SasuSaku Month 2016

Day 1- Necromancer

Title: Immortal Beloved

Summary: AU- Sasuke is known around the town as the illusionist. His shows are a mystery that involve drama, love and death.

A/N: It's finally here! The best month of the year for us, SasuSaku fans! I was so anxious for this day, and now it's finally arrived. Happy SasuSaku Month, everyone! Well, about the story… This one is based on a movie that I'm sure you guys have already watched. When I read the theme, I just couldn't get that scene out of my mind, and I knew I had to use it! I hope you enjoy this and please, leave me your Reviews! Let the month begin!

.

.

.

.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! What you are about to witness will blow your minds! This, I promise, won't be a simple trick like many others! Magic will trap you in a world where a man can sever the line between life and death! I present you, the great Uchiha Sasuke!"

A curtain of smoke spread around the stage as the audience remained focused on the man dressed in formal clothes who stood at the center of the attentions. His hair was as dark as the night, and his eyes dared to be even darker than that, holding absolutely no emotion at that very moment. He was tall and handsome like a high-class man, and it was possible to see a certain elegance in every step he took. Uchiha Sasuke is certainly a man who draws attention. And those qualities, his agent knew, definitely made him one of the best showman in that village trapped in the beginning of the eighteenth century. He had the trust of rich men, the sympathy of older women, and all of that helped attract the attention and the money of naive, single girls. Those who just saw him as a fine looking, young prize to be shown around and please that hypocrite society in which they live in.

What a bunch of boring girls.

The dim light that illuminated the theatre allowed him a superficial view of the people who had come that night to see him. As he had expected, the number of empty chairs had risen since the last show, and consequently, the amount of money he would receive would also suffer a considerable decay. Money. That was what all these people were for him, in the same way he was just an entertainer for them. They completed each other in the most shallow of the ways, using one another for their own selfish purposes. Those people didn't care about his shows anymore. Maybe they did, at first, when the whole idea was still new and everything was still a mystery worth being solved. Maybe they cared for him, at first, but now, Sasuke could see the boredom in their faces. Show after show, he could see that people didn't really want to be there.

Perhaps communicating with the dead had grown boring to the ignorant population of that filthy town.

What a boring audience.

Well, it was not like he cared about it anymore. As long as he could use the theatre to make his real powers pass unseen by the ones who would condemn him to death; and get enough money to buy himself a drink or two, he would be fine.

As long as he could see her night after night, he would survive.

And so, without saying a single word to the people watching him, the Uchiha started to prepare for his number. To the ones who still believed in his artistic aura, the lack of words was a part of the whole mystery thing of being a necromancer. They still believed in that boy's compromise with his art, but he knew that such thing had disappeared a long time ago. He knew that the true reason behind his choice of not saying anything was simply because he was tired of repeating the same thing over and over again. Sasuke just wanted to perform his number and send those people home. He wanted to let his magic happen, not mattering if that would please people or not.

He couldn't care less about what they thought about his show or about him, for it was not like he cared about them. The audience was just there to pay his taxes, and that alone was already too damn annoying for him.

If only he could get himself rid of all those people, then he would be able to be alone with his number.

He would be able to be alone with her.

But that is not how life goes. And for that, Sasuke had to bear those strangers around every night when he had the chance to talk to her.

When he could finally hear her voice.

After turning his back to the people watching, the Uchiha headed towards the only object keeping him company on the stage. It was a small chair he had probably found forgotten in a dark alley, and at that moment, was the only thing he really cared about in the whole theatre. When he finally settled down, Sasuke took one deep breath, slowly releasing the air, as his dark eyes were focused on the empty spot in front of him. He lifted his hand, and soon, the whole atmosphere became denser.

The show was about to begin.

As his hand started to tremble, the temperature around dropped considerably, and it suddenly became hard to breath. Fear started to envelop people's souls and Sasuke could feel all those hearts beating faster at each passing second. His audience was afraid of what was about to happen, and he could see some people leaving the theatre in a hurry. They were afraid of the dead.

But how could they be afraid of her?

Slowly, the spot in front of him wasn't that empty anymore. There was a blur floating around, and as the seconds went by, it only became taller and clearer. The blur was now a little shorter than Sasuke himself, and it was starting to become more concrete. It was starting to look like a human, with arms, legs and a head, when fingers also started to appear, and a light beige was coloring that entity's skin. Its chest grew bigger, showing everyone the first evidence that the one ahead of them was a girl. A delicate girl, whose cheeks grew red as an apple and whose cream dress covered her arms up until her pulse, marking her thin waist and down her legs, not daring to expose a single inch of skin.

Not daring to reveal a single inch of that soft, angelical skin of hers.

Finally, her face started to get shaped as the woman who had once walked among the living ones. Her characteristics started to appear, along the unique diamond-shaped mark on her forehead and the short, pink locks that fell above her shoulders. The body of a young, beautiful girl was now standing in front of the shocked audience, who remained in a deafening silence until the girl made the first move, revealing her two emeralds to the world she had once disappeared from.

What a tragedy to shut such stunning eyes.

As the girl was now observing each one of those who had come to see her, her expression remained peaceful and unaltered. The people did their best to avoid eye contact in fear those eyes could do something to them. They were afraid of that beautiful woman ahead of them simply because she was dead. A woman that had been taken away from that world, and mainly, from the one sitting on that small chair.

A dead woman that held the heart of a living man.

While the frightened audience was still speechless observing the girl with pink hair, the illusionist that had brought her back held an entirely different expression in his eyes as he watched her from behind. With both of his hands now resting over his lap, Sasuke eyed her from head to toe with all the sadness of the world resting in his eyes. Eyes those that have smiled countless times at the same, divine view, but were now just filled with an eternal sorrow. Eyes that used to be so full of life, but that now have died of a painful loneliness caused by a broken heart.

His eyes died on the same night she closed hers.

They have died along his one, true love.

And now, every night she returned, all he could think of was how hard it was to live in a world where he couldn't see her all the time. A world where they couldn't be alone, and where his eyes could see past that whole tragedy. A world where they were together in the most intimate ways, and he didn't have to see her wearing that stupid dress that was covering her cold body that rests inside a coffin.

A world where his beloved was still alive.

Oh, and what a beautiful world that was.

It was only when her eyes stopped wandering around that his attention was all set on her face. Slowly, she turned to face him, and as soon as their eyes met, the girl with pink hair offered him the most tender of the smiles. Sasuke knew she felt the same way he did, for apart from their hearts, their feelings were also connected by the enchantment he used. He could feel her pain just like she could feel his, and to anyone paying attention to the show, watching the silent love confessions of that young couple was just heartbreaking, even if they believed it to be a trick. The sorrow in those eyes was real, and the love in their unsaid words was eternal. They are the couple which was separated by death. And that was their tragedy.

After tears unshed and unaltered heartbeats, the girl remembered her job as a spiritual guest, and at her slight nod, they both knew they had no time for their own moment. There were people watching them, and it was time to give them a good show. Even if that was the most painful part of the number, they both knew it had to be done.

Taking another deep breath, the Uchiha remained in his place, as she started to soundlessly walk around the stage. He closed his eyes for a moment, waiting for her voice to come out to repeat the same words she did every night. He was waiting for her to start. And as expected, she did.

" Good evening, ladies and gentlemen." She started, looking inside every single eye of the audience. " The story I'm about to tell you is the story I buried in my heart on the day I died. Some of you may think it's a tragedy, a drama or even a horror story, but… I like to think of it as a love story…. This is the story of the day I was murdered."

At the sound of the last word that escaped her mouth, the whole audience allowed a shocked intervention to escape their lips, and fill the air with indignation. At that moment, they were about to become accomplices of a dead girl. They were about to learn about a real murderer and learn the name of a real assassin.

Were they ready for that?

Of course not, but that was a part of the show. It was not like that single information would change their mediocre life, Sasuke thought. He was the only one who would forever be haunted by the man who took away her life. Those evil eyes and that dirty smirk will never leave his thoughts even if this same man already rests underneath 7 feet of dirt. The Uchiha made sure to avenge his beloved wife, but as he had feared, killing that man didn't help him heal at all. It didn't make days easier without her, and it certainly didn't bring her back to life. That assassin had won, in the end. And his hands will forever be stained in the impure blood.

The girl, then, went on and on with her words. She described the man who had impaled her with a blade, focusing, as always, on his red hair and his dark, bloody red eyes that made her last moments on earth a dying hell. She explained that her husband and herself were returning from a trip to Suna, and said how happy she was on the day of her death. At that moment, tears were rolling down from all women on the theatre, as if to show the ghost of that girl a bit of compassion. They truly felt sorry for her, but feeling sorry for the dead is useless. Feeling sorry won't change anything.

And as the people around were still entertained by the rosette's voice, the Uchiha knew that the biggest lie of his show was about to be told. He could feel his heart clenching inside his chest, and at that moment, the girl, feeling that pain, turned to him and offered him her most sincere love. More than anyone, she knew how hard it was for him to hear that part, for he considered her words to be a useless attempt on making him feel less guilty about her death. He knew her words were just her heart trying to help him move on, and indeed, he was right. She wanted him to move on, but she would never dare lie to him in order to do so. She never lied to him in life, and now that she was dead, things wouldn't be different.

" Even if you all may think my life was a tragedy, I assure you…" She closed her eyes for an instance, looking at him once again. " My life was perfect while it lasted. I loved and I was loved by the one man who gave me everything I've ever needed. He gave me it all… And for that, I'm thankful to him. My only regret is not being able to give him all the things he has given me… For that, I'm sorry, my love."

That painful smile on her face was just too annoying for the illusionist.

How could she be apologizing while he was the one who remained alive?

How could she have any regrets when he was the one who took it all from her?

How could she thank him for letting her go alone?

He didn't deserve that. He didn't deserve her or her posthumous words. He didn't deserve her love, but she gave it all to him anyway. All the love, all the laughter and all the years they've spent together were the gifts he carried in his empty life without her. And for that, even if it hurt, he was thankful.

In a blink of an eye, the show was over. People applauded the duo, and as if nothing had really happened, they all followed their merry way home. The theatre was empty, and they were the only ones left. Sasuke was still sitting on his chair, and the girl was carefully paying attention to the theatre around her. She liked to do such things so she would never really forget how the living world looked liked. For someone who was dead, there weren't many things she could do once the magic faded.

And it was almost time for it to happen.

" Sasuke-kun, look… " She said, pointing towards the said chair. "Sitting on that chair, there was a girl who was really paying attention to the show. I guess she was hopping we opened up for questions." The pinkette smiled childishly, turning to her living husband in an attempt to cheer him up. She knew that by the time the show was over, his energies were drained and he could collapse at any moment. She knew how tiring it was for him to bring her back every night, and for that, she wanted those few moments they spent together to make him feel at ease.

" If you say so… But would you be okay with that?" He looked at her, his eyes tired and his lips displayed in a thin line. She could tell he was a little lighter than during the show, but there was still something bothering him more than in any other night. Perhaps he was just tired, she thought, but deep inside, she knew there was more. However, the dead don't ask questions that the living ones don't want to answer. And for that, she didn't say anything.

" Well… If it's okay with you, I don't mind."

" Hn… Maybe we can try…"

" Okay…"

The Uchiha took one deep breath and the girl knew that her time with him was almost over. Not wasting any more second, she made her way towards him, kneeling down so their eyes were on the same level. She loved to look at his beautiful pearls, and waking up next to them was probably the one thing she missed the most. She offered him a shy smile, and pressed her intangible forehead against his. Her eyes shut down for a second, and at that moment, he could swear he could feel the warmth of her body pressed against his. It was like he could feel the air from her nose tickling his arm, and her inebriating scent filling his nostrils. It was as if he could feel her there with him.

But that was just exhaustion kicking in, he knew.

Oh, what a bitch.

" Sasuke-kun… You can let go, it's okay…" Her voice was serene, and there was a shy smile still ruling her rosy lips.

" What?" He looked at her with a shocked expression, feeling a wave of indignation taking over his senses.

Did he really hear what he thought he heard?

" Move away from Konoha. Leave everything behind… Leave me behind." She looked at him again, with her emeralds filled with pain and sorrow. His wife knew that such words would hurt him, but she also knew that her presence alone could hurt him too. She wanted him to live again instead of being stuck with a dead girl.

She wanted him to live the life she lost.

But convincing him of such thing would just a waste of her time.

" Are you insane?" He lifted his head a little, still holding that same, stubborn expression. " I can't do this."

" Yes, you can… You need to rest. You need to move on."

" Stop saying such nonsenses."

" Bu-"

" I'm not leaving you behind!" His voice rose, causing the girl's mouth to go agape. " I love you, no matter what. I'm just tired of those shows, but I'll be okay… You're here with me."

" Am I?" The tone of her voice was now matching his, and instead of backing off, the girl leaned forward so she could shorten the distance in between them. There was a fire burning in her emerald eyes, and she was tired of seeing him suffer because of her. " Sasuke-kun, I don't want to see you trapped in this eternal mourning forever. I want you to live."

" This is my life! Why can't you understand it, damn it!?"

"Uh?"

" This… The show, the magic… You. This is how I chose to live my life, and that's how it's going to be. I don't want to move on… Not from you." Slowly, his expression softened and his dark pearls were tenderly looking at her. Those pearls that have always been her weakness, and those pearls that allow her to read the soul of her beloved husband.

His soul was asking her to stop. He just couldn't bear another parting.

" Sasuke-kun…"

Looking at him, the girl could only see a hurt boy. As his hands were turned into fists and as his eyes were basically screaming at her, she knew he was not ready to move on yet. Even if she wanted him to find happiness, forcing him to do so would only make things worse. If he didn't want to move on, then all she could do was stay with him. She would stay for as long as he needed her. As long as she still had a part in his life, she would be there, waiting for the day she could see that smile on his face again.

Her beloved mortal.

Oh, how much she loved him.

Placing her now transparent hand over his cheek, the rosette looked at him with the loveliest of expressions, as she waited for him to look back at her. When he did, his lips parted in awe due to her serenity, and before he could even say anything, the ghost of the woman he loves said her last words. The time for them to say goodbye had, once again, arrived.

" Thank you, my love… I love you."

And so, she faded away, leaving behind the sound of her sweet words. His heart ached as if it had just been stabbed as he looked at the emptiness that surrounded him.

If only he could keep her close for a little more.

A defeated sigh escaped his lips and he let go of the weight of his head. His head was pounding, and he could feel his consciousness slowly fading away. Sasuke needed to sleep a little so he could continue his new studies. He needed to focus on that, because, if he succeeded, then there would be no more shows and no more lies. There would be no more sorrow, and there would be no more goodbyes.

When he succeeded, he would have her back in his arms. And nothing would ever break them apart again.

"I'm bringing you back, Sakura…"

And those were his last words before the illusionist was knocked down by his own exhaustion.

―――――――――――――――

The time of his forced shut down went by faster than he needed. The morning was still far away, and the Uchiha was already locked in his room, with tons of books spread around his table, as his eyes read all the necessary information he would need for his experiment. Due to his wide knowledge in alchemy, Sasuke knew exactly what he was looking for. He wanted to break the natural order of things, and create a new opportunity for a young girl. He was going to rebel against nature, and prove for once and for all that men can do anything.

He was going to bring his wife back to life.

And he wouldn't give up on that.

It was true that most people wouldn't even consider this idea after losing a beloved person. Most of them would just try to get used to the whole idea, and slowly, try to move on. Yes, moving on was the most common objective of those who were left behind by death, but Uchiha Sasuke had never even considered such thing. With his powers and his perseverance, he was going to bring her back to the place where she should have never left. He was going to bring her back to life.

For centuries, many alchemists have studied the principles of bringing a person back from death. They studied the main components of a human body, made tests with chemical elements and created multiple theories that were never taken seriously by the society trapped in religious faith. Years were spent with no results and their names were a joke around the whole town, but in the end, their efforts were rewarded. They discovered the most important ingredient to bring someone back to life, and that alone created fear and doubt in their hearts. They discovered that the most important ingredient to bring a human life back was the sacrifice of another human life.

One life for another.

That was the principle for perfect resurrection.

But it was not like he could kill a person to bring his wife back to life, right?

Even if he knew that by sacrificing another life he would be able to bring his wife back, Sasuke was doing his best to discover a way of substituting the human sacrifice for something else that wouldn't cause any damage to another life. At that moment, he was trying his best to search for a way of creating an homunculus- an artificially made human body- so he could sacrifice it and bring his beloved back. He needed to make sure this being had all the things a human does, and so he could use that as an exchange for her life. It was a brilliant theory, he knew. And he had promised himself that he would make it work.

But that promise was made years ago.

And so far, not a single improvement had been made.

For the harder he studied and the harder he tried, nothing seemed to work. The creatures he managed to create were too unstable, and at any change in the environment, they would simply evaporate. His experiments were a disaster, and at each new failure, his patience became even shorter. He wanted her back now. He wanted to embrace her, feel her touch, kiss her lips and feel her heart beating against his chest. He wanted her by his side, and all those loving wishes were changing the human he once was.

At that night, when he was working with his chemicals, a single mistake made all the anger in his heart burst out. In a moment of distraction, the Uchiha mixed two substances that couldn't be mixed, causing an explosion to destroy all of his apparent progress. Tubes were shattered on the floor, substances were lost and even the light went out. His hands were turned into fists, his heart started to beat faster and his whole body was shaking in anger.

" Damn it! Why can't this work for once!?"

Seeing most of his work destroyed made the Uchiha finish what the explosion had started. He destroyed the rest of the pots, screaming his lungs out and throwing his books against the walls, and it was only when he was about to tear all his notes apart that something inside of him snapped. Breathing heavily and sweating, his objective returned to his thoughts. Sasuke didn't want to fail anymore, and didn't want to spend another cold night without her. He wanted her by his side before he lost all the control left in him.

And that control was almost over.

After sighing defeatedly, the Uchiha placed his notes over the table, and turned around so he could grab his coat. For he knew there was nothing else he could do that night, he decided that it was time for him to do one of the only things that could calm him down for a bit. He put on his dark coat, and without hesitating, left the theatre in order to get a really strong drink to silence his screaming thoughts.

Once he arrived at the town's most repugnant tavern, the Uchiha sat at the balcony and ordered the strongest bottle of sake. He left almost all of the money he earned with his show on the balcony, and started to take sips straight from the bottle. The drink entered his body, going down his throat, and slowly, giving him the temporary sensation of peace. The alcohol didn't burn anymore, and the memories of his long lost love were pouring down from his empty heart. In that night, more than on any other night, his chest was aching as he remembered her words.

Move on.

Live your life.

Leave me behind.

Saying all those things was certainly easier than actually doing them. Just thinking about it made him even angrier, and if she was there by his side, he would certainly scream at her, explaining why he just can't obey her. Knowing her, she would probably start crying those warm tears of hers, and her cheeks would get as red as two tomatoes.

Such an annoying girl…

And how much he missed her.

The time he spent drowning himself in memories and in alcohol was uncertain for him. He knew that more than an entire bottle had been dried out when the bartender forced him to leave, and that he was the only one left in that tavern. His legs were tricking him, and his head was twisting like never before. Perhaps he had drowned himself in his drink more than he normally did, he thought, with a dirty and drunk smirk playing on his lips.

Not that anyone would care, right?

Wrong.

And for the first time in his life, Uchiha Sasuke was about to discover that mixing alcohol and love is a dangerous thing.

As he stumbled his way home, his onyx eyes captured a view he had never seen before. It was a tall, dark figure that was covered in a dirty, old cloak. If not for his drunken state, the Uchiha would have avoided such creepy figure, however, since it was the alcohol talking, he decided to approach, ignoring all the possible signs. It was not like he had anything to lose, right?

At that moment, his destiny had been sealed.

" My young boy… Would you have some coins to satisfy this woman's last wish?" The woman said, lifting her hand as if to beg for the money.

" I've never seen you here before. Who are you?" Even in his drunk state, Uchiha Sasuke could still pronounce the words. Whenever he drinks, the boy tends to lose his own inhibitions, and that, for sure, was a dangerous thing at that moment.

" Me? No one important… I'm just a woman who has lost the will to live. The oblivion is close, and I only wish to have one last drink."

By the way that woman's voice sounded, Sasuke could easily tell she had been trapped in that tired state for longer than anyone should ever be. He could tell she was hurt, and mostly, he could tell she was tired to live.

What a selfish woman, he thought.

While he was doing his best to bring back a girl whose life was interrupted, there was a woman in front of him ready to give up on everything.

Oh, how much he hated her.

Not caring about the simple things such as breathing, or talking or even blinking, just to know she was alive.

He really wanted to kill her at that moment.

And that was when it hit him. The macabre idea slipped inside his thoughts and combined itself with all the anger and sorrow in his heart. His dark eyes widened, and soon he started to sweat. How could he actually be thinking about that? How could he be thinking about killing a woman? How could he be enjoying all that thrill that was running around his veins?

Yes, at that moment, everything made sense to him. All the alcohol, all the anger and all the love were speaking louder than his senses and the simple idea of having her back took away all the guilt and the regret of his decision. Taking advantage of a woman who didn't want to live to bring back another who wanted was, by far, the most sensate decision of his entire life, and in that whole mess of emotions, the Uchiha made his decision.

He was going to grant that woman's last wish, for on that night, she would help him achieve the objective of his life. Sasuke was going to bring Sakura back. And he would kill that woman in order to do so.

" Hn… Come on. I'll buy you a drink."

" Thank you, mister… You're very kind."

" No… I'm not."

And so, their destiny was set. He paid the condemned woman a last drink, and muffled by the silence of the night, a last scream of horror emptied her lungs. Life evaporated from her body, and as the entire town slept, an unconscious body was dragged to the local graveyard. For those seduced by the serenity of the dawn, the crime that was happening would never cross their worse nightmares. The dreams and objectives of that alchemist would never be accepted by the people around him, and he even doubted his wife would forgive him for what he did. However, in his heart full of love, nothing else mattered.

On that night, the moon would witness their love coming back to life.

The ritual was prepared following all the instructions of the old alchemists. For he had protected Sakura's body with his own magic, nothing had dared to change her angelical features. He dug her from the grave, drew a summoning circle, and with his sacrifice, proceeded that bloody ritual. The hand seals activated his power, and all his strength was necessary to perform those forbidden acts.

Fire

Thunder

Water

Wind

Horror

Life

Death

Love

All of those things combined to his own skills put all of the theories to test. He broke all the natural laws and all the beliefs were turned into lies. The world succumbed to his power, and after long hours, the Uchiha was left on the ground, panting heavily and with his lungs on fire. His eyes were almost closing in exhaustion, and the now dead woman on his side was having her blood drained. There was a satisfied smirk on his face for having gone that far for the love of his life, and even if that whole thing didn't work, he would accept all of the consequences of his crime knowing he did it all for her.

At that moment, Uchiha Sasuke was happy.

Satisfied, to say the least.

And when the pink fruit of his efforts rose from the grave, he knew his heart would beat again.

" Sasuke-kun… Why… How…."

" Sakura… You're alive."