Naruto and its characters belong to Misashi Kishimoto.
Sayuri and other characters that have not and will not appear on the show or manga are completely original.
Thank you and enjoy!
"I can't die now...I cant!" the young Uchiha cried out as his arms gave in under his weight.
Madara cast Sasuke one last look before sticking his blade into the ground and walking away. "Don't worry..." Sasuke managed to tilt his head towards the elder. "That girl will follow you into the next world soon."
Sasuke's fingers dug into the ground as he tried and failed to pull himself forward.
Sayuri... The brunettes frowning face came to mind followed closely behind by that of his brother. The reason for which my brother lived...I must create a real village...Sayuri's image came to mind once more, this time with a smirk in place, the only source of light as everything around him was turning black.
"What...is that it, Uchiha?" he heard her call.
"I can't..." Sasuke's fingers went slack.
XXX
"Sasuke..." Sayuri whispered a single tear rolling down her cheek as the dark sky above her began to blur.
Perfect World
Tsunade's face came in and out of focus. Her blonde hair was the only thing that stood out to Sayuri. The golden locks were too bright compared to the dark night sky. She shifted her gaze to the stars that littered the night sky. They flickered in and out of her vision but she tried hard to concentrate on them but the pain was unbearable.
She felt like her body was burning from the inside out. It was slowly becoming hard to breathe, and by this point she had a feeling that whatever Tsunade was trying to do to heal her was a wasted effort. She felt her throat go dry as her eyes began to sting from holding back the tears.
I'm going to die...
The roar of the tailed beasts being pulled into the juubi reached them just then, pulling her out of the pain for a few seconds. Long enough for her to realize that her father had failed in keeping the tailed beasts from Madara's hands. That would mean that Naruto was going to...
No! she thought as she lay on the ground. He couldn't die, he was Naruto...resilient Naruto...He needed to live.
"Gah!" Sayuri cried out. The burning was becoming unbearable. She glanced at Tsunade, then at her hands. Her chakra was diminishing and suddenly it stopped.
The blonde woman rested her trembling hands on her abdomen and panted. Her hands continued to shake from exhaustion...Or maybe it's grief. Sayuri thought when her vision cleared and she saw Tsunade's body shake as she silently wept. Sayuri noticed that she did a good job of keeping quiet. It had to be from past experiences of people dying in her care, Sayuri noted and it almost made her laugh...almost.
With much effort Sayuri managed to place a hand on top of the Hokage's. Tsunade turned her honey colored eyes to her, tears still rolling down her cheeks and off her chin.
"I told you...it's ok." Sayuri smiled but felt tired when she did. "I'm...going to die...it's ok..."
"You are not going to die!" Tsunade said as she furiously wiped away her tears. "You are not—"
Sayuri tightened her grip on Tsunade's hand. "Don't..." she gasped. "Don't lie...to me..." The blonde's eyes widened for a seconds before looking away. "I think...I've evaded death...long enough..."
Tsunade turned to her then. "No! You are not supposed to die yet. You're too young. What about Naruto, Sakura, Diachi, Hajime, Moriyo, Kakashi...What about Neji and Sasuke!" Tsunade took her hand in hers and held it tight. "What about them?!"
Sayuri felt tears well up in her eyes. Neji... Sayuri thought, and felt a lump in her throat. She'll probably be joining him soon. He wasn't suppose to die. He was suppose to live. He was suppose to be returning to the village with her. He promised that when everything was over that he'd-
She gasped when she felt it. Sasuke was in trouble, Madara had done something to him and all she could do was stare up at the starlit sky. "Sasuke..." she mumbled barely above a whisper as a tear rolled down her cheek.
It was harder to breathe now. She didn't feel the pain anymore and she couldn't see anything. She heard a couple of voices call her name but they were indistinguishable now. There was nothing where she was. Just empty darkness, where she felt no pain.
Is this what death feels like? She wondered. She wanted to open her mouth and say something but she forgot what she wanted to say. Her thoughts were becoming jumbled and panic started to set in. She didn't want to be alone. She didn't want to go yet. Had Neji felt this way when he died...?
They were still calling her name but now all she wanted was to sleep. She felt so tired...she didn't know if her eyes were closed or not she just...wanted to sleep.
I wonder if Neji will be there too...wherever 'there' is. Sayuri felt her self become more relaxed, maybe there was nothing to fear. She'll be in a better place.
"Sayuri!"
Why won't they stop? All she wanted was to sleep now. Just sleep.
XXX
Moriyo groaned as she sat up, clutching her head as she felt the piercing pain of a headache coming on. She tried opening her eyes and hissed at the pain that it brought on her.
What happened...? She thought and immediately recalled Kenji. "Shit!" Moriyo cursed under her breath and forced her eyes open. "Where is that bastard!" She muttered through gritted teeth and looked over her surroundings. What she found was not what she had expected. The ninja alliance was barely alive and the Juubi had been summoned.
Sayuri! She thought as she forced herself up. The jounin stumbled trying to get her bearings lifting her right hand to her lips, forming a single seal. Closing her eyes she searched for the young Marihasha. Bright orange eyes snapped open in shock. Biting her lip, and ignoring her aching body, the woman sprinted across the area to the battlefield in search of the wavering chakra.
XXX
"I can..." Hajime said as he fell on his knees. The young silver haired boy looked worse for ware. "...I can barely sense her."
Diachi groaned as he hit the ground landing flat on his back. The brunette attempted to move but found it near impossible. He was running out chakra, if he kept going he would die of exhaustion. The teen looked up at the starlit sky. The kyuubi's chakra around him finally disappearing into thin air.
"Yeah...me too. I guess that means Naruto's done too." Diachi said. His eyes stung a bit, he wanted to cry out of frustration and anger. He turned his head towards Hajime when he didn't answer and watched as tears rolled down the boys dirtied cheeks. He sighed and turned back to the sky; he wanted to cry but he wouldn't. Hajime was crying enough for the both of them.
"The Kyuubi was extracted from him." a voice said from behind. The two turned and Shino as he examined the small bug on his finger. The young bug user was barely standing, as he spoke.
Diachi began to chuckle. "Well...shit." a few seconds after the small wavering chakra they had been paying attention to slowly vanished.
XXX
"NO!" Tsunade cried out as she did CPR. "You don't get to die too!" the blonde cried out.
Shizune, who had been watching slowly placed a hand on her teacher. "Lady Tsunade..." the blonde shrugged her off and continued tried to resuscitate the girl.
"Sayuri!" The two women turned to see a frantic Moriyo heading their way. She slid to a halt and fell to her knees, hand trembling as she moved to touch the young girls cheek. "No...no, no, no!" the woman cried as she openly sobbed and leaned over the teens frame.
Tsunade pulled back and looked away biting her lip trying to keep herself together. Shizune covered her mouth as she cried silently. Dark eyes on Moriyo as the woman wailed over the young girl.
XXX
If everything had been as it should be. If certain events hadn't happened...maybe this wouldn't have happened.
XXX
"Hi, I'm Sayuri!" she grinned extending a small hand out to him.
Obsidian eyes shifted from her eyes to her hand and back again before he finally took her hand in his and shook it.
"Sasuke Uchiha."
She grinned at him and pulled back, turning to Itachi who stood in the back. "Let's play!"
XXX
...yuri... a soft voice echoed admits the darkness. Sayuri...? Who was that?
"Sayuri...?" she felt someone shake her gently and suddenly the darkness became inundated by light. "Come now, time to get up." Sayuri looked up and saw her mother peering down at her.
The girl screamed and tried to stand up but only managed to fall to the ground with a thud. "Ow..." the brunette whined as she rubbed the left side of her face. She looked down and found that she was tangled in lavender sheets. "Wha..." Sayuri whispered as she looked around her. She was in a room, with a bed, with her...mother and not in a battlefield? "Where the heck am I?" she wondered out loud and received a small tap on the head courtesy of her mother's book.
"Language!" the woman scolded before helping Sayuri up with a sigh. "Now, what on earth has gotten into you?" her mother asked. "You never sleep in. Is everything alright?"
Sayuri could only stare at her mother as her silver hair was illuminated by the morning sun. She wore an aquamarine kimono with small white koi fish decorating the bottom. Her hair fell past her waist and followed her mothers movement as she walked up to the closet and took out a pair of Sayuri's clothes all the while Sayuri watched her movements.
Where was she? She looked out the window and saw the Hokage monument. This was definitely not her room. What on earth happened? Why was she here? Sayuri rubbed her arm and looked down at herself. Those were not her pajamas, she noted taking in the black shorts and long sleeved red top.
"Sayuri?" her voice snapped her out of her daze. Nagisa sighed once again and shook her head, "You're just like your father. You never listen." Picking up her book from the bed she made her way to the door. "Please get ready, Sayuri, you've slept in long enough." She opened the door and was about to step out until Sayuri grabbed her kimono sleeve. The silver haired woman turned to her teenage daughter with a curious look in her blue eyes.
"Mother...?" Sayuri slowly asked. Nagisa on her behalf raised a brow and waited. This woman, she felt real! Was it really... "Mama..." Sayuri felt tears well up and tried desperately to keep them down. This had to be a dream, why else would her mother be standing before her.
"Sayuri, is every—" Nagisa was cut short by Sayuri as she nearly tackled her to the ground.
"Mama!" Sayuri cried into her hair as she tightened her grip around the silver haired woman.
"Sayu! What's wrong, sweetheart?" her mother asked as she rubbed Sayuri's back in a soothing manner. She waited a few moments until Sayuri calmed down before pulling away. She tilted her head and looked at her daughter. "What has gotten into you all of the sudden?" she asked as she wiped away the tears.
"It's...it's just..." Sayuri took a step back and looked around her room. On her desk was a picture of herself and her mother and father, beside it was one of her aunt Kaminari and Kakashi. What was happening? She turned back to her mother and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I...I think I had a bad dream, that's all."
Nagisa raised a brow. "A bad dream?"
"Yes."
Nagisa frowned slightly before shaking her head. "Ok, if you say so. Get dressed and get something to eat before your sensei shows up and says you're late." and with that she was gone leaving Sayuri alone once again.
Sayuri quickly ran up to her desk and picked up the framed picture of her family. This was impossible, her mother and father were both in the picture with her at the academy. She put it down and turned to the one with Kakashi and Kaminari.
"What the hell is going on here?" she wondered as she looked out her window and gasped.
Her entire clan was here too. The buildings all stood proud in the morning light. The gate to the Marihasha compound was open with guards on both sides of it. Bellow her she could see her clansmen running around doing their daily routine.
"Sayuri!" She heard her mothers voice once again. "What's taking you so long?"
Quickly she picked up the baby blue dress and green chest protector easily putting it on. She opened the door and ran out of the hallway towards the exit. Quietly she slid on her shoes and left the house taking several steps forward she then turned and saw her house restored to all its glory once again. Stepping back she turned on her heel and ran out of the compound.
The guards at the gates greeted her as she dashed past them and down the stairs. Once at the bottom the brunette looked up once again and saw her compound.
"What...the hell...?"
"What the hell is right." a voice from behind caught her off guard. She quickly turned back to see Moriyo, arms crossed, foot tapping with Hajime and Diachi behind her. "We've been waiting for over 10 minutes!"
"Eh?" Sayuri stepped back as the woman pulled her by the arm away from the compound.
"Just for that you're going to be doing laps around the village." Moriyo said sternly as she contiued to pull the teen.
"Wait what?!" Sayuri asked. Behind her Hajime snickered while Diachi put his hands behind his head following obidently. "Wait!" Sayuri tried pulling against Moriyo's iron grip but to no avail. "What's going on?! What are we doing here?! We're at war! Don't you rember?"
Hajime and Diachi gave each other looks and turned back to Sayuri. Moriyo only glanced over her shoulder and shook her head.
Hajime laughed earning a glare from the girl. "War? What war?"
"The one against Madara!" Sayuri tried to reason looking between Hajime, Diachi, and Moriyo. The jounin paused and turned to look at Sayuri.
She leaned down and looked straight into Sayuri's eyes. "If this is all you can come up with today to get out of doing laps, you're doing a terrible job of it." and with that the woman kept walking, dragging Sayuri with her. What kind of dream was she having?!
Moriyo huffed as they reached the bridge to enter the main district. Gai and his team were stretching when they arrived.
"Oh!" Gai perked up as he saw Moriyo arrive. "Hello there!" the man waved excitedly. Lee perked up and greeted them as well.
"Good morning, Moriyo-sensei!" the young man greeted.
Moriyo smiled and began to approach them, Sayuri still in tow. "Good morning Gai, Lee." the jounin smiled.
"Oh! Hey Hajime, Diachi!" Tenten perked up walking over to the two boys.
"Morning." they greeted in unison. The brunette turned to Sayuri still trying to pry her arm out of Moriyo's iron-like grip.
"Oh, Sayuri, good morning to you too." The girl in question turned to the weapons mistress then. She looked around her teacher and found her chatting with Gai as if everything was normal.
What on earth is going on?! Sayuri wondered as she took in her surroundings. The village was back to its original state before Pain attacked. Her compound and dead relatives were back. Everything was out of place. Where am I?
"Are you in trouble again, Sayuri." her eyes widened. That voice...she knew that voice. Slowly she looked over her shoulder to find Neji standing between Hajime and Diachi. His silvery eyes bore into hers as she stood quiet.
"Neji..." The teen frowned, slight concern showing on his normally passive face. "You're here...?"
"Hey!" Hajime's loud tone broke her out of her thoughts. "Are you crying?!"
"Crying?" Moriyo let go of Sayuri's arm turning to the teen.
Sayuri could only stand and stare in utter shock. But...he died. I know he died! Madara showed me that he... Neji walked past Hajime and Diachi and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Are you not well today?" He asked.
"I-I..."
Moriyo narrowed her eyes on the girl before smiling mischievously. "You know what, Neji... since she's your girlfriend, you take care of her for me today." Neji for his part turned scarlet as the woman pushed Sayuri into his arms. She then turned to Diachi and Hajime who had been watching with amusement. "I'll give you guys the day off for today since Sayuri doesn't seem to be feeling well."
"Hmmm..." Gai rubbed his. "Rest is as important as training..." the man pondered out loud. "ALLRIGHT THEN!" the green clad ninja announced. "I will give my team the day off as well!"
"Really, Gai-sensei?!" Tenten asked clasping her hands together with hope in her eye.
"THAT'S CORRECT!" the man replied in his nice guy pose earning a sweat drop from everyone except for Lee.
"Alrighty then kidos." Moriyo winked at Sayuri who was still in the Hyuuga's arms. "Have fun!" and with that she vanished leaving only a small cloud of dust behind.
"Man!" Hajime scratched his head. "I woke up early for this!"
"You're telling me..." Tenten replied as she stretched her arms over her head.
"Sayuri..." the girl looked up at Neji and finally noticing their closeness pulled away. Her face quickly turning the color of ripe tomato. Neji titled his head and crossed his arms examining the brunette before him. "How about a walk?" he suggested.
"A-ah..." she agreed. And slowly followed as he led the way.
Hejime elbowed Diachi as they stared after the two ninja. "Hey...don't you think she's acting a bit strange?"
Diachi narrowed his eyes at Sayuri's retreating back and nodded. "Yeah."
"Hey I know!" Tenten exclaimed. "How about we all go get something to eat?"
"Or," Hajime began, slinging an arm around Tenten. "Why don't we follow them and see what they get up to?"
"You're a nosy brat, you know that." Diachi replied ignoring his friend's glare.
Tenten shoved Hajime off and moved to stand next to Diachi. "I agree with him. Let's leave them alone this time." she placed a finger under her lip and narrowed her chocolate brown eyes at the ground. "Besides, Sayuri didn't look herself today...did you notice?"
Hajime picked himself up with the help of Rock Lee and shrugged. "She did seem a little off. All the reason why we should spy on them!" The teen smiled and started heading the same way that Neji and Sayuri had left a while ago only to be pulled back by Lee.
"No! We should let them be so that they can express their beautiful spring time love!"
Tenten laughed and shook her head. "Lee, we need to work on your speech a bit."
XXX
The birds flew high above the warm day. The leaves swayed and made a gentle rustling sound as they followed the trail to the old training ground. Neji looked at Sayuri from the corner of his eyes and turned back to the road.
"What's the matter?" he asked.
"N-nothing!" she stuttered.
Neji paused as they reached the field and turned to her. "You've been staring at me the entire way here. I know, you didn't miss me that much."
Sayuri's eyes widened as her face began to turn a bright shade of red. "I wasn't staring!" The Hyūga narrowed his eyes down at her. "Ok...maybe I was. It's just that..." she raised her hand to touch his arm but hesitated.
Neji frowned at the action and stepped closer to her. "You haven't been shy about touching me before."
"What?!" Sayuri exclaimed taking a step back.
Neji stepped forward. "There is something different about you today. You're hesitating. You never hesitate."
"I...I-I." she began.
"And you don't stutter." Neji continued and took hold of her chin. "You're not yourself today."
I just can't believe it...he's here. But how do I tell him that I saw him die. The others don't even seem to remember the war! Sayuri stared up at Neji unsure of what to do, or what she was doing there in the first place. Was everything she had experience a dream or was this a dream?
"HEY!" The two turned to their right and saw a bright orange clad ninja heading their way.
"Naruto...?" Sayuri wondered. The blonde joyfully ran towards them, behind him were Sakura and Sasuke. "Wait. What?"
Neji let go of her face and smiled at Naruto as he approached. Sakura greeted them with a smile, while Sasuke glared at the two.
"Hey, you two love birds! How's it going?" The blonde ninja asked.
"Love birds?" Sayuri echoed giving Naruto an incredulous look.
Beside her Neji sighed. "How many times do I have to tell you Naruto, what we do is none of your business."
"Aww come on, man!" the blonde whined.
Behind him Sakura giggled. "Just ignore him, Sayuri, you know how he gets when he doesn't see a few people for a while." the pinkette turned to Sasuke and inched closer to him. "Sasuke, maybe you and I should go and get lunch, don't you think?"
I don't understand what's going on...Sayuri thought as Naruto animatedly talked to Neji while the later nodded and replied in a calm manner. Her gaze shifted to the Uchiha who openly glared at Neji and Naruto. Noticing her gaze on him the dark haired teen turned to her. Their eyes met for a second with his softening for a few seconds before turning cold as stone, while hers only continued to stare in confusion.
"What's wrong with you, Marihasha." he finally spoke.
Sayuri made a face and glared at him not liking his condescending tone. "Well aren't you a little ray of sunshine, Uchiha." The teen straightened and glared at her. Sayuri matched his stance and glared back.
"You're not exactly well mannered yourself, princess."
Sparks flew between the two as they kept eye contact neither one backing down.
"Ignore him, Sayuri." Neji walked up and stood beside her. "He's not worth your time."
Sasuke turned his death glare to the young Hyūga prodigy. "Who the hell do you think you are to decide who is and is not worth, little miss majesties, time?"
"Excuse you!" Sayuri exclaimed reaching up to grab the collar of his black long sleeve, she pulled him down to her eye level. "I'm right here you ass hole, if you were looking for a fight you just got one!"
Sasuke smirked mischievously down at her. "Bring it."
"Hey, hey, hey!" Naruto cried out. "You two should maybe calm down, last time you guys were at it, it didn't end up well for any of us."
"Sasuke..." Sakura called but went by ignored by the Uchiha teen.
Neji placed a hand on Sayuri's shoulder. "Sayuri..."
"What's going on here." a calm voice came from behind the group. At that moment Sasuke quickly pulled away and turned to new addition.
"Big brother..." he said. Sayuri looked over her shoulder, eyes wide as Itachi Uchiha made his way towards them.
"You two weren't about to get into another fight, right?" The tall once dead Uchiha asked with a smile. And at that moment Sayuri felt the world spin before everything went black.
A.N.
Please forgive me! I've been busy with life. I wrote this chapter down as it came to me right before I was going to go to bed. I know it's really late but please review! I love to read what you guys have to say about this chapter!
Thank you so much for your support!