His Name

Lalita

Disclaimer: Again, I don't own Naruto, and I don't own "Two for Tragedy" by Nightwish, either.

Chapter One

Cease the pain, life's just in vain for us to gain, nothing but all the same…

Screaming. Blood spattered around her as her fist sank into the ribs of a man cloaked in black and red, bones breaking with a satisfying crunch. His eyes bulged; the medic in her analyzed his injuries even as she withdrew her fist and watched him slump to the ground. She let the flow of chakra to her fist subside. Blood gushed from the man's mouth; he panted, staring up at her with loathing and, as always, that damned surprise.

"You?" his eyes seemed to say. "You look so weak."

She placed her foot on his chest and pressed down, hard, making it fast for him. A gurgling noise erupted from his mouth, then he shuddered and lay still. "Me," she said grimly, to thin air. "Me."


Sakura jerked awake, the memory of the man's eyes still fresh in her mind. A scout she happened across during one of her searches for the injured. His face flashed before her eyes, mocking her.

Shaking herself, she splashed her hands, then her face, with the water in basin by the bed. Another day, she thought. Another day of running around on her feet, healing those that she could, sobbing at night over those that she couldn't. "Pink angel," she scoffed to herself. Always kept away from the fighting.

That, she knew, was not only Tsunade's doing. Naruto and Kakashi had to have had a part in it as well. "We know you can fight," Naruto said bracingly, with a too-cheerful smile when Tsunade had informed her of the decision. She glared at him. "Believe me, I know!" he said, holding his arms defensively over his head.

"There aren't enough good medic-nins," Tsunade had said bluntly. "I want to use you where I need you the most."

"And where is that?" Sakura had asked bitterly. "Staying safe inside Konoha while my friends die?" Naruto flinched. It's the same old thing, she said to herself. I'm still looked at as the weakling, still left behind.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "If needed," she said coldly. "But you will also go along when there are big skirmishes, helping those that can't make it back to Konoha in time."

Sakura recognized a compromise when she saw one, knowing it was the best she would get. "The time will come when we need you to fight," Tsunade said darkly, seemingly looking through Sakura and into the future. "The time will come when we need everyone to fight."

Sakura slid out of the clothes she'd been too tired to shed the night before, feeling dirty. But a hot, steaming bath was a luxury she didn't have time for. Sighing, she grabbed a cloth and scrubbed herself down with the lukewarm water in the basin.

"Hey, Sakura – oh!" The door flew open and immediately slammed shut again as Naruto burst into the room, then stumbled out just as quickly, face flaming at the sight of a naked Sakura. Her long, slender legs were burned into his mind, along with her tussled shoulder-length hair that fell to her breasts, nipples puckered from the cold. He shook his head and called out, "Ah- I'll just wait out here!"

Inside her room, Sakura flushed. Stupid, really, that she hadn't thought to lock her door. These days no one had time to knock. Not that Naruto ever had in the first place. She dressed hurriedly, pausing only to quickly run a brush through her hair. She placed down the brush on the otherwise empty dresser top, in the exact spot where a picture frame used to stand, now conspicuous only by its absence.

"What is it?" she asked anxiously, averting Naruto's eyes. "What happened?" She prepared herself to hear the worst, that someone they knew, maybe Ino, maybe Lee, was dead.

"Ah, um, n-nothing," Naruto sputtered, grinning sheepishly. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously, a tick starting to form over her eye. He stuck his hand behind his head and stuffed the other in his pocket. "I just, ah, thought you might want to have, um, breakfast with me, since you've been working so hard and all and-"

"You barged in on me just for that?" Sakura asked believingly. "What were you thinking? Idiot!" she yelled, feeling her temper rise with her embarrassment and at the same time, a small trill of pleasure, which she was sure was given away by the slight twitch of her lips. She stepped closer to him.

"Don't hurt me, Sakura-chan!" he pleaded, ducking away. "I'm sorry!"

She walked past him, throwing a brief smile over her shoulder. "I won't hurt you," she said, "if you're paying."

Sakura watched his eyes light up and grinned as he immediately fumbled for change in his pockets. Some things never change, she thought. But then she noticed the creases around his eyes, his lanky, muscular frame, and sighed. And some things do.


There weren't many places left to eat in Konoha, but the Ichiraku Ramen Bar remained. Most of the civilians had left- or tried to, anyways. She didn't blame them. What kind of life was it, to live in fear of the skirmishes here and there, just waiting for the final flood of Akatsuki into the city, knowing you couldn't defend yourself?

But some had stayed. Teuchi was one who had stayed, the same man who had been there on that fateful night (Don't, she told herself, and sternly reined in that train of thought). "Naruto alone keeps me in business," he had told them once, when she asked why he hadn't left. Humming, he set one bowl of ramen in front of her, and three in front of Naruto.

"For breakfast?" she asked Naruto, aghast even after all these years. Naruto nodded, unable to speak because his mouth was crammed with noodles.

"I work hard," he protested, after finally swallowing.

She rolled her eyes, crossed her legs, and took a bite, savoring the taste. "Whatchadointoday?" Naruto asked. She looked pointedly at him. He gulped and said, "I mean, what are you doing today, Sakura-chan?"

"Making rounds at the hospital." Sakura looked darkly at the countertop. I don't like it. Akatsuki's been quiet for too long. What are they up to? Aside from that scout, we haven't had any skirmishes for a week.

His name hung between them, unspoken, a thick black cord of grief connecting them. They hadn't spoken his name since they'd heard the news. First, they heard that he'd beaten Orochimaru, and she had foolishly hoped he would come back to them. But she could remember, the words forever burned in her mind, that he wasn't coming back. He was going after his brother. She would never forget the look of crushing disappointment on Naruto's face, or Tsunade's eyes grimly holding hers. "I need you to be strong," those eyes seemed to say, brooking no refusal, telling her to bury whatever feelings she had for the sake of duty. But Tsunade had done that, and look how happy she was because of it.

Sakura could almost understand. She told herself she did. After all, he had left to get revenge on his brother, and he wouldn't come back until it was done. But then he had killed Itachi, and she was so sure he would come back. He did, just at the head of army.

Naruto had stopped eating and was looking at her strangely. "Sakura," he said, his voice thick with emotion.

"Don't," she said, pushing away from the counter and standing up. "Don't say his name." She ruffled his hair before turning away. "I have to go."