SALVATION

Chapter 6: One Look: Part 2

She clawed at his hand, desperately trying to make him let go, but the effort seemed futile. She had used up all her strength. I can’t give up now; I just can’t give up now.

She felt the tears running down her cheeks as she stared into the cold, black eyes of her former teammate.

Sasuke’s mind was running wild with thoughts. His mind was filled with so much anger and hatred, but something seemed to be clawing at him; those tears, her tears. They were causing a reaction in him. He didn’t know what to do. He wanted to kill her, he wanted to kill her so bad, but a part of him was screaming at him. This wasn’t him. He wasn’t a murderer. If he was, then he would be no better than Itachi. He didn’t want to be like that. He had to get control over his body. He had to release Sakura now, or she would surely die. Why should he care, right? He didn’t care if she lived or died, he was sure of it, but he could not cause her death himself. He would not sink to Itachi’s level. He would not.

Just as she felt the life leaving her, the grasp around her neck unclenched.

Sakura fell to the ground, gasping for breath. She looked up to see Sasuke looking down. “Go,” was all Sasuke said as he turned from her and began walking away.

Sakura didn’t know what to make of this. Sasuke had been so eager to kill her just moments before, and now he was walking away.

Sakura’s body protested as she stood up on shaky legs. She couldn’t let him get away. There was still some fight left in her, and by god she was going to fight.

“I can’t do that Sasuke. I already told you, I’m taking you back,” Sakura began. She coughed up blood, and fell to her knees from exhaustion.

Sasuke did not turn around as he spoke. “Don’t be ridiculous. You can barely stand, let alone fight. Leave now and I may let you go without having the sound nins follow.”

“Don’t patronize me and don’t turn your back on me! Either come back with me or fight!” Sakura screamed. Her throat was aching and she continued to cough up blood.

Sasuke turned around to look at her. She was beaten. There was no way she could continue to fight, but why did she keep trying to get up? “Hn, you can’t fight me. You’re hurt and you’re alone.”

“She’s not alone,” a voice said and Sakura did not have to turn around to know that Naruto was standing just a few feet behind her.

She was about to stand when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“Sakura-chan, I’m here now. You don’t have to do this alone. You rest; it’s my turn with the teme!” Naruto said quietly. Sakura took in Naruto’s form. He was rigid and it obviously took everything he had to control his anger. He had a vice-like grip on her shoulder at the moment, but she was too weak to say anything to him.

Letting go of her, Naruto stood in front of Sakura. Sasuke eyed Naruto with a glare. “Take Sakura and go home dobe, if you know what’s good for you,” Sasuke said.

“Can’t do that. We’re here to take you back, and I’m not leaving without the both of you,” Naruto protested.

“This is ridiculous! What do I have to do to get through to both of you idiots? I’m-not-going-back!” Sasuke shook with rage. He clenched his fist in anger. Why in the hell were they doing this to him? All he wanted was to be left alone! Why did he have to be cursed with two idiotic teammates?

Naruto stared at his best friend trying so hard not to lose it. Everything seemed to be boiling inside him. He looked over to Sakura, whom he could tell was barely able to keep her eyes open, and to the man who did that to her. And then there was the point of Sasuke all together. He really didn’t want to come back, and it almost seemed like a lost cause. But, he wasn’t going to give up, he couldn’t. How could a person become Hokage if they can’t even save their best friend? He had said that to Sasuke the last time they met, and he still meant it now. His heart was in this until the end, and he knew Sakura’s was too.

“I’m not saying it again, Sasuke, I’m not leaving without the both of you. This time, you really will have to kill me,” Naruto began.

“If that’s the way you want it, then so be it!” Sasuke shouted, and the two charged at each other.

Sakura surveyed her wounds. They were rather serious, but not life-threatening. She had healed them enough to stop any blood loss, but she needed medical attention soon. She turned back to the two men in front of her.

Sakura watched as the two kicked, punched, did everything they could to beat the other senseless. Had it really come to this? It wasn’t that long ago that Sakura saw the world through such innocent eyes. She believed that love won through everything, but now, her heart wasn’t so sure. Maybe they were fighting a losing battle. She didn’t know. She didn’t know much of anything these days. Her thoughts were always filled with such confusion. She continued to watch the two clash, and her heart hammered in her chest. She only hoped that this time, Naruto would be the victor.

No words were exchanged as the two continued to fight. They matched each other punch for punch. Naruto was able to land a kick on Sasuke that sent him flying backwards.

Sasuke landed on the ground ungracefully and pulled himself to his knees. He was exhausted, and he could tell Naruto was too. The two had been fighting for well over five minutes now without a break.

Naruto panted, happy for the momentary break. He watched as Sasuke did the same.

“This has to end Sasuke. Just come back with us. You’ll be able to grow strong in Konoha, stronger then you think. You should see all of us, we’ve grown so much!” Naruto said, his voice portraying his desperation.

“Just go home, forget about me,” Sasuke said, wiping sweat from his brow.

“We can’t forget about you! Why can’t you understand that?” Naruto admitted.

Sasuke shook his head. This was it; he was done, with this fight and with them. “Let’s end this,” he said as he charged chidori into his hand.

Naruto didn’t say anything as he formed rasengan in his, and they both charged at the same time.

Sasuke ran, and he wasn’t surprised to find himself remembering the past. Although this time, Sasuke was not in CS2 and Naruto had not let the Nine-Tailed fox consume him. Was this a comment on their emotional states? He didn’t know. He watched as Naruto got closer and he rammed his hand into Naruto’s; Chidori versus Rasengan once again.

Naruto pushed with all his might, trying so hard to break through Sasuke’s powerful attack. He felt himself moving forward a little, and his insides jumped. Was he actually going to do it this time?

Sasuke could feel his arm being pushed back. Naruto was breaking through his attack. Suddenly, Sasuke started to panic. He couldn’t go back. He had to defeat Itachi, he had to. How could he make Naruto see that?

“Don’t you understand Naruto?! I have to do this! I have to kill Itachi, and this is the only way I know how. If I go back, I’ll lose everything I’ve worked so hard for. I can’t go back, not until he is dead!” Sasuke admitted.

“But Orochimaru will have your body by then!” Naruto contested.

“I don’t care, as long as he’s dead. For my clan, I have to avenge my clan!” Sasuke shouted, and he pushed with all his might. His hand started moving forward, and he knew he was making some progress.

Naruto felt himself losing the battle with Sasuke. He looked up into Sasuke’s eyes trying to understand him. He did not have a family, so he had no idea what it would be like to lose them. But he did have Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi. They were the closest thing he had to a family. When he thought Sasuke had died that one time on the bridge, he did feel that pain, and it was unbearable. He could only imagine what it must feel like for Sasuke to lose every member of his clan, and the murderer be his older brother, the one person he admired more than anyone else in the world.

Maybe they were doing this wrong. Maybe the only way to save Sasuke was to let him go. Naruto didn’t like that answer, but he also knew that sometimes the hardest things in life are the best choices.

Maybe he and Sakura were being selfish. They wanted him back, because they missed him. Sure, he did not want Sasuke to lose his body to Orochimaru, but wasn’t Sasuke smarter than that. Maybe he could actually free himself from Orochimaru’s grasp and return to them on his own.

A few tears leaked out of Naruto’s eyes as he made his decision. “Alright Sasuke, I understand. I know now that I can’t save you by forcing you to come back, but at least I can do something that will hopefully help you in your quest. Because, I want you to know, that’s all we wanted to do was help you,” Naruto confessed before he released his rasengan. He shifted to the right just a little, so Sasuke’s chidori would crash through his shoulder.

He felt the pain immediately as Sasuke’s hand tore through flesh. Blood spurted everywhere. Naruto gritted his teeth through the pain, knowing this was the only way. Gripping onto Sasuke’s hand, he began to release his chakra.

Sasuke stood shocked, looking at Naruto. He didn’t know what to think, or what to do. At that moment, his hand was inside Naruto’s body. He cancelled chidori immediately, but Naruto kept a vice-like grip on his arm. He noticed Naruto’s eyes were scrunched from either pain or concentration, which one he didn’t know, and that massive amounts of his chakra were being released.

Sakura stared at the scene in front of her trying to contemplate what was happening. She almost screamed out loud when Sasuke impaled Naruto. She watched the scene with intensity. Suddenly, a yellow light began to surround Naruto, and a blue one surrounded Sasuke. She had heard Naruto’s confession before, and she wondered how he expected to help him.

“This is my gift to you, my brother. I’m giving you all of me, all my power, chakra, everything. Hopefully this extra power will help you kill Itachi, and maybe then you’ll be able to free yourself from Orochimaru and come back to us. I need you, Sakura needs you, the village needs you, don’t ever forget that.” As Naruto finished, he began channeling everything he had into Sasuke.

Sakura now understood what Naruto was doing. It was like when she was out on the field, and she didn’t have enough chakra to heal someone, she would have to get one of the other members to lend her some chakra. But she had never seen anyone lend all of their chakra. She didn’t know what would happen to Naruto, he could die. I can’t let him do this all alone.

With that thought, Sakura crawled over to Naruto and Sasuke. Once she got near, she laid her hand over Naruto’s and Sasuke’s. Closing her eyes, she focused on what she had to do and began transferring everything into Sasuke.

Sasuke didn’t even notice Sakura until she laid her hand on top of his. He watched the two of them. He couldn’t move-his body was frozen in place. He watched as pink began to envelop Sakura. He stared as the yellow and pink mixed with his blue. What was happening? He was at a loss. Never in his life had he been more confused.

Suddenly, he felt energy encompass his whole body. He felt powerful, very powerful, like he could do anything. Then, his head began to hurt. He gripped his head, trying to ease the pain.

Flashes and emotions began filling his body. He saw everything. He saw how Naruto and Sakura cared for him. He felt their emotions. How they hurt to see him gone; how they missed him so much. He felt their determination to bring him back, their desperation. But the most powerful emotion he felt from the two was love. The love the two of them had for him spread throughout his body. Everything they were as people, every part of themselves was being embedded in Sasuke and he could feel it coming together. Any minute now it was sure to explode.

He didn’t know what to do. He hadn’t had this many emotions in his life, and it was all too much. He felt like his body was going to be ripped in two. When he felt like he couldn’t handle it anymore, there was a loud jolt, and he was thrown into the air. He felt a sharp pain as he crashed into the ground.

He rolled over and vomited on the ground. He grabbed his head in agony. It was throbbing. He could feel the essence of both Sakura and Naruto inside him. He laid there trying to sort it all out. He felt different, so very different. He understood both of them now. He knew why they wanted him back so badly; he knew that they both loved him more than anything.

Why? He didn’t deserve any of it. He looked up, trying to find both of them. He saw each of them, unmoving, about fifty yards away from him. What if they were dead? It would be his fault. They had done what they did out of desperation because he was too damn stubborn to go back.

He got up and quickly moved to each of them. They were both breathing, but barely and their pulses were weak.

What should he do? He knew he had to get both of them to a hospital. He couldn’t take them to Kabuto; Orochimaru would just order them to be killed.

The only other medic he knew of that could help them was the one person he really didn’t want to see and even worse, she was in the one place he never wanted to go back to.

I can just leave them here; someone will find them…right? For some reason, he knew that wasn’t an option. I can just take them back to Konoha and drop them off in front of the Hokage tower. I’ll leave a note so that the Hokage will know what is wrong.

Happy with his plan, Sasuke grabbed his two teammates, holding them close to his sides and took off in the direction of Konoha.

Many thoughts were running through his mind, but he could only focus on one:

I know I’m going to regret this…

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