With You, Forever | Naruhina

Chapter 10: Stay Strong, Naruto

"Naruto!!!!" Sakura screamed as he collapsed on the ground all of a sudden, "what the hell happened to him?!" she asked looking at Sai and Hinata. But they both bore the same shocked, alarmed and confused face. Hinata activated her byakugan to look around if someone was there who must've poisoned him with something, but there was no one in her field of vision.

"I see no one, this wasn't a physical attack" she concluded.

"Then- what is..." Sakura stopped talking when she saw Naruto's lips move.

"Ero sennin... Neji..." he whispered and smiled.

"It was a mental attack; he must've been trapped in the genjutsu I was talking about," Sai said softly, analyzing Naruto's heartbeat.

"But how? Are you sure? We didn't hear any voice..." Hinata asked and looked for assurance towards Sakura, who nodded in agreement.

"I don't know," Sai said looking just as puzzled as the two kunoichis, "but I am sure he is in a genjutsu, take him back to Kohana." He took out his scroll drew two birds. "Ninpo: Choju Giga"

Two giant birds fly out of his scroll and into the dark night. "Hinata-chan, Sakura-chan you both take him back and I will continue this mission," he said and no one argued. Both kunoichis nodded and set off on their birds. Hinata trying to find the culprit behind this through her bakyugan when she noticed something odd.

Sakura

"Sakura-san," Hinata said looking horrified at Sakura's back where Naruto was lying, "he...he is losing chakra."

Motherfuc--

"Hinata, take the lead! I'll try to do something until we reach Konoha." Hinata nodded and flew in front of me.

Bakka! This isn't any place to die, Naruto!!!!

Holding Naruto's hand she tried to merge her chakra with him, just like he did it in the war with so many ninjas. She also tried to just genjutsu release but nothing worked. It was as if she was caught in his worst nightmare. His expression changed from smiling to heartbreak. And every now and then he whispered and pleaded.

"H-Hinata...don't-- s-stop!!!"

Sakura was getting irritated and sad as she looked at Naruto, unable to use her skills as a medical ninja.

Am I really useless? Her self-doubt crept in.

"S-Sakura-chan?" Hinata said with a somber expression.

Oh man, this can't be good!!

"Hai, Hinata?" She tried to regain her confidence.

"Ano, Naruto-kun chakra level has depleted even more... I don't think your medical jutsu is working on him," Hinata said while looking at Naruto with her X-ray eyes.

NOT EVEN A LITTLE?! Oh! What about---

"What about Kurama's chakra?" Sakura asked hopefully.

"It's..." Hinata looked closely, "it's dormant. As if he is not even present!" She replied shocked.

Dormant?! What kind of genjutsu is this?! Infusing my chakra with him is not helping! Only if someone could...Sakura stopped thinking as the answer was flying, right in front of her.

"HINATA!! Get down and exchange places with me!!" Sakura shouted as she pointed her bird to land in. Hinata landed beside her, perplexed.

"Hinata," Sakura said as an epiphany, "you can save him!!" She declared.

"H-how...?" Hinata asked wide-eyed.

"Because," Sakura exclaimed as if it was the obvious thing in the world, "because you can easily infuse your chakra with him!!" Her emerald eyes were shinning.

"Infuse my chakra?" Hinata asked still not getting what Sakura wanted to say but hopping off her bird and going towards Naruto.

"Yes, yes remember that time during the war? You were the first-person Naruto shared his chakra with and he did that unconsciously. You can do it, Hinata!! You also have bakuguan, can you see the flow!" Sakura said sliming and pushing her forward. I think you can. It's the only option we have.

Hinata nodded and hopped on Sakura's bird and Sakura on hers. The birds flew again, not wasting a single moment she held Naruto's hands, which made her face a little red. She focused her chakra on her hands but nothing happened. She tried again, and again but nothing was happening.

"P-please s-stop, don't k-kill h-her... kill m-m-me..." Naruto suddenly said weakly and a tear rolled down his face. His face was tensed and he seemed to be in a lot of pain. Hinata felt her heartbreak looking at Naruto like this.

"Come on," Hinata said to herself, frustrated that she could not help. She wiped the tear from Naruto's face. Once again she turned her bakugan on and with all her might she concentrated on Naruto's little flow of chakra. And suddenly, it happened. She felt a dark chakra leaving his body. Hinata finally managed to infuse her chakra with Naruto.

"YOU DID IT, HINATA!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Stay strong, Naruto-kun," Hinata said as she could still see his tense face. She tried to push even more of her chakra into his body.

I knew it. You both are just...

"I love h-her," Naruto said loud enough for both Hinata and Sakura to hear. His facial expression changed again, he was smiling, and almost looked happy. Absolutely different from moments ago, when he looked his life was taken away, again and again.

Just hearing the words come out of his voice, so sincere and truthfully. Even under a genjustsu, none of them understood he loved this girl. Her heart broke knowing it wasn't her. She could not herself together anymore. Taking advantage of the dark, quiet tears streamed down her face, dropping down to her hand. The same hand that Naruto squeezed a little hard as if his life was dependent on it. In a way, it was.

Sakura, on the other hand, exclaimed in joy hearing Naruto's love confession, internally.

Took you long enough, idiot.