Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ To Late For Love ❯ To Late For Love ( One-Shot )

Disclaimer - I do not own Naruto in any way shape or form so there is no need for legal worry.

A/N - Well, here is another damn death fic. I seem to be good at these; they are all I can write lately.

 

It was a once in a lifetime spectacle as the entirety of the rookie nine fought in one large all out battle; granted it was eight of them against the one traitor, but it still included all nine. The battle had been surprisingly quick considering the number of people involved and had only been going on for close to ten minutes. Sasuke was staring down the only three standing opponents with the same impassive look he had been holding since they had found him, but he was mostly relaxing now that he was left with the three weakest of the group: the kunoichi.

Sakura was doing her best to keep her tears away as she faced down the man she had stopped loving a few years earlier. She no longer held those kinds of feelings for him, but it still hurt to have to fight an old comrade and friend. Hinata was trying her best not to let her fear for the health of all their male friends, especially a certain blond, show as he used her Byakugan to watch for anything that Sasuke might do. Ino was only standing her ground to keep from loosing face by retreating when the other two kunoichi, who were better equipped for fighting, were still standing tall and ready.

Shino had been the first to go down and it still hadn't been determined if he was alive or not; not that it could be seen if any of the men scattered throughout the clearing were alive. Choji had fallen next with a large slash in the back of his armor that was oozing blood. Shikamaru had quickly been dispatched from the battle after being distracted by seeing Choji bloody on the ground. Akamaru had been removed from the fight by a sudden strike to the head which had left Kiba distracted and without his partner to be quickly picked off. All of that had only taken two of the ten minutes and Naruto had taken the rest when he came blazing into the fight a little late.

Naruto had fought many battles but this fight with Sasuke had been the hardest he had ever faced, and he had been able to use any special techniques beyond the Kage Bushin thanks to Sasuke's constant attacks. While the fight had certainly taken longer than any of his other comrades Naruto continued the falling pattern after being thrown into a tree and failing to rise again.

“Now that the hard part is over I suppose I should dispose of the three. I doubt I even need my Sharingan for it.” Sasuke quipped as he leveled his sword to prepare an attack.

The three girls watched as Sasuke's sword began to glow with the electric power that would be used to fry their nervous systems. They watched, frozen in terror at the ruthlessness of the fight they had seen, as Sasuke raised his sword, jumped into the air and began his final attack on the three of them at once. However, the three girls nearly fainted as a quick flash showed Naruto in front of them with the sword piercing his heart while his right hand pierced Sasuke's with the `Wind Cone' attack he had developed as his own version of the Chidori.

Sakura was the first to begin crying as she watched the man she loved slay the man she loved while the reverse was true as well…

She hadn't been able to figure out when it had happened, but she had actually fallen for her blond teammate. She couldn't help but feel weak in his presence and the knowledge that he would do so much for her was uplifting in a way that she could never describe or gain from anybody else. She had been getting along with him as a real friend for a while now and they were always doing things together for both work and when they had time off.

Unfortunately he seemed to have finally gotten over his crush on her and it made trying to tell him all the more difficult. `First I treat him like the bane of existence when he shows interest and then when I finally feel something for him I've already chased him away.' she would think as she lay in bed trying to figure out life. It usually wasn't long before her thoughts would lead to `…and why the hell does he still think I want him to bring Sasuke back? It isn't like I care for that traitor any more.' It was a stupid thought in a certain way because she had never been able to tell Naruto that she didn't care about that promise any more so he continued to believe that the only way to make her happy was to bring Sasuke back to her.

It had been almost four years earlier that Sakura had labeled herself a lost cause that was doomed to love Naruto from a distance because there was no way he could ever love her again. She had really made the choice after being asked by TenTen to help her get a date with the boy. She had watched the short-lived relationship blossom and crumble in only a month, but it had been enough for Sakura to know that she would be there to help make him happy for as long as he would let her stay by his side.

Hinata was only a few second behind Sakura when it came to the tears that began to pour down her cheeks. Her love for Naruto was no secret to anybody, except the dense man the love was directed at. She had developed a crush on him the first day they had been in the academy together. She had watched how some of the teachers would be mean to him and only label him trouble if he tried to ask a question. She had watched and listened as the parents would pick up their kids from the academy and tell them to avoid Naruto because he was a bad kid.

After leaving the Academy she had really seem what his life was like in the village and how so many people hated him. She watched how he was treaded and she peeked into his life to see that he wasn't living anywhere near as well as he should have because of this meaningless hate the village had. She had known that it was love when in spite of the village had had succeeded and then also fought for her sake against Neji.

She never had been able to bring herself to tell him how she felt, but she had also convinced herself that she still wasn't good enough for him. She was still shy and she would fidget, but at she was one step closer after she had stopped fainting. `Naruto-kun, someday I will be ready to tell you how much I love you.' Hinata would say to herself every time she saw him; even more so when they began to hang out whenever the opportunity presented itself. They had not really meant to start seeing more of one another, but it seemed that they had both been using the same training ground and not known it until Hinata's schedule changed and they found themselves together for training. As the days and weeks of training and meals after went on, Hinata had seen her `someday' coming closer; now her `someday' was vanishing under the glowing steel of a blade.

Ino couldn't cry as she watched the man she couldn't help but love die. Until that moment Ino hadn't been able to determine what kind of affection it was that she really had for the loudmouth. She had only begun to notice him a year earlier as their jobs in assassination and information gathering overlapped and left them working together regularly.

At first, Ino had kept their interaction purely professional since Naruto had never really been her friend. It was only a whim that let her get sucked into a conversation that had nothing to do with the assignment they were working on, but it had started a chain of conversations that led to the kunoichi seeing a Naruto she had never realized was there. He was kind, considerate, funny and interested in quite a few things that she was.

It was only in the last month that Ino had thought that maybe she would try and see if Naruto wanted to try something more for their relationship, but she hadn't made up her mind. It was as she could see that she would be the first victim of the three kunoichi from Sasuke's blade that she realized what Naruto had really done. Naruto could have waited another moment and he might have been able to take out Sasuke without being harmed any more himself, but instead he had taken the avenger out at the expense of his own life to make sure that she, Ino, was saved along with Sakura and Hinata.

Sasuke's, instantly, dead body fell to the ground with a resounding thud while the Sharingan eyes turned pitch black. The hole in his chest was oddly conical in shape which was a sure sign that he had fallen victim to Naruto's personal creation which used his wind affinity to create a spinning cone of air around his flattened out hand.

Naruto's body landed with just as much ceremony as Sasuke's, but since Sasuke had died so quickly, the lightning hadn't finished him off and a pained groan escaped his lips as he lay in the dirt. Naruto was still alive as he thought about the three girls he had sacrificed himself for. Each of the three were precious to him in their own unique ways.

Sakura was his first love and one of his first friends which automatically made her important enough to die for. They had been through so much as teammates and she was there for him without regard even though she knew about the Kyuubi. He had vowed to be there for her even after he had forced his love for her away so as not to upset her since she loved Sasuke so much.

Hinata was another long time friend that he couldn't imagine letting die if he could prevent it in any way. They trained together all the time and she seemed to genuinely care for him which was something he hadn't gotten much in his life. She had been his second love but he had never been able to tell her. She was as close to a princess as their village had and he would have never been good enough to attempt to court her. He had gotten over his love for her just like he had Sakura but had vowed to be there for her no matter what it took.

Ino was his new friend. He had really gotten to know the woman over the last few months and he knew that she was somebody that he might have fallen for if his heart hadn't already taken such a severe beating from loving Sakura and then Hinata. She was precious because she had trusted him during her weakest moments while she used her family's special techniques. She had placed her life in his hads more times than he could count in the last years and that deserved his very best effort, which meant his very life.

The groan had been enough to force the girls into gathering around the broken boy as he moved only his eyes to look around at all three of them. Summoning as much strength as he could Naruto asked, “Did I do it? Did I save you?” All three girls muttered some kind of affirmative as he grimaced from the pain caused by a twitch in his right arm. “Good,” Naruto continued. “I couldn't let any of you die; you are all to precious to me.” he said while making eye contact with all three of his most precious people. “Sakura, I'm sorry I couldn't bring your love back to you.” He rasped as he watched her tears. Looking to Hinata he said, “Hinata, you are a strong ninja. Please, just be as confident in yourself as I am.” Looking to Ino forced Naruto to realize how little time was left. “Ino, you are a good person and I know you can find that happiness you are looking for.”

“I will always love you Naruto.” resounded from three different mouths at the same time. Sakura, Hinata and Ino all looked at one another as they registered what they had all said and what it meant for al of them. Looking back down, they watched as a few tears escaped Naruto's eyes as before his bright blue eyes closed for the last time.

Naruto felt as if a great weight had been both placed and lifted as the three he cared about most all admitted their love for him. He could no longer open his eyes but with the last of his strength he was able to speak one more time. “I will always love you all; please find happiness.” Naruto uttered before his last breath left him in a quiet puff.

 

A/N - There you have another sad ending revolving around the death of Naruto. Review if you want.