A single tail floated down and gently lifted the body. It was held with such care that it was clear, monster or not, he loved her with all his heart.
It's why his heart was aching. Crying out in pain and misery. Screaming and begging for it to be fixed, for its other half that would never beat again.
He was more than just Broken. He was Shattered. He was beyond recognition. He was no longer Sasuke Uchiha.
Instead he was a beast. A creature to rule the rest. A demon that had a vengeance. A Devil that was angry.
Sakura had her back to the crumbled wall. The K,I was too intense. She couldn't think, she couldn't breathe, she couldn't move.
Move...
Move!!...
MOVE!!!....
This was it. This was how she would die. Dammed Inner! This was all her fault!
"Sasuke!" A voice called out. The creature didn't acknowledge it. Why should it? Sasuke wasn't there... Sasuke was gone, left to float in the empty abyss called heartbreak.
Sasuke was lost.
Sakura flinched at the call, she glanced at the owner only to see Itachi staring at the beast with wide eyes.
This? This was his brother? His baby brother... "What... Happened?" He asked. This wasn't right. It was never supposed to turn out like this.
"I-I... Hinata.. sh-she..." Sakura could barely get the words out, but it was enough for the elder Uchiha to understand.
"We need to get him to the main battlefield!" Itachi relayed.
"B-but..."
"He's after you Sakura! Run!"
She didn't move.
Itachi's Sharingan powered up. "NOW!"
She was up and running. The main battle, right that's where Naruto and Haku were. If she could just get to them.
BOOOOOM!!!!
.
.
What...
Sakura found herself unable to breathe. She was looking up at the sky. How did that happen she was running a second ago. Gasping air she rolled over and coughed up copious amounts of blood.
What?
She looked up in fear.
Stood directly before her was the beast. Blood red Mangekyou Sharingans spinning so dangerously fast that she could no longer see the pattern. He was covered head to toe in a dark murky grey chakra that seemed to pulse his rage.
Anger, hatred, loathing.
BANG!
Pain... She could only feel pain as the creature slammed her into the ground creating a crater for her to be buried in.
He grabbed the back of her head and slammed her into the ground before teleporting as he pulled her back. He slammed her again into a tree, before teleporting once more to the main battle and slamming her so hard into the ground that a massive crack ran across the field, splitting the Shinobi alliance and Madara apart.
The beast gave a roar so loud, that everyone had to cover their ears.
"Oi oi oi... What is that?!" Naruto asked.
Haku on the other hand caught a glimpse of the Hyuga princess being held by one of the tails.
"I.. I think... That's Sasuke...." He muttered not wanting it to be true.
"Eh!? That's Sasuke!?" Naruto yelled out. He looked at the creature. He had seen it before, when they caught pein not so long ago. He had hoped to never see it again. "Why is he like this?"
"His tail... It's holding Hinata," Haku pointed out.
Naruto flinched at that information before looking to see for himself. It was sad to see that Haku was right, an Unconscious Hinata was being held gently in on of the Chakra tails.
BOOM!
They watched the beast slam his fists into the same spot over and over, increasing the size of the crack on the field. No one could see what he was hitting but they could only assume it was the cause of Hinata's injury.
"What... What do we do?" Naruto asked. Even Madara had stopped to watch the chaos that had ensnared the battle.
Haku ran a hand through his hair and sighed. Other Ninja chose to increase the distance between them and Sasuke. Kakashi and the others could only watch. What could they do. In this state... Who could stop him?
"So you're the holder of the ten tails... But it's incomplete..." Madara spoke up. The Chakra beast froze and slowly turned toward the Uchiha. "I shall take it from you, and complete the process."
It was silent for a moment. The beast moved away from its original target and slowly walked toward the Shinobi alliance. While everyone else prepared for a fight, Haku, Kakashi and Naruto all stepped forward.
They stood across from eachother, the broken eyes of the beast swept over the three. It held Kakashi's Gaze the least, then Naruto's but held Haku's gaze the longest.
Slowly, the Chakra tail gently placed Hinata before Haku, who understood the silent message. He lifted her body and held it close. "No one else will touch her, not until you get back,"
A loud earth shattering roar echoed across the field as some humanity returned to Sasuke's eyes. He would finish this now, while Madara was no where near full power. He charged towards the Uchiha.
Naruto took the chance to see who caused this and saw Sakura in the crater. She was covered in her own blood, limbs broken and twisted in ways they never should be. A massive hole in her stomach as she faught to breathe. She was only just surviving, but wouldn't be for long.
His eyes flicked from Sakura to Hinata. That was the only answer. Especially when he heard Haku gasp.
"What?" Naruto asked. Explosions and roars in the background.
"Hinata... She has no heartbeat," Haku relayed... Tears built up in his eyes. "She's dead..."
Looking up Haku saw Naruto glowing orange, eyes red with rage. Haku too began to glow blue, his eyes became an icy blue as they both registered this information. Sasuke's anger made sense.
Sakura had killed Hinata.
Haku handed Hinata over to Kakashi. Before he looked over at Naruto.
"We end this" His voice distorted from Isobu's Chakra.
"Right" Naruto responded. The pair disappeared and sprinted off to help Sasuke. They would end this fight.
*****
It was dark. He felt like he was floating in nothingness... This was familiar. He had died.
No... He had failed.
Madara extracted all 9 tailed beasts from him. They had been in him long enough to effect his actual Chakra flow like a normal Jinchuriki. So he died like a normal Jinchuriki.
He had failed... But... He didn't care. Not really. His plans were lost the moment Hinata stopped breathing.
What did he care what happened after. Why should he fight for the world when it took Hinata from him?
To hell with the future. He wanted Hinata.
.
.
So this is what it was like... To love as an Uchiha. To love someone so much that the very idea of living without them is incomprehensible. To love someone so much that the rage left behind from their death is so agonisingly painful that only death could release you from it.
This is what it was like to Love as an Uchiha.... What a beautifully painful thing to experience.
A light shone. Sasuke opened his souless eyes and saw Naruto standing across from him. He looked at Sasuke in shock.
"Teme?" He asked
Sasuke didn't respond. What did he care, Naruto wasn't the one he wanted to see. He wanted Hinata.
Hogoromo appeared before the two. Sasuke was sure he was speaking, he could see his mouth move but he wasn't listening. He wasn't Hinata either.
"Sasuke... Are you ready?" Hogoromo asked.
"For what?" He muttered, his voice sounded empty. There was nothing to it.
"For what!? To go back Teme! To end this war! Gramps is gonna help us!" Naruto said a gleam in his eyes. He wasn't ready to give up yet.
Sasuke stood in silence and the two watched him with caution.
"Go... Back?.." He muttered. What was back there? A dead Sakura? Haku? Itachi? Konoha? Yes those were there. Team Asuma? Team Kurenai and Gai? The sand siblings? Yes he supposed they were there too... But they weren't Hinata. None of them were Hinata, none of them could ever amount to Hinata. "No..."
Their eyes widened as they watched Sasuke turn away from them and walk further to the darkness. Yes, that's right. Hinata isn't back in the land of the living. She's here, somewhere among the darkness in the land of the dead. He could find her here, he could be happy with her here.
"Teme!? Are you really giving up!? Is that what Hinata would have wanted?" Naruto demanded.
"Hinata isn't there Naruto." Sasuke muttered. He turned to face him with a crazy look in his eyes. "She's here, in the darkness somewhere. I'll search for the rest of my existence" Sasuke said.
The two looked at the broken Uchiha with pity. Hogoromo more than anyone knew he dangers of an Uchiha falling in love.
"They will lose without you Sasuke," Hogoromo said.
"Can you bring her back?" Sasuke asked... It was so silent they could hear their ears ringing. "Well? Because that's the only way I'll return,"
Hogoromo thought for a moment. The world needed both reincarnations of Asura and Indra. Without them they would surely lose. There might be a chance... It's small, practically non existent... But... He had a feeling the Hyuga princess could do it.
"Perhaps..." Hogoromo muttered. With the wave of his hand, her figure wandered into the light from the darkness.
Sasuke didn't hesitate, he didn't even give her a moment to speak before he tackled her into a tight hug. He hid his face in her shoulder to muffle his tears. Hinata hugged him back and smiled and Naruto over his shoulder.
"Twice... That's twice you've scared me like this Hime..." Sasuke mumbled.
"I know... I am sorry..." She said. It was silent for a moment before Hinata had an idea. "I would have loved to have gone on walks in the park with you..." She started.
Sasuke tensed, he was confused for a moment, but only for a moment.
"Training with you again would have been fun, ah but I wouldn't hold back knowing you could handle it..." She continued. Then he rememberd. The words he rambled as he held her body in his arms... She was listening... "I think going to every Festival would be a bit much, but I would have loved to go to the Harvest Festival with you. I know you hate sweets, but watching you try different pastry's from the bakery would definitely put a smile on my face."
"It would?" Sasuke asked. He refused to let go.
"Absolutely. Ah, but afterwards I would cook something more savory for you, like Tomato soup, Beef Ramen or even Onigiri. Of course you'd be by my side so how could I ever be lonely with you"
"But I don't want any of it if it isn't with you," Sasuke responded.
"Which is why I would like to check something," Hogoromo finally spoke up.
Sasuke looked up but had yet to let go.
"Come here my child," he spoke to Hinata.
Hinata looked at Sasuke who slowly let her go. He kept close though. She walked over to Hogoromo and held his hand above her head before chuckling with a smile.
"I see.. so I was right," he muttered.
"Hah!? Right about what old man?" Naruto demanded.
"Asura and Indra weren't the only ones to have reincarnations. With every reincarnation there had to be a mediator. Someone to take up my place as the barrier between the two. For Asura and Indra, it was Indra's wife, a spit fire that one." He chuckled while reminiscing.
"So every Generation had one?" Sasuke asked. He had never heard of this, it didn't exist in his last life.
"Indeed, with Hashirama and Madara, it was Hashirama's wife, Mito. And with you two..." He paused before he gave a soft smile to the Hyuga who stood between the two. "It's our Hyuga Hime right here. I refer to my reincarnations as the Star. In between, the gap between the Sun and the Moon."
The trio stood in shock for a moment as his words processed...
"She's a reincarnation too?" Sasuke asked so quietly they almost couldn't hear it. "So she can come back too?" He asked, hope filled his voice as he hugged Hinata from behinedna little tighter than before.
Hogoromo nodded his head with a soft smile.
He placed his hands above them and allowed his Chakra to flow through them. They all began to glow as Chakra flowed through them, one gowed Orange, one glowed purple the last glowed blue.
Finally they vanished from sight leaving the old Otsutsuki alone in the darkness. He slowly began to fade away but a his smile never left.
"Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata... I leave the rest to you," He was gone.
______________________________________
Oh boy.
Alright next chapter is gonna have a few fight scenes and a lot of explanations because some things are about to get complex.
Yes! I skipped the Madara Vs Jinchuriki trio cus I wanted to A: be dramatic and B: not write a fight scene cus the last chapter tired me out.
Just get ready! We are FINALLY hitting the home stretch. I estimate about 3 maybe 4 more chapters before were done.
So bare with me!!! And ONCE I'm finished I'll ready back through this series and sort out the spelling mistakes, maybe fix a plot hole or 2 who knows.
I'm getting off track.
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed.
Ja ne