A/N: Just a oneshot... slightly OCC and AU. Not very lengthy, either. I apologize. :3
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way, shape, or form. But if I did...
He didn't know how long it had been. A month? Two? Maybe even more. All he knew now was how badly he wanted to go back in time. To make things right.
Uchiha Sasuke watched as his old teammates, Sakura and Naruto, laughed together; the sound didn't reach his ears. They were eating ice cream, which was quickly melting in the hot weather.
Sasuke hated it. It was sunny and cheerful, and it mocked his mood. It should be storming out, He thought bitterly. Something pricked the back of his eyes, but he wasn't ashamed when a tear slipped down his cheek, and he made no move to wipe it away. Feeling emotions were considered weakness to an Uchiha, and to actually be crying? That was unheard of. But he didn't care.
He had thrown everything away to kill Itachi. Oh Gods, how he hated him. How he still hated him… he ruined everything. More tears slipped from his eyes as he watched Kakashi walk towards his old teammates, his nose buried in that perverted book of his.
His old sensei lifted a hand in greeting to the pair and smiled at them. Sasuke saw Sakura's lips move and Kakashi's mask shift as he responded, but he didn't hear a word they were saying. Naruto looked up to his sensei and opened his mouth. But once again, Sasuke didn't hear any vocals when he continued to speak.
Sasuke's shoulders shook as more tears fell down his cheeks and quiet sobs slipped from his throat. He hadn't cried since his clan had been murdered. By his own brother… everything terrible in Sasuke's life -- everything that made him show weakness -- was somehow connected to his brother. There was no way to erase the stains that the elder Uchiha had left, but Sasuke always believed he could avenge his clan, and make things right. But not anymore. Sasuke felt helpless, and he was. He couldn't stop Itachi from killing those he held dear; his family, his teammates… his friends.
He looked towards his old team through bleary eyes. Naruto and Sakura were walking away from him, following after Kakashi. He chuckled bitterly as Sakura hit Naruto upside the head and yelled at him. But once again the words were lost to him. They were too far away; too far gone.
He fell to his knees as their images became nothing more than smoke, and then disappeared completely. Tears poured down his cheeks as the image faded back to the black memorial stone. He reached a shaky hand up and brushed his fingers against the three names most important to him.
Uzumaki Naruto. Hatake Kakashi. Haruno Sakura.
His hand dropped to the ground as his sobs shook his entire body. He could no longer see anything because of the waterfall of tears, but he knew that the stone was still there. That the names were still imprinted on it. He lifted his hands and cradled his head. The world was spinning now, and he was spiral falling into the dark void that reached up to him hungrily.
A hesitant hand was placed on his shoulder, and he looked up. Through the tears he could make out the sympathetic black eyes of Inuzuka Kiba. Hyuuga Hinata and Aburame Shino stood behind Kiba, giving Sasuke sympathetic looks as well. His gaze once again settled on the shining black stone, and the rest of the world faded away. His didn't hear Kiba ask him to join them for dinner, or when they wished him a goodnight. He didn't hear their retreating footsteps, and he didn't hear the crickets chirping as the sun dropped lower. All he heard was his teammates' voices echoing in his head; their screams of pain, and pleas for mercy. Their calls for him to help them; to save them.
Ehhh. Taadaa? Uhm, right, first fanfiction on this site... please be gentle! Flames allowed, and constructive criticism is very welcomed.
2/6/07