A/N: This is the SECOND to last chapter
T_T Oh, how I love this story.
Ino Nara sat impatiently on top of a very hard and very cold table, waiting for that nervous looking boy named Kyou to return with the results, although it was really just a formality. Ino's medic training might not be as extensive as her best friend Sakura's, but she damn well knew she was pregnant. And her husband was Shikamaru Nara for Kami's sake. He was able to tell she was pregnant with just one look at her. It was Ino's father that told them to make it official at the hospital and receive an exact due date. Ino sighed in annoyance and looked to her side to see Shika leaning back against a chair, probably counting the ceiling tiles for the thousandth time. It was at that moment that Ino heard it.
She had never heard this kind of sound before…or maybe she had, but not to this degree. From somewhere outside of the hospital, a loud and painful cry pierced through the windows and walls of the building. It shook Ino to her very bones and sent a haunting chill down her spine. Ino and Shika were on their feet in seconds, rushing to the window, and both their eyes scanned the grounds for the source of such a mournful howl. It didn't take long to find the source.
"Ino, stay here." Shika was on his way to the door, but Ino already beat him there. The blonde said nothing, which was a shock, even to herself. But her eyes said it all for her. Shika sighed.
"Just listen to my directions, okay?"
Ino nodded, and they ran in a flash out of the hospital and down to the grounds where Naruto crouched over Sakura's body. Ino stopped short and gasped. In one arm, Naruto held the bawling Toru, and with the other hand he apprehensively hovered over Sakura. He looked completely distraught with tears streaking his face and his eyes flickering between Toru and the woman. His mouth was agape, like he was trying to find words to muster out besides the painful cries that kept tearing out of him. Ino had never seen the Uzumaki so…helpless before. Finally the blond shinobi lifted his gaze to the two, and the look of absolute hurt in his eyes shattered Ino's heart.
"Sh-sh-she's…she's not breathing…" His voice was weak and broken. Toru cried on, the infant knowing that something was wrong with his mother. Shika immediately rushed down to the fallen pink haired woman and pressed his fingers to her jugular vein. Ino looked at her best friend, and her eyes sharpened suddenly. Something was amiss…at first glance it looked like she was poisoned. But something in the back of Ino's mind said—
"Ino, take Toru and go get the Hokage. Now." Shika's voice was strong and demanding.
The kunoichi nodded, shaking her head of the negative thoughts. She was in front of Naruto in a second and held her arms out gently. It only took a moment to realize that the Uzumaki would not budge. His watery blue eyes stayed on Sakura as his shaking hand finally gathered up enough courage to touch the pink haired woman's cheek. Ino took the sobbing infant from the shinobi and was off. She would discuss her thoughts with Shika the moment she returned.
It was cold…and pitch-black. Sakura winced, feeling a jabbing pain in the back of her head. Her heart pounded furiously as her mind was reminded of those nightmares she had months ago. This was much too familiar…
Why is it so dark?
Sakura moved her hand and felt something cold and hard to her right. She felt along her side and found several similar objects beside her. They felt just like bars…bars?
Sakura began to slowly process the possibilities: a hospital bed? But these did not feel like the usual aluminum that they would have in their hospital beds. These had more of a rusted iron texture to them. Her possibilities were dwindling down to nothing as she tried to figure out her exact location. She was with Naruto and Toru just a moment ago—
"…pulse is weak…"
Sakura's eyes snapped open to the darkness as the echo of those words vibrated in her eardrums. Where did that come from? That sounded just like Shissou.
Where the hell was Sakura?
"Fumiyo, get her hooked up to the medical ventilation…"
That was definitely her shissou. Was she in the next room? But it sounded so much closer…as if her sensei were right next to her. Sakura groaned in pain as she reached behind her head to rub her neck. Her body ached, but not as bad as when she was walking home with Naruto and Toru—
"…Sakura-chan…"
There it was. That voice that she had come to recognize anywhere. "Naruto?" The kunoichi's voice was weak, but it echoed around her, as if she were in some cavernous room. If only she could just have some light—
And in an instant a faint glow from some unknown source poured a greenish light around the woman, illuminating the area all around her. She was in a cell. The bars that she felt were thick iron bars that rippled out for about twenty feet in length, and each bar reached up to about twelve feet. Her cell ground was generous—but the length was much longer than the depth. It gave her the ability to walk but not to hide. And beyond her prison—
"Well done, Ms. Haruno."
Shouta.
He had a look of complete victory in his red eyes. The kunoichi swallowed her scream of surprise. He was alive?! Sakura's green eyes scanned him, finding absolutely no sign of injury or any clue that he had been in a fight. He wore a grey suit and his dark hair was slicked back into a greasy style. He looked absolutely fine.
"What…"
"Well, you should know where you are. This is your domain. Well," Shouta smiled maliciously, "…not for long."
Sakura glared harshly towards the man and snarled. "What are you talking about? How the hell are you still alive? And where are we?"
The man laughed haughtily and sauntered his way to Sakura, his hands lightly touching the iron bars. "Death can be a tricky thing, Sakura. You should know that, being one of the most talented medic-nins in all of the Fire Country." He took slow steps, walking along the cell. "Did you really think that I could be defeated so easily by a simpleton like the Uchiha?" His red eyes flickered to Sakura's neck. "…Or that pesky amulet? HA! No. Of course not! I am Shouta, the mighty mentalist of the Great Island of the Twin Suns. I could never be vanquished. And as to your last question…we, my dear blossom, are in your mind."
It felt like a shot of lightning stuck her head. Sakura swallowed a painful scream and clutched her head. "My mind?" Suddenly she felt a warmth spread across her left hand, almost as if…
"…go get the test results and the herbalist…"
"Naruto, you need to let go of her hand—"
"NO!!"
"Ah, I see you've caused quite the ruckus, my pretty little kunoichi. Your loved ones must be pestering about wondering what has happened to you. But it's too late! Sunset is drawing closer, and with each passing minute, you will lose the control you have over your own mind. And you shall bestow it unto me…how very generous of you."
"But this was only a poison—"
"Tsk, tsk, Sakura. Nothing is whatever it seems. My chakra is unlike those of you on the mainland. On the island of the Twin Suns, our chakra is directly linked with our conscience. We're fanatics about the mind and the subconscious." His eyes glittered with absolute glee. "I laced the blade with my chakra, and the moment I sunk my blade into your flesh, I entered your body—unbeknownst to you, of course. That is, until the moment you passed out. What a wonderful revelation it must have been to realize you were bamboozled."
"You fucking monster."
"It was only an insurance ploy. And call me all the names you want, Sakura. You won't be here for long. In about…oh, I'd say a little less than an hour, the floor beneath you will crumble and collapse. And you shall fall into the caverns of your subconscious—a prisoner of your own mind for the rest of your life- while I, on the other hand, shall take over your body and continue my plans of having that jinchuuriki destroy the country that left my home in ruins."
"The Fire Country did no such thing," Sakura growled.
"Such a naïve woman you are, Ms. Haruno. Your country is not of the noble upstanding that you paint it to be. The Fire Country is comprised of merciless, bloodthirsty cowards—as are all the other countries that surround it. They care for no one—even when we cried for help, no one came." Shouta's eyes grew muddy and dark. "And your lover just happens to be my weapon of choice in this plan of extermination."
"Extermination?"
"Yes. I am going to slaughter every being that walks this land and all that are connected to it."
"But what will you have left to rule after everyone's dead?" Sakura felt sick. This man was a psychotic murderer. He made the Akatsuki sound like sniveling little brats!
A smile spread across his pudgy face. "Rule? My dear, who ever said I wanted to rule anything? I am only in it for the blood. Once I kill all that live, I will release my hold on the jinchuuriki and watch him as he cries out for his beloved and all those he has slain. Then I shall kill us both, ending the pathetic existence of this human race."
Sakura looked into his eyes and knew he spoke no lie. This man…no, this demon, was pure evil. He spoke of total annihilation of the world. He was the kind of man who would find pleasure in the blood that would soak the ground once his plan was set into action. The kunoichi knew she needed to stop him. But this was new territory to Sakura. She had never been sunk into the depths of her mind this far before—not where actual objects and locations had been manifested. Did she have any strength in here? Could she even conjure chakra to her…well—manifestation?
It seemed impossible.
Naruto felt empty. He had never felt like a shell before, but he supposed the title of jinchuuriki fit perfectly well right now. His heart was aching horribly and he couldn't stop his stupid self from crying. What a fucking idiot he was! Sakura was in pain and he didn't even notice! She had fallen to the ground, unconscious, and all he could do was cry. Just sit there with Toru and cry. He knew that he could never be that happy for too long. Life was never that kind…not to him, at least. Naruto's eyes drifted down to Sakura, and he squeezed her hand.
Ever since Team Seven was created, he knew he could never amount to the maturity that Sakura was at, but at least he knew he could help her in his own way. He protected her with every chance he got. And the one moment when it counted the most—he was useless. Sakura was so powerful with her healing jutsu and her inhuman strength…to just see her like that sent a shockwave of absolute horror throughout the Uzumaki's system. He didn't understand what was wrong with her.
You would if you'd use me, Kit. You could see what's inside her right now…
No. Naruto refused to rely on the Kyuubi power. It was too chaotic, even with all the training Jiraiya-sensei had given him on how to manipulate and control it. It used to scare him when he was younger—all of the power of the Kyuubi that lay dormant within the prison of Naruto's body and mind. But now he knew it was a part of him. Something that he would have to face sooner or later…Wait…
What's inside her? I thought it was poison.
You refuse to use my power, Kit. I would not dare go against your wishes.
Naruto snarled. Don't fuck with me. You brought it up. So finish it up.
Hn. Not unless you show me some respect, boy. But…I suppose if you want that cherry blossom girl to die…
Naruto felt his heart clench tightly, and the palm that was held against Sakura-chan's limp hand began to sweat. He refused to leave her side, even when Tsunade-baa-chan threatened him with a year long suspension and house arrest—he didn't care. He would not leave her. So he stayed alongside Sakura as the Hokage came in every five minutes or so. The older woman was obviously worried about her apprentice. There were so many lives that Sakura had affected...
Naruto tightened his hold on Sakura's hand as he focused on her face, even though it was obstructed by all the tubes from the life-support machine they hooked her up to. He could just imagine the beautiful pink haired woman opening her big, beautiful green eyes to yell at him for doing something wrong, like breathing too loudly…
Please yell at me, Sakura-chan. Say something—ANYTHING.
You can't hide anything from me, Kit. I am you as much as you are me. You want to save that girl and you are willing to risk our lives for it.
What are you getting at?
Do you want to use my power?
Naruto knew without a doubt that if there was even a slight chance of saving Sakura, he would race to the ends of the earth for it. The demon within him knew it, too.
What do you want in return?
I see you know me all too well.
I am you as much as you are me.
…Very well…I want to eat Shouta's SOUL.
Shouta—?
The door behind Naruto opened, startling the shinobi. He turned around, and his eyes widened into saucers. Sasuke Uchiha leaned against the now closed door, his eyes sharpening intensely upon seeing Naruto. The Uzumaki could feel him prying into his mind, sensing the stirring presence within the orange clad shinobi.
"Well, dobe, looks like you've got no choice." Naruto twitched in anger at the name, but his mind caught the dark haired shinobi's words.
"I always have a choice." Naruto looked down to Sakura, missing the Uchiha's eyes roll in annoyance. "This just happens to be one of life or death."
I knew you would see it my way. Even the Uchiha brat understands.
Okay, then. What do I have to do?
"You'll need me, dobe." Sasuke stood on the opposite side of Sakura and looked down onto her in what looked like indifference, but after knowing the dark haired ninja for years, Naruto could tell he at least didn't want Sakura to die. That was pretty damn sentimental for the usually unemotional bastard.
"For what?"
"To get inside her mind."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"A small mistake on my part—and something that I will not let happen again. Shikamaru? Would you like to explain?" Sasuke looked to the door, and Naruto followed his gaze to find not only Shika standing in the room now, but also his wife and Sakura's best friend, Ino.
"Well, it was Ino that really saw what had happened—her specialty being in that area." Shika shrugged and turned to his wife. Ino approached the two men and looked down to Sakura, and Naruto could see her eyes water with tears.
"Well, it's a guess, but I'm pretty sure it's what's wrong with Sakura." Ino took a deep breath. "I never really thought about this until now because…I mean, it's only a story my dad told me. Anyway, I never paid attention to him at first because I thought he was absolutely nuts. My mom would always roll her eyes and tell me to just smile and nod—"
"Ino." The woman blushed at her husband's voice and nodded.
"My dad… told me about this island far off from the mainland, called the Island of the Twin Suns. The people there were nuts and worshipped the psyche like it was a god or something. They developed ways to control people's minds by just looking at them and sending their chakra into them razor fast. Their chakra was directly connected to their conscience- like it was a life force for them, but not renewable like ours is (to a point). When they use the power to control people's minds, they use a great amount of their chakra, almost to complete depletion. And that's where their second development of power came into play. They were able to feed off of other people's chakra. But eventually the entire island went mad with power and was destroyed because they killed each other by feeding on each other's energy. My dad would always scare me saying that one islander remained and that he would come to eat my chakra if I didn't do my chores or whatever."
Ino took a deep breath. "As for Sakura's condition…" She made her way around Sakura's hospital bed and touched the bandaged wound on the incapacitated woman's arm. "There was an even more terrifying part to my dad's story. He said that they could manipulate their chakra like it was a poison or a virus. They could feed their power directly into someone and send their entire entity into them with the loss of ever returning to their own body. It's like a last resort, in case their original body was about to die. I think Shouta may have sent a shot of his chakra directly into Sakura's blood stream with a weapon. And… he might be in her mind right now…"
Naruto's mind swam with all this information. Shouta was alive? But he cut that bastard's throat himself! All of this was just going way over his head.
"What about what he said, then? You have until sunset tomorrow." Tomorrow being today…Naruto's stomach clenched tightly.
Ino shifted uncomfortably and looked to Shika. Naruto growled, knowing the face of bad news when he saw it. "What is it, dammit?!"
Shika decided to speak next. "It takes a little under two days for the host to completely take over the body…permanently."
Naruto stared at him blankly. "What the fuck are you saying?" Naruto wasn't dumb. He was in denial.
"If what I heard is correct, Sakura has until sunset tonight before she loses control over her own body and mind. Shouta will override her. And it seems to be that Sasuke's Sharingan is the key to entering her state of mind and that the Kyuubi's power seems to be the only thing strong enough to aid Sasuke to force his way in, considering Sasuke lost a considerable amount of chakra before." Ino's tears finally spilled over with her husband's words. Naruto's eyes locked onto Sakura's closed eyes, and he clenched his teeth tightly. Sunset was in less than an hour.
So you can see why I'm so interested in this, Kit.
No. I don't. What do you really get out of this, Kyuubi?
I can relate.
Bullshit. You don't give a damn about humans. What's your motive?
…Kit, sometimes things are better left unknown. Just accept the fact that I am going to help save your mate.
Naruto took a deep breath, running his finger over Sakura's hand and tracing the groove between her knuckles as he thought this all through. Sakura would lose control over her body permanently by sunset unless they did something. And in order to do so, Naruto would have to use the Kyuubi's power to fight against Shouta. And the Uzumaki did not know if the demon was being truthful about his motive, but that did not matter.
"So what are we waiting for?" Naruto stood up, his hand still gently holding onto the sweetly sleeping woman. Naruto Uzumaki would never hold back from protecting those precious to him, especially his family.
"So are we playing the waiting game, then?" Sakura leaned against the bars, her eyes burning with anger. Shouta sat idly on a chair a few feet from the kunoichi, watching her with sparkling red eyes.
"Well," he said, "we can always watch a few home movies. I'm sure you have some that will tantalize my taste buds." He turned around slightly and flicked his hand. Sakura winced as a sharp pain stung in the middle of her head. In front of her were images and sounds that looked all too real and familiar to the kunoichi, almost as if—
"They are your memories, Sakura." Shouta confirmed the woman's suspicions as he passed through each memory. More images and sounds: Shissou training her when she was thirteen, reuniting with Naruto at fifteen, missions, fights and deaths…all of these flashing by so quickly that it was making Sakura's head spin. But finally Shouta paused on an all too vivid memory.
"Ahh…a very passionate night, no?" Shouta's eyes were shining with lust and satisfaction as he watched through the eyes of Sakura as she first made love with Naruto. Sakura tried to look away, but her eyes made their way back to the mental screen. Naruto's image was burned into her memory; every crevice on his body, every sweat drop, and every hair was perfectly shining. Sakura's heart pounded achingly. Would she ever see him again? What about Toru? He would lose his parents and his life—and he had only been on this earth for not even two weeks. Sakura felt the urge to cry, but she knew if she did, it would only bring satisfaction to this demon of a man. Suddenly Sakura felt a little tickle from the warmth of her left hand, along her knuckles. She looked down to her palm, her brows knitting together in confusion, but her stomach fluttered. This place was all too confusing.
"I guess it doesn't take much to make you purr, does it?" Shouta smiled and reached out to take hold of one of Sakura's pink tresses. The kunoichi snapped her teeth at him. Shouta yanked his sausage-like fingers away and curled his lips into a snarl.
"Hn. You won't be so feisty once that floor falls beneath you and you're pulled deep into the crevices of your mind for all eternity."
"… we waiting for?" Naruto's voice echoed throughout the mental cave and prison of Sakura's mind. She and Shouta's faces contorted with confusion, but Sakura composed herself much more quickly. The kunoichi felt a buzzing in the back of her eyes and squinted. Her vision was going blurry and had a somewhat red tint around it—a broken blood vessel? Was she able to bleed in this mental manifestation of herself?
"…hang on, Sakura-chan!"
"Shut up, dobe, and concentrate!"
The redness spread across Sakura's vision, and the sting her in eyes intensified tenfold. Her green orbs began to water, but she dare not rub her face, unsure of what was going on with her body.
Then a flash of light blazed throughout the entire mental cavern, and a loud shriek tore from Shouta's lips. Sakura fell to the ground and threw her arms over her head, not knowing what to expect in such an unknown territory. Did anything go in this place?
"NO!" That was Shouta's voice. Sakura lifted her head to look at what had him so distressed. The kunoichi's heart leapt into her throat.
Naruto and Sasuke stood side by side, their backs facing Sakura's cell, a little over one foot away. Sakura's heart clenched at the sight of the orange clad shinobi. How did he and Sasuke get in here? Sakura reached through the thick bars and tugged on the hem of Naruto's jacket. The startled shinobi turned around, and his eyes widened at the sight of the kunoichi.
"Sakura-chan!" His arms instantly found their way through the bars and wrapped tightly around the woman. Sakura pressed herself against him as close as she could through the metal, the shinobi's warmth an instant comfort to her shivering body. She didn't realize how scared she really was, how unsure that she might not see her family again. Sakura breathed deep and was glad that Naruto's smoky, masculine scent with that hint of ramen transcended the mental plane.
"You." An angry hiss emitted from Shouta as his eyes glared daggers towards the two men. Naruto released the kunoichi to face Shouta but took a firm hold of Sakura's hand. Sasuke was the first one to respond.
"Still quite the cocky idiot, aren't we?"
"You were the one who was fooled, weren't you?" Shouta was obviously furious that his plan had gone awry. Sakura could see Sasuke's shoulders tense slightly in annoyance, but he calmed his muscles. The pink haired woman's own muscles itched to beat Shouta within an inch of his life. But she couldn't find one faulty bar in the cell or even a lock. It seemed impossible to escape.
"You're really going to die this time, asshole." Sakura could feel Naruto's deep voice vibrate from his body.
"Well, so long as I hold you two off for the next ten minutes, it shouldn't be a problem. Then I can kill both of your psyches here myself." Shouta's eyes drifted behind Naruto to look into Sakura's green orbs. "Looks like you're useless once again, my pretty little kunoichi…" In the pit of Sakura's stomach, her anger blazed furiously, and around the four inhabitants, the green light that lit the cavern brightened intensely—almost to the point of blinding Sakura.
"Tch… simpleton." Shouta snapped his fingers, and the light dulled down. Sakura felt that familiar pang in the back of her head and crouched low to the ground in pain. Naruto knelt down instantly, his free hand running across Sakura's head as a look of worry wrinkled his face.
"Sakura-chan!"
"You're wasting your time, jinchuuriki. Say good-bye to your lover now, for you only have eight more minutes."
Naruto growled, releasing Sakura's hand as he turned to Shouta. "Shut the hell up, you fucking bastard!" Sakura looked through her pained eyes to see Naruto's red chakra leaking through him. No doubt that his blue eyes were turning into a dark shade of red right about now.
"You can't use your chakra here, jinchurriki. Not unless you're one of the Mentalists," said Shouta.
"So is that how you Mentalists kept your hold? By telling lies?" Sasuke's voice was dripping with disgust.
"You are all powerless in this plane. This is my domain." Shouta's voice suddenly grew in volume and deepened its tone to a demonic state. "I can crush you in an instant, and I can trap you here like I trapped the kunoichi."
"Wrong." Sasuke's voice was sure and strong. "You said so yourself. This is Sakura's domain. Do you think my Sharingan cannot see into this place? Or let me hear what occurs within these pathetic fields you set up to block entries? You are the intruder in this place." The dark haired ninja turned to Sakura, his eyes sharpening as his words were directed toward her. "The only reason he has any power in here is because you're allowing him the strength. He might have put you in that cell, Sakura, but the only reason you remain in there is because you're being weak and insecure."
"Sasuke!" Naruto growled.
"No. She needs to stop whining about being weak. Did she train for several years just to be taken down by some maggot like this?" The Uchiha looked down on the pink haired woman and shook his head. "You really are the pathetic one if you can't take control of your own mind."
Sakura's eyes blazed with fury, and she clenched her fists around the iron bars. How dare he look down on her? After all that she had done for him! After all that he had done to her and to the village! Sakura's breathing quickened and her muscles tensed. Throughout her body, she felt a familiar buzzing in her veins. Was that her chakra?
This is your mind, woman. Take it back. A deep voice boomed throughout the cavern, shaking Sakura's bones. Who was that?!
"Kyuubi…" Shouta's eyes widened in fear for a brief moment, but he drew a mask of calm over his face.
The Kyuubi? Sakura's heart pounded. She was able to hear him in her mental plane. Her mental plane… This place was in her body…Oh, Kami…Sasuke was right.
She had been in control all along.
"Naruto, move." Sakura knew that if she were to do this, she needed to have absolutely no doubts. In this place, it really was all about confidence. The blond shinobi looked to her warily.
"Sakura-chan…"
"Naruto...move." Sakura clenched her fists tighter, forcing that buzz in her veins to become a pounding force as she pushed it into her fists. Naruto moved to the side, and Sakura looked to Shouta, her green eyes shining.
"You do not belong here, Shouta." Sakura built the strength not only in her body but in her voice as well. "This is my mind. So…" The kunoichi took a deep breath through her nostrils and coiled her muscles as she wrapped her fists around two of the thick iron bars. "GET THE HELL OUT!" She put all of her strength into her arms and hands as she yanked at the bars. They were tough, like she expected. But she needed to believe that they would give. She knew they would give. Sakura focused her mind all into that thought. The bars had to break. They needed to break. They would break.
And in one loud crack, the two massive rods snapped under the immense pressure. The kunoichi slid through the new opening easily, her hands holding onto the twelve foot long iron bars. She tossed one iron bar aside and gripped the other tightly. The look on Shouta's face was fucking priceless to the kunoichi. For once in her life, Sakura felt powerful.
Feels good, doesn't it? The demon's voice echoed.
She smiled. "HELL YEAH!" Sakura jumped up into the air, spinning the iron bar in her hands and aiming it directly at the fearful Shouta. Sakura's adrenaline was pumping wildly. She would notmiss.
And she didn't. Her iron weapon made contact directly with Shouta's shoulder blade, cutting through his arm like butter. Now that she didn't expect. It might have been because of her mental power or whatever, but it was a great bonus. The man shrieked as the arm that was chopped off dissolved into nothingness. Shouta's eyes flickered in fury towards Sakura.
"I will not lose to a whore like you!" Shouta rushed towards Sakura, but in a flash of black and orange, Naruto was in front of the kunoichi. The ninja rammed a fist into their enemy's face and sent him flying. Sakura grinned the moment Naruto turned to look at her. The blond man's chest was rising and falling quickly with his jagged breaths.
"I could've handled him myself, you know." Sakura couldn't wipe the smile of satisfaction from her face. Naruto grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head.
"I know," he replied.
"So why won't you two finish him, then?" Sasuke walked up to the two. "You need to chop his body to pieces to make him completely disappear."
"You make it sound so easy, Sasuke," Sakura said.
"Well, it is, so long as you think so—" Sasuke's eyes flickered, and he growled. "Move!"
But it was too late. Sakura felt a thick hand clamp around her throat as she was sent flying back. She landed with a painful thud right back into the cell she had just escaped. Shouta's one hand gripped tightly around Sakura, pressing her into the ground of the prison cell. Sakura tried to think past the pain and air loss and think about victory, but the thought of death ransacked her mind.
"You will be imprisoned in here, kunoichi—even if I have to take you with me!" And below them, Sakura felt a strong vibration, almost like an earthquake taking place right beneath her. And to her right she heard the earth crack. The kunoichi's eyes widened and she shook her head, struggling against the vice-like grip of Shouta's. The crackling and rumbling sounds multiplied as the earth beneath them crumbled. Sakura did not want to die. She wanted to live. She was a strong kunoichi of Konoha, and there was no way in hell this guy was going to overpower her!
Sakura built all of her chakra into her legs and willed herself into this one thought. She had to visualize her action's course, or it would not happen. The kunoichi took a deep breath and shouted as she kicked Shouta off of her and hurled him directly into the iron bars. And just as the iron bar before sliced through him, so did these bars cut through his ligaments and torso. Shouta's eyes widened in shock and fear as the last of his remains dissolved into nothingness.
He was gone. Forever.
Then the earth beneath Sakura fell away. The woman screamed and reached out above her as she fell. She didn't want to die. She couldn't die. She wouldn't!
Sakura felt a warm hand clamp onto hers, and she swallowed a scream as her arm dislocated itself from the sudden pull. Another hand clamped around her elbow as she looked up to see Naruto using all of his strength to pull her up. There was no wall for Sakura to press her feet into to aid the shinobi in his attempt. It was as if the ground beneath them was hollow.
"Naruto—!"
"You're going to live, Sakura," he said in a raspy voice, "and you, Toru, and I are going to go to Ichiraku and are going to eat ramen as one happy family!" One of Naruto's hands slipped on her, and the both of them screamed. Sakura reached out her other hand to clasp onto the blond shinobi and Naruto took a stronger hold of her once more, his eyes tearing.
"We can get married, have more kids, or just have Toru—it doesn't matter! I'll always be with you so long as you live! You will live, Sakura-chan!" The pink haired woman blinked away her tears in her pain and nodded fervently. Behind Naruto she saw Sasuke wrap his arms around him and pulled on the shinobi, donating his extra strength. Sakura slowly came up, and Naruto finally was able to grab her by the waist, and he hoisted her back onto the flat ground. Sakura collapsed onto Naruto as Sasuke backed away, all of their breaths jagged.
"You promise?" Sakura couldn't speak any more than that. The pain from the dislocated arm was blinding.
"Believe it." His chest rose up and down, rocking Sakura into a strange sleep. What would happen if she fell asleep in her own mind? But the pain from this dislocation was so much, her head was swimming. The kunoichi closed her eyes and was surrounded by darkness. The pain in her arm began to slowly dull.
"…Sakura-chan…" Naruto's voice was still strong and booming into her mind.
"Sakura-chan…" She just wanted to close her eyes for a moment. The pain in her arm was fading even more. She was so peaceful where she was right now.
"Sakura-chan!" Kami, could he just be quiet for a moment?
"Sakura-chan!" Sakura felt her anger twitch. This idiot was getting really annoying, and if he didn't shut it—
"Sakura-chan, wake up!"
"SHUT UP, BAKA!" Sakura snapped upright, her eyes flickering open into a blinding white light. She felt a strong tug behind her, and once her vision righted itself, she realized she was in a hospital room, surrounded with familiar faces. The tug was from her oxygen mask. The kunoichi pulled off the apparatus and took several breaths of the cold and sterile hospital air before she calmed down.
"Good job, Naruto. Your annoying voice really did snap her out of that coma." Kiba smiled happily with an arm around Hinata, who was currently in tears as she held onto her twin babies. She wasn't the only one who was crying. Ino was right next to Sakura and instantly wrapped her arms around the pink haired woman, uncontrollably blubbering.
"Billboard brow!! You're awake! You're alive! Thank Kami!!!" She sobbed into Sakura's shoulder, smearing body fluids into the hospital gown that Sakura wore. The kunoichi was in a daze. She had just been in her mental plane, and now here she was…in the hospital.
"Okay, okay, Nara. Back off my student. She needs to breathe." Beside Ino stood Tsunade-shissou, a look of relief in her brown eyes. Ino pulled away, and Shissou wrapped her arms around Sakura-despite her previous chiding towards Ino. The pink haired woman gasped lightly at the affectionate gesture of her sensei. As her shissou stepped away, Sakura finally took in all the people around her: Kiba, Hinata, Ino, Shikamaru, Sasuke, Tsunade-shissou, and Naruto. Sakura looked to the orange clad shinobi and smiled weakly. She felt tired, though she had been asleep for a while.
A loud cry sounded from outside the room, and Sakura looked to the door to see Shizune carrying in a fussy Toru. Sakura's heart leapt as the Hokage's assistant handed the infant boy over to Naruto. The blond man smiled down to the boy and turned the baby towards Sakura. Toru stopped crying the moment he looked into his mother's eyes. He lifted his arms towards her, and Sakura reached out to him as well, her heart swelling. Naruto handed Toru over to Sakura, and the woman sighed happily. He was safe and so was Naruto. Shouta was dead…and her village was safe…Kami, her family was safe. Sakura looked down to Toru, a complete likeness of his father save for his eyes…he was perfect.
"I love you," she said softly. A pair of big and clumsy arms wrapped around her.
"I love you too, Sakura-chan!" Naruto's voice was loud and happy as he rubbed his head into Sakura's good shoulder.
"I was talking to Toru, baka! And don't yell in the hospital!" Everyone around them laughed, releasing all the tension that had built in the room from waiting for the kunoichi to wake up and speak. Naruto adjusted himself onto the bed and had one arm wrapped around the pink haired woman's waist. Sakura and Naruto looked back down to Toru and saw him smile happily.
"Hn. Glad that's over." Sasuke moved over towards the three.
Sakura looked up to Sasuke and smiled. "Thank you." She truly meant it. He had done so much for her…
The dark haired ninja said nothing. But… it could have been a trick of the eye—Sakura might have just been insane off of the oxygen gas they provided for her…But she could've sworn she saw the slightest hint of red across the Uchiha's cheeks. It was impossible.
A sound interrupted Sakura's thoughts. The most beautiful and innocent sound she had ever heard before: Toru's laugh. She looked down to Toru to find him looking at Sasuke, laughing.
"Is that spawn of the dobe laughing at me?"
"That's my boy!" Naruto laughed happily.
"He… just likes you, Sasuke." Sakura tried to cover up her own snort of laughter, but it was too much for her. Sasuke rolled his eyes and looked down to Toru.
"Children are annoying…" And though he said it in a completely serious tone, Sakura could tell somewhere deep within the Uchiha that Toru just might have begun to crack the shell that had kept Sasuke isolated from the world for so long. Sakura smiled and looked down at her son. The little one smiled back and laughed even more. Ino moved over to get closer to Toru and began to coo over the baby. That was when Sakura heard Naruto yawn loudly.
"Can we go home now?" Naruto looked over to Tsunade-shissou, a look of eagerness in his eyes. Tsunade blazed with anger.
"Absolutely not! Sakura just woke up, and she needs to recover from having dislocated her arm! Her body can only take so much!"
Naruto saddened and looked from Toru to Sakura for a moment. Then, almost in a flash, a spark of mischief lit his eyes. He turned back to the Hokage and smiled wickedly. "You know, Tsunade-baa-chan, the sooner you sign Sakura's discharge papers, the sooner we can have our wedding ceremony. And that means you can drink as much as you want without Shizune or Sakura barking at you."
Sakura opened her mouth to protest. She didn't know that Naruto wanted to get married right away. But when she looked to Naruto and saw him lean in close to her to whisper with a softened look in his eyes, she melted.
"Will you marry me?" His breath was warm, and it tickled Sakura right down to her toes. And the kunoichi knew that there wasn't a doubt in her mind that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with this blond idiot. No matter how long it was, no matter how irritating, no matter what was thrown at them—or what she threw at Naruto, in some cases. They would face it like they faced everything else: together. Sakura looked to the other people in the room and knew they had heard—nothing could be hidden from shinobi at this distance. They all had expectant, shining eyes—except for the usual indifferent Uchiha gaze—and Sakura laughed. Her time to bloom had come. She took a deep breath and smiled widely, looking back to her blond love. A blush came over her cheeks as she found her words.
"Yes, baka…yes,I will." She leaned in close to lightly brush her lips across Naruto's burning cheeks.
"Shizune, get me a pen." Sakura and Naruto looked over to the fifth Hokage as the older woman sighed. "Who the hell am I to pass up free liquor?"