Twisting Fate

The New Place

Sasuke never thought that it would turn out this way. Thinking back to when he was just a little boy, he remembered the stories his mom and older brother read to him before bed time. No matter the trails and heartache, when the heroes all got together and formed a seemingly unstoppable force to be reckoned with, they would all pull through in the end. No matter what, there was always a chance that they would pull through, regardless of how peril-less it may seem.

Naruto too, seemed so sure that they would somehow pull through this battle with the Rabbit Goddess, Kaguya. He would look at Sasuke with large, sky blue eyes, grinning broadly and offering Sasuke a thumbs up before charging up a rasengan and rushing toward the long white haired woman. It was usually something that Sasuke would scoff at and roll his eyes, doing his best to ignore the blond, but this time was different. He was a bit relieved by Naruto's certainty in their success like the possibility of them losing never crossed the boy's mind. It was him, Naruto, Sakura and their sensei, Kakashi.

They were a team. Team 7. For a long time, that hadn't meant anything to him. At least, not as much as it probably should have, but now at the face of this great adversity, he finds solace in knowing that his childhood teammates and sensei were at his side, fighting with him.

He wanted to believe that they would somehow be able to full this off. He wanted to have faith in his long time rival and reluctant-on-his-part friend, pink haired teammate and sensei. He wasn't much for faith and belief, but he had hoped. Hoped that, like in all the stories he was read to as a kid, this would all turn out to be okay.

But hoping wasn't enough.

And Naruto was wrong.

Kaguya was too powerful. There was only one thing that they could do.

"Save this future!" Naruto said, grabbing hold of Sasuke's shoulders. Behind the blond haired boy, Sakura and Kakashi were jumping around, dodging the long white whip like strands of hair.

"What are you talking about, moron?" Sasuke grunts, trying to pull away from Naruto's iron-tight grip. Over Naruto's shoulder, Sasuke watches as the hair wraps around Sakura's waist and trapping her right arm to her side, lifting her up into the air before throwing her hard back down on the ground. She doesn't immediately get back up.

"Sasuke," Naruto says, strangely solemnly, pulling Sasuke's eyes back over to the blond boy, "Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei will hold her off long enough for me to send you off."

Sasuke shakes his head, eyebrows pulling together tightly. "What the hell are you saying? Have you lost faith?" He narrows his eyes. "How strange of you, moron?" He couldn't believe his ears. Was Naruto really telling him to give up? Perhaps not in those words, but the underlying message was clear. And very, very disturbing.

Naruto doesn't smile, he just stares back at Sasuke solemnly. "We can't survive this. I need you to ensure that things change. This is a one way trip, so make it worth it, okay?"

Sasuke continues shaking his head. "Why are you doing this? What are you saying? We don't have time for this. Kakashi-sensei and Sakura-"

"Sasuke!" Naruto snaps, making the blue haired boy stop. He had never seen the blond like this. "Sasuke," Naruto says again softly, "you have to go. Sakura and Kakashi-sensei are all the way over there. And Kurama and myself together can only perform the jutsu on others. I need you to go, Sasuke. It has to be you," Naruto says, putting a hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

Sasuke stares at Naruto's blue eyes, trying to understand. "What are you saying?" Sasuke whispers softly, feeling his stomach sinking deep into the soles of his feet and a painful constriction in his chest. He never expected to hear this, not from anyone. Especially not Naruto. Behind the blond, the dead Goddess drops down like a heavy bolder where Sakura was laying prone. The pink haired girl would have surely been crushed to death had Kakashi not suddenly appeared at her side and jumped out of the way quickly, their female teammate laying limp in his arms.