It was a beautiful, sunny day in Konoha, the sunlight making the village explode with colour. A cool gentle breeze swirled around the buildings, stroking and cooling the people that travelled through the streets. The people were relieved to get back to their normal routines after the long, hard rebuilding after Orochimaru's attack. They had picked up the pieces and started to move on.
Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino
weaved through a small street, each carrying a small pile of
gift-wrapped boxes. The sunlight glinted off their Konoha forehead
protectors, the proud mark of the Leaf shinobi.
"Thanks for
helping me with my errands, Ino." Sakura smiled at her old friend. "Ah,
I wasn't needed at the flower shop." Ino smiled back. "And, well... you
looked like you could use the company, Sakura." she quietly added.
Sakura's emerald eyes flitted downwards, and she sadly smiled, mumbling
a thanks. Ino sighed, then chuckled "Come on, Sakura, I'm sure that at
any minute now, Naruto will be dragging Sasuke-kun back through the
front gate. Whether he likes it or not." Sakura laughed at the mental
image of Naruto dragging a sulking Sasuke through the streets by his
foot. "That's more like you, Sakura." Ino smiled sincerely. "And in no
time, we'll be at each other throats again over Sasuke-kun, ugly
forehead girl."
"Ino-pig." Sakura smirked.
"Forehead girl." the blonde shot back playfully.
Sakura laughed once more, and smiled. "Thanks a lot, Ino...pig." "Anytime, forehead girl." Ino jeered.
The girls rounded the corner, and found themselves in the main road
leading from the front gate. Sakura and Ino paused. Where there had
been peace, there was now chaos. A crowd had collected at the front
gate. Something was going on. The air was shattered by the shout of a
woman.
"Get the injured to the hospital NOW!"
Ino and Sakura whirled around in shock, and saw Shizune sprinting as fast as her legs could carry her, with six medics following her, stretchers in hand. Shizune was hollering at the top of her voice... and her face... Something was horribly wrong.
The girls' eyes followed Shizune as she shot past them, medics trailing in her wake, towards the crowd.
Sakura
experienced a horrible, painful, crushing feeling in her stomach, her
heart seemed to shoot up to her throat. She could feel her heartbeats
thudding throughout her body. Her eyes widened at the crowd. "Ino..."
she croaked. "Naruto... Sasuke-kun..?" Ino's face also washed over with
dread. Shikamaru. Chouji. Sasuke-kun.
Without any further
words, the two kunoichis shot towards the crowd, running as fast as
they could. Their boxes lay in a crumpled heap, forgotten, in the
street.
The girls had almost reached the crowd, when a stretcher, bore by two medics, shot out. As they quickly stood aside, Ino and Sakura caught a glimpse of the patient's face.
Neji.
Neji
was drifting in and out of consciousness. His striking white eyes were
half closed, his breathing ragged, with a gas mask over his face. His
body and face were covered with his own blood. His usually immaculate
hair was all over his face, matted with blood and sweat. His headband
had been torn off, exposing the seal Neji cursed with every fiber of
his being.
"No... This... this is horrible..." Ino gasped. It
looked like their worst fears were about to happen - there was no
question that Team Shikamaru were back and, judging from Shizune's
face, things seemed to have gone horribly wrong. She looked at Sakura.
Sakura's face mirrored Ino's, drained of colour, fear in her eyes.
Before Ino could say anything, Sakura had shot off into the crowd.
"Let me through! Please! Sasuke-kun!? Naruto!?" Sakura struggled
through the crowd, her arms diving between people, making small gaps so
she could squeeze through. It seemed to take an eternity to dig her way
through the bodies. Ino was right behind Sakura, following the path the
pink-haired kunoichi had dug her way through.
The sunlight
blinded Sakura as she finally broke through to the other side. As her
vision swam back into focus, she was aware of a hunched black shape
knelt over an unconscious figure sprawled onto a stretcher. Then she
heard Shizune's screaming. It was incoherent at first, then individual
words began to take shape.
"...Breathe..!"
"...Damn..!"
"Damn it... breathe!"
"...Tsunade..!"
"Get Tsunade-sama here now! "
"Damn it, Naruto, breathe!"
Naruto...?
That thought pierced Sakura's heart like a needle. This did not feel real.
"NARUTO!?"
Sakura screamed her lungs out, yelling his name. Her eyes shot to the
boy laying on the stretcher. His spiky blond hair was matted and
filthy. His bright, cheeky face was now pale and lifeless. His mouth
was covered with blood. His trademark orange jacket had been flung to
the ground on the side. A ripped, blood-spattered shirt lain alongside,
staining the ground underneath it with blood. His cherished Konoha
headband, his most treasured possession, lay atop the jacket, catching
the sunlight.
Shizune kept yelling at Naruto, her hands glowing
with Chakra and pumping his bare chest. Her hands and his chest were
covered with blood. There was an ugly wound in his right breast - which
was covered with a blood-stopping ointment. Shizune was choking back
tears, all the while pumping with her hands and screaming at Naruto to
come back to life. Naruto's prized necklace bounced and glinted in the
sunlight as his chest was jolted.
"Naruto!? What happened!? Naruto!? Sasuke-kun!?"
Sakura kept screaming. She began to run forward, but she was forcefully
restrained by a green blur. Rock Lee wrapped his arms around her and
pulled her back. Sakura was shocked. "Lee-san..? Lee-san, please let me
go!" Sakura demanded, tears streaking down her cheeks, and her fists
pounding Lee's legs and arms. Rock Lee was clearly struggling to
contain her and himself. "Please stay back, Sakura-chan! Help is coming
for Naruto-kun!" Sakura tore up, sobbing uncontrollably. They both sank
to the ground, Sakura burying her face in Lee's shoulder. Lee moved his
hand up to the back of Sakura's head, trying to comfort her. While he
did not show tears, his mouth was pulled down into a deep, trembling
frown, his brow furrowed.
I had hoped I would never see the tears of an important person again... Lee thought, letting Sakura cry onto his shoulder.
While Sakura sobbed, Ino simply knelt open-mouthed and wide-eyed with
shock. She could not believe the sight before her very eyes.
Uzumaki Naruto was on the brink of death. The loud mouthed ninja was
lying there lifeless. Ino could not believe it. The boy had seemed so
indestructible in spirit and body. She remembered his Chuunin
tournament fight against Neji, the village's number one rookie before
Sasuke, where he had somehow reactivated his Chakra after being hit
with Neji's Hakke 64 Hands technique. Not only that, he had become so
powerful. He had completely blown away everyone's doubts, including her
own. Naruto's victory had made the entire shinobi crowd reassess him.
No-one had known he possessed such enormous chakra within him. He was
no longer dropout-boy. No longer Dead Last.
Ino remembered Sakura's words after Team Shikamaru had left to recover Sasuke.
::Flashback::
Sakura
was sitting on Naruto's swing under the tree next to the school. Ino
sat on the plush grass, next to Sakura in the tree's cool shadow.
"This is where Naruto used to sit alone after class, isn't it?" Ino
asked. Sakura didn't respond, simply rocking back and forth on the
swing.
"What's on your mind, Sakura?" Ino enquired softly, her
head cocked towards Sakura at a quizzical angle, an eyebrow arched.
Sakura gently rocked to and fro on the swing, her chin resting in her
hands, her elbows on her knees. A few seconds silence passed until
Sakura quietly spoke.
"I'm starting to think that I've treated Naruto badly..."
"Oh..?"
"Right before he left... I begged him to bring Sasuke-kun back to me...
What he said next hit me so hard." Sakura sighed sadly, and her voice
began to break. "H-He said.. 'You really like Sasuke, huh? I know how
much pain you are in because of Sasuke...' Then he said..."
"...'I can understand.'"
A
tear rolled down Sakura's cheek. "Ino, he always knew. He always helped
me so much." Her voice was cracked with emotion. "How could I have
treated him so hard? He always helped me so much, and I put him down so
often."
"Hey, Sakura, maybe you can talk with Naruto when he
gets back." Ino smiled. "After you've told him off for dragging
Sasuke-kun along the ground."
Sakura sniffed and smiled. "Yeah,
Naruto's gotten really strong now. He was also the one who saved me
from Gaara the Sand. Sasuke-kun told me Naruto gave everything and
risked death, even showing powers we've never seen." Then her eyes
softened and sadness returned. "... I realise now I never said thank
you to him... I was grateful and touched, but I didn't say thank you..."
"Hey, hey, you'll have your chance to say thank you, Sakura!" Ino
chided Sakura. "You won't do yourself or anyone any good just sitting
here crying... I'm sure they'll be back soon and you'll get your chance
to thank Naruto and tell off Sasuke." Ino finished with a smile. Sakura
simply nodded and smiled, once again pushing herself on Naruto's swing,
her hands gripping the ropes of the swing.
::End flashback::
A
horrible thought entered Ino's head as she looked at Sakura, who was
still in Lee's arms, her emerald eyes now upon Naruto. What if she doesn't get the chance to talk to Naruto... What if he dies..? Where is Sasuke-kun..?
Just
as the thought finished, Naruto gasped, taking in breath. Sakura
gasped, "Please don't die, Naruto..." She jolted forward, but was held
back by Lee. "Sakura-chan, please." Lee whispered. The crowd suddenly
parted and Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, sprinted through with a bag of
medical supplies. She quickly went on her knees, skidding along the
ground before coming to a halt. Tsunade's face was etched with worry, a
bead of sweat rolling down her forehead, over her curious diamond mark.
She quickly slipped a gas mask over Naruto's mouth, and felt his face.
"My god, he's so cold." Tsunade's deep brown eyes darted all over
Naruto's body. "His heart is now beating, and he is breathing,
Tsunade-sama, but he's so weak. He's lost a lot of blood," Shizune
whispered, her brow furrowed, her face contorted with grim worry.
"Okay, Shizune, we need to get Naruto to the hospital right now. We
can't do anything more for him out here." The Hokage picked Naruto up
in her arms, his gas tank secured by a sling to her right shoulder.
"Stretcher is far too slow, I'll carry him there! Take care of
Shikamaru and the others!" With that, Tsunade shot up into the air and
away to the hospital.
"Naruto! Wait!" Sakura cried after the blur.
Ino didn't know what to say... she was lost for words. To see Sakura so
wrecked with grief and worry hurt her so much. Her eyes wandered with
no purpose across the scene. A battered-looking Kiba was being helped
to his feet by a medic, with Akamaru appearing to be asleep within his
jacket. Then she spotted a pony haired Chuunin, kneeling on the ground
next to a draped figure.
"Shikamaru..."
Ino had
never seen Shikamaru like this. He was normally so laid-back,
dispassionate and would constantly complain about the smallest thing.
But this time, he was crying. Hot tears ran down his face, which was
twisted with sorrow, his teeth gritted in anger. He looked so angry and
upset. He was shaking all over with rage.
"Shikamaru! What
happened!?" Ino yelled. She jolted herself off her knees and sprinted
the short distance to him. She knelt down and her face was level with
his. Shikamaru sobbed, his eyes half open at Ino. He was in so much
pain. "Ino..." His voice was a mixture of grief and rage. He slowly,
painfully, drew the words out of himself, like they were a dagger
buried deep within himself.
"Chouji... my best friend... is dead. Naruto... Neji... they're dying."
Ino felt sick. She was sure she was going to vomit, and tears started
gathering under her blue eyes, rolling down her cheeks. "What... what
happened..? Shikamaru?" Ino stammered. Shikamaru sniffed, trying to
control his tears. "Chouji sacrificed himself, defeating one of the
Sound ninja while we sped ahead in pursuit of the rest. He, he used the
red Akamichi pill. He became so... so strong and defeated that monster,
but it was too much and he died."
Ino's eyes drifted from
Shikamaru to the draped figure. She reached out with a trembling arm,
and gently picked one end of the sheet. She carefully pulled, slowly
uncovering Chouji's face. He looked so peaceful, a faint smile across
his lip. He looked like he was just sleeping.
"He died for nothing! My best friend died for nothing! Naruto and Neji could die for nothing !" Shikamaru spat the words out.
Shizune had knelt down beside Shikamaru, her hand on his back. Ino was
taken aback by his words. "What..? What do you mean by that..?" she
gasped, in-between sobs. Sakura was also listening, and her sobs showed
no sign of slowing down. Lee closed his eyes, staying silent, but his
expression betrayed him, showing his pain.
"That bastard
betrayed us!" Shikamaru's head went even lower, his tears falling onto
the ground. His fists slammed into the ground. "I saw him! That bastard , Sasuke!"
Sakura and Ino gasped, not believing what they had just heard. Lee
remained silent, gritting his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut even
harder. "S-Sasuke-kun..? What did he do..?" Sakura gasped. She was in
so much pain it did not feel real. Shikamaru looked at Sakura and Ino
angrily, tears still streaming down his face. Shizune remained still,
her mouth gaping slightly in shocked silence.
"That traitor...
I saw him and Naruto at the waterfall..." His tone became enraged. "I
used to respect Sasuke so much, as a skilled ninja and Uchiha. But
now..." His teeth gritted so hard. "... if I ever see his face again, I
will kill him!" Ino could not believe this. She had never seen
Shikamaru so angry. "What did he do!?" Ino demanded. Sakura could only
gape, her emerald eyes wide open with disbelief.
"We saw
them... Sasuke was holding Naruto up... with that Chidori in Naruto's
chest... Then he threw Naruto down the waterfall. The bastard tried to kill him! Sasuke tried to kill Naruto!"
Those very words brought Sakura's world crashing down. Everything
around her seemed to shatter like glass, the pieces falling in slow
motion.
Sasuke-kun, the object of her love, had turned his back on the Leaf. And he had tried to kill Naruto.