It hurts.
I-I can't move.
I want to, so badly.
But I can't.
I can't stand it.
Staring into those eyes.
Those lifeless eyes.
And I can see it.
I deep slash across her throat.
I want to cry.
But no tears will come.
I hate myself.
I couldn't protect her.
They said this place would be safe.
They said it would be a simple escort.
A simple C-Rank mission.
But know look.
S-Classed shinobi attacked and killed the entire town.
Even the reinforcements were over powered.
In the end,
An entire town killed and destroyed.
The one who hired for the escort and the team of chunin,
Dead.
My ANBU team,
Dead or dying.
The Jonin that accompanied them,
Dead.
My body feels numb.
I close my eyes briefly.
When I open them again,
She's gone.
I suddenly feel myself moving.
I hear my name faintly.
Soon I hear nothing.
- - - - - - - - - -
"Did you hear?"
"About the town nearby? Yeah, what a shame."
"Gai-sama said when they got there, only the ANBU members were alive, but in critical condition."
"Did they make it?"
"I'm afraid not, they died last night, we did all we could. Only Kakashi-sama survived."
The voices of two women talking wakes me. The sight of the white ceiling tells me it's the hospital.
"Hey, why don't you go gossip somewhere else," a man says. I hear the girls apologize and walk away. The a face comes into view.
"How ya feelin?" Asuma says.
I move to sit up, he places a firm grip on my shoulders. "You're in no condition to sit up." I push his hand away and sit up anyway, even as pain flares through my body. We sit in silence.
"Are you gonna be okay?" he asks.
I shrug my shoulders.
"..."
"Am I.....the only one?" I ask, knowing the answer anyway.
"Yeah."
I stare down at the white sheets. Why was everything white? A hospital is filled with death and blood, so why white? Was it so you can see those things clearly? Whatever it was, it made me sick.
"They held the funerals," Asuma said.
I nod my head.
"My father......my father told me about you and Rin," he said, "I'm so sorry."
The tears finally fall. Whether they come willingly or not, they come. I hear Asuma close the door. Then he embraces me. That night I cried my soul out, crying for my love Rin, and our unborn child.
The next day I resigned from ANBU and became a Genin teacher. It was what Rin wanted, she wanted me to get involved with children.
Even though I masked my emotions and hide behind a fake smile, I was dead inside.