46: Rows

On the west, the sun illuminated the field with a lovely warm glow. Dimly, Sakura noted that she had actually slept until afternoon, but the thought was shoved at the back her mind. All she could barely comprehend was the rows.

Rows of graves. All neatly laid side by side as far as the eye could see.

Numb, all that she could only gaze at the perfectly arranged mass gravesite that stretched for miles. Part of her wanted to jump from her position and look for any damning evidence of her friends' bodies while in the other hand she just... wanted to stay, to resist reality once more, even if it was in the arms of an enemy.

"Am I dreaming?" she asked aloud.

She was startled when her perch softly answered, "No."

Sakura teared her eyes from the graves. Uchiha Itachi — face perfectly blank except for the myriad of cracks that was scattered all throughout. Black sclera, pale skin, and the lack of heartbeat were all signs of his un-life. And he was carrying her.

The irony that the undead man was standing while she, the living, was helpless wasn't lost on her. She probably wouldn't look out of place amongst the rows of dead.

And neither would the Uchiha, come to think of it. He should be lying there with the pale and dead.

In fact... he should be lying in a ditch somewhere.

He should be burning in hell.

With that thought, Sakura motioned to be let on her two feet. Surprisingly, the undead gently complied.

But it didn't stop her fist from seeking his face.

47: Expectations

Her life was thoroughly shaken by this point that Sakura didn't think that she would be surprised by anything else. But she was.

Her fist connected with the bastard's face. She actually landed a hit on one of the most powerful shinobi the world had known.

The bastard flew to the east, smashing through the landscape.

For a moment, she stared at the distance he traveled, mouth agape as her fist slackened. Then furious determination surged in, igniting her body with adrenaline.

How dare he — when all of them are —

Maybe this was how the jinchuuriki felt when they went loose; unbridled rage jerking their movements to destruction. Sakura stalked towards the direction of the bastard — or maybe, it was accurate that her body was the one that moved while she sat back and watched. Somewhere, far deep in the turbulent mindscape, Inner cried for grief, for their friends, but most of all, she cried for reason, because if this continues —

— and she was ignored.

Sakura was beyond furious.

It didn't matter if Inner was right warning her not to lose herself. It didn't matter if she was pushing her body to its limits. It didn't matter that, if they were alive, her friends would've been horrified by what she was doing, or what she planned to do. It didn't matter that whatever she would do, everyone would stay dead.

It didn't matter if it would make no difference in the world.

Sakura arrived where the bastard was. He was aware, she knew, because his kind never went unconscious, but he didn't stand up. He didn't even acknowledge her presence, just staring at whatever angle he apparently landed in.

No matter.

Sakura forcibly restrained her strength when she cracked her knuckles.

She will hurt him, and he would remember it.

~ Congratulations. We have now reached the last backlog of chapters for RtSS. Which means that I now have to write new chapters, which means more waiting for you! Which means erratic update schedule.

Yeah, I paused (not stopped!) writing RtSS fics since last... August(?) because of Real Life and work. And I was just posting the drabbles that finished in the months after, while plotbunnies from other fics kept popping out.

But! We are nearing the end... of this arc (the Beginning of the End, I think?). Yes, I know, we are nearing the end of this arc and I simply left you a cliffhanger. :D

But thank you for sticking with me. Please let me know what you think about the fic so far. :)