Chapter 8: So It Goes

Naruto watched Hinata as she knit under the moonlight, a heaviness in the pit of his stomach since she had told him she needed to be alone earlier that afternoon. She barely spoke after she almost fainted, whatever color she had in her face had drained as she had a look of horror in her eyes. She said she couldn't remember what she had seen, but the rest of the team knew that she was not speaking for a reason.

Naruto watched as Hinata sighed in defeat and set her knitting needles down.

"Hinata?" Naruto called out to her.

Hinata quickly looked up before setting her eyes back down to the ground once she realized it was Naruto.

"… I must look ridiculous. Knitting while my little sister is in danger."

"That's not true Hinata! You've been working so hard and I know you're probably the most worried out of all of us ya know. Don't you worry, I'm going to save Hanabi, you can count on it." Naruto said as he watched her expression grow even more solemn instead of lightening up.

He could feel something eating at his being, in his heart, that weight that kept trying to pin him down was relentless. He watched as Hinata remained looking down, there were butterflies glowing around her, the only sound between their silence was that of the nearby spring.

"Hinata?" Naruto asked suddenly.

"Yes Naruto-kun?"

She's already given so much…

"Hinata… I…"

Naruto knew that he was still in love, quite foolishly, with someone who was not in love with him. As far as he was concerned, Sakura was out of reach, untouchable. But something was still pestering him, telling him that his feelings were still just beneath the surface, feelings he's always had. When he stared into Hinata's pearlescent eyes, he saw seafoam and when he looked at the long blue hair of the Byakugan Princess, he'd wonder how it would look short or pink instead.

"W-what did you say?" Hinata had stiffened.

Naruto felt a pain in his heart that felt all too familiar.

This would be the last time. It had to be.

"I said I love you… Hinata."

Hinata's eyes widened as she gave a soft gasp.

Shikamaru's team awoke as soon as she heard the first explosion near where they had been resting.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted as she found him lying on the ground, her heart had dropped to her stomach as she knelt down next to him. She quickly checked his vitals and found his pulse weak.

"He's critical," Sakura stated as she quickly made work to open his jacket.

"We have to get him out of this clearing," Shikamaru stated as he and Sai made to move him. Sakura had opened her mouth to protest but clamped it shut, knowing Shikamaru knew how to handle the team best. Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura saw the remnants of the scarf Hinata had made for Naruto. She brought it to her face to examine it. The scarf had been incinerated, with only this small piece remaining.

Hinata, you need to stay strong.

Sakura sat next to an unconscious Naruto, he still had not moved since they had moved them into the cave, she had been left alone while Sai and Shikamaru set out to find out more about the enemy. She had removed his jacket and kept his white shirt on as she placed her hands over his stomach. She continued to pour her chakra into him, but no matter the quantity, he was still not waking.

"… Hinata…"

She could hear him whisper her name every now and then. It shouldn't have hurt her, after all, this is what she wanted. This is what needed to happen.

You see it now don't you, Naruto?

Sakura couldn't help but watch his face in the warm light as he stirred but didn't wake. She could feel her chakra reserves depleting, and no matter how much she wanted it to be her chakra to wake him, she knew the fox would have to find it in him to build those reserves for Naruto, her chakra was only helping him stay alive while he rested, not truly building from it.

"Hinata… wait"

Sakura sighed as she tried to focus her chakra flow.

Don't worry, Naruto.

"You need to rest now Sakura"

Shikamaru could see how exhausted she was, her sweat dripping off of her as she neared chakra depletion.

"How much time do we have left?" Sakura asked as she continued to focus.

"There's still plenty of time, but you won't do any good if you can't move." Shikamaru said, and with a light tap to her shoulder, she collapsed.

The lie had given Sakura some comfort as she let herself fall, Shikamaru gave a grim look at the two people on his team. Time was running out far too quickly.

"Sakura-chan?" Sakura could hear a muffled voice as she turned her head to the side. She looked into Naruto's concerned cerulean eyes and smiled lazily.

"Sakura-chan, I'm so sorry!" Naruto said guiltily.

"Don't worry, I just need to rest a bit, I'll be fine." She said as she turned her head to stare at the ceiling again. They had been left alone again, the campfire's crackling wood the only thing making any sounds.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto began. He watched as the fire illuminated her hair, giving her that same orange hue she had during sunsets, her skin glowing as she remained with her eyes closed. His heart still felt burdened as he watched her. She seemed so close yet far away, and now that he was setting out on a path of his own, she felt even further away from him. He balled his hands into fists to keep from reaching out.

Sakura didn't look at him, knowing full well he was going to continue, so she simply remained with closed eyes and waited.

"I confessed to Hinata…", his voice sounded so much louder as it cut through the quiet.

Sakura held a sigh, knowing where the conversation was going to go.

"And what did she say?" she asked.

"She rejected me… she left with Toneri."

"She didn't want to. If you knew her at all you'd know she didn't want to." Sakura said as she faced Naruto again.

Naruto swallowed as he made to stare at the ground, it seemed to be more difficult to look into Sakura's eyes.

"Back in that other cave, I could see all the things she did for me, I felt such a huge pain because of everything that I did. Have you ever felt that much pain because of the person you love?"

Sakura's lips parted, but before she could say anything, Naruto had quickly spoken up.

"Sorry Sakura-chan, I forget how much pain you went through with Sasuke." He said quickly as he rubbed the back of his neck, but she could see he seemed hurt over this fact as well.

Sakura shook her head while Naruto remained unable to meet her gaze, this man was going to be the death of her.

"Naruto… Hinata has always been there for you, because she's always loved you. A love like that doesn't change so easily. Her feelings can't change." Sakura said almost sadly.

"What if… what if I can't feel the same?" Naruto asked.

"You can't be serious, you just confessed you idiot." Sakura said her eyes widened incredulously.

"… I thought if I said it… everything would just clear up, ya know? Like I could figure out the next steps to becoming the man that I want to be. But I think I messed up even more-"

Sakura gave a deep sigh, "Only you can figure that out Naruto, but you need to have your heart set in order to move forward."

Naruto remained quiet, pensive for some time, the silence remaining between passing with no discomfort as he watched her and she watched him.

"I wish things were simpler, like they were back then…", he said softly, but he knew it wasn't possible. He could feel something in him waking, something that told him things were not the same and they would never be as time continued to move forward.

Sakura frowned at this as she watched the flames dance on his face, "Naruto, things have never been simple when it comes to you, you of all people should know that. Half of your life you spent being chased down by everyone who wanted the fox." Sakura said as she rolled her eyes.

Naruto chuckled at the quick flash of memories of all that it took to get to where they were now.

Sakura smiled weakly at his chuckles as well.

I wish I could have done more to protect you. You deserved so much more than what you had.

"… Back then, you only liked me because you were competing with Sasuke, didn't you?" Sakura asked him.

His eyes finally met hers and widened at her question.

"Think about it for a second, I was never all that kind to you, I never did anything but make your life miserable and sit in a corner and cry."

"That's not true! We went through so much together!"

Together… Naruto pondered on this.

It was you and me for a while, wasn't it? Was Sasuke the only thing that held us together for so long?... No, that can't be right, I don't think. Naruto thought as he quickly averted his gaze from hers.

Naruto said nothing at first, seemingly deep in thought at this.

"Right…," Sakura said as she turned away, her expression suddenly masked.

When Sakura was finally stable enough, they set out for the final rescue mission.

Naruto remained pensive as he stared ahead, his look was an unmovable one. He had made up his mind, and the team could see it. He was going to set out to finish his fight with Toneri. When they had reached Toneri's artificial sun, they were greeted with eagle beasts attacking to try to keep them away. Guns were shooting as soon as they neared but the team found a blind spot, but not before one landed on the ink bird that carried Sakura. It quickly dissolved, leaving her falling through the air.

"Sakura!" Naruto did not hesitate as he dove for her, reaching for her as they fell. Sakura quickly reached for him as well, taking his hand in hers. He pulled her to him as they fell, and for a moment, Naruto's senses were invaded by her, the faint floral scent she wore from her shampoo, the soft skin from her arms as he pulled her close, his heart almost skipped as he felt her grasp him just as tight, the ink bird that had been carrying Naruto had swooped down and caught them mid air.

"Thank you," Sakura said as they separated.

"You don't have to thank me, you've done more than I can ever repay." He can see the slight confusion in her eyes but his own only softened as he watched her hair dance with the wind, his heart ached as he knew she wouldn't understand. The team had quickly found a blind spot and had made it to land without any more trouble. Naruto looked over at a specific tower, "Hanabi's in there" he said, sensing her chakra and his eyes found their way toward a chapel, where Hinata's chakra was.

"We'll split up. Naruto, find Hinata and we'll save Hanabi." Shikamaru said as he put on his gloves to prepare for combat.

"Right!" Naruto said as he sprinted off toward the chapel.

Sakura watched as he made his way toward the chapel, quietly wishing him luck.

"What about the clock?" Sai asked as he watched his captain put on his gloves.

"I'd rather not look. It's just making me anxious, more of a pain than helpful." Shikamaru said with finality.

They quickly set out for Hanabi, knowing very well it was a race against time, and time was almost up.

TBC

A/N: I am so done with writing the Last, BUT we are officially reaching the end! The next chapter will be closing out the Last and we can finally move on to the rest of the story because as I have stated previously, this story does not revolve around what's currently going on. I have been drowning in homework these past couple of weeks so please excuse the long pause. I am ready to move forward with this story and school. Thoughts and prayers guys because I just know these finals are going to be the end of me. T^T Have a great week and I will see you in the next upload!