Author's Note: Thanks to Tishni, Spread-My-Wingz-And-Soar, cluelessninja65, DarkAngelRakell, and HPBabe91 for taking the time to review. I love you eternally!

Title: In The End

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: Slightly OOC? Death, Angst.

Summary: In the end, what really matters? What you say and to whom? SasuSaku fluff and death.

The droplets of cruelty fell upon the already damp earth, turning the warm, reddened earth into a cool surface, rivers of pink running through it. The swirls ran through the water-flecked grass, traveling onto a moonlit path, and under the bitter shoes of a shadowed figure. His raven hair hung limp from the rain, sticking to his face in some places; wildly blowing around in the bone-chilling wind in others.

He was bleeding, though no wounds existed that had not been healed.

Behind him lay the motionless figures of too many people to count. A bloody battle had been fought, and his eyes, dark as onyx, refused to look back. The sight behind him was not what had wounded him, but a mere handful of people he was leaving behind.

"I still love you... I always have..."

Her echoing, whispered words still hung in the air, haunting him in their simplicity. The words meant so much to him, and had been spoken in truth... and regret.

"I'm so sorry..."

Her hand had come up to grace him, her delicate fingers had traced invisible lines that had never existed. The rising opal in the obsidian sky had caught a gleam, and his coal eyes- shining brighter than he'd ever expected- had darted towards it. He'd seen it, and it had cut like a knife... the crystal tear on her left hand, surrounded by stones that matched the color of another's eyes...

He remembered, of course. The one he'd considered to be his brother... the one he'd been afraid to look at, in fear he'd follow the footsteps of the traitor he'd once called family. His saffron hair, and his obsession over burnt sienna. Oh yes, he remembered him... and now, he had a reason for his previous fear.

His blood had run cold, his dark eyes opening wide as he looked back at the girl he'd realized he loved.

"Why...?" He'd asked, feeling betrayal of another sorts. That was the wound, he knew, that would hurt the most.

And she'd put salt on that wound as her lips parted, her eyes, pools of eucalyptus, narrowing to keep her own tears at bay. "You were my light... and when you left, I felt so cold, and so alone." She'd breathed, "I... I wanted to forget you, and I felt that I could if only... if only..." A line of hurt trailed down her face, many more following- reminding him of the rain he saw now. Her breathing had become shallow, quick, and raspy... "Promise me!" She'd cried out to him, her free hand coming up to clutch at his navy shirt.

"Promise me you won't leave me again!"

His eyes had narrowed, he could recall, and he'd felt suddenly sick. "I can't promise you anything, Sakura... I don't even know who you are anymore!" His voice had raised towards the end, feeling ashamed, hurt, and yet still... he could feel for her, like he hadn't felt for anyone else.

He could tell he'd hurt her as much as she'd hurt him, but all he cared for at that moment had been running as fast and far as possible. And he had. He'd let her fall as he stood, and felt his heart lurch as she cried out again, this time in pain, squeezing her cucumber orbs shut as tightly as possible. He'd backed away, feeling his pain spill from his own eyes, and he'd run.

He'd jumped over bodies, not looking at the S-ranked criminal, still cloaked in the red-clouded shroud of shadows he knew so well. He'd avoided him altogether, knowing that he'd have to stop if he saw the face of the first to cause him this overwhelming pain. He darted through the trees, but came to a halt as a familiar shade came into sight. Blood still slowly trailed across his skin from his many wounds, but his eyes remained sightless, a small smile of victory upon his face as his relaxed hand still held the kunai piercing Kabuto's heart.

Naruto... he'd backed away in horror, stumbling a few times. Not a moment after he'd lost sight of the recent Hokage, he turned around, only to have to stop again. His sensei... had fallen as well? Where was the mighty Hatake Kakashi's refusal to die before he saw him returned??

Everyone, every last person he'd known so well was killed. They'd killed each other. Every last one of them had fought to the death... Tayuya, Kabuto, Naruto, Kakashi, Orochimaru... all of them.

And so he'd fallen to his knees, sitting there for so long that he had lost track of time. He remembered getting up once more, and walking slower than he'd thought possible, barely holding himself up- tripping often at that. He wasn't aware of the passing time, nor did he really care anymore. He'd lost it all, and no one was left.

And he knew he'd been walking for miles. He knew that the moon was beginning to set, and the sky was beginning to lighten. But that wasn't what he cared to see. He cared to see her, in his arms, and he cared to see what had once been.

Uchiha Sasuke, walking alone in a sense of nothing, the winter's chill biting through his clothing, numbing his senses. Exactly what he felt like inside. Numb, broken, and everything else one could feel after comprehending that there was nothing left for them.

In an instant, a beam of light spread across the sky, making him wince in it's brightness, and reflecting of his destination. The Valley, how he could remember every detail that was there.

"Don't..." A weakly pleading voice reached him, and he froze, his foot about to rise up off the muddy earth. "Please, don't do it, please, Sasuke-kun..." His head turned slowly, and his gaze locked with the one person he'd hoped to never see again... and hoped to be with for eternity.

Sakura let out a sob, near dragging herself over after him, one fist clutched tightly, her forearm across the midriff that was wounded so while her other arm dangled weakly by her side. "I love you, Sasuke-kun. I th-thought that it was c-clear before now." Speaking pained her, he could see, but he let her say the last words he'd ever hear from her. Her fist unclenched, revealing the ring he'd seen, and with all her might, she tossed it away.

He watched it skitter across the ground, falling off the cliff, less than a foot from where he stood, and down into the watery abyss below. He wished to join it, falling through the freezing air, faster than the rain could reach him. He just wanted it all to stop... but still, his body wouldn't move at his command. It was locked into place at her presence.

The wind and the rain stung his eyes, forcing him to wince, and his eyesight to blur. For a moment, she had vanished, and in that instant he was struck with a wave of fear- and relief as the second passed.

'You just won't let me go, will you?' Sasuke wanted to shout, bitterness and ice in his words... but all that escaped his lips was a simple sentence. "Sakura... thank you. But you're too late, as was I." Though it was barely above a whisper, it carried the distance to the girl before him, who stared in shock as he allowed his balance to fail him before crying out and running after him.

As he began to fall, he saw her halt suddenly and keel over, coughing up a thick, red substance. The wind rushed around him in a harsh, yet gentle caress as his eyes closed of their own will. He felt a hand wrap around his wrist, his eyes shooting open to fall upon the all-familiar, pink-haired kunoichi he'd hurt in so many ways, who never stopped loving him when all he did was run away.

"I'll always be with you." She yelled to be heard, the sound of her sweet, melodic voice wrapping around him like a protective caccoon. He felt warmth spread through him, staring into her bright eyes, full of pain and love... and in the last instant, he knew that what she'd said was true.

He pulled her close to him as they crashed into the water, regret taking place of the cold as he took what he knew to be his last breath, making sure he at least caught one final scent before it was over- Sakura's.

They continued to sink through the river water, knowing by each other's eyes that this was it, that it was the end. But they both knew that, at least, they were together... they would die together. And that was all they would ever need to know…