Burning the Last Bridge
An almost full moon hovering in the sky above is the only source of illumination against the eerie darkness of the night. The borderline of Konoha is quiet and tranquil, with no intrusion to perturb the peace. The wind is silent as it whistles through the tress, like restless spirits haunting the dead of the night.
There's no sign on life other than the occasional stirring of a conscious animal in the whole forest, which seems to be anxiously holding its breath.
Uchiha Sasuke, sharingan activated, flies through the trees, purposelessly jumping from branch to branch, trying to settle all the thoughts rushing through his mind and put into perspective everything he had done and all that he had to do.
Ages it has been since he's last been anywhere near his old village. If it was possible to stay in Konoha and achieve his goals, Sasuke would have never left.
To achieve his goal and avenge his past, now that he thinks about it, he hadn't only left his village, but also his friends, his love and his future, his morals. The only thing he hadn't given up was the love he carried for all of it.
He might be walking on the wrong path, having lost his way, but he still hadn't forgotten the right path home. He would never be walking down that road again after this day.
All his plans had gone accordingly. He had trained under Orochimaru, learned all he could from the snake sannin, and had disposed of him when he didn't need him anymore. He had acquired the perfect team mates to locate Itachi and to prevent any interference when he battled him.
The revulsion for his brother, the detestation for losing his family, it is the only thing that matters to him. The hatred runs through his veins, clouding his vision and fueling his aspiration.
The only thing he needs, are the eyes. The Sharingan his brother has, since it was the only thing that can aid him in achieving victory against his the Akatsuki member. And for that he's ready to sacrifice the life of the only person alive that he cares for so desperately, the only person whose death would pain him enough to earn him, the Mangekyō Sharingan.
A part of his mind wondered if he cared so much, how was he ready to sacrifice her life like this.
Then again...
Unless he gets rid of the nightmares of his past he can never move on to the future, she was the only one who could help him face the demons of his past. Yet, without her he wouldn't have any future left either.
Midnight strikes and although it seemed impossible earlier, the sky has grown even more black. The increasing darkness makes him feel at ease, as if it hides away the all the sins he has committed and the filtered moonlight washes them all away.
The moon is almost full, casting a silver glow all over the village in front of him and the forest he is leaving behind. Just like the night he left for Sound, he remembers wistfully, as he sneaks inside the boundaries of the place he once called home.
Heavily guarded boundaries are no hitch for him. He knows the village and its defense measure like the back of his hand. Using this knowledge for his advantage against the enemy territory – Konoha, at this point was enemy terrain – was only a paltry reason, he couldn't forget his roots and place of upbringing no matter how hard he tried.
For the first time in three years he enters his old village. He has neither time nor the desire to pay attention to his old home. He wants to get in and out without being spotted. He is positive that if there was any presence near Sakura's home either Juugo or Suigetsu would have informed him.
Thoughts of Sakura continue flitting through his mind as he steals through the village in the middle of the night. It isn't long before he arrives in front of a familiar balcony with its curtains flying in the wind. Being this close to the implementation of what he believes has to be done makes him more uncertain by the second.
Sasuke strengthens his resolve once more and in the next second he is inside the balcony staring at a partially visible figure through the glass door.
Her importance in his life is something he has always been aware of, which is why he has to kill her, but he is used to paying no heed to the prospect of being in love with the girl, and so what he doesn't realize is, how killing her, will affect him in the longer run.
For a while, he just keeps standing, coming into terms with the comprehension of having to take the life of the person most precious to him.
Gingerly he enters the room to see her lithe figure curled up on the bed illuminated by the trickling moonlight entering through the glass. Her face is turned toward him with strands of her still-short, candy-floss pink hair defiantly covering her pale face, and her hands are loosely fisted between her pillow and her chest, while her legs are tangled with the sheets that have been apparently long discarded.
Red yes soften considerably as they completely behold the site in front of them. A part of him wants to wake her up and hold her in his embrace and never let go.
There are only two ways this night can go, either he acts upon years of firmly set ambitions and takes the life of the cherry blossom named girl in front of him, or he can succumb to his desire and love for her and either spare her or wake her up and show her with every fiber of his being how much she means to him, Itachi can go fuck himself.
Inside he knows that there's no avoiding the inevitable, no matter how many options and paths exist, his destiny has been set in stone and the path is preordained, there is no chance of avoiding what he wants to, because he knows on it depends the outcome events far more important which can't be avoided.
He believes that if there was another way, he would have never left her, never let her suffer on his behalf and he would have certainly never have dreamt of hurting her. Never has he in his existence ever thought of harming her, protecting Sakura is an extinct which has been drilled into his head permanently to the point that it was reflexive. Killing her is going against his every belief, but again there is no other way, if there was, he wouldn't be standing her staring at her for what would be the last time.
Those who don't follow the rules in the ninja world are scum, but those who betray their friends are worse than scums. Sasuke was discarding the rule, and hurting his most precious friend. He truly was much worse than scum.
And despite who he is, and all that has happened Sakura still loves him, and it is clear to him that she will for the rest of eternity. She loves him from every fiber of her being and she dies a little each day waiting for him. Her belief in him is far more fervent than his thirst for revenge, yet it is foolish wishing that it is potent enough to convince him to come back, or even spare her from the fate he was inflicting upon her.
Sakura was destined to suffer on his behalf. There is no way he could ever give her all that she wanted from him, all that she deserved and so much more. Yet, there was no way she could move on from him. Call him selfish, but he is glad for it, glad that he has someone to care for him so unconditionally even after all his short comings.
She is bound to him so deeply that it was beyond both their control to try to set her liberate her from the pain no matter how much they wanted to.
Eyes burning in their sockets, Sasuke looks at Sakura with a searingly painful glance, which embodies ages of burning agony. If only there was another way...
There isn't, and this will set her free.
He hopes that Sakura will understand one day, and a part of him knows she will. Pushing away any further thoughts of reluctance and remorse, he spares Sakura's alive and breathing form one last longing glance, before taking out his weapon.
The kunai slashes against her neck in one swift blow accomplishing its purpose efficiently and implacably.
Green eyes flash open instantaneously in inexpressible pain to see a familiar outline hovering above.
Sakura's body lurches up in paroxysm of unendurable pain. Her breathing hitches immediately and a scream dies in her throat unable to escape. Her body seems to be on fire and the only thought in her mind is for the pain to somehow end, even death is welcome at this point just to rid of her of the agonizing pain.
Sasuke removes his hand from her mouth and brought it to her candy floss hair gently rubbing it. He runs his fingers through her hair and he watches her eyes widen more and more with each second, her chest heave and her mouth gasp mouthfuls of air as she writhes in pain.
Sakura makes one last hopeless endeavor to will her chakra to the point of the wound to heal it, but it is far too late to for anything to help and she quits the effort after a few moments of fruitless trying. Partially because she knows its useless, and partially because she has no power or yearning to continue.
Her apple hued eyes try to focus on her prosecutor and after an effort of a few seconds which seem like ages in her agonizing state, the face of the nin becomes recognizable.
Somewhere in her heart she had known who it would be to have managed to bring about her demise, even the confirmation didn't make the only prayer in her mind for was the pain to stop and whatever Sasuke's reasons were for committing the crime he did would not go in vain. She has embarked so far in love for the boy she once called her teammate that there is no more revulsion or regret. It isn't possible for her not to support anything he does, no matter what he does to show his utter disregard for her.
This better, better that him staying with her only out of what he might believe is love, when it truly is nothing more than imposed obligation and the desire for a sense of security and comfort only she could have provided to him. She knew that she was salvation, peace, remorselessness, all that he wants, but never anything more than that, never his sole love because she knows that will only belong to a clan that's dead and the wishes for it not to be.
This is the love she wants from him that he's ready to sacrifice her life for what he wants, this is true to the nature of Sasuke and she cherishes it even now when she's on her deathbed, for he returned her fervor in the way he can, which is the way she wants.
Even right now when he's betrayed her in the most despicable way possible the only thing Sakura's desperate eyes hold nothing but, love and absolution and hopes and dreams of second chance.
Her hands writhe in pain haphazardly and he takes the one closest to him in his own and lets her grip on it with all her remaining strength to relieve the pain,
"Sas –" she begins after what seems like ages of building up the strength to speak, but the word dies in her mouth as her parted lips closed slowly along with her green eyes which take with them every hope of salvation or a remorseless future he has.
He was blind when it came to his love for her, all he wanted was to relieve her from her pain, the pain she had been suffering through waiting for him, and he wanted to relieve himself from the anguish that the miseries of his past kept inflicting on him. Love is blind and he did not want to see if it meant realizing aspects of the picture that was their twisted life which would convince him against his actions.
This is the only way they both can be inevitably relieved.
The thirst for revenge made him numb to the point he could neither see nor feel. He didn't know even now what would happen once he is no longer blinded by his need for settling of scores.
His priorities were wrong, in attempt to avenge his past he had ruined his future, killed the only person who could have provided him salvation and peace
He caresses her hair gently one last time and covers her steadily-growing-cold figure with blankets that lies twisted at the edge of her bed. Bending down he kisses her overly large forehead with as much ungoverned fervor as he can manage with the remorse for his action sinking in and the need to fulfill his purpose for sacrificing the life most treasured to him and disposing of his wretched brother shrouding his mind.
One last desponding glance filled with repentance and compunction and Sasuke is out of the room leaving the curtains flying behind him and the moonlight still illuminating Sakura's body. His exacting destiny still awaited him, he would accomplish his goal because he now has the frightful vehemence of a man who has lost every fucking thing and has taken it away from his own hands.
Black eyes with three overlapping ellipses toned in blood red flashing in the dark unbeknownst to him, the last Uchiha flies once more through the city determined to escape the bitter separation which will inevitably last for eternity.
Nothing can ease the regret he feels and nothing can bring back the loss he has suffered purposely by his own two hands. Not even time can heal this wound, because time can't even create another loss as huge as this. This suffering and regret for having the wrong priorities and the craving for the future he can never have will follow him like a shadow and vex him for the rest of time.
All his life he had killed Sakura with his words, finally he had the guts to kill her with his blade, burn the last bridge that would have led him to his past life, and set her free, from him and all those strings that bound her to him and his twisted world.
AN: I do not own Naruto.
Dedications to my beta reader Dead-bY-n0w who's bday is on the 11th of September. Happy early bday, sweetie. Love you loads. ^^
Hope someone enjoyed this. Review, if you can. If not, then it's cool too. Though a review would be nice. :)
12:45 p.m. 3rd September, 2012