A/N: This was my entry for my own challenge on Naruto100, 'My Not So Happy Ending'. I actually don't think this fic is very good at all, but, shrug
The Lonliest Happily Ever After
Tsunade was summoned to see the Anbu captain on a request from the team she had led. They had returned from a mission with their captain unconscious and unable to be awakened, victim of a paticuraly strong genjutsu. Even after attempts to break the illusion the Anbu would not wake, instead speaking happily to one who was already dead these past five years.
"How's she doing?" Tsunade asked tersely, waiting for the Anbu at the door to reply. He removed his hawk shaped mask to shake his head.
"Same, Hokage-sama." Tsunade nodded briefly before entering the stark room. Captain of the 9th Anbu squad, Uzuki Yuugao, lay prone on the white hospital bed, her eyes wide open and a smile on her face.
"Isn't it wonderful, Hayate? I've finally made Anbu!" Her hands were folded neatly on her stomach, and the only movement she made was the words from her mouth and the blinking of her eyes. The second Anbu from the squad sat beside the bed, his head bent low and his mask held limply in his right hand.
"Hokage-sama… is there anything you can do?" He asked. Tsunade was silent, walking up to stand beside the woman's bedside.
"And I'm so proud of you, Hayate! You've made special jounin and you're going to be the examiner for the Chuunin exams? And you doubted you could pass!" Uzuki laughed, a rich, warm sound. Tsunade held a hand over the young woman's face, seeking with her chakra for head wounds. There were none, she knew there weren't any. She probed for anything, any notion of the condition the Anbu captain was in. Nothing. The trace of an old genjutsu still hung about, but that was not it. Uzuki suddenly stopped laughing and smiled gently, a single tear tracing its way down her cheek.
"I love you too, Hayate…" Tsunade watched as the Anbu turned his head away as if denying it all. Tsunade pulled up a chair, addressing the man, Uzuki's second-in-command.
"How has she been since Hayate's death? Mentally, that is." The Anbu shrugged, his face painted clearly with concern.
"I thought she was fine, I mean, she refused some missions right after his death, but, I thought she got over it… you know? I know Hayate was her lover, but… she was strong." Tsunade nodded sadly.
"Being an Anbu, being strong, is sometimes more of a burden than some can handle. I'm not saying your Captain wasn't strong enough… but we all have our weak points. I'm afraid there's nothing I can do here. It's all in her head, the genjutsu only started it. In her mind, she's living in the past, and I don't think anything we can do will bring her back. That's where she wants to be, with her lover, when she was happy." The Anbu hung his head. Tsunade stood and slowly left the room, leaving instructions with the nurse at the front desk to have the woman transferred to the life support unit.
For three more years Uzuki lay in that hospital bed, living her past and a future with the one she loved. Her Anbu team came to visit her, first weekly, then monthly. And on the third year, on the anniversary of Hayate's death, Uzuki woke for a moment, staring blankly into the eyes of the nurse attending her.
"He's gone… isn't he?" The nurse knew nothing, and stood silent as Uzuki let a sigh escape her lips as she finally passed. Tsunade read the short report later that day and on the following day, she made sure Uzuki's name was carved on the memorial beside Hayate's…