Author's note: Just to prove that I'm not actually dead, I decided to write a dark oneshot for Halloween. This is outside my normal style, so don't expect a lot of humor and a fluffy ending. This story involves character death and angst, so you've been warned.
Fox Magic may have to go on a short hiatus while I defeat my antimuse, but I'll try to keep writing oneshots and the like until I find my stride again. Hope you guys won't forget about me.
Enjoy, and Happy Halloween.
Blood seeped into the thirsting ground beneath his soiled boots as he ran, breath harsh in the crisp autumn air. The sounds of death echoing about him didn't bother Sasuke; he'd grown used to it during his misplaced time in the Sound. No, something else made his heart race and breath chill in his lungs as he hurried across the battlefield.
The dobe...
After his return to Konoha, only the irrepressible determination (and whining) of the blond ninja had allowed Sasuke to sidestep the death penalty. Why the man should have given a damn, Sasuke had no clue. After all, he'd tried to kill Naruto several times during his defection.
Naruto didn't care.
Sasuke's foot slipped in a pile of entrails, nearly toppling the man as he hurried to the far end of the field. A pulsating mob of enemy ninjas swarmed about his brightly colored comrade, and even though Sasuke tried to reassure himself that the dobe would be fine...his heart spoke differently. A harsh wind swirled about his ears mockingly, speaking briefly of loss before moving on. Clenching his fists, he ignored the sensation and pressed forward.
He had to make it in time. He simply had to.
No other outcome of this battle could make sense. Though the enemies from Sound had ambushed a fully unprepared Konoha, there was little doubt that the Leaf would win. After all, they'd grown over the years, and a band of misfits couldn't overtake centuries of time-tested strategy and skill. The death of an individual, however...
Inconceivable. At least for him.
As expected, a loud, guttural cry rang up from the center of the swarm, and several Sound ninja flew off the blond with a great blast of energy. Red chakra from the Kyuubi whipped about the blond man's stocky form, and slitted eyes briefly caught on Sasuke's concerned gaze. Naruto smirked.
I'll win this.
Unbidden, a gentle smirk quirked the right side of his mouth upwards. Throughout time and trial, the dobe's attitude hadn't changed. He'd always had full confidence that Sasuke would return, despite the fact that everyone—Sasuke included—had told him that he was insane. Again, Naruto didn't care.
And, in the end, he was right. Naruto had promised himself that he'd see the lone Uchiha's return, and Uzumaki Naruto never broke his promises. Ever.
As Sasuke approached, several more Sound ninja fell before the dobe's enhanced strength. It seemed as though the universe would continue to uphold Naruto's unspoken declaration.
Then the world stopped.
Even the haunting, howling wind gave pause as those ferocious red eyes widened in surprise. Time slowed to the pace of sludge as Kyuubi's red chakra drained from Naruto's eyes, fading to their natural blue. The blond man opened his mouth and coughed, blood frothing upon his lips as, lower, it meandered down from the hole torn through his chest. After a moment, the pillar of chakra and metal retreated from the dobe's body.
Naruto gazed at Sasuke, his eyes disbelieving.
And then he fell.
In the moments that followed, Sasuke couldn't be sure if the howling he heard came from his own throat or the wind as it hurtled past him. He threw himself forward, arms crackling with energy as he tore through the Sound ninja who had dared to hurt his comrade. The other enemies scattered, distracted by the abrupt presence of other Konoha ninja.
Hands shaking involuntarily, Sasuke fell to his knees beside his friend and gingerly turned him face up. Naruto grimaced.
"Never thought...that would...happen," the blond murmured. Another cough caught him, tossing blood and spittle through the air. Sasuke trembled, clasping the other man's form and drawing him into his chest. Naruto coughed again, then drew in a frighteningly raspy, watery breath.
His left hand sinking into the yellow tresses, Sasuke brought Naruto's face near and pressed his cheek against the whiskered one of his friend. Ice filled his veins as he squeezed his eyes shut.
"You hold on, damn you," he whispered roughly. "Medic ninja should be nearby. Just hold on."
It took a moment for Sasuke to recognize the shaking of his friend's form as laughter. After another raspy breath, a voice spoke into his ear.
"And here I thought...you've been biding your time...until I bit...the dust."
Still joking. He was always joking.
"And you're going to indulge me now?" Sasuke's voice shook, fear and anger causing him to tighten his grip on the dying man. "You've never listened to a word I've said, usuratonkachi. Why start now?"
Naruto called no attention to the desperation in Sasuke's voice. Instead, he lifted a hand and placed it on the avenger's shoulder, patting him as he would a little child.
"Sasuke-teme...you idiot. I've listened to...everything...you've said."
The Uchiha refused to acknowledge the freezing trails upon his cheeks as tears. Teeth clenching, he shook the wounded man. When Naruto winced, he freed one blood-soaked hand to clench the blond's chin and wrench it towards him.
The fading light in those blue eyes frightened him.
Now shaking violently, Sasuke glared into those dying eyes.
"Don't you dare leave me alone here, usuratonkachi!" The wind howled as Sasuke shouted at Naruto's unfocused expression. "I don't care if you think it's your fucking time to go!" In desperation, he shook the man again. Naruto coughed.
"S...asuke..."
"You can't go!" Voice raw, Sasuke continued shaking the man, unconsciously trying to wring just a few more drops of life out of him. "Why do you think I came back here? Why do you think I've given up on hunting down my brother? Who do you think made me believe that life was worth living? WHO? WHO, DAMN YOU, WHO?"
Despite the glassiness of Naruto's cerulean gaze, the blond managed to smile at him.
"Am I...so...important...after...all?"
Sasuke had to lean even closer to catch those words, determined as the bitter wind was to steal them. A noise not unlike a sob wrenched itself from his chest. He drew the blond close again, leaving only enough space to peer into his friend's eyes.
"Of course," Sasuke whispered harshly. "You're the only reason I..."
When he trailed off, Naruto simply lowered his eyelids affectionately. "Still...can't say it...can you?"
Sasuke's breath came in sharp pants as he tried to control himself. His hands clenched about the blond hard enough to bruise. Eyes closing, he permitted the next bit of moisture leaving his eyes to be considered tears.
"Don't leave me, Naruto. I can't do this alone." He gasped in a shuddering breath. "Promise me. Promise me you won't leave."
Those blue eyes shone with doubt. "Sasuke..."
"PROMISE ME!" Sobbing openly with pain and frustration, Sasuke screamed at his friend. "It's your fucking way of the ninja, isn't it? PROMISE ME YOU WON'T LEAVE!"
Men and women were still dying, children were still fighting, and blood was still being spilt around them, but silence seemed to settle upon the pair. With great effort, Naruto lifted a hand to Sasuke's cheek.
He smiled.
"I promise, Sasuke. I'll never leave you."
As Sasuke continued to sob, Naruto's hand fell away from his cheek and fell limply to the ground. The last bit of life spilled from those blue eyes, leaving nothing behind. With a wrenching cry, Uchiha Sasuke clenched the blond to his chest and buried his face in the blond hair, no longer caring about the fight or those struggling for survival.
Uzumaki Naruto was gone.
The funeral was a small, quiet affair. Many were sad, more were ecstatic. Despite decrees by the grieving Hokage, no one could fully put a stop to the celebrations going on behind closed doors at the death of the bane of the village's existence. Sasuke hated them all.
Hair shielding his face from peering eyes, Sasuke sat towards the back of the small gathering and listened to people wax nostalgic on the vibrant youth they were about to bury. He hated them, too. A scowl marred his unnaturally pale face. What did any of them know about Naruto? What did they really care, when it came down to it? No one, NO ONE shared a bond with him like Sasuke did, and he'd be DAMNED if he listened to them for one more minute. Interrupting the speaker, the Uchiha leapt to his feet and stormed over to the urn surrounded by flowers. As the gathering grew silent, Sasuke glared down into the pinched, laughing eyes of the picture set in front of the urn.
"...Liar..."
Fists clenching at his sides, Sasuke bit the inside of his cheek until blood flooded his mouth. "You lied to me. You said...you said you'd never leave me," he whispered. "You promised."
When no answer came forth, Sasuke brushed his fingers briefly against the grinning likeness of his friend. A chill settled about his shoulders, so brief as to be immediately dismissed. Tightening his black parka about him, Sasuke turned his back on the urn.
"Goodbye, usuratonkachi."
As he walked away, the laughing blue eyes in the picture gazed after him.
Steady knocking on his door drew the soon-to-be-irate Uchiha out of his slumber. Shifting upon his uncomfortable couch, he knocked over a beer bottle as he gingerly lifted his head and glared at the door. Who the hell is it?
When the knocking refused to cease, Sasuke grudgingly rose to his feet and staggered towards it. A forbidding scowl on his face, he opened the door and winced at the blast of cold air the action brought into his apartment. Sakura stood before him, breath condensing in the winter air as she drew her thick down coat closer to her.
"I was beginning to think you wouldn't answer, Sasuke-kun," she stated quietly, a small smile on her face. The Uchiha growled.
"Why the hell are you bothering me?"
The weak smile faded from her pretty cheeks, and Sakura's eyes filled with that damnable pity she and the other ninja insisted upon spearing him with. Sasuke had half a mind to slam the door in her face, but he feared that said half was still curled up in the bottles littering his floor. Without being invited, Sakura pressed her way past him to enter the apartment. Sighing, Sasuke closed his door.
The pink-haired woman took a look around and shook her head. "Sasuke-kun, this...this isn't healthy, you know. He wouldn't want..." Her voice cracked in her throat, and she bowed her head. Instinctively, Sasuke bristled. "...He wouldn't want you to live like this. Naruto would want you to move on, to be happy aga—"
"And what would you know of it?" The vicious cut of his voice stopped Sakura mid-stream, and Sasuke took a tightly controlled step forward. "Don't you dare speak of him to me."
With shoulders that didn't seem to know whether to curl in or brace themselves, Sakura looked up into his eyes.
"I was his friend, too, Sasuke-kun."
Unbidden, Sasuke's eyes flashed over into the Sharingan. Growling, he stormed over to his door and wrenched it open. He glared at her.
"Get out."
"Sasuke-kun—"
"GET OUT!"
Even she knew when not to press the avenger. Sakura hurried to the doorway, but before she passed through it, she spoke softly to him.
"How happy do you think he'd be if you wasted away?"
Sasuke slammed the door behind her.
Anger broiling in his heart, Sasuke cursed darkly and made his way over to the kitchen sink. Turning on the tap, he flooded his hands and splashed his face with cold water. It didn't help. The pain was still there.
He'd grown used to the pain, or so Sasuke liked to think. Over the three months since Naruto's death, Sasuke had positively wallowed in it, surfacing only to make sure that no well-wishers from the village decided to give him "professional help." Uchiha Sasuke wasn't crazy. He was in mourning.
It wasn't his fault if people couldn't tell the difference.
Holding his hands to his face, Sasuke squeezed his eyes tightly shut. The familiar ache of losing the only person in this world who understood him throbbed comfortingly in his chest. After all, wasn't he entitled to grieve properly? Maybe the villagers didn't think that holding on to the loss was healthy, but it felt right to him, soothing and constant as the water flowing beneath a frozen river. They had no right to judge—
The tap turned off.
After a long moment of silence, Sasuke lifted his face from his dripping hands and stared blearily at the sink. The water had nearly reached the edge, threatening to spill over with the addition of a single drop. Frowning, Sasuke shifted his eyes to the tap. It seemed normal.
Sighing, Sasuke straightened and walked away from the sink. The occurrence was only one of a string of strange events that followed the Uchiha ever since the funeral. Occasionally, Sasuke would reach for his cup only to find it on the opposite side of the table, even when he'd taken a sip from it only moments before. He'd find his toothbrush waiting for him on the edge of the sink as he prepared for bed, even though he knew that he'd left it in the medicine cabinet. All strange, but then, with his mind swimming in alcohol and hangovers as it usually was, Sasuke wouldn't put it past himself to not realize that he'd done all of these things.
Even so, the events were almost...comforting, in a way. It was almost like not being alone.
Scowling to himself, Sasuke pulled another beer from the fridge and yanked the top off.
Get over it, Uchiha, he sternly told himself. You'll always be alone. He lied.
The tap turned on again.
Pausing only for a brief second, Sasuke left his unloved kitchen to its water-damaged fate and stalked back over to his couch. Three minutes later, he passed out again, the bottle dangling from his fingertips.
The tap turned off.
"For the last time, I don'tneed you to babysit me!" Sasuke snarled at the trio in front of him. It was only the next day from when Sakura harassed him, and all he wanted was to replenish his dwindling liquor supply and go home.
Unfortunately, Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji were determined to keep that from happening. The three formed a barricade between him and the liquor section of the supermarket, and they all had varying degrees of defiance written on their faces. Even Shikamaru, the man who could barely be called on to care for anything, looked worried. Sasuke sighed, running an irritated hand through his hair.
"What will it take to get you three to go away?" he asked wearily. Ino stepped forward, placing a hand on the avenger's shoulder. She frowned when he flinched away from her touch.
"Why don't you come out with us for a bit, Sasuke? We're all having a little get-together tonight, just to relax." When her suggestion was met with a black scowl, she gave him a hard look of her own. "We're worried about you, Sasuke. You need to get out of that apartment for more than thirty seconds and live!"
Sasuke was infuriated. "What I do with my time is none of your—"
"Technically, it is our business, Uchiha," Shikamaru surprisingly cut in. "We often have to go on missions with you, and if you continue to degrade physically, you'll only be a burden on everyone."
"What he means is that...well..." Chouji trailed off at the venomous look in Sasuke's bloodshot eyes. Shaking her head, Ino stepped in again.
"Let me put it this way, Sasuke. Either you come to the party, or we'll get an order from Tsunade-sama to place you under supervision." She placed a hand on his arm and hung on, concern floating in her pale eyes. "It's for the best, Sasuke-kun. Really."
A low growl worked its way up from Sasuke's chest, but he tamped down on it. He had no doubts that the woman would follow through on her threat. In her own way, she was nearly as stubborn as—
"I'll go."
Glaring at their relieved faces, Sasuke abandoned his quest for alcohol and stormed out of the store. Villagers flinched away from his murderous expression.
"...Don't know why he's so upset about that little monster, anyway."
Sasuke had to force himself to keep moving as the whispers caught up with him. Rage roiled in his belly.
"...a good thing it's gone..."
"Look how unstable he is. With no clan to kill off, what if he turns on us?"
That last comment made Sasuke stop walking. Though he tried not to, he found himself turning to face the villager who dared to say something so deliberately antagonistic. His eyes alighted upon the defiant, distrusting gaze of the villager.
As focused as they were on each other, neither saw the sign next to the villager topple dangerously. With a deafening crash, it knocked the startled man down. Sasuke started in surprise.
"My leg! My leg!"
"Oh my god! Someone go get help!"
Minor pandemonium ensued as the trapped man wailed in pain. Sasuke couldn't blame him—the sign was rather heavily made, and for all of that weight to have landed on his leg... Eyebrows furrowing, he stared at the broad, broken base of the wooden sign.
That shouldn't have tipped over.
Sasuke was abruptly aware of how cold he was, standing in the snow-lined street. Shivering, he wrapped his arms about himself and headed home. The screams in the background followed him.
It shouldn't have tipped over. That base was strong, and there was no wind. That man shouldn't have gotten hurt.
His shivers no longer had anything to do with the cold.
Well, that was fully as unpleasant as I thought it would be, Sasuke thought crossly as he stamped the snow off his feet. Shucking his shoes, he stepped up into his apartment and began peeling off his gloves and coat. They should all just leave me alone!
At the little "get-together" of Ino's, Sasuke had suffered through petty gossip and uninteresting stories about the difficulties of leading their own groups of genins. Kiba, Hinata, and Sakura had joined in, involved as they were with the younger generation of Konoha residents. The Uchiha couldn't care less. He'd simply scowled and drank the entire night away, further rendering himself incapable of caring. It was a fitting cycle.
When the conversation had steered to Naruto, however, he drew the line. Ignoring their protests, Sasuke had bundled up and walked out the door. What should he care if they missed the blond man? None of them truly appreciated him, anyway.
At that moment, a sensation not unlike a pair of frozen hands clasping his shoulders startled him out of his thoughts. Gasping, Sasuke stumbled away from where he'd been fuming and bumped into a wall. A picture frame was jarred loose, and the crash it made with the floor resonated throughout the empty apartment.
Heart pounding, Sasuke rubbed his shoulders and glanced around. Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary, but...this time, he was sure that he had felt something.
He wasn't alone.
Unsettled, Sasuke moved through his darkened apartment and turned all of the lights on. A quick survey of each room confirmed that no one was present, but...god, he couldn't shake it. He knew he wasn't alone. Even though no one was there.
Breathing shakily, he stumbled into the bathroom and turned on the faucet. Maybe I'm hallucinating. True, I thought I'd sobered up during the walk through the snow to get home, but maybe I'm not. He sighed, wetting a hand towel and dabbing his cheeks with it. No one's in the room, Uchiha. Get a grip.
Then he looked up.
And screamed.
Really, it was bad form when all of the friends you'd just ditched came bursting through the door when you made a little noise. Even if they do find you pale and trembling in your bathtub while you stare at the mirror, it only proves that they were following you. Sasuke simply couldn't abide by that.
And he'd be able to tell them so, the minute his heart started beating again.
His mind swimming, Sasuke ignored their grabbing hands and attempts to get his attention as he stared at the guileless mirror. Swallowing hard, he valiantly attempted to convince himself that he hadn't seen what he thought he did in that mirror, but his brain wasn't having it.
For a split second, Naruto had been staring back at him.
He'd looked just as Sasuke remembered. Unruly yellow hair, whiskered cheeks, vibrant blue eyes. There were only two problems. One, he'd been precisely where Sasuke's own reflection should have been, and two...
Naruto was DEAD.
At that thought, Sasuke scrambled out of the bathtub and dashed to the mirror, clenching his sink with white-knuckled fingers as he stared into it. Nothing but his unkempt, haunted reflection looked back at him. Sasuke's knees gave out, and he would have hit his head on the edge of the sink had several pairs of hands not reached out to grab him. The avenger continued to ignore them, his body shaking.
I know what I saw. He was there. Looking right at me! He was there! Only vaguely aware that he was hyperventilating, Sasuke took the bag one of his friends thrust at him and breathed into it obediently. As he calmed, he chanced another glance at the mirror. No Naruto.
...Maybe he was going crazy.
Shaken by the thought, Sasuke lowered the bag and took a deep breath. His gaze focused on Sakura first, if only because she was the one kneeling directly in front of him. Swallowing with difficulty, he attempted to speak.
"Maybe I should be getting out more."
The group fell silent at his admission. After a moment, Sakura smiled encouragingly.
"That's the spirit, Sasuke-kun. I'm sure Naruto would be proud."
As the others gave him similar sentiments, Sasuke's eyes flinched to the mirror once more. His tormented black eyes stared back.
The following weeks began to get a bit more normal for him. Sasuke allowed his friends to drag him out almost every day, and in return, they let him pretend that nothing was amiss.
Everyone ignored the issue of Sasuke's questionable sanity.
Sighing, Sasuke rubbed his arms as, beside him, Ino prattled on about her flower shop. It was currently her turn to spend time with the stoic Uchiha heir, and though he knew he wasn't good company, he felt marginally grateful to her for accompanying him. At the very least, it took his mind off...him.
"...So I had to convince her that it was actually a funereal bouquet, and that she really shouldn't give it to her sick friend in the hospital," Ino finished. The blonde woman smiled. "These tourists. Honestly."
Sasuke grunted in reply, eyes scanning the storefronts as they passed. As his eyes alighted upon one store in particular, Sasuke drew to a stop. Ino paused beside him, glancing at the display in the window.
"Hmm? So they've come out with a new type of kunai?" She drew closer, peering down at the expensive set. Whistling, she straightened and glanced at him. "Do you want to go inside?"
Sasuke hesitated. He hadn't really been training all that much since...his death, preferring to handle D-level missions to pass the time when he wasn't shitfaced. In all honesty, he really should get himself back into shape. Frowning thoughtfully, he started to push open the door to the store.
Maybe if I train, it will help me forget about—
Before he could finish his thought, something invisible shoved him, hard. Gasping, he stumbled and fell backwards into the street. Ino screamed.
"Sasuke! Look out!"
By reflex alone, Sasuke threw himself to his right—and narrowly missed getting trampled by a loose horse, its reins dragging on the ground. A few seconds later, the owner ran past with a desperate and angry expression on his face. Sasuke watched them from his position on the muddy ground, feeling rattled. He slowly climbed to his feet.
Ino was by his side within seconds, patting him down to check for injuries. "Sasuke-kun, are you alright?"
He brushed her off with shaking hands. "I'm fine. Let's just go."
As he turned to leave with a protesting Ino, Sasuke thought he saw a pair of angry red eyes glaring at him from the store doorway. When he glanced fully at it, however, no one was there.
Heart pounding, Sasuke hurried away.
Sasuke had grown jumpy. The gentle but sudden sounds of icicles breaking gave him a start, and he clenched his teeth in frustration. Huddling down into his overstuffed parka—also black—Sasuke waited while Sakura tied a wind chime to the eave over Sasuke's apartment. Naturally, he hadn't asked her to bother, but at some point she'd decided that his apartment needed cleaning, and this was her final touch. The chime clicked softly in the light breeze as she released it.
"There!" she declared triumphantly. "Now you're officially not a slob."
"And how, exactly, does this have anything to do with it?" he questioned dryly. She grinned at him.
"It's a symbol, dummy. You're now so aware of life that you've given your apartment a homey touch!"
"You gave it a 'homey touch.'"
"It's the point that counts. Now then, shall we get some hot chocolate?"
Sasuke sighed. "I don't have any."
Apparently, that didn't bother Sakura in the least by the way she simply grabbed his hand and began to drag him away from the building. She began humming to herself as they walked, and she glanced at him with warmth in her green eyes.
"I can't tell you how happy I am that you've started to move on, Sasuke-kun. I know you miss Naruto—heck, we all do—but you were really starting to get obsessed. We worried about you."
Sasuke grunted in reply, but the fine hairs on the back of his neck stood on end the moment she mentioned the dead blond's name. His heart started pounding, unbidden, with each step they took.
"You kept going on about how he'd lied. If you don't mind my asking," I do. "—what did he lie about?"
The Uchiha was about to tell her to mind her own business when he froze in his tracks, eyes wide and face paling. A pair of frozen arms had wound themselves about his waist, clutching him tightly. As he began to shake, he felt the arms shift, and a cold body pressed against him from behind. A soft, icy breath ruffled the hair by his ear.
"Sasuke-kun?"
Sasuke could feel the warmth of his body being leeched out of him, leaving him shaking uncontrollably. An invisible finger began to trace words upon his chest, cutting easily through the thick down jacket.
"I'll..."
"Sasuke-kun? Sasuke-kun, what's wrong?"
"...never..."
The Uchiha's legs began to give out, and he was only vaguely aware of Sakura screaming at him.
"...leave..."
The world began to spin.
"...you."
Sasuke blacked out.
Blood everywhere. It clawed at him, tried to pull him under, tried to drown him in its crimson depths. He struggled valiantly, trying desperately to reach those blue eyes before him. He wanted to be saved! He didn't want to die!
DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE!
"NARUTO!"
Gasping, Sasuke found himself sitting upright on his couch, chest heaving and sweat rolling down his face. His fingers clenched on the blanket that had been draped upon him, desperately fighting the panic that still clawed at his throat. Sakura materialized before him, holding a cup of steaming tea before her worried eyes.
"Sasuke-kun! Thank goodness you're awake. What happened out there? You just collapsed—"
"Naruto! Naruto was here!" Sasuke struggled frantically out of the blanket, for once uncaring of how he sounded. "The dobe touched me, and he told me...he told me—!"
"Sasuke-kun, calm down! It was a dream!" The cup of tea had been set down, and small, feminine hands were clutching at his chest. Sasuke batted them away and clasped her shoulders, staring down at her with wild eyes.
"It wasn't a dream!" he insisted passionately. "He was here! He—he stood right behind me, and he told me that he wasn't going to leave me!"
"Sasuke-kun!"
"He didn't lie!"
"Sasuke-kun, you're hurting me! Let go!"
Somehow, those words penetrated the fog in his mind, and he released the crushing grip he had on the pink-haired woman's shoulders. She skittered away from him, watching him with fearful eyes.
"Y-you're not well, Sasuke-kun," she stated in a trembling voice. "I-I'm going to get Tsunade-sama, and—"
"NO!" Taking a deep breath, Sasuke ran a shaking hand through his hair. "N-no. I... You don't need to get her. I'm sorry."
Glancing up, he took in her terrified expression and winced. He sank wearily back onto the couch. After a long moment, she began to approach him.
"You...you need help, Sasuke-kun. I thought you were starting to let go of Naruto, but..."
She trailed off, well aware that both of them knew the end of that sentence. Forcing his trembling hands to subside, he looked up at her. He knew what he felt, what had happened, but he wasn't going to let her put him away in a mental institution.
So he lied.
"Sakura, I'm sorry. You're right...I was dreaming." He made a show of rubbing his eyes wearily. "For a second, I honestly thought he was here, but...you're right. He's not."
As a cautiously relieved expression settled upon Sakura's face, a translucent, cold hand closed about his shoulder and squeezed warningly. Sasuke smiled weakly.
"I'll talk to Tsunade if you want me to," he continued, and the cold hand disappeared. "But it really was just a dream."
Slowly, the last remnants of fear left her eyes. "If you're sure, Sasuke-kun..."
"I'm sure. I'll go see her tomorrow."
Biting her lip, Sakura nodded. "All right, Sasuke-kun. Will you be ok here by yourself?"
Smirking faintly, he cocked his head. "Of course."
After a few more moments, the pink-haired woman gathered up her jacket, said something inane, and finally walked out the door. Sasuke leaned back against the couch, letting his eyes fall shut.
Why did you do it?
"Because you tried to forget about me."
Isn't that what they say dead people want?
"When I'm stuck with your ass for eternity? Fuck no."
You nearly killed me, you know.
"So? I already told you, I'll never leave you. I wanted you with me."
Ah. I see.
Tsunade was upset when Sasuke handed her his resignation the next day. She tried to argue with him, babbling on about how it's not what Naruto would have wanted. Sasuke didn't give a flying fuck what she thought. He knew the truth.
He didn't care when he ran into Ino on the way home, and she told him that she'd had a strong talking-to with the little boy who'd bowled him over that day in front of the store. He didn't care when he passed that injured villager on his crutches, who was being compensated by the store owner, who had let the base of his sign rot through. He just didn't care.
Because Naruto hadn't lied to him.
Now, as he sat beside his frosted window in his dark, locked apartment, he smiled. Naruto stood next to him, running fingers cold as death through Sasuke's hair. The sensation was comforting, and Sasuke found himself leaning into the touch. Without a word, Naruto handed him the knife Sasuke had asked for.
"Are you sure?" he murmured. "Either way, I told you that I'd stay by your side."
Sasuke gave him a dry look. "And have you lord that particular favor over me for the rest of my natural life? Forget it. I'm not going to sit here and age while you stay fit as a fiddle."
"I'm dead, Sasuke."
"So? It's the principle of the thing. Now shut up and let me do this."
Sighing, Naruto resumed petting Sasuke's head. Both were silent as the blade ran down the underside of his forearm, watching as the blood welled up and pooled on the chair and floor. As Sasuke repeated the action with difficulty on his other arm, Naruto spoke.
"I'm sorry if I scared you, by the way."
Sasuke smiled. "It's all right. I'll just have to kick your ass on the other side."
"Hah. You wish."
Life dripped steadily out of Sasuke's body, allowing the reassuring cold of death to take its place. Letting his eyes close, Sasuke once more leaned into the touch of his friend. His hair was ruffled affectionately, and Naruto knelt beside him to whisper in his ear.
As he died, cold continued to seep into the room from the crack in the window, the slight breeze ruffling his raven locks. The knife clattered to the floor.
"I'll never leave you."