The blood welled in the gash, pumping out steadily with the slow beat of his heart. It only took a few seconds for the amount to overflow, spilling over the pale skin in spidery red lines. It was beautiful, like some strange intricate dance. A dance of life, his life, spilling out of his veins and onto the bathroom floor. He watched as slowly, two trails of blood which had run down either side of his arm, met in the center before pooling, and allowing one perfect teardrop of blood to drip to the floor. That one was followed by another, and another, until it was an almost steady stream. The stream faltered slightly as the blood began to clot, stopping the flow from the wound.
Sasuke took his kunai up again, running the blade over the deep gash in his arm to renew it. The pain returned, spilling the blood forth once more. He watched amazed as more dripped and fell, amazed at the amount. Old blood dried on his arm, and new pumped out as he stood there simply watching.
He started to feel a little dizzy, and was unable to concentrate on the trails of blood anymore. Slowly, he sank to the floor, sitting in the pool of blood which had already formed bellow him. His white shorts were soon dyed blood red, as the material hungrily soaked up the blood.
Sasuke ran the kunai over the wound, one last time for good measure, before sighing and leaning back against the tiled side of his bath. He allowed his eyes to close, and waited for death to take him.
Sasuke awoke to a bright light, shining through his eyes and into his soul. It was so pure and bright he couldn't help but wake, feeling tired, but lighter than ever. He opened his eyes, staring at the pale blue ceiling above him. Something tinkled slightly off to his right, sounding like a beautiful wind-chime blowing lightly in the breeze. He was laying in a bed of some sort, the most comfortable he'd ever been in. A dark blue comforter was pulled up under his chin, surrounding him in warmth, like a mothers arms. The feeling was like pure bliss.
"Am I in Heaven?" He asked himself aloud. The words filled the air like a strange omen.
"No." Someone replied. He recognized the voice, but wasn't sure who it was at the moment.
"Oh, then this must be Hell." He paused.
"It's a lot more beautiful then I thought it would be."
He waited for the voice to say something. The wind-chime tinkled again, and the smell of freshly baked chocolate cookies reached his nose from somewhere outside.
"No. It's not Hell, though sometimes I think it might be."
Sasuke continued to stare at the ceiling, confused.
"Then where am I?"
"In my room."
Sasuke blinked. But he was dead, wasn't he? He had cut himself, made himself bleed until there was nothing left. He should be dead. But the voice was implying he wasn't.
"I found you, soaked in blood."
"Then why am I here?" He didn't understand, how could he be alive?
"I healed you." Oh, well that explained it.
He knew the words should have a greater meaning than that, but couldn't figure out what. He wasn't dead, he had been healed. It didn't even occur to him to question how, after losing so much blood. But another question came to mind.
"Why?"
The voice was silent, and Sasuke waited patiently. He knew it would answer in time. He waited for endless minutes, unable to move. He just lay there, basking in the warmth and listening to the wind.
"Because I didn't want you to die."
Ah, there it was. The voice didn't want him to die. There were lots of people that wouldn't want him to die. Most of them though, didn't care about him, but instead who he was. As though a name made so much difference.
"But I wanted to die." He whispered.
This time it was the voices turn to question.
"Why?"
Sasuke didn't reply, not sure whether he should. He was confused. Most people wouldn't care about why, only that it didn't happen. They wouldn't want to know why he felt the need to kill himself, to end his own life. The wouldn't worry about anything he might be feeling. But something in the voice, in the tone said this person was different. The voice was soft, slightly comforting and warm. It was relaxing, washing away the death inside him with waves of calm warmth.
"Because what's the point in being alive, if you're dead inside."
Though he phrased his answer as a question, it came out as more of a statement. And it was true. Why put all this effort into life, when you weren't really living? When long ago, all emotions you held inside had been murdered, stolen from you like your parents, so many years before.
"I'm not sure. I've been asking myself the same question."
Sasuke twitched slightly. The voice hadn't said anything in so long he'd forgotten it was there. He opened his mouth to say something, then stopped when the voice continued.
"I guess… It's for the little things in life."
"The little things?"
"Yes… like seeing a flower bloom, or the sun rise. Hearing music, eating something sweet. Those little things that make life special."
"But what's the point, if you can't feel anything?"
"What do you feel now?"
"Calm. Warm" He instantly replied. Then, he lay there shocked. He was just saying he had no feelings, so how could he really feel calm, or warm? But that wasn't really what shocked him. It was more because he felt… content. Which was very strange.
"See, you do feel something."
"But I can't feel emotions… like happiness, sadness," he paused for a second. "Love."
"Ah…" Understanding filled the voice. "Life is not life without love."
"Exactly." Sasuke smiled, feeling he had gotten his points across very well. He had no one to love him, people were smitten with him, but they didn't love him. The only people that had were dead.
"But where's the point in dying?"
The point in dying? He'd never thought of it that way. Only as an end to pain, to loneliness.
"There's nothing in death. You die, and that's it. There's nothing left. At least in life you have something. Even if it is something small."
So that's what he meant by the little things. But still…
"Life is so hard without love."
There was a sigh. "But that's only because you haven't found someone to share it with."
Sasuke laughed, but it wasn't from mirth.
"Oh, I have lots of people who want to spend their life with me."
"But what of their love?"
"No, they love my name, not me."
"I'm the same, yet opposite. They hate my name, and don't know me."
Sasuke blinked, a little confused.
"Just who are you?"
The voice laughed slightly, it was smooth and strong, comforting in its life and happiness.
"You've been talking to me without knowing who I am?"
Sasuke frowned. It did sound a little stupid.
"Yes."
The voice didn't say anything, and silence reigned upon the room. Sasuke waited for an answer, but none came. Maybe there was no one really there, maybe he was just imagining things.
Slowly, Sasuke slid backwards, using his elbows to prop himself into a slight sitting position. He looked towards the end of the bed, where he believed the person had been talking from.
And sure enough, there he was. The owner of the voice. And it wasn't who he had expected it to be, but somewhere deep down inside he had known it was him.
"Naruto?"
Naruto smiled, flashing a sunny grin.
"Glad to see you're up."
Now i know people will hate this...Buuutttt It just seemed like the right place to stop the story. I will finish it, (eventually) i promise! Please review, tell me what ya think