Ok... my second fanfic, my first FINISHED one. Let's see how it goes... please read, rate, and review.

PS- If you love Sasuke and seriously don't want him to... get... 'hurt'... why did you click on this? Nevermind.

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Long Live the Memories

Keruseya Natsuki

A robin sang a sweet little song as the midday sun struck eerie shadows upon a very old and long abondoned building. Vines had crept up and over the greying walls of an estate that had once belonged to a wealthy, thriving clan that was now almost no more.

Uchiha Sasuke stared up grimly at his former home, dark eyes even duller than usual. Nine years to this day had it happened. He hadn't been innocent -nor happy- since. The man who had caused him all his grief was now gone. The pain remained, though, and on this day every year grew deeper than ever before. His brother would have done him a favor by killing him along with the rest. Sasuke felt angered that he had been left; he felt pained to have actually known why.

Sub-consciously, he took a step towards the massive, now fully-shadowed building he had called home. Then another step, and another, until he stood underneath the great stone archway that bore the Uchiha Clan crest- a red and white fan. He reached out to the left with a hand and brushed his hand lightly against the familiar stones, only to be engulfed in hot tears and painful memories as he pulled his hand away.

He closed his eyes and tilted his head upwards towards the azure-blue sky. He felt like dying. In all of his seventeen years he no longer felt a need -or reason- to keep living. He had never truly felt purpose. He had nothing to look forward to. He had never truly loved. He had no goals- except for Itachi's death, of course, but the was over and done. In frustration he wiped away the salty wetness on his cheeks and returned to putting one foot in front of the other.

Arriving in the entrance hall, he looked around. Despite the arrival of dust and vines, it was all as he had last saw it. That, he remembered, had been the day of the grand Uchiha burial. Of course, he had been the only live Uchiha present.

His eyes of burnt coal scanned the long forgotton room, taking in all the new and old detail. The middle of the room held a spiral staircase, with a small cabinet underneath the base for support as well as decoration. The day after the funeral -when he was eight- he tried to commit suicide with a kunai hidden in a drawer in that cabinet. He hadn't got further than cutting his wrists once. That, he had hid with his wristbands until the scar had vanished. The blood stained kunai was probably still there.

Once again Sasuke wanted to see more. He ran to the old stone steps, and took them two at at time as he did in his youth. He came face to face with the hall where to him it had all begun. Legs shaking and breath quickening as he remembered the terror, he walked past the first bedroom. That one, he knew, had belonged to the head of the clan- Sasuke's great-grandfather. He soon passed his aunt's room, and his grandparents, and many others that he hadn't known as well. When he came to it, he glanced into his parents room, eyes once again filled with grief. He knew what was coming next.

Dashing to the next door, he ran in and collapsed on his childhood bed. Tears ran freely down his cheeks now; no attempt was made to wipe them away. Rolling his raven-haired head to the side, he half-heartedly glared at the other side of the room that had been his Itachi's. His blurred black eyes glanced over the almost unfamiliar walls, covered with pictures of forgotten ninjas and the two boys' friends. His memories returned in waves, and he was unable to hold any of them back.

Sobbing like the child he had been on the day everyone had been murdered by his brother, he buried his head back into the long-unused pillow. He didn't feel any kind of comfort from it as he did so long ago. Now, the ruffled feathers inside the light covering did nothing for him.

Sasuke felt numb. The scars felt like they had been re-opened, and dug even deeper with a sharper knife. He finally understood. His mind was unhealable. He himself was the lost hope. Sasuke knew that his spirit had already died long ago, leaving him in what appeared to the world to be a hollow, lifeless, unsociable shell. No, he hadn't yet died in body; anyone could see that physical agony had no effect in this matter. His mind was gone. His body would surely follow.

Within seconds, he made up his mind.

Fumbling with the lock to the drawer of his bedside table, he smiled through the mental pain and tears. This would end it. The drawer slid open, and Sasuke's pale hand wrapped around his childhood prized posession: a kunai embedded with the Uchiha fan symbol.

He began to laugh with his nervousness and slight fear; something he hadn't done for many years. He knew that he was acting strange for this situation, at a time like this, but he was happy. He'd see them all again, soon.

With a quick fluent motion, he took a deep breath, brought the lethal weapon down and plunged it swiftly into his own heart.

The pain hadn't come right away. But when it did, it came hard, fast, and brutally shook the boy's entire frame. His fists clenched as he tried to push away all the pain, and when it was over he saw whiteness. Was he dead? Was this it? Was this where he would be able to restart his life from the last happy point he remembered?

He felt the red liquid begin to trickle from the corners of his mouth. No. He wasn't dead just yet. He smiled with the pain, and swore he'd hold that small smile 'til he was gone. A second wave of pain tore through every nerve in his body, making him convulse and emit small noises. He wished that to be the last of it. He realised his wish was granted as his view slowly blackened.

'So this is it...' Sasuke thought, the ability to think allowing him one final thought. 'Long live the memories...' he convulsed one last time, his mouth widening in agony before settling back into that long little smile. His sight had blackened by the time he had let go his final breath. The smile had never left his lips.

oOo

The body of a yound boy was found, days later, draped across a small bed on the second level of the abandoned old Uchiha Estate. The scene was exceptionally peaceful. The dead teen's features were caught in a final painful smile.

Even people Sasuke Uchiha himself hadn't known had attented the funeral of the last Uchiha member. The great clan was no more. Where he now lay, grass softly sprung, and flowers began to bloom in new colours. A robin landed atop his polished headstone, right outside the building where the teen had spent his final moments. Sasuke now rested beside his clan. The robin sang of new beginnings. The stone itself read this:

Here lies Uchiha Sasuke.

Final ninja of the Uchiha.

He died in mind and body alike.

A new life awaits you.

The robin ended its song on a lower note, de-ruffled its feathers, and lifted itself upon its wings to soar into the awaiting azure-blue sky.

End

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A heh... heh... how was it? I hope I put in enough detail. I wrote this at 11pm on a wednesday night... forgive me if its... unbearable. Anyways, it's only my second fanfiction. Please read, rate and review... and possible send to friends? Sorry if anybody is mad me for killing off Sasuke... I was in an angsty mood yesterday... heh heh...