Chapter One: At Death's Door

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters. This story is for entertainment purposes only.

Warning: This story contains spoilers, I tried to keep it as close to the storyline as I could. It stops being cannon around manga chapter 626. This story contains violence, blood, language, some suggestive themes. It is rated high Teen.

Pairing: MinatoXSakura

Hello Everyone one,

So I finally gathered the courage to post my first multi-chapter story. I'm really excited about this one and I hope that I'll be hearing from you by the end of it.

Please enjoy and review. Let me know what you think!

~ L.H.

Chapter One: At Death's Door

She was dying.

It was ironic really, that despite her growing reputation of being able to heal unthinkable wounds - wounds that even the great Tsunade could not heal - that she could not heal her own. Her extensive medical knowledge was useless to her now, all those hours spent studying and mastering difficult jutsu after jutsu could do her no service.

She knew that she only had herself to blame for her current predicament. How many times had Tsunade ingrained it in her brain that a medic must know their limitations? How many times had Naruto and Kakashi-sensei reprimanded her for going too far?

But Sakura was a compassionate person by nature for she'd rather bite off her own arm than turn away a patient in need. This trait had led to her downfall. She had healed past her capabilities again. She literally had drained every ounce of her chakra and as if to further illustrate that point, her Yin-Seal pulsed weakly before the lilac diamond faded into her skin.

Her enemy was able to get a jump on her because she had been a walking corpse. She had left the medic tents with blurred vision and exhaustion that seemed to be part of her DNA. She could barely tell up from down at that point. She had not been paying attention to her surroundings; she had been careless and very, very stupid. She was quite vulnerable and the effort her assailant had to put in was minuscule. It was pathetic, his hand had pierced through her chest before she had even thought to fight back.

The bastard was cocky, he'd left her alive. 'I guess he figured that I wasn't worth the effort.' Sakura thought dryly. This war had taken so much from her. In five years she had seen more shinobi die than she would have ever imagined. It had hardened her. The war had made her numb to her surroundings. She found herself becoming increasingly detached from reality the further it stretched on. She had been running on auto-pilot for nearly four years now. The last five years of her life were filled with pain, loss, fatigue, and enough heartache to last three lifetimes. Just when it looked like the Alliance had gained the edge the enemy would strike back. And each time they decisively struck down momentum and morale.

War forced her to grow up. She had to abandon her childish ideals that Naruto on his own could fix everything. She was forced to realize that despite his bravado, confidence, determination, and endless amounts of energy he was human. Naruto bled, felt pain, fatigued just like the rest of them. His burden was even worse than hers and it was beyond her comprehension how that boy had managed to pick himself up and return stronger each and every time. She admired his resolve and his stubborn refusal to never give up. It was because of him that she forced her tired, wiry bones out of her sleeping bag day in and day out.

She faintly registered the metallic taste in her mouth and that caused her to scrunch her nose in disgust. 'Blood'. Her body felt so heavy and her own limbs felt foreign. 'It won't take long. I should bleed out in three minutes or so'. She felt surprisingly calm. She was a shinobi though, she had made peace with dying at a young age. Everyone knew that even legendary shinobi did not make it far in life. The Forth was considered one of the best shinobi to ever have come into existence and even he did not get to see his thirtieth birthday. Sakura knew that she was nowhere near his league so she considered herself lucky to have lived to twenty-one, it was quite an accomplishment really. Her only regret was that she would not see the blond knucklehead become Hokage. Her heart gave a sudden lurch as the blond dominated her thoughts.

A wry smile crossed her bloody lips as she continued to peer at the sky through her half-laden eyes. The clouds were gray, almost black. It would rain soon and soon her blood would be washed from her frame. 'Three broken ribs, a punctured lung, mild concussion, and ripped open chest cavity… It's a miracle that I'm still breathing.'

It was comforting to know that she was still alive despite everything life had thrown at her. She was not bitter or hysterical in fact, she felt that this was the best way to go. She would join her friends, mentors, and loved ones soon. Neji, Choji, Lee, Sasuke, Tsunade, Kakashi, Anko, Yamato, Ino, and Temari were all waiting for her. Their deaths were devastating for Konoha, the war effort, and most importantly Naruto. 'He'll never forgive me.' She sighed wetly before a bubble of blood escaped her mouth. She was drowning in her own blood. It was poetic in a sense; the thing that kept her alive for so long was now killing her.

She was glad that she was dying alone. She did not want to see their tear-filled eyes looking at her with pity. She did not want their heartbroken faces to be the last things she saw. No, dying alone was easier, quieter, and less messy. She had time to reflect on her life and her friendships. She would die with their smiling faces in her memory. Her blood continued to flow out of her at an alarming rate. Sakura was thankful that her neurons were too overwhelmed to feel pain because she could imagine how unbearable it would have been. She continued to smile fondly at the sky before she heard faint footsteps. She closed her eyes in frustration, she wanted to be alone but she forced herself to turn her head to her right. She found herself looking right at a pair of white sandals.

"I'm dying," she managed to croak out in a hoarse voice. It surprised her that her statement did nothing to her. She felt nothing. 'Kami, I'm tired of being so numb.'

"Indeed. You've lost a lot of blood, little flower." A soothing feminine voice said. The sound of her vocals filled Sakura with peace. She grunted as she turned her head back towards the sky. Her blurry, unfocused eyes made contact with beautiful gold orbs. Sakura's shallow breath hitched. She must be hallucinating from blood loss because before her was a sight that was too beautiful, too regal, and too damn perfect to be in the midst of the chaos that was the Fourth Shinobi War. Before her stood a woman dressed in expensive white silk, the bottom of her dress was soaking up Sakura's black and crimson blood.

"It's a shame", Sakura thought sadly. The woman followed Sakura's gaze and raised an elegant eyebrow, clearly, her priorities had amused the woman. It hurt to look at her, she was so bright. The only objects that were not washed out in white were her gold eyes, pink lips, and three green markings on her forehead. A circle about the size of Sakura's own seal was flanked on each side by a smaller circle. Sakura found herself drawn to the markings. They were beautiful and she could sense that they contained immense power. The dying woman repressed a shudder and lowered her gaze back down to the woman's eyes. They filled her with unexplained warmth.

"Who -" Sakura's question was cut off by a violent cough and more blood. The woman's long white braid fluttered as she bent over to inspect the fallen kunoichi closely. Her gold eyes studied her with calculated precision.

"Dear Flower, you do not have much strength left. It seems your end is nearing." She looked at Sakura with little emotion. Once again Sakura found it hard to focus on the woman. It seemed like she was radiating white light, it was blinding but Sakura could not find the strength to look away.

Her jade eyes were losing their glow, their fire, and her skin was becoming increasingly pale. "Child, I need you to focus." The woman's features suddenly became harsher as her tone shifted to authoritative. Sakura blinked and strained her eyes and ears in an effort to obey. She did not know what was going on but she felt drawn to this woman, drawn to her light. "It is not your time to go yet. The Gods have sent me to lend you my power. You need to change the course of events. This destruction," she made a sweeping gesture to the battleground, "is not what they envisioned. They have high hopes for humanity. And you have not lived up to your potential. You still have many people to help dear Flower and you must help them." Her gaze became soft as she gently pushed a pink lock from Sakura's face. Her touch had sent a bolt of electricity down Sakura's spine. She could feel the energy that was being emitted by this woman.

Sakura licked her crusted lips and furrowed her brow. "W-what?" She whispered in confusion. The woman looked at her coolly before pressing a fair index finger to Sakura's forehead.

"Hush now child. I need to focus. I will lend you my power but be warned it will not be pleasant. You will not die today Haruno Sakura. You must fulfill your potential."

Before Sakura could utter a sound in protest she felt searing pain in her forehead. The spot that the woman had touched burned beyond belief. If Sakura could she would have screamed in agony but she could only let out a whimper, her eyes rolled back in her sockets and her body convulsed briefly before she became still. On her forehead, a lilac diamond shone intensely and two smaller green circles joined it, one on each side of her yin-seal.

The woman had passed out from the pain so she failed to notice that the battlefield had faded completely and that she was within the training grounds of her home. Her seal had been released and the Creation Rebirth technique was taking effect. Black spirals covered her body as she began to heal what would have been fatal injuries. She also failed to notice that the woman who had been by her side had erupted into ash.

The first few chapters will be shorter because they set the stage for the story. Until next time.