NOTE: I'm a real nice person, aren't I? I give you hope for Sasuke, and then I snatch it away. I'm starting to wrap this story up. It should be over in the next few chapters, but I'll let you know when it's over. And in case you have to ask, yes, Sasuke and Sakura did do it in the woods. OK? One more thing. When Sakura is talking, try to imagine Ruth from Fried Green Tomatoes talking when she had cancer. She just kept that flat tone of voice. If you've never seen that movie, go see it. It rocks! It's my favorite. BTW, this chapter is super short, or at least much shorter than the other chapters, but there's a reason for it.
It was decided that Sasuke would be executed at dawn instead of noon, to prevent any more escape plans. Sakura had been sentenced to house arrest until the execution to prevent her from doing anything to try and bust Sasuke out of jail. They even had to get Tsunade to sit with her to make sure she wouldn't attempt suicide.
"So they're really going to do it, aren't they Tsunade?" Sakura asked staring blankly at the ceiling as she laid on her bed after a long awkward moment of silence.
"Do what, Sakura?" Tsunade was relieved that Sakura was still speaking to her. After all, she was the one who had to read Sasuke his death sentence.
"Kill him."
The awkwardness returned.
"Oh. Yeah."
Sakura scoffed. "Figures. All that time we spent trying to get away for nothing."
"It was a good try. You were really close to the border. Any further and you would have gotten away."
Sakura rolled her head to look at Tsunade. The older woman was shocked to see that the light had completely faded from them. It was almost like she was… dead.
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"
Tsunade realized the stupidity in her words. She had just told the poor girl that she might have made it if they had gone just a bit further instead of stopping for the night.
"Of course not, it was a stupid thing to say. I'm sorry."
"You know I lost my virginity out in those woods last night."
Tsunade didn't quite know how to respond to this piece of information. When she didn't say anything, Sakura continued.
"We planned on getting married, you know. I wanted to wait until then. Sasuke didn't care; he loved me. Anytime would've been fine for him. He was waiting on me. I didn't want to make him wait any longer. After we were done, he held me in his arms and whispered to me, 'Thank you, Sakura. I wanted to be with you before they killed me.' I didn't believe him. I thought we'd get across the border and be safe. It turns out, he was right. I'm still breathing, but the truth is, I'm already dead."
Tsunade sat next to the girl and hugged her. The two embraced and cried until dawn came. It was time for the execution.
-----
Sasuke was lead to the block where he would die. All of the village stood around him on either side. Sakura was to his right. As he walked by, he smiled lovingly at her and went on his way. Naruto, who had promised to stand beside her, was comforting her as best he could. It wasn't helping any. She was still hurting. Kakashi had promised to be there as well, but so far there was no sign of him.
Sasuke reached the block and knelt. Tsunade stood before him. She had tears running down her face. The executioner stood beside her, sword in hand. He wore a black mask over his face to conceal his identity.
"Sasuke Uchiha," Tsunade began.
Sakura lost it and burst into tears. Naruto held her and stroked her pink hair.
"Where the hell is Kakashi?" he wondered. "Don't tell me he's visiting Obito's grave again! Not now!"
"You have committed crimes against the Hidden Leaf Village," Tsunade knew they were lies, but it could not be helped.
"And therefore, you must be put to death by sword."
The executioner drew the weapon.
"Are there any last words you'd like to say, Sasuke Uchiha?"
"Yes."
He stood up and faced his lover.
"Goodbye… Sakura!"
The sword pierced his body and it was all over.