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Chapter 5: Of Willows and Whispers

It took only a few minutes for them to reach the other side and most of the trip was spent in silence. Sasuke used the time to study the old man, who appeared harmless and yet was obviously a threat to the shadow.

He looked ordinary enough. Wrinkles, white hair underneath a straw hat, and dull, black eyes. His expression seemed rather placid and devoid of emotion but Sasuke, unlike most people, had never found that sort of thing particularly disturbing. His movements, too, were steady but slow. Nothing suggested that he was a worthy opponent in battle.

It was strange.

There was subtle thud. They had reached the shore of the other side. 'Naruto' let out a shout of joy and stepped onto land eagerly.

Sasuke remained in the boat.

"Ano…" he began carefully, "A girl with pink hair. Did you see her?"

The old man took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "What is your name?"

"Uchiha," he decided to answer.

There was a flicker of recognition in that dried, hollow face, "Uchiha… Sasuke?"

That meant he had seen Sakura. If things went well, perhaps he would tell where she was.

"Hai. That's my name. Where is she?"

"She told me about you and about that one," the old man jerked his thumb toward where the shadow was frolicking, "Uchiha Sasuke. Uzumaki Naruto. To give you both safe passage was her last request before she forgot. And I wouldn't have performed it if she hadn't begged with all her heart and paid the price."

There was something in his manner of speech that made Sasuke pause. Something in his words that made him feel guilty and ashamed. But as he was in habit of doing, he pushed away his feelings to focus on his goal, "Where is she?"

But the old man had begun rowing the boat and to avoid being taken back to the place from which he had come, Sasuke was forced to leap out. As his feet hit solid ground, he called out angrily after the vanishing boat, "You still haven't answered my question, old man! Where is Sa--!"

He stopped, gritting his teeth. He could barely see the outline of the boat anymore. Words floated back to him, though, and they were soft on the wind and hard on the ear, "Be grateful, boy. She loved you deeply, she did..."

Sasuke clenched his fists, letting his eyes drop to the ground in frustration.

"I owe this girl, too. I ought to thank her. We both do, don't you think?" someone drawled. Sasuke turned to see 'Naruto' waiting for him with a smirk, "Neither of us couldn't have gotten across without her help."

The sight of those blue, devilish eyes reminded Sasuke of his other questions. He regarded the shadow with guarded suspicion, "Why were you afraid of that old man?"

"My goodness, haven't you already figured it out already?"

He had, of course. Part of it, anyway, "You're not supposed to be here."

"Exactly," 'Naruto' grinned, "To put it simply, it's against the rules."

It was almost ironic. The real Naruto had never been one for following the rules either. Nevertheless, as he stared at his teammate's face, which was contorted by a darkness that was felt rather than seen, Sasuke felt that the rules that had been broken were far more important than 'Thou shalt not paint on the Hokage monuments'.

"We shadows, you see, lack our own identities. Because of that, we can't get across."

"Why do you lack identities?"

For a brief instant, there was a forlorn look on 'Naruto's' face. He said softly, "Well, shadows weren't always just shadows. I wasn't always a shadow. Once, I was someone with a past and a life… It's a sad story, really…"

But Sasuke wasn't one for sad stories, not when he had already lived one. Not when he was facing the possibility of reliving one. With casual indifference, he left 'Naruto' and walked along the shore.

After some exploring, he discovered that there was only one path to follow. As much as he journeyed, no matter which direction he took, he always found himself back at the same path. It was one that led into a forest. With no other option, Sasuke began to follow it.

There were trees on both sides and occasionally in the middle of the path. There was such a wide variety of them that it made the place seem even more unnatural. Tall, fir trees that stretched defiantly upward but were bare of leaves. Small, stunted ones that looked pitiful and elicited scorn. Crooked and gnarled trees whose twisted appearances suggested evil. And an infinite number of willows, swaying as some invisible wind blew through their hanging vines… They were weeping, weeping…

There was somebody ahead in the distance. Sasuke saw that it was a middle-aged man, kneeling on the path. In his hand was a brown purse and scattered around him, lying dully on the ground, were shards of glass.

He was sobbing violently, hopelessly, as if all the pain in the world had been afflicted on him. Tears streamed down his cheeks and he hunched himself even further until his head touched the ground.

Sasuke was tempted to walk past but the guy seemed to be in desperate need. Cursing his feet as they took him closer, he was soon kneeling by the fallen man. Contrary to belief, he sometimes wasn't as heartless as he wished he could be.

"Hey, are you okay?"

The man ignored him, lost in his weeping.

The glass pieces were forgotten. Were it not for their monotonous color, they would have been beautiful although somewhat large. Apparently, they had come from something whole that had shattered upon hitting the ground. Sasuke reached to pick one up but then stopped, wondering at irrational impulse. It was just glass. Ugly, colorless glass, at that.

But as he stared at them, each shard seemed extremely important. How foolish to let them lie so carelessly. He reached again but stopped once more. This time, however, it was because it felt inappropriate to touch them. They were not his.

He looked at the man and thought he had never seen anyone as weak.

"Neh," he was suddenly compelled to say, "Aren't you going to pick them up?"

The man turned his head slowly and Sasuke was chilled by the emptiness in his eyes. He had seen lack of emotion before but this guy… It was as if his soul had spilled out of him, leaving a husk behind that meant nothing.

"Aren't you going to pick them up?" he asked again and the man shuddered at the question.

"No, no… I can't… I mean, I don't want to… I don't want to…"

"But… they're fading."

Indeed, the pieces were disappearing, blending into the ground until they vanished completely. Sasuke felt an inexplicable sense of loss. When the last had gone, the man suddenly let out a final groan of pain.

Limbs stretched to inhuman lengths and became a hard brown. Hair drooped and was a dreary, tasteless green that brushed against the ground. A face was lost and a tree was born crying. Sasuke stared at the vines that hung listlessly, surrounding him in a circle but not touching him.

All that was left of the man was a weeping willow and melancholy whispers.

"I wasted my life…"

They were whispers of sorrow, whispers of regret. Underneath the willow, Sasuke, trapped and trembling, could hear them all.

"I was so alone… So alone…"

Days of eating breakfast by himself, forcing the food down as the silence, in turn, devoured him. Nights of lying awake, thinking of people and conversations he had taken for granted. Years of returning home to a sad, dark house where he was always the first to come home and the first to leave....

"What had I done wrong…"

Memories of a family stolen from him because he had not been strong enough.

"Noone to love…"

Memories of a brother whom he once loved but could no longer love without hating himself.

"Noone to be loved by…"

But at this, he thought, Sakura, and then Naruto. Kakashi.

He thought of them, waiting with faith for his return, and of her, standing lost in that field of flowers.

"Please don't take my sunshine away…"

"…we'll be back soon and when we are, let's go some ramen, ok?"

"Sasuke-kun…"

His eyes hardened and his mouth set grimly. Iie. He would not let her slip away to sing that bittersweet song for the rest of eternity.

He had to find her.

Somehow, Sasuke found the strength to push aside the vines and leave.