Stumble [Rewrite]

Omake: In Her Time

Kakashi was standing on the sidelines at the Valley of the End, watching as Naruto and Sasuke finally battled it out. He wanted to interfere, but knew that he couldn't. Those two were chakra powerhouses that couldn't be stopped no matter how much anyone tried. They were entering the thirty-fourth hour of the fight.

Their fight was drawing close to the end. He could feel it.

Suddenly, Sakura made her arrival beside him. Kakashi's head whipped over at his other student, taking in war-worn appearance. There were heavy bags under hardened, lethargic eyes. Multiple scars that decorated what he could see of her arms and a horrid burn mark that angrily wrapped around her neck like a noose. He hadn't seen her for three whole years and winced, keeping himself from imagining what kind of hell she had been through.

"Kakashi. A surprise to see you here," she greeted apathetically, causing Kakashi to wince. "I heard Naruto and Sasuke were fighting and came as soon as I could. Is it impossible to stop them?"

He sighed. "Unless you want to die in the crossfire, then yes. Impossible."

They lapsed into silence. An hour passed as they watched as Naruto and Sasuke attacked with animalistic vigor. Their chakras were running low and they were wearing thin from the taijutsu attacks they subjected themselves to. Eventually, they broke apart, one at each end and panting heavily. Sakura straightened.

"They're going to kill each other," she said. Kakashi's hands tightened into fists.

"Aa. They are."

"... I'm sorry, Kakashi."

He collapsed onto the ground with a yelp and immediately looked down at his body. Aside from his neck and eyes, he couldn't move. At all. He was paralyzed. Kakashi's eyes went up to Sakura, who looked unremorseful as she offered him a tired smile.

"It's only temporary, I promise." She turned towards the Valley of the End. "I know it's not my place to ask for a favor, but... tell everyone I'm sorry. Tell Naruto that I believe that he'll become Hokage, and tell Sasuke that I believe one day that he'll be happy. And you, Kakashi..."

Sakura mouthed the words to him before sprinting off.

It was like the scene was ripped from his memory before it forced him to watch it replay before his very eyes. It was like they were on the hospital rooftop again. Naruto was on the left side, arm outstretched in front of him and rasengan spinning wildly in his palm. Sasuke was coming down from the right, chidori crackling and its light engulfing nearly the entirety of his body. And Sakura was running towards the middle of them before their jutsu could clash.

But in his memory, he was able to stop them before things could go too far.

Time slowed down as he could only watch as she slid between the two of them, her front facing to the left. Naruto's arm pierced her stomach, and Sasuke's pierced her heart. Naruto began to shake, his eyes looking over the shoulder of the woman he called his best friend and saw his hand and forearm coated in her blood.

"Ah... A-Ah..."

Sasuke had a similar look on his face as his sharingan faded from existence and his gaze hypnotized by the white circle on the back of the person he'd perforated. His eyes then went to the short crop of pink hair, then to his hand on the other side of the body.

A heart was in his hand.

"...No..." he breathed. He and Naruto retracted their arms from her at the same time and lowered her unmoving body onto the ground. Her eyes were unfocused and torpid, staring up at absolutely nothing.

"Sa... Sakura-chan?" Naruto whispered. She wasn't breathing and she was bleeding out so profusely that her blood was pooling around their knees. Tears started to drip down his cheeks as he called out her name like a prayer.