This is dedicated to dear YIM friend and RP buddy, Cromne, who plays one of the most memorable Uchiha Sasuke ever. I in turn play Uchiha Itachi, and we've had some very nice RPs together. Thank you so much!
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Neverending
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Sharingan eyes watched unblinkingly through dried blood and matted hair as the hateful form fell down dying on the bloodied and weeping earth, trembling hands clutching the sword that went through the body. He watched as the dying form gave one rattling breath and finally, lay still, there in the grass – in a pose that somehow under the dim, detached view of Fushi Tensei looked appropriate for an ANBU captain.
The Sharingan eyes reverted back into gold, and Orochimaru-Sasuke took several steps toward their quarry, now cold as ice, as still as stone. The Akatsuki red-cloud cloak was ripped to shreds, spread around like some gruesome petal around this wretched, destroyed piece of a stalk.
"In the end, I am the strongest. In the end, I reign supreme."
Somewhere within the deep darkness, Sasuke felt empty. The exhilaration of the combat and the prospect of it all – everything, what he'd gained and lost – did not give him the feeling of satisfaction. The void wherein he had been cast since Orochimaru took over his body had never before felt so endless, so pressing, so...empty.
"We have succeeded, dear Sasuke. The next goal we must now look to – is the final destruction of Konoha."
Orochimaru laughed from the outside, but Sasuke was hearing none of it. Inside the void, something else was choking him – something else. A cold hand had gripped what was left of his self – what was left entirely of his existence, and was slowly crushing it to pulp.
Outside, Orochimaru stopped in his tracks.
"What...is this?"
From within the choking and pressing void, Sasuke let out a sob. Unwillingly, Orochimaru dropped to his knees beside Itachi's dead form. The sobs from within became a powerful driving force, resonating, echoing, reaching out – Orochimaru's eyes widened as the first sob escaped Sasuke's lips – his lips, now.
Inside, Sasuke cried with abandon. He cried and cried, releasing all of the pain and the tears – all of the endless suffering – forcing Orochimaru to cry them out for him. Tears splattered down the Serpent's face.
"What – are – you – what -!"
Overhead, thunder boomed faintly, bringing the threat of a downpour with it. Trembling hands reached for Itachi, picked him up almost tenderly, and cradled him close. Sasuke's voice reached out sharply into the emptiness around them. The jutsu that gave the mask of Orochimaru's face melted off, in such a way that plastic turns into useless goo at the proximity of heat. The jutsu melted off, showing Sasuke's face underneath it.
A face that was contorted with tears and bloodied lips.
"Niisan...niisan...niisan..."
His fingers stroked cold skin, jarred by the rough feel of dried blood. He cradled Itachi close, himself rocking backward and forward gently, his fingers digging into that familiar black hair.
"Niisan...niisan...niisan..."
He cried and cried, drowning out Orochimaru's anguished protests within his grief.
He was the only one left of me. The only one left. And I...I...
"NIISAN!"
He knew, then, that his tears would never end.