"This time… I'll be showing them my back!"

This time, she would finally prove her worth. She was tired of being left behind. She was done with the pitiful looks, she was done with not being on par, she'd had enough!

Seeing Naruto and Sasuke fight was witnessing a dance with Nature herself. The prodigy and the underdog were like a vine: They rejoiced and grew faster in the harshness of the world, and in so little time they had long surpassed all their teachers. And what Sakura wanted the most was to show them she too deserved their recognition. She too was also a force to be reckoned with.

The face of her beloved master crossed her mind. "Thank you, Tsunade-shishou". The Hokage had believed in Sakura when no one else had. Being seen, knowing she could accomplish her goals without always needing to depend on those around her, even surpassing her mentor - Sakura hadn't even dared to think of herself in those terms.

"This time, please: don't take your eyes off me"

Sakura wanted to be acknowledged as a true shinobi, that was certain. But that wasn't her only goal, the only need pulsing in her veins. She wanted to be seen, admired for her abilities, looked at by Sasuke. His dark being was holy to her. Like if gravity itself depended on his presence, his body compelled her to react. He was there, fighting alongside them, and she for once wanted to be the proud peacock instead of the lowsome sparrow. Her battle mantra repeating in her very soul: "Tonight, Sasuke-kun, please watch my back"

"I've finally finished charging - Now I can release my full power!"

In her forehead, her war prize made her debut. And the proud diamond pronounced the truth: She was finally a deserving Team Seven member.

Her punch landed on the monstrous blobber, and she could feel the eyes of her teammates on her back. But apparently, they also had their fair share of influence over her - at least a black-haired comrade of hers. As she was piercing Madara's ugly creature, she felt a gaze pierce her in return, and a delicious gust of his pheromones stole her attention away. "Nice".

She felt such shock from receiving his message that one of the enemy's beasts almost turned her to pudding. If it hadn't been for her male counterparts, who immediately attacked the offending brute, she wouldn't have lived to tell the tale. She supposed that her heat had matured her smelling abilities, but she had never suspected it would be possible for her to practically read his smell.

"Sasuke-kun!" His name hummed so pleasantly in her mouth, like it belonged there. Of course this wasn't the place nor the time to be pinning after him, but there was no use: blame the hormones, blame her neverending crush; one way or the other, she was always mesmerized by his presence.

To think only two weeks ago all they had all been by that fateful bridge, trying to kill each other, all anguish and hate. Their current dynamics couldn't be more different from the last time they'd all been together. In unison, like they'd never parted a day away from one another, the three ninja brought their summon forth.

"Katsuyu-sama, please split up and cover as many allies as possible. We need to heal the soldiers, and fast!" While Sakura worked on patching up their entire army, both Sasuke and Naruto came up with a conjoined attack. To see them like this, working alongside one another, wasn't that her dream? She couldn't help but tear up at the sight. And yet, while Amateratsu wrecked its havoc, the rose-haired kunoichi had only one thought in mind.

"Sasuke… What is your true goal?"

"Sasuke cannot be trusted as an ally… how do you really feel about this, Sakura?"

Sakura stared into the battlefield, contemplating the question. Amateratsu burning away his foe, Sasuke proved his worth. Even when the numbers worked in the Allies' favor, they just weren't going to win that easily. The enemy was far too great not to accept his help. But there was surely a steep price they would soon have to pay.

There was what she hoped for, and there was what she truly believed. However mercurial Sasuke's goals were, a comrade was not the same as an ally, and while it seemed like he might be working with them at the moment, that didn't mean he was on their team.

Sai was still waiting for an answer she didn't have. She wasn't like Naruto. She couldn't put her blind faith forth without considering the facts. If you had asked her three months ago, she wouldn't have hesitated: "yes, Sasuke will always be our teammate!", but reality could only be ignored for so long.

Back when they were actual teammates, Sasuke never hurt her. Even though his words were sometimes harsh, she'd grown to understand him enough to see through his tough façade. It was obvious for everyone who'd ever seen them that the Uchiha had a soft spot for her; even she wasn't blind enough not to see it. Her childhood dreams had been built on that consideration, and she nursed it long into her teenage years, until a treacherous pair of hands destroyed her castles built on clouds.

But she couldn't water the seeds of doubt in Sai's mind. Sasuke might not be what she wanted to be, but she'd take anything he had to offer. Even if it was a shadow of his former self, she'd always drink from that well. And with a fake smile on her face, she tried burying her suspicions as well as Sai's.

"I trust him"

"Hinata, what's going on with Naruto and Sasuke-kun?". The pair had gone so far while battling Obito, it was impossible to discern exactly what was going on. All that could be seen was their black and yellow explosions of power. After a particularly nasty blast, Sakura couldn't contain her worry anymore.

The Hyuga heiress replied: "They are both… smiling"

The army was at a standby, waiting for the right moment to continue their assault. Even Shikamaru was uncertain in which ways they could be of use; the barrier formed around them by Obito was too powerful for the common army to bring down. Suddenly, the Kyubi's chakra surrounded them - and the next thing they knew, they were standing outside the enclosure.

The excitement was short-lived, however; as tendrils shoot down from the abominable plant created by the evil jinchuriki and connected to the ninja under. "M-my vital energy… it's sucking it all out of me!".

"Sakura, are you alright?", Sai asked her.

"Yes", Sakura said while standing up. "The Kage will be here shortly", her connection to Katsuyu informed her.

"Shikamaru!", a familiar voice wailed in the distance. "Sakura, come quickly!" On the ground was laying her genius friend, deeply hurt by the attack. Katsuyu's parts had all been absorbed, and all the ninja depending on her to survive were tragically meeting their end - Shikamaru being one of them.

Sakura kneeled in front of her friend, instinctively massaging the glands on her wrists into his as a form of comfort before starting with her medical jutsu. "You need to save him!", a tearful Choji begged. This was war - and if Sakura had prepared so thoroughly for it, why were her hands trembling?

Shikamaru coughed blood. "It is-s ok… I'll join pops soon enough"

"You will not do such a thing!". Ino's cheeks were red and wet. "Sakura, she...",

"You have 15 minutes before the Infinite Tskuyomi begins. You should accept defeat now"

Hope. Resolve. Tenacity. What were those foreign feelings taking over her? "Naruto's chakra… we can feel exactly what he's feeling…" Hinata commented captivatedly. Everyone who was connected to Naruto was attuned to his emotions, understanding his pain as well as his optimism. The assurance was like a breath of fresh air to Sakura; after all these hours of seeing and smelling the pain, stress and desolation surrounding everyone, she could use some of his optimism.

Sakura's hands, busy trying to make Shikamaru survive, shone alight with an unfamiliar chakra, burning most potently. In her mind, she could hear Naruto's thoughts: "No more friends… will die tonight!" His Will of Fire took over Sakura, and Shikamaru's eyes glinted once more, liveliness returning to his face.

"You should leave the healing to me, Naruto… Please focus on defeating the juubi!" Her unselfish friend, her jubilant friend, a true hero for Konoha and the entire Ninja world, was keeping everyone alive. He was like an undying sun, splendid, and his closeness illuminated even the most hidden parts of everyone's heart. Through his love, he had revived Shikamaru, and through his will, he'd extracted all of Obito's hatred.

Unfortunately for them all, Madara's plan was just beginning.

So this was what Naruto's lips felt like. They were softer than she expected, plump and moistened. Too bad she could also feel his warm, fibrous and wet heart on her hand precisely at the same time.

"Naruto's heartbeat is extremely weak!"

This was it. "Hang on! Don't give up now!". Her entire life, summarized in one precise moment. "I will… definitely save you!" There was no alternative - no plan B, no one else to call upon: She would save Naruto, even if it was the last thing she ever did!

Like a match that's run out of gunpowder, the yellow chakra surrounding her softly faded; the unnatural heat that covered her left as well, and Sakura realized how little of her own energy remained.

"Please no, oh God", Sakura cried while placing her ear on Naruto's chest. Her worst fear hadn't come to pass; not yet at least. "I can hear his heartbeat, but it's way too weak!" But Sakura hadn't spent her entire fourteenth year inside Konoha's hospital for nothing; she hadn't shadowed countless surgeries and then taken charge of them for nothing; she hadn't read medical text after medical text for nothing, and she wasn't going to be Naruto's medical teammate for nothing!

Knowing she had to be precise in order to improve things instead of worsening them, she broke Naruto's shirt open and swiftly calculated exactly where his heart was. Using what felt like her very last resources of power, she made a scalpel made of chakra, and made an incision on his chest. Pumping his heart with her hand while giving him mouth-to-mouth, she kept him alive. After all, medic-nins were medics first, charka be damned!

"I'm not going to just allow someone to die so easily on my watch!"

She kept pumping away, while Gaara took them to Minato. It was weird, being connected to Naruto like this. In the back of her head she realized this felt somewhat like kissing him. "Who knew you would end up claiming my first kiss, Naruto…"

Not for the first time since her secondary sex was discovered, she felt the tendrils of desire threatening to take over. But it wasn't only the morose circumstances that kept the urges away; within herself there was something like a string, or maybe a plug, which refused to get taut. Refused to connect.

Forcing her thoughts away, Sakura focused on the task at hand: "Please Naruto! Don't die now!"

"Sakura… please destroy the rinnegan!"

A panting Sakura landed on her butt. Seconds before, she was about to comply with Obito's wishes when Madara entered their Kamui dimension. As he appeared, Sakura was taken away and returned to reality. Stings of pain in her abdomen made her double over, the shock of being extracted so abruptly taking a toll on her body.

"Why is Sakura here?", if for some reason she didn't recognize that sultry voice, his black-peppery smell would always give him away.

"Sasuke-kun…"

"She had gone to the space-time dimension", her teacher answered. "Sakura, what's going on there?" She looked up at Kakashi, only to realize he was now missing an eye.

She couldn't ignore the gory sight. "Kakashi… your eye…"

Stepping forward, his blond student looked at him with squinting eyes. "Hey, lemme try something!" Naruto put his hand on his face, and he magically grew the missing globe?!

"Hey, I thought that was my job! How in the hell did you do that?" The scientist inside Sakura was both impressed and curious beyond belief.

"This old flying sage gave me some strange powers… argg, it's too difficult to explain! I just have these abilities now!"

It was both familiar and embarrassing to be surrounded by these three men after all that had gone down in the hut. She'd pictured them naked, doing untold things to her body, for hours on end… As that thought crossed Sakura's mind, she blushed so profusely she must have looked sunburnt. Her astute teacher, of course, was closely watching.

"Sakura, will you be fine?". His concerned comment made the other two pairs of eyes stick on her. The tell-tale guilty red increased tenfold.

"Y-yes sensei, I was given a shot right before the fighting began". She'd tried to be as vague as possible, but the way Naruto looked away with an awkward look on his face and Sasuke nailed her with his gaze made it clear that they knew precisely why Kakashi had asked. Covering her face with both hands, she tried to make herself invisible.

Scratching his head nervously, her friend had no better idea than to break the ice with a stupid comment. "Y'know, Sakura-chan, if you're ever needy again, I can always make another clone to help y…"

"SHUT UP!". Sakura made him fly away with one of her packed punches. "You, imbecile!" With the corner of her eye she could see Sasuke crossing his arms and huffing. Was the red on his cheeks brought forth just by annoyance or could he actually be upset…?

"Jokes aside, Sakura, this is dire. Do you still carry with you the balm I gave you?" The kunoichi nodded. "Then please put it on. Better to be safe than sorry". Had he asked her to take off her underwear and put it in her hair that would have been less mortifying than what she was about to do next.

As she placed the smelly cream on her neck and wrists, she paid special attention to the conversation happening next to her. "What do you think you're doing, Kakashi?", Sasuke growled deeply with an expression of disgust.

"Taking care of my student, of course. Unless you have a better suggestion, which by all means you should make". With a look that said "your mission is not over", Kakashi continued talking to Sakura: "We don't have much time. Madara could be here any second", and extended a hand to help her stand up.

Sasuke turned around, and forcefully grabbed Naruto by the collar, pulling him into formation. "Tsk, I've told you not to let your guard down".

Sakura felt herself being observed by Kakashi, a pensive look on his face. He then moved his interest to his next pupil in line. "Sasuke… what is your dream now?". The question caught everyone by surprise. "Team Seven all coming together again like this… perhaps it's destiny… but if you don't wanna tell me what you're thinking, it's fine"

The static in the air put them instantly into formation: Madara was opening his portal.

"Here he comes"

Sakura was the first to act. Engaging her byakugou, she charged forward. "I'll distract him! Keep going!". She had to do this, it was her duty - and also her wish. Behind her, she heard her teammates gasp. She knew the strengths of her seal well, and so she let Madara impale her with one of his rods.

In her periphery, the presence of Sasuke made itself known, intending to cut down his predecessor. Sakura sent wave after wave of chakra to her fist, preparing for her attack. But when her clenched hand was about to connect with Madara's face, it came against an invisible, unbreakable wall. "What is this?!"

She was propelled backwards, Naruto running to her side. "No need to worry about me, Naruto", her powerful seal already mending her torn insides and skin. Her eyes were glued to the uchiwa sewn on the back of the black-haired's fighter. She was beyond puzzled by his actions; one moment cruel and unyielding, the next seemingly concerned.

He was just a man. Made of flesh and bones. With dreams and nightmares, good and bad days. Why did he always feel so unreachable? She feared she'd only ever get to hold him as a corpse, when his limbs were rigid and his skin was cold. In life, he might always get away; but in death, like a resentful ghost, she knew he'd forever chase her.

"I wonder if Sasuke-kun still cares about us in the least…" Her bleeding heart believed one thing, but the asphyxiating hands that plagued Sakura's nightmares said otherwise.

When Sasuke turned around, her vision stuck to something oddly colorful on his face.

"That left eye… is a rinnegan?"

The purple cloak of Sasuke's Susanoo enveloped them four. "What's happening outside now, Sasuke-kun?"

His biting words were expected, but that didn't make them hurt any less. "And what would you do if you found out?". Having all his attention on her was intimidating and thrilling, all at once. "Right now, there's nothing you can do"

Her parent's faces made the briefest of appearances in her mind. Trying to conjure a memory of her father speaking with such harsh words to his wife was impossible. "Stop your pining", she begged her own heart, "don't you see it's of no use?"

His voice full of offense, Kakashi replied. "Naruto and I also want to know. Sakura is only trying to analyze the situation to better decide how to act next", there he was, her sensei always trying to defend her. If only it brought her comfort instead of shame…

"Right now, you're as useless as Sakura. So shut up and leave this to me". Whatever was discussed next, she'd completely tuned out from it. Not for the first time, she wondered once again how much she truly knew the Uchiha heir. What was worse?, to continue disappointing herself with his cruelty, never embracing his nature, or to accept she didn't know the first thing about him and stop pretending to be able to foresee his actions?

The clear night sky was once again visible. Sakura choked down her emotions. Her tribulations would have to wait to be answered.

What they were contending against was otherworldly, supreme, transcendental. She, on the other hand, was just a woman: no magic superpowers beyond the ones she'd broken her back to achieve. And yet, seeing her beloved people in trouble, she didn't hesitate to join the fray in their help.

"Wait, Sakura!", Kakashi took hold of her forearm. "There's nothing you and I can do besides getting ourselves killed".

With a numb expression on her face, like she was beyond any humane emotion, the Goddess spoke. "You will all become my minions… in the search for absolute power!", she said while turning the floor into lava.

"Sasuke!", Naruto bellowed. "We need to save Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei!" A pair of coarse talons kept them from drowning in the scorching sea. Sasuke had called one of his eagle summons and rescued Naruto, while their teacher and Sakura had been left to their own devices and were now dangling from a precarious kunai.

"We cannot die, Naruto. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"I do… but at times like this, my body moves on its own!"

"Oiroke Gyaku Hāremu no Jutsu!"

The unexpected sight of a dozen naked men made Sakura's jaw drop. She was grateful for her heat suppressor injection, or else she might cave into such visuals… "When did I become such a pervert?", Sakura mused to herself.

Unbelievably enough, the technique proved successful, and Naruto connected his fist to Kaguya's face. In her rage, the deity turned the entire place to snow.

"These two have become quite a nuisance… let's split them up", and so Sasuke was sucked into an unknown dimension.

"Maybe I'm just a burden… But anything I can do to help, I will!"

Obito now helping against the Deity, they devised a plan to recover Sasuke. It would take lots of chakra and they might fail, but there was no hesitance in Sakura's mind: they'll take their chances, however slim, to bring Sasuke back!

"Obito, if you used my byakugou chakra, would that be enough?"

"It all depends on you, Sakura"

Portals opening and closing with the swiftness of a blink, they looked for the Uchiha relentlessly. "Every little drop of chakra I've got I'll give to you, Obito!"

Open. Close. Open. Close. The numbers started piling up and they felt no closer to finding the correct universe. The sulphuric air burned their lungs and prickled their eyes.

"Careful!" Out of one of the holes, a sea of acid came on them. Sakura dodged the liquid as well as possible without letting go of Obito, but she couldn't avoid some of it sticking to her back and right arm. In one nimble move, she took off her vest and tore off the cotton sleeve - but not fast enough to keep some of it from burning her arm.

"We can stop for a minute, fix your wounds", Obito said.

"No way. We can't ruin the chance Naruto's gotten us!" They kept going and going and going. Sakura was exhausting herself, but she didn't care. For Sasuke, there wasn't a price she wouldn't pay. She'd do anything for him. She'd dry her chakra reserves dry for him. She'd cover any and every dimension Kaguya created for him. Because he was their hope, because the entire world needed him, or maybe just because…

There was no point in denying it. She loved him. She would save him even if he was the enemy, even if she didn't understand him, even if she meant nothing to him. She needed him, and if she couldn't have him, well… She'd let the world have him for the low price of her own life. Even facing these impossible circumstances, Sakura wasn't despairing. She was ready to die. "I will give what I can give. I will endure however much I can endure"

Finally, sand dunes, and the silhouette of a man. "Sasuke-kun! This way!" There he was, running towards them. Sakura's stomach was dry heaving from the effort. "A little bit more!" He approached them fast. Obito was panting like a dog. The portal started to shrink. A bit more! A bit more! Her sweat rolled in big beads into her eyes, hair stuck to her forehead. Her knuckles were white from holding onto two sweaty shoulders. A little bit more! She could do this! On the edge of her consciousness, her old self-defeating nature crawled around. You'll never be good-enough

"SHANNAROOO!" Her throat shook with the force of her shouting, and with it Sakura pushed the last drops of her life force into Obito. Her vision was a white tunnel, having no awareness of anything besides the image of a man running. He was just meters away. Please, a little bit more!

The portal closed. She let herself go. It was over. She'd failed. She'd…

Something sturdy stopped her fall. A big hand enveloped her arm. A foreign warmth lit her alight and renewed her will. He was there. He was there!

Eyes lidded, she looked up her shoulder. His eyes were different, but the look was the same. Sakura could never decipher its message; it was a puzzle, a challenge, a mystery - her own tireless enigma. Staring into his eyes was like watching a flame in the hearth: mesmerizing flames of contained wilderness.

"Thanks to you, I made it" Her green eyes filled with tears, born out of her fatigue as well as his acknowledgement. His gentleness always came unannounced. I love you, her heart said. I'd do anything for you. She hoped Sasuke could read her eyes better than she could read his.

He kept holding onto her, although she thought she wouldn't fall down if he removed himself. Now that she'd recovered some of her strength, Sakura started observing some things that went unnoticed before. Like the way his hip bone pressed against her waist. Or how his exhales fanned her lips. How his eyes were stuck on her face, even when he was talking to Obito. And how the glands on his neck were swollen, lustrous with sweat, enticingly close.

Her own glands, swollen already with desire, started palpitating in response to the sight. If she didn't pull away now, she feared she might go into heat - she had the suspicion whatever there was in the vaccine she'd taken wasn't strong enough to keep her excitement at bay.

"We should go back" The portal dropped Sakura, Sasuke and Obito right in the heart of the battle. And the eldest sacrificed himself to protect his best friend, giving him his own two sharingan as a parting gift.

"We can be together now, Rin"

"Team Seven, this is your mission: We're going to save the world"

Naruto on the left. Sasuke on the right. Sakura from the top. All together, defeating the ultimate threat: Kaguya the Goddess was finally sealed.

"That's great and all, but how are we supposed to leave this dimension now?!"

"Sasuke… did fighting Kaguya bring any changes to the answer you'd given me?"

The Sage of Six Paths levitated in front of them. When confronted with the same question, Naruto had grinned and confidently stated that his answer had not changed. To the concern of everyone, it seemed Sasuke's remained the same as well.

"I will dispel the Infinite Tsukuyomi. But first… I'm going to execute the five Kage and bring forth Revolution"

"In other words, Naruto… you're going to die"

Walking away. He was always walking away from the rest of team 7. But she couldn't - she wouldn't just watch him try to annihilate their dreams after they'd fought so hard to keep them alive.

All this weariness, all this longing, all this chasing merged together into a big melting pot of heartbreak that made her eyes well up. She was like a beat up dog who still loves its owner. She would love him forever.

How many of her wishes wouldn't come true? "Just this one", she begged. "Just this one"; knowing each one of them was always accompanied by the same petition. She'd forsake Heaven - just let her have him, please!

"The truth is… in my heart I've always known there was nothing I could have done to save you". She tried to keep her voice as steady as possible, even when the last words were almost a cry. "But I love you! I still care more about you than I can bear…"

She thought of his miserable childhood: how she wished she had been there! How she wished she could have shouldered his pain! "If I could have taken all your pain onto myself to comfort you, I would have… " And here we are again, and still all I can do is sit here and cry. I'm so pathetic!" She cried like a baby who's come out of her womb. What reason was there to cry? The sacred vision of their reunion was already long gone.

"But, Sasuke-kun! If I still have a place somewhere in your heart, no matter how small it might be.. Then please… I'm begging you! Don't slip further away!" Let go, his squared shoulders said. Let go of the illusion. It couldn't have been any different. Just let go…

Her feet stepped forward out of their own volition. He was drifting away! "If we just all stayed together… forever…" Sakura clutched at her chest. How much pain could she endure? Just because she'd carried it for so long, it didn't mean she'd grown accustomed to it. "Then I'm sure… some day… things would go back to the way they used to be…"

"You want to undo the past", she added, anger and frustration tangling themselves to her homeless love. "When together we can build a future! if you never cared for us, for me… just say it! I can't believe it just yet!"

His steps faltered. Could she possibly had struck a nerve…? With the slightest turn of his handsome face, his devious smile said it all. "You really are damned annoying".

He stabbed her through the chest with his chidori like killing her was more pleasurable than loving her. Sasuke squeezed her heart - for the first time with his hands, for the last time with his soul.

The figures around them turned blurry. It might have been her tears, falling freely and copiously. She held onto his arms with the little strength she had left. Her face fell on his chest, like she was pressing her head against the pillow at the end of a long day. Sasuke's heartbeat was calm, and somniferous… her well-deserved rest would follow shortly.

"A question before your departure" His face was on the crown of Sakura's head, and she felt his lungs expand with a deep breath. "How come you are now an Omega?" Didn't he see she was about to doze off? Her tongue felt thick and her eyelids, heavy.

"You…" Speaking the words felt like a chore. "True Alpha… made me"

Somehow his right hand had circled her frame in a gesture that could have been mistaken as care to the untrained eye. He tightened his hold. "I see"

"Mmhm…" Sakura had almost forgotten she was dying. If this was what it was like, she should have welcomed it sooner. Being next to him in death was better than living deprived of his touch.

"Sakura" She felt a puff graze her forehead. The next words sounded choked, like they were leaving the mouth against their owner's will. "If this is the end, I want you to know…" Sakura closed her eyes for the last time. "... that I've always…"

"KAI"

Ok so this was SO HARD to write! This is the last "canon" chapter so the fun is just beginning :) What do you think is coming next?

Here are some prewritten comments for you if you're not sure what to comment!

✊ - Go Sakura!
😡 - Sasuke you treacherous whore
💚 - I love seeing Team 7 together!
😉 - Kakashi is the captain of this ship
😭 - You made me tear up!
👀- What was Sasuke gonna say?
💗- Loved the chapter