Title: Asymmetry
Author: Ksuhi
Warnings: angst angst angst
OoToO
Failure
OoToO
The first thing that his mind registered was the furrows and deep depressions that had been blown into the ground of the clearing. There were fallen trees littering the far edge of the area and several large patches of burnt, bare earth littered near the center.
Next to register was the blood. So much blood everywhere. Too much for one person. Too much for there to be survivors. Death was what he saw.
It was like his eyes saw the scene but at the same time refused to acknowledge it.
A flash of pink caught his eye and suddenly the silver-haired nin could seen it all.
The shinobi couldn't stop the air in his lungs from coming out in a violent rush, but was able to keep from falling to his knees. Sakura lay crumpled, a nasty wound cutting across her chest, blood pooling. Her peaceful face hurt him in a way that he had thought he had become immune to.
Mercilessly, his eyes continued to pan across the clearing and his eyes fell upon- Sasuke.
What was he-? He felt another piece of his heart fracture.
For many minutes the copy-nin couldn't tear his eyes from the sight of his once favorite student. His form slumped, gutted, his white gi spattered with life-blood. He found himself focusing on the Uchiha's still beautiful face. Oh, how he had wished to see that face again. But his imaginings had never been anything like this. The boy's expression was haunting, almost wistful and it reminded him of another beloved, dead face.
He closed his eyes tightly and clenched his jaw against the bitter pain he was awash with. Why did he always fail his precious ones so miserably?
The nin attempted to pull himself together. He was out here for a reason. The Hokage had sent him to retrieve his students and he still hadn't even finished looking this terrible clearing over.
When he pried his eyes open, they almost immediately fell on Naruto, so close to his ex-best friend.
The boy had fallen to lie on his side and was curled around a sword impaling his middle. The silver-haired man flinched. It was garish the way that the blood clashed so violently with the young nin's bright orange outfit and his sunny hair. Somehow the sight of the blond was the most painful and he looked away.
Just as despair was coming to overtake him, his self-destruction was derailed by a quiet cough. His gaze snapped back up just in time to witness another little cough.
Naruto was alive.
Quickly he did a summon and sent the dog off for help. He had no idea what moving the boy would do and wanted a medic-nin on hand to help.
As he sat waiting, praying for help to arrive in time, he felt very old. He just wasn't cut out for this kind of tragedy anymore.
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A/N: I'm still not entirely pleased with this one... I wrote three versions of it and this one is the most like what I had wanted... bleh... I hope you guys enjoyed! 'Nother chappie should be up soon.