Behind the Mask: Silver Blood Fox

Sacrifice

"Kit... Kit!"

The blonde stirred, his cerulean blue eyes slowly opening. "Oh. Back here." He chuckled humorlessly.

The nine-tailed fox hissed. "I helped train you, Kit."

"I know. But what am I doing here?" he asked.

The fox paused. "You don't remember?"

He shook his head.

"You gave your life to save Sasuke's as you used a Forbidden Jutsu at the very last second," Kyuubi explained.

"Oh my Kami!"

There was an excited shriek from none other than Sakura.

"Sasuke-kun... We thought you were dead," Sakura sobbed tearfully.

Sasuke's vision cleared slowly. "Sakura?" He tipped his head. "I guess I didn't die... Where's Haku?"

Sakura frowned. "Why do you want to see her?"

"Let me see her," Sasuke rasped firmly.

"O - okay, fine." Sakura narrowed her eyes and stepped outside. "Haku?"

Haku walked to Sakura with a raised eyebrow. Ever since Zabuza's death she had been staying in Tazuna's house too. "Yes?"

"Sasuke... He isn't dead," Sakura murmured.

"What? I swear I-" Haku shook her head. "You know what, it doesn't matter. He's alive, somehow, and that's all I care about."

She ran inside the room, and Sakura heard a joyous cry from her, and a soft chuckle from Sasuke.

It was then when it hit her.

Haku and Sasuke...

They loved each other.

There wasn't any place for her in his heart.

And it was when yet another realization hit her.

It didn't hurt as much as she would have thought.

She shook her head, closing her emerald green eyes, a tiny smile gracing her lips.

She had been so stupid, so naive and daft. She had tricked herself into liking him, but it was just an illusion. She had never loved him. An infatuation, at some point, perhaps, but after a while the infatuation had faded.

And she hadn't even realized it.

She had ruined everything. Her friendship with Ino, and her very own teammate hated her -

She froze and her eyes shot open. She leaned against the wall, a heavy breath escaping from her.

Naruto was dead.

She had been so consumed by Sasuke's 'death' that Naruto's death hadn't really hit her.

She walked into Sasuke's room. Naruto's body lay on his bed.

Sasuke and Haku turned to her. "Sakura-" Haku started, irritated.

Sakura met her gaze calmly. "I'm not here for you, or Sasuke," she replied coolly.

They paused, taken aback by her answer, obviously not expecting her answer.

She walked over to Naruto's body. It had been a day. Sasuke had awaken, but he hadn't.

"He's gone, isn't he?" she whispered.

Haku nodded mutely.

"How..." This time it was from Sasuke. "He was the strongest out of the three of us. How could he die?"

Haku lowered her head in shame. "He died protecting me."

Sasuke froze, his obsidian black eyes flicking to Haku. "He what?" he hissed.

"He died. It was my fault," Haku choked out.

Sasuke shook his head and stood up.

"Wait, Sasuke-kun, lie back down. You need to rest. I'm sorry," Haku pleaded.

"I don't want to talk to you." His voice was cold. He pushed past her and exited. They heard the sound of a door slamming downstairs a few moments later.

"What have I done?" Haku moaned, burying her face in her hands.

"It's not your fault," Sakura said, causing Haku to raise her head and look at her questioningly. "It's better to be honest now rather than later. Imagine if he found out later... He would be even more furious."

"He hates me!" Haku said.

"No, he'll get over it," Sakura said. "Leave him alone for now, and he'll get over it."

Haku managed to crack a tiny smile. "You know, no offence, but at first I just thought you were a weak fangirl. When did you..."

"Two minutes ago." Sakura shrugged. "In the hallway. I evaluated myself, and sorted out my feelings, and now I've finally..." She paused. "I'm finally me. Like, the real me. I've learned that nothing is more important than staying true to yourself, and not be swayed by other people's opinions and thoughts."

"Stay true to yourself, huh..." Haku glanced to the door. "Alright, thanks, Sakura."

"It's no problem." Sakura nodded and sat at the edge of the bed, her eyes misting slightly as she looked at Naruto's still body.

Haku sat next to her. "Do you miss him?"

"Of course," Sakura murmured. "He was my teammate. You know, at first I hated him so much..." She chuckled quietly. "He insulted the very first day, but I guess that was my fault, because I was just an annoying weakling back then. Ever since then, I was really rude to him, but now..." She shook her head. "He hasn't ever done anything bad, and I feel horrible. Now, he's gone, and I-" A soft sob escaped her lips.

"You know, before he died, he said a few words to me," Haku said. "It went something like 'learn from your past mistakes, and don't make them again in the future'."

Sakura stared at his motionless body. "Don't let your past define your future."

Suddenly, she stood up. "Thanks, Haku. You know what..." She smiled a little. "I've had enough of being this weak. I'm going to go and train."

"Good for you." Haku paused and then met Sakura's eyes. "You know, um, if you, like, need help or something, I can help."

They exchanged smiles and left the room.

"Kit... Kit? You really don't remember sacrificing yourself?" Kyuubi asked, shaking his head.

He remained silent, seeming to be thinking it through.

Kyuubi sighed. "Remember? Sasuke was killed, and then you decided to run in front of a Chidori - which was kind of stupid - and right before you were hit you quickly did the Jutsu, and everyone thought the Chidori killed you but it was really the Jutsu?"

He stared up at Kyuubi, his eyes unreadable.

"Oh yeah, if you're wondering why you're here, it's because you're really strong, and your chakra combined with mine was almost infinite, and so you pulled through. Your strength hasn't changed, you'll be strong as ever, but you'll need to stay in your mind for quite a while, because you need to physically recover," Kyuubi explained. "Erm, Kit, you're creeping me out with all the silence."

Finally, he spoke.

"Wait."

Kyuubi flicked one of his tail-tips. "What?"

He locked eyes with the large demon.

"Who's Sasuke?"