Date: 8/23/13
Rating: K+
Genre: Action, Drama
Prompt: Sasuke and Naruto get injured and Sakura has a hard time to choosing whom to heal first.

"No."

It was as if the air had been sucked from her lungs mid-breath, the only word she could utter just barely above a whisper, carried away by the wind. Sakura couldn't breathe; she couldn't move. It happened so fast; and yet, it wasn't fast enough, going in slow motion before Sakura's eyes—able to watch with perfect clarity, unable to do a thing to stop it. Both of them. Obito got both of them, sending them flying in opposite directions across the battlefield.

And they weren't getting up.

Sakura waited a few more seconds—no response, nothing. She felt her heart begin to race, palpitating wildly beneath her chest, as she glanced at the ongoing battle. Even with her teammates down, the Second and Fourth were able to stop Obito from finishing the job, forcing him to focus his attention on them instead. But it would only be a matter of time, Sakura knew. The Hokages could only subdue Obito for so long, and they were struggling enough even before Sasuke and Naruto were injured. She took a deep breath. She had no other choice; she had to heal them, one at a time.

But she didn't know whom to go to first—they were too far from each other; they were too far for her to make out which of the two had the worse injuries. Sakura turned to Hinata and asked her for her opinion, feeling as if her heart stopped entirely when Hinata merely shook her head—Sakura, there's no difference. They're both—

"Damn it!"

She had to choose.

Eyes darting between her two injured teammates, Sakura found her worst nightmare had actually become reality, her increased heartbeat serving as an awful reminder that she was running out of time. But she didn't know what to do; she didn't know who to choose—or rather, her brain knew, already made its choice, but her heart refuted. Her heart said, no. Her heart said, Sasuke-kun.

She shook her head. But, her brain reminded her, chastised her, this was war. It didn't matter what she felt or how she felt. War was about tactics. War was about logic. And even she couldn't deny that Naruto was the logical choice. Because Naruto was one of the only few who could actually harm Obito. Because she didn't have to question Naruto's intentions. Because going to Naruto first just made sense. She clenched her fist.

Because it was her duty, as a medic-nin of the Shinobi Alliance, as a kunoichi of Konoha.

And she chose Naruto.

"Wait, Sakura. Stop."

And she did, despite her better judgment, despite the fact that she could have easily pulled away from the hand that held on to her wrist. She turned. It was Hinata. "I'll take care of Naruto-kun." she said, determination in her eyes, strength in her voice. "Besides, he always healed so easily; I think—I think I can handle it."

"But, Hinata—"

"No, Sakura, just go." She smiled, but she wasn't looking at her anymore. And Sakura understood. She was looking at Naruto—the same way Sakura looked at him, the same way she always looked at him. "They need us."