#2: Mission
Notes: Supposedly after that ominous, deciding battle between Sasuke and Naruto
When it's all said and done and over, all he sees is red.
The gods are mocking him surely, because blood never looked so close to the shade of her hair before. Or maybe, her hair never looked like flowing blood before, like it did now as she laid on the ground dying.
He has half a mind to turn back to the dobe, and demand him why in fuck's sake would he let his own relative - yes he knew - into the battlefield? What was all that 'protecting the ones you love' shit he preached when Karin was watering dead soil with her life?
But he spies his other ex-teammate with the blond and he knows his own place is with his present one - no matter how little said teammate probably believed. It takes him a while with his shaky steps but he finds her, her most striking feature as his guide.
She's spread-eagled and like a work of art on the muddy ground.
She reminds him of his family crest. Red against white. Her skin was scarily so, and suddenly he hates that damned fan with the remainder of his life because white on her doesn't look healthy.
'Ah fuck,' he muses. 'I think about health now out of all things and times?'
His musings are cut short when he's yanked to the ground hard. To his surprise, she's on top of him in a second, forcing her wrist to his mouth.
"You don't deserve it but I don't have a right to take away your life," she says angrily, as if unhappy with what she just said.
Pain slices through him. His next words come out beyond volition.
"And I just went ahead and stabbed you," he states.
They both freeze and the look on her face gets angrier. Calmly, he pushes away her arm from his mouth.
"You're dying," he states blankly.
"So are you!" She responds without hesitation, once again extending her arm to him.
This times he takes it and brings it to his face slowly, all the while observing her reaction. Secretly, he's happy when she doesn't object because time isn't on his side and he has things he has to work out afterall.
"You said you'd follow," he murmurs to her skin, his lips brushing her flesh and electrocuting her in a completely different way than he last did. He starts to hear sniffling and looks downcast as she starts crying.
"I know what I said! But then you-"
He cuts her.
"I told you I'd come for you!" It comes out far more urgent than he intends and he knows this because he's suddenly hacking up blood from the energy it took.
He slumps into her, completely drained of energy and probably everything else, and idly plays with her hair. He ignores the obvious panic in her expression as she tries to force him to take her wrist, to no avail.
It takes a while before she gets the message and the only way he knows is when she finally becomes still and quiet. He's also finally getting the sense of awning and that's when he knows he has to hurry up.
So he starts with the hardest part.
"I thought it was your blood," he started quietly, staring at her blood-soaked strands.
He ran his fingers through her hair gently, smiling.
"You're not dying afterall," he ends, and at this she breaks.
"When?" She choked, gripping his shoulders so they were face to face.
His vision is by then almost gone and the only thing he can make out is red.
His favourite colour.
He smiles and leans against her cheek. He made it.
"See ya."
Her hair- now so vivid red with raw life - is the last thing he sees before it all goes black.
- DarlingDearestDeadForever