To Say Farewell
The world is silent when it happens. The cave seems to quake in time with his rage. There is nothing greater than Sasuke's wrath. There is nothing that he despises more than the chains that bind his hands and chakra and renders him useless - an onlooker; a weakness; a liability. His vows of protection in turn for information seem to have shattered much like glass and now the shards hold him in place.
She has collapsed. His accomplice, his companion, his dearest… There is no blood. There was no scream. She did not cease in her gentle teasing until seized by that… whatever that was. There is only death, to her, and helplessness, to him.
It hurts. It burns as flames left unguarded. He can feel its corrosive edges scorching at his heart. He can feel the breathless heat constricting his lungs. His years of chasing vengeance have been stripped from his flesh and bones. He is exposed. He is alone. He is a child in the clutches of loss.
"Was she so precious that I was unnoticed?"
He stirs – a twitch, actually. A tremor tears through his muscles. He turns his head slightly, then, fixating once more on this lifelessness, halts, and stares, losing his mind to something too lost to be grief and too potent to be numbness.
The voice… It is one that he knows. He knows it well. He knows it too well. It has haunted his visionless nights. It has clung to his cavernous emptiness. It has refused to be parted with. He knows it. He despises it. He seeks it. He discards it.
Now, he knows it.
"… surprised. I thought you were… above that. You aren't, are you?" she enquires faintly: with just a tremor of anguish. "You are. It's sweet. It is. I'm glad you could have your fairy tale… It wasn't her. It just… You just had to keep going. You could not stop. You wouldn't stop. I can't let you take them from me, but I meant no harm."
He senses his anger at the far reaches of his consciousness. His hands shoot for it, but miss.
He turns. "Sakura…"
She tries to smile and fight her tears. "Are you going to kill me? Are you going to make that pointless? It's you, you know. It's always you. People are always hurt because of you in some way or another."
His head snaps as he stares at the corpse before whirling back to his former comrade. "Why? Why did you do that? What way can you justify that?"
She tilts her head to the side, eyes darting meekly. "I guess I can't. Just like you."
He feels it, then. It is in the air. It is not poison. It is sweet. He knows the scent. He knows the way that it had worked. He understands. It is a lethal dosage of a healing property. She has poisoned him.
At the mouth of the cave, Sakura closes her eyes. Her head is lowered solemnly. This is not what she had intended.
Sasuke tears at his sheath. The katana comes away with more reluctance than he had ever thought possible. The tainted air fills his lungs. His vision blurs and his knees buckle. The shimmer of metal catches the light.
Blood splatters.
She staggers away to a home that she is sure to reach.
Author's Note: Ah, to kill the one you love. I sure am twisted in the head. I do hope that you have enjoyed it. Thank you for reading.