A/N: Oh. Mah. Gawd. If you don't read the manga, don't read the next few sentences... but I just have to put this here.
SPOILERSPOIILERSPOILERSPOILERFROMMANGA386!!!NON-MANGAREADERSLOOKAWAY!!!!
Can you believe how insanely close my idea comes to the manga plot?! Itachi wanting Sasuke's eyes... funny thing is, the whole Kyuubi control thing with the brothers' eyes was already circulating in my mind for this story... How weird is that? The only difference is that in my fic the roles are reversed. I seriously didn't have any kind of inside source or anything... apparently, Kishimoto and I think alike! xD
ENDENDENDENDBACKTOYOURREGULARPROGRAMMING!WHEEEE!!!
I like this chapter. I don't know why... I just do. xP
Chapter Stats
Rating: PG
Pairings: Mild SasuSaku
Even though I feel rather like Kishi right now... I'm not him, and I don't own the amazing series of Naruto nor any of its lovely characters!
And without further ado, here's chapter nine!
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Chapter Nine: A Hellish Decision
"WHAT?!" Sakura nearly fell out of her chair in surprise. "Sasuke…! When? Why?!"
Tsunade looked away from her student. "He came in this morning… we spoke of his reasons and punishment possibilities, which he's agreed he'll take dutifully… but…" She closed her eyes dismally.
The suspense got under Sakura's prickling skin. She lurched forward, barely restraining herself from shaking the Hokage. "But what?!"
"He's… requested that… you… choose his punishment."
She shook her head of pink hair and blinked hard. The words didn't register at first, but as they began to sink in, she felt suddenly queasy.
"W-why me?" She struggled to maintain her composure.
"I don't know," Tsunade replied. "Come with me, you need to talk to him."
She nodded her head weakly and rose to her feet, finding it exceedingly difficult to stay standing.
"I know speaking to him will be hard… you haven't seen him for years…"
Sakura bit her lip. Is there anyone I'm not lying to right now?
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Sasuke leaned against the cold, hard brick in his cell. The floor was grungy and almost made him ache for a shower, but he sat on it anyways, because the bed was possibly the only more repulsive thing he had ever seen in comparison. He rested his head on his knees tiredly.
I'm going to leave my fate up to Sakura… do I live freely, do I rot here forever, or do I die? After all of the things I've put her through… and all of the things she's done for me… I owe her nothing less.
Besides, my life is meaningless anyways. Resurrecting my clan can lead to no good… we Uchihas were bred to kill. And that's just what we do.
Naruto… if I ever see him again, I'll have to apologize to him… for so many things…
But yet, I'm not sorry for loving Sakura. I can't bring myself to be ashamed of that.
"Sasuke-kun!"
Am I dreaming?
"Uchiha-san? We've brought Haruno-san, as requested."
No, she's really here.
He elegantly rose to his feet, and Sakura stifled a smirk. Even behind bars, he's perfect.
"Leave us alone, please," she said sweetly to the guard who had escorted her in. He nodded, but whispered something in her ear before reluctantly leaving the teen alone with the onyx-eyed prisoner.
"Sasuke-kun…" She approached his cell slowly. "What did you do this for…?"
He watched her with half-lidded eyes as she pushed a delicate hand through the bars and placed it on his pallid cheek.
"Sakura. I owe it to you," he said, shoving his pride into a box in the back of his mind, despite its angry thrashing to escape. "Thank you, for everything."
She smiled bitterly. "You know I hate when you say those words to me."
Sakura jumped when a cold hand brushed a piece of her hair out of her face. He watched her eyes carefully as he ran a finger along the outline of her cheek and along her jaw line, as if memorizing her features. She inadvertently leaned into his finger.
"So I guess I have a decision to make, huh?"
Sasuke nodded, and retracted his hand from her skin, but her hand remained glued to the side of his emotionless face. She gazed into his eyes placidly, exploring their cold depths, trying to find a glimpse of any feeling at all, to no avail.
"I remember your eyes, Sasuke-kun… the ones you were born with." She began to lightly stroke his cheek. "They were… so much different… even though they were the same color…"
"Sakura, what are you going to do?"
"You always were too serious… heh…" She removed her hand from his face and dropped it to her side. "I'm going to go home tonight and think about it… and I think I'll consult your best friend, too…"
She felt tears rise to her eyes and she lowered her head as to hide them. Her mouth opened to speak again, but she was interrupted by Sasuke's tenor voice.
"I'm sorry, Sakura." She jerked her head up. "I should never have…"
That's not… he's not…
No way…
As Sakura examined his face, she noticed a very strange haze had coated his raven eyes. His expression hadn't changed, but a tear was undeniably running down his cheek. She watched it with wide jade eyes as it dangled, then dripped off his face and landed on the solid ground with a plik.
She swallowed a thick lump in her throat and left without another word to the crying Uchiha.
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Naruto stretched his arms widely, and then prepared himself to perform another kage bunshin maneuver.
I wonder what happened to the teme. I haven't seen him today. It's not nearly as fun to practice alone.
As he multiplied himself and charged toward a block of wood that was being used as his target, he noticed a strange marking on some trees in the corner of his eye. After finishing his technique, he dispelled his shadow clones and approached the trees curiously.
Multiple swirling gashes had been made in each of their trunks leaving the center of the trees nearly blown out of the other side. Naruto scratched his head.
It's almost like I Rasengen'ed these… but I'm sure I didn't. And nobody else knows Rasengan…
Do they?
He ran his fingers along the curved ridges.
I'll compare it to my own…
The blonde stepped back from the tree and swirled his own Rasengan, then thrust it into a nearby unmarked tree. The area was instantly engulfed with brown dust and woodchips, and Naruto kept his eyes closed even after he finished the assault to wait for the debris to settle.
After a minute passed, he opened his blue eyes slowly, and began to examine his own mark.
It didn't take long for the Kyuubi vessel to realize…
My Rasengan spins the opposite way…
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His life… what does it mean to me?
I refuse to let that man… that nothing-short-of-a-demi-godly beast… waste away in that jail cell.
If I choose for him to die, I can go on like he never came back… I can force myself to be happy with Naruto… and in time, I'll move on.
But bearing the burden of losing him… would be… so hard…
If I choose for him to live, he can eventually become part of society again… well, as much as he ever was before. I wouldn't have to live with his death…
But that would mean that I'd have to choose between Sasuke and Naruto… and I'd live with knowing I broke a heart, whether it is Naruto's pure one or Sasuke's tainted one.
Sasuke-kun and I think about this decision differently. He sees it as something good… but for me, it's nothing short of hell.
You would think that the answer would be an obvious, 'Preserve your love's life!' but it really isn't that simple. Not only would his death eliminate this problem of mine, but justice would be served… plus, it would put him out of his misery honorably…
I'm going to ask Naruto what he thinks… and I'm going to tell him everything.
I'm sick of lying to everyone. I can't do this anymore.
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A/N: Get ready for some estranged relationships! Woohoo!
Review, hm?