This is an eventual SasukexSakura. Rated M for descriptions of violence and language. Very little graphic sexual content.
The story is accurate up to chapter 238 of the manga and contains spoilers.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Never have, never will.
OOO
Gold barley fields had never looked more beautiful to Sakura, knowing that it might have been the last thing picturesque thing she saw.
Yes, Sakura was contemplating killing herself.
If she killed herself, Sasuke could not take her to Sound, and moreover, Kenji. There was a high chance that Orochimaru would find out that Kenji was an Uchiha, and he would take him away from her and corrupt him. And if he didn't, he'd kill Kenji. Worst case scenarios were often the most realistic.
She couldn't let that happen.
Though losing his mother at a young age would be a scar that would never completely heal, he'd recover, for the most part. He'd live, return to the village, inform Naruto of her death, spend a couple months grieving, then carry on with life. He'd become a successful shinobi, grow up, have a girlfriend, get married, have children...
Sakura's heart clenched at the thought of not being able to be there for him.
Having his first friends, graduating the academy, completing his first mission, crying when he had executed his first kill, the first spark of interest in girls, the first time he would get snarky with her, first loss of a friend, first kiss, first...-she shuddered at this- wet dream, first girlfriend, first child with many more to come...
Sakura wanted to watch him experience that and to guide him through the highs and lows of life, almost more than anything.
But she would never forfeit his life.
Sakura wasn't afraid of her death. She was just afraid that her death would not go as planned.
OOO
They walked for thirty minutes more before something burst out of the road and attacked Sasuke.
It was the same person from behind the door, he realized.
Instinctively, Sakura grabbed Kenji and pulled him away from the struggle.
"Mommy," Kenji gasped. "His mask looks like an orange flavored lollipop!"
It was true, oddly enough. There were curves swirling around the only eyehole in it. The rest of him was clad in obsidian. Sakura's eyes narrowed into slits. Was he a traditionalist? There weren't very many around nowadays, but maybe they hadn't all died out. Sakura slipped into a stance that was natural for her.
"Kenji," she whispered. "Run and find a place to hide. Do that thing Mr. Uchiha taught you; mask your chakra."
The boy opened his mouth to protest but thought better of it. He obeyed. He broke off into a sprint.
Sakura was grim. It was the last time she would probably ever see him.
She hadn't even had the chance to say "I love you" just one more time. What she would give to have just five more minutes...
But she couldn't think about that now.
The man with the orange mask directed a kunai toward her neck, obviously aiming for the kill. Not yet, was all Sakura thought. She snatched it quickly. The man chuckled, the tone high-pitched. Sakura gasped. Were they fighting a child?
"Oh, goodness. Sakura-san, you and your son always manage to surprise me. Kenji-kun really is a bright boy! Tobi likes him very much! Or rather, those eyes ofhis. It's always good to have backups." Sakura felt every limb freeze as she caught a glimpse of his eye. Red. Three tomoe.
The Sharingan.
The one who called himself Tobi giggled hysterically. "Oh, you've seen Tobi's eye, have you? Yes, Tobi has a Sharingan. He is an Uchiha, after all."
Then he disappeared.
A scream escaped Sasuke's lips as a sword slashed, then impaled his chest.
"Sasuke!"
Tobi just shook his head as he slowly slid his sword out of Sasuke's chest, a horrifying squelching sound produced. Sasuke fell to the ground, eyes open.
"Well, Sakura-san. Tobi will be leaving now, but don't worry. He will come back for Kenji-kun soon! Bye-bye!" He waved as he disintegrated.
Sakura's blood went cold.
It was not a good sign that Sasuke had passed out with his eyes open.
Rushing to his side, Sakura placed two fingers to a vein in his neck. Weak, but there. Commanding healing chakra to her hands, she tried to seal up the wounds but decided against it. This was a filthy and unsterilized area. Sasuke could get an infection if she healed the wounds there. If she ran at maximum speed, she could make it back to that village in thirty minutes. She could treat Sasuke's wounds there. Sakura decided on that, though the alternative of leaving him there was looking more and more attractive every second. He didn't look like he had much of a chance.
Sakura frowned. She was just such a goody two shoes. She brought out two plasma pills from her pocket.
Crunching them in her mouth until they were a fine powder and dissolved in her saliva, she opened his mouth with her fingers and spit the solution in. She massaged his throat to get the liquid down.
Slinging him over her shoulder, she started moving her legs in long, powerful strides.
Then she smiled.
She wouldn't lose Kenji, after all.
OOO
The pink-haired medic eventually did stumble across her son. He was crying, tears of happiness, he had said. Though they could not kiss and hug, they did hold hands on the way to the village. Kenji told her that she was warm, and in return, he got a warm smile.
However, Sakura was having a hard time keeping Sasuke warm.
At the town entrance, Sakura stopped running with a skid and took a moment to catch her breath, as did Kenji.
"Mommy, I'm tired."
"I'm tired, too, baby. Just let me fix up Mr. Uchiha." Kenji smiled.
"Okay."
Sakura shivered without wanting to. She could feel the fiery blood seeping into her back. She had to hurry.
They went into the first hotel they came across. The people all stared at her like this was some common occurrence. Perhaps it was. Maybe people constantly brought bleeding, dying people into this inn. They gave her a room freely, not even caring that there was a man that she had possibly killed on her back. People nowadays just didn't care enough.
Giving the now scarlet-stained keys to Kenji, Sakura made sure Sasuke wouldn't slip and hit his head. With a click, the door opened. The room was ratty, but it was clean. It would suffice. Sakura relinquished the bleeding man to the bed. She repeated the process of feeding plasma pills. This time, though, Kenji caught her in the act.
"What are you doing?" he asked innocently.
Her cheeks glowed pink. "U-um, nothing!" she stammered. "Kenji, pull out one of the drawers from the nightstand. Yes, good job. Fill it with water. Only half full." Kenji happily went to do his task, grateful he had something to do. So was Sakura.
Sakura pushed Sasuke's bangs away from his face. She caught some heat on her fingertips. "A fever," she grumbled. "Perfect. Where's that aspirin?" Whilst digging around in her pockets, Kenji came with the drawer.
"I filled it, I filled it, Mommy!" he yelped, some of the water splashing out as he stumbled.
She smiled wearily at him as she took the drawer from him. "Thank you, baby," Sakura rasped as she pecked his forehead. The moon's beams were now shining through the window, creating a comforting gleam. "Go to bed," she demanded. "It's been a long day. You need some rest." Kenji was about to argue, but Sakura gave him a stern look, one that clearly said, 'I don't need this right now.'
It turned out that Kenji actually was exhausted, and he fell asleep once he hit the mattress. They weren't particularly soft, but they felt like clouds of heaven at that moment. Sakura sighed, though on her face there was a soft grin.
She turned to her task at hand. Sasuke was running out of blood and a fever from his fatal injuries. Well, they wouldn't be fatal for much longer now. With a kunai, she sliced apart his sleeves and cast the pesky shirt aside. She then flipped him on his side. Gently rubbing a washcloth with water over his wounds, Sakura watched as Sasuke violently shivered once. She repeated the procedure, dipping it into the drawer's water until she no longer found it necessary.
Healing chakra warmed her hands and out a calming sigh went. First, the puncture hole. Then the slash.
However, she did not heal them completely. First off, it was dangerous for her to expend that much chakra. Second, he could not come after her since he would be in no condition to. He would be fit enough to live, but he'd have to heal the rest of his wounds. Also, the half healed state was very uncomfortable. It was a revenge of sorts.
Sakura decided to stay for two hours into the night. That way, she could be sure that Sasuke would not die. She wouldn't want that on her conscience; the killing of her son's biological father.
Suddenly, Sasuke thrashed wildly, his hand seemingly searching for something. Almost instinctively, it latched onto Sakura's, drawing out a sharp breath from her.
His eyes were open, twitching sporadically. A strangled cry left him, and his grip was so strong that if Sakura were anyone else, all the bones in her hand would be crushed.
"Don't-" he jerked.
"Don't what?" Sakura whispered.
"Don't-" he repeated a few more times. The veins protruded from his neck due to the stress he was putting on his body.
"Sasuke," Sakura said gently. "I'm right here. I'm right here."
Sasuke seemed to understand because for some reason, he stopped throwing his arms and legs about and just settled for heavy breath.
"Don't-" he said once again.
"Don't what?"
"Don't-"
-his breath came out in huffs and gasps-
"Don't - leave- me-" he begged.
Sakura, in a moment of weakness, could not help herself. However disgusted at the action, at the impression of her old self, she did it anyway.
Her lips met his.
It wasn't a "cute" moment. Sasuke's lips sought hers, needy. Imploring.
With a gasp, Sakura drew back, touching her swollen lips. Sasuke had found it sufficient for he was out like a light.
A face colored with shades of crimson and vermillion, she hastily removed herself from her previous position at Sasuke's bedside.
Shaking Kenji gently, he awoke, slightly grumpy. They gathered their things as quietly as they could after Sakura covered Sasuke with a blanket.
Then they ran.
OOO
Thank you for reading! AND REVIEWING.
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