Broken Kaleidoscopes (Fem!Naruto x Sasuke)

Broken Kaleidoscopes

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto
------
Sasuke knows everything is coming to an end for him.

He is lying limpless on the ground, his clothes drenched in his own sweat. Perhaps it is his own blood, but he isn't too sure.

The world around him spins and whirls as time mercilessly goes by. Many shinobi run past him, fighting their own battles. They fail to notice their fallen comrade that is as lifeless as a broken doll in the middle of an abandoned bedroom.

Sasuke doesn't know how long he had been lying there but his eyes are starting to feel impossibly heavy.

Maybe if he closes his eyes, the pain and the war will end. It will be one giant nightmare and he would wake up to a familiar bright sunny day in Konoha where birds chirp and leaves dance around the village.

Maybe if he closes his eyes, he will wake up to find Team 7 eating lunch in their training ground, Naruto tied up to a post.

Maybe if he closes his eyes, he will wake up to see Itachi poking his forehead. They will finish the breakfast his mother prepared for them and head out to train in the Uchiha training grounds on the south of the compound.

Maybe... maybe...

From the corner of his hazy vision, a blur of yellow flashes to his side.

"Sasuke..." A female voice whispers.

Shut up! Sasuke! Stop showing off!

The male breaks his peaceful train of thoughts and turns his head to look at the yellow-haired girl that is kneeling by his side, her hand hovering over the giant, bloody hole in his stomach.

"You're late, Naruto." He jokes, his voice broken and raspy. "Did Kakashi's behavior finally rub off on you?"

Her eyes darken and her long bangs cast a shadow over her face. It is a bad joke, a voice whispers from the back of his head, and he barely registers it.

He stares at the girl he grew up with. The self-proclaimed rival who chased after him for all these years. The very one who he would call a best friend from the bottom of his heart but will never admit it out loud.

Oi! Teme! What do you think you're doing?

Naruto was a rowdy girl when he met her. Annoying, loud and a knucklehead. She was always announcing her dreams to the world and always pushing herself forward to be recognized.

I'm going to be the Hokage one day, dattebayo!

She was always talking during their missions, making sure that the rest of the Team 7 doesn't have a second of silence to enjoy.

And for a girl who had a lot to say, she sure is silent now.

Naruto loops her arms under Sasuke's frail body and brings him closer to her, his head on her lap. He is a man who was once feared by many, but now? Now, he is nothing but a splitting image of a scared, helpless little boy he used to be.

"Y-you look sad," Sasuke chokes out, his lungs feeling ten times heavier than before.

"I am sad," the girl responds softly, so much unlike her usual self that Sasuke frowns. That isn't the Naruto he knows.

I see your pain, Sasuke.

"Win the war." He whispers. "Promise me you'll win the war."

And then maybe the world will be in peace.

Her grip on him tightens. "It's okay, Sasuke. We will win the war together, just like we promised."

It is a lie and both of them know it. His consciousness is slipping away fast and there is nothing the two of them can do about it.

How can I be the Hokage if I can't even save my own friend?

Sasuke has so many things to say to her. Even the littlest things.

He wants to say sorry for all the pain he had caused her, for all the mean words he had said. He wants to thank her for believing in him when others didn't. He wants to hug her and tell her that everything will be alright.

He wants to tell her to open her cupboard in her apartment's kitchen when she gets back home. He had hidden a limited edition ramen cup in there.

He wants to ask her to forgive him for the times he purposely tripped her during their trainings.

He wants to go back to the good old days when Team 7 was happy and ask her to stay by his side forever.

Sasuke has too many things to her and too little time. Too little time. And he regrets it badly.

"Thank you, Naruto."

The breeze lightly carries his words to her ears and it is so soft, so quiet that Naruto wonders if Sasuke had said it all.

She watches as Sasuke's eyes gently drift shut with finality, his expression the most peaceful she had seen in years.

And all of the sudden, Naruto is left alone by Sasuke once more, feeling so little, so vulnerable and so helpless because this time, she knows Sasuke will not be returning to her.

Behind her, the medic team arrives too late and Sakura can only solemnly watch as Naruto brings her head down onto lifeless body's shoulder, memories of their Team 7 days flashing through her head like broken kaleidoscopes.

.....

Far into the distance, three shadows walk, arms slung around each other, together into the sunset along with their childish and innocent laughter that echoes in the air. Everything is perfect and the way it should be, with the three best friends side by side together, forever.

The Sun dampens and the silhouettes slowly fade away, the laughter becoming softer and softer until there is nothing left, leaving only reminiscent fragments of their memories behind.
.....

Sasuke... Thank you...