Aftermath
Asuka! No!
Don't go!
Keep running!
Don't stop!
Don't breathe!
Hide!
I love you.
Forever and always…
Get away from her!
"Wait!" Asuka sat up in her bed and held out her hand as she screamed.
"Asuka! Calm down and relax."
Somebody was placing their hands on her shoulders and pushing her down back on her bed, but the more they pushed the more she struggled. "Get off of me!" She looked at the person who was pushing her and stopped struggling. "Lee… oh Lee!" She pulled him into a tight hug and started crying. "I had a terrible dream that seemed too real!"
Lee hugged back and lightly rubbed her back. "Everything's fine now Asuka…" He laid her back onto her bed. "Just calm down alright?" He rubbed her head and let her go then stood back up.
She took a deep breath and saw that there were other people in the room. "Guy sensei, Neji, what are you two doing here?"
"Well we decided to check on you because the doctor said that you were going to wake up soon, and you did, which is great!" Guy happily said.
"There are some things we need to tell you…" Neji regrettably said.
"What do you mean? What happened in the Chunin exams?" She looked to her side to see her companion wasn't by her side. "Where's Hatsuharu?"
"We'll tell you, it's just a long story." Guy answered. "Anyone want to go first?"
It was dead silence for a moment before Neji spoke up. "The Chunin exams never finished because Orochimaru, one of the legendary three senins, attacked the Leaf with the help of the Sand and Sound villages. Our third Hokage is now dead because of Orochimaru… the Leaf currently does not have a Hokage." Neji lowered his head and avoided her stare.
"During Gaara's fight with Sasuke, he turned into a demon and was distracting the Leaf with his attack." Lee answered. "Naruto was able to take him down and now the Leaf and Sand is forming an alliance as an apology for attacking. The only one who got promoted to Chunin status in the Chunin exams was Shikamaru."
"What of Hatsuharu?" Asuka asked hesitantly.
"During the attack…" Guy started, "the hospital got hit. I managed to get you away from it, but I couldn't carry both you and Hatsuharu… Kiba came by and saved him, but now… He's in his deathbed… he wont live for another two weeks… I'm sorry Asuka. It's been nearly a week since the attack so… Hatsuharu only has a week left to live…"
A pit. An endless… dark… abyss… Her heart sank down that abyss… a never ending abyss that only got darker the further it went. Her eyes hollow with shock, not even trying to hold back the tears anymore, and just let them slide off her nose and jaw line onto the bed sheets. "Get out…" she said quietly.
Guy put a hand on her shoulder, "Are you sure? You know we're a team, we'll always be here for you."
After a moment of silence, Asuka grinded her teeth and gripped the bed sheets. "Get out!" She demanded.
"Asuka-" Lee tried comforting.
"I hate everything and everyone!" She looked up at her team angrily. "Get out!" She threw a punch at Guy and Lee, but they easily dodged and were in shock. They nodded and left her alone with the dead silence and her muffled crying.
ooOoO0OoOoo
"Guy sensei…" Lee quietly spoke up and looked up at his sensei as his team was leaving the hospital. "Is Asuka going to be ok?"
His sensei sighed and closed his eyes, then looked ahead. "Lee, I want you to put yourself in her position. She doesn't know if any of her family members are alive, as far as she's concerned, there is a slight chance she has a brother. Now, tell me, who is the closest person to you Lee?"
"You of course Guy sensei."
"Ok, now imagine me in Hatsuharu's position, tell me how you would feel."
"I would feel… helpless… disappointed in myself for not being able to do anything… she must feel terrible…" He rubbed his arm and stared at the floor.
Guy squeezed Lee's shoulder and made him look up at him. "Lee, Asuka needs her team now more than anything right now, she will realize this, and when she does, we will be there for her."
Lee nodded and looked over to Neji. "What do you think of this?"
Neji sighed and crossed his arms. "I agree with Guy sensei, just be patient and wait for her."
ooOoO0OoOoo
It's my fault…
It's all my fault…
How can I justify this?
For my brother…
My companion…
How do I make this better for him?
Yes… what Kiba said…
I must do what he said…
For him…
And only him…
Hatsuharu…
I love you
Asuka slowly got out of her bed while holding her side, but overcame her pain with adrenaline and put on a light robe before leaving her room to find Hatsuharu's. She easily found his room, it's only logical to put his room next to hers. She entered his room to find him in his deathbed, barely breathing… heart rate slow… his body didn't have as many casts as he did before. He woke up from her presence and managed to wag his tail and whimper as she got closer. He tried getting up, but failed trying. She petted his head and scratched his ear while a small grin found its way on her face.
"Hatsuharu… you're paralyzed from the waist down. I'm sorry."
His tail still continued to wag. I don't care. As long as I'm with you, I will always be happy.
A tear slid down her cheek, she quickly wiped it off and continued. "Hatsuharu…"
Are you ok Asuka? Should you even be walking?
She smiled. "Yes, I'm fine… But your not. You only have a week left to live."
His tail ceased to wag and rested on his bed. She continued to stroke his face and comb out the mats out of his fur with her fingers.
"We're going home… We're leaving this place to rest in our own home. You won't die in a hospital." She began to take off all the IV and the wiring that read his heart rate, then picked him up and put him over her shoulder. "Are you ok?"
Of course I am, I don't want to die in this place either, I'd rather die in your arms than anything else.
More tears slid down her face. "Same here boy." She jumped out of the window and embraced the pain as she jumped from rooftop to rooftop to her apartment. She didn't have her key on her, so she got the key that was on top of the door frame and opened the door then closed it behind her as she entered. She carefully set her companion on her bed and sat down next to him. "How are you doing?"
I feel… safe.
"Same here… Hey… are you suffering… from your pain?" She looked over to him and saw the reaction on his face.
I… yes… I am… I just want it all to end and go back to the way it used to be.
"But it can't… we both know that…"
What happened? When I was asleep, what all happened?
Asuka explained to him what all had happened, how she's gotten closer to Gaara, how Lee has been a bit distant lately, the attack on the Leaf village and what the village has lost.
You have a brother? That's wonderful news!
"Yes… it is." She stroked his face and combed his ears back. "Hatsuharu… do you want your pain to end?"
Of course I do, I just want it to end and be the way it used to…
"There is a way for me to end your pain… and hope to see you again." She took a deep breath and held back the tears.
What… do you mean?
Asuka couldn't hold the tears back anymore and let them hit the floor as she pulled out a kunai from the bedside table. Hatsuharu studied the kunai for a moment then looked up at her and let his tears be absorbed by his fur. He closed his eyes and nodded. She nodded with him and positioned herself in front of him. Then brought his head up to her chest and hugged his muzzle, making his head face downward toward the bed. She then pulled his body more toward her so then he wouldn't be in a tense position.
She held the hilt of the kunai in her hand and had the edge of the blade sitting on the back of her companion's head where the skull and spine meet. She could feel Hatsuharu's tears being absorbed into her robe. She stared shaking her head and cried onto his head. "Hatsuharu… I love you."
I love you too.
"Hatsuharu… Nobody will every replace you… Nobody will ever be able to take your place…" She steadied the kunai, making sure not to drop it.
Don't say that…Nobody would ever be able to replace you either… but you have to move on and love another.
"But… I can't…" She choked out as the tears slid down her face faster with every passing second.
You can… and you will… You have to. Please, do it… for me. End my pain and move on… I will watch you with envy as you learn to love another… I will never forget the night I met you.
"I won't either… I will never forget that night." She could remember his puppy warmth against her body in that little burrow as if it were yesterday. "I… I love you Hatsuharu… I'm doing this for you."
No, you're doing this… for us.
She tightened her grip on the hilt of the kunai and dug the knife deep enough to break the skin and cause a small amount of blood to pour out of his skin. "Goodbye… I'll see you again someday…" Hatsuharu stayed silent, letting a tense moment pass as Asuka prepared herself for the worse. Then she did it. She quickly sunk the kunai completely into his neck and severed his spinal cord from his brain. Making his death quick and nearly painless. She ignored the sound of the bones moving out of place and the skin tearing as she slowly released the kunai and left it in him; then she moved his limp body off of her and left him on her bed, letting his blood stain her bed sheets, mattress, and pillows, not caring for it any longer.
She put on her normal clothes and packed some food, scrolls, a water container, and the rest of her money in a pack then swung it over her shoulder. She opened the window and looked back at her companion, remembering all the good times they shared, all the trouble they got into, all the fights they've been in, all the secrets they've shared…
"I get what you mean Hatsuharu… I have to start a new life…" She threw aside her Leaf village headband, it landed next to Hatsuharu. "I have to start my new life where I was born… In the village hidden in the sand… and love another…"
I got the chapters wrong... my bad .