Realizations - Death and betrayal brought them to an arrangement. To Sakura it became so much more… but what about Neji? Does he feel the same way?
Written between 24 – 09 – 2008 and 20 – 02 – 2017
Chapter I
Love isn't like what you read in fairy tales…
That is the simplest of truths.
Here she was, lying next to the man she knew she loved and she couldn't help but realize it wasn't how she had pictured it to be at all.
The biggest difference was the man himself. Never in her younger days would she have thought the two of them would end up together. Truth be told, back in those days she only had eyes to her dark-haired teammate, whose mysterious aura put her in a hypnotic trance every single time her eyes fell upon him. It was difficult to see what is right in front of you when you keep your eyes set in only one direction and block everything else out. Yes, she had come a long way since then.
Sighing she shifted to a more comfortable position as she thought about the events leading to that moment.
"Come on Sasuke-teme hang on. Just a little bit further, we're almost there!"
The seventeen years old blond shinobi ran as fast as his legs permitted, jumping from tree branch to tree branch with a velocity possible only because of the powerful beast sealed within him.
A blur was all that could be seen of Uzumaki Naruto as he made his way towards his home village, Konohagakure no Sato. He could already see the rusty gates. Just a couple more minutes and he would make it. He had to. He had to get to the hospital and find the Hokage.
As he hastily crossed the ancient gates and jumped over to a rooftop for a more direct and obstacle-free path, the kitsune boy shifted his arms slightly to adjust the position of the person riding his back. Said person was none other that his best friend and arch-enemy Uchiha Sasuke.
With Jiraiya and Gai's team occupied with Pein and Konan, it was up to infamous Team 7 to look for the two last surviving members of the Uchiha clan who, more likely than not, would be found facing each other in battle.
The remaining members of what was called Team Hebi had already perished taking with them Hoshigaki Kisame and the enigmatic Zetsu. In the end, Juugo, the last one standing, was killed by the one called Tobi, whom, until then, everyone thought was the weakest link of the organization named Akatsuki.
Said masked man had then made his way to the place he knew Itachi would be waiting for Sasuke. The battle between them should be close to an end, he thought. He would take the opportunity created by the chaos of the battles surrounding them to put into action his plans concerning the Uchiha siblings. However, when he got there he was surprised to find only the older Uchiha waiting. Apparently, Itachi had known for quite a while that the one named Tobi was, in fact, Uchiha Madara. He just couldn't understand how that was possible.
Madara smirked at his relative as he realized his identity had been uncovered. Seconds later the battle between the two of them began.
Madara wanted to kill Itachi because he thought he was becoming a liability. A blind shinobi is no good at all. Soon he would be replaced by his younger brother.
On the other hand, Itachi found in Madara the perfect opportunity to test his strength. What better way to test the unique Mangekyo Sharingan than to use it against its own creator? The founder of the very same pitiful clan he had almost entirely whipped out?
The battle had lasted for half an hour when Sasuke finally catch up. He arrived just in time to see his brother cutting off the mask of the one-eyed man revealing a horrifically scarred face. The man's mouth was contorted in what seemed to be a smirk, but one could not tell since the so-called mouth looked more like a line poorly etched on dry wood. The nose had been so badly broken that it was almost as if he didn't have one. Where one of the eyes was supposed to be now stood a hole adorned by a vertical scar. But what surprised Sasuke the most about the man wasn't his unfortunate appearance. No, the Uchiha survivor could do little but stare at the other man's single crimson orb, the proof of his lineage. The former leaf shinobi had no doubt about the Akatsuki member's heritage; however, he had no clue about his identity.
The battle between the two Red Clouds resumed as they seemed to completely ignore the third man's presence. It took Sasuke seven full minutes before he finally decided what to do. He wanted to fight Itachi, yes, but this other Uchiha was in his way. He wouldn't let him rob him of his revenge. Besides, he was an Akatsuki. The world would be better off without him anyway. And so, disgusted by of what he was about to do, the younger brother joined the battle to help his older brother. If Itachi was surprised about the turn of events he didn't show it. Instead, he rationally modified his battle strategy to fit the advantage he now held over the enemy.
Uchiha Madara may have been the founder of the Uchiha clan, the creator of the sharingan, the strongest member of the Akatsuki… but he alone was no match for the two strongest members of his cursed clan. That, combined with the ill-usage of the Jutsu that sustained him alive for all the decades he had lived, led to his ultimate destruction.
By the time Madara fell on the ground dead, Sasuke was already attacking Itachi. They were both heavily wounded and they knew they most likely wouldn't survive such a battle. Still, the siblings fought bravely… until only one of them was left standing.
A single tear ran down Sasuke's eyes as he heard his brother's last breath. Itachi's face still looked beautiful, even more so now that it was marred by his own blood. It was ironic really, when Sasuke thought about it, that the Jutsu that killed the person he hated the most, in the end, wasn't taught to him by Orochimaru or anyone he met on his quest for power. The Jutsu that had put an end to his revenge had been taught to him by his sensei Kakashi, back in his gennin days. With a mirthless chuckle at the irony, he fell unconscious next to his death brother's body.
Team 7 arrived at the scene less than fifteen minutes later. The look of pure horror sculpted in Naruto's and Sakura's faces would forever be etched in the memory of Hatake Kakashi. He couldn't blame them, really. If he didn't have the years of experience at controlling emotions he too might have looked like that. Well, and having 90 percent of his face covered by a mask didn't hurt either.
Angry chakra waves started to pour out of Naruto as he watched Sakura doing her best as a medic-nin to heal Sasuke. He was alive, but barely.
Crying in despair Sakura told them that she did not possess the training or knowledge necessary to help him. Sasuke would have to be brought to the Hokage without delay. She was the only one who could save him now.
And that was how Naruto found himself carrying the last Uchiha to Konoha, to salvation.
Sweat ran down the blonde's forehead as he sensed the minutes ticking by. He didn't have much time. He could feel his friend giving up on life.
"Yes!"
He had finally made it to the hospital. He rushed in and no one made any move to stop him since they were all petrified in surprise. The Jinchuuriki hastily made his way to the room he knew the Hokage would be waiting in. It was very unusual for her to be in the hospital, but due to the risk of the present mission, she had waited for their return where she knew she would be most needed.
Tsunade spilled the Sake she had just put in her mouth and Shizune jumped from her chair as the door of examination room nr 23 burst open.
"Tsunade-baa-chan, it's Sasuke! He needs your help!"
The Godaime exchanged a meaningful look with her young assistant before rushing to the bed where the Hokage-wanna-be had just laid down the missing-nin.
"Stand back Naruto!"
"But I wanna hel-"
"NO BUTS! Stand back and let us work. Shizune close the door."
The brunette did as she was told before returning to her mentor's side. Tsunade had a worried look on her face as her chakra ran deep within the teen's body. Thirty seconds later her chakra flow stopped but her hands still rested on the shinobi's chest.
"Is he gonna be alright?" Naruto knew the minute the Godaime refused to look at him that there was no hope, but he refused to believe it was over. "Well?"
"Naruto…"
"He just fainted right? The teme probably just used too much chakra. He'll be up and running in a few days! You'll see!"
The Kitsune boy looked hopefully at the Hokage who finally turned to him with a painful look. "I'm sorry."
The older woman made a move to touch him in the shoulder but he brushed her off and ran out of the hospital, hiding his tears as he ran to nowhere.
All he could think about was 'how am I going to tell Sakura-chan?'
