Cries Of A Raven

By Fiorae

Disclaimer:

Sasuke: Fiorae doesn't own me or Naruto, dumb asses.

Fiorae: But if I did, I'd do soooo many things to them ...-smirks-

Sasuke: -shudders- Thank god I'm a copyrighted character ...

Author's Notes: Alright, if you guys are seeing this, it means I got enough reviews to post this chapter. Woot Woot! I don't intend for this to be a very long fic. Four chapters at the most. And also, so nobody thinks I'm neglecting my other fic, Forbidden Fruits, these fic was already typed a long time ago. I'm just waiting for the right reviews before I post each chapter.

Chapter Two: Giving In To Temptation

"Good Morning, Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke looked up to see the pink haired Sakura smiling brightly at him. He hitched his chin up in response. Naruto watched as Sasuke walked closer. Today he was sporting a thin black hoodie and blue jeans, a bit of an improvement over his gothic ware from the previous day. But he was moving a bit more slower than normal ... and he was a bit more pale than normal ... and ... thinner.

"How are you feeling today?" Naruto asked softly. For a brief moment, he saw a change in Sasuke's expression. But as quickly as it appeared, it was gone, leaving him to wonder if he ever saw it at all.

"Better," Sasuke replied. His voice sounded soft and distant, like he was talking from deep inside himself. It worried Naruto.

"I wonder how late Kakashi-sensei will be today," Sakura sighed, crossing her arms. Naruto leaned against he wooden fence behind them. Sasuke moved toward the fence too, sitting down on the ground next to Naruto. He exhaled slowly, leaning back and letting his head drop. Sakura frowned. "Tired, Sasuke-kun?"

"Mmm ..." Sasuke mumbled in response. Naruto decided he'd sit too, sinking into his knees. He watched the older boy. It seemed he hadn't notice Naruto was there yet. It looked as if he'd fallen asleep right there. His breathing was slow and shallow and his face looked drained. Naruto bit his lip, then gained the courage to speak.

"Did you take a nap like you said you would?" he whispered softly, just out of ear shot of Sakura. Despite how quietly he'd said it, Sasuke still jumped. He glanced at Naruto, then at his shoes.

"Couldn't sleep."

Naruto frowned. He reached out and touched Sasuke's forehead then gasped. "You're so cold!"

Sasuke mentally cursed for once again allowing Naruto to touch him. He gently shoed away Naruto's hand.

"The heating system broke and I didn't feel like fixing it yesterday," he mumbled. It appeared Naruto bought that one. Good thing he was such a gullible idiot.

After another ten minutes, Kakashi appeared. Naruto and Sakura scolded him for being late, just as they always did. Kakashi rubbed his head.

"I'm very sorry. But you see, a pink rabbit drove by my path and ..."

"You're lying!" Naruto and Sakura yelled together. Kakashi laughed.

"Well anyway, I wanted to let you three know training is canceled for the day. Apparently, Iruka-sensei is having some sort of emergency he needs my assistance with. It's nothing to worry about, Naruto," Kakashi added, seeing Naruto's expression change. "So, I bid you fair well."

Kakashi vanished and Sakura sighed. "So once I again, another wasted morning with no breakfast," she rubbed her growling stomach. Naruto held his own stomach.

"How bout we go for a late breakfast at the ramen bar?" he suggested. His mouth watered with the idea of ramen noodles. Sakura nodded.

"I'm so hungry, I'll even eat noodles right now!" she laughed, "What about you, Sasuke-kun?" Sasuke looked up at the mention of his name. He shrugged.

"I'm not hungry ..."

Naruto sighed inwardly. He wondered when was the last time Sasuke ate anything ...

"Well, come anyway. You might change your mind," he said, giving Sasuke his trademark grin. Sasuke stared at him a moment, then nodded.

WwWwWwW

Team 7 sat down at the counters. Naruto and Sakura had somehow convinced Sasuke to order a small bowl of ramen and eat a bit, much to Naruto's pleasure.

"It's ... good," Sasuke said through a mouthful of noodles. Naruto laughed.

"See? Even Sasuke likes noodles! Nobody can resist the charm of the ramen noodles!" he cheered. For the first time in a long while, Sasuke smiled a genuine smile. It was refreshing for Naruto to see.

Behind the counter, two young girls were watching Sasuke, whispering to each other every few seconds. Sasuke's smile slowly faded and he looked down at his half empty bowl of ramen. Naruto could hear phrases like 'tragic clan' and 'the last member' coming from the girls mouths. But what seemed to set Sasuke over the edge was the mention of his older brother's name.

"He's the only one Itachi wouldn't kill ..."

His expression darkened considerably. His head shot up, black eyes flaring.

"Don't ever say his name again!" he yelled. The two girls jumped, as did Sakura and Naruto. Sasuke

"S-sasuke-kun ...?" Sakura stuttered, fear evident in her eyes. Sasuke turned and ran out of the ramen bar. The two girls looked frightened.

"W-we're sorry. We didn't mean to upset him like that!" one stuttered. Naruto shook his head.

"He hasn't been himself at all lately ..." he whispered softly.

WwWwWwW

He returned to that empty house, heading straight for his brother's room. He flopped down on the bed and cradled his old pillow close to him. Breath in his scent ... and tried to remember something happy. Anything happy. Anything to get his mind off that day. The only thing that he could think of was when Itachi taught him how to swim in the lake near the house. He'd thought he was going to drown that day, the way Itachi left him on his own like he did. But in a time of crisis and panic, he learned how to swim.

He smiled, thinking how Itachi had been so proud of how quickly he learned to swim. But the smile vanished off his face as he caught sight of something across the room. There on Itachi's dresser, was a family portrait. He'd ripped there mother and father out of the photo, leaving just the two of them holding hands. The tears sprung to Sasuke's eyes.

"I'm the only one you left alive, Onii-chan ..." he whispered.

Sitting up, he grabbed over the bed for his 'buddy'.

"Was I not worth your time ...?"

He held the knife in front of him, examining it's now blood stained tip. Slowly, he took off his hoodie.

"You never had time for me ..."

He brought the knife close to his chest ...

"Itachi ..."

Slowly, he began to carve his name into his chest. The name of the one who left him so broken.

Itachi.

The knife hit the floor with a clank, the sound of blood splattering echoing throughout the room. He couldn't breath. He opened his mouth to take in air, but instead coughed up blood. His eyes teared over from the shearing pain he felt. Was this how his mother and father felt when they died? Suddenly, Sasuke found himself thinking about ... Naruto. Why now, when he was dying, was he thinking of that idiot? Because you though of the person who means the most to you when you die, right? How would Naruto feel when he found out that he was ...

Slowly, with his hand on his chest, Sasuke tumbled to the ground.

WwWwWwW

Naruto looked at the clock on his wall. It'd been hours since Sasuke had ran out of the ramen bar. The sun was setting.

"I wonder if he got home alright ..." he whispered. His blue eyes trailed to the window. The sky looked dark and ominous. It was going to rain soon ... What if Sasuke got caught up in the rain? What if he was too tired from lack of sleep and collapsed somewhere?

Naruto shook his head. He looked at the clock once more. "Maybe I should go check on him ... just to be sure he made it home alright," he said to himself. Deciding this was a good plan of action, he jumped from his bed and headed to the kitchen. Sasuke was probably hungry, so he grabbed a few packets of Ramen, the slipped on his sandals and ran out the door.

Sasuke's house was about a ten minute run from Naruto's. Being as fast as he was, Naruto made it there in five.

"Sasuke! I come bearing noodles!" he yelled at the front door. When no one replied, he turned the handle, very much surprised to find it unlocked. It was unlike Sasuke to leave his door unlocked ... Naruto stepped in, looking around slowly. The house was dark and bare of any decorative things. The admittedly, it was quite clean. Very different from Naruto's house. The blonde walked up the stairs. Maybe Sasuke had decided to take a nap.

Blood. The scent of blood wafted in the air. Naruto felt a sense of terror role up his spine. The blood smelt fresh and thick. He ran toward the scent, coming to a room with the door a jar. Slowly, he looked in. His eyes widened in horror.

"Sasuke ..." he whispered breathlessly, rushing over to his fallen friend. He knelt down next to him. Sasuke's body was covered in blood, looking like a shimmering red sheet over him. The word 'Itachi' shined brightest, carved into his chest. Naruto reached out and gently touched Sasuke's cheek. Stone cold ...

His fingers moved down to his neck. He shuddered, his blue eyes wide with fear.

Sasuke wasn't breathing ...

Chapter Two End