Chapter 14: Prisoners of Fate
AN: Revised as of 2/23/10.
"I'll take point and scout ahead," cried Naruto as Team Seven made its hasty retreat away from the clenching jaws of Orochimaru's minions. Without waiting for confirmation, Naruto raced ahead into the thick umbra of the forest canopy.
Sakura could only nod in frustration as he raced ahead. "Damn it, he can get on my nerves sometime," she muttered to herself. She hated seeing him go off alone like that, but soon realized that it was ultimately for the best. They couldn't afford to have her run into a trap while carrying the wounded Sasuke.
Sasuke weakly grunted in agreement. The last battle had taken all of the fight out of him; he couldn't even protest Sakura carrying him. Even with the regenerative capabilities he had gained from Orochimaru, he was still going to be weak for some time now. And he would hate every minute of it.
Finally, he summoned up the strength to speak up. "Sakura…" he whispered, "so you two really searched those whole six years to find me?"
"Of course we did, Sasuke-kun. You were our friend and teammate. We couldn't abandon you, no matter what."
He languished in silence for a moment, contemplating her answer. In truth, he felt a bit unworthy of their devotion. He knew full well how much pain and suffering he had caused them. It broke what little pride the Uchiha heir had left. Through all of this, though, he still held onto a shred of hope for redemption: the hope that somehow, someday, his team mates might forgive him for what he did to them.
Sensing Sasuke's depression, Sakura tried to cheer him up, "Hey, Sasuke-kun, don't worry about it. We'll be home safe soon. Just hold on, and we'll be able to treat your wounds in a bit."
Meanwhile, Naruto charged ahead into the black spring night, darting from tree to tree as he forged onwards. All his senses were alert to any danger; he could not afford to let them run into a waiting enemy trap. They were only a few kilometers away from the rest of the force, but that few kilometers would be the most dangerous of the entire trip.
All the chips were on the table now. It was all or nothing, and both sides knew it. No one could afford to make any mistakes at this stage; it would be the difference between life and death.
The pale moonlight filtering through the tree canopy made his vision severely limited. To compensate, Naruto focused his efforts on hearing the movements of potential enemies in the darkness of the underbrush. As he ran, the din of the far off battle between the rest of Konoha's force and the Oto-nin began to increase in intensity.
"Almost there," Naruto muttered to himself, "We're almost there. We just need our luck to hold out for a few more minutes."
When he heard the distinct sound of footfalls rapidly begin to close in on him, Naruto's heart sank. Whatever divine spirit that had been watching over this wood apparently had not seen fit to grant him this small mercy. From the arrangement of their footfalls, Naruto could tell that this group of enemy was in a wide sweeping pattern. They'd cut of Team Seven's escape and surround them by linking up with the pursuing force.
A military historian explaining the events of this battle would likely describe it as a "classic envelopment pattern." Naruto had other words for the moment.
"Fuck!" he whispered under his breath as he doubled back. If they were extremely lucky, he'd reach Sasuke and Sakura in time to escape the net of enemies coming to surround them. Right now, though, he could only hope. He raced back to them with reckless abandon, praying that he'd make it on time.
Sasuke began to cough up blood as Sakura carried him through the forest canopy. He tried his best to stifle the coughing, but it was to no avail. Each spasm tore at his still fresh wound, causing more blood to flow into his lungs. The pain was intense, but he tried his best suppress any cries of pain.
Sakura quickly noticed his coughing. "Are you alright?!" she cried as he continued to cough, black blood beginning to cover his free hand that he clenched over his mouth. "Shit!" she muttered, "we have to stop the bleeding, or you'll die!"
She spotted a small clearing in the thicket and touched down in it next to a large boulder. She immediately set Sasuke up against the edifice, and began her desperate attempt to heal his wound. "You're not going to die on me, Sasuke-kun!" she cried, repeating it over and over like a religious mantra as she shunted healing green chakra into his reopened wound.
His bleeding began to slow, and she began to slowly relax, coming down off the nervous edge that his crisis had set her on. After a moment, Sasuke weakly smiled at her, "I'm not going to die now, Sakura."
As Naruto caught sight of Sasuke and Sakura in the clearing of the thicket, he was suddenly hit with an overwhelming sense of déjà vu. He was almost certain he'd seen this before, but he had no idea where. The nagging familiarity, though, was unsettling.
He quickly touched down in the clearing, and ran up to them. He crouched near them by the large boulder, desperate to relay his message to them. He could already hear the rustling in the thicket around them as the Oto-nin began to surround them.
"We're surrounded," he panted, "I tried to reach you in time to warn you, but they were too fast."
Sakura paused, quickly scanning the surroundings before nodding in agreement. She then brushed Sasuke's dirty, matted hair out of his face. "We've come this far, Sasuke-kun," she declared, "We're not giving up yet." She turned to Naruto and cried, "Status check!"
The realization hit Naruto like a ton of bricks. He was living his nightmare. Desperately, he hoped that this was just a pure coincidence. But as the memory of the nightmare continued to flood back with each passing moment, his determination began to sink. "I'm all out of kunai and shuriken," he replied, completely crestfallen, "but my chakra reserves are fine and I'm not wounded."
"My chakra is almost completely depleted," Sasuke replied forlornly, "My wounds aren't too bad, but I lost my katana in the last skirmish." With each word, Sasuke slowly lost what little defiant air he had left. Right before Naruto's eyes, the same defeated, broken Sasuke of Naruto's nightmare appeared before him.
"And my chakra is almost depleted too," Sakura admitted, "but, I still have a couple kunai and I'm not too badly hurt…" she trailed off, staring at the blood on her hand. She knew that Sasuke would barely be able to fight, and she'd very soon find herself in the same situation. Only Naruto would be able to put up any sort of a defense. Even for that most unpredictable of shinobi, the odds were overwhelming. "This is the end, isn't it?" she continued, hanging her head in despair. "The end of Team Seven, the end of our quest…the end of everything. Still, I'm glad to be with you two in our last moments." She smiled weakly, trying to find any joy she could in the grim and hopeless situation.
"This can't be happening!" Naruto desperately tried to convince himself. His mind began to race, searching for any possible way out. He hated to admit it, but he was all out of options. Resigned to his fate, he extended his hand to Sasuke and Sakura in one last show of solidairity. "I couldn't think of any better way to go then all of us fighting our last fight together," he croaked.
"Wait!" Sasuke exclaimed, "There is another way out of this." Sakura and Naruto stared intently at him as he continued. Naruto's mouth hung open in horror as the images of Sakura dying in his arms flashed before him. "Bargain me back to Orochimaru in exchange for your lives," Sasuke offered, taking care to avoid their eyes.
"Wait, no!" Sakura shouted in shock.
"You can't expect us to do that!" cried Naruto.
"Just listen!" he groaned, "Please, I can't let my mistakes get you two killed. You've already done more for me than anyone could ever ask for, and I won't let you die for my sins. You've done enough, please let me go…" As much as it pained Sasuke to say goodbye after so long, he knew that this pain would pale in comparison to the pain of knowing that he was responsible for the deaths of the only people left in this world who gave a damn about him. This was the price of his salvation, so he reckoned, and he would gladly bear it.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelled, tears streaming down her cheeks, "You can't! You just can't do this!"
Sasuke gently wiped the tears from her eyes. "A monster like me doesn't deserve the love of an angel, Sakura." He kissed her softly, and continued, "This the only way." Oh, if only he had listened to her all those years before, if only to spare her this heartache. Instead, he had sought power at the cost of his soul, and now ultimately his life.
She nodded in acquiescence. They'd come so far, and now it had come to this. "I'll never forget you, Sasuke-kun!" As Naruto watched this sad irony unfold, he grew more determined to escape this fate. There had to be a way to get out of this.
"Wait, we can't let the Sharingan fall into Orochimaru's hands!" cried Naruto. Just as he had expected, Sasuke turned to him, his broken façade of despair turning one of determined courage.
"Already ahead of you, deadlast. I have no intention of letting my body fall into his hands. After I'm sure you're safe, I'll commit suicide."
Naruto sighed in frustration. He puzzled over a way to escape this farce and avoid the horrifying consequences. He knew Orochimaru could not be trusted, and that this plan wouldn't work. When he found the anwer, Naruto wasn't quite sure he was prepared for it, though. A realization hit them: no matter what plan they followed, one of them would have to die. Even if by some miracle they broke out of the encirclement, then there would be no way they could outrun the enemy unless one of them stayed behind to hold off the enemy. And that person would invariably be overwhelmed and killed.
Naruto swallowed hard. He couldn't let either of his precious people endure that fate.
"I'm sorry Sakura-chan," Naruto whispered, "but I realize now that I cannot keep my promise to you."
Both Sasuke and Sakura looked at him, puzzled by his words. "What do you mean, Naruto?" Sakura asked.
"Even if I could give up my best friend, I could never allow you to come to harm. Sasuke's plan will never work; we cannot trust that snake. He'll make sure he gets us all."
"What are you saying Naruto?" Sasuke shouted, indignant, "there is no other way!"
"What did you mean by not being able to keep your promise to me?" Sakura cried.
"There is another way. We'll make a break out through their lines. It will be the last thing they'd expect. After we've broken through, I'll stay behind, and hold them off while you two escape…"
"You can't do that, Naruto!" Sasuke cried.
"Naruto…no, there has to be some other way. You…you can't leave me now!" Sakura wept as silent tears began to well up in her eyes.
Naruto wrapped his arms around her, and hugged her close. He savored their last embrace and whispered into her ear, "Sakura-chan, I'm so sorry that it had to come to this, but you have to trust me. This is the only way I can be sure that you will be safe…that you will make it out of here alive. We don't have much time left, but please, be strong, for Sasuke's sake. Just promise me that you'll move on. I know we'll meet again someday, somewhere." He kissed her one last time as they began to part. It was a passionate kiss, and it completely caught Sasuke off guard. "I love you, Naruto, she whispered into his ear."
In truth, Sasuke shouldn't be surprised. After all, it had been six years, and a lot can happen in that amount of time. This was awkward in many ways. Not being able to hear what Naruto said, presuming that Sakura still loved him after all that, kissing her in front of her paramour…this list goes on.
Sakura withdrew from the hug, summoning up all the strength she had left. She'd need every ounce of it to continue on now. Part of her would die with Naruto, but she knew that he trusted her to live on for his sake. She clasped his wrist firmly, a final show of solidarity with Naruto. "I'll see you on the other side," she muttered.
He still wanted to say so much to her. Out of all the things that ought have been said but had never been said; all the things things that ought have been done but had not been done, he could only manage one simple word: "Goodbye..."
Naruto nodded while Sasuke looked on, completely lost. Before Sasuke could ask anything, Sakura gave Naruto one last nod and grabbed a hold of Sasuke. Before Sasuke could protest, Sakura whisked him off, while Naruto followed along to escort them, Rasengan in hand. He bolted ahead, straight into a group of enemies, knocking them out of his path like bowling pins. Sakura lunged through the gap he created while Sasuke shouted in protest.
The still standing Oto-nin darted off after Sasuke and Sakura, but were quickly caught by Naruto. He threw them back into the melee, and did his very best to hold them off.
As Sakura carried him off into the night, Sasuke shouted in rage and sorrow: "Sakura! You can't do this to me!" he screamed, "we have to go back! We can't leave him behind! Sakura! You can't do this! No! He's fighting back there all alone…are you even listening to me?! Just look back there, Sakura! We can't leave him behind! Don't do this to me! Damn it Sakura, I can't let him die for my sake!"
It seems that Sasuke would play the role of her guilty conscience this night. In truth, she wanted to look back; to see him one last time. But she knew she couldn't afford to turn around and look. Seeing Naruto fighting his last fight all alone would break her. She'd end up heading back, and they'd all die together. But she couldn't put those feelings above the mission or her promise to Naruto. They'd have to live on for him. Even so, Sakura knew she'd hate herself for this the rest of her life.
Sasuke raged until his voice was hoarse. He sobbed violently as Sakura carried him off into the dark forest, back towards the rest of the teams waiting for them. He could hear Sakura crying too, though she desperately tried to cover it up. And he knew, that ultimately, he was the source of all of those tears.
Endnotes: Yes, I'm afraid this is the exciting conclusion to this little tale of love, devotion and tragedy. However, there will be an epilogue, which I will hopefully have up within the next day or two that will tie off the loose ends, and hopefully bring this all into perspective. I would like to thank all of my readers and reviewers for sticking with me this long. Thank you so much.