Lightning cracked, sending thunder as its messenger moments later. The rain shot down from above to join in the rivers of water that stormed across the earth, wreaking havoc on those caught out in the weather. But Nature did not slack in her duty, and continued to wash her body clear of the impurities that scarred her surface, deterring her attackers away.
It would take more than Nature's worst to deter the blonde man from his current goal. His form flickered through the treetops, ignoring the sharp sting as hurtling raindrops struck his face, deaf to the roars of thunder, blind to the sharp blasts of glaring white on the dark sky. A grim determination clung to his face, shone forth in the aged depths of his cerulean eyes. The worry that nestled in his stomach infected his heart and mind, leaving a bitter taste at his tongue. Something was wrong; he could sense it. The patrol of six that had been sent out to guard the border with Otogakure had not returned; they were half an hour late. Unacceptable, given the current conditions of the war.
Five years had elapsed since its beginning; the beginning of the Fourth Ninja War. It would be working on the sixth year come summer. All Uzumaki Naruto had known for the past half decade was war, loss, pain, hate… He had grieved over more friends than should have been lost. He had watched as his comrades were struck down next to him, slaughtered while he tried to save those he could, and protect the ones he loved. He had felt the war meld into his system, creating in him a person he never wanted to become. But with the collectors calling, he had to pay the price winning was put at; the price of getting rid of evil.
Familiar landmarks lined the way, put there by his fellow ninja so there would be a constant in their patrols. The landscape flew by under his feet, a blur given his speed, his thoughts not really processing the danger he knew he could be throwing himself into. It wasn't even his assignment, to go check on the squad that had been sent out into the uneasy calm before the storm. In fact… He doubted he would have been allowed to go, if he had requested for it. As much as Tsunade had made sure to use him as a trump card in the war, she wasn't stupid enough to send him after her.
Her being Tsunade's own former apprentice, now head medic of Konoha. One of three that Naruto had managed to protect out of his original cluster of fellow Rookie Nine, the other two being Shikamaru and a currently comatose Lee. It would figure that with the passing of their friends, the two would grow closer and closer, the bond they shared changing and morphing in ways that Haruno Sakura had never fathomed and ways that Naruto had always hoped for. Maybe it was just because of the fact there grew to be a lacking of choices… Or maybe it was the grief that pulled them together as an equal exchange of shoulders to cry on while their friends passed. Either way, their relationship had escalated to heights that were probably not the smartest to climb to in the middle of a mass outbreak of war.
His heart, in the presence of a threat to his lover, the owner of the half of his soul that remained uncontaminated by the ugly scars war gouged, was skipping wildly and ached with the what ifs that flashed through his mind. Naruto would kill if there was so much as a hair on her head harmed… But that wouldn't happen. They probably just ran into some refugees that were doing their best to come to Konoha in the wake of Kusa's destruction at the hands of Madara in the past month… Or some idiot went and broke a leg, and they were held up while Sakura healed it.
A blast of white struck in front of him, obliterating the tree that he had been aiming to spring off of next. Caught in the middle of the air, about to launch himself into the potentially fatal splinters of wood that were being hurtled into the air, it was practically a kneejerk reaction for the blonde to whip his hands up to perform a hand-sign, and surround himself in the shadow clones he was renowned for. His vision darkened while the clones created a protective sphere around him, but he could feel gravity pulling at him while his ball of Narutos fell towards the ground, some poofing in plumes of smoke as huge splinters of wood stabbed them while the rest did the same upon impact.
The solid copy of the ninja struck the ground hard, the breath surging from his lungs as the puddle he landed in sloshed around him, letting mud and grit seep into his clothing. Clenching his teeth in a frustrated snarl, Naruto pushed himself up, spitting out a mouthful of grime. Coughing on wet dirt still caught at the back of his throat, he stood, using the halt to regain his bearings. His breaths wheezed in and out for a minute before quieting, something out of place making him tense. It wasn't within his view… It was near impossible to see in the pelting rain, with dark anvils of storm clouds looming so seemingly close overhead. Taking a deep breath in through his nose, his eyes shot open in alarm before he was off at a sprint.
Under the earthy musk that came with the heavy falling of rain, he had also smelled something far more alarming in nature. The sharp stench of burning wood overcame the heavy rain scent, sending a new bolt of worry and foreboding through his body. Burning wood out here, in this sort of weather and area, meant nothing short of a battle… And a strong katon user at that, to be able to make trees catch fire in the rain. His heart felt another crush of pain at the thought.
The burning wood smell grew stronger and stronger as he advanced towards the Oto border, and the agonizing worry he felt tore and shredded at his stomach. Something had gone wrong; that was fairly obvious. But what exactly? Had they been ambushed? Found a hostile group and attacked? No, not that. Sakura was smarter than to do that with only a six man squad behind her back.
Sakura. His mouth contorted in a grimace, and he pushed his legs to move even faster along the forest floor, no longer willing to risk the chance of another lightning bolt hitting his path. He had to see her. Had to make sure she was okay. It was literal torture to think about what he might find when he arrived to what he was already guessing would be a battle scene. It would be his top priority to get her back to Konoha, because of course as a medic, she'd have been able to save herself if it came down to it.
Slowing to a stop while the trees opened up into a clearing, his eyes made a change from the open concern and worry he had been feeling to a guarded, cautious texture. Hard and tactical to the soft and open heartfeltness of before. Looking around the opening, it took only a fraction of a second for a glint of hate mixed with fury to enter his expression, his fists clenching in anger. The flames that should have been extinguished by the pouring rain still licked up towards the sky greedily on the trunks and trees it kept spreading to, black in color. Amaterasu. Which meant Uchiha…
Lightning flashed once more across the sky, granting him the gift of light while he tried to make out any sort of form across the, what he guess, had once been a field. Given the scattered weapons throughout the turf around him, and the craters he saw shadowed and full of water, it would just be another place that battle had destroyed. A form nearby drew his attention, and Naruto was by its side in an instant, fingers at the man's neck in a feeble attempt to seek the pulse he knew was not there. The forehead protector around the man's forehead gave him away as one of the six in the squad the blonde had been pursuing…
Once more the clearing was illuminated, and another shape a bit further off caught his eye, drawing him to it like a magnet. Another Konoha man down, his face contorted in agony, even in death. Misery clutched at him, the hope he had felt sliding further and further down into the realms of darkness. The rain that blinded him to such a severe degree lightened, allowing him a few more feet of sight. The next body he went to was of the enemy's kind. The Akatsuki cloud sewn onto the shoulders of the uniform gave that away. It was a sore temptation to give the body a kick, but Naruto didn't have that much time on his hands.
One more dead Leaf Villager and two more Akatsuki grunts passed under his inspection, all dead. But most still retained a bit of warmth about them, hinting that he couldn't have been more than ten or twenty minutes late to the fight. Even with that knowledge in his brain, Naruto found it hard to think of anything else but a single thing.
Where was his Sakura?
The next flash of white across the sky lasted longer than the ones previous, giving him long enough to spot a shock of darkened pink splayed across the ground attached to a slim, petite body that remained unmoving. A cry of anguish ripped through his lungs, a horrendous attempt at her name disguised in the raised octaves. The blonde slipped and slid in the mud, tripping over his own feet which seemed to be as shocked as he himself.
He was there in scarcely any more than a few seconds, but the distance and time stretched. Falling to his knees next to her side, already he felt the hot sting of tears in his eyes combat with the ice stabs of rain. Hands shaking as he extended them to stroke the ghostly pale angelic face he loved, his fingertips skimmed down the delicate shape of her face, moving the clinging locks of hair on her forehead to the side gently. Eyelids fluttered under his touch slightly, and Naruto felt his hopes soar when he saw the gorgeous jade orbs he had grown to need open to look up at him.
Despite the surge of emotions that whirled in his chest, he was caught unable to say anything, his spastic eyes darting back and forth between her slow, sluggishly moving ones. The faintest ghost of a smile tugged upwards at her lips, cut and swollen from battle. They moved to shape the syllables of his name, but the surge of blood that sputtered up instead halted her call. Moving fast, Naruto slipped his arm under her shoulders and gently pulled her up in a reclined sitting position on his lap, his elbow cradling her head while his free hand wiped away the scarlet liquid that faded to washed-out pink with the combination of water.
"Sakura, it's gonna be all right. I'm gonna get you back home, and it's all gonna be all right…" he told her softly, barely audible over the rain that continued to fall. Moving to slip his arm under the crook of her knee, the gasp of pain she gave kept him from rushing her back to Konoha right then and there. His brow furrowed, and the tears he shed slipped down his face shamelessly. Pulling her closer to him, the blonde could feel his stomach twist and churn on itself while he looked down at her. Her eyelashes fluttered in attempts to keep the rain out of her foggy eyes, but the fog cleared enough while she strove to meet his gaze. The smile she had given him before strengthened. He could barely move when she reached a hand to gently touch his cheek with blood-stained fingers.
"Idiot… You came… Alone…" she whispered, another cough bringing frothy blood to her lips. A sob caught in Naruto's chest, his hand grabbing hers and holding it against his face. "Naruto…" The sad acceptance he saw in her ever calm eyes made his chest squeeze and crush itself, heart somewhere caught in the mix of agony. "I'm… sorry."
"Shh... You didn't do anything wrong, Sakura… You just gotta stick with me, okay?" he whispered, hardly noticing the rain let up to a degree that allowed him to speak so low and for her to hear him. The roseate shook her head lightly, the movement bringing to attention burns at her neck and shoulder. For the first time since he had arrived at her side, the blonde allowed himself a look down her whole form.
The gloves that usually covered her hands were in shreds, the skin covering her knuckles broken and bloody, burned in some places as well. The burns traveled up her arm up to her shoulder, the cloth of her shirt singed just about everywhere. Rips left deep cuts available for the cold rain to hit, the blood washing off of her body just as quick as it leaked out. His attention delved lower, settling at a large tear. Relinquishing the hold he had on her hand, he reached towards the bottom of the shirt and pulled it up enough to see the wound there. Even before he saw it himself, he knew, and she knew that he did. The swollen red slit at her stomach hardly was a testament to the damage that it had wreaked on her body, the blood that still slipped out combining with the falling water to slide off of her.
"Went all the way… Through. He… Paralyzed me… Lost too much… Blood…" she mumbled, sending anger bounding through her lover. "Can't… Even heal… Self…" A half-laugh tried to force itself, only resulting in yet another coughing fit.
"Sakura, you can't… You just gotta get the bleeding to stop on both sides, and you-" Bloody fingers at his mouth hushed him, calmed the fury that surged. It was obvious that given her beaten and battered state, she didn't have the chakra that was needed to heal such an intense injury. And even if she did… The energy just wasn't there. He couldn't see the same old sass he usually did, nor the bright flare of life that was always present somewhere in the jewels of her eyes. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to hold back the sobs that shook his shoulders, to no avail.
"I'm just… glad…" Naruto shook his head, leaning forward to kiss her forehead before pressing his to hers, resisting the urge to hold her closer while she spoke. "That… I got to… see you… one… last time…"
"It's not going to be the last time, you hear? Please don't leave me…" he said in return, his voice strained and pitched higher than usual. The surface of his heart was giving out, spider web cracks snacking across its surface while reality pressed heavier and heavier.
"I'm sorry, Naruto…" Her breathing was slowing, her eyes growing less and less aware, her skin paling before him. The cracks at his heart grew.
"No, Sakura… Please, you can't…"
"I…"
"Please, Sakura… Don't leave me…"
"Love…" Her eyes began to close, and the hand at his cheek began to droop.
"No…" He breathed, his arms pulling her as close as he could get to her.
"You…" The weak movement of her ribcage stopped, her hand dropping down to land on her stomach as the life slipped away from her dulled gaze. The cracks across his heart shattered, leaving him falling, plunging down into a pit of grief. She was gone.
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