It was wartime in Konoha. And that meant that every solider, genin or higher, was to report to duty. It was a simple command sent through a simple letter. Everything was supposed to be simple: the fighting, the recruition, the war itself.
But in reality, nothing was.
Sakura stared down at the hitai-ai in her hands, a swirling leaf etched into the center. Slowly, she raised it to her lips and sent out a small prayer. The Haruno took a breath and tied it around her head, securing the knot. She turned to look at her vanity and forced a smile.
Keep pushing. Keep going.
You'll make it.
A Yamanaka tied up her hair into a long, flowing ponytail, a Nara lazily threw on her chunin vest, and an Akimichi tightened the plating on his arms.
The blonde glanced out her window, overcome with pain. The droopy eyed boy set his gaze on the Hokage Monument. The thick-boned one simply shut his eyes and tried to force the darkness away. But it wouldn't leave.
It never did.
A bowl-haired shinobi yanked on orange leg warmers. He knew that this could be the end. A twin-bunned kunoichi secured her weapons scrolls. She prayed for her teammate's and her village's safety.
Two Hyuga's – a boy and a girl – each wrapped their wrists in bandaging. The girl bent down to stroke her sisters hair while the boy stayed quiet, not knowing if he'd ever return to the compound.
A tattooed Inuzuka and his dog finished packing up their soldier pills and an Aburame, concealed from the world by his clothing, checked all his kikaichu over. They both started down the street, heads held high in attempt to ignore the pain eating at their hearts.
A pale skinned boy rubbed his hand over a sketchbook and wondered if things would ever go back to the way they used to be. He wanted to feel, but not like this.
Never like this.
A silver haired jonin took one last look at the goggles on his nightstand and whispered his deceased teammates names to himself.
"I've gotten through one war," he said, "I can get through another, right?"
A blond haired ball of energy paced back and forth on the island he was confined in. He wanted out! He wanted to help! He didn't want anyone to die, not when he could save them.
The biju inside him disagreed.
'You can't save anyone, kit.'
A red-eyed woman hugged her daughter close to her chest and sobbed, for both her lover and herself. She wanted peace. All she ever wanted was peace.
But there never was any to begin with, was there?
"Asuma..."
A man stared down at the village he called home, his mouth set in a grim line. There was no youth in his town anymore. And, soon, there wouldn't be any in him.
Fall was coming.
They're in the camp now, all of them.
Sai had joined up with the Konoha eleven – save for Naruto – and Temari and her brothers were stationed in the next tent over. It wasn't bad. The Oto nin weren't hard to defeat if you used to right technique.
But, slowly, things started to change…
Sakura crawled back into her makeshift house, her hands covered in the blood of others. Her chakra was depleted and her eyes burned.
She'd shed too many tears that night. But each was for a fallen soul. There were too many of those, too.
They were fine. They had to be.
The fight had been brutal, but they were alright. Everyone was okay. No punctured lungs, no broken bones, no unblinking eyes. All the cots were filled that night, but no one was waiting outside.
The list of names carved into everyone's hearts didn't change.
Things were getting better. They were pushing the Oto nin back farther and farther each day.
They'd all be home in Konoha soon. They were sure of it.
Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru all got up early, waiting for the sunrise. It gave them hope. It reminded them of Asuma-sensei and his shitty cancer sticks.
"Kurenai-sensei will be fine," Ino whispered, more to herself than the others.
"We'll all be fine," Choji said, grabbing his two teammates and pulled them into a big hug.
Shikamaru didn't have the heart to correct the boy.
Shino didn't come back that night.
Tears were shed, though most were of regret. They blew up on one another, asking why no one had saved him. Why hadn't anyone been watching out for him? Why hadn't anyone healed him? Why? Why? WHY?
Why did Shino have to die?
He never did anything to anybody. All he did was blend into the background. But maybe that's why he was gone. Maybe that's why he'd ben chosen. Whatever astral being out there had thought he wouldn't be missed.
They were wrong.
Akamaru's howls and Kiba's sobs harmonized until dawn.
A week passed, and the Shinobi Alliance stayed put. They didn't lose any ground, but they didn't gain any, ether. The Oto nin had stopped attacking and re-animations hadn't popped out of the ground for a while.
Sakura and Ino were off helping patch other shinobi up, Hinata and Neji were on patrol duty with Sai, and TenTen was helping stock weapons. Lee was running messages back and forth within camp and Choji was cooking up some meat Kiba had gotten.
Shikamaru was assisting Tsunade and A with war plans.
Kiba was off in the woods again, probably hunting with Akamaru. He'd been there nightly since Shino's death, but today he'd been gone since dawn.
Naruto came in around midnight.
"No, no, no!" Sai shouted, staring back at the army descending upon him. He tried to tug Ino back up, but quickly failed.
His shoulder was out of his socket; it was a miracle he was still able to hold her up.
Ino tilted her head up and smiled at Sai, her grip slipping. "No!" Sai yelled, tightening his hand around her wrist, "Stay here."
I don't want to lose anyone else. I can't go through that again.
The Yamanaka broke out into a grin, "I'm sorry," she whispered, letting go. Her fingers slipped into his as she slowly, slowly, slid out of his arms. "I can't." Yamanaka Ino let go of her lifeline and fell to the ground.
Sai watched her for five whole seconds before her body hit the ground with a sickening snap.
She was still smiling, her baby blue eyes set on Sai's own.
Sakura was the one that ended up finding their bodies.
Sai's throat had been ripped open and his entire chest was full of kunai. He wasn't even a meter away from Ino's body. The emotionless boy had climbed down to retrieve it and died in the process.
Sakura wept for as long as she could.
Don't cry, forehead. I'll be fine. Sai's here. Shino, too.
She took their hitai-ai and carved their names under Konoha's symbol, storing them in her pouch along with everyone else's. Then, she burned their bodies and turned to head back to camp.
TenTen screamed and screamed and screamed. She screamed for the parents she never had. She screamed for the people she killed. She screamed for Neji.
The weapons mistress clutched at the Kanata in her chest. She gulped down the blood that had threatened to rise up from her lungs. It didn't matter anyway.
Chakra erupted from her body as she whirled on the opposing army. Her arms shot up, and with them, thousands of weapons lifted into the air, each connected to a thin, glowing blue string.
TenTen sucked in a breath.
You're brave, TenTen. You have so much ahead of you. Don't do this for us. Don't do this for anybody. Please, don't come here. We don't want you here. We want you there, with everyone else.
"Naruto!" she called, coughing up some lifeblood as she spoke. He whirled towards her, tears staining his cheeks, "Tell Lee and Gai I'm sorry." TenTen brought down each weapon at the same time, all with the force of a raging Tsunade, just as another nin snuck up beside her and shoved his kunai into her heart.
She hadn't even lived to see the road she'd paved for her village.
Naruto held onto Kiba's hand, squeezing as hard as he could manage. "You'll be fine, 'ttebayo," he said.
Kiba grinned and turned to face the body lying next to him. He rested his forehead against the dogs muzzle and whispered his final words: "Hear that Akamaru? We're gonna be fine."
Akamaru let out a soft yip. Naruto watched in horror as the dog's chest heaved up, never coming back down.
Oi, we're fine. We're all together. Don't worry, dude. Right, Akamaru?
The Uzumaki grabbed Kiba by the shoulders and shook him. He needed to get up. He needed to get up!
Why the hell wasn't he getting up?!
Choji's body was found in the aftermath of a battle. He'd been slit open, ripped from his shoulder to his hip, but not before he'd taken down a hundred Oto nin. The shy little butterfly boy had grown up in such a small amount of time.
I found Asuma-sensei. Don't cry, please, I don't want anyone to be sad.
He had too much of his life ahead of him, but it was all wasted.
Everything was ether wasted, or it was wasting away.
Temari was near Kankuro and Gaara when she died.
The Sand Sibling's hands were stretched out, all clutching onto each other as a lifeline. Gaara's sand was pooled around them, proof he'd been trying to protect his older brother and sister until the very end.
Protect everyone. Protect the village. Protect our friends... protect yourselves. Please, don't forget us. We're still here.
Kankuro's puppets lay shattered a few meters away, and Temari's tessen was snapped in half; one of the sides was still missing.
But the three stars were still together, just as they should be.
Shikamaru was never found. The Nara and his team had left to head off towards the denser fighting areas, but someone had intercepted the plans. No one even got the news of the squadron's demise until a week later.
But by then, everyone was so far gone. Shikamaru was just another casualty. Just another face. The only ones who remembered him were those who carved his name onto their arms, just as they did with the others.
I'm stuck with all the annoying people now, it's troublesome... but I don't want you to follow me. I'll make do with them, so, please, don't follow.
They couldn't salvage the hita-ai anymore. Flesh and blood would have to make due.
Lee had died at the hands of Madara. How he'd been resurrected, no one knew. Crying over the fall of his teacher, Konoha's Green Beast leapt forwards, managing to somehow, someway, land a sickening blow on Madara's wrist.
We're all together, we'll wait for you. You're still in spring, don't cross to fall.
It hadn't stopped the Uchiha from snapping Lee's neck, though.
Once more, the kunai was taken to the flesh.
Naruto huffed as he pushed himself forwards, twisting out of Madara's reach. He garged blood and spat it at his feet. Pivoting, he readied a Rasengan and shoved it towards his enemy. The god-like man simply rolled his eyes and smacked Naruto's arm out of the way, landing a blow on his stomach.
The Uzumaki doubled over, landing on his knees, he glancedup, taking in those horrible purple rings. Maadra reached forwards, his hands millimeters from Naruto's neck.
"Kawarimi!"
Naruto blinked, staring straight ahead as he watched the scene unfold in front of him. Madara's hand slammed into Hinata's throat, hoisting her up. The Hyuga set her lavender eyes on Naruto and forced the tiniest of smiles.
I loved you. I truly, truly did. We'll be together one day, but don't let it be now; don't let it be soon. I waited my whole life for you, I can wait all of yours as well.
"Aishiter –" She was cut off as the demon squeezed the life out of her, her windpipe snapping. Her eyes rolled up into her head and her body was dropped to the ground with the dullest thud Naruto had ever heard.
Sasuke held Sakura in his arms, watching as the life drained out of her eyes. He stared down at his right hand, at the little triangle on it: a half of Sakura's Byakugo. On the pinkette's other side was Naruto, sobbing as he scratched at his own symbol in prayers it would tear off and go back to Sakura.
"Why?" Sasuke asked, dropping his arm. He brushed his fingers against her cheek, watching as she winced at the contact. Her eyes were the brightest thing he'd seen in months, but they were dulling fast.
I wanted team seven to be together longer. I want us to go back to the academy, back to those first few months as a team. I want it all back. It's so warm here. I'll force the gates closed for you, don't cross here. Stay down there. Please, I beg you, stay down there. We can wait. Please...
"Because you're my entire world."
They weren't the only survivors, but it felt like they were. Everyone that held any kind of meaning to them was gone. They'd carved the names of the lost into each-others backs. Everything was lost.
Naruto blinked open his eyes. Light erupted around him. The blond glanced around and jumped a bit. Sasuke was standing right next to him, looking equally as confused as he was. "Teme?" he rasped. He jolted suddenly at the sound of his voice. He looked down, taking in the simple white tee and pants he wore. Then, he glanced at the water that pooled at his feet.
The twelve-tear old version of himself blinked back. "What the?" he sputtered.
"Sasuke! Naruto!"
The former gasped, his head snapping towards the sound. Pink blurred in the form of Sakura, clad in a white sundress. Her hair – long, like it was before the Exams – flew behind her as she giggled, flouncing towards them.
Naruto choked on air. Beside him, tears brimmed in Sasuke's eyes. Sakura took his hand, holding it as gently and softly as possible. She smiled softly at him and nodded before grasping onto Naruto's palm.
"Come on," she said, "The others are waiting."
"Others?" Naruto somehow managed.
"Yeah! Everyone else!"
The blonde glanced behind her, his breath catching in his already clogged up throat.
Hinata stood the closest to them, matching with Sakura in the same dress. She smiled and gave them a big wave, her lavender eyes sparkling like gems.
Neji, TenTen, and Lee stood to the right, all beaming. Next to them, Kiba was playing with a puppy-sized Akamaru and Shino – devoid of his jacket and glasses – was petting the beetle in his hand. Further down, Ino was chattering away, whilst Shikamaru rolled his eyes and Choji attempted to followed along. Sai stood next to the Yamanaka, holding her hand. He wore a genuine smile on his face; the fake one long gone.
After them, the Sand-Siblings were linked together. Gaara glanced up and gave a little wave. Temari was scolding Kankuro for something, as usual, but paused to sent them a smile. Kankuro glanced at Naruto, mouthing for him to help.
Behind them all stood younger versions of Kakashi-sensei, Iruka-sensei, Gai-sensei, and Asuma-sensei. Two other kids were with them, sticking close to Kakashi's side. Hokage-jiichan was bit further back, along with Ero-sennin, Orchimaru, and Tsunade-baachan.
Minato and Kushina were off to the side of everyone, along with Itachi and what looked to be a teenage Nagato, Konan, and what seemed to be Yahiko. Haku and Zabuza shifted awkwardly next to them. What looked to be a few other Uchiha's stood with them.
"Everyone's waiting," Sakura said, tugging Naruto and Sasuke forwards.
Naruto let the tears spill down his cheeks as he nodded, following close behind.
Hinata sent him the warmest smile imaginable, "Welcome home!"
"I back!"
Maybe there's a heaven and maybe there's a hell. All I know is I'm going where home is.