Last chapter!

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Chapter 11

Masao felt a feeling of dread wash over him when he saw Naruto run toward him from the tree line. The blond haired shinobi wore a pained expression on his face.

"We need you now," Naruto told him quietly.

Masao just nodded and gave instructions to his monks to follow. The group quickly flew through the forest closer to the Oto lair.

"Naruto, what went wrong?" Masao said as he came up besides the shinobi.

Tears filled his eyes. "Kakashi really needs you right now. I don't know what exactly happened since I wasn't there. All I know is that Sakura is gone."

"Gone?" Masao said shocked by what he just heard.

All Naruto could do is nod. The man was fighting to keep his composure as they ran to join the rest of the group. Neither one spoke as they picked up the pace.

Masao knew that his friend would be inconsolable by the loss and he feared what Kakashi would do now that had lost another person that he loved. They had many conversations on how Kakashi felt that he was cursed in love and how he should never let anyone close to him because it was a death sentence for the other person. It took years to convince the man of the contrary and to open his heart again. Now that he had finally found love, it was cruelly stripped from him.

The group arrived to the area outside the hideout. Naruto had left some of his kage bunshins to guard the remaining Oto shinobi that they had encountered inside. Sasuke was directing everyone on what needed to be done, while the group waited for the ANBU cleanup teams to come and finish the job. The raven haired man turned to greet the group as they moved closer to the entrance. Even though Sasuke didn't show it outwardly, Masao noted the pain in the stoic man's eyes as he moved closer to him.

"Where is he?" Masao said quietly.

"Inside," the last Uchiha told him, "Down to the left."

After Masao gave his monks their assignments, he entered the lair to find his friend. The windowless rooms created as sense of walking through a crypt. The eerie glow of the lighting cast long shadows against the walls creating a sense of foreboding. Masao couldn't help but wonder how the inhabitants of the lair were not affected by the gloom that they were subjected to by living in this place.

Stepping in the room, Masao found Karin watching over Kakashi. Kakashi had his head in his hands staring at the floor. Karin gave the abbot a cheerless smile as he walked closer to the duo. No words were needed as he gazed at his distraught friend. Karin just nodded and left the two men alone. Masao sat down besides Kakashi. Neither spoke for an extended time.

"She's gone, Masao," Kakashi finally said in hushed tones. "Even though I tried, I couldn't protect her."

Masao turned to his longtime friend and placed a comforting hand on Kakashi's shoulder. He knew that there was nothing he could say right now to console him. All he could do now was listen and support him.

The ANBU teams had finally arrived to help with taking care of the prisoners and making sure that the hideout was secure. Sasuke had sent one of his messenger hawks to the Hokage to break the news that Sakura had been lost. It had been one of the hardest things he had ever had to do since he came back to Konoha. He still couldn't believe that she was truly gone. It was hard to watch Naruto painfully going through the motions, struggling to maintain his composure as he did his duty. Sasuke knew that it was taking all that Naruto had not to break down.

Even though Sasuke was not an emotional person, the loss of Sakura weighed heavily on his mind. He was finding it difficult not to let his mind drift to the loss of a good friend and team mate. Sakura was more like the sister he never had. Even though he had lost team mates before, the loss he was feeling now compared to losing his parents so many years before. He knew that it would take time for him to deal with not having the bubbly medic at his side any more.

As the teams took over the cleanup, Sasuke's mind couldn't help but wander to the course of events that had led up to Sakura's demise only a few hours before. There was something that didn't seem quite right about the situation. He needed to go back to where they found Kabuto and Sakura's smoldering remains before any of the teams made it there, to find some peace for his troubled mind.

"What do I do now Masao?" Kakashi said dejectedly, "What do I do now that I have lost her?"

Masao looked Kakashi in the eye. "You live life to its fullest, Kakashi. That is what Sakura would have wanted you to do."

Kakashi just stared at his lifelong friend. He knew that Sakura wouldn't have wanted him to give up just because she was gone, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he had failed her by his actions. It felt like the weight of the world had crashed down upon him and that his heart had broken into a million pieces. Even though he knew that what Masao had just told him what Sakura would want him to do, he couldn't help but wonder if he would ever be able to heal again.

Sakura had awoke abruptly when the explosion had went off. She was exhausted after she released herself from the restraints and had just made it out of the room right before the guard came in. Using the special kage bunshin that Tsunade had taught her to use in this type of situation, she had just enough chakra to pull it off before leaving the confines of her prison. It was perfect for what she had planned for Kabuto. When he came close enough, her double would detonate taking the demented shinobi with her double. Not sensing anyone coming in her general direction, she decided to rest some more to regain her strength just in case she encountered any resistance when she made it out of the lair.

Making his way into the corridor, Sasuke looked down on the ashes that were once Sakura. He crouched down beside the blacken remains activating his sharingan to closely look at them. Normally when someone died, there would be traces of their chakra. As he looked down, there wasn't enough of the chakra signature that should have been left and the chakra that was there was casting an irregular pattern. Sasuke went down the hall to the room that Sakura was being in held and activated his sharingan again. Looking around the room, there were no chakra signatures, but when he looked towards the ceiling, he detected a faint signature. It was hard to discern on what he was looking at since it seemed far away. Noticing the air duct, Sasuke lifted himself up to search for the signature.

Sensing a presence moving closer to her, Sakura became fully awake. Fighting in an enclosed area wasn't the best situation. She quickly scrambled to the next room, and dropped down after she made sure that the room was secure. She readied herself to face the fast moving intruder. All she could do is hope that she had enough chakra to protect herself.

The chakra that he sensed was now moving quickly in front of him. He tracked it to a dimly lit room below the air vent. Grabbing his kunai and wires, he lowered himself into the room ready to take on whoever was waiting there for him. As he turned, he saw a flash of pink as he used his wires to ensnare his attacker. Sasuke was shocked when he looked down and saw his team mate struggling to escape his trap.

"Sakura?" he said, "Sakura is that you?"

Sakura's head snapped up and stared at him. "Sasuke, let me out of these damn wires, you ass!" she snarled. "What the hell do you think you are doing?"

Sasuke chuckled with relief as he let the furious kunoichi out of his trap. As she was released, he pulled her into his crushing embrace, thankful that she was not dead.

Sakura was shocked as the Uchiha heir held her tightly.

"Ummm…Sasuke, what is going on?"

She received no reply as her childhood friend held on to her tightly, happy that she was still alive. After a while, Sasuke released her.

"You are so annoying sometimes," he uttered, "but I'm glad you are still here with us in the living. You cannot believe the mess you made by making us all think you were dead."

"Us? Who else is here with you?" she inquired.

"All of us, you fool. Do you think we would just abandon you to the likes of Kabuto?" he declared, looking at her offended at the thought.

His words sank in to her tired brain. Suddenly, her head snapped up when she realized that the rest of the group thought her dead. She didn't even want to think what Kakashi was feeling if he was there with the group.

"Sasuke, where is Kakashi?" she said in a panic.

Realizing the torment that the silver haired shinobi must be going through, Sasuke grabbed Sakura's arm and abruptly dragged her into the hallway towards entrance where everyone was waiting.

Naruto and Masao had escorted Kakashi out the entrance of the hideout so the ANBU teams could finish the final part of their mission, removing the remains of Sakura and Kabuto. As the ANBU team carried out the body bags, Kakashi and Naruto broke down. Even the most hardened shinobi there couldn't help but feel the pain that the two respected men were feeling at this moment. Sakura had healed most of them at one time or another, some of them owed her their lives. Silent tears ran down the faces of the two men as they grieved for Sakura. The rest of the shinobi and monks were silent to honor Sakura, showing their respect for the accomplished medic.

Sasuke suddenly emerged from the entrance, taking in the scene before him. All eyes turned to him as he made his way to the top of the stairs. Assured that he had everyone's attention, he retreated down the steps to help his team mate out of the lair. A collective gasp of surprise could be heard as Sakura stepped out into the light.

Kakashi was at her side in a flash. He stood in front of her astonished, as he took in her tired form, making sure that it was truly her. His heart could not take another blow if the person in front of him was not Sakura.

The pink haired medic could see the pain and uncertainty in his eyes. She didn't want to think of the pain he had gone through when he thought her to be gone from this realm. As she started to speak, Kakashi pulled her into his embrace and kissed her fiercely, not caring who witnessed his expression of love and happiness.

A joint cry of relief and some cat calls erupted from the group as the two lovers kissed. Separating from their heated show of affection, Naruto grasped the couple into his bear-like embrace happy that Sakura had not been taken from their midst. Sasuke just smiled, not wanting to join the group hug. Even though he wouldn't admit it, he was relieved that the female part of their team was still with them. Soon the group disbanded, so they could finish the clean up so they could finally go home.

Kakashi kept Sakura close at hand, not letting her to stray too far from his watchful eyes. Karin had looked her over and deemed her fit for the journey home. Aside from some depleted reserves, Sakura was healthy despite her ill-fated adventure. As the group busied themselves for the journey home, Kakashi swept her into his arms and kissed her deeply.

"Don't you ever do that to me again," Kakashi scolded her.

Sakura touched his cheek tenderly, sensing the pain that he endured while she was gone as he held her close to him.

"I promise," she murmured as she kissed his lips again.

Sensing that he didn't want to release her, she wound her arms around his neck and nestled her head into the crook of his neck, delighted to be in his warm embrace. She felt safe in his strong arms. It was not long before she relaxed, and fell asleep in his arms. The last thing she remembered before drifting asleep was his soft lips against her cheek and the sense of completeness being with the man that she loved.

As she drifted off on Morpheus' wings, a saying that her mother had always told her came back to her. "Things that don't kill you, will make you stronger, Sakura," she would say when Sakura faced any adversity. At the time, it would only anger her, and being a teenager didn't help her understand her mother's message to her. Now that she was older, her mother's saying took on a new meaning. If you held on and did your best, adversity would make you more resilient. Now that she and Kakashi had weathered through this difficult time together, there was no doubt in her mind that their love would grow and they would endure any test that was thrown at them in the future. Content with her realization that she was finally with her soul mate, she finally drifted off to sleep so she could greet the new day with the man she loved.

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