What Could've Been

Chapter 36

Sasuke's sword was instantly at the attacker's throat. Sneering at the man, Sasuke pressed the side of the sword against him, causing a trickle of blood to flow down.

"Any last words, you fucker?" The man laughed out loud, turning terrified eyes to coal black ones. "Shouldn't you be more concerned about your little friend there?"

Cursing, Sasuke grabbed the guy's arm, teleporting him to another area without as many witnesses. Naruto sat in shock as he eyed the body on the floor. The knife's hilt was pressed up against his chest, piercing a hole right through his heart.

Sakura was already by his side, fingers pressed up to his wrist and emitting a faint green glow. Voice trembling, Naruto asked, "Is he?"

Sakura frowned and shook her head. "It went straight through his heart. Not sure how he managed it, since the way he jumped in front of you would have made it incredibly hard to get a clear shot."

A lone tear slid down Naruto's cheek. "No. No no no. Not again. How did this even happen? Why would you jump in front of me like that? I would've survived. I'm strong enough to withstand a blow to the heart. You- you..."

Sakura turned sad eyes toward the blonde. "Naruto..." With a soft buzzing sound, Sasuke returned to the crime scene. He glared down at the body on the floor, kneeling down and pressing a hand next to the knife.

"You idiot." Sasuke whispered. "Didn't I specifically tell you not to die?" Sasuke turned to Naruto, the gears turning in his head. He knew what he had to do. "Naruto we should arrange a funeral for him."

Naruto nodded, wearily staring at the younger blonde's body. "Alright. Yea, let's do that."

~°~

The skies were grey, matching the mood that's fallen over the crowd gathered. There weren't many people there, only the couple that knew the man when he appeared out of nowhere a while ago.

Naruto was staring solemnly at the grave, Sasuke right next to him. Sakura was a couple of yards in front of them, placing lily flowers near the edge of the stone slab sticking up out of the ground.

In the back, Tsunade and Kakashi were mutely watching the whole ordeal. Gaara stood on Naruto's other side, offering a silent comfort.

Hiding in the trees, Neji stood gazing at the crowd, eyes continuously sliding to Sasuke. A few seconds later, Sakura spoke up, the rest of the group turning their heads toward the pinkette. She smiled at the grave.

"Hello Boruto. You know, you were a good friend. I didn't know you that well, none of us really got a chance to before you..." She trailed off before quickly gathering herself together. "But you really inspired us anyway. Without you I think I might've actually married Sasuke."

She let out a light laugh at the thought. "We would probably start a family together. But it would've been a loveless marriage. Our children would have been miserable. So thank you for helping me realize Sasuke is a piece of shit that doesn't know how to communicate."

Behind her, both Sasuke and Naruto let out a snort. She grinned behind her back. "I'm right aren't I? You were prepared to marry me solely for the sake of starting a family. I deserve better, you know?" Sasuke let out a soft smile.

"Sure."

With a sigh, Sakura stood up, walking to Sasuke's side. She looped her arm around his, watching as Naruto walked up to the gravestone. The blonde slowly brought his hand up to the engraved words, silently running his hands over them.

"You shouldn't have died. I should've taken that shot. I should've taken it and survived. We may have only known each other for a little while, but you should've realised that a shot to the heart is nowhere close to enough to bring me down."