Archive of Our Own

"Normal speech"

'Character thoughts'

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**Possible 'M' rated events in this Chapter**

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Sasuke, Konoha.

"If you stay with me, you won't have any regrets!"

Sasuke rolled his hands into fists upon hearing the cry from Sakura a few steps behind him. This was the way out of the village, and of all the people, he had to run into Haruno Sakura – the girl who had told him, in a sad tone of voice, that she knew he would have to take this particular path to leave the village. Sasuke looked over his shoulder at the girl, her eyes closed as she continued to cry with her hands clasped together just above her chest. Sakura continued, "Because everyday we'd do something fun!"

Sasuke locked his jaw and glared at the pink haired girl. A part of him was mentally questioning if Sakura even realized what she was saying.

"I would do anything for you!" she cried out opening her eyes… eyes which were now puffy and red in colour as tears flowed freely down her cheeks. Sasuke watched the tears reach the bottom of her cheeks, and then drip down to the pavement. He glanced down at the pavement and could make out the spots where the tears landed before he looked back up at Sakura. Her shoulders were trembling, her body was shaking – a part of Sasuke felt sorry for the girl begging him to stay.

'This village cannot help me attain the power I need,' he thought to himself while staring at the crying Sakura, the two of them facing each other with a few steps between them, 'you cannot help me, Naruto cannot help me, Kakashi cannot help me. No one can help me gain the power I need to kill Itachi.'

"Go home, Sakura," Sasuke growled before his body started to shift to the left… he was about to turn his back to her when what she said next stopped him. And he turned back in her direction with eyes narrowed, glaring at the girl.

"I'll even help you with your revenge!" She yelled out.

Sasuke took a step while Sakura leaned forward and cried out, "I don't know what I could do… but I'll try my best to do something! So just stay with me! Or... or take me with you if you can't stay here! At least take me with you."

Sasuke couldn't believe the gall of the girl facing him. He had always known about the girls who would chase him in the academy, he always knew they were enamoured with his last name, with the fantasy of being with who they assumed to be a simple mysterious boy who lost his entire clan. 'The last Uchiha,' Sasuke mentally scoffed as he stared at Sakura.

The girl in front of him thought she loved him, thought that she deserved him. But Sasuke was aware Sakura didn't know loss. She didn't no pain. She was just like the other girls who fantasized about being with him. She had known no pain her whole life. Not like himself.

'And…' Sasuke thought, his eyes looking away from Sakura's watery orbs. His thoughts went to the only boy he knew shared the same pain he did. The same loneliness that came with having no family to speak of. He thought, 'and you know nothing about Naruto.' Sasuke felt that he was building bonds with the yellow haired idiot, even the fight on the roof of the hospital earlier that day was something which built up bonds between them. He had seen how powerful Naruto was becoming after Kakashi interfered and Sasuke jumped away.

'He used that strange blue ball jutsu, then there's the Shadow Clone Jutsu,' Sasuke thought as he recalled the battled against Gaara, 'and then the gigantic toad.' Sasuke gritted his teeth at the sound of Sakura crying while wondering how much more powerful and stronger Naruto could get as time went on. Sasuke knew that if he wanted to get stronger than Naruto, he would have to leave the village… he would have to accept the power being offered to him by Orochimaru.

'I even have a bond with you, Sakura,' Sasuke thought to himself as he locked eyes with the pink haired kunoichi, 'but to get the power I want, I know I can't have any distractions. I can't have anyone coming between me and my revenge. And that's why I have to leave… the two of you are my bonds to this place. The two of you are my distractions.'

"Please, stay," Sakura begged wiping her eyes, "Sasuke-Kun, please stay."

"After I leave, I'm not coming back to the village," Sasuke said as an idea came into his head. It was something that he was apprehensive about since it could shatter the bonds between him, Sakura, and Naruto. It was something that he knew would have to be done eventually… he knew that once it was discovered that he was missing, that the Hokage would send a team to chase after him, and retrieve him.

He knew in his heart that Naruto would be one of the people selected. And possibly the girl standing in front of him, if she nagged the Hokage enough.

'If I know Naruto, he would probably beg the Hokage to let Sakura join the retrieval team,' Sasuke thought to himself as Sakura wordlessly stared at him with a devastated expression on her face. 'Sakura and Naruto – two bonds that need to be shattered. Two distractions that need to be wiped off the board and then… no matter how long it takes to gain power, I will kill Itachi.'

"Do you really want to come with me?" Sasuke asked as Sakura closed her eyes, her body stopped trembling, and then she stood straight. After Sakura opened her eyes once again, Sasuke saw conviction in those green orbs staring back at him, 'let's see how far you're willing to go, Sakura," Sasuke stepped forward, "you have to leave your family."

Sakura nodded her head. Sasuke tilted his head and smirked, "you have to leave Konoha forever. You think you can do that?"

"If I'm by your side then… then yes," Sakura answered. But Sasuke heard the hesitation in her voice.

"You're not ready to leave…"

"I am," Sakura insisted as she stepped forward, "Sasuke-kun, I swear I'll be by your side. I'll help you… I'll support you. No matter what happens."

'Sakura,' Sasuke thought shaking his head while looking away from her, 'you are a fool.'

"They'll send shinobi after us," Sasuke said looking back at her, "and you know Naruto will be bugging the Hokage to come along. We may have to fight him and…"

"I... I'll support you, Sasuke," Sakura said.

And Sasuke could see her bottom lip trembling.

"Will you fight Naruto with me?" Sasuke asked as he took another two steps forward, "are you willing to…"

"Yes," Sakura replied before Sasuke could ask if she was willing to break her bonds with everyone she knew in Konoha. Sasuke stared into Sakura's eyes and then looked away while thinking, 'you stupid fool of a girl. You stupid fool.' Sasuke was in disbelief that Sakura could even entertain the thought of leaving the village with him. He had no feelings for her… he couldn't have any feelings for her since everything he was, and could be, was focused on getting power to destroy his older brother.

That was the only thing that mattered.

'I'm sorry, Sakura,' Sasuke thought looking back up into her eyes, 'I cannot let you come with me. I need you for something else though… I need you as a distraction. You wanted to help… so you'll help me break my bonds with yourself and Naruto. I hope that… that if you don't do what I ask you to do… that you would quit being a Shinobi.' Sasuke stared at Sakura's face while her hands reached out for his own, 'if you do what I ask… then you'll be out of the Shinobi corp either way.'

"If you are willing to go with me," Sasuke said as Sakura held his hand. The dark-haired boy was doing everything to keep himself calm. He felt Sakura gently squeeze both his hands – and he didn't pull back. 'If she says no, then I'll knock her out and lay her on the bench. If she says yes…' Sasuke sighed before continuing to speak, "then we have to break our bonds with that idiot."

"Naruto?" Sakura asked, "why…"

Sasuke nodded his head before interrupting, "like I said, you know that Naruto will bug the Hokage for a place in the retrieval team." Sakura nodded her head before Sasuke continued, "and I told you we need to cut bonds with anyone that would distract us. Which includes Naruto, and even your parents. Are you willing to forgo those bonds?"

"Yes," Sakura said.

"Are you willing to kill?" Sasuke asked as Sakura opened her eyes wide at him. "Well?" he asked a few seconds later.

"You... you want to kill…."

"I was already planning on leaving, Sakura," Sasuke said nodding his head towards the wall in the distance behind him, "once I get the power that I want, I can easily get my revenge on Itachi, and then fight anyone who tries to drag me back to the village. Including Naruto. You are the one who said you wanted to come with me… to support me. You are the one who said you loved me… so, the question is… what are you willing to do to follow me?"

"I…."

"If you want to come with me, you and I will fight Konoha shinobi," Sasuke said shrugging, "we will be missing-nin. And so, if we are to continue in my quest for power... then the both of us have to kill Konoha shinobi. Are you prepared to do that?"

"I…," Sakura released Sasuke's hand and took a step back, a look of pain on her face, "you… you're asking me to…"

"You don't have to kill your parents," Sasuke said, "they are not a threat. But as for Naruto? He has the potential to become a threat to my quest. And if you want to come with me then… then I want you to kill him."

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura whispered, her voice trembling as Sasuke reached for the backpack he was carrying, his hand fishing for something, "I…." Sakura's eyes went wide when Sasuke handed her a kunai.

"That dope is already asleep," Sasuke said taking a step towards the kunoichi with the handle of the weapon pointed at her, "all you have to do is sneak into his apartment, and then…" Sasuke used his free hand to imitate a slash on the left side of his neck, "cut his jugular vein. He'll be in pain for a few seconds before his body goes numb."

"I…."

"This is your first assignment in my quest for power, Sakura," Sasuke said holding out the kunai towards the girl, "an assignment that involves the death of a future threat to me and you." Sasuke then sighed, "if you want to come with me, then these are the types of decisions you'll face. What do you want to do, Sakura?" Sasuke asked her if she wanted to stay in Konoha or join him in his quest for ultimate power.

Sasuke thought that she would say no.

He hoped that she would say no. This was his quest, and his alone. It was his vengeance. He needed to cut bonds with the two friends he made in Konoha. He knew that if Sakura said no, then him knocking her out, and then leaving, would signify their broken bonds. He would then defeat Naruto at a later time, completely shattering that bond when the latter came after him, 'as I know he will.'

And if Sakura said yes, if she attempted to kill Naruto… then Sasuke hoped that act would break her out of her fantasy. And thus, break their bond. Whether Naruto survived or not, Sasuke was sure that the act of Sakura trying to kill him under his order would break the bonds he created with the blonde idiot.

Either way, Sasuke would be on his way to the Sound Four – the group who would then take him to Orochimaru.

Sasuke's heart raced. He was doing everything to keep an air of indifference around him He didn't want to show Sakura that he was stunned at her decision.

"Give me the kunai, Sasuke-Kun," Sakura said with what he sensed was a hint of sorrow laced in her voice, "I… I'll meet you here?"

"Ten minutes, Sakura," Sasuke reminded her before the pink haired kunoichi turned and rushed towards the village, "I'll be here waiting for you." He saw her wave at him before turning a corner and disappearing from his sight. Not wanting to wait, Sasuke starting walking the other way before he dashed off towards one of the village exits where the Sound Four was due to meet him.

'You foolish girl,' Sasuke thought to himself as he ran, 'you foolish, foolish girl.'

Sakura

What do you think you're doing?!" Sakura could hear her Inner Voice calling out to her from the back of her mind, "Damn it, Sakura. Think! Just think about what Sasuke-kun is asking you to do!"

'He wants to know that I'll support him, that I'll help him, that I'll be by his side,' Sakura, the part of her conscious mind, thought as she jumped up and landed on a rooftop before taking off running towards the poorer part of Konoha, 'we love him… we love Sasuke and that's why…'

"That's why we're going to murder our teammate?" the Inner Voice screamed out as Sakura continued to hop over, and then run on various roofs. "Think about what Sasuke wants you to do, Sakura! This is our teammate we're talking about!"

'This is what we wanted!' Sakura mentally told herself while she eyed one of the taller buildings in the distance, the one with a long balcony that hung over the edge of the building, 'a chance to be with Sasuke-kun. A chance to be with my love.'

"Sakura," the Inner Voice calmly called out – Sakura was surprised really, usually her Inner Voice was outgoing and boisterous, her Inner Voice was always pushing her to do what should be done. But now, it was being calm while she was being excited. Sakura could feel her heart racing as her mind went right to thinking about jumping from tree to tree – from branch to branch - as she and Sasuke left Konoha together. All so that she could help him reach for the power he sought. However, the Inner Voice screamed in her head, "SAKURA!"

'What!' Sakura thought.

"Remember the Land of Waves mission, remember everything that happened after that, remember how Naruto started getting closer to us and Sasuke, remember how we cheered him on for the Chuunin exams, remember how he risked his life to save us and Sasuke."

Sakura stopped and then crouched down as tears well up in her eyes. She remembered all those incidents and more.

"You feel that, don't you?" the Inner Voice said, "you remember how the three of us connected… the bond we started to form as Team Seven. A bond we've been building since then, and one that Sasuke-kun is threatening to crack. And one that you will shatter if you do this. We need to go to Tsunade-sama. We can stop Sasuke-Kun right here and now. We can still have him… he can still be the One for us. We can keep him in Konoha."

Sakura covered her eyes with her arms as she cried on the roof top that was only about a kilometre away from Naruto's apartment, "let's go to the Hokage. Let's…"

"I love him," Sakura whispered through her hiccups.

"We love him," the Inner Voice agreed, "but…"

'And… and if I have to… to kill….' Sakura thought.

"Sakura, stop," her Inner begged.

'To… to protect Sasuke-kun.'

"Damn it, Sakura. Stop!" Her Inner exclaimed.

'I will help him however I can,' Sakura thought to herself as she, using her exceptional chakra control and recalling what was taught at the academy, lowered her chakra signature. And then she continued moving toward Naruto's home. All the while, her Inner Voice screamed at her to stop.

'THIS IS WHAT WE WANT!' Sakura mentally yelled at her Inner self, 'WE LOVE SASUKE-KUN AND WOULD DO ANYTHING TO….'

"NOT LIKE THIS!" the Inner Voice screamed as Sakura landed on the balcony and then crouched low before making it towards the door. "Sakura, we can't do this. Please… don't…"

'You're the one supposed to be pushing me,' Sakura thought to herself while she grabbed the door-knob with her bare hand. She honestly didn't care if the Investigation Unit collected her fingerprints from the door knob. After all, by the time anyone knew something was wrong.. she and Sasuke would be long gone.

"Not for this," the Inner Voice said as Sakura slowly opened the door after, with surprise showing on her face, discovering that the door was unlocked. "Please, we can't do this. Not for anyone. Not even for Sasuke."

Sakura ignored her Inner Voice as she closed the door to the balcony behind her before creeping into the dark room beyond. With only the moonlight providing any form of light through the window to her right, Sakura carefully avoided the mess in what she believed was the kitchen. A vet messy kitchen. There were dishes everywhere, together with clothes piled up all over the place, and several ramen cups on the floor and dining table.

"You know what… change your mind about what you're about to do and instead help this idiot." Sakura stopped and looked around, "I mean I know this is supposed to be a bachelor pad but still… come on… the poor guy lives in a sty."

'Don't make this harder than it already is,' Sakura thought as she crept into the living room. She then moved towards a closed door, beyond which could be Naruto's bedroom, 'this is already…'

"I'm you, remember?" the Inner Voice screech out, "you didn't even hesitate once. I know we don't love Naruto. But he's still our friend. He's our teammate, what you…"

Sakura stared at the door while ignoring her inner voice. She could already hear soft snoring from the other side. She felt her heart racing. Naruto was starting to grow on her. She started seeing him as a friend, and she knew that he had a crush on her ever since they were children.

"Even before you knew Sasuke, you knew Naruto," her Inner Voice whispered.

'I knew of him,' Sakura mentally clarified as she slowly, while crouched, turned the knob, and gently opened the door. She then peeked into the dark room. She could make out Naruto sleeping and snoring on the bed with his penguin cap on his head. Sakura's lower lip trembled as she saw Naruto in his Pyjama's, the boy was sleeping peacefully. She slowly crept closer and noticed that his bandages from earlier in the day were removed… all the injuries he received were healed.

"You know, he actually looks kind of cute… in a non-Sasuke way."

'We love Sasuke,' Sakura mentally reminded her Inner Voice as she stared at Naruto's sleeping form.

"What he's making you do…"

'It's my choice,' Sakura mentally chided her Inner Voice, 'he didn't make me…'

Sakura's eyes locked on Naruto once she heard the boy give off a snort. She rushed to the foot of his bed, crouched down, and hid, all the while listening for movements that indicated he was getting off the bed. But there were no other sounds. Sakura, still crouched, crept towards the head of the bed while slowly taking out the kunai given to her by Sasuke. She looked up at the bedside clock and thought, 'I have five more minutes.' It was then she saw the picture of Team Seven, their first picture together after the Bell Test… after they officially became Genin. She looked at her smiling self, and then at Sasuke who was aloof as he closed his eyes and turned towards the left. Seeing his picture emboldened Sakura even more, and then she looked at Naruto's picture. He was side-eying Sasuke while his arms were crossed over his chest. Sakura's hand gripped the handle of the Kunai tight as a fleeting moment of hesitation took over her body while staring at Naruto's picture. Sakura closed her eyes tight, the picture was burned in her mind as her face twisted in grief at the thought of what she was about to do. Tears welled uo, Sakura opened her eyes and looked away from the picture before she turned her head to stare at Naruto's sleeping face.

Sakura stared at his blonde hair, then at his nose, and then at the whisker marks on his cheeks, and then she looked back up at his closed eyelids. She looked back at the picture – specifically Naruto's picture and noticed his eyes.

"He has the deepest blue eyes we've ever seen, Sakura," her Inner Voice said before pleading, "don't… please. I know… I know you're hesitating, Sakura. You know… you know deep in your heart… our heart… that this is wrong."

With the clouds floating in the night sky starting to block the light from the moon, Sakura stood up, her body trembling at the thought of what she was about to do.

'I'll be with Sasuke,' Sakura thought to herself as she took a deep breath before she pushed the kunai downwards. What happened next would haunt Sakura until the day she died – the kunai cut through the air as she swung the razor sharp blade downward through the left side of Naruto's neck. Sakura had tears flowing down her cheeks when Naruto snapped open his eyes once the blade cut his skin.

And his eyes widened even more when she used very ounce of strength to continue pushing the kunai's sharp blade up through the side of his neck before blood gushed out and spattered onto the window to the right that looked out towards the Hokage monument in the distance. Their eyes locked and Sakura thought she saw a mixture of emotions… including betrayal and heartbreak… in those eyes. Sakura then grabbed Naruto's hair with her left hand before she slashed the razor sharp blade using every bit of strength she could muster towards her left side using her right arm. She heard muscle and flesh tear, bones crack, as she slashed the kunai.

In only a few seconds, there was a deep gash that travelled from just under Naruto's left ear to the middle of his throat.

And there was so much blood.

Blood was everywhere. Blood mixed with Sakura's tears as she pulled the kunai out and stumbled back. Her hand shook while holding the blood covered kunai. Her fingers – red with fresh blood – tightened around the handle. She fell back onto the floor while she watched Naruto's mouth open and close repeatedly, his arms waving uncontrollably as if still trying to fend off his attacker. His body continued trembling for several seconds as blood spilt out of his ripped neck. As the clouds slowly made their way across the moon, the light now shining back down on Naruto, Sakura saw his body stop moving.

And then she ran while putting the kunai back into its holster. She ran through the kitchen… her heart racing as she raced past the dining table and the ramen cups. She ran through the kitchen door and onto the balcony that overlooked Konoha. And she took off – tears streamed down her cheeks at the thought of what she had just done.

"What have we done, Sakura?!" her Inner Voice screamed. Sakura could feel a pain in her heart as she rushed towards where Sasuke would be waiting for her.

She felt a stab in her chest. Sakura felt herself being ripped apart as she leaped from one rooftop to another. She could still smell the stench of iron, and looked down towards her hands as she rushed towards her rendezvous with destiny - her right hand was covered in blood. The spatter reached her arm, her chest, and now she felt wetness on her cheeks.

'No more crying,' Sakura mentally told herself as more tears flowed, 'Sasuke wants me to be strong. I am strong. I have to show him that, despite breaking our bonds with Naruto, I can be useful to him. I will show him that I love him. I will show him that I can help him become strong. I will be by his side... I will be by his side.'

But Sakura couldn't see past the look of abject heartbreak in Naruto's eyes when their eyes locked with each other. That sight couldn't leave her mind no matter how much she tried. She saw, at that one moment, his heart shatter.

"How else is he supposed to feel when the person he has a crush on just killed him!"

'It was dark… he didn't see me,' Sakura thought while her Inner Voice called her an idiot. Sakura continued her thoughts, 'he didn't see me. If he did… if he did, he would have called out… he would have reached for me and…"

"WE MURDERED HIM!" Sakura's inner self yelled out from the back of her mind.

Sakura didn't say or think anything else. Shaking her head, all she knew was that she needed to leave with Sasuke. That once she was with him, then everything else would fall into place. The both of them would protect each other, the both of them would become powerful together.

"Was Naruto's sacrifice worth it?" the Inner Voice scoffed before clarifying, "not sacrifice, sorry. Was his MURDER worth it? Well, Sakura?"

Sakura didn't answer. She felt her heart shattering at the sight of Naruto's eyes looking back at her. Not only were they showing his heartbreak, but also asking the question "Why?" She could hear Naruto asking the question in her thoughts. Sakura was sure the darkness in the room covered her… she was confident that Naruto couldn't see her.

"Why, Sakura-chan? Why?" Naruto was on his knees in her minds eye, tears streaming from his eyes, down his whispered cheeks while snot dripped from his nose as he looked up at her… blood flowing out of the gash on his neck, "why?"

'I… I want to be with Sasuke, Naruto,' Sakura thought as she stared at the broken Naruto who was trembling. He started to sob while covering his eyes with his right arm and shook his head.

In her minds eye, Sakura turned away from Naruto. She turned her back to him, and walked away with welled up tears in her eyes. Tears that fell down her cheeks as she shut a mental door behind her – shutting away the sobs from Naruto.

A few minutes later, Sakura reached the area where she had expected Sasuke to wait for her. She ran covered in blood to the bench under the tree. She expected him there… she expected him to be waiting for her. She expected the both of them running towards their shared future.

But Sasuke wasn't waiting for her. She stared at an empty space where Sasuke once stood.

And now he was gone.

"What will we do now, Sakura," the Inner Voice asked as Sakura fell to her knees while staring out into the distance. Her arms hung limply by her sides as her mind tried to process everything that happened.

Sakura knew Sasuke was going to take this path if he intended to leave.

Sakura professed her love to prevent Sasuke from leaving. She even told him that she loved him, and would leave with him.

Sakura had pleaded with Sasuke not to leave. She told him that she'd go with him.

Sakura then remembered Sasuke talking about bonds, but the details were lost to her as she continued to imagine the look in Naruto's eyes.

Sakura then remembered Sasuke telling her to kill Naruto – to shatter their bonds. She remembered saying that they would leave after the deed was done. That they would be together.

Sakura remembered shoving the kunai through the left side of Naruto's neck and then slashing the weapon across his throat. She then looked down at her trembling arms... the right-side covered in blood.

'Naruto,' Sakura thought as she brought her hands to the sides of her head while her eyes widened. What had she done? Her chest was throbbing in pain while she felt the wetness from the blood as her hands rubbed her face. Now the right side of Sakura's face was smeared with blood, which streaked downwards due to the tears that were falling down her cheeks.

"Naruto," she whispered gasping out his name.

"Naruto," she whispered again as she shook her head.

"Naruto," she whispered again, her voice cracking.

"Naruto," her voice broke as she sobbed, leaning forward and placed her hands on the pavement.

Sakura's body was wracked with sobs before she screamed out in anguish and forced her body up to her feet. Sakura, her face covered in blood while tears continued to gush from her eyes, turned around and rushed back into the village.

She rushed towards Naruto's apartment while whispering, "Naruto... What have I done? What have I done?" She repeated Naruto's name over and over again. Upon reaching the balcony, Sakura slammed through the door and rushed into the dark kitchen.

'You've always pushed yourself, Naruto! You can't… you can't die. You can't…!'

She could already smell the stench of iron on the entire apartment as she rushed into Naruto's room and turned on the lights. She covered her mouth with her hands and sobbed at the sight of the lifeless body lying on the bed.

'What have I done?!'

"Sakura, we need… oh God, Sakura we need to leave!"

Sakura was shaking her head as she stared at the body on the bed. Thanks to the light in Naruto's bedroom, Sakura could see the blood continuing to drip down the bed to the floor. Sakura crept closer to the body, her feet stopping at the edge of the pool of blood which was shining red thanks to the overhead light. Sakura had tears going down her face while staring at the dull eyes that used to be bright blue staring back at her. The gash from the left side of his neck to just under what used to be Naruto's chin forced Sakura to gag.

"This is what you did, Sakura," the Inner Voice said as Sakura shook her head, continued to sob, and then leaned back against the wall next to the door, "this is what we did. He's dead. No one could survive this." Sakura felt herself slipping down until she was sitting on the floor. She pulled her knees closer and hugged them tight while staring at Naruto's body through wet eyes.

"What have I done?" Sakura whispered as she stared at Naruto, "What have I done?"

"We need to leave, Sakura," her Inner Voice repeated.

"What… what do I…"

"Sakura," The Inner Voice gently said, "Naruto… Naruto's dead. We need to leave. We can't stay in this room… we can't stay here."

"What have I done?" Sakura whispered as she looked down at her hands. The left hand was covered in blood, and the right hand - the one that she used to grab Naruto's hair so that the body didn't fall to the floor when she slashed the left side of his neck open – was clean. 'What have I done? What have I done for… oh God… what have I done for…,' Sakura's eyes opened wide before her face twisted in anguish at the thought of what she had done for her love. What she has done for Sasuke.

"Sakura, we can discuss this later," said her Inner Voice, cracking with emotion, "we need to leave now. We're… we're emotional, but we need to get out of here.

"Call…. Call Tsunade-sama… I need to call…," Sakura was trying to get up to her feet by using the wall behind her as leverage, while mumbling to herself, "I have to… she has to… to take Naruto and… I need to call…"

"Sakura," the Inner Voice spoke, "you make a call now, there will be a lot of questions. We need to get out of here and… and we need to go home. We have the Kunai with us, then we need to wipe the fingerprints off the door knob. And then we go home. We… we wait for tomorrow. We…"

'I… I killed him,' Sakura thought while she stared at Naruto, 'I…'

"You killed him for Sasuke!" the Inner Voice raged in the back of her mind causing Sakura to physically wince while she leaned her left shoulder against the wall. "Damn it, Sakura… you killed Naruto for Sasuke. And now, not only did he leave the village, but he got you to kill Naruto… and I can't…"

'Tsunade-sama will bring him back… she can gather a search party for Sasuke-kun and…'

"Forget about Sasuke for now!" the Inner Voice yelled out.

'What have I done?' Sakura turned her head towards Naruto with a look of anguish, 'what have I done. I need to call… Tsunade-sama… I need to call Tsunade-sama. I can't leave him like this…'

"Sakura."

'I CAN'T LEAVE HIM LIKE THIS!' Sakura mentally yelled at her Inner Self.

"THEN WHY DID YOU KILL HIM!?" the Inner Voice raged before Sakura sobbed once again.

"And how are you going to explain the blood on us?" the Inner Voice continued, this time gently, "how are we going to explain Naruto's dead body and the both of us being in the same room… hell, how will we explain being in the same apartment? How are we… how are we supposed to tell Tsunade-sama that we suspected Sasuke was going to leave the village and… do you really think anyone would believe that we fought off Sasuke?"

Sakura glanced back at Naruto again. She knew that her Inner Self was correct – that if Tsunade and others were called, then there would be many questions asked. As her Inner Voice continued talking, Sakura agreed that, at the very least, someone from the Yamanaka clan would be called in to verify her story. And there was no way she could combat their mind control Jutsus. they would know the truth – that Haruno Sakura was a murderer, that she was trash. No, she thought to herself, they would know that she was lower than trash.

Following her Inner Voice's instructions, Sakura, already feeling as if her body had gone numb, looked as if she was in a daze. She walked out of the room and then into the kitchen, and then onto the balcony. She wiped the door knob with her dress before she leaped off and dashed home. Her Inner Voice had told her that, so as not to get the Imanaka Clan involved, Sakura would have to let Naruto's body be found.

"We have training tomorrow," the Inner Voice had said while Sakura was leaping over rooftops in a daze, "you know Kakashi-sensei will be late. We'll wait for him and… and then when he finally meets up with us, we'll say that we haven't seen Sasuke or Naruto. That way, one of us can 'find' Naruto's body and the other can discover that Sasuke-kun's gone. This is the only way we survive, Sakura. In the meantime, you act the part of the Kunoichi who lost everything. That's all we can do for now and… and hope that where ever Naruto is now, he can forgive us."

'You mean me,' Sakura thought to herself as she wiped her eyes while dashing over one rooftop to another, 'we hope he can forgive me.'

"Yes."

As Sakura was moving further away from Naruto's apartment, there was a reddish glow from his abdomen under his blood-soaked pyjama's. The glow illuminated the edges of the seal placed there by the Fourth Hokage so many years ago. After some time, the glow faded into the black coloured seal that held the Kyuubi inside Naruto. A few seconds later, the seal simply evaporated off his skin and into the air.

A few seconds later, beneath his pyjama's, there were two faint glowing masses of light under his skin where the seal used to be. The masses, one glowing a faint yellow and the other a faint red, vanished a few seconds after reaching his heart and brain.

However, Naruto remained lifeless as he lay on his bed alone. That's where he would continue to remain as the sun started to rise over the distant horizon.

To be continued.