Author's Note:

I see plenty of stories where Naruto 'dies' and Sakura is super upset, but I was thinking, 'What if Sakura died, not Naruto?' So that's where I got this idea from. :3

Wake Up

A NaruSaku Oneshot

He did this to her. There was no mistake. He was the one that broke her, shattered her, ripped her apart. He had no control over his actions because he was just too weak to do anything but watch his comrades fall. He was too weak to protect her from any danger, including himself. He refused to believe it when Kakashi had told him it wasn't his fault, that the Kyuubi had done this to her, that he wasn't the one who could break such an angel.

He refused to believe that it wasn't he who caused this girl's death.

He stared at the rosette's bloody, lifeless body. Her pink hair was dampened with blood and sweat, her pale skin now covered with many gashes and deep purple bruises, her lips blue with death, her jade eyes now forever closed. His eyes burned with hot tears and let them flow freely down his whiskered cheeks.

He pushed her bangs back and whispered, "C'mon Sakura-chan, you're a lot tougher than this…Wake up." The girl didn't move. He scooped her into his arms and shook her lightly. "Sakura-chan, we've got to get you to a hospital…Please, wake up," he sobbed.

"Naruto, you know she's long gone," his silver haired sensei said as he tried to hold back tears of his own. The boy shook his head defiantly as rivers of hot tears streamed down his beaten and dirty face and clutched the girl closer to his chest.

Kakashi walked up to his student and set a calming hand on his shoulder. Naruto looked at him with tear-filled eyes, then back to the girl in his arms.

"How could I let this happen?" he whispered.

-

As Naruto carried Sakura's lifeless body on his back like he used to back to Konoha, his head was hung low and his blond hair covered his eyes. Kakashi, Yamato, and even Sai were staring at him with sympathetic looks, but the tears that occasionally slipped from Naruto's once vibrant blue eyes went unnoticed. Her death had hit all of them hard, but Naruto especially. He had already lost his brother to both Orochimaru and the Akatsuki; his godfather had been taken away from him by the Akatsuki leader Pein; and now, with his own two hands, he had given away his best friend's life to the jaws of death; a best friend he had loved as much more than that. He had worked so hard for anything close to a family, and now that family was slowly being taken away from him, one by one, and he had no way of stopping it. He was too weak. He wasn't even worthy of them of he couldn't even protect them.

Naruto had had a painful life, which he thought would brighten up as time went on after he was placed on Team 7 and slowly began to be accepted. But everything quickly made a sudden turn for the worst. Sasuke left the village; he failed Sakura in trying to retrieve him countless times; Jiraiya was gone; the Akatsuki were after him; Sasuke wasn't coming home any time soon; and now this. The one person that meant the most to him, the one person he thought he could protect no matter what, was dead. He couldn't help but blame himself instead of the fox; he was its container and he was supposed to keep it at bay, and he failed. He couldn't hold back the Kyuubi, and his best friend paid the ultimate price. Why couldn't it have been him instead of her of all people?

-

In the days leading up to Sakura's funeral, all Naruto did was train. He never stopped to sleep, or even eat. It was the day before her funeral and he was currently at Team Seven's training grounds, beating the crap out of a tree weakly with bloody knuckles and panting. His face was brown with dirt, and his hair matted onto his forehead with sweat. All ten of his knuckles were bleeding. His eyes were no longer vibrant pools of blue teeming with laughter and childish ignorance. His clothes were torn, as was his headband; his entire body ached; and most of all, his heart was hurting with each beat as it banged relentlessly against his ribcage.

He panted, absolutely breathless and exhausted. He watched with interest as his own blood trickled down his arm. He closed his eyes and sighed. He tried to take Sakura out of his future, since he knew that there was definitely no chance of her being in it now. No matter his attempts, she always appeared. He had dreamed of one day marrying her, and possibly having a few children and of course being Hokage. The Hokage dream was still possible to achieve, but now he could never have a family like he wanted as a child. In his mind, even Hokage wouldn't be able to brighten his future if Sakura wasn't in it in some kind of way. Even if he didn't marry her and she ended up marrying Sasuke when he came back (he was absolutely sure he would drag the bastard back some way or another), he would still be happy. At least she would be alive.

But, no, fate hadn't permitted his happiness.

Naruto went home that night exhausted and bruised. Sakura would've hated to see him like this; but his source of comfort was gone. He tiredly reached for the key to his home, unlocked the door, and dragged himself to his bed. He collapsed on his bed and buried his head into his pillow.

'Sakura-chan…' he thought before he fell into an uncomfortable sleep.

-

The next morning, Naruto woke up to a few blood stains on his sheets. He looked at his knuckles, which were covered with dry blood, and realized he hadn't even bothered to clean up after his three-day training session. He sighed and got up and headed towards his bathroom. He bent down and opened a cabinet filled with first aid supplies. He grabbed a roll of bandages and wrapped his hands in them after cleaning off his knuckles. He looked in the mirror. He was still in the same clothes as the day before, his face needed some serious washing, as did his hair. He washed his face and hair in the sink quickly before changing into a black t-shirt and black pants. He was getting ready for Sakura's funeral.

The very thought nearly made him break down. He had seen her lifeless body with his own eyes, but he still refused to accept the fact that she was gone. He sighed and wiped away a stray tear. He put on his black ninja sandals and headed towards the graveyard, where the service and burial would be held.

Once he reached his destination, he noticed he was the last to arrive. Nearly the entire village was there; Ino, Choji, Shikamaru, and the rest of his childhood friends all gave him sympathetic looks. His faced remained blank as he saw the girls crying and most of the guys trying to look tough, but all failing miserably. Tsunade was crying her eyes out for her young apprentice who she had come to know as a daughter, and also for the blond boy she thought as a son. She looked at him, her light brown eyes overflowing with tears, and walked towards him slowly.

When she hugged him, he broke down.

'I failed you again, Sakura-chan…I'm sorry...'

-

After the service was over, everyone had left but Naruto. He kneeled in front of her grave, staring at the gravestone.

"This is all my fault," he whispered, his hands digging into the ground, "If could've controlled that damn Kyuubi, you'd still be with me, and I could tell you that…that I love you, Sakura-chan…" He chuckled to himself. He was talking as if she could hear him. But he needed to get this out into the open, so he continued anyway. "I love you, past, present, and future… I swore I would protect you, and promised I would bring Sasuke back for you, and I failed….I failed you Sakura-chan," he sobbed, "And I'm sorry. I just wish I could see you again…"

He continued to let the tears roll freely down his face until he heard a voice from behind him, a voice he knew all too well. It was the voice of an angel…his angel.

He turned around and saw her standing there, her face calm and serene. He was struck absolutely breathless. Even in death, she was as gorgeous as ever. He wanted to call out to her, tell her he loved her, anything, but couldn't even open his mouth. His throat was dry and constricted with sobs.

Sakura began to walk towards him, and kneeled down to his level. Her face saddened. "I love you, Naruto…just please, wake up…" She was sobbing now, which surprised him. What did she mean wake up?

She ran her hands through his blond locks, crying softly. "I love you, Naruto…just please, wake up…" she murmured. She had heard him mumbling and his heart monitor slowly beeping, so she knew he hadn't left her. But that did not stop her from worrying about him. She had blushed when he mumbled, "I love you..." But she regained her composure and kept whispering to him, hoping he would wake up soon so she could hold him in her arms again. She gripped his hand tightly and laid her head in the crook of his neck, sobbing as she kept whispering,

"Please, wake up…"

Naruto suddenly found himself surrounded by white walls, and he felt a weight on his left shoulder. Once his vision cleared, he saw pink hair. His eyes widened.

"S-Sakura-chan?" he asked, uncertain. The girl immediately jolted up and faced him with wet green eyes. She smiled through her tears and surprised him with a hug. Without realizing it, tears fell from his eyes like tiny waterfalls. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his head in her shoulder, his tears falling on her pale skin. This caused her to pull away and face him.

"N-Naruto…you're finally awake," she said with a small smile. "Are you alright?"

She wiped his tears away, and his blue eyes widened. He had been crying? And Sakura was alive? Just where the hell was he?

"I-I'm fine," he said and examined his surroundings, "I'm in the hospital?"

"You don't remember?" she asked as she wiped away her own tears. "After the Kyuubi had taken over while you were fighting with Sasuke, he stabbed you in your gut, and everyone was so scared you wouldn't make it…" She began to cry again, "But you're awake!" she exclaimed and hugged him again.

"Sakura-chan, I…I thought you…" he mumbled. She looked at him with questioning eyes.

"Thought I what, Naruto?"

"I thought you were dead," he whispered and looked at the ground as more tears began to fall. "I guess it was all a dream…It felt so real, Sakura-chan, I thought I would never see you again…"

"Baka… I thought you were the one who was going to leave me…You've been out for two weeks straight, and I wouldn't leave to eat or shower unless either Kakashi or Tsunade was here with you incase you woke up," she admitted, looking at the ground with pink cheeks. Naruto looked at her in surprise, and she looked back at him after a few moments, and a brief silence passed between the two.

"You were that worried about me?" he asked incredulously. Her blush deepened.

"Yeah, I was…And, um, Naruto…I…I love you too." She kissed him, and after a moment's shock, he kissed back, thankful she was here, she was real, and she wasn't leaving any time soon.

There's no way I could ever kill off a character (except for Orochimaru, and depending on the circumstances, Sasuke)!! Sakura is my favorite kunoichi, and I would never ever EVER kill her off, or Naruto for that matter.

I've read a few tragedies, and they've all made me cry, so what do you think would happen if I wrote one? :P

Anyways, please review!! Hope you enjoyed!

Until next time!