[Naruto AU, angst, comfort, fluff]

Sakura Uchiha... I researched her last night. She's the strongest Kunoichi in the Land of Fire, making her the strongest Kunoichi in the world. She surpassed her own master, The Fifth Hokage and one of the legendary Sanin, Lady Tsunade Senju. Some of her most popular traits: She was one of the few Kunoichi to unlock the elite ability, the Strength of the Hundred Healings Jutsu. On top of that, she was the only Kunoichi from the infamous Konoha 12 to be promoted to Jonin rank after the Fourth Great Ninja War. She has impeccable Chakra control and used that chakra control to be a Medic Ninja and started the Children's Therapy Hospital to help children who experienced the negative effects following the war. In short, she was a living legend. Until she died in childbirth, declared by the Seventh Hokage, her teammate, Naruto Uzumaki. That's the part that I now know is false, all thanks to Kakashi Hatake. Now, I'm about to go meet her, finally. Papa and Mom never said anything about it, neither of them said a word to me. But that's okay because I wouldn't have listened, anyway.

"So..."

Sarada glanced up at her Papa, " hm?"

"Sakura." Sasuke looked down at her, "she finally agreed to let me bring you to see her."

"Why?"

Sasuke pursed his lips.

"Karin?" Sasuke looked around the hideout. He felt the aura of the place change, and he knew it wasn't good. He ran to Sakura's room and found the door was already open, "Saku--"

The moment he ran in, Karin was frantically gathering medicines and syringes.

"S-Sasuke..." Karin muttered as tears threatened their escape, "Sakura, sh-she..."

She didn't have to finish her sentence.

Sasuke ran to Sakura's side and pressed his fingers to her neck.

"She still has a pulse, but it's really weak..." Karin started an IV on Sakura's forearm.

"I see that." Sasuke muttered as he moved his hand onto her unmoving stomach, where the body's chakra center is located, "do you think you can give her some chakra?"

"Got it." Karin's arm trembled as she brought it up to Sakura's mouth.

Sasuke gritted his teeth as his hand slowly started to glow purple, the color of his chakra, "come on, Sakura..." As they continued, he glanced up at Karin, "whether she likes it or not, I'm bringing Sarada tomorrow. She has to see her, her time is just about up."

"It's far too complicated for you to understand." Sasuke's voice cracked as he shut his eyes.

"Papa..." Sarada started.

"I know..." Sasuke smiled sadly as he wiped his eyes.

She's never really seen me cry before... Sasuke chuckled to himself, "we're here."

Finally. Sarada inhaled, then slowly exhaled as they continued through the same hideout that Sarada had followed Sasuke through the other day. Sasuke paused for a few seconds after he set his hand on the door handle. He glanced down at her, then opened the door. The light of the lamp next to the bed streamed out of the doorway into the dark hallway. Sarada squinted a little and followed Sasuke in.

"Sakura."

"S-Sasuke?"

"Hey, yeah, it's me. How are you feeling?"

"I don't even know... Heh..."

"You're okay."

Even though Sarada couldn't see her, she could clearly see the love in this short yet simple conversation. Nothing like she'd ever heard before.

"This..." Sasuke stepped aside to let Sarada see her, "this is Sarada."

Seeing Sakura up close, Sarada was amazed by her beauty. Her eyes were a vibrant green, and complemented by her soft, pink hair, she looked like a goddess.

"S-Sara..." Sakura covered her mouth as tears streamed down her cheeks, "is that really..."

"Uh-huh..." Sarada walked up closer to the bed, "you're my... Mama, right? Sakura Uchiha, the living legend?"

"Heh..." She wiped her eyes on the back of her frail hand, "so, I suppose Papa has told you a little bit about me."

"No, I found it all on my own." Sarada chuckled.

Sakura laughed as she cried even more, smiling at Sasuke, who smiled sadly back at her. She reached her hand out and set it on Sarada's shoulder, "you've grown so much... You're thirteen now, aren't you?"

"Yeah." Sarada smiled. She felt an odd familiarity with this woman, even though this is her first time talking to her. Her touch was like a warm hug she remembered from so long ago. Then she reminded herself that she had business to take care of, "so why? Why'd you, Papa, and Mom do what you did?"

"I suppose..." Sakura chuckled, "I started this, I have no choice but to do the explaining." She patted the empty space on her bed next to her, and Sarada sat next to her, "I gained this ability, the Strength of the Hundred Healings Jutsu. It's an amazing ability that helps thousands, but it's also very dangerous. If I overuse more chakra than I actually have and exert myself, it can hurt me in the long-run. That happened to me, so I wound up in this weak state of constantly being drained of Chakra. When I gave birth to you, that was probably the most Chakra I've used since the war. After that, I slipped into a deep coma, and all my Chakra channels were shot. Karin, your Mom now, she and your Papa helped me, and when I woke up, I knew that my time was short, and what Lady Tsunade told me was true. My lifespan was shortened significantly, so..." Sakura paused, inhaling deeply to avoid crying, "I decided that if you grew up with a different mom, you wouldn't have to suffer the loss of your real mom, and the transition wouldn't have been difficult."

"But..." Sarada pursed her lips, "what would happen after you died and I found out Mom wasn't really my mom, and that I could never meet my real mom? That wouldn't..."

"I know. I hadn't completely thought it through, just like during the war. It was just an act-on-instinct type of thing, you know?" Sakura chuckled weakly, "shanaroo, look what happened because of my poor planning. Your trust in all your parents is weakened, and you did meet me after all."

"But." Sarada smiled, "I'm glad I did... Otherwise, I would never have known I was the daughter of a legend and I would never have seen how happy Papa could really be."

Sakura grinned, grabbed Sarada tight in a hug, then squealed happily, "oh, it makes me so happy to see you so grown up! Last I saw you, you were crawling on all fours crying 'Mama' and 'Papa'! Oh, Sarada! You're so cute!"

"Ack, M-Mama, you're squishing me..." Sarada murmured.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Sakura laughed as she wiped her eyes, "you're so beautiful... You look just like your Papa..."

"And your Mama." Sasuke smiled as he walked over to sit on the bed next to them, "I'm sorry to both of you. I should've just stopped all this the moment I had the chance, which was every day."

"I know... me too. I'm sorry, too." Sakura sighed as she wrapped her arms carefully around Sarada and hugged her to her chest, "but now... I just don't want to leave either of you... See what you've done, Sasuke?"

"That's okay." Sasuke murmured as he hugged Sakura, "because we're never leaving you."

When Sarada heard those words, she froze. It felt like a weight in her chest fell all the way down to her stomach. Suddenly, tears streamed down her face when the realization hit her.

"Sarada?" Sakura pulled away a bit, "are you okay?"

"I..." Sarada cried, and soon her small cries turned to sobs, "I finally got to meet the woman I've looked up to for days and... To find out she's my biological mother, you have to leave me again..."

Sakura pursed her lips as she hugged her again, stroking her hair, "I know... This is what I wanted to avoid, but... I'm getting better, I swear. I'll be here a little while longer, okay? I'm not going anywhere."

Sarada glanced up at her, "Promise?"

Sakura hesitated, then managed a smile and nodded in response, "Promise."

________________________________

Later that day, Karin stopped by to check on Sakura and to take Sarada back home.

As they left, Sasuke shut the door behind him and sat with Sakura on her bed, "Sakura..."

"Sasuke."

"Don't make promises you can't keep."

"You should never have brought her here..."

"I had to." Sasuke gazed at her, "she would've felt even worse if she'd never met you and learned that Karin wasn't really her mom. She may have turned out no better than me."

He's right... Sakura pursed her lips, "I hate when you're always right, you know that?"

"Hn." Sasuke wound his arm around her and pulled her to lean against him. They sat in silence, listening to the sound of their even breaths until Sakura's breath started in short, spiccato inhales, "what are you thinking right now?"

Sakura shut her eyes as she sobbed into Sasuke's chest, gripping the cloth of his shirt, "I don't... I don't want to leave you or Naruto... Karin, Kakashi-Sensei, I don't want to leave this world just yet... I don't want to leave Sarada like this, Sasuke... I don't..." She paused, "I'm scared... I don't want to die."

Sasuke pursed his lips and shut his eyes, "I'm scared too... But no matter what happens, I'll be right here, okay? You don't have to be scared."

"I..." She breathed, "I go to sleep every night, now, scared that I could never wake up the next morning to make breakfast for you and Sarada, to hear you play or train with her, or to hear her say 'Shanaroo' the way I always do... I wanted to be the one to approve her boyfriend and to watch her grow up as we grow old together but still love each other more than we love anything else in this world... S-Sasuke, I..."

The room was silent except for Sakura's sobs and Sasuke's heavy, beating heart.

"Sasuke, I'm scared... I'm terrified..."

"Well, don't be." He pulled her close, "because I'm right here, and I'll be here forever. I won't ever leave you."

"But... Sarada..."

There was a pang in Sasuke's chest, "go to sleep. You need to conserve your energy."

Sakura was hesitant at first, but his deep breaths soon lulled her to sleep.

I'm probably even more scared than you, Sakura... Sasuke stroked her hair as he tried to stay awake to watch her, but he was soon overtaken and he joined her in deep slumber.

Until tomorrow... Please wake up tomorrow... I need you, Sakura. Sarada and I... We need you.

---

Written by xX_Fang_Xx

Stay tuned for the next and final part of Legends. 

I so appreciate all of your guys' support! Your comments of motivation make me so happy and motivate me to write even more! This is the longest One-Shot series I've written in my life, and so far, it's one of my favorites, too. It really pulled at my heart-strings and made me cry (seems I write a lot of depressing stuff... Haha oops) but hey, you all like it, and I'm so glad you do! Thanks for all your support, and make sure to tune in next time for the finale! Will Sakura wake up the next morning? We'll just have to see, I guess!

Love you all! 

Author-chan, xX_Fang_Xx

PS: Here's a song that really made me cry. Try listening to these Nightcore versions of Ed Sheeran's Perfect cover by Tyler Ward and Lisa Cimorelli (the bestttt) or Who Am I To Stand In Your Way by Chestersee and read these OneShots again. Made me cry oceans of sadness and depression. Trust me. 😅

https://youtu.be/-OrSGBiiNpM

https://youtu.be/hHSUWD6K_ro