Disclaimer: All the materials I used belong to their rightful owners. I take no profit from it. It is purely FanFiction, and is in no way associated with the anime.
Mercy
Flat onyx met clear jade.
"What do you want?" he asked, keeping his eyes on hers. His eyes were like dark pits; threatening to swallow her up if she kept staring into them. She refused to back down, holding his gaze.
Tightening her grip on the blade at his throat, she said nothing. Her entire body was tensed, ready to deliver the final blow the moment he moved to attack her. Every single time he blinked, fear constricted her breathing and cold sweat dripped down her spine. When his lids finally opened after what seemed like an eternity, she checked his eyes for the tell-tale black and red swirl that would spell her doom.
But his eyes remained a cold black, locked on hers – gazing into her soul.
The rest of the house slept – there was nothing stopping her from killing the man she hated and despised with every fibre of her being. With just one flick of her wrist, she could puncture his main artery and sever his vocal chords. He would bleed out in an instant, and wouldn't be able to make a sound. It was the simplest motion, one she had perfected on her journey to find the Uchiha.
But - now that she was here - she couldn't.
He looked so much like his brother.
Their eyes were the same. They had the same malicious, aspiring glint. Or, at least she thought they did. Gazing into the Uchiha's eyes she did not see the bloodlust nor the cold anger that she was used to seeing when she was with Sasuke.
No, the older Uchiha's eyes were shining with defiance and pride. But most of all there was just confusion.
He was exposed. He was at her mercy.
An exasperated cry escaped her lips as she willed herself to slit the unarmed Uchiha's throat, and found that she couldn't.
Swallowing hard, she closed her eyes, and a single tear slipped out.
The kunoichi removed the blade from the pale, exposed flesh of the man's throat.
"I'm sorry…" she murmured gently.
Stepping back, she dropped the blade.
It seemed to fall in slow motion. She knew that this was the end. In moments she would be struck down. Even if she survived – she was as good as dead.
She had failed the mission.
It was her final test, the one she knew she had to pass since the beginning. Once she passed it – she could be happy.
If Itachi were dead, Sasuke would finally stop his relentless hunt. He would finally look at her as a person again, rather than as a sharpened weapon.
Sasuke would love her.
Without that, without him she was nothing more than a hollow shell.
Sakura had trained relentlessly. She had passed every test that Sasuke had assigned her. She had fought tooth and nail, broken countless bones and sustained countless injuries – but she had done what he had asked of her.
But still he denied her the affection that she craved.
This was her opportunity, her final test. She had convinced herself that once she had passed it, Sasuke would love her.
The blade clattered to the ground, wrenching her from her thoughts.
Out of nowhere, kick was dealt to the back of her legs and she collapsed to her knees. A small smile was playing on her lips as she hit the ground. Seconds later, there was a much larger, scaled blade digging into her throat, and blood trickling down out of the wound.
Sakura closed her eyes and tilted her head back - further exposing her throat – accepting her death.
As she waited, her mind was completely blank.
There was no alternative to her failure. Death was all that was left for her.
"Stop."
The kunoichi opened her eyes. Was this some cruel trick? To give her hope for a moment, then end her life just as she thought she was going to live.
Numbing anger overcame her. She lifted her head, tilting her chin upwards, her eyes locking on those of the older Uchiha.
She was drowning in his gaze.
Falling down a swirl of black, failure and sorrow – to a fate worse than death.
[EndChapterOne]