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Reflection

Sasuke was aware now that it was now two days before he was to be married. He opened his eyes and looked over to the empty side of the bed. It was made up and it felt cold to the touch. He could almost see Naruto though, lying there, on his side, hair all over the pillow. He almost smiled before there was a knock on the door. He looked to the door and it opened, his mother looked in and she was almost smiling too.

"Time to get up, it is time for the rehearsal." Sasuke sat up.

"I feel ill." She then smiled.

"Hida could always help you feel better." Sasuke swallowed hard and tentatively touched his back, where it was crusting over with dried blood and skin. Sasuke's mother smiled a bit larger. "So I'll see you down in the main hall in a few minutes." Sasuke nodded as she closed the door and he looked over his shoulder. He laid down and reached under the pillow and when he pulled his hand out, he opened his palm and held between two fingers a black button with orange thread still lingering in the button. Sasuke stared up at it before he got up to get dressed, tucking it in his back pocket.

Coming downstairs, he saw Hinata lingering by the stairs. He jumped down the last two, startling her. Hinata wore an all white dress, not a wrinkle in sight on her dress and her hair hung straight down her back. She looked like a doll, Sasuke looked away.

"Shall we go?" Sasuke nodded and watched her reach for his arm. He held it close to his body and tucked his hands in his front pockets. Hinata shuffled away but followed him. Sasuke wanted to feel bad, he did and it was weird for him wanting to feel bad for someone he does not even know. He looked away, still feeling Naruto's presence with him. That made the day tolerable.

1

Itachi was lying on the ground, in the garden when he heard something. He looked up to see someone leaning against a tree. He smiled, hormones get the best of people near weddings. That's when he heard something else. When he lifted his head to see for a second time, he saw the hem of a dress and black boots on the ground. He sat up and leaned forward to see the long legs of a woman, kicked, but no voice followed. He stood and crept over. He was close enough to see but not be seen. He peeked behind the tree and saw a girl, being held down and an arm being pressed against her throat. She was trying to claw at his face but her hands were thrown down. When he saw dark hair, Itachi's eyes glowed red.

"Am I interrupting?" The man looked over his shoulder and saw Itachi. The girl, who he thought it was, looked up. Suzy's eyes were filled with tears and Itachi acted. He grabbed the man by the back of the shirt and yanked him up to his feet, but he stumbled back and fell. Itachi looked at Suzy, as she started to cough. "Are you alright?" She looked up at him and nodded slowly. He took one more look at her before descending on the man. Itachi crouched and growled. "If I catch you here ever again, I won't be so nice."

"But I work here-"

"Then I suggest you find a new job or else you won't be able to work." The man nodded and got up, half running when he did. Itachi stood and looked over his shoulder. He saw Suzy, trying to pull her top together but all the button hung on broken or lose threads. Itachi sighed, walked over and offered a hand. She looked at it before taking it. He pulled her up and shrugged off his jacket and dragged it over her shoulders. She pulled it together and dared to look at him. He was half smiling.

"You didn't-"

"I didn't need too, but-" Itachi looked down as he noticed something. Suzy looked down to see what he noticed and she jumped back, away from him. He looked up at her and grabbed her ankle this time.

"Itachi!" She yelped and he reached out to see around her ankle was a charm bracelet. "Please..." She whimpered and he looked up at her.

"You mean, after all these years, you would-"

"Of course I would. You did give it to me. You never told me I couldn't wear it around my ankle, you just advised me not to wear it around my neck." Itachi went to stand but then he noticed something else. He reached out and touched the ground and pulled his fingers closer to his face. He rubbed his fingers together and then looked at her.

"Did he rape you?" Suzy opened her mouth then shut it and whimpered slightly. "Or did you..." He shook his head and reached out to grab her hands. He saw her wrists were red from pressure of being held down. Itachi started to shake with anger and she whispered.

"Don't blame him."

"Then who the hell do I blame for raping you?" Suzy made a noise in her throat as she looked down. "I know it seems like I don't care but I do. It kills me that no matter what I do, you are still not safe from my mistake."

Without looking up, she whispered slightly. "It was my mistake first."

"But I shouldn't have agreed to it." Suzy finally looked up. "We shouldn't have..."

"I don't know about you, Itachi," Suzy started, tears forming as her voice started to crack. "But I would rather make that mistake a thousand times over and suffer the punishment of loving you for that small moment then never having the chance to meet you." Itachi kept his head down as Suzy added. "You will never be mine but when I thought you could be, it was magic when I was with you; I was happy when I was next to you."

"Suzy-"

"You don't have to say anything, you never had." Suzy giggled and he dared to look at her. Her tear stained face was still as beautiful as ever. It hurt. "I just wanted to tell you that no matter where you go, I still think of you. I still think of you in the mornings, when you make breakfast for me, in the afternoon when we would go for walks or in the evenings when you would read to me; but most of all, I wonder if you do that for your wife." Itachi jerked at that stab but she went on. "I don't know if you think of me, and I don't want to confirm it. Because whether you do or not, it will still hurt. To know you still love me but we can never be... or you don't love me but you torture me with your presence, I can't tell you what hurts more. It just does." Suzy pulled back and went to take the jacket off.

"No, keep it." She looked at him as Itachi smiled. "Until you have something suitable to put on." Suzy just smiled as she took the jacket off and handed it to him. Her top was ripped down to her navel and the front of her dress was torn up to her mid thigh. There was blood on her inner thighs and her dress.

"No, you keep it. It's not like anyone notices me anyway, not the one I want anyway." Suzy smiled and started to turn as she said. "Oh, by the way, thank you so much for saving me, Master Uchiha." Then Itachi watched her disappear into the brushes, he stood there until he couldn't hear her crying anymore. He stood there until he knew he would be alone, then he bent down and picked up a piece of the charm bracelet. One that had white thread through it from her thread job but blood lingered on a piece as well. It was a painful reminder that even if he did save her, she still wouldn't be safe, no matter what he did.

He stood and as he started to walk away, he tucked it in his back pocket, walking to the main hall.

1

Sasuke stood by the table as his brother decided to sauntered in. His parents didn't even raise their heads or notice him at all. His fists tightened as his jaw worked. Hinata poked at Sasuke slightly and he looked over. She had asked him something, he could see it in her eyes. The eyes that was impossible to read.

"And this is where you would say 'I do' and she would become your wife." Sasuke stared at her.

"I'll remember that." Hinata looked down as Sasuke stepped back and stared at his life. His eyes looked over at his parents, a loveless marriage, his eyes moved to his brother- who had a controlled marriage. Then he found his eyes looking at Hinata, who wasn't looking at him. He knew it would a loveless, sexless, an emotionless marriage. He would marry someone who could never love him and he could love her. He looked away. "That's it for today right?"

Everyone looked his way but he was already walking towards the door. He yanked it open and walked down the hall, to which he ran right into Suzy. She gasped and grabbed for her body. He reached out to steady her. He looked at her, she was covered from head to toe but where flesh was seen covered in bruises.

"Suzy-"

She stumbled back when he tried to touch her. "I-I ... sorry. I'm in a hurry." He nodded as he stepped out of her way and watched her run. Everyone, he thought, everyone is trapped.

1

In the city, it couldn't be heard. In the country, it was faint. In the middle of nowhere, where the only sound was your own breathing, that is when it was heard. It was soft but it was there. There is a house, a house that glowed from a seal. A seal that was breaking. The edges were flaking.

A boy, one that runs better with dogs, came near. He looked over, his red paint smudging slightly across his cheeks from sweat. He looked over and jumped off his companion, who growled when the boy advanced too close.

"Cool it, Akamaru, I just want to see." He crept closer, bending low and when he neared, the hair on the back of his neck stood up. He stood up slowly, near a window and looked in. He saw an empty room and blood was everywhere. He saw claw marks on the walls and glass was everywhere. His eyes widened. "What the hell..." He muttered and that's when a hand came up and slammed against the glass. The boy jumped back and screamed as the hand slid down, leaving a stream of blood behind. He struggled to get to his feet but once he was there, he ran back to Akamaru and jumped onto his back. However, he dared to look back. And when he did, the fingers were clawing at the window, leaving white marks in the glass. He kept looking, looking until he saw something standing, he squinted and made out a body. He saw blonde hair and when the face looked his way slowly, he saw a grinning man and blood red eyes. Akamaru growled deeper and then finally the body just started to suddenly laugh hysterically. The boy held onto Akamaru and took off.

The blonde looked out of the window. His forehead leaning against the window. He saw the world in red, which was interrupted slightly with colour from time to time. He chuckled slightly when the boy was out of view.

"I told you Naruto," The voice muttered and he stepped back slightly and looked into the window and saw his reflection. The reflection showed blonde hair, a blood covered face but blue eyes. He smiled. "You can't control me."

-Jun