Stand By Me

Chapter 5 - Kingdom Come

''Run fast as you can, no one has to understand, fly high across the sky, from here to kingdom come.'

After breaking the seal on the door with the Uchiha symbol, Naruto and Sakura set off inside the narrow pathway. It was barely wide enough for both of them to walk side by side, so Naruto stayed in front while Sakura trailed behind him. Overhead was electrical lights that flickered to life once they stepped under a certain one, that then turned all the lights behind them off, plunging the tunnel behind them into darkness. Sakura hated that, but neither of them had spoken since they'd made it through the door. It wasn't an awkward or tense silence...more like a sad and hopeless silence. She just had nothing to say, yet at the same time so, so much. But she was afraid if she broke the silence...things would be irrevocably changed. Something she couldn't heal...and that scared her.

Usually, Naruto would find something to talk about, she figured it was just how his personality was, he'd never liked silences and being alone so he'd spend as much time away from his house as possible. Sakura, didn't blame him for being quiet now though, because she couldn't find her voice either.

As much as Sakura wanted to deny it, wanted to have hope. A part of her knew. Konoha was gone, and as much as she wished that everyone made it out ok - she needed to be realistic. Realism was what this situation needed, not soothing words and empty meaningless lies. They needed to face facts, no matter how painful the result was. Chances of them still being...alive, were slim to none. She closed her eyes, forcing away the images of her home.

''Sakura-chan?'' Naruto asked, his voice groggy, then cleared his throat and swallowed hard. ''We'll rest here. I'll take the first watch. Get some sleep.''

Sakura hesitated for a moment, watching Naruto sit down before she sat down next to him.

''Naruto...are we gonna be...ok?'' she asked softly, leaning into him with the familiarity of knowing someone most of your life. Yes, she didn't need lies but she needed assurance, that despite everything that had happened...eventually they would be able to rest. To let go of everything. Naruto allowed her, putting an arm around her shoulders. ''Ask me tomorrow, right now I won't be able to say the right thing.''

Sakura laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. She never expected herself to be able to sleep, even if she was exhausted, but before she even realized it. She was fast asleep.

x-x-x-x-

Sakura found herself in a place, slightly familiar, but she couldn't place it.

She looked around until her eyes caught a figure, sitting upon a tall wall. He must have noticed her staring because his dark eyes darted to her. Sakura stiffened and took a step back, and then another - all the while his dark eyes followed her, and then she turned around and ran, she didn't really have a reason for wanting to get away, she just didn't want to face the man...not yet. She had no idea why she ended up there, so close to him, but if it was a sign, then, for now, she'd ignore it. Sakura continued to run, the trees zipped past her slower than she expected but she didn't pay much attention to it. She looked behind her, hoping he wasn't following her, not that she honestly expected him to.

Suddenly, she was caught, large hands circling her arms.

Her head whipped around, a scream getting stuck in her throat and her breath stopping.

''You're that Konoha Kunoichi!''

Sakura immediately recognized the head of blonde hair, the bang that resembled Ino's too evenly. Sakura stared at him with wide eyes, not daring to speak.

''Don't you run with that Kyuubi kid?''

Sakura gave a few fast nods.

''Hmm...what was your name again?''

''Haruno Sakura...'' she said, finally beginning to fight his hold.

''That's right! Sakura, yeah!''

Sakura shook him off and took a few steps back. Deidara. She couldn't let her guard down.

''Relax, we have no chakra here, yeah.'' he told her, showing her his hands. They looked completely normal. Not at all like she'd heard.

Then she realized what he'd said. ''No chakra? Where?''

''Chakra was connected to our living bodies, not our souls, yeah. And here - The Void. For someone who's supposed to be smart, you...aren't.''

Sakura glared at him but let it slide. ''We have no chakra here...huh.'' Sakura shook her head and moved to get past him but instead, Deidara grabbed her arm.

''You're different.'' he said, slowly looking over her. ''You're here, but not like most of us are.''

''What?''

''Im a Walker. You...are just something else, yeah.''

''Im not...dead.'' Sakura told him, again trying to break free of his hold - to no avail.

''What the hell are you talking about? You have to be dead to enter The Void, yeah.''

''I was...resurrected.''

Deidara brushed his hair from his face, only to have it fall back. He began walking, pulling her along, even though she fought him.

''How is it possible for you to return here?'' he asked.

''Apparently, The Void holds on, even if your soul is forcibly sucked out. So a small part of my essence remained here. Let go of me!''

He didn't.

''Look.'' he said, pointing down the cliff.

There was...signs of a recent battle, but other than that, it was just an ordinary clearing of land.

''What about it?''

''Look closely at the cliff-side below us.''

Sakura gave him an annoyed glance and did as told, and then she wished she hadn't, wished she'd gone on without knowing. Below her were the carved faces of all the Hokage.

''This...cant be...real.'' she whispered, shaking her head. Her eyes darting around the now-clearing area of land.

''Its real yeah. You know what's cool about this place?''

Sakura didn't answer him.

''You can't die.'' and then he shoved her forward.

For a moment all Sakura saw was him, an amused grin on his face, that seemed to be getting farther and farther away and then the sky came into view, and she felt her feet leave the ground, and then she was falling, the wind whipping around her, her heart beating frantically in her chest and the ground coming closer and closer...as if sucking her in.

x-x-x-x-

Sakura-chan.

...

Sakura-chan.

...

''Sakura-chan!''

Sakura's eyes snapped open, only realizing then that she was screaming. Immediately she snapped her jaw shut, swallowing her terrifying scream down.

''...Im...fine.'' she whispered breathlessly.

Naruto was looking at her with an almost-sympathetic expression. Probably assuming she'd been having a nightmare about Konoha. If only it had just been Konoha...

Sakura took a deep breath and stood up, stretching widely. ''You rest for a while, I'll keep watch.''

Naruto watched her for a moment longer. ''You sure you're ok, Sakura-chan?''

Sakura bit back her snappy retort. Yes, she wanted a moment alone, but that didn't mean that Naruto deserved such attitude.

''I'm ok, I promise.'' she said with a reassuring smile, or what was meant to be one.

Naruto nodded, seemingly not wanting to push her, before he settled in to sleep.

Sakura began to pace softly over the floor. At first, she'd believed her dream about the first Hokage had been just that - a dream. But she was more than willing to rule that out now. Could the Jutsu that Kalika used on her really have had that kind of after-effect? It seemed unbelievable, and yet the truth was right in front of her. It was true.

Entering that place could not have good effects on her long-term, and the big question remained: What other effects did Kalika's Jutsu have? She clenched her fists at her sides, and silently began an assessment of her abilities. She knew her medical ninjutsu was still working as it always had, if not better, her chakra strength- which she had only tested on Hidan during their brief fight, also seemed to be working. Sakura let her back rest against the wall, she was suddenly terrified of what might have changed inside her. At the moment, her greatest enemy was not Madara, but the unknown, which, in a battle, could mean her death.

x-x-x-x-

Soon, they were walking down the pathway again, it all looked the same, and Naruto felt like he was losing his mind. The straight hall never seemed to change, old lights behind them died, new ones came to life. The faded Uchiha symbols on the walls went on for what seemed like an eternity. Naruto had become convinced that they were stuck in a genjutsu, he'd disturbed his chakra but nothing changed. So he began to watch the symbols, one by one they went by, some more faded than others, but none really compared to one another so he gave up.

He found it hard to breath, because whenever he took a breath his eyes seemed to fill with tears he refused to shed, so he gave up on breathing and simply rotated his chakra around in his lungs. Soon he knew he had to breathe, but for now this was his solution.

Sakura had been extremely quiet. He didn't want to push her into saying anything, at the moment he didn't want to say anything either, but he did know that for some reason he needed her here with him, because being alone...he wouldn't have been able to stand it.

''Naruto...''

It was barely audible, but he heard it and immediately he turned around.

Sakura seemed shocked that he'd heard her.

''S-'' he cleared his throat tightly and tried again. ''Sakura-chan?''

She shook her head. ''Nothing.''

''Sakura-chan?''

''Lets keep moving, ok?''

''No one is here to see you but...me, Sakura-chan. Cry...''

She gasped and began to shake her head but Naruto closed the distance between them and pulled her into his arms, he noticed that she'd lost weight and more than anything, she was shaking.

''N-Naruto...what are you-''

But he shook his head and held her tighter, burying his head in her blonde hair.

''N-N-Naruto...I...'' and then she let out a sob and clung to him. ''Its - they're all gone...'' she said brokenly.

To Naruto, Sakura was all he had left now. All he had ever known...Konoha...was gone.

He didn't cry. When the time came, his tears wouldn't come. Inside, he felt cut up and so, so raw. But he held on to Sakura as she cried.

He wasn't sure if she fell asleep or passed out eventually, but he let her sleep, her head on his lap.

Sasuke's words went through his head. 'no matter what changed.'

Naruto was just about to dismiss it when Sakura turned to the side, her hair falling away to reveal something that left Naruto cold. It stilled him to a position of almost death as the anger built up inside him like an inferno. At the very top of Sakura's spine, where her spine and her neck connected was the very thing that ruined all their lives from the start, in his opinion. The thing that almost killed him. Naruto stared and stared, waiting desperately for it to disappear...but they didn't just disappear...Orochimaru's cursed seals.

x-x-x-x-

Sakura blinked at the sudden brightness of where she found herself. A lush clearing with Sakura trees and soft grass. It was almost as beautiful as Konoha in spring. Almost.

''You're back, yeah!''

Sakura spun around.

''Stay away from me! Look, I don't choose to come here, but when I do - I don't wanna hang out with you!'' she said, not having the energy to deal with him right now. Crying had drained her after losing-

''Hey! Deidara! Did anyone else enter here?'' she asked, her voice hopeful but still dreading a positive answer.

He gave her a bored glare. ''How am I supposed to know?''

''Don't.'' she said, furiously shaking her head. ''Don't play games.''

''I had hoped not to see you here for a while, or any of them...''

Sakura turned around. ''Hokage-sama!'' she said with a sad smile.

Hiruzen approached her, not even sparing Deidara a glance. ''Somehow, I'm not sure if your resurrection was a good thing.''

Sakura frowned, that would mean she would be...dead.

''Too many negative effects...but I am glad that you're alive.'' he said with that smile, the one she remembered.

Hiruzen sat down on a wooden bench and patted the open space next to him and Sakura willingly took the invitation.

''Konoha is gone...and I...I don't know what to do...I-'' she broke off, staring at her hands.

''The world has changed.'' he said slowly. ''It has changed into something we never wanted any of you young ones to experience.''

Sakura listened as he spoke, but she never heard it...the same hopelessness that she'd heard from Naruto.

''But,'' he said, and now his smile was back, ''You had the will to live, and the will of fire is still burning within each and every one that is left. Konoha is lost. But its will lives on, as we had always intended.''

''Will having the Will of Fire be enough to take back the world, Hokage-sama?'' she whispered afraid that everything would shatter and she'd wake up.

''Individually, no.''

He opened his mouth and then closed it, putting a hand on Sakura's head and then she felt herself losing grip of everything around her, being sucked back.

She heard his fading words, barely. ''Many fires burn stronger and higher as one lone fire.''

x-x-x-x-

When Sakura opened her eyes, she felt hopeful, for the first time in a long time. They would find Sasuke and together they would bring Madara down. It seemed simple in her head and she didn't want to complicate it any more than that.

She sat up and Naruto's eyes followed her and the look in those blue orbs suddenly made her feel utterly alone.

''Naruto?''

He didn't answer her but she saw him frown, as if sorting out his thoughts.

What had changed? During the time he'd held her as she mourned their friends...their home?

''What happened to you?''

Naruto had never used that tone with her. It curled up her spine coldly and suddenly she felt defensive.

The air around them tensed and suddenly the tunnel seemed like it was suffocating her.

Naruto opened his mouth again but Sakura beat him to it. ''I died.''

Her words bounced off the walls and she watched his face pale.

''How...How can you be here if you...'' he didn't say the word.

Kalika's warning whispered through Sakura's mind. Don't trust anyone.

But this was Naruto...Naruto, who she'd grown up with. Who she had trusted wholly...before.

She didn't know why, but she felt like she couldn't tell him everything. Something inside her was instinctively telling her not to reveal everything.

Her mouth went dry. ''I-I don't know.''

Naruto's eyes narrowed, obviously not buying this lie.

''A woman found me, she brought me back with some forbidden Jutsu.''

''A friend of Orochimaru?'' he spat. Sakura gasped. How could he possibly have known that?

''I...I...yes.'' she relented

A crash in the darkness stopped their conversation short as a strong wind of dust blew over them.

''Run!''

x-x-x-x-

''Hatake, as you know, Madara-sama has heard a rumour that Haruno Sakura is alive.''

Kakashi gave a curt nod. Of course he knew this rumour existed, he was the one who started it, he had help - but that was irrelevant.

''Madara-sama has become convinced that she is in Konoha. It is being destroyed as we speak.''

Years of ninja training prepared him for this. Kakashi gave no reaction. Konoha was merely a place. Something tangible. Easily rebuilt. But the thought - that everyone could be trapped within the field...made him stiffen.

This was obviously the desired reaction.

''If you have cut all ties with Konoha - as you claim you have. We want you to bring Haruno Sakura here. Alive or with her head on a stick, but preferably as soon as possible.''

''What if the rumours have been false?'' Kakashi asked, his voice easily controlled as always.

''They aren't.''

Kakashi turned, Hidan stood in the foyer, a mask over his jaw and mouth, it was obvious he was sporting an animalistic smile. Guards flanked him.

Madara's second in command stepped past Kakashi, a strand of blood red hair escaping its entrapment - a black hood.

Kakashi stared at it for the longest of moments. He knew her voice sounded familiar. Karin. A small part of him wondered how she had climbed so high so fast. Maybe this had been part of the plan all along? Not that it mattered anymore.

''And how the hell would you know?'' she demanded.

''Because I saw her.''

x-x-x-x-

Temari had stayed until the very end, and then some. The barrier had closed her out completely, it did not stop her from re-entering, but she could tell from the animals inside that once you were inside there was no escape. The fires started after that, and the explosions, and when she'd finally worked up the nerve to defy Shikamaru, the barrier had been sealed - as if to mock her. And then she could do nothing but watch Konoha fall. No, that was too soft a phrase. It was destroyed. The barrier stayed in-tact the entire time, clearly meaning it wasn't broken or disrupted - and that the last explosion that wiped away the once beautiful village possibly killed everyone. As Temari ventured back into the city, all she could feel was a heavy pressure on her lips, a remnant of his kiss. It had taken him 6 years, 6 long years to muster up the courage to kiss her, and that had only been before the final battle, where the morbid threat of dying hung over their heads ominously. It had just been him pressing his lips to hers, she had been too shocked at the suddenness of the act, and then it was over and he was staring at her. His eyes mixed with so many emotions that she could hardly stay afloat in them. She huffed a short puff of a laugh. ''Is there no better way for you to have done this?'' she asked, an amused glint in her eyes.

He uttered his trademark word. ''Mendokse.'' and then he kissed her. Really kissed her. For the first time, Temari felt like nothing else mattered at this moment - but him. It was ridiculous how many things he could make her feel with just those lips. And then it was over, with them returning to their posts. She remembered herself being slightly giddy and a bit out of character that even Gaara had given her a strange look.

Temari snapped back to reality, her eyes swimming with tears. The pressure on her lips now gone - blow away by the frigid wind. Her jaws clattered against each other painfully in the cold as she stepped into the place she was sure the Hokage-tower had once been. It was gone. Konohagakure was nothing but rubble. Littered with the charred bodies of its citizens.

x-x-x-x-

Naruto ran, Sakura behind him as the many footsteps followed behind them, the echo in the tunnel made them seem closer than they were. Naruto was frantically looking for some kind of exit - if worse came to worse then Sakura would have to create one, even if it risked giving their positions away. To Naruto's relief, at the next turn there was a ladder leading to a thick metal door. He saw Sakura return the blonde wig to her head before he came to a stop and wordlessly ushered her up the ladder. Seconds still were seconds wasted. Sakura made it up the tall ladder in no time and pushed on the door. ''It won't budge!'' she hissed to Naruto was was now meeting up with her.

''Break through.'' he told her with a determined gaze. His eyes flickering back to the tunnel and then back to Sakura just in time to see her fist connect with the metal, it flew off like it was made of a think piece of wood and just as Sakura made it out Naruto saw the fluttering of a robe as one of Madara's soldiers made a stop upon seeing him and then he was up the ladder and they were running through the woods. Sakura had a bit of a headstart on him, but she seemed more like she was stumbling than running and then he watched with horror as she fell to the floor, weak arms catching her fall - but barely. ''Sakura-chan!'' he said coming up to her. ''What is it?''

Sakura opened her mouth to tell him that she was ok, but instead she threw up. Everything was gaining on her body, and fast. Was it only a few days ago that she left Kalika's place? The very sensitive, barely-healed wounds screamed in pain to remind her that, that was in fact the case. The stress and the physical pain had finally taken its toll.

Naruto was attempting to lift her up. She could hear the enemy gaining.

''Do you have a soldier pill?'' Sakura coughed out. She knew that this was a bad idea, that she was doing her body a world of harm, but she had no time to contemplate it.

Naruto handed her the pill and Sakura immediately pushed it into the mouth and bit into it. Within seconds she could feel her chakra reserves blaze to life and strength return to her body. She pushed herself up with newfound will and they took off into the forest. The footsteps of their enemies too close for comfort of the forest floor behind them.

Ok sorry for the very late update. I know, I know - I suck :(

I hope this chapter makes up for it! I was just suddenly struck with inspiration for the story and I couldn't stop writing, I wrote quite a lot of pages and then I remembered I should probably update and after reading through I decided to cut it off here and make this part the next chapter. I currently have about 3 more chapter written out so far.

This chapter didn't have a lot of action, but I decided to tone it down some - I mean Konoha was just destroyed -.-''

But look forward to some major action in the next chappie. And I can safely say - Sasuke will be making his long-awaited appearance in the near future. *squeals like an annoying fangirl* lol .''

Sorry to my Fade Away fans. I'm just so completely uninspired at the moment. I had the entire story written out and then I threw the last few chapters out because it was an overload of drama and tears. So I decided on rewriting it and now - boom - writersblock! I don't wanna force crappy chapters out...sorry guys.

Hopefully yu understand :)

Anywayz!

Please review for a speedy update ne?

Zana-Lee

xoxo