Title: "All Fade Away"
Author: Yukari Rin
Series: Naruto
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Uchiha Sasuke x Haruno Sakura
Theme: #03 - four rings of light upon the ceiling overhead
Rating: T
Notes: My goodness, it feel like it's been forever since I've written these two, Sakura especially. This one-shot is dedicated to Sahara Storm, who has put me in a proper mood for war!angst!fics. Thank you, babe!
Disclaimer: Naruto and related properties belong to Masashi Kishimoto and related parties.

"All Fade Away"

She wasn't sure she wanted to open her eyes. Dammit, she wasn't supposed to be here in this position. She ripped into herself once more, screaming at her inner self for her failure once again. She squeezed her eyelids tightly shut, wanting the world to simply fade away, but the pain was too real. The beeping of the machines beside her bed was too loud, even though their rhythmic would normally be ignorable. She clenched her fists - that is, she thought she did. The pain in her torso faded to numbness the further from her chest it went.

She bit back the tears she felt welling in her eyes and lets out the gasp she had been holding back since she realized she was awake. It came out harshly, the following breaths shaky. Slowly she opened her eyes, adjusting to the dim light of the hospital room. It should have been brighter, but after years of war any money coming into the village went directly to furnishing the scant number of troops that had survived with the best weapons possible as well as medical supplies. The buildings across town had gone into various states of disrepair. No nurses were walking down the hall, no doctors were visiting patients. It was just the machines and her breathing, and the soft buzzing of the dying light bulbs keeping the room from being silent.

The room brightened tremendously as the overhead light surged to its full power. It was an old-style unit, made of four fluorescent tube circled around each other likes a bulls-eye. The outermost ring quickly flickered dead. Sakura couldn't help but think of Kakashi.

He'd been dead for a few years now, died in the first major battle of the war. It had been his own fault, too. Him and his "must always arrive late" principle. But he was himself to the bitter end, she mused, shaking her head slightly. At least he hadn't left behind a family like Kurenai had. He daughter had been five when the genjutsu specialist had been cut in half from top to bottom.

Sakura's eyes had drifted away to the other parts of the room as she let her mind wander, the small amount of morphine she had been issued slowly making its way through her system as she lightly pressed the switch in her numb hand. The second ring sputtered several times, bringing attention back to the light. It was fighting itself to keep shining, but the gas stopped burning and it dimmed within a handful of seconds.

Naruto.

He had fought his death with his entire being. But having exhausted his supply of chakra in addition to the constant supply the Kyuubi gave him had left him open and vulnerable to Sasuke's fifth Chidori that ran through his heart. If it hadn't been for the kunai he always kept of his sleeve, his death would have been just another tragedy.

The third ring flickered out ten seconds after the second.

Sasuke. Sasuke.

He had looked terrifyingly beautiful as he fought. Expression cool and detached, he had gone through ninja after ninja without blinking an eye, full of grace and confidence in his skill. She had cried out as his Chidori pierced Naruto, but she had wailed when Naruto's kunai slid between Sasuke's ribs puncturing a lung. The two men had collapsed and Sakura had ignored the fact that she could still save Udon and rushed to their sides. The wounds she had barely attended to on her own body opened again, and swore as she stepped on a makibishi. She limped as she ran, but didn't slow down.

The seal on Naruto's stomach was already steaming by the time she had made her way to them across the field of fallen bodies, exploding tags, scarred tree stumps of what had once been the dense forest hiding the village, and weapons scattered across the ground. Sasuke was gasping for breath, clutching his chest and staring into Naruto's dulling blue eyes. She had only one shuriken left and she brought it across Sasuke's cheek. He had dodged her just enough to keep the sharp edge from slitting his throat.

She had wanted to kill him, but she was sick of fighting. Sick of losing those she loved. It wasn't just Kakashi and Udon and now Naruto. It was Ino, Konohamaru, Tsunade, Moegi, Hinata, Shikamaru, Neji, Shizune, Iruka, Anko, Genma and just about every other person she knew. Those that had survived the battles had all been sent to other fronts, and no word had been brought back from messengers.

Sasuke smirked at her, even as blood trailed from his mouth. "Can't kill me?" he coughed out, blood speckling Sakura's already dirty face.

"You're wanted alive for questioning," she spat back at him. Her grip on the shuriken tightened, her knuckles turning white. "Alive for questioning and the removal of your eyes for genetic research."

Sakura closed her eyes, willing the memory to stop. She knew how it ended. But it kept playing. She groaned as she picked him up. It would be bridal-style thanks to the kunai in his chest, and he was much larger than her. She used the last bit of energy and chakra she had to return to the village proper. An Academy student had been there to see Sakura collapse, and had quickly acted in pulling together a makeshift sled to drag the kunoichi and shinobi to the hospital on.

Sasuke had died being dragged through the streets of the town he had betrayed.

Sakura turned her head hesitantly to the right and looked that the bed beside her. A sheet covered the body's face, but the unruly raven locks were splayed across the dirty pillowcase. All of her teammates were dead now. What more did she have to live for?

She felt a tear trail out of her left eye and over her nose, dropping against her pillow. She had nothing more to fight for. Konoha had lost the war long ago, but ninja only knew how to fight, so they fought until they couldn't anymore. A paralyzed ninja was nothing but a liability to his or her village. The tears fell more freely now as she stared at Sasuke's dead body, and she began sobbing angrily.

It wasn't supposed to have been like this, dammit.