Odd, but I thought death would be much more painful then this. I can't move, it almost feels like I'm tied down but, I know I'm not. They've somehow made it impossible for me to move my arms and legs. I can feel a slight tingle but nothing more. I didn't see what happened to me. I remember being in my room and turning in time to see a flash of light. I heard unrecognizable voices. I heard someone crying. I heard someone screaming. Was that me? I close my eyes, trying to grasp what is going on.
Someone is coming and I turn my head to see.
It's her. I imagine my heart skipping a beat as she looks at me. She's much more beautiful than I remember. Her blue eyes have tears in them. Did I put those there? I let myself think back. She had pestered me for so long to date her but I knew I wasn't good enough for her. She had too much innocence…too much hope. When I left Konoha, she told me she loved me. Oh, how I wish I could have told her how I felt. How she made me nervous every time she was near. How her smile seemed to bring sunshine into my cold world. She made me feel alive. I loved her. No, I still love her. I start to watch her again. She's walking around the room looking for something. She isn't afraid of me. There's something different about her. And then, she looks at me again and I know that look in her eye.
Hatred.
She hates me.
Others start to walk in. Ino. Temari. Ten-Ten. They all have that same look.
I now know that I'm going to die here. I've done terrible things that I cannot begin to ask forgiveness for. I pray that they are kind enough to get it over with quickly.
She walks towards me as the other girls stand back. Women…not girls. These are all women now. Women who I've hurt, somehow. She holds up a shuriken and grabs my arm. Her hand is cold.
"This is for Naruto, who is barely breathing."
She slices my arm. I can feel searing pain shoot through it.
"This if for Neji, who was one of the first to die."
Again, she slices my arm, barely above the first cut.
"This is for Hinata, who lost her cousin and might lose her husband."
The pain is nearly unbearable and I think I scream.
"This is for Rock Lee, who loved me with all his heart."
She pauses and looks at me, tears stream down her face. She slowly slices the tender underside of my arm.
"This is for me."
She takes in a deep breath and turns towards Temari. The blond woman walks forward, taking the shuriken away and going to my left arm. The other arm is numb from the slow loss of blood. Temari begins to proceed with the act Sakura had done moments before.
"For Konkuro."
Her cuts are deeper, hitting bone.
"For Gaara."
The arm she works on is already numb. She seems to notice that I don't flinch and she digs in deeper, and I hear the breaking of bone. I arch, trying to escape the pain and she smirks through her tears.
"That's for Shikamaru…and me."
I'm not sure how much more I can take of this. The shuriken is passed to Ten-Ten. Through the bloody film that seems to be clouding my eyes, I notice that she still looks young. But there's no happiness on her face, only hurt and anger.
I thank the heavens that her slices on my inner thigh are too quick for me to immeadiately comprehend the pain. Before I can take in a breath though, she flips the shuriken elegantly and with all she has, imbeds it between her two previous cuts. She finally looks me in the eye.
"That's for the men I loved, Neji and Kiba," she wedges the shuriken deeper, "and for me."
I close my eyes, trying to release myself but someone walks over and whispers into my ear. It's her.
"Open your eyes, Sasuke-kun. You're going to die and we have earned the right to watch the pain in your eyes."
My head tells me to ignore her but my heart tells me that she's right. I've caused so much pain to these women. I've caused their suffering. The least I could do is let them see the pain I'm feeling. I open my eyes and look at Ino, who is already standing at my untouched leg.
Her lips are quivering and she looks away. It seems as though she's trying to figure out if she could really do this. Something outside catches her eye and I follow her gaze. A butterfly sits on the windowsill. She looks back at me. Her lip is no longer quivering. She starts at the inside of my leg and cuts me deeply to the top of my inner thigh. I hear her softly.
"That's for Chouji."
It's over. The three women walk out. Leaving Sakura, who is now standing at my side. I can barely turn my head to make eye contact with her. She is making hand gestures.
Dog. Cat. Pig. Rabbit. Dog. Horse.
I don't know this jutsu. Her hands begin to glow with chakra. She places them on me, finding my lungs…and destroying them.
"Goodbye, Sasuke."
The world is going dark as I struggle to try and breathe. Before I close my eyes for the final time, I need to tell her.
"I've always loved you. I'm sorry."
And I let the darkness engulf me.
