Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and Kudozaki Lucine. The rest belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.
| Uchiha Sasuke |
It was dark. That much I could tell, but that was all. I was unable to make out where I was, and everything felt fuzzy. It felt like I was floating on a big cloud of darkness, but it wasn't by any means relaxing. In fact it was suffocating me, like someone was constricting my lungs and it kept me from breathing properly. Where am I?
Suddenly, my surroundings changed, I found myself in... a forest? It was a very poorly illuminated forest, and all the trees looked black in color. Although it was dark, I could only make out the shape of the trees and the path on the ground that lead to God knows where. There was one thing that stood out though... Blood was splattered on all the trees. Every single one of them were not left untouched by the red substance. And the blood looked fresh, as if it someone had bleed all over the forest seconds ago.
I don't know what happened here, but looking at the blood made my stomach twist and turn, which already was odd on its own. Blood has never made me squeamish. Unless it was... My heart started beating unsteadily, already denying that thought. Whose blood is it?
Deciding to find out what happened here, I followed the trail of blood that was coating the path in between the trees. The deeper I went in the forest, the constricting feeling in my chest grew tighter, and it was almost tempting to just turn around and run the other way. But that would be the cowardly way, so I kept walking despite every single cell in my body screaming at me not to keep going.
As soon as I arrived at my destination, I already regretted it. No... No way.
My eyes widened, and everything in my body suddenly went numb as I lost all feeling. "L-Lu...cin..." I croaked shakily, as I collapsed on my knees. It was as if my soul left my body as I just stared helplessly at the sight, wanting to scream but being unable to.
There on the ground, was the lifeless body of Lucine. Her body was twisted into an unnatural position with her fingers bending the wrong way. There was a large gap in her chest where her heart was supposed to be. But there was no heart to there, as it laid on her side, cold and as lifeless as the rest of her. Her hair was spread around her like a halo, it almost made her look beautiful in a sick, twisted way. But perhaps the worst part was her lovely honey eyes, as they had been gouged out and unlike her severed heart, they were nowhere to be found.
Slowly and shakily I crawled over to her on my hands and knees with great difficulty. I was almost too scared to cradle her body in my arms. Her painfully pale skin was ice cold to the touch, and it was the worst feeling I have ever experienced. "No, please... p-please...! Oh God, no, I-I... Please... I can't live without you!" I begged silently, breathing uncontrollably as I watched her face wrought into a pained expression. The tears had already begun rolling down my cheeks, and I let out an anguished scream, now weeping into her shoulder as I desperately clung onto her.
Nothing mattered anymore. Absolutely nothing. If Lucine is gone, then what's even the point of me anymore? I limply let her cold corpse slip from my grasp as my eyes fell on the kunai that had suddenly materialized in my hand. I gripped it tightly and aimed it at my chest, looking at the blank metal with a cold sort of detachment. If Lucine is gone, there is no point to anything anymore. Not Konoha, not Itachi, not even my life.
"Weak." I heard an empty voice speak, breaking the silence of the dark forest and interrupting my train of thought.
I looked up from the kunai, and there in front of me stood Sabaku no Gaara, looking down at me with cold, calculating eyes. There was blood on his face and hands, though for some reason I just knew it wasn't his blood.
Suddenly, all I could see was red, and I was blinded by rage, "YOU! YOU DID THIS!" I roared with ferocious rage.
All he did was stare at me with an uninterested gaze, as if this situation only bored him which just fueled my fury. I let out another anguished cry, overcome with unadulterated despair.
"I'LL KILL YOU!" I got up and sprinted towards him, killing him the only thing on my mind, the only that I desperately needed. He killed-... He killed my-!
Before I could land a single blow on him, he had disappeared into thin air just like that. I quickly looked around in a crazed desperation, "WHERE ARE YOU?! COME OUT AND FIGHT ME, YOU COWARD-"
"Foolish little brother."
That voice. I would recognize it anywhere, no matter where. I froze where I stood, a cold shiver run down my back. That voice could only mean...
Slowly, I turned around facing my brother. He stood there so nonchalantly. Dressed in the same clothes he wore when he massacred our entire clan, with the blood still splattered all over his clothes. Lucine's corpse was nowhere in sight, with only the puddle of blood left. "Where is she, Itachi?" I growled through gritted teeth, hating the way my voice broke at the end. I already felt the tears coming back. Lucine...
"Does it matter? She's already dead." He said with a cruel smirk. I visibly winced at the reminder, closing my eyes to take in a hitched breath, but Itachi wasn't done. "You'll never see her again. And it's all your fault."
"You're wrong!" I snarled, denying it with all my being. "That's not true! IT'S NOT MY FAULT!"
"You're weak." He said, looking at me with disgust, "You were not strong enough to protect her."
I sobbed pathetically as I collapsed onto my knees, not even strong enough to keep myself from crying in front of him.
"You are weak because you lack hate. You are just as weak as you were back then."
With those last words, he disappeared into thin air just like Gaara had seconds ago, and I was left sobbing on the ground hysterically screaming Lucine's name.
I was not strong enough to protect her... and now she's gone forever... I'm weak... weak... weak.
"NO!" I howled as I shot up from bed, "Lucine?!" I called out again, fully alert. I looked around wildly, scanning my surroundings just to see I was in my room. "What...? A dream?"
A cold shiver ran down my back. No... It felt too real. Lucine was... I widened my eyes in realization as I felt my heart to a flip. "Lucine!"
As if the devil himself was on my heels, I sprinted out of my room and down the hallway, making my way to her room. With no regard to anything else I kicked the door open, but when I looked around her room it was empty. I felt my blood turn to ice under my skin at the helplessness I felt at seeing her unoccupied bed. "Lucine! Where are you?!" I cried, running out of the room and to the kitchen.
There, to my most immense relief, she was. She stood by the table while holding a plate of onigiri. When she noticed me, she placed the plate on the table and faced me, "Ah, Sasuke. I was just about to-"
I interrupted her by grabbing her forearms, and crushing my lips against hers, the force of the impact so great we both went tumbling to the floor with me landing on top of her. I could tell by her frozen state that she was surprised by the sudden bold movement, but I still did not pull away from the kiss. My hands found their way under her shirt, roaming up her stomach, touching every inch of skin I could get my hands on. She was warm, and she was alive, oh God how good it felt to have her alive. I will never take it for granted again.
Before it could go any further, she seemed to process the situation and I was suddenly harshly kicked away.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" She growled, a dangerous tone to her voice but it was mostly filled with confusion. She stood up, now towering over me with a frowning, confused expression.
Even though the kick had hurt, I still sighed in relief. It was only a dream... Lucine is still alive and well, being her usual self. She is not dead, I kept repeating in my head like a mantra, eyeing her pretty brown hair and divine honey eyes as if seeing her for the first time.
"I love you." The words had already left my mouth before I had even realized that I had said them. "I love you so much."
She stared at me for a few seconds in bewilderment. Then she just shook her head and sighed, "You're mad."