It was just him. He stood there, staring down the Valley of Death by himself.
He had always been alone, submerged in the darkness, where no one could pull him out.
Drowning, drowning, drowning, but he would never admit it out loud; a dying man knows that he is about to die. Nothing could possibly save him.
Even the sun, burning brighter and hotter than this darkness, his sun, with its flaxen hair and sky-blue eyes, could not save him anymore. The sun was no more. He walked to his crucifixion, towards Orochimaru, who was standing behind him. His eyes stared straight ahead. They were lifeless.
It was almost as if he had already died.
And Orochimaru, with his hideous, glinting, snakelike eyes, leered at the beautiful boy. An unnaturally long tongue hung out from his pursed mouth, coating his chin with saliva. He couldn't mask his greed.
"….Ssssasuke…are you ready…?"
Sasuke didn't say anything. Orochimaru smirked, and nodded lightly at Kabuto.
"You may begin the ritual, Kabuto…"
Kabuto held out his hands, muttering something that Sasuke couldn't hear. He pulled out a small, green vial of liquid, roughly grabbed Sasuke's pale arm, and forced the liquid down his mouth. From the corner of his eye, Sasuke saw a small glint of metal, and then he knew he was dead. Blood was already pooling like a thick, red cloud on his chest.
"You should never have tried to disobey me, my love…otherwise, I wouldn't have had to kill you…"
And as the world began to fade into nothingness, and Sasuke began to fall down, down, down…
…he saw flaxen hair and sky blue eyes. A smile.
…Sasuke…are you ready?
He wasn't alone anymore.
He was ready.