Exhaustion had finally caught up to her, and with a final push she found her feet have landed successfully on solid ground. The white medic tents were a welcome sight, as compared to the bloody mess that was the battlefield that she had left behind.
Heaving a deep sigh as she stepped foot into the nearest tent, the sight of seemingly endless beds of the wounded gripped her heart. She had just left those who would breathe no more, and now she was met with the realization that there was plenty of work to be done.
"How many?" was Tsunade's form of greeting; seeing her apprentice wilt the moment she had entered the tent.
"No less than two hundred, Shishou," was her reply. She couldn't look into her Master's eyes, with the state she was currently in it was apparent that she had very little chakra left and was not going to be much help.
Tsunade warmed at seeing Sakura's reaction. She had already known the number of dead; word had reached long before her apprentice arrived. However, she needed her to say it - to speak of it as truth; so as to help her understand and to help her accept. She placed a weary hand on Sakura's forehead. There were not enough medics; none especially of Sakura's caliber, but…
"Get some rest, Sakura. The next tent has a bed ready for you. I will need you soon. Five hours long enough?."
She replied with a grateful smile. It was more than enough. Thank you, Shishou.
She was surprised that she had managed to make it to the tent, but not as surprised to see pools of cerulean just inches from her face the moment she came in.
"Sakura-chan! - Oh!"
For no apparent reason her knees just gave way, and how conveniently into the arms of one Naruto Uzumaki, catching her with strength like he had not just been beaten half to death by Madara three, four hours face landed squarely in his chest, arms clutching at his shirt, her quick reflexes and her protective nature had her scanning him immediately thanks to their close proximity. He had scared her so - but had his shirt not been torn to shreds hours ago when the seal was almost broken? Her hands wandered to his stomach, waiting for god-knows-what. He did not flinch at the push of her palms, there was nothing not right beneath there. Her hands wandered where her eyes went - the deep cuts from his arms have been reduced to blued bruises, the wound on his shoulder where a chakra blade had stabbed was no more, nothing to be seen of what was his bloody neck, his jaw was fine, whiskers still in place, forehead unhurt, and finally his eyes, that were lidded with concern as she heaved the sigh that was most relieved, burying her face on his chest to hide the tears now spilling from within.
"You're alright," she sobbed, an ache slowly building within her chest as she clung to his shirt.
"I've been looking for you, Sakura-chan," his arms wrapped around her, inhaling her warmth and wanting to never let go. In his mind there was a slight disbelief at the situation he was in, and he had to stop trying to bury his nose in her hair if it was some sort of assurance this was real. "Where have you been? I had to endure Baa-chan's painful healing techniques… I was left imagining what you could have done to me."
She wasn't done crying, obviously. Worried, Naruto took her into his arms and carried her to the bed. About to lay her down, she clutched his shirt so tightly it was in danger of ripping off, and he doubted it would've been the least bit sexy considering how Sakura was feeling at the moment.
"Hey, hey… I'm here. I'm not going anywhere," he whispered, laying her down once again, and she loosened her grip on him. His hands carefully set her head on the pillow, smoothing her hair from beneath and removing the loose strands from her face. Her eyes were glistening with tears, and immediately his heart felt heavy. She shouldn't have to feel this way… but why does she? He could hardly believe he had time to question these things right now. His eyes met hers, and he decided he was going to push those thoughts aside. There will be time for that. The war was over. He will make time for it.
Sakura had turned to clutching the blanket he had just tucked her in. It was cold and she missed his warmth almost as soon as she left his embrace. Her eyes watched him closely as smoothed the blanket and took a seat next to the bed. There had to be a way to stop her tears from falling. Her eyes were heavier now than they had ever been, and now even staring at the ceiling felt so difficult. She sighed again before closing her eyes, exhaustion catching up once more. She could feel him so close, almost leaning into her. Please don't leave, she wanted to say. Her fingers tightened, fighting hard not to sleep.
"Sakura-chan,"
Her eyes shot wide awake, turning her head impulsively to the sound of his voice. Had she fallen asleep?
"You'll be alright," he said, reaching for her hand and pressing it to his lips. Their eyes met and the words were lost somewhere, but not before her fingers loosened on the blanket and relaxed into his own. She nodded and finally, a faint smile found its way to her lips before she closed her eyes. It was good enough that at this moment she trusted her words, even if they didn't understand how they suddenly didn't need to speak so much to each other.
"I'll be here. Rest," He smiled and pressed the soft skin to his lips once more.