Chapter two

Naruto stirred his bowl of ramen, oddly it didn't look all that appetizing to him. He furrowed his brows, and brought his chop sticks to his mouth, slurping up the beef flavored noodles. It tasted off, like he was chewing sandpaper. He pushed the bowl away from himself - with an unsettled feeling washing over him.

He had never not wanted a bowl of Ichiraku's ramen. Sakura placed her hand on his arm - her green eyes were swimming with an emotion that he could not register. Why was she looking at him with such a pained expression? Oddly enough, her touch and her concern didn't make his heart skip and beat or his stomach flutter. If anything it made him feel ...uneasy.

"I'm sorry Naruto. Please don't cry" Sakura whispered, as if afraid any higher octavie would break him. He blinked, and gingerly touched his cheek, surprised to find them wet. Why was he crying?

Sakura's free hand was tightly wrapped around the necklace she always wore. It was a single blue glass bead with swirling dark blue patterns, held together by a strip of leather around her neck. The piece of jewelry was similar to the simple leather bracelet he wore around his wrist, and he was sure that the others of the rookie nine and team Gai had taken the bead and made it into something of similar use.

Naruto reached for it now. To reassure himself of the uneasy feeling that Sakura was invoking in him. He could feel it already though, although his mind refused to register it.

"So long as the bead is always abnormally cold, and you can feel the vibrations from my chakra through it you'll know that I'm alive and well."

Naruto squeezed the tiny blue bead tightly. He didn't want Tetsuna to go but at this point ...she was the only one who could stop Sasuke. Who could finallys set things right and how they were supposed to be. He brought his fist to his mouth and closed his eyes - she would return to him.

He opened his eyes a smiled his signature goofy grin, she'd return to him just fine. And he would finally convince her to wear that orange kimono he had gotten her for her birthday.

The bead, the bead wasn't cold. He squeezed it in his hands looking for that reassuring buzz - desperately searching for an even faint feeling of it. There was nothing. He felt something cold brush his cheek, and he thought he heard her voice soft and light as the breeze in his ear.

"I'm sorry Naruto"

At the same time the bead around his wrist shattered, and so did the one around Sakura's throat. He peered at it with wide eyes, mute with horror. For a moment his heart stopped in his chest, and then hot, and disgusting bile crawled up his throat. The stool fell from under him and he crashed to the ground. He was spewing out whatever was inside of his stomach, and when it was empty he heaved painfully.

Sakura was calling his name but she sound so far away. Darkness came. And his mind went blank.

Kakashi stood over Naruto's hospital bed. He still hadn't woken up. Most of rookie nine and team Gai was crowded around the room. All of them sharing the same or similar looks. Sakura was peering at Naruto, her eyes rimmed with read and puffed out. He sighed.

Tetsuna's bead had shattered before losing her chakra signature. He knew what it meant but it was hard to accept it. No one else had mentioned it in the room and Kakashi suspected that no one wanted to. To speak the truth into existence ... that would make the reason behind the shattered bead all all too real.

"How about you all come back later. I'll send word when he wakes up" Kakashi said. Most of them were reluctant to leave their friend but in the end he managed to usher them out. He peered over at Sakura at Naruto's bed side.

"You leave too Sakura-chan. You get some rest."

Sakura didn't move an inch. Kakashi placed his hand on her shoulder. Her big green eyes peered up into his face.

"Is..is Tetsuna really gone? I mean maybe the bead just finally broke or something ...right?"

Kakashi let out a long breath blinking slowly. Sakura sounded so desperate right now that he didn't think he could tell her and break her further. But he'd seen battles where Tetsuna had used those beads to block attacks that should have shattered them. The likelihood of them just breaking was ...slim. Sakura's lips thinned at his silence, and she brought her knees up to her chin and stubbornly turned to continue to watch Naruto.

Kakashi left her alone. The weight of everything finally getting to him.