Title: Closing Line
Fandom: Naruto
Pairings: None
Rating: G
Genre: Angst
Word count: 462
Spoilers: Yes, up to around chapter 420.
Summary: Naruto, Sakura, and what they have left in the wake of tragedy.
Note: I wrote this a couple months ago. Before chapter 450. And while the circumstances are the exact opposite, I AM DOING IT RIGHT, Y/N? 8DD


She's the only one who comes to greet him.

Naruto might have mistaken her for one of the still bodies, but then she's hurrying towards him, through the rubble and over the indistinguishable remnants, denying herself the need to search for others just to see if he's all right. Sakura starts at a hindered run, but quickly slows; by the time she's level with him, she has nearly come to a stop, and with heavy reluctance he finally looks up. He can tell she's already decoded his empty expression before she even sees it in full.

Naruto has to give credit to all the ninja before him – the blank slate he wears for a face is suddenly the hardest feat he's ever managed, and it only becomes heavier when Sakura releases a shuddering breath that's not without a dark tinge of sorrow. Her anxious features suddenly crack and crumble, and his own fade into a frown as her eyes well up and her body stiffens in an effort to hold it all back. He knows she knows and somehow that drives reality home all the harder, drowning out the aches of his exhausted body and the frustration at Pein escaping – what was left of him – to fight another day.

After a moment, Naruto approaches, instinctively drawn to her grief even if there are no words to say and he's not sure how to respond. Standing before her, looking down at her as she hides her face, he notes how every part of her trembles and he feels the guilt swelling to its highest point and beyond.

When Sakura suddenly closes the gap between them to hide against his chest, he's more comforted than surprised because it's a sign that she doesn't hate him for not coming soon enough. Her arms move around him and he hears her suck in a breath before she buries her face in his shoulder. It's there that she breaks. Naruto feels every sob that works through her, feels her shaking double until he's quivering along with her nearly as badly; to him it's almost like crying without tears, but worse, because he's feeling every bit of her pain as well as his own.

At some point, he becomes aware that his eyes are stinging and finally moves to return the embrace. For an instant it's somewhat awkward – not out of discomfort, but out of inexperience. The feeling quickly fades, though, and Naruto receives her in the only way he can figure how. Half a minute goes by before his own tears emerge, and another several seconds pass before he realizes.

Sakura hasn't relaxed at all by the time she speaks, and in her sorrow her voice comes out thick and trembling and miserably vulnerable.

"...Thank you... Naruto..."