Pairing: SasuSaku

Rating: T

Genre: Angst/Tragedy

Warning: This chapter contains character death. Reader discretion is advised.

Summary: "Don't," Don't blame yourself, don't make this harder than it is, don't say you love me, he did not say but she heard him anyway.

Author's Notes: I'm back, guys! I know I've been on a long hiatus but I assure you I intend to write at least five more chapters within the next two months. That, and I've finally finished my O'Levels and just got admitted into COLLEGE! I don't think I've gotten over that yet.

Notice: This a/c was formerly known as "indira14" and for reasons I'm unwilling to disclose, will be known as "fading ink" (URL: www . fanfiction . net/ ~fadingink) from now on.

And it felt like a badly scripted horror movie. A genjutsu in which you watch with your own eyes as your loved ones are hacked brutally from limb to limb and you can do nothing but scream. And soon that genjutsu turns into a vicious nightmare which you glide through like a specter, and try as you might, your ghastly fingers slip right through the murderer's heart each time you try to rip it out. A nightmare in which the expanse of your subconscious was glazed with blotches of ominous red that blurred your previously clear vision - like mist staining the view outside closed windows. Or maybe, it was just her tears that were blurring her vision. Maybe. Yes, Sakura decided amidst paroxysms of hysterical screams in her mind, that was it. She was crying.

Tears were tumbling down her cheeks like the frantic thoughts in her mind. She probably looked very pathetic right now. But she didn't care damn it - Naruto was dead (No, that hysterical voice screamed inside her head. Naruto was supposed to be strong and reliable and invincible, dammit! He wasn't allowed to die, and he—Sakura's shaky exhale ended in a pathetic, pitiful sob) His heart had stopped beating for a while now (Denial raged a bloody war in her mind — he wasn't dead! he wasn't dead! he wasn't—!) and she tried and tried to pump chakra (that wasn't there) into his chest and her hands were trembling, shaking like a leaf in the wind and that stupid seal on her forehead was so fucking useless now. She was so fucking useless — always so usele—

"He— he isn't waking up, Sasuke... Why isn't he waking up?" Sakura asked the man sitting so very still beside her, her voice scratchy from crying so much, and received no answer. Sasuke seemed to have gone into shock, as he sat numb, wide-eyed and uncomprehending at the sight of the red, red blood splashed—almost artistically, in a tragic sort of way—like Christmas decoration over Naruto's chest. Where there was a gaping stab wound where his heart should be. Or maybe, it was just his vision—and not Naruto's shirt—that was red; he strongly hoped it was—yes, that was it. Overtaxing the Mangekyou had left blood pouring down his cheeks like silent tears—or maybe he had somehow trapped himself in the world of the red moon—maybe, that was why— Sakura's hysterical shriek pierced through the comforting lies he tried to deceive himself with.

"Wake up, dammit! Naruto!" She wanted to shake him so, so badly - just to get a response out of him, a stir, a mumble - anything except that tragically peaceful and at the same time, vacant expression on his face. "You— you can't leave us here!" Sakura screamed at the unresponsive, pallid corpse beneath her hands that were shaking oh-so-badly, fingers burnt at the tips and palm raw and rough and bleeding from straining to summon chakra that had long abandoned her. Like Naruto was going to if she wasn't able to perform the life transfer jutsu soon.

Panic rose in her chest like pervading, poisonous wisps of smoke and choked her. "I-I don't have enough chakra! I-I don't know what to do—"

"Use mine."

She whipped around to look at Sasuke, but he wasn't looking at her—he was staring (unseeingly) far off into the distance, and there was this strange serenity about his countenance—a calm acceptance—that she seldom saw.

Sakura's eyes widened with shock as the implications of his quiet words hit her like a deluge of bricks. "Sasuke..." she whispered disbelievingly. "You - you barely have enough yourself! It'll kill y—"

"What you're not saying is it'll kill you too," Sasuke pointed out, quietly, accusingly.

"I don't fucking care if it—"

"Neither do I."

There was a tense silence in the air as they glared at each other through blurry vision. Finally, Sakura exhaled slowly, as if she had just made a decision, and looked away.

"Fine," she mumbled, "If we're going to do this, then... I just want you to know that —" her voice cracked, "I wish there was some way I could save you both. And—and I want you to know that I meant it. What I said that night; I really—"

The light touch of long fingers against her dry lips stopped what she was about to say, and Sakura almost reeled back in shock. Sasuke didn't let her—he cupped her face, and brought it closer, the feel of his rough hands against her softer skin was so unfamiliar, yet so right. He could almost make out her face now through the dark patches that were splattered over his vision like ink. She wasn't looking at him—she couldn't look at him––and he took the opportunity to study her face up close. A callused thumb flicked over her cheek and wiped away smudges of dirt almost lover-like, mindful the numerous cuts that had taken up residence there. When she slowly turned to look at him, Sasuke's face was unreadable.

"Don't," Don't blame yourself, don't make this harder than it is, don't say you love me, he did not say but she heard him anyway. "You're only being annoying," he said instead and the words made her want to cry all over again—Sasuke was so kind in such strange ways.

By then his fingers had already wiped away the remnants of her grief and wandered to the middle of her forehead, to the green, diamond-shaped seal that was faded (useless) and cracked through the top. She allowed herself to close her eyes and relish his touch one last time, before his hand fell away—almost hesitantly—and her professional demeanor slipped into place.

He let him take his bloodied hand into her own, which was almost as scarred as his, and they exchanged one last look with their hands linked—a look that conveyed that death would be a small price to pay if it meant that Naruto would live - simply because he was Naruto and that was reason enough - before placing their hands gently on Naruto's chest.

Giving away chakra, it was a strange sensation, Sasuke thought—he could hear his blood rushing in his ears like a wayward, indomitable stream. What minute amount of residual chakra he had left was being squeezed out his his chakra network bit by bit. It wasn't unsettling or uncomfortable —just strange; it probably would have been calming, if not pleasant, if he had been in better condition. As it was now, he was feeling lightheaded, as if thoughts were evaporating from his mind like smoke, and the temptation of closing his almost blind eyes was strong...

"Sasuke..!" Sakura gasped and struggled to maintain the sharp control required for the life transfer as the chakra flow was disrupted, and Sasuke instantly opened his eyes and squinted through blood-dappled vision, concentrating on his chakra flow. He knew that he'd probably die from chakra exhaustion - his entire body was shaking as the warmth left him, yet he felt strangely content. The cold wasn't intrusive—it didn't chill him, but rather diffused into his bloodstream like essence of mint. It was peaceful—welcome, even. He could only imagine what it must be like for Sakura—his chakra was required to activate and direct the outflow of her life energy, and he wondered if she felt as numb as he did as her life drained out of her. The thought made him sick —twisted like a knife in his gut. But he didn't have time to ponder on it for long as a sudden pain gripped him— his chakra wasn't being squeezed out of him anymore. It was being churned, sucked out until his bones hurt and were left raw and trembling.

Suddenly, the pale green glow of Sakura's hands faded and she collapsed against him unceremoniously, gasping for air, willing her lungs to breathe, breathe, breathe. Every last breath she drew was an arduous task and her lungs felt like a cushion for pinpricks of agony. It hurt Sasuke to hear her breathe and unable to support her weight any longer, he fell collapsed in a bloody heap of broken bones—like crumpled autumn leaves—over Naruto's body, and listened to his slowly accelerating heartbeat until it simmered into a constant rhythm.

"We did it," she whispered weakly, already feeling her life trickling out of her. Her voice was so frail and so small that Sasuke wouldn't have heard her had he not been paying attention to pallor of her rapidly whitening skin.

"Yeah..." he whispered back, and in an attempt to see her face one last time, embed it into his memory without using the Sharingan, he gently, with fumbling fingers, brushed away some coarse rosette locks which had haphazardly fallen over her face.

Perhaps it was delirium, or perhaps she was too tired to be shocked, but at the gesture Sakura smiled at him, and felt as if she had, all at once, gained and lost the memory of something beautiful. Because, for the first time and the last, Sasuke smiled back.

Ending Notes: This was written quite a while ago because I had a sudden urge to abuse punctuation (-, in particular) and experiement with odd writing styles. It wasn't posted until now because I didn't have my net and was studying for my O'Levels. Needless to say, my writing style has changed quite a lot and I don't think you'll be seeing more this style from me (unless you really want to try this again) That said, I got a new PC and I need to fill it up with fanfiction documents - anyone know a good SasuSaku? Or a NejiHina? Temari-centric fic? SasuNaru? SasuSakuNaru? Actually, anything works for me as long as it's well-written, so start reccing guys! I missed you~!

For those of you waiting for FAF, I'll upload the re-written first chapter by the tenth of next month, given that I have enough time in between my sn_exchange assignment. REVIEW guys! I want to know what you think! :D

So, what do you want next for this pairing?

A. Depression | B. Confident | C. Hot