Sasuke would've liked to say that he took the news well.

The truth was, he wanted nothing more than to strangle himself for his stupidity and blow up the hospital ten times over. It didn't help when the Hokage had shed a tear for him, looking so sad and old. He needed no one's pity, especially not the old man's. They confined him to the hospital for another month, which was downright outrageous for something as trivial as a broken arm. Yet, they all knew, by unspoken consent that it was not his arm.

It was his heart.

Their deaths came as a terrible blow. Now, all Sasuke dearly wished for was that he had died alongside his clan. His family. Fate was cruel to keep him alive. Why couldn't he have departed this wretched life in the loving embrace of his parents and brother? Why had he been the only one who was spared, merely because he had gotten hurt during training?

They never did tell him the precise details of what happened. Sasuke didn't ask because he had a feeling he didn't want to know. All he knew was that several missing-nins from an enemy shinobi village had slaughtered his clan almost overnight. The ANBU were cleaning up the scene of the crime and he was forbidden to return to the Uchiha compound until every trace of the massacre was removed. It would be like before, they assured him. Everything would go back to normal. Only, it wouldn't.

Sasuke was miserable. It was the way they kept looking at him, their concerned, almost frightened expressions that irked him. Only the Hokage didn't seem scared. Rather, he always looked sorrowful and pensive when Sasuke caught him looking at him. And that was worse.

Additionally, the hospital people still had him strapped down to the bed. It was as if they were worried he would run away or jump off the hospital roof. All things considered, he knew it was most likely the latter option that they were protecting him from. They knew his sentiments as well has he did, oddly enough. Sasuke had simply lost the will to live.

He lay in the now familiar bed, tears pouring silently down his cheeks. Mother, Father, nii-san…they were all gone forever. And they had left him, Sasuke, all alone in this world. He had no one left.

So what was the point of living?

-:-

"Hokage-sama. We have a problem."

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked up in mild interest. The village seemed to be riddled with problems these past few weeks. He wasn't sure if he was imagining it, but they all seemed to center around Uchiha Sasuke.

"The child is attracting more trouble than he is worth," Danzo had insisted at a council meeting. To make matters worse, Homura and Koharu had sided unquestioningly with him.

"The child is the last of the Uchiha clan," Hiruzen had rebuked them calmly. "What are you suggesting, Danzo?"

The man's face had hardened, and there was a strange, almost guilty glint in his eye. He must have guessed that Hiruzen suspected that he had played a role in the massacre. "I'm merely telling you that making sacrifices is necessary to protect our village. It seems as though you may have forgotten, Hiruzen."

He had bowed his head, allowing his Hokage hat to conceal his face. "I assure you that I have not. But just as every shinobi of the Leaf Village is, Uchiha Sasuke is under my protection. It is my responsibility."

Danzo had flinched then, and his left eye observed him shrewdly. He could not possibly have missed the underlying implication. Although Hiruzen hadn't realized it then, it was at that moment that Danzo made up his mind to assassinate the last Uchiha, no matter what it took.

Izumo cleared his throat and Hiruzen looked up again. The chunin's normally serious face was pale and sweaty. "It's…Sasuke."

Hiruzen should have guessed. He nodded stiffly. "Thank you. I'll be at the hospital in a moment."

-:-

"Sasuke."

He didn't respond, but gazed distractedly at the ceiling, as if he were seeing something else rather than the whitewashed surface.

Hiruzen sighed. He was worried something like this might happen. "Sasuke," he repeated, this time more gently. "Are you angry that we're still keeping you locked up in this room?" It was for his own protection, not that he could tell him that.

Sasuke still did not answer. His dark eyes were glazed, distant, and red-rimmed. With a jolt, Hiruzen realized that he had been crying just moments before. It struck him as odd. Sasuke hadn't cried even once since he found out about the Uchiha massacre. Hiruzen was more than impressed. The child was only at a tender age of seven, yet he outwardly expressed neither fear nor grief. He was insufferably proud, much like his brother.

Izumo interrupted his reverie at that precise moment. "Hokage-sama, it has been over five weeks, and Sasuke refuses to utter a single word."

"Is that so?" Hiruzen murmured, his thoughts whirring. Izumo nodded solemnly.

"He's just gone completely mute. He doesn't respond to anything we say, and he just looks at us with that strange, far-away look in his eyes."

The Hokage gazed thoughtfully at Sasuke, who indeed seemed to be just as Izumo had just described. Sasuke was still in the same position as he was before, looking intently at the ceiling above.

"Sasuke?"

There was no answer. It was just as he expected. Izumo bit his lip, wondering if he should speak. After a long silence, he cleared his throat respectfully. "Are you worried, Lord Hokage?"

Hiruzen laughed heartily, surprising them both. Even Sasuke started, if only slightly. "No, of course not, Izumo. Sasuke will recover of his own accord. He is still young, and there will come the day when he recognizes there is more to family than having them there with him all the time. Just give him time and space, and he will recover very soon. Isn't that right, Sasuke?"

Sasuke eyed him reproachfully and shook his head.

Hiruzen smiled, satisfied. "As you can see, Izumo. This is exactly what I meant."


Gah, I wish I made this chapter a bit longer, but I couldn't fit anything else within the rigid timeframe I set for myself without rambling on and on about Sasuke's feelings. No worries, he doesn't stay depressed for long, as the ending implies. Thanks for reading this, guys! :D