As many things in life do, it ended quietly. There was no great boom of ending, or a huge explosion. It ended quietly and that will always haunt her. All it took was a well placed jab of fingers, coated in chakra. And the only sound was a slight inhalation of breath, and the quiet thump of a body hitting bright green new grass. And the shocked silence of the person who's ending had come.
He didn't think she could do it, she was sure. But she was determined to make this as easy as possible for Naruto. She knew it would kill him if he had to kill his best friend. So she would do it for him. She still loved him, Sasuke, the one who left her.
She knew where he was going, and she knew it would only destroy him more. She didn't want to see him that way. Blood and power crazy, as bad as Orochimaru. She didn't want that life for him, she didn't want to see a monster in her loves place.
She didn't want to love him.
Yet she did, and this was the end result of that.
Blood covered, and horror in her eyes, there she stood, covered in the blood of her one and only love.
She wished it didn't have to happen that way, didn't have to play out with his end. But it had and she was the one to do it.
She had fought with the Devil, and she had won.
And his onyx black eyes stared at her, and she could see the shock, and the pain there. She didn't want to look at him, she really didn't. But she couldn't avert her eyes from the blood and death that was soon to come and wrap around him.
It was the end, and she didn't want it to be. She wanted to live and grow old with him, but now, that vision of happiness was blown away by a vision of blood and death.
Always staining her hands.
Always staining her soul. She had killed the one she loved.
She was no better than Orochimaru or Itachi.
She had killed the one she loves.
Yet when she looks down, there are his eyes staring at her, pain encompassing them. The blow to his heart was slowly killing him, slowing down the blood his heart got with every beat.
It was painful, and unstoppable. It was the end, whether or not she wanted it to be. She thought she had come here, prepared to do what was needed. But here, as he stared up at her, she could feel the steel band of her emotions trying to well up inside her mind, try to take it over. But she was numb, dead to the feelings she could practically hear, howling inside her mind.
It was the end, and there was nothing she could do about it.
She had been the one to land the killing blow to her love's heart.
She had danced with the Devil, and won.
She hated it.
She didn't want it to be true.
She didn't want to face it.
Yet there he was, staring at her.
And she couldn't help him.
All she could do was watch and wait for his last breath.
All she could do was take him back home for a proper burial.
And worst of all, when she looked in his eyes, all she saw was quiet acceptance.
And it was tearing her apart inside.
"Sasuke…" she whispered, her heart beating painfully inside her chest.
"S-sak-kura…" his raspy voice replied, and it broke her heart again.
Yet the next thing he said would stop her altogether and rip her world apart forever.
"I-I love you." he whispered, pain filling his voice and making it quieter.
She hated him in that moment.
She loved him in that moment.
She hated herself in that moment.
Yet when his voice came again, she wanted to wail to the heavens with the unfairness of it.
"T-thank you…" his whisper sounded, slower, quieter than ever before, and in his eyes, the emotion she always wanted to see, love.
"Sasuke…" and she broke down, gasping sobs leaking out of her mouth, yet still horribly numb.
She didn't want to be numb.
She wanted to feel the hatred she had for herself.
She wanted to feel the sorrow at losing him.
She wanted to feel the guilt that would eat away at her soul.
She wanted to mourn him like she should.
Yet she couldn't, and all she felt was the tears sliding down her face and his hand clasped in hers.
His eyes closed and all she wanted to do was push her chakra into him and heal.
She knew it wouldn't work.
She couldn't die with him today.
She needed to stay alive, and feel the sorrow.
She needed to mourn him.
She couldn't escape it.
It was her doing and she would live her life, always stained with his blood.
She would never forget him.
Never forget his name, never love again.
She would never be free of him.
And she was okay with that, while the guilt slowly ate away at her.
And his eyes closed, a smile on his face. And she leaned down, giving him his last breath, mouth pressed to mouth, and she felt the way the tension drained from his limbs, how his face became peaceful, how his face became angelic.
And how his hand clenched hers, even in death.
And she mourned.
Because…
She had danced with the Devil, and won.
And she would always be stained, never free.
Always chained.
Always remembering.
Always alone.