Chapter 27: A Friend is Broken

Sasuke stared wide-eyed into Sayuri's eyes. Her grip on his shoulders faltered and she fell to her knees. Sasuke dropped own next to her. Slowly he pulled the sword out from her back and laid it down next to them. Sayuri fell over into Sasuke's arms.

"I broke the First rule," she said as she choked up blood.

Sayuri was bleeding pretty badly.

"Shhh don't talk," Sasuke said gently.

"But I…I…I'm free, I felt the seal…fade away,"

Sasuke looked down at her in fear. He didn't know if she would make it. Naruto and Sakura came running over and dropped down next to them.

"Sakura, go get Kakashi-sensei,"

Sakura nodded and took off. Naruto reached out and took Sayuri's hand. Sayuri turned to him and smiled.

"Thank-you," she said, "All of you, thank-you. You saved me from having to be like my sister. You saved me from my cold, empty life that I was living and gave me something worth fighting for,"

"Stop talking like that," Sasuke said angrily, "You're speaking to us as if these are you last words,"

"We both know they are," she said quietly.

"Don't say that!" Naruto said, "You've got to be strong. Take some more chakra,"

"I'm too weak too," Sayuri said.

"This isn't right, it isn't fair," Naruto said angrily, "it shouldn't have to be this way,"

"It's the way it has to be," Sayuri said as she coughed up more blood, "I wish that I didn't have to leave now. Not that I've finally found people that truly care about me. At least I know, that my existence wasn't pointless. I know that I will be remembered,"

"Shut-up," Sasuke said angrily, "We won't have to remember you because you're not going anywhere!"

Sayuri just smiled at him "I feel…I feel…broken," she went limp in Sasuke's arms and her grip on Naruto's hand loosened.

Sayuri's words from that day echoed through Sasuke's head You are only broken because at one point you were whole. Sasuke pulled Sayuri's dead body closer to him.

"Did we make you whole Sayuri?" he whispered.

Naruto hit the ground angrily. All his memories went through his head. The time he found her in the training area. The ramen they went out for. The time they almost kissed under the moonlight. The blood they had shared. They sat there all in silence until Sakura and Kakashi showed up.

"Sasuke, let go," Kakashi said gently.

Carefully Sasuke placed Sayuri on the ground.

"You're too late," he said, "she already dead," and then he took off.

Sakura started to sob softly.

Kakashi picked up the body and started to walk away with it, "You guys should leave here," he said, "Someone will come to pick up the other body soon," than he left.

Sasuke could not sleep as hard as he tried. His mind strayed back to the memory of looking into Sayuri's eyes as she blocked the sword from hitting Sasuke. Sasuke finally gave up on trying to force himself to sleep and got up. He wandered aimlessly. Subconsciously his mind led him to the training area. He saw a highlighted figure sitting in the middle of the area.

Thinking that it was Sayuri, Sasuke ran forward. He hoped that it would be her but as he approached he recognized it as Naruto.

"She always loved it here," Naruto said, "I guess that's why you came too,"

Without a word Sasuke took a seat beside Naruto and they looked up at the stars together.

I'm scared the words echoed through Sasuke's head. She had said it so many times and yet Sasuke had never understood why up until this moment. Sayuri was strong and was not afraid of fighting another. She was afraid of losing herself and being unable to protect her friends. She was scared about hurting them. Sasuke noticed that Naruto was gripping a blood stained kunai in his hand.

"You didn't go home tonight, did you?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto shook his head.

They sat there all night watching the stars in silence.