ALL ROSES DIE
By miku
STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY
WARNING: may contain peanuts… er… explicit words blink blink
-.-.-.-
when the sun sets, it still leaves beauty
amidst the darkness, colors only lie asleep
and tomorrow comes
there is no ending
life continues to be born and
life continues to hope
all roses die
but new flower blossoms
pain vanishes away with time
-miku
-.-.-.-
PROLOGUE
It was all over.
Blood seeped deep into the earth, embracing lives beneath it with pure loneliness. But its stain remained visible in his eyes; its metallic scent still lingered in the air surrounding him.
His death was not a scene in a dramatic movie. There was nothing revealed. There was nothing said. The moment he harshly fell on the ground, spine loudly snapping, blood spilling from his mouth, and eyes repulsively wide open, he was dead. There was no director to cut the scene and, above all, there was no retake.
Sasuke remained lying far beside the lifeless body of his brother; his eyes were dark and blank as he stared at his corpse. There was no doubt about it – it was not genjutsu, it was not an act, it was not a dream.
Itachi was dead.
Nobody spoke as he stared at the picture before him. Nobody even dared to think. Even the birds were silent, even the air failed to move.
It was all over... The worse part, however, was he never expected it to be like this – he never expected to feel nothing.
"Sasuke-kun," a girl whispered, breath fragile and restrained, and Sasuke was suddenly willing to listen for the first time in his life as an avenger. But she spoke no more. So Sasuke remained silent and watched.
He watched the last drop of his brother's blood ugly traced the contour of his jaw. Surely, he thought, there still must be blood in Itachi's veins although it had ceased flowing. Surely, he continued, there still must be blood just cowering to fill his heart.
He looked intently at his brother's chest, expecting to see it breathing once more, albeit difficult, and then he would have to stand again and prepare another attack or, most probably, be on guard. He waited. But Itachi remained still. Sasuke silently frowned and pulled himself up, his bleeding right arm still able to support his upper weight as he knelt on the ground.
"Oi!" Sasuke called, his eyes suddenly bewildered. "Don't tell me you're down just like that."
He received no response.
Sasuke smirked. "Trying to recover enough chakra, I see. That won't work. Stand up and fight like your proud self goddammit!"
Still, there was no response from Itachi. Instead, he heard a muffled sob and a troubled sigh behind him.
His frown deepened, his eyes glaring, annoyed, unused for such disappointment. "Itachi!" he shouted.
"Sasuke-kun," Sakura only managed to whisper in between her sobs, tears now flowing freely on her haggard face, weak hands trying to wipe them off but to no avail, as they never ceased to escape from her closed eyes.
Sasuke wanted to laugh and kick his brother so that this whole act would end and they could resume their fighting. How could Itachi even think of fooling him? Did Itachi actually think he, Sasuke, would believe that his brother could be defeated?
But he could not even stand up. He couldn't seem to find the strength to do so for he was afraid… afraid to witness the truth.
"Itachi…"
"Oi…"
"Oniisan(1)…"
"Oniisan!"
"Oi…"
"Oniisan…"
He had long prepared himself for his fight against the man who ripped his world apart. He trained himself so much, hated this man so much, and sacrificed so much. Now his effort proved fruitful – he finally completed his revenge, he proved himself true to his oath. Yet what had gone wrong?
This was not what he imagined. He just wanted to fight him. Endlessly, he would strive to kill him. Endlessly…
It never crossed his mind before that he could actually win.
He never wished for anything between them to end; after all, it was the only way to remember each other.
"Sasuke," the firm but gentle voice of his sensei called, "He's dead. It's all over."
Sasuke really wanted to laugh badly now and laugh he did, mockingly, adamant. "Oniisan! Cut the crap and stand up! We're not done yet!"
"Sasuke, he's dead," Kakashi once more announced.
"Kakashi-sensei, please…" It was Sakura.
"He doesn't look it but he's quite a good pretender. He actually made it look like he was not guilty of killing his best friend! You're not going to fool me again, Itachi-niisan!"
"Sasuke he's dead! Get a hold of yourself!"
"Shut up! He's not dead! Damn you, Itachi! Stand up right now or else you'd find yourself real dead!"
"Stop it, Sasuke! Itachi is dead! You've always wanted this now stand up and rejoice like a mad avenger!"
"Damn you! I could never defeat my brother! He's the strongest man ever alive! Damn you he's not dead!"
"Sasuke!"
"Go to hell! All of you! He's not dead dammit! Fuck you, Itachi! Cut the acting, dammit!"
"Sasuke!"
"He's not yet dead!"
And a punch connected.
Silence once more engulfed them.
How many times did his teacher Kakashi remind him of the use of Chidori? Chidori was meant to protect. He should never use it for revenge. Was he wrong for disobeying his teacher? Obviously. Why was he so insistent anyway?
If there's one person he should have obeyed, it was Kakashi. But he still followed his brother. He did what he was told. He continued running. He continued living. He continued hating his brother and dreaming for revenge. Itachi still owned him.
Why couldn't he do things his own way? In the end, Itachi was still the winner.
"Fuck you…"
His dream belonged in the past. Until now, it still does. And perhaps it will remain lying there forever.
END OF PROLOGUE
-.-.-.-
Oniisan means brother obviously. I could've used the English word but, somehow, I can't feel it.
A/N: Honestly, this fic was not meant to be like this. The poem I included (I wrote it by the way) has an optimistic tone so this fic shouldn't have been ill fated until the end. As far as I know, this story is not yet finished. But I can't seem to continue. This is enough like this. And if you're wondering where Naruto is, he's there. But usually, in times like this, Naruto has his own world, probably thinking too much. Or maybe unconscious? I leave everything for your imagination (actually, I just can't write this anymore).