Chapter 7: Forever Eclipsed
Haruka jumped out of her bed and accidentally dumped her drink on to the floor. She felt a sharp pain in her head and groaned. Haruka forced herself out of bed and struggled across the room. The door suddenly opened and Haruka was being carried to the bed.
"No…I don't want to…"
Kakashi pushed her back down. "You are tired. You just had a bad nightmare. Rest, Takara will find Hiroshi."
"B-but…no…I need to…"
"No." Kakashi left Haruka alone to organize her thoughts properly.
It was a dream? It felt so real! Hiroshi! That was him in the river, the river filled with blood and bodies. No! It was dream! It's not true!! No! NO!! NO!!!!!!!! I have to find him! He's NOT dead!!
Where IS he?
With Sasuke-SAN, yeah right, san? When did he deserve that title? I want to KILL him so badly!
"AHHHHH!!!!!!!!! SASUKE! YOU'RE DEAD!!!!!! DEAD!!!!!!!!!! JUST WAIT! WHEN I FIND YOU…YOU'LL BE SOOOO SORRY THAT YOU TOOK HIROSHI WITH YOU!!! AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Haruka, calm down…calm… So tried...maybe Kakashi-sensei was right…That night…they came…
"Sasuke-san! I'm hungry." Wined Hiroshi
"Then go and get your own food!!!!" yelled Sasuke, "All you ever do, is sat around and do nothing!!!! If I knew you were such a pig, I wouldn't have brought you along!!!"
"Who said that you HAD to bring me along?"
"YOU DID!!! You begged and begged me to take you with me and threatened to tell Itachi that I was going and left a stupid letter that was gonna hurt his precious Sakura."
"I thought that you liked Oka-san…"
"I do!! I mean…um…"
Hiroshi laughed. "See? You do love her…" Sasuke blushed, making Hiroshi laugh even harder. Sasuke stalked out of the tent. He didn't come back until the moon was high up in the sky and Hiroshi was asleep. Hiroshi was mumbling in his sleep. He was dreaming, no doubt, about food. Sasuke dropped the food at the edge of their sleeping bags and went outside for fresh air.
The light dimmed. The darkness grew, surrounding the moon. There was not a sound in the night. Sasuke sat on a branch. He found the silence strangely peaceful and calming. Then a dark cloud covered the moon. As the first rays of dawn appeared, a strange dark circle came in front of the sun. Eclipse at dawn. The sky turned dark again. Sucking the life from light. The moon covered the sun. A thin rim of fiery red light appeared behind the moon. Total Eclipse. A time where new life is born and souls die.
"Hey! Sasuke-san! Thanks for the food. I thought that you might keep it for yourself but…"
"I'm not a selfish fool, like somebody."
"Hey! I'm not that bad…" Hiroshi could see that Sasuke wasn't really listening. "Um…Sasuke-san?"
The world was black. Nothing moved, no sounds were heard. The entire world watching the darkness hoping it would end soon. But it didn't. The sky seemed so heavy, crushing. Falling down. Destroying all life on earth. The moon turned red, bloody red. The area around it seems as if it was stained by blood. Sasuke's pale body was red, like the moon.
"Sasuke-san? A-are you ok?" Sasuke's eyes had a red and evil gleam in them.
"Hiroshi, why am I still alive, when my existence means nothing?"
"Um...well…"
"Why am I still trying to survive? Why not just die? What's my purpose in life? This endless living hell…isn't better to just die and ease yourself of all pain?"
"B-but dying…doesn't it...hurt?"
"Why is life painful?"
"You can't die. There are so…so many precious things and people here!!"
"Not for me…my whole family is waiting for me…"
"Who said that you are going to join them in heaven!? I won't be surprised if you found yourself in HELL!!!"
Sasuke gave him his infamous smirk. "Looks like I have to try and find out, don't I?"
"No…y-you can't…" Sasuke ignored him and jumped off the branch and left Hiroshi alone, worrying.
The eclipse still hasn't ended. The night was so long. Like death was about. A living hell unleashed. Everything had a reddish glow. The sky was so dark, yet so bright. The red moon was even brighter than before. This was the red moon. The transition between light and dark, life and death, love and hate. It was the centre of everything. It was the purest and the evilest, but NEVER neutral. And tonight, it was everything, but pure.
Sakura was so frustrated with everyone that she, by herself, set off to find Sasuke. Her disappearance drove Itachi mad.
"AHHHH!!!!!!!! How could she!!! She's my wife and not his!!!!" bellowed Itachi.
"Itachi. Oto-san! Father! WHATEVER YOU WANT ME TO CALL YOU!!!!! AHHH!!! ITACHI! GET A GRIP! NO!!! DON'T PUSH ME AWAY, YOU SON OF A BITCH!!! NO! I SAID DON'T!!! SHUT UP!! STOP!!" Haruka slapped Itachi across the face. Itachi froze, so did Haruka. "I'm, I'm sorry…" Itachi's hand moved to his face. Apparently, shocked.
"No…no. It's my fault. I shouldn't have lost control."
"Um…well…we should find Oka-san."
"No one slapped me before…not even Sakura…" Haruka began to feel really afraid. Itachi turned around and looked at Haruka. "Lets go."
"Wha - but…I…you…but…"
"GO!"Where's Sasuke-san? I have been looking for him all day! The sky is still dark…its so eerie .I don't think that anything like this has ever happened before. The red moon seems to have lowered my charka level too. Man! I feel so dead. Like my life energy is being sucked out of me…ahh!!!! I hate this feeling! I have to find Sasuke-san. There's a dark shadow there, by the cliff. He shouldn't be there. It'll be dangerous. Is that a kunai is his hand?
Hiroshi walked up to the shadowed man. As he came closer, he recognized the man.
"Sasuke!" someone else yelled Sasuke's name before Hiroshi could.
"Oka-san!"
"Sakura?"
But Sakura was not listening. "Sasuke, don't, please." Pleaded Sakura. "You mustn't!! You've got to live!! With me! It was a mistake! The only reason I loved Itachi is because he reminded me so much of you! I love you, Sasuke."
"You love him?" Sakura turned around and found Itachi staring at her. Daring her to speak.
"Itachi. I…I…um…" Sakura shook her head as if to throw out a disturbing thought. "NO! I won't cry! I love Sasuke. And nothing you do will change that!"
"Nothing? What if I killed him?"
"There are things more painful than physical pain." Itachi ran at her, kunai in hand.
"No! Itachi…Oto-san. STOP!" Haruka shouted. Itachi stopped in his tracks, inches away from Sakura. He glared at her.
"Nice of you to come, Itachi."
"Foolish little brother-"
"I have a name."
"Sasuke…" Itachi smirked at him. "I guess this is goodbye." Itachi ran at him, faster than he had before.
Sasuke smirked back. He brought the kunai up to his chest.
"No!" Hiroshi reached for the kunai, hoping to rip it out of Sasuke's hands. But, that didn't work. Sasuke jerked his hands away. Hiroshi missed his destination. He didn't get the kunai. He got Sasuke. Hiroshi pushed Sasuke off the cliff. Just before Sasuke went off, he smiled.
"Sasuke…!"
"Goodbye, Sakura."
"No!!!!! Sasuke!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sakura screamed into the darkness.
Slowly, the red moon disappeared, just like Sasuke's life. The darkness was lifted, but instead of relief, shock, despair and suffering were in the air.
Crying, Sakura sank down on her knees.
And then, almost like a spell, the first rays of the sun finally appeared. The eclipse, was finally over. And Hiroshi, was long gone.
