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Sasuke worked frantically, his breath coming in short gasps and tears leaking out of his eyes. This was not how today was supposed to go. This was supposed to be a normal mission, and Team Seven was supposed to get out of it alive. Naruto threw another set of kunai into the far bushes, his other hand staying close to his flak vest. “Come on, Sasuke,” he said, “can you move her? We won’t last long here.”
Sasuke stared down at Sakura, at her pink hair that was now stained red, at her glassy green eyes, and at the large gash across her abdomen. “Sh-She’ll be fine,” he said more to himself than to Naruto. “She’ll be fine.”
Naruto paused and turned to Sasuke. He looked into his watering eyes, then looked down at Sakura, who was clearly struggling to breathe. His good hand tightened around a shuriken. “Damn right. We just need to get her to Konoha and she’ll be fine.”
Sasuke nodded and once again inspected Sakura’s wound. “I-I’ll bandage it, okay?”
Sakura suddenly turned her head, staring straight at Naruto. Her eyes were no longer glassy. “Th-The Kyuubi—”
“No,” was Naruto’s immediate answer. “It’s too risky. It’ll take you guys out along with the enemy.”
“D-Don’t let him g-get to Kono—” she suddenly gasped in pain.
Naruto looked straight ahead. “This guy isn’t going anywhere. If I can just figure out where he is—”
“Naruto,” Sakura interrupted. “U-Use the Kyuubi.”
“But—”
“Now.”
Naruto looked to Sasuke, clearly hoping for a third opinion. Sasuke didn’t look up, continuing to unroll the bandages, but he whispered, “I trust you. We both do.”
Naruto nodded, a bit dazed, then closed his eyes. There was a beat of silence before they snapped open, blood-red. He turned and bounded into the foliage, leaving his two teammates alone. Sasuke gently started to wrap Sakura’s wounds, trying to stay calm.
Suddenly, Sakura said, “Don’t cry, Sasuke.”
“I-I’m not crying. I just overused the Sharingan.”
“Of course you did.” The ground shook and a loud roar sent birds scattering away from the forest. “He’s amazing, isn’t he?” Sakura whispered. “He’s going to become Hokage for sure.”
“Y-Yeah,” Sasuke said. “We’ll have to take him to dinner to congratulate him.”
“Promise me that you’ll do that, Sasuke. Stay there for Naruto.”
Sasuke’s pace quickened. “Same to you. Trust me, he’ll come banging on your office door every day. It’s better that you just go to him.”
Sakura bit her lip. “Sasuke, I know I’m dying.”
Sasuke went still. “No, you’re not.”
“I’m a m-medical professional, Sasuke. And I-I’m not an idiot.”
“No one said you were an idiot, Sakura, but you’re not dying—”
“Sasuke, shut up. I need to ask y-you a question.”
“No, you don’t,” Sasuke snapped. “You need to try and not move too much. I’ll just finish applying—”
“Please, I need—”
“I just need to staunch this blood flow and I can carry you—”
“Sasuke, you listen to me right now!” Sasuke finally stopped and looked her straight in the eye. He stayed silent, and so Sakura shakily said, “W-Will you marry me?”
He stared at her blankly. “What?”
“Sasuke Uchiha, will you marry me?”
“Sakura, this is not the time—” He was stopped when Sakura moved her hands. With great effort, she reached into the pocket of her flak vest and pulled out a ring. Sasuke’s eyes widened. “You—”
“I was going to propose when we got back. N-Naruto was going to help. So was Kakashi.”
And Sasuke suddenly let out a choked sob. “I-I’m the one who was supposed to propose, Sakura. I-I’m sorry, I just—”
“You didn’t do anything, Sasuke. This was my decision...n-now you have to make yours.” Sasuke stared at her. He stared at her reddish-pink hair and her dull green eyes. He stared at her wobbly lips. He stared at it all through tears. “S-Sasuke?”
“Yes. I would l-love to marry you, Sakura.” He watched her smile at him, and he went on. “We can have a wedding in the spring, i-in a field of cherry blossoms. It could be a modern wedding...or t-traditional if you want. Naruto will be the Best Man and Ino can be your Maid of Honor. Well, anyone you want can be your Maid of Honor.” Sakura nodded along, entwining her hand with his.
“Keep going. Th-This sounds interesting.”
Sasuke swallowed. “We could have a kid, maybe two. A boy and a girl. That would be nice. We could have dinner with Naruto and whatever poor girl he marries—maybe he’ll finally ask out Hinata. Yeah, we could have dinner with them every Friday. Our son would be a great warrior...o-or not. He can be whatever he wants. Maybe an engineer? They make decent pay, right? A-And our daughter could be anything she wants, too. She could be the first person on the moon, you know? Or she’ll be Hokage. A-And we could retire to the Land of Hotsprings. Our grandkids could visit us every summer and we’d have really nice neighbors. Sakura, everything would be—”
“Sasuke?”
Sasuke’s eyes snapped up. Naruto was standing in front of him, eyes wide. His clothes were tattered and he was covered in blood. His eyes were blue, but his pupils were slits. Sasuke asked, “W-What?”
“Sakura, she’s—”
Sasuke looked at Sakura. Her eyes were unseeing, her chest completely still. Her hand was no longer holding his. Sasuke stumbled backward, pulling the hand that had been holding her’s close to his chest. “Dead,” Sasuke said blankly. “She’s dead.”
Naruto walked over to him, then collapsed by his side. “S-Sasuke—”
“She asked me to marry her, Naruto. She gave me a ring.” He opened his palm, revealing the stained diamond band.
Naruto nodded unsteadily. “I know, Sasuke, I know.”
“She can’t be dead,” Sasuke continued. “She was fine just a few seconds ago—”
“I kn-know.”
“We were going to have a spring wedding and two kids and then move to the Land of Hotsprings. Naruto, we were—”
“I know,” Naruto said, putting his face into his hands. “I-I know.”
Sasuke leaned back, exhausted, the ring still in his hand. “I loved her, Naruto.” This time, the only response he got was a choked sob. Sasuke laid down right there and stared at the trees above, the sound of Naruto’s sobbing lulling him to sleep.
Sasuke Uchiha did not wake up.
Naruto dragged his teammates back to Konoha, stumbling by the time he arrived. Before they could get him to go to a hospital, they had to satisfy his one request: “They’re husband and wife. Bury them next to each other.”
And Konoha agreed.
Sasuke and Sakura spent the rest of eternity side-by-side, just like it was meant to be. Years later, children who walk past their graves whisper to each other: “You know who they are?”
“Yeah, I do. The Seventh Hokage’s teammates. They got married right before they died.”
“You know what else?”
“What?”
“They say that they were both smiling.”
“That’s not true!”
“It is. Lord Seventh said so himself.”
There are many ways to describe Naruto Uzumaki, but a liar was not one of them.
.
“Death may indeed be final, but the love we share while living is eternal.” — Don Williams, Jr.
-fin-