That cry tore through his ears, as if an arrow had just shot through his heart.
He gasped, eyes widened.
He halted his horse abruptly, causing the beast to fret and raised its hooves into the air.
"Here, here," Shikadai calmed his own horse, before looking at his father with an arched eyebrow.
"Father…?"
"Didn't you hear?" Shikamaru stared blankly in front of the road in front of him, and jerked the head of the horse in the opposite.
"Father?" Shikamaru said nothing and whipped his horse as hard as he could.
No.
He prayed to the gods, he prayed to his father, his mother …
Hell he even prayed to the Mad King.
She cannot be harmed, she cannot die, not before he had another word with her, not before he saw that dazzling smile of hers again, not before he spend eternity with her…
No.
The rain battered his face, slamming over every inch of his face, blurring his vision.
He could faintly hear his son calling behind him, but he could not care, he did not have the precious time to care.
She never realized that hell would look so much like her own room.
But no, this was not what she expected.
Blood was everywhere, as if someone has spilled a sea of red paint, the scent filled her nostrils.
No, this was not it.
She could feel the warmness splashed onto herself, warm, sticky.
She stared in front of her – this girl stood in front of her, her long dark hair, light armour – all of them stained with blood.
In her left hand was a long steel blade, covered in blood, the weapon dangled in her hand.
As her blade hit the ground, she woke up from the trance she was in.
The pain on Sasuke Uchiha's face was barely describable – he was shocked, angered, and most of all in pain.
On the ground, was a severed forearm, cleanly cut from the elbow, bathing in a pool of its own blood.
Sasuke tore off a piece of his cape and wrapped around his arm.
He picked up the sword with his remaining hand, and sheathed it.
Each step he took was agonizing – she could see it in his face.
Whether it was the pain of losing his arm, his daughter, or knowing the truth, she did not know.
Temari took the falling girl into her arms – a deep cut sprawled its way across her torso, revealing bits of white among the sea of red.
"Izumi," Sasuke muttered, as if he had lost his mind. "No, why, no."
He fell onto his knees, reaching out his hand desperately, his bloodied hand out in an attempt to touch the face of the fallen girl.
Izumi coughed; blood welled from her already stained lips. "Father…" she muttered, staring at him with familiar red eyes.
Sasuke stared hollowly. "You have taken Itachi from me, and now his daughter too?" He muttered darkly. "The Desert is cruel."
"You killed your own blood," Temari said, her eyes widened in shock.
She reached out with her hand, covered with Izumi's blood, and smeared it onto Sasuke's pale, cold face.
"Feel it, it's warm." Temari turned and held the panting girl in her arms; she could feel her body slowly cooling, the life in her evaporating from her as the heat slipped away.
She tore off the sleeve of her kimono and pressed onto her long gash, attempting to stop the bleeding.
"Leave," she said coldly, eyeing the dark-haired man.
Sasuke limped as he stood up, his hand pressing on the clear cut gash of where his forearm used to be, and leapt out of the window.
Temari cradled the girl and laid her onto the bed, her hands pressing onto the wound; the blood welled out, staining everything in its way in a dark red coloured.
"Hang in there," she said softly; gently brushing strands of her, which were out of place, scrawling over her blood stained face.
Izumi panted, gasping for breath as crimson liquid trickled down her chin.
"I know your mother," she was trying to say something, anything to get her attention.
Izumi's fazed eyes laid upon her, those red, god-forsaken eyes stared at her longingly, those eyes that were shaped like Mina's, but did not belong to her.
"Your mother is a great person," Temari said softly, almost humming. "She loved you more than anything, you know?"
Izumi nodded weakly. "Princess… Te-Temari."
"Yes child." She smiled at the girl, soothing her cheek gently.
"Sarada…" She uttered, her gaze falling apart. "My sister…"
"She will not be harmed." Temari smiled at her. "I promise."
Izumi smiled gently, as she closed her eyes slowly.
Temari retracted her hands from the blood-soaked cloth, her hands stained red by the girl's blood.
At that moment, she broke down.
Tears well out of her eyes uncontrollably, she leaned forward and poured herself over Izumi's still warm body, as if her warm tears could wash the red stain off the girl's body and pour life back into her.
He ran, pushing everyone out of his way, his goal was clear – Temari's room.
He nearly destroyed the door as he pushed the door open.
His wife was leaning onto the bed, kneeling on the ground.
On her bed was a dead young woman – she was about Shikadai's age, he recognized her – Uchiha's older daughter.
Everywhere was covered in blood in that room, the walls, the floor - it was like a failed painting where someone has spilled crimson paint all over the canvas.
He lunged forward and seized Temari by her shoulders pulling her up.
For once, he thought that she was willowy, like a leaf drifting in the wind; she had no balance, nearly falling onto his chest.
"Are you hurt?" He studied her quickly; she said nothing in return to his question.
Her kimono was ragged and torn, but no, the blood was cold on her – it was not hers.
He glanced quickly at the girl on the bed, lying there silently.
"She is dead." Temari said softly, her eyes looking up. "I killed her."
"How?" Shikamaru was not convinced – Temari would never kill excessively, especially not a girl that was about her child's age.
"She attacked and I slashed her," she fished her dagger out of the robes and showed it to Shikamaru. "Just like that."
He looked at the body on the bed, turning and shaking his head.
"You are lying."
"I did kill her." Temari stared at him desperately "She didn't need to die, not here, not today…"
"It's true Shikamaru, I am a murderer…" Temari slammed herself onto his chest, her fist beating weakly against his body.
"Temari." He held her in his arms. "You have to tell me, who killed her?"
Temari said nothing for a few seconds, slowly raising her head, she pointed to the ground.
That was when he noticed the detached arm on the ground.
"He did." Temari said softly, her eyes hollow.
From afar, he could recognized the cloth that used to be a sleeve of a robe, dark imprinted patterns of paper fans …
He frowned, as he made a heart-hardening realization.
Sasuke Uchiha killed her.
His own daughter, his flesh and blood.
Dead by his own sword.
He pulled a chillingly quiet Temari closer to his chest, gently ruffling her hair.
"I…" Temari looked up, staring at her husband.
"We will talk about this later," he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, helping her walk out of the room. "You need to rest."
"No, you have to listen to me," Temari pushed him away hardly, almost crashing onto the wall. "I told him the truth."
"What truth?"
"The truth behind his brother's rebellion, something that not even the dead Kings of Konoha know. Something that only Suna knows."
"Nothing you say would surprise me now," said Shikamaru, waiting for her to continue.
Temari covered her face with one of her hands, sighing deeply.
"It was all a hoax."
Temari sighed again, shaking her head.
"It was the only one that succeeded among all the crazy schemes," she closed her eyes. "The Uchiha was not going to rebel," the words felt like stones being dropped into the ocean. "My father tricked the King of Konoha to kill them off."
Shikamaru tried to keep his expression composed, as Temari stumbled away on her own.
He stared at her back as she walked away – something about her was different.
She became less like his wife, and more like a stranger.
Lord Nara was not sure whether he knew his wife anymore.
"Sasuke needs to answer to his crime," the King said heavily. "He killed his daughter, niece, who Izumi really is does not matter – he killed his own kin."
The pink haired woman knelt in front of the throne, she bent on the ground; her forehead pressing on the cold hard ground.
"Please, Your Majesty," she said weakly. "Have mercy, have mercy on the Uchiha, have mercy on young Sarada."
"Don't do this to me, Sakura-chan," Naruto looked at her with a pained expression on his face. "I don't feel good about this either, but to kill his own daughter…"
"At least," Sakura looked up, her expression unfazed, the stain of tears running across her fair face. "Allow me to."
"What do you mean?" Naruto arched an eyebrow, unsure what she meant.
"I will give him the punishment he deserves," she said, with desperate determination in her eyes. "Please Naruto."
The blonde man sat there on his throne, tapping his fingers as he plunged into his own thoughts.
He remained silent for a few minutes, as Sakura stared at him, hoping that he would grant her mercy.
"Very well, I trust you to do your bidding." Naruto sighed, and waved his hand.
Sakura knocked her head onto the ground again, tears rolling down her face.
"Thank you, Naruto." She uttered in tears. "Thank you."
She never knew that she would meet him again, in the dungeons of the Palace.
She was almost certain that Sasuke would have been killed by the guards, sent by Naruto to catch him.
Instead, he surrendered without a fight, calm and composed, he walked into his dungeon cell.
Sasuke sat inside a heavily guarded cell, his arm patched and tied up with bandages.
His face emotionless, his eyes hollow – the great Sasuke Uchiha looked like he was already dead.
Sakura sat opposite him, separated by the iron bars. Her eyes were dry from all those tears she poured in front of Naruto, in front of everyone else.
She did not come here to show him her tears, no, she came today to administer the King's punishment.
For once in her husband's life, he was at her mercy.
"Sasuke-kun," she opened her dry lips, as the man raised his head and stared back at her.
"I never realized how beautiful you really are," he said, absentmindedly. "All these years dreaming of revenge, I have lost my concepts of all things bright or beautiful."
"And look where revenge has gotten you."
She said sadly, starting to mix a few bottles of ointment in front of her.
He ignored her statement and looked away.
"So Naruto has sent you instead of an executioner?" Sasuke closed his eyes, as the mortar and pestle clashed and grounded against each other.
"I begged His Majesty to let me administer your punishment." She said softly.
"Izumi has been cremated, I made sure her ashes were sprinkled at the hills behind the old Uchiha mansion."
Sasuke jolted. "How would you…"
"You paid your respects to your brother there, every year, on the day that you killed him." Sakura bit her lip. "It is only proper to lay his daughter to rest next to him."
Sasuke sighed lightly.
"Thank you Sakura." He said, as if he was relieved. "That way I can meet Itachi and Izumi together."
Sakura said nothing in return; she poured a green coloured liquid from the apparatus onto a piece of cloth, distilling it into an eerie looking green fluid.
"To die by my wife's hand," Sasuke stood up and walked towards the iron bars.
Sakura followed, holding the cup in her hand.
Sasuke raised his hand, reaching out of the bars and gently pressed his fingers atop her forehead, right where her rhombus mark was.
"I will see you and Sarada later." His lips turned into a tiny, gentle smile – something that she barely saw as his wife of ten odd years.
Sakura clutched the cup in her hand, and pushed it into Sasuke's.
He lowered his head with a smile, and poured the entire cup down his throat.
He knew Sakura's poison should make him fall into a peaceful, eternal sleep.
Instead, an agonizing pain began to rose from his stomach, burning every inch of his body; he crashed onto the ground, curling into a ball, he clutched the dust and dirt on the floor.
"Why?" He croaked, glaring at the pink-haired woman angrily.
Sakura stared back with placid, teal eyes.
"I ask the King to have mercy on me and Sarada, I did not ask him to grant you mercy," Sakura crouched down and stroke Sasuke's agonized face. "This is a paralysis poison, and you will be fed this for the rest of your time on this world."
She stood back up and turned around, leaving a tossing and turning Sasuke, screaming illegible cries as nightfall crept onto blood tainted Konoha.
The chains of death bound themselves tight around the Crimson Moon.
Author's note:
Another chapter! Guest (i don't know who you are) that was a good guess! But no Temari is not going to die ... or is she?
I am not sure either :3
Anyway, enjoy this chapter!
V.S.V xoxo