Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me.
Author natterings: This came out when I was thinking about the origins of the heart. Why does a heart symbolize love? It's not as if your physical heart has any control over your emotions, hm?
Sorry if the characters are a little wonky. I hardly write them, if ever. Any comments and critiques are appreciated.
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A heart is a fake, wrong thing.
A heart is an organ. It is a machine composed of tissue, a thing whose oil is air and blood. It sits in the chest and pumps, pumps, pumps, working in tandem with the lungs and brain to keep its owner living. Partnership. Irrevocable.
A heart is a symbol. It is supposed to lie at the centre of you, it is supposed to bind you to more than yourself. It is supposed to feel and yearn and love.
But really, it is not your heart that does these things. Your heart is only an organ, a mass of chambers and arteries, buried far into your ribcage. It is your mind that remembers, your mind that registers what has happened, was is happening.
If you did not have a mind, how would you know that what you feel is the brush of a hand? A heart cannot feel for you. A heart sits prettily inside a chest, confined.
And if you did not have a mind, how would you know to toss a glance her way? A heart cannot yearn for you. A heart beats lifeforce, not knowledge.
There is nothing inside of a heart except for blood. There is nothing you can do with a heart except let it go on beating.
"Sasuke-kun," she breathes in utter astonishment. Strangely, you can hear her pulse quicken.
"Sakura," you say, ignoring the crack of dry blood from the corner of your mouth.
Her eyes soften, and you almost begrudge her for wavering so quickly. "Oh, Sasuke..."
Your gaze drops to where she has dropped, right into the cloth of your bloodstained shirt. You make no move to do anything. Not with her, not against her. Your mouth twists.
A heart is a fake, wrong thing.
That is what you tell yourself, as you breathe steadily, lungs sifting out oxygen, sending it to your blood, your blood pouring from your heart. Her, crying softly.
A heart is a symbol.
That is what you tell yourself, as you close your eyes, slowly feel your heart fill, and yearn to give it to her.