Alright, here's Chapter 1!
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
"Does the pain weigh out the pride?
And you look for a place to hide?
Did someone break your heart inside?
You're in ruins."
Chapter 1
"Wow, Sakura-san, that didn't hurt at all! Just like you said!" the little boy exclaimed as she disposed of the needle.
Sakura gave a small laugh. Even though she was already nineteen and didn't necessarily have to work at the hospital as much as she did when first started training as a medic-nin, it was times like these that reminded her why she still came back so often. Sakura may have been trained to kill without a second thought, but she also had the rare ability to heal. And to be honest, she liked saving lives more than she did taking them.
Plus, this little boy was cute, and she always had a soft spot for adorable children.
"I told you Keiji-chan, you don't have to call me Sakura-san," she told him. "Sakura-chan is perfectly fine."
Keiji-chan took a moment to let the name form on his tongue, "Okay, Sakura-chan!"
"Good," Sakura took the clipboard hanging on the bed frame. "And it looks like you're doing just fine. You might even be able to go home very soon!"
At those words Keiji's eyes immediately lit up, "Really, Sakura-chan? I'll be able to see Okaa-san?"
"Mmhmm, and your Otou-san," Sakura added. "Right after he comes home from his mission."
"Okaa-san must be really lonely since I'm not there . . ." Keiji looked down. He'd been gone from home for almost a week, but at least he had the company of Sakura and the other nurses.
Sakura could see the guilt on his face and not wanting Keiji to get too upset she sat down on his bed and rubbed his back, "Oh Keiji-chan, don't think about that. Just think about how happy your Okaa-san will be when you finally go home. She'll be so glad that you aren't sick anymore!"
"Yeah, that's true . . ."
She continued reassuringly, "Of course it's true! And when you go home, you'll be the one who's going to protect her until your Otou-san comes back, right?" Keiji perked up and gave her a small nod. "And he will be so proud of you because you made sure your mother was safe and—"
But before Sakura could finish her sentence the sound of an explosion was heard in the distance followed by Naruto's familiar voice.
"Sakura-chan!"
That didn't sound too good. Sakura immediately got up from Keiji's bed to open his door, but Naruto came bursting right in. Panting, Naruto exclaimed, "Sakura-chan! Konoha is under attack! We need everyone at the front lines right now!"
Understanding the situation Sakura began to follow Naruto out the door, but a small hand grabbed her wrist to stop her. "Wait, Sakura-chan! What about Okaa-san? I need to protect her! For Otou-san!"
Sakura motioned for Naruto to leave as she placed her hands on Keiji's shoulders and bent down to look him at eye level. "Keiji-chan, " Sakura said seriously, "we are going to do our best to protect your mother and Konoha. But you have to promise me you'll stay here and stay safe. Do you understand?"
The little boy nodded. "What about Okaa-san? Do you promise she will be safe?"
Sakura hesitated. There was no way she could promise such a request, but Sakura found herself saying the words before she could stop, "Yes, I promise." Keiji looked wary, but he accepted Sakura's words and went back to his hospital bed. But before she finally left his room Sakura gave Keiji a thumbs up causing the little boy to smile and give one in return.
However, when Sakura exited the hospital room Naruto was no longer in the building. While she was having her last exchange with Keiji Naruto was already running towards the battle, but it didn't take long for Sakura to catch up. "Naruto," she said as they moved towards the sounds of explosions. "Do you know who it is?"
"Sakura-chan," Naruto said, "it's Sasuke."
Dust and debris were beginning to clear from the last explosion, revealing Sasuke clad in the familiar red and black cloak.
This was almost too easy, Sasuke thought as he killed another Konoha shinobi. The attack on the village began less than half an hour ago, but Konoha was already in full panic. Madara may have been the leader of Akatsuki, but this was Sasuke's battle, and he was calling his own shots. Sasuke didn't even bother to wait for Madara's command before sending the first explosion into the village. Besides, in the end both would get they wanted: the destruction of Konoha.
As more of Akatsuki's men ran into the village, Sasuke took a moment to revel in the sight before him. Buildings were on fire, and civilians were running; but amidst all this destruction he didn't forget to take note of the screams. Screams of panic. Screams of terror. Screams of death. Oh, how Sasuke couldn't wait until the screams of Konoha would finally drown the screams of his slaughtered clan.
Another shinobi seemed to be running towards Sasuke, but Sasuke ignored this obvious shadow clone and quickly turned to stab the real man who tried to sneak up behind him. And as the shinobi looked at him in surprise when he fell, Sasuke couldn't help but smirk. Fool.
Sasuke had about enough of this. It was embarrassing. How many more pointless "battles" must he have until he fought someone worthy of his power? He began to run westward with the rest of the Akatsuki when he felt it. It was coming from the north; and it was unmistakable.
Without a second thought, Sasuke changed his direction and left the rest of the men to advance further into the village.
"Sasuke! Where the fuck are you going?! You're not following orders!" He heard Suigetsu call out to him, but he didn't stop. Did he forget that Sasuke didn't follow orders? It didn't matter that Madara was also s Uchiha. Sasuke had some more business to take care of, and he knew that chakra all too well.
Naruto.
"Naruto, do you feel that?" Sakura asked as they continued to run on top of the buildings. The explosions were becoming more numerous as clouds of black smoke rose to the sky, covering the sun.
"Yeah," Naruto said under his breath, "I do."
"Is it—" Sakura began, but as the chakra signature came closer, she became positive. "He's running towards us, Naruto. He's the only one running towards us." And as she uttered those words, Sasuke's intentions became clear to Sakura. "Naruto! You need to run to another area! You need to go somewhere open!"
Naruto understood what Sakura was getting at. Sasuke was clearly running to fight him; he couldn't risk having a battle with Sasuke with all these civilians so close. "Wait!" Naruto yelled to Sakura as she began to separate from him. "Where are you going?!"
"I'm going to the front lines! I think we both know which one of us Sasuke is trying to find! The men will need me more at the eastern wall; I have to help them! I'll find you when I can!"
She was right. If Sasuke was running opposite of the direction of the rest of the attackers; there must have been a reason. "Stay safe!" Naruto called out to Sakura as the parted ways.
"I should say the same to you!" Sakura gave him a reassuring smile. "Hey! If you don't kill the bastard, keep him conscious enough so I can take a swing at him!"
"You got it, Sakura-chan!"
The two friends gave a small laugh before the air became serious once more. Maybe now wasn't exactly the time for jokes, but it reduced the uneasiness they both felt. Things were about to change in Konoha, and they weren't sure if it was going to be for the better.
The Konoha training grounds. The same one where Team 7 first endured Kakashi's bell test. How fitting.
The two shinobi were both on the field and had been staring at each other for a while. Neither spoke since they arrived. Neither wanted to make the first move. At first Sasuke couldn't figure out why Naruto abruptly changed his path, but upon reaching the destination, Naruto's intentions became painfully obvious. He wanted to protect his precious village.
Not that it would matter in the first place. Whether they fought here or in the village center, Konoha would be destroyed by nightfall. The Akatsuki were taking care of the rest of the village, but Naruto was Sasuke's battle. It was only a matter of time.
"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, finally breaking the silence. "What the fuck are you doing?!"
Was the dobe still that stupid? But Sasuke wasn't too surprised; people never changed. Sasuke smirked at Naruto before he responded, "Isn't it obvious? I'm destroying Konoha."
"I can see that! But why?" Ah, so maybe Naruto wasn't a complete idiot. "This is Konoha we're talking about! Konoha! What have we done to that you feel you must destroy the village? Look around you, Sasuke! This is your home! Konoha is your home!"
"Was. Konoha was my home," Sasuke said, and added under his breath, "if you could even call it that."
"You don't have to do this, Sasuke! You can still come back. We can hel—"
"I've had enough of this conversation," Sasuke stopped him from finishing his sentence. He didn't their help. He didn't want their help. But before Naruto could say anything back to him, he felt Sasuke's fist make contact with his jaw. The pain was immediate as Naruto flew back about twenty feet from his original spot.
"You told me once," Sasuke said, "that the next time we fought, both of us would die." He waited patiently for Naruto to get back on his feet. That last move may have been unfair, but a shinobi always had to be alert.
"..Maybe," Naruto said, recovering from the shock of what just happened. There was a part of him that still hoped that Sasuke would come back to the village, but he could see that only hate filled the Uchiha's heart. As much as he still valued Sasuke's friendship, Konoha came first; this couldn't go any further. Sasuke made his choice, and the second Naruto felt Sasuke's fist he made his. Naruto got up from the ground and massaged his jaw, "Today is that day."
I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. It doesn't look like you'll be getting your turn.
It was looking like the beginning of the end.
The two men were fighting for quite a while, and they were both reaching the end of their limits. Naruto and Sasuke were surrounded by fire and destruction, and there were still the faint sounds of explosions of the rest of the battle outside the training grounds. One more chakra infused move, and either one of them would be done. It was just a matter of who was going to make that last bit contact to finish what they started.
"This is your last Sasuke," Naruto panted, blood dripping down his face. "Stop this right now, and come back to Konoha."
"Like hell!"
At that moment, Sasuke charged his chidori and ran towards Naruto. And just like him, he wasn't doing any better than Naruto. He was sure he had broken a ribs because breathing was starting to become a challenge, but Sasuke pushed past the pain.
Seeing that Sasuke wasn't going to surrender, Naruto followed suit. He charged his rasengan and ran straight for Sasuke. Chidori was running to meet rasengan. These attacks would be the last of the battle, but at this rate, neither would make it out alive.
This is for the Uchiha cl— Sasuke began his thought, but another voice interrupted him. He didn't know where it was coming from, or if Naruto even heard it because he continued rushing towards him, unfazed.
"Stop this foolishnss, brother!"
Sasuke's eye's widened, "I-Itachi?" But Sasuke didn't stop charging towards Naruto with his chidori. He was hearing things. He had to be. That couldn't by Itachi's voice. It couldn't—.
"Sasuke, I said stop this now!"
That was definitely Itachi's voice, but Sasuke couldn't understand how he was hearing it "What the—" Sasuke was in shock. He continued to hear Itachi's voice in head, admonishing him for his actions. Sasuke was at a loss, and in a lapse of judgment stopped his chidori, not moving from Naruto's path.
But it was too late.
By the time Naruto saw that Sasuke stopped his chidori, he was too close to the Uchiha to do anything about it. He was headed straight towards Sasuke, and he couldn't stop himself. "Sasuke! Shit! Wake up, Sasuke! Sas—!"
Blackness.
"You were always so foolish, little brother."
"SASUKE!"
Alright, that's all I have for you right now. I'm in the middle of working on Chapter 2, so that should be out soon! I'm not so great with fight scenes; but I hope you enjoyed what I had to offer!
The song was 21 Guns by Green Day (Although, I was really listening to the Broadway version)
Don't forget to read and review!
GhostofYou