Strayed From The Light

Sakura drifted back to consciousness to the smell of blood and fading warmth. Her long eyelashes fluttered open and her gleaming emerald eyes gazed curiously at the world, still hazy from the lack of energy, Sakura frowned as she tried to work out what was before her. It was a man's face; his raven hair was falling over a pair of exhausted red eyes and his chest heaved in and out for air. He had his hands on the ground at her sides just before her shoulders, as if shielding her from something. She knew him, she definitely did. She inspected his face before a trail of blood escaped the side of his lips.

"Sasuke…?" she muttered out loud unconsciously and reached a hand out to touch his face but before her hand could make contact, her eyes landed on the blades attached to heavy wires embedded into his back. Her eyes widened frantically as she looked back at Sasuke's face. Sasuke's mangekyo faded back to their usual obsidian gleam as he merely held a look of relief on his face as his lips twitched up to form a last smile for her. She inhaled sharply and frantically reached for him "Sas-"

-before he was violently ripped away from her by the metal tubes attached to the blade and flung to the side like a broken doll.

"SASUKE!" she shrieked, sitting upright and watched with wide eyes as Sasuke's body stayed limp on the ground, she half expected him to push himself up but he didn't. Her heart thumped wildly against her chest as she tries to feel his charka but found that the light of his usual blue chakra had been snuffed out.

Stumbling to her feet, Sakura limped towards Sasuke with a look of desperation in her eyes before they dimmed out and she collapsed to the ground on her hands and knees. In the background she could hear the sound of missiles being locked in but she paid no mind to it even as she heard bashing. Her eyesight seemed to be waning as she tried to move, her body ached in every way but she continued to move in wavering steps towards his figure.

She felt a sudden change in the air and attempted to dodge whatever was coming, she threw herself to the right and the missiles landed just under her feet, blasting her to the side and injuring her legs. Her chakra flared on and off weakly as she tried to more and mold chakra simultaneously. Moving her legs slightly she winced when a sharp sting ran up her ankles. She looked around to see that she had been thrown closer to Sasuke, he was now within crawling distance. Dragging her broken body towards Sasuke, Sakura's eyes began to sting with tears as the closer she got, the clearer it became to her. Sasuke wasn't going to get up.

Her hands brushed his shoulders as she began to sob helplessly. His body was already cold with death and his face was paler than usual. She pulled his shoulder so that he laid peacefully on his back instead of his side. She brushed her fingers down the side of his face, tracing his features as he slept peacefully.

Sakura sniffed and bit her lip "It's time to wake up, Sasuke" she said, shaking him a little. "Sasuke…?" she urged a reaction from him before stroking his hair and wept in bitter acceptance. "Sasuke…"

In the background she could hear Naruto's fight with Pein, she could feel the buzz of live chakra around her lingering in the village as if they were mocking her. Her heartbeats thumped weakly in her chest as she felt all the fatigue catch up to her. She looked down at Sasuke then smiled softly at him. Summoning whatever chakra she had left, Sakura let it flow into Sasuke, mending his broken body at a relatively slow pace.

Pein watched from the corner of his eye as Sakura continued to pursue for Sasuke's life as he dueled with a furious Naruto who glowed with the Kyuubi's chakra. Watching her brought back painful memories of Yahiko's death, how he and Konan had wept for him in his final moments. He remembered the loathing he felt for Hanzo for stealing his best friend from him.

This was good, wasn't it? The world needed to know pain like they have never felt before, that was what he was working for all this time, wasn't it?

"RASENGAN!"

Nagato was forcefully shoved back into his own body, he found himself staring the concerned face of Konan. He was back in the dark. "Nagato…" she whispered softly, almost as if she were afraid of disturbing him. The weeping Sakura had reminded him so much of Konan. He had been so absorbed in avenging Yahiko he had forgotten how much she meant to him.

…

Naruto's kyuubi chakra died down as he watched Pein's last body lie motionless on the floor. His breathing calmed as he turned his attention to Sakura, whose chakra was beginning to fade and Sasuke who no longer glowed with any. His heart constricted painfully at the loss of his best friend as well as Hinata.

He placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder but the glow in her hands did not stop. "Sakura-chan" he said, hoarsely.

"I know, Naruto" she said in a wary tone. "I'm okay" she finished off the last of her healing and turned to smile at her blonde teammate. Naruto's heart shattered at her painful smile and then he was gone, leaving Sakura behind with nothing but a light breeze.

In his head swirled a whirlwind of emotions: fury, grief, frustration and vengeance. However he refused to give in to them. They wanted him and the stupid beast inside of him, now they were going to get him. He was going to confront Nagato.

…

Sakura waited, her body had barely moved when Naruto had left. Everyone had been watching her but none confronted her, mainly because they knew that nothing they say would help with her grief. Everyone lost someone today and they all had no choice but to accept it. Sakura's body wracked with fatigue as she finally decided to put her head down on Sasuke's chest and grieve, her body shaking with her silent sobs.

She could visualize it, a spark of chakra not far from the village, so hazy with emotions and conflict. Then she felt it, Naruto's life, blaring like a stereo. Her heart calms at the knowledge of his wellbeing. Her heart began to slow as she eventually lost consciousness.

…

"I know that you were once the student of the ero-sennin, he told me stories about you and your friends. I took me awhile for it to finally click but there's no mistake. You are Nagato of the ame-orphans"

Pain did not respond but merely stared down at Naruto with wary eyes whilst Konan stood protectively in front of him. "It's alright, Konan"

"Naga- Pein!"She protested, glancing at Naruto with worry that he would attack. Without his main bodies, pein's power cannot be released.

"Since you're ero-sennin's student, let me ask you one thing" Naruto said, his eyes shifting from blue to red in a flicker of light. "How can someone who has been raised and taught under someone so righteous turn into scum like you" Naruto snapped angrily, his voice shifting into a move feral noise.

Konan narrowed her eyes, poised to counter attack but none came. The blonde haired nin lowered his head and hid his eyes from their view. Slowly he shifted his cerulean blue eyes back to meet Nagato's rinnegan. "I don't want to believe that ero-sennin has made a mistake in saving your life. I know he hasn't but I just don't understand how, as a fellow student- no, my senpai, have strayed so much from the light when we both knew how ero-sennin felt about the world" Naruto's eyes were filled with nothing but sympathy and sorrow.

A wave of guilt and nostalgic feeling of being lectured by Jiraiya returned to him. He looked down at his sole teammate and closed his eyes, absorbing Naruto's words before reopening them almost apologetically. "My village suffered the same fate as yours, many years ago. My best friend was taken from me right before my eyes. I could never understand what Jiraiya-sensei was thinking, his logic of peace did not make sense. But I understand now…" Nagato took a deep breath "I will return your village to you" He formed a seal, his eyes burned with determination.

"Nagato, if you use that-" Konan gasped.

"It's alright, Konan" Nagato said, he smiled at her. "I'm sorry for dragging you into my selfishness all these years, it looks like Yahiko's death has all been in vain with all that we've done"

Konan's eyes shimmered with tears as she looked up sadly at him "I have accepted Yahiko's death a long time ago, Nagato. As long as I could remain by your side, I was fine with just following you. Afterall…" Konan gripped her robe and took a shaky breath in "We're family, aren't we?" her voice wavered.

Surprised, Nagato blinked before nodded in understanding, a small smile on his lips. "I understand, then I owe you another apology. Konan, I'll be going to where Yahiko is before you." With those last words, Nagato activated his ability, calling forth all the chakra he has left to summon to gate of death and releasing all the lives that had been stolen"

Naruto watched in amazement as the ritual was carried, all while Konan stood silently by Nagato's side, her eyes void of any emotion as she looked up at Nagato's last moments down to his last chakra sparks. Nagato's body went still, his eyes were closed as his hands drooped at his sides, a peaceful look plastered on his face. Konan released him from the machine and cushioned his body with a bed of paper. "Is he-" Naruto was cut short.

"You'd better return to your village, I'll take care of him" Konan said softly with her back turned on him.

"O-Okay"

…

"Sakura… you're heavy" she heard a familiar groan rumble from under her. She peeked her eye from under her arms to find a curious Sasuke look at her from the corner of his eyes. She blinked, did she die of exhaustion?

She lifted her head from his body as he continued to stare at him like he was some sort of alien. Her eyes began to tear up as she realized she could feel his chakra circulating healthily under her hands. A look of panic crossed Sasuke's feature "What's wrong, Sakura?" he had not even realized that he had been brought back from the spirit world. To him, it was like continuing from his last memory.

He sat up in concern as Sakura began to sob uncontrollably "Sakura-" as soon as he said her name, he was tackled into a tight hug. Sakura's arms were thrown around his neck as she buried her face into his neck, he couldn't even tell if she was crying anymore.

"I hate you" her voice muffled into his high collar. He stiffened at her words, trying to ignore the inevitable pain that had taken him by surprise. He remained frozen in place, unsure how to take in her words until she pulled away from him, it was then that he realized she was sitting and leaning on him. His hands on the ground behind him were what propped them up. She surprised him when she sat upright and grabbed hold of his white outer jacket and yanked him into a deep kiss. His eyes drifted shut as he finally registered her actions but as he tried to respond to it, she pulled away shyly.

"You tried to leave me again" she mumbled, her fingers clenching around his jacket for a moment before releasing it. All her fears were like fresh scars on her body, she couldn't get rid of the lingering feeling in her heart that Sasuke might actually had died, that is, until Sasuke grabbed her hand and placed it over his heart, pressing firmly against her fingers so that she could feel the light throbbing against his chest.

"I'm alive, Sakura" he told her, simply before an arrogant smirk was plastered on his face. Tugging her in for a tight embrace, he stroked her back comfortingly feeling her racing heart against his own chest; he frowned as he inspected her injured body. She needed medical attention, he thought and shifted her but immediately regretted when she visibly winced.

"What's wrong? Does it hurt?" he asked her hurriedly. Sakura nodded quietly and glanced at her leg, her ligaments were most probably torn from the impact, her skin was red and raw and it was beginning to feel infected.

"We need to get you to a medic" he hoisted her up as gently as possible to sit properly on his lap then as he was about to lift her, a familiar chakra landed in front of them.

"Sakura!"

"Ino!" Sakura exclaimed, pleased to see that her friend was unscratched. The blonde knelt down next to her and began to fill her hands with chakra, already healing the pink-haired kunoichi without having to ask.

"All the village casualties are being brought to life for some miraculous reason!" Ino told her. Sakura absorbed the information, her brows creased with curiosity and concern as she willed Ino to elaborate when their eyes met.

"Shizune-senpai, Hinata, they're all coming back to life all of the sudden!" Ino chirped happily. Sakura looked across the field to see the Hyuugas gathered around their heiress, checking her for any signs of injuries which Hinata merely lowered her head and bowed at their concern, probably apologizing to them for the inconvenience.

"A mass resurrection technique of this calibre would take up an enormous amount of chakra, one that might not be even humanly possible of wielding" Sakura mumbled to herself, she was extremely interested in the technique as she, for one, was a user of a resurrection technique, one which took up her entire expense of chakra. She wanted to know just what kind of technique was this and who used it?

Sasuke quite literally feel his presence being pushed to the back of Sakura's head as she went from the doting girlfriend to the Hokage's apprentice with the mere mention of a foreign technique.

A resurrection technique like this would surely have nothing to do with a medical regeneration, there would simply not be enough chakra to reach the cells in hundreds of bodies. Not to mention how everyone seemed to be brought back to life at the same time. It must be a spiritual technique, one that reached beyond science explanation, however that does not explain how Sasuke's wounds and chakra had been healed and replenished upon his revival.

At some point of Sakura's mental inspection, she turned to look at Sasuke, scanning his body without being conscious of doing it. Sasuke smirked at her concentration and decided that he wanted to demand for her attention but suddenly he felt a chakra that they both recognized. Ino stepped back after having healed Sakura's wounds and looked up to see what the commotion was.

However, both Sasuke and Sakura already knew who stood at the fallen gates of Konoha. They rushed there to meet him, the man who they knew had made all this possible.

…

Naruto stumbled back into the village, using the village's entrance path on instinct even though the gates had already crumbled. He was tired and worn out, he wanted to go home, take a shower and just sleep but then he remembered that he probably didn't have a home anymore. He groaned and tripped on a piece of debris as he stumbled back into the borders of the village.

"Naruto!" was the first thing he heard.

Naruto lifted his gaze as they fell on his pink-haired teammate. He wide grinned across his face as he recognized who stood next to her.

"Look who decided to join the living" he walked up to them. The crowd of shinobi opened up to allow him to approach his teammates with ease.

Sasuke snorted and rolled his eyes "Dope" he acknowledged then silently added "I owe you one"

Naruto leaned it and cupped his ear "Could you repeat that? I don't think I heard you right" he mocked.

Sasuke shoved his head away and Sakura and Naruto laughed light-heartedly. A sudden thought hit Sakura as she reached her chakra out to look for a certain person.

"Really? No one is looking for me?" a smug voice said, the three genins whipped their heads against to greet the last member of their team.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto and Sakura called, their eyes tearing up as they made the gleaming eye of their teacher. Never had they been so happy to see him despite him being late to all their meetings, this one being no exception. Kakashi blinked at the snot dripping from Sakura and Naruto's noses before they lunged at him. He took a step back but not fast enough to avoid their tackle.

He stumbled back as they clung to him like children with their mother, wailing loudly and wiping their snot all over him. He had expected a greeting like this from Naruto, but Sakura too? His eyes softened as their wailing became muffled in his black shirt. He glanced up at Sasuke to see a look of relief on his face, knowing the Uchiha, he knew that it was all close a reaction he could evoke from an Uchiha.

"You're late" was all he said to him and Kakashi reached out to ruffle his hair, earning a glare from his raven-haired subordinate.

With their reunion, team Kakashi knew that whatever came next could not be so bad so long as their team stands together.