Disclaimer: The following fanfic involves characters, places, and events not created by me. They do not belong to me. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto (I'm just borrowing them…).
--The Fated Day at the Bridge--
How could it all end this way? It wasn't supposed to even be this hard. This was supposed to be a routine escort mission from the start… So why am I here, beaten, broken, and holding on to the quickly dying body of my friend and comrade? This is all so wrong! Why have things turned out this way!? All I wanted was to become stronger…! Stronger so that everyone would notice that I exist… If I'd known that it'd cost the lives of those around me, I wouldn't care about it at all! At least they would still be alive and unhurt…
Wait! He's trying to say something to me…! What is it…? I… I can't hear you… Damnit, come on!! Where's that fighting spirit of yours!? Where's that drive that forced you to be better than the rest of us!? Didn't you have something you wanted to do!? Wasn't there someone you were supposed to kill!? So why are you giving up now!? I thought you were the best ever! I really thought that you were a prodigy! A genius! But now…! But now… all I see in front of me is a regular person… a kid no older than I am… sent by a heartless village on a mission that was corrupted by the start from some stupid old geezer who just "didn't know any better"…!
This is all so… so unfair… Wait! No…! Don't… don't go…! You have to hang in there! Please! Stay awake for me! SASUKE!!!! … But you're not gonna stay, aren't you…? You can't… because someone has taken you from us… taken you from me… and that someone is someone that I need to take care of… someone that I need to kill…! Someone who is precious to someone else… I need to kill "him"! I can see his face all around me… laughing… taunting… behind that mask of his… I never want to see that mask again…! But first, I need to get rid of these mirrors!
…! He's moving again! Too fast…! But wait! He's… slowing down…? No… I'm just getting faster…! Yes…! My reactions are slowly matching his! I can see where he is jumping to next! …! Those damned needles again! If I don't see another needle in my life, it'll be too soon! I hate needles…! I hate the cold! I hate these god-forsaken mirrors! But most of all…! Most of all, right now…! I… HATE… YOU!!!
My fist connected with his face for the first time! That one was for Sasuke…! And there is more to go around…! Look at him… rolling on the ground like that… What! Do you think that hurt!? Do you think you're in pain now!? You haven't felt anything yet! I will show you pain! I will show you suffering! And your master!? He will feel the ultimate pain of loss! He'll be left alone in this world… after I kill you…!
I pull my fist back to punch him again, determined to crush that mask on his face, but… something is wrong…! His mask is already broken… and I can see his face… …! It's… it's you…! You were that guy that met me when I was training…! Why…? WHY!? Why did it have to be you!? Why did you have to be the one I have to kill!? Why couldn't you be someone else!?
…! No…! My… my fist… it won't stop…! No! Please! Why won't my body stop hurting you!? I know you killed Sasuke… but you could've killed us earlier… that day when we were in the forest… Why did you let us live then…!? Why can't I stop hurting you now…!? I… can't stop hurting you… I… I… want… to hurt you… I… want to… kill you… I want to drive my fist further and further into your face… until you are no longer recognizable…! … yes…! Yes…! Just like that…! I want you to experience pain unimaginable…! I want to feel your bones break, and your flesh bruise underneath my fist! I want you to die…! Just die! JUST DIE!!
… Now you are gone… Now you are the one that has left this world… And when you meet Sasuke in hell, be sure to tell him that I sent you…! But you won't be alone for long… There are others that need to feel as much pain as you did… My eyes…! My eyes are burning…! I can't… I can't see anything… but I can feel them… I can sense the chakra of the others who are on this bridge… and I can smell their fear… They've seen what I've done… they know what I've become… and now they too will be silenced forever… The swing of a sword, the flash of lightning, and the sound of a young girl and an old man screaming… they don't last long…
-End-
A/N: Well, well! It's been a while since I last submitted anything, hasn't it? I apologize for that. I thought that I'd send in this one-shot (my first one shot, too) as a form of apology. See, I actually had the next chapters of my other two stories ('Love Eternal?' and 'The Darkness Comes') all typed out, but my hard drive on my laptop crashed and burned (it started clicking, actually, and from what I hear, that's not good…), and I lost all my data. So I'm trying my best to recreate them from memory, but it's not looking so good. Writer's block, and all that…
On the subject of this story, this is just a question I thought about when I first watched Naruto. Naruto has had a great success in suppressing the demon fox inside him so far, right? What do you think would happen if he just submitted to it? Maybe Naruto would only be a 15 - 20 episode series, then. Maybe the series would have a much darker tone than it does now… Anyway, this one-shot was just a "what-if" I had in my mind, and decided to share with you guys. Hope you enjoyed it. As always, thanks for reading, and I'll see you when I submit the new chapters of my other two stories… ;