive? You can't stay here forever and you know how Naruto is, he's really going to be here forever." Ino smirked and saw the little smile on Sakura's face as she looked at the sleeping Naruto. "Any changes?"
"No. He's still unconscious for no reason. His wounds are healing, he has plenty of medication to keep the pain away and his chakra is back to rested capacity." Sakura said not taking her eyes from the young man in front of her. "I don't know what else there could be."
"You know how he is. He'll wake up when he's good and ready." Sakura laughed and nodded, agreeing with Ino. "Say Sakura. We should talk." Sakura looked at Ino confused and worried. "It's nothing really bad, I just think we some girl time, you know to talk about things."
"Ino, almost every time we have our 'girl talks' you find a way to use it to get a head in the village or with our fight over-." Sakura stopped herself and looked back at Naruto. "I can't believe he did this. I just can't get my head around it, he really meant to kill Naruto, and he was aiming for vital spots and using such extreme power…" She trailed off shaking her head as Ino sat on the arm of the chair.
"I know what you mean." Ino and Sakura had been going after Sasuke, trying to get him to come home, to be like it used to be for so long, it was hard to imagine that the hope they had all had was now gone completely. "Well at least we won't have to fight over him anymore."
Sakura smirked. "Yeah." She laughed. "You'll just come up with something else we'll have to compete over." Ino stuck her tongue out and started to laugh. Sakura jumped as Naruto groaned and turned his head. "Shh." Sakura told Ino as she got up and walked over to Naruto where she ran her hand over his head and laid a softly glowing green one on his chest. "It's alright Naruto." She whispered and she instantly saw the tension release from his brow.
"You really care for him." Ino said stepping up beside her friend, putting her own hand over a particularly nasty wound to try to close it a bit more. Sakura was silent as she continued to watch his face. "You know we don't know when the end is as ninja. You really should tell him."
"Tell him what?" Sakura looked at her confused making her frown and roll her eyes.
"You know exactly what." Ino scolded. "That you love him."
"What?!" Sakura chocked out as her eyes went wide and she turned to face her friend. "What are you talking about?!" Naruto gave a grunt of pain making her turn back to what she was doing before. "Sorry Naruto." She whispered.
"See. Right there." Ino said with a smirk. "You watch over him like a mother hen when he's hurt, you're always taking care of him, and worried about him. The way you talk to him, the way you act with him, even the way you look at him, you can't deny it, Sakura. You're in love with Naruto." Sakura looked at her with a glare but everything made sense. Her heart had been smashed into an infinite amount of pieces when his heartbeat stopped on the battlefield. The relief she felt when he opened his eyes was nothing she had ever felt before, not even when she was looking after Sasuke.
"He's my teammate." Sakura said turning back to Naruto.
"You two have been through so much together, you help each other with everything and rely on each other for things, not just on missions but here in the village. You think no one notices how he helps you carry your groceries home and how you make sure, he has more food than just ramen. Everyone knows he loves you. I don't think there's a person left in the world that doesn't know that he loves you."
"He's been telling people since we were little kids." Sakura smiled and Ino smirked.
"Exactly. I can see it when you're around him. You may not want to admit it to yourself but you're in love with that idiot." Ino laughed softly as Sakura couldn't help but smile at her. "What's so bad about being in love with him? I mean besides the fact he's an idiot, he's built, he can be smart, he loves you, he's built, he's a hero…. Oh did I mention he's built?"
"Several times." Sakura turned to look at Ino. "What do you want me to say?" She sighed.
"I want you to admit it to yourself. You're in love with Naruto and he's got such a grip on you that it broke you in this last war." Sakura broke eye contact. "I saw you. We may have all shown up after he was back but I saw the look in your eye. Admit it to yourself, and then tell him."
"Ino…" Sakura sighed shaking her head. "After everything I've put him through and then before he died he was apologizing because he had to hurt Sasuke. You really expect him to believe anything I tell him? Especially after I told him, I loved him in the land of Iron so I could go after Sasuke myself. He's not going to believe anything I say."
"Then make him see." Ino looked at Naruto, sleeping peacefully now. "I know we've never been on good terms when it came to guys and all and I know I've run with rumors but this… Sakura, this is important. We're both past our petty arguments and competitions for guys." Sakura laughed making Ino join her.
Sakura sighed as she turned to face Naruto again. "You're a really good friend, Ino. You have been since we were kids and you took care of the bullies. With the occasional rumor and running of your mouth being the exception." Sakura glanced over to see Ino smiling.
"Well us girls need to stick together. Especially now that we're all getting older. Never know when we're going to need that support group because a boyfriend was an ass." Ino laughed making Sakura giggle. "Look just promise you'll talk to him. Doesn't hurt to tell him and then resort to showing later." Sakura smirked and nodded. "I'll come back tomorrow and see how he's doing." Ino started for the door. "If you need anything. To talk or anything at all, you know where to find me. No more fighting."
"Truce?" Sakura smiled.
"Truce." Ino nodded. "For now." Sakura furrowed her brows making Ino laugh. "Hey, you don't tell him how you feel, you might start getting competition. You already have Hinata, just a matter of time before every other girl jumps in." She grinned before leaving.
Sakura reached out, grabbed Naruto hand in hers, and held it tight before she went back to her seat where she began to doze off into a light sleep.
Naruto blinked slowly to clear his vision. He was surprised to see a white ceiling over his head, even more surprised to see a sleeping Sakura in a chair beside his hospital bed.
"She hasn't left." He heard as he turned his head the other direction to see Ino at the doorway. "We were able to get you back here with very little trouble but her chakra was extremely low from healing your wounds to where they wouldn't be life threatening. I've never seen her heal as much as she did and as horrible wounds as you had. She pushed herself farther than she really should have." She explained.
"She going to be okay?" He asked looking back at Sakura as Ino walked farther into the room.
"She'll be fine. She's been sleeping mostly but she refuses to leave." Ino smirked as she walked over and pulled a blanket over her friend. "She's been worried about you."
"Why?" Naruto asked as he pushed himself up with a wince. "She should be sleeping in her bed." He said furrowing his brow as Ino jumped to his side, pushing him back into the mattress.
"You shouldn't be moving around."
"Naruto." They heard as Sakura jumped to her feet and to his bedside with a smile. "How long have you been awake?"
"Not long." He told her.
Ino rolled her eyes. "Long enough to probably pop a few stitches." Sakura looked at her friend then back at Naruto, disapprovingly.
"Naruto, you know better than to be moving around with wounds like this." Sakura scolded before she sighed seeing him wince. "Let me see, you probably reopened one of the wounds on your abdomen."
"Let me know if you need anything." Ino said with a quick look making Sakura blush a little before Ino left the two alone. Sakura pulled the blankets down to his hips and she lifted his shirt to see the bandages stained with blood. She sighed as she turned grabbing new bandages before removing the old ones.
"You really have to be careful, Naruto. These aren't healing like your wounds normally do. You can't just start moving around you have to slow down and take it easy." She lectured as she worked. She used it as a way to keep her mind from wandering but it did not last long when she had to move the band of his pants to reach a bloody bandage on his hip. She avoided eye contact and focused on her work. She did not know why she was having shy feelings all of a sudden. Then she remembered the conversation she had with Ino two nights ago.
"You okay, Sakura-chan?" Naruto said making her look up into his eyes before realizing it was a mistake. "Maybe you should go home and get sleep. Ino told me you were staying here the whole time."
"I'm fine, Naruto." She waved off his concern and went back to trying to heal the wound on his hip so she would not have to re-stitch it.
Naruto reached out grabbing her arm making her look at him worried. "Why didn't you go sleep at your house with your parents? You don't have to sleep in that chair. I'm fine." Sakura was at a loss for words. All she could do was stand there and look at him. After another breath, she looked away.
"Naruto. We need to talk." Naruto looked worried and she knew she had to straighten things out. "Don't look so worried." She smiled at him. "It's not like its bad, I just… we need to talk about something that came up. Well Ino brought it up but I've been thinking a lot about it-."
"What is it? What's wrong?" He asked as he tried to sit up again.
"Naruto!" She yelled pushing him back into the bed with a glare. "You want to reopen all your wounds and die on me again? You may be determined but I can't handle it." He looked at her as she realized what she had said.
"What?" He asked softly looking up at her as she looked down at her hands.
"Naruto,,," She paused trying to find her nerve. She found it quickly as he tried to move again. "Didn't I just tell you to stay still? Urg! You never learn. Idiot, you're going to kill yourself all over again. I can't handle that. My heart broke the first time; I can't go through that again, Naruto." She blurted. Before she realized what was coming from her mouth everything just flowed out. "I can't stand to see you risk your life for me to try to make me happy when I already am. I can't stand to sit and heal all these horrible wounds because you were trying to get Sasuke back. It's not worth it, Naruto. Losing your life, not being here with me is not worth it."
Naruto was looking at her stunned. "What are you saying?" Sakura rolled her teary eyes.
"I'm saying I love you. Though I don't know why, you're such an idiot sometimes, but I love you." Sakura stood waiting for a response as he just stared at her. He furrowed his brows and she could tell what was going through his mind. It was clear in his blue eyes. "I'm not just saying it. I don't think I really was just saying it to get you to stop back then either. I think I really did mean it."
"So you…?" He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Sakura gave a small smile and nodded before a grin flash across his face. "You really love me?" He watched, worried as she bent over him.
"Have for a while and not going to stop in the future." She smirked before she pressed her lips to his. In seconds, he was kissing her back, his hand slipped along her cheek to settle at the base of her head to pull her a little closer. The two pulled apart and looked at each other before someone cleared their throat making them jump. Looking over they found Kakashi with a smile. "Kakashi-sensei. H-how long were you standing there?" She asked embarrassed as Kakashi chuckled walking into the room.
"Long enough I'd say." He replied as both his students turned red with embarrassment. "I thought I'd stop by and see how you were doing before I leave on a mission in the morning. Looks like you're doing well." Naruto gave a grin and chuckled as Sakura tried to shrink away.
"You have a mission tomorrow?" Sakura asked trying to change the subject.
Kakashi nodded. "Everyone is being sent all over to help get things set between the nations to rebuild and stabilize the villages. With the fifth out it's likely they will begin looking for a replacement for the sixth or until she is able to take back her title."
"They're gonna kick Granny out of the office?" Naruto asked worried.
"Not to worry Naruto. I'm sure whoever they give the title to would give her back the position as soon as she is healed." Kakashi reassured him with a smile. "Well I'll see you when I get back. Take care." Kakashi told them with a smile as he left. The two looked at each other a minute before they were smiling again.
"You should sleep, Naruto." Sakura told him as she reached out and started to ease some of the pain he was trying to hide. "It'll help them heal."
Naruto looked at her. "What about you?" He wondered.
"I'll be here. You get some sleep, I'll be right here when you wake up." She smiled but he shook his head. "Naruto… I can't…." She shook her head. "I can't just go home and leave you here. What if you wake up and need something or are in pain…" She shook her head again at his pleading look. He gave a deep sigh as she held firm.
"Then lay in the bed." He said as he grabbed the rail on the other side of the bed, grit his teeth and pulled himself over.
"Naruto!" she reached out to ease the pain from the wounds and his overused muscles. "You can't do that. I'll be fine."
"Well I'm over now anyway." He smirked making her roll his eyes before she pulled her shoes off and climbed into the space next to him. Cuddled together, careful of the injuries they fell into a deep sleep.