I watch my own lifeblood slowly leak out of me. Sakura is frozen in shock and fear, as is most everyone.
Mizuki finally steps out into the clearing. "Lee? What are you doing here?"
"Does it really matter?" I huff, panting. My head tells me to sit down, to rest, but I can't do that. Mizuki tried to hurt Sakura. He'll pay…
"Get out of the way," Mizuki growls. I see Sasuke climb up a tree out of the corner of my eye. I don't know what the heck he's trying to pull, but whatever it is, it better work.
I'm slowly dying. Sakura still won't move, tears forming in her eye only to be dried up.
"No!" I yell, standing firmly on the blood-soaked grass. I yank the shuriken out of my body, causing the wound to split open even farther. Sakura yelps, Naruto steps backward…
But I can see Shikamaru flipping a scroll open. But this one is red, and it's covered in horribly scrawled kanji that I've never seen before.
"Are you sure this'll work?" Shikamaru desperately calls to Naruto as he runs to my side.
"Yeah!" Naruto responds, jumping into the clearing himself. Both of them assume the same position, their hands moving furiously.
I hack up some phlegm-like blood. My eyes are repulsed yet transfixed on the sight. I know I have hardly any time left.
Sakura closes her eyes, and I can't hear her whimpers anymore. Mizuki has grabbed a giant shuriken out of his belt loop.
"Move, Lee!" Mizuki screams.
"I won't!" I cry desperately. "I don't care what you do to me…! But she can't die!"
I know talking is killing me slowly, but I don't care at all. "She won't die… she won't…! I swear, Sakura…!"
I fall to my knees, panting. I can't live much longer. Sakura is focusing all her energies to something… Shikamaru and Naruto have finally stopped moving their hands… and Sasuke is still poised and waiting, waiting for God knows what…
"Art of the Doppelganger!" Naruto shrieks.
"Ice Crystal Magic Mirror Technique!" Shikamaru calls into the air.
Hundreds of water droplets move to form mirrors, surrounding Mizuki. Thousands of flesh-and-blood doppelgangers reflect in the mirrors, and a few more stand outside of them.
Mizuki whirls around frantically. Naruto's thousand copies have all armed kunai knifes, and the ones outside of the mirror ball arm their shuriken.
In a well-placed move, Mizuki grabs a kunai knife and stabs a mirror. The mirror shatters, sending a bloodied Shikamaru against the ground. The thousand Naruto copies disappear. Now there's only about ten. Mizuki looks at the Naruto copies… when one of them strikes him in the back, coming from behind. Mizuki falls, more blood being shed.
Mizuki, however, isn't so easily defeated. Mizuki flips Naruto onto the ground, slamming him into his comrade's own blood and sweat. Shikamaru is clinging to his consciousness, I can tell, with his eyes flittering open then closed. He still holds the green scroll in his arms, cradling it like a baby.
Naruto is out cold on impact with the ground. Now crimson blood dribbles from his mouth into the red pool.
I stare up at the tree Sasuke was occupying. He jumps down to look at the near-defeated Mizuki. Mizuki looks pretty mad.
Sakura opens her eyes. There is a strange symbol swirling around in it, and she looks pretty determined.
Sakura copies Shikamaru's hand movements from moments before with swift efficiency, and then stops. She narrows her eyes precariously, and shouts, "ICE CRYSTAL MAGIC MIRROR TECHNIQUE!"
I gasp as mirrors surround all of us. I can see myself, and I look bad. There is blood coating every square inch of my body, except for most of my face and my left foot, and the cut on my chest is deep and showing no signs of congealing completely. I try to move, but movement hurts. The puddle of blood I stand in has gotten ripples in it from my slow, jerky movement.
But Sasuke has a glint in his eye. He forms a completely alien chakra sign, and then smirks assertively.
"CHANGE!" Sasuke cries. Sakura shakes as she tries to hold the mirrors up, but her energy is growing low. Shikamaru opens the green scroll, and Naruto begins to come to, opening his eyes slowly but surely.
Sasuke is engulfed with smoke. Sakura is trembling in pain, but she doesn't waver. Naruto sits up doubtfully, and Mizuki pushes himself up off the ground… but then Sasuke… if you can call him that… emerges from the smoke.
Except he's a naked girl… a very good looking one at that. He smiles, as his reflection is blasted at Mizuki.
"I like to call it the Ninja Centerfold, Mizuki-sensei," Sasuke smirks, brushing a strand of long, flowing black hair out of his (her?) face.
Mizuki's not listening. He suffers from a positively huge nosebleed, and falls headfirst into a mirror.
Sakura stops the attack, flopping onto the ground in exhaustion. The mirrors disappear, save the one Mizuki shatters, and Sasuke transforms back to his normal, suave self.
How can he look so relaxed? He's…!
I forgot that he's not so tense in this world.
Shikamaru and Naruto are beginning to finally snap out of their funk. Sakura breathes heavily, heaving and huffing, gasping for air.
I collapse onto the ground. I know I am close to death, and that if something isn't done quickly, I'll be with Kakashi and Naruto's parents…
"Lee's dying!" Naruto cries. My eyes are flittering closed, and I can barely see the orange-clad friend before me.
"What do we do then?" Shikamaru asks. My eyes are now completely closed.
"Lee!" Sakura shrieks. "Lee!" My breathing is slowing down… I guess it's inevitable now…
"Give me the scroll!" Sasuke suddenly orders. I can almost feel his tense gaze boring a hole through Shikamaru. I can't see it though. I can't see anything, frankly.
"What?"
"Give it to me!"
I am barely tethered to the world. I know… now it's my turn to leave… goodbye, Sakura… Naruto, Sasuke… Shikamaru… Master Gai… goodbye…
---
"What's wrong?"
"What happened?"
"I don't get it…"
"You don't get anything."
"Look, he's coming about!"
I open my eyes slowly. I'm alive. I look at my hands. They aren't stained with my blood. I look at my chest. No gaping hole. No blood. No signs that anything fatal ever happened.
I blink. Around me, many people gather around. Naruto Uzumaki, his goofy grin and stupid stare that I hadn't seen in so long. Sasuke Uchiha, back to his tense and moody self. Sakura Haruno… looking concerned…
But she doesn't have the same look to her. The one that said she'd never leave my side again, that she'd never stop loving me…
It hits me.
"What happened?" I ask immediately, sitting up straight away. I see even more people, like Shikamaru, who has a look of strange relief.
And even more settling is the fact that Kakashi is standing in here.
"Kakashi…!" I manage to stammer. "Sasuke…! Sakura…! Naruto, Shikamaru, Ino…!"
"How hard did you hit your head?" Sakura asks blankly.
"My head?" I repeat.
"Yeah," Shikamaru answers. "You suffered a concussion. You're lucky Sasuke found you."
"Yay Sasuke!" Sakura cries.
"Yay!" Ino yells.
The room, gradually, clears out after a few hours of talking and such. I am shocked to see that Naruto and Sasuke are the only two left here. I'm not so shaken by Naruto staying. He is, after all, one of my few friends. But why Sasuke…?
"You're just going to let her go?" Naruto finally says. I cock my head slightly.
"You mean Sakura?" I ask.
"No, I mean Ino. Of course I mean Sakura," Naruto snaps. Sasuke looks at the floor.
"I don't blame you for being confused," Sasuke sighs, "because that was confusing."
I blanch. "He… he…?"
"Yep, he remembers everything from that world," Naruto nods. "And he saved you…"
"Naruto," I frown, "I hope you learned something from this."
"Yeah," Sasuke scowls as well.
"Oh, yeah, I did learn something," Naruto smiles. "Hinata is my soul mate!"
Sasuke and I are on the same wavelength, for I stood up and we both walked menacingly over to him…
And I'm just a bit glad. For whatever reason, I'm glad to be back in my normal world. So what if Sakura doesn't think anything of me now? She did at one point.
And that's all that matters.
Well, that and pounding a lesson into Naruto… pardon the pun.
The End
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto.
A/N: Yes, this was a fairly short story for me. Everything had to move at a fast pace, otherwise it wouldn't have had the same… punch, I guess.
So, for my second serious Naruto project (okay, Sasuke Gets Stuck in a Hole… that was NOT a serious project!), I am writing something from Sasuke's POV… I'll give you the title and a short summary…
Sasuke, Day In and Day Out is the title. The summary? Okay… Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura are forced to live in a house together. Sasuke keeps his usual deadpan attitude as he adjusts to his new life, dealing with morning slogs, laundry day, and everyday life.
It sounds weird, doesn't it?
Why isn't anyone talking?