Carnival

"Sakura…"

It was bright out, so much so that his eyes took a while to adjust. He tried to remain calm but all he could see was her body at the beast's feet. He needed to know, he needed to see.

In the fog of his vision was a girl twirling, dancing in the sunlight. A few minutes later, her dark hair became clear. Sasuke couldn't turn away after that. He just watched Hinata dance in the sun, the sickening feeling in his stomach deepening.

"She's not here," Naruto said. Sasuke turned his head and saw the blond haired boy sitting next to him on the bench. "I waited because I thought maybe she was just somewhere else. But…"

Sasuke stood up and looked around, staring across the campus of the hospital, looking for the familiar pink hair in the sea of lab coats and hospital gowns. "Where is she?"

"I said she's not here," Naruto replied.

"She has to be here. She can't just… disappear."

Naruto leaned forward and looked out into the field. "She didn't. Hinata… Hinata just replaced her here."

Sasuke looked out into the field again. He knew, somewhere in the back of his mind where the memory of her last words resided. He just didn't want to believe it. He sank into the seat next to Naruto. They sat in silence for a while, both watching Hinata dance in the sunlight.

"What now?" Sasuke asked.

"I… don't know," Naruto replied.

"You do. We have to go back. If anything, we have to trade her for Sakura."

Naruto blinked and looked at him. "What?"

Sasuke glared back. "Hinata's not real, Naruto, Sakura is."

"How do you know?" Naruto demanded. "Hinata is just as alive now as Sakura was."

"Because that's not the Hinata we know," Sasuke said. "Just like no one here is who we really know. Except the three of us."

Naruto paused and watched her raise her hands to the sun. "I don't know what to do," he whispered. "I… don't think we can defeat it." He paused. "How does she do it?"

"Who?" Sasuke asked.

"Tsunade-baachan," he replied. "I know we can't survive a fight, I know if anything we'll either lose Sakura or Hinata but… I know we still have to try." He stared at Hinata for a while. "How do you send people out knowing they're not coming back?"

Sasuke didn't reply because he knew there was nothing to say. It was a fact. Their Hokage had to make decisions like this all the time. And Naruto, whose dream it had always been to be Hokage, was just realizing that.

Naruto stood up. "We have to do it," he resolved. "We have to go back."

The sky darkened and Hinata stopped moving. A rumble of thunder echoed in the distance and the wind picked up, catching the thin hospital gown as it passed by. She looked up and saw Naruto approaching her. She smiled slightly.

"This is what I wanted," Hinata said.

"I know," he replied.

"I'm free," she sang and looked up at the sky. "But… I can't stay can I?"

"I'm sorry," Naruto whispered, looking at the ground.

She put a hand to his cheek and forced him to look up. "Some of us go through our lives knowing what we want and never getting it. I got the chance, even for a little while, to know what it was like. And that's enough… it will be enough."

She looked over his shoulder at Sasuke, letting her hand drop from Naruto's face. "He's coming," she whispered. "You've stretched the reality too much and he's coming."

The thunder boomed and slowly morphed into the yell of the beast. Sasuke looked behind him and watched the storm clouds slowly eating up the landscape. The dark sky slowly.

"The world is collapsing," Hinata said. "We don't have much time. We have to bring him to us before he devours everything."

"How?" Sasuke asked.

"I know how," Naruto replied. He looked away from the hospital in the direction of the high school. "The school. There's someone there who will be shocked to see her alive – her cousin."

"What's to say that she's still dead in this world?" Sasuke asked. "Things have changed before."

"Except for the people who come back from the nightmare," Naruto replied. "We're always the same. It's a stretch but… short of punching everyone we come across…" There was a long pause before Sasuke nodded in acknowledgement of the plan.

"Then we need to hurry," Hinata whispered.

Naruto took her hand and the three of them ran. The hospital behind them cracked and started to collapse. A mix of thunder and the beast's yell filled the air. Naruto didn't bother to look back any more.

They ran down the streets, passing by the mall with the stunned shoppers who were looking up at the sky. Passing by the empty apartment building where Sasuke had found his brother. Passing by the house that was identical to Sakura's real one.

The high school came up quickly after that but it was different. Banners and balloons lined the roads around it. Merry music filtered towards them. A large Ferris wheel and a few roller coasters dotted the landscape.

"What's going on?" Sasuke asked.

"It's a carnival," Hinata smiled. "They used to have them all the time."

Naruto looked around frantically, scanning the sea of people for the person he needed. "We'll never find him here." He looked at the Ferris wheel with a firm nod. "Sasuke, stay here. I'll go up to the top and look for him."

He started to move towards the ride when he felt a tug on his shirt. He looked behind him and caught Hinata's blank eyes staring at him. "Can I come?" she asked. "Just one ride… it can't hurt. I'll help you look."

He nodded and took her hand. The line was fairly short but it was hard to be patient when they knew what was coming. He almost dove into the small carriage when it stopped for them. Hinata sat across from him, folding her arms across her legs. The ride started up and paused occasionally to switch riders. Naruto gripped the cage to look out but he still wasn't high enough.

After a few minutes, the ride started up in earnest. A cheery electronic tune came through the speakers in the carriage and the wheel slowly pushed them towards the sky. Naruto's eyes flittered about, desperately searching.

"There," he whispered. "SASUKE!" he yelled, catching his teammate's attention. "Northwest by the cotton candy machine!" Naruto continued as the carriage swung by him.

Sasuke nodded and took off, dodging people in the crowd as he ran towards Neji. Naruto watched him as the wheel turned around again. He saw Sasuke point towards the Ferris wheel and smiled as soon as Neji started following him.

"Just a few more minutes then," Hinata whispered.

Naruto's smile fell. "I didn't think…"

"Look," she said, pointing through a few links in the cage.

Naruto looked to where she was motioning to and stood up slowly in the cage. All around them, the red storm had eaten away the landscape. A darkness extended beyond the fringes of the carnival. The pavement dropped off suddenly but no one else seemed to notice.

"When we get off the ride," Hinata whispered, "Sakura-san will appear here again. You have to find her before he does."

"We will… but… what about you?"

She smiled. "I'll be fine."

The door to the carriage opened and Hinata stepped out before Naruto could say anything more. She bounded down the stairs to where Sasuke was arguing with Neji.

"Neji-niisan."

The world seemed to slow as Neji turned around. Hinata walked forward, even as he stared at her in disbelief. Slowly, she raised her arms and hugged him. The noise started, deafening almost immediately. Naruto was still half in the Ferris wheel as it overtook him. Sasuke was on the ground in a second. But Hinata stood firm, arms wrapped around Neji even as the darkness overtook them.

It felt like only a second passed before Naruto opened his eyes. He looked around, freeing himself of the Ferris wheel carriage. He glanced upwards and saw that half of the wheel was missing. The rest of it was rusting and getting ready to fall apart.

"Naruto." He looked down and watched Sasuke finish dusting himself off.

"That change was fast," Naruto stated.

"Yeah," Sasuke replied. "The other world was almost engulfed by the time we forced the switch."

Naruto nodded and looked around. "Hinata…" But the girl wasn't there. In fact, no one was. The entire carnival was deserted.

The sky above them was dark, not a single star was visible in the false night sky. The lights of the carnival flickered and offered minimal light. There was no wind, no movement of air, no more music in the background.

"We should start looking for Sakura," Naruto said, breaking the silence.

"Agreed."

They walked through the empty rows of games. A pole used to bring down the stuffed animals leaned against the side of one booth. But when Naruto touched it, it crumbled into dust. In fact, anything they touched would disintegrate in their hands.

"There's nothing we can use as weapons," Naruto said, leaning next to a pile of dust.

"True, but… there's no sign of Kyuubi."

Naruto nodded slowly. It was eerie to be in the nightmare and not have the constant signs of the beast… of Kyuubi surrounding them.

"SAKURA!" Naruto called out suddenly.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke hissed.

"Like you said Kyuubi isn't here yet," Naruto replied, preparing to call out again. "SA…"

Sasuke covered his mouth in an instant. "Kyuubi isn't here… YET. If you keep calling out like that then he'll…"

Sasuke trailed off and let his hand drop. Naruto blinked a few times in confusion before turning around to see where Sasuke was staring.

A little girl in a pink yukata stared at them, holding a red balloon in one hand. Her pink hair was up in pig tails and her green eyes glittered in amusement.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto whispered.

The little girl giggled and took off. Naruto and Sasuke didn't wait a second before taking off after her. She turned a corner and by the time they got there, she was gone. They looked around frantically before hearing another giggle behind them. She ran as soon as they saw her.

The chase continued through the carnival, the young version of Sakura always eluding them at the last second. It continued like this for a several minutes before Sasuke and Naruto came up with a makeshift plan.

Sakura stood in front of a mirror maze as Sasuke came around a fish catching booth. She looked at him with a smile as he walked slowly towards her. She tilted her head to the side, as if to ask where Naruto was. A moment later, Naruto appeared to her right, cutting off her route of escape.

Trapped, the young Sakura made a break for it but Sasuke caught her before she could get away. She squirmed in his hands and let the red balloon go. Her head twisted sharply as she watched it ascend into the sky, little hand reaching for it.

Naruto reached them just as the balloon was out of reach. Sakura started to cry as it made its was to the sky. Halfway to the darkness above, it popped. But the sound wasn't normal, it was a growl.

The remains of the balloon slowly floated to the ground, twisted and turning in a non-existent wind. It grew, slowly morphing into the shape of Kyuubi. Sakura squirmed free and bolted into the mirror maze. Kyuubi landed on the ground and stared at the remaining two members of Team 7 before it let out a ferocious growl.

"The maze," Sasuke said, grabbing Naruto's arm and heading after Sakura. Kyuubi charged them, teeth snapping at them as they dove inside.

"Shit!" Naruto yelled, looking around. "We lost her."

"Look," Sasuke replied, pointing to the reflection of Sakura dancing across the maze.

"Sakura! Just stay still," Naruto cried.

"I always stay still," her voice answered.

Sasuke searched for the source of the voice but only saw her young form running to the left. He motioned to Naruto and they started to move in the same direction as she was. Arms outstretched, they attempted to tell the difference between glass and mirror.

"I never move," she continued. Sasuke looked to his left and caught his reflection, the twelve year old version of Sakura standing behind him. "I'm always here." He turned away and was met with empty space.

"I'm always two steps behind you."

"That's not true, Sakura," Naruto called out. "You're just as strong as us, just in different ways."

"Maybe," she replied. "I did figure out what this place is."

"Tell us Sakura," Sasuke said, walking down a corridor of mirrors, Naruto close behind him. He took a dozen steps forward before he came to a dead end. He turned to Naruto and they attempted to backtrack only to find that the other way was blocked now as well.

"This is our perfect world," the voice said.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto said. "This place is a nightmare!"

"No… it's not. Naruto," Sakura began, "in this world you were popular." The mirror to his right reflected a group of people behind him, all the people from his school smiling at him. "Everyone acknowledged you. And you even got to be the hero again." The mirror to his left reflected his image was a smiling Hinata next to him. "You know what it is to be Hokage now." Hinata held up an arm before being engulfed in darkness. "This is what you wanted."

He didn't say anything. Sasuke frowned and glared at the mirrors around him.

"Sasuke-kun… in this world, he never betrayed you," Sakura continued. The mirror next to him reflected a smiling Itachi. "He was the brother you wanted when you were younger." The mirror to his right reflected the image of a younger version of Sasuke getting a piggy back ride from his older brother. "You say you wanted revenge," she continued and the older version on Itachi lay on the ground broken and bleeding. "But what you really wanted was…" The damage on Itachi disappeared and he was smiling again, ruffling the hair of his younger brother as their parents walked in carrying dinner.

"And what about you!" Naruto yelled. "This world, both versions has been hell for you!"

"Yes," Sakura answered. "But that's how what I wanted was interpreted."

"Why? Why would you want this!" Naruto yelled.

"All I've wanted…" she began.

The mirrors began to reflect images from the past few days. Sakura looking lost in class as the words on the book made no sense. Ino, her best friend, kissing Sasuke. The rest of the people ignoring her. Her returning to her empty house. The cold altar there with her parents' pictures on it.

"All I've ever wanted," she continued. "Was to be like you."

The images switched suddenly. Naruto sat in class, looking confused at the scrolls in front of him. Sakura was chasing after Sasuke as Naruto looked on. Naruto on the swing alone. Sasuke walking into the compound alone. Sasuke laying the incense on his parents' altar.

They faded after a second and a roar shook the glass. Naruto and Sasuke looked behind them and watched the glass crumble as the Kyuubi began to devour the maze.

"Naruto. Sasuke-kun."

They turned and she was there, back to her normal age. Sasuke reached out to grab her but there was glass between them. She put a hand onto the glass and looked at them with tears in her eyes.

Naruto shoved past Sasuke and began to shoulder the glass with a frantic speed, heightened by the fear of the monster approaching. Sasuke helped, the two of them pounding on the glass in a steady rhythm. It cracked and Sakura took a step back as it shattered.

The world shattered too just as they grabbed either of her hands. They fell into the darkness, the roar of Kyuubi distant now. They fell together, the group of three, never letting go until they reached the end of oblivion.