Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto! Not even a Naruto plushie! Oh, woe is me...
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31 seconds
-by Alena S. Anigor
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She had stared at him in disbelief for five seconds; five long seconds that seemed to have stretched into eternity as she had forgotten to blink, to move, to breathe. Five seconds in which her eyes and mind had registered his figure, imposing and seemingly aloof, lean and proud, his hair falling into his eyes slightly, eyes tinted with Sharingan, staring coldly at her.
And her lips moved and parted softly and finally, she breathed.
"Sasuke..."
One second later, something inside of her had snapped and broken and her hand had flown to the pouch on her hip abruptly, unconsciously. Her body had reacted before her mind had made a decision.
Two seconds had been enough for him to move and pin her against a tree, grab her wrists in a vicious grip and press his body against hers firmly, completely disabling her defenses. She had tried to struggle, writhing and jerking under the pressure of his body, to no avail. He was simply stronger, and she was a helpless prey in his clutches. She gasped when his hold on her tightened, her wrists grazing painfully against each other.
"Sas...suke..."
She had refused to look into his eyes, kept her frantic, bewildered gaze on his chest as she found out she couldn't channel her chakra properly, that he had done something to her, leaving her completely useless and exposed against him.
Three seconds later, she was forced to look into his eyes when he leaned in and his lips parted slightly but nothing came out of them besides warm puff of breath visible in the cold November morning. And while his body was warm, his eyes had remained cold, unyielding, relentless, cruel.
And she gasped and flinched in shock when those beautiful, cold eyes of his were put to use, creating images in her mind she couldn't block and didn't wish to see. He couldn't have cared less.
Illusions of blood seeping everywhere, into the ground, over the grass and tree trunks, over limp, lifeless bodies, invaded her mind and she bit her lower lip, teeth sinking into the flesh painfully. Screams of her teammates and friends surrounded her, cries for help, cries of torture and she could do nothing but watch in horror, her body immobile and frozen. And then an image of Naruto came into view and she closed her eyes, not even being able to fall down on the ground in terror.
She had opened them again, hoping the image had gone away, but Naruto was still there, in his Kyuubi form, screaming and thrashing under an invisible enemy, blood running from multiple wounds and gashes scattered over his body, his mouth open wide in a painful grimace, his fingers clawing the dirt underneath him frantically.
And his eyes, his beautiful, bright, warm blue eyes, now red just like his, were directed at her, begging, pleading, calling for her to help him, but she couldn't move, couldn't budge, couldn't do anything but scream in anguish when he let out an ear piercing howl, jerked one last time and the light died in his eyes, replaced by a blank look, still directed at her...
And the sight had made her body move and finally fall limply to the ground with a thud; knees hitting the cold earth glistening with blood. She took a long, shuddering breath, his dead, glassy eyes leaving her broken in more ways than one, leaving her broken inside more painfully than him breaking her bones physically ever could.
"STOP IT!"
Nineteen seconds later, she was panting and crying and gritting her teeth, still pressed against the tree firmly, her nails dug into the flesh of her palms sorely. She was breathing heavily, tears streaming down her face quietly onto her heaving chest.
When she raised her head shakily at him, his eyes hadn't changed much, only now there was a trace of something else beside fathomless abyss of Sharingan.
She choked on a sob when she recognized disappointment in his eyes, mixed with slight disgust and accusation. And she hated him so strongly in that moment, she truly did. Her eyes narrowed and glistened with that emotion, but his face had remained impassive.
"I'm not going to kill you this time," He had whispered to her coldly, almost absentmindedly. "You're not worth it." She still stared at him, her eyes filled with hatred and pain and anger and sorrow.
And in a second, she was free, only a painful remainder of his fingers on her wrists remaining. He was gone, leaving only a gust of cold wind and a scent of blood behind.
She had sunk down on the frozen grass and sat there for awhile, feeling so blank and torn. Broken.
"But you did kill me," She whispered to herself and the wind, pulling her knees to her chest, shivering both from cold and traumatic experience that had been forced upon her just a few seconds ago.
He hadn't killed her body, but he had invaded and raped her mind, torn and crushed her soul. He had managed to break her spirit and it had taken him only thirty-one seconds.
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a/n:
Okay...now it's official – I can't write a happy, fluffy, romantic SasuSaku ficlet to save my life! Not even for holidays! O:
Anyway, I know this is rather dark and depressing and Sasuke's a bastard in this story, but still, I like it and I hope you liked it, even for a little bit, as well! Special thanks goes to reenas-as for being a very patient beta and a wonderful friend! Love you, Reen-chan! XD