Author's Note: Oh My God I'm so sorry!! It's been like two months since I last posted anything or updated…But, I have a reason! My keyboard completely crapped out on me, and my mom only just bought me a new one today. So, I accessed my files and will begin new chapters for Even Angels Fall and French Braid tonight.
In the mean time, this is an old one-shot I wrote a billion years ago. It's definently not my best work, but it isn't to horrible. So, enjoy, people who actually care if I post anything.
Disclaimer: I do Not Own Naruto.
"I just don't understand why, how could you do this?"
My name is Uzumaki Naruto.
"I can't take it any…more…"
I'm alone.
"Sakura, please, hold on! Don't let go!" hot tears burned at his sapphire eyes as he held her in his arms, her bleeding wrist in his hand.
Why am I alone?
"I'm sorry Naruto…I…can't do this anymore…" she whispered, her life was fading. "I…I just can't live…without…"
Oh, right. I'm alone because of him, because of…
"…Sasuke…"
"Please, stay with me, I'll make everything better, don't let him do this to you!" his shoulders were shaking as he tried desperately to keep his hold on her wrist. His fingers were slipping. "Don't leave me here! Don't do this, Sakura! Don't let go! God damn it!" He was crying.
"I…I'm so sorry…I'm sorry…I'm…unh, a coward," she let her own tears fall in sync with his.
It's because of him that everything that matters to me,
"S-Sakura?" he asked. Her faint pulse had trickled away into nothing. "No…" he whimpered.
Is gone.
"SAKURA!"
"We gather here today in honor of a kunoichi named Haruno Sakura…"
I wasn't listening to her. Tsunade was not what I was thinking about.
There was only one thought on my mind, something I just couldn't get my head around, she was gone. That beautiful girl, that perfect, pink-haired angel, was gone, dead. How was that even possible? Angels can't die. She'd been the brightest light in my life until that light was shut off.
I couldn't let this go without some kind of punishment.
"Naruto-kun," it was Hinata, or at least I think it was her. I wasn't really paying attention. "I'm so, s-so sorry, about S-Sakura-chan,"
I didn't respond.
"I, I know sh-she was y-your best f-friend, I w-was close w-with her to…and…I-I'll miss her to…"
Again, I didn't respond, didn't even bother to look at the owner of the voice. Why should I have cared what she felt? I didn't need the burden of other people's misery. I didn't need the burden of my guilt, something that would be made worse if I accepted anyone else's feelings. All that mattered were my own.
"It's a shame, she was so young, barely seventeen." The voice of a village citizen went in one ear and out the other. Why were they even there? They didn't know her, not like I did.
"I'm, s-so sorry, Naruto-kun,"
"Keep your pity, and keep your misery, I don't want it, I don't need your feelings weighing me down." I glared coldly ahead of me, looking right through her. I turned on my heel and looked at the skies behind me.
I could vaguely hear Kiba mumbling comforting words to her. He loved her, and he'd pay for it. I paid for it.
"…We'll miss you, Haruno Sakura," Tsunade finished her speech. There was a handful of whimpers, and a handful of sobs.
What were they crying about, none of them knew her. Not any of them at all. It made me sick, that they were there. All of those people who had no business being there at all.
"Naruto," Kakashi.
What was he going to say to me? I couldn't help but let out a dark laugh under my breath. "What, Hatake?"
I could see he was taken aback, hurt by my harsh tone. "Naruto, I'm sorry, I know you loved her, I did to, I loved her like she was my kid sister or something. Heh,"
"What do I care how you felt about her? You weren't there. You couldn't have loved her that much. You were probably off reading one of your disgusting books." My face twisted into a look of pure hatred and anger. "While I watched her die,"
"Naruto, I know you're upset, but you have no right-"
"Upset? You have no idea how miserable this is!" I only barely managed to keep my voice from echoing throughout the city.
"I lost my teammates to, Naruto. They were my friends, just like Sakura was yours,"
"My friend? You no nothing about me, or her," My heart was fire. There was a splash as I took off running. I couldn't stand any more of it. No more pity, no more guilt, no more, no more!
My feet carried me forward. I showed no sign of ever stopping. I could hear Kakashi calling after me, but he didn't follow. He probably thought I would just go home and cry on my bed. Blow off some steam, be fine by morning.
He made the same assumption with Sasuke, and look what happened to him.
Sasuke.
The reason she was gone. The thought of him made my insides boil. I felt like I was going to explode. At that moment I made a decision. A sharp right and the gates of Konoha came into view.
I ran for them.
"SASUKE!" I roared. A crash of lightening answered me. Lightening, as though he were responding to my cry, god himself fired a chidori.
This jutsu would change me forever.
Maybe, maybe if it had missed, maybe if god had missed his target, I wouldn't be like this.
The wrath of the heavens crashed into me. I could feel myself burning. My skin was melting, my body lifting up into the air, and my head. Oh god, my head.
It felt like someone was ripping it in two with their bare hands. With that, my mind became fixated, altered, focused on one thing.
I had to kill him.
It was the only thing I thought about, the only thing I would think about. I had to make it right.
I had to kill Sasuke.
I had never had any idea what it felt like, the desire to kill, holding that desire above everything else in my world. I had to kill him, the man who used to be my best friend. I had to kill him for Sakura.
I had to kill Uchiha Sasuke.
After two months, retrieval missions were rapidly turning into assassination attempts. Every search party that came out after me, trying to bring me home, none of them ever succeeded, in fact, they themselves never made it back.
I was clad only in my boxers as I dove into the cold river waters.
Tsunade must have begun seeing me as a threat. After all, I'd even killed a few people who had, at one time, been my closest friends. Kiba had met a particularly gruesome end.
I said before, that he would pay for his love of Hinata, and he did. I made sure of that.
I'd made him watch when I killed her, and then, I slit his wrists. Only after making him look at her dead eyes through his own teary ones.
Even while killing the people who were trying to save me, I never thought about what I was doing. I only thought about him. Thought about how I had to destroy him. Make him pay.
I had to kill Sasuke.
I had to kill him and set things right. I had to kill him for someone.
I had to kill Uchiha Sasuke.
A year passed. Kakashi had come after me by that point. We'd fought. He'd tried to save me. He said he needed to save me from myself. I couldn't understand why.
I was unable to kill him, however, he was to strong for me to handle.
A little longer, if I'd stayed, he might have been able to save me.
But no, I couldn't stay. I had to kill him. I had to kill someone.
I had to kill Sasuke.
I had to kill him for a reason.
I had to kill Uchiha Sasuke.
Two years passed since I left the village. The flow of attempts made on my life had slowed. They had almost given up.
One more group, one that held in its ranks that boy who'd once looked up to me. Konohamaru, I think was his name. I killed him without a second thought. The look on his face was one of disappointment. Disappointment that the man he'd so loved and idolized, had sunk into such a state.
It was while I was cutting his wrists, that the motivation that had kept me going those passed two years finally came into sight. He looked at me, uncertainty behind his eyes. The sight he saw was me, wearing blood stained, torn, old clothing, slitting the wrists of a fully conscious boy. One whom I had cared for since he had known me.
When Konohamaru finally died, I turned to the Uchiha. I had to kill him.
"Where have you been, Sasuke?" I asked, my eyes, I could feel them as they conveyed the hatred that made the blood in my veins boil. "I've been looking for you for a long time,"
He did not answer.
"Sasuke, who is that?" asked his silver-haired companion. He, much like the other two, looked utterly horrified at what I was doing.
"Naruto," the three of them gasped. No doubt, he had portrayed me to them as a bubbly idiot. "Where's Sakura?" he almost looked worried as though I had done something to her.
"You know, I don't even remember," I continued to look into his eyes, reading every emotion he tried so hard to hide.
"Did you do something to her?" he asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"Sasuke, he isn't at all the way you described him," the silver haired swordsman commented. It made me laugh.
"What, happened to you?" Sasuke asked. I growled.
"I can't even remember, Sasuke," I had to kill him. "All I remember is that I am meant to kill you."
"Why," he questioned me. My voice was hoarse, and my face was stained, covered with the blood of those I'd killed over time.
"I," I had to kill him. "I don't remember," I launched myself at him, fist outstretched. Blinded by hate, by the goal I'd been so set on for so long.
I had to kill him.
"Naruto," he blocked my blow, his companion's tried to assist him. "No, I'll fight him myself,"
I let out a cold, blood thirsty laugh. I threw attacks of all kinds at the Uchiha, a flash of rage just waiting for the final blow.
A few quick, invisible hand signs, and lightning, his chidori, engulfed his hand. He slammed it into my chest, but not hard enough to kill me.
At that moment, I could feel myself burning. My skin was melting, my body lifting up into the air, and my head. Oh god, my head.
It felt like someone was ripping it in two with their bare hands. With that, my mind split. I remembered.
"What happened to you, where is Sakura?" he asked.
I had to kill Sasuke.
"S-Sakura," sobs racked my body as he held me down with his hand on my chest.
I had to kill Uchiha Sasuke. But, why?
"Sakura, oh god," I felt hot tears clear tracks down my bloodied cheeks.
I had to do it for her. For Sakura.
"Where is she?" he asked again, his voice a little frantic.
"You killed her, she, she slit her wrist because of you," I had become so intent with killing the cause of her sadness, her depression, her death, that I'd forgotten why I wanted him dead.
"She did what?" his eyes widened.
"I just don't understand why, how could you do this?"
My name is Uzumaki Naruto.
"She killed herself, she, she just…"
"I can't take it any…more…"
"She just what?" he asked, blinking his eyes to hold back what I suspected were tears.
I'm alone.
"Sakura, please, hold on! Don't let go!" hot tears burned at his sapphire eyes as he held her in his arms, her bleeding wrist in his hand.
"She let go, Sasuke, she let go, but, I couldn't let her go,"
Why am I alone?
"I'm sorry Naruto…I…can't do this anymore…" she whispered, her life was fading. "I…I just can't live…without…"
"Why? Why did she let go?" he was slowly realizing that his conquest for revenge…
"Because of you!" I cried hoarsely.
Oh, right. I'm alone because of him, because of…
"…Sasuke…"
"Please, stay with me, I'll make everything better, don't let him do this to you!" his shoulders were shaking as he tried desperately to keep his hold on her wrist. His fingers were slipping. "Don't leave me here! Don't do this, Sakura! Don't let go! God damn it!" He was crying.
"I…I'm so sorry…I'm sorry…I'm…unh, a coward," she let her own tears fall in sync with his.
Is what destroyed her. "No," he closed his eyes.
It's because of him that everything that matters to me,
"S-Sakura?" he asked. Her faint pulse had trickled away into nothing. "No…" he whimpered.
"She killed herself, because she couldn't live without…I wasn't enough…you…"
"No!"
Is gone.
"SAKURA!"