Heartbreak

It was the Summer that Team Seven were chosen. The first few weeks of simple missions, wonderful weather, getting to know each other. Sakura had finally managed to control herself a little more around Sasuke, but couldn't stop herself smacking Naruto every time he did something stupid. A distinct memory flashed to the surface of Sakura's mind, a day when the team sat by the banks of the river, eating rice balls and chatting away. Well, Naruto was chatting away, excited about their next mission. Kakashi sat a little way off, reading one of his perverted books. Sakura sat in contented silence next to Naruto, managing to reduce his rambling to a mild buzzing sound in her ear. Sasuke sat close to the water's edge, looking down at its glistening surface, deep in thought. It was a perfect moment, a moment where they were all at ease, all happy to some extent. Sakura clung to the feeling, held onto it even though she could feel herself losing grip, the happy scene slipping through her fingers. Other sounds were pulling her away, the feeling of someone pressing hard on her chest, murmured voices around her, someone's hand on her brow. But she was too tired to open her eyes, too tired to stop herself from floating away, into the past... She wanted to be by the river again... By the river, with her team...

*

"Naruto, we have to call it..." Tsunade's voice broke a little as she placed a hand on the Hokage's shoulder, gently coaxing him away from his wife.

"No, no!" Naruto muttered, his hands still pumping on Sakura's chest.

The heart monitor showed nothing but a straight line, emitting a long, continuous tone. Sasuke and Naruto had picked Sakura up from the floor of the Hyuuga garden, and bought her straight to the hospital, which was still being repaired. Tsunade met them at the doors, immediately hooking Sakura up to monitors, and trying desperately to save the ninja. It was no use. The kunai had plunged straight into Sakura's heart, puncturing a lung on the way. There was a lot of blood in the room, lending the air a dull, metallic tang. Naruto's hands were covered in it as he pumped away at his wife's still heart, trying desperately to get it beating again. Sasuke stood against the far wall, still as a statue, staring at his former teammates.

"I'm sorry, Naruto..." Tsunade said, switching the heart monitor off.

The silence it left hung around the room like an unwelcome guest. It was too much for Sasuke to bear. In two paces he was next to his best friend, a hand on his shoulder.

"She's gone." The words forced their way past his lips, feeling foreign and wholly wrong.

Outside the room, the wailing began. Etsu was slumped into her brother's arms, crying bitterly, inconsolably, whilst Dai's face was a mask of horror, his mouth frozen in the 'O' it had been since they'd started to work on his mother. Haru stood close by them, Akane leaning against him, her face streaked with tears. His mouth was a hard, unreadable line, and he clenched and unclenched his jaw again and again. Ichiru was the only one who sat. He stared down at the floor, counting every hairline crack in the tiles, not able to meet anyone's eyes.

A little way off down the corridor stood Neji, Hinata and Kiba, all shaking their heads in disbelief, Hinata holding onto her husband for support.

"How many talented ninja... How many of our friends and our... our f-family..." She choked on the last word, turning into Kiba's chest as the tears came.

Kiba gripped her to him tightly, unable to push the images of Sakura on the ground, Sakura bleeding, from his mind. He felt he couldn't breathe when he thought of Hinata in that way... of the way Aiko had been... He glanced up at the sound of footsteps approaching. It was Tenten, closely followed by Ino and Choji, worry creasing their faces. Tenten was in Neji's arms straight away, crying as she took in his expression. Ino shook her head silently, Choji's comforting hand on her shoulder.

"No... no... Billboard head... she was... meant to..." Ino smiled at a private memory, and then broke down on her former teammate. "Why? Why are we being crippled this way? My Shino, my Shino... and now Sa-Sakura too."

There was a hush as the doors to the emergency room opened, and Sasuke emerged, Sakura's blood staining a dark patch onto his already black clothes. His face was pale, drawn. Ichiru stood up, and his father strode over to him, grasping his shoulder and pressing his forehead to Ichiru's. They stayed like that for a while, Ichiru closing his eyes and breathing deeply before grasping Sasuke's shoulder too, and squeezing comfortingly.

"It should... have been me." Sasuke's voice sounded tired, and aged beyond belief.

Ichiru suddenly looked furious with his father, pushing him away and staring him down, his Sharingan activating with his burst of anger. Sasuke gasped, looking into his son's eyes in awe.

"You have the bloodline limit!" It was a statement of shock.

"You shouldn't be blaming yourself at a time like this." Ichiru almost snarled at his father, and then more calmly, "And yeah, I do... The Sharingan. I am an Uchiha after all."

Sasuke continued to stare at Ichiru, his eyes almost showing pride, until the door behind him opened again. Everyone turned to look as Naruto stood in the corridor, his head down, a shadow across his face. Dai and Etsu fell upon him straight away, and he held them to his chest, murmuring their names. It was such a private moment that the others assembled in the corridor shuffled away slightly, feeling awkward. Naruto straightened up after a few minutes, his arms not leaving his children.

"I'll be stepping down for a while Tsunade. For a few days. I'd like it if you'd take over things."

No one else had noticed the sixth Hokage slipping out of the emergency room, but now she stood before Naruto, nodding slowly. He nodded back, and then turned to leave, guiding his now smaller family with him. Sasuke watched him leave, and then turned back to Ichiru. Without a word, he slung his arm around his eldest son's shoulders, and began to walk towards the exit too, drifting past the Hyuugas and Inuzukas. They, too, fell into line behind the Uchihas, Kiba mirroring Sasuke and Ichiru with Haru, holding hands with Hinata as she half cradled Akane to her chest. Neji and Tenten followed them, holding each other close. Ino and Choji walked behind, Choji supporting his friend as she tried to compose herself for getting home, for telling Taro and Kiku about this new tragedy.

*

Far off, in the dark, winding passages of Orochimaru's ancient, labyrinthine medical facility, Kabuto killed the ninja who reported Izanami's defeat and probable capture. He groaned at the thought of clearing up the mess he'd made, and instead clicked his fingers. A young boy sloped in, one leg causing him to limp horribly. The boy set to work straight away, dragging the dead man from the room, and reappearing a few minutes later with a bucket and rag. Kabuto watched him mop up the blood from the stone flagged floor for a while, his mind wondering elsewhere. Suddenly, he screamed angrily, frustration clouding his vision. When he came to his senses again, the boy with the limp lay dead on the floor. Oh crap, he thought, clicking his fingers again with a roll of his eyes. Another servant traipsed in, this one in even worse condition than the first. Kabuto left the room this time, huffing as he did so. I need to get this mess sorted out, he thought to himself as he stalked the long passageway towards his operating room. The door opened, and he smirked at the patient strapped to the bed.

"Now, I think it's time you give me a little more information, don't you?" His grin widened as he selected a long, sharp instrument from the table.

Aburame Shino struggled against his bindings, a mute scream strangled in his throat.