"I Should Have Told You"

by operadeglace

(Careful… a little dark, but the ending is nice. One Shot.)

"Sir..?"

A voice penetrates the solitude of the small hospital room.

There, in the center of the room lay a beautiful, pale woman with hair an identical color to the cherry blossoms that swayed delicately in the breeze outside of the nearby window. A man with short blonde hair was resting his head on the unconscious woman's abdomen, one arm stretched over her grasping her fair hand.

The solemn man's name was Uzumaki Naruto, and in the hospital bed lay his childhood sweetheart, Uchiha Sakura, who was currently fighting for her life, and losing the battle…

"Sir. Seventh… wake up, sir."

The voice becomes louder and more urgent.

"Leave me alone." The blonde man growls, his response muffled by cloth.

"But, sir… there is an urgent meeting. The Kazekage is requesting your presence."

"Just… have Shikamaru speak with Gaara. He makes all the calls anyway…"

"B-but…"

"I SAID LEAVE!"

The ferocity in Naruto's voice causes whoever addressed him to scurry away in fear, frantically shuffling past the open door.

Naruto's eyes are red and tired as he lifts his head. He looks slowly over Sakura, his gaze searching for any differences in her appearance.

"I'm sorry I fell asleep, Sakura-chan." He yawns and apologizes to the woman as if she were already awake. His voice attains a normality that was not present in his previous conversation with the intruder.

A week earlier Sakura had been attacked by a few missing-nin. It was tearing Naruto's heart into pieces because it was he who had released the two nin from prison in an act of good will, believing them to be much like his dearest friend, Sasuke…

They weren't.

He could still remember her smile as he carried her bags of groceries.

They were having a grand time talking about the past, complaining about spouses, and bragging about offspring.

His heart couldn't help but leap in his chest with pure happiness as he spoke with her, his smile widening from ear to ear.

It felt like old times.

It must have been at that moment that the two nin had seen them together, mistaking her for his wife.

"We have your pink haired wife. You will never get her back in one piece. You will think about this for the rest of your life, just like we think about our father, whom your village murdered."

The note came a few days later and Naruto nearly overturned the entire city to find his "pink haired wife".

It was Kiba and Akamaru who had picked up on Sakura's scent… mixed with blood.

They immediately contacted the young Hokage who then found her in an abandoned building in downtown Konohagakure.

Naruto's world began to move in slow motion as he entered the room which Kiba said smelled the most like his Sakura-chan. As his eyes adjusted to the dimness, he found himself unable to breathe, hoping, praying…

She looked lifeless, lying horribly limp with the bodies of her captors broken and dead beside her. He immediately recognized them as the freshly liberated prisoners, and he started to cry as he held her body close to his, her blood seeping onto his white coat.

"Sakura… Sakura-chan!"

Presently, Naruto's fingers began to caress her cold hand affectionately, circling his thumb along her knuckles.

"I'm sorry we couldn't contact Sasuke, but, I guess you'll just have to settle with me watching over you." He smiles sadly at Sakura, watching her chest rise and fall gently, straining his ears to hear her shallow breaths.

"Salada has shut herself in her room. Hinata and Bolt are taking care of her for you."

The window starts to shake slightly with the push of the wind outside, calling his attention to it.

"I got you a room where you can look at the sakura blossoms. I know how much you love them."

He sighs and rests his head on the pillow next to hers, staring at her eyelashes, appreciating her beauty, even when she was so close to death.

"I should have told you."

Naruto's sky blue eyes cloud up with moisture.

"I should have told you I love you."

Dark dots of water appear and spread on the pillow as Naruto starts to cry.

"I should have told you so long ago. Would it have changed your mind? Would you have still married Sasuke?"

His nose touches her cheek. Tears rolled down the tip of his nose and onto her skin.

"Watching you live and be happy with your family makes me happy beyond belief. I have my own family, and I love them… but, if I lost you now, Sakura-chan… I don't…"

Naruto touches his forehead to hers gently, the salty water still flowing from his eyes, now dripping down her chin.

"Please… don't die."

The sobbing man freezes as he feels soft fingers filtering through his hair. He opens his eyes to see bright green ones staring at him kindly.

"Na…ruto…"

Naruto buries his head into the crook of the pink haired woman's neck, weeping for joy, whispering softly into her hair, repeating a phrase that only she can hear.

Sakura smiles weakly as she rests her head against his.

"I know… I've always known…"

As she comforts her dear friend, her eyes rest on the beautiful pink blossoms swaying gently and beautifully in the breeze.

-The End.

-Story by ODG