Salvation
Disclaimer; All rights to Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
Chapter Six
…..
Sakura watched as Naruto entered the cage of ice, thwarting Sasuke's plan of an attack on both fronts. Sakura knew the end result was acceptable, but was still a little annoyed that he hadn't caught the opportunity.
She could tell her dry expression and calm demeanor was irking the bridge builder who was cowering behind her, looking as though he may run screaming at any moment had he not remembered the fact that leaving the team would leave him completely unguarded and vulnerable to those seeking to kill him. Coward. Sakura thought amusedly as she watched the display before her eyes. Had she not been so terrified the first time around, she would have caught how interesting the fight itself was.
"How can you be so damn calm, kid?" Tazuna asked incredulously.
Sakura turned to face him with the dryest, dullest expression he swore he had ever seen a human being make. "I have a lot of faith in my teammates." She said in a bleak and somewhat sarcasm laced mutter. Which seemed to both anger and shut up the old man as the tips of his ears lit up red with annoyance.
As she heard Zabuza begin to boast of a way past the sharingan, her stance became stronger, for in a few moments he would lay out a barrage of attacks in the thick mist, eyes-closed to render the sharingans ocular effect useless and would come straight for Tazuna.
She could sense his chakra presence whirling through the air and feel the tickle of wind as his large blade began to make a crescent swipe at the man behind her, Kakashi appeared before her, arms outstretched, biting her lip Sakura remembered just how wounded Kakashi had been after taking the brunt of the attack, and decided she could do this much for the man who had done everything for her, even with the bits of neglect she still honored this man to her grave.
Appearing beside him she laced the smallest bit of chakra into her hands, just so that the blade would slice into her hands, but not sever them as they would have had it not been there, and aided Kakashi in catching the sword.
She could practically feel the shock radiating off of him, though he was much more severely injured than herself, it was not mortal as it had been before. Her hands stung badly and they looked to be in horrible condition, the blood flowing from them giving the effect of red gloves, had she not been trying to appear nonchalant, she would have chuckled.
"Sakura, get back!" Kakashi demanded firmly, she felt a bit scolded for what she had done, but she didn't regret it. This time around- she would have no regrets for fighting alongside her comrades.
Kakashi then prepared for his signature attack, chidori, when the red hot flames of the Nine-tails chakra began to form, halting the movement of all those outside of those large, ice mirrors. Sakura felt a woeful look pass her own eyes, unnoticed by the shocked and wounded Kakashi. Naruto's seal had began to loosen.
A loud roar ripped through the air like a carving knife as a following pulsation of chakra lit up within the prison of ice. Kakashi, fearing Naruto's seal would give way to the Kyubi being formed, pulled a scroll from his thigh pouch, smearing his already exposed blood across it in a single fluid motion.
"I think it's time we ended this." He proclaimed as his entire pack of ninken dogs appeared, already familiar with Zabuza's scent from the wound he had just inflicted upon their master, went to seek out the mist nin.
Naruto's battle was ongoing with Haku, she could hear the sounds of Naruto's roar and followed by Haku's form breaking through one of the once-thought impenetrable ice mirrors. A red-chakra laden Naruto appeared, eyes angry red with power as he made a frenzied charge for Haku who was now on his feet. Sakura counted down to the events to follow
1….
Haku's mask cracked.
2….
Pieces began falling to the bridge below.
3….
Naruto's fist stopped just inches from the feminine looking boy's face.
Sakura's heart reached out for Naruto, because now that Kakashi was seconds away from impaling Zabuza with his signature technique, Haku was going to sacrifice himself and Naruto was going to be forced to suffer because of it.
The chakra once cloaking Naruto flittered away like dust, his red eyes becoming the sky blue she had found so much comfort in once. The kyuubi's traces on his form flittered away as quickly as they had come.
Sakura tried her best to ignore what was about to happen, averting her eyes to the crashing waves of the sea below just as she heard Naruto's cry and the screaming birds of the chidori meet flesh, the sounds of blood spraying and the coppery scent in the air however, wouldn't let Sakura ignore the heartwrenching scene around her.
Kakashi's dogs dispersed as Haku's senbon needles damaged the summoning scroll, their disappearing 'pop' being the only sounds over the silence of death. Sakura looked to see Zabuza raise his sword, seeing his companions death an opening to kill her sensei, at the last moment Kakashi jumped from the path, Haku's body dangling like a ragdoll, still impaled on his hand.
Kakashi removed the lifeless boy and allowed him to softly fall to the ground. He demanded a confused, conflicted and angry Naruto to stay out of the fight. Sakura looked at Naruto, his pained expression made a bit of guilt swell in her chest.
"Where's Sasuke?" Sakura found herself asking annoyedly, not remembering the consequences of such actions, she wanted to smack herself in the forehead as Naruto was unable to answer her, looking away.
Tazuna misread her actions and offered at his expense, for Sakura to go and see her fallen teammate. Which she had zero desire to do, but well aware it would look suspicious and hateful not to, at this point she was weighing her options but she knew standing back and saying 'I don't give a rats ass if he's dead or not' would make her out to be a sociopath, she annoyedly walked forward, as slowly as possible, hoping he would bleed out in the time it took her to get to him, but knowing full well he wouldn't die. Haku had missed all vital points. Sakura soon found herself damning the boy's kind nature.
Standing over the body of Sasuke Uchiha, who amusedly looked like a porcupine all riddled with senbon, Sakura tried her best not to look satisfied but with her back to the bridge builder, she allowed herself a small, guarded smirk.
She kneeled down, touching the bruises strewn across his jugular. A thought struck her, she could kill him here, her chakra scalpel simply sliced through whatever layer of tissue she pleased, she could slice through the artery in his throat without there even being the tiniest scratch of a trace-
Her mouth went dry as she looked at his helpless form. She could do it. She could prevent everything from happening by simply eradicating Sasuke from the picture. He'd never kill Itachi, he'd never cross paths with Madara, he'd never take over the village, Naruto would live.
Her mind struggled between what she knew was right and what her entire body nearly screamed with the urge to do. Never in her life had she ever wanted something so painfully bad, she felt tears of anger form in her eyes as she slammed her fist into the cement just by the Uchiha's head.
She didn't know what to do. She could exact her revenge here and now, she could take the easy way out and just break the building apart by it's foundation. But no, she knew deep down that it wasn't the proper way to do it.
Having his life in her hands and being unable to take it was like dangling an empty bottle of liquor in front of an alcoholic- no, her urges were stronger. It pained her not to strike him, not to at least have some small shred of hope that she would never have to look at this traitor's face again.
She felt Naruto's hand on her shoulder, he must have mistaken her conflicting tears for tears of concern. She allowed him to think that, playing the part of a concerned teammate, though as Sasuke's eyes hazily opened and they had a brief, second of eye contact, she allowed her mask of concern to drop, releasing her full killing intent into his direction. An older Sasuke wouldn't have blinked at it, but younger Sasuke looked confused with the tiniest pang of fear swimming in those little black eyes.
Though a bit early, considering Sasuke hadn't woken until they had already disappeared the last time, Gato and his men arrived and Zabuza's arms were already out of commission, he unraveled the bandages that hid his razor teeth- like that of most the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, and asked one last favor of Naruto- a kunai.
Naruto complied hesitants, trustworthy fool that he was, he'd made the correct decision. The rest of the fight was a blur to Sakura, she didn't watch or listen, she was simply there. It felt like watching a movie you'd seen play through a thousand times.
It wasn't until they were departing 'The Great Naruto Bridge' that Sakura acknowledged that she let Sasuke live and that she'd shown him her disappointment in that. She'd made her decision, not for herself, but for Naruto who she knew, would mourn his friend's loss, considering he had no recollection of what his so-called 'friend' would do to him in the future.
Her teeth grit together annoyedly, already regretting her decision.
…...