𝗠𝗶𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀

Nightmare of Future's Past

Surrounded by desolation and death, in tatters and disgraced, Sakura Haruno clung to the last remaining piece of her sanity and hope—Naruto, her teammate, friend, brother in all but blood, and her Hokage, Naruto—who had a sizeable hole in his chest. He, who was the embodiment of all their dreams. The prophecy child. He needed to live. He must live. He had to live.

"S...ra..."

"Y-you're going to be f—f-fine." She tried to smile. "You're going to live." Sakura was teetering on the edge of hysterics. But a medic nin is calm. They are collected and calm. Capable of healing with a clear mind. She was calm. She needed to be calm. Naruto was not dying. So she needed to be calm. She had to be.

"Sa..ku..ra..."

"You're going to live goddamn it!"

Her palms burned as she forced nonexistent chakra into his wound but despite her efforts it wouldn't close. The skin healed and the wound sealed but then it would just reopen and bleed again. Blood didn't simply trickle, it gushed.

It was awful.

Live. She urged as large fat tears blurred her vision. Live.

She had no chakra but she couldn't let him die.

Naruto you need to live. Live. Live. LiveLiveLiveLiveLiveLiveLiveLiveLiveLiveLiveLiveLiveLiveLiveLiveLive——-

"——-It's.. 'kay" Naruto smiled unevenly, his face deathly pale and eyes sparkling. A terrible sort of resignation in them, but still...hopeful. Her crystalline beads of tears landed on his face with a soft pitter-patter.

"It's okay...to let me go."

"NO!" She growled, "how can you say that?!" She demanded as tears flew from her eyes.

"Sa—-!"

"Don't." Sakura choked, "don't ask me that."

His eyes were pleading.

Couldn't he see that she was pleading too?

"No." She shook her head, "no no...please don't ask me that. I can't—I won't—-I won't let you go! I can't!"

He was her hope.

How could he ask her to let go of it? —to let go of him?

"Cha...chakra..."

"I have enough." She trembled, "I'll always have enough for you."

"Stop."

The cool green light sputtered out of existence beneath her palms.

An orange glow suddenly bloomed from Naruto's body. Chakra. He was bleeding chakra. It was beautiful and terrible all at the same time.

"T...ke....it"

"Wha—what are you doing?" Sakura panicked shrilly as the orange light latched on to her and began to absorb into her flesh, "no—-no, stop it. Stop! Naruto I'm serious! Take it back! Take it back!"

"The Hokage...protects...their precious...people..." he rasped as he glanced up at the sky. Tears dribbling down the side of his face. "I could fight for them...but...I could not save them..."

Sakura sobbed.

"I c-couldn't...heal them..." You could.

The words remained unspoken.

She saved more lives then he could protect

"We...need time." Naruto stared at her.

Her breath hitched beneath piercing ice blue eyes.

"T-Time." She echoed shakily.

"I can send...one of us back..."

Dread filled her.

"No."

It had to be him.

"No." She repeated.

He smiled, and the world began to spin.

"Naruto! What did you do?!"

"This is all just a bad dream." He soothed her, "wake up."

"Naruto!"

Naruto.

Her eyes shot open.

She was lying in the dark.

She was all alone.

She was in her bedroom.

Naruto.

She screamed.