Heyy! Okay, i'm warning you guys, this is an intense and angst packed chapter (in my opinion, anyway). I'll try to add more humor and fun stuff in the next chapters, so don't think this is going to be a habit of mine or anything!

Please review and tell me what you guys think! if you dont like it, TELL ME! cuz otherwise i'll think everything's hunky dory and i wont try to change it!!!

Thanks, and enjoy!

Chapter 8

I was sitting on Jiro's bed, and he was sitting next to me, staring at me as if I was the only thing in the world, his face calm and full of a deep joy that made me want to start crying all over again. But I had my emotions under control now…I would not fail.

"Jiro, I–"

Jiro suddenly leaned forward and kissed me.

It was so sudden that I couldn't react at first, and Jiro pulled away, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"Are you sure you're alright Hana?"

I nodded, and took his hand. "Jiro, I don't have much time here. I have to tell you something."

Jiro's eyes widened, and he grabbed my arm roughly, something gleaming in his eyes, something that made me shiver. "Who wants to take you away? I'll tear them to pieces!"

I forced back a sob, and leaned forward to touch his face. I would have to sell this if I wanted to succeed. "Jiro, love, I know that you're sad without me, but you have to understand something. Everything dies sooner or later, whether of sickness or of old age, or even of simple accidents that result in death. But just because I'm gone doesn't mean that you should try to hurry death along. I love you…and I don't want you to die, not when you have so much life to live!"

Jiro's expression darkened, and he turned away.

"But you're not dead, Hana. Don't talk about those things."

"I'm dead, Jiro!" I said, and he flinched harshly. "Nothing you do or say will ever change that fact. But I know about those illegal imports, and I ask you to stop it. They're going to send assassins after you if you don't stop, and I already lost my life…don't make me lose you too." I whispered, my throat choking up painfully. Jiro's eyes widened, and his shoulders shook.

"Hana…without you I don't want to live anymore! Without you, I'm nothing!"

"No, you're not nothing! You're Jiro Itoshi, the same man that I was going to marry! The man I love…" I said softly, and kissed him again, trailing my fingers up to his shoulders, cupping his face between my hands.

But his lips were cold and hard against mine, and he pulled away with a jerk.

"No…no…"

His eyes were wide, and he backed away from the bed.

"Jiro–"

"You're not…Hana, are you?" His voice was surprisingly calm, and yet the calmness of it sent a flare of uneasiness down my spine. I swallowed hard.

"No, I'm not, but I know that Hana wouldn't want you to throw your life away!"

Jiro turned towards the desk, and his hands touched the lamp softly. Suddenly, his fingers tightened around the porcelain surface and in the next moment he was hurling the lamp at me. His face was contorted in fury, and I only just managed to duck before the lamp came in contact with my head. It shattered against the wall, and I dove out of the way as another object – a chair this time – came flying in my direction.

"You dare speak of Hana so familiarly? You don't know what she would think, because she's dead! You are just like them, telling me that I should stop doing the trade, but they don't understand! None of you understand!" Something frightening flared in his eyes as he snarled at me, and his fingers tightened on the nearest object.

I jumped out of the way again as a picture frame shattered against the wall, and a photo fluttered down to rest on the floor. It was of a young woman with long flowing blonde hair, dressed in a pale lavender kimono pattered with beautiful flowers and leaves. She was leaning against the graceful railing of a bridge, the gentle glow of the sun lighting up the beautiful garden behind her. Her lapis eyes were warm and loving as she stared at the camera, a small and tender smile gracing her lips as she delicately cupped a creamy white water lily in her slender hands. I realized with a jolt that this was Hana, the young girl who had died.

In my wonder, Jiro threw something large at me, and I felt something hard and solid collide jarringly with the side of my head. A flash of blinding white filled my vision for a moment before I fell to the ground, black dots floating across my vision.

Jiro was above me in a moment, his large fingers tightening around my throat in a crazed frenzy. I struggled to get free, but he was strong, and I was already dazed from the blow to my head. I kicked his stomach with my foot, but he only loosened for a moment before putting all of his weight on my legs, pinning me down as he resumed the tightening of his fingers on my throat.

"Hana is dead…Hana is dead…" Jiro whispered with a maddening grin, and I realized with wide eyes that this man was insane. He was no longer mentally stable, and I frantically tried to get free. Because I knew that he would kill me, and Sasuke wouldn't come to save me.

"Please, J-Jiro–"

"Shut up!" My pleas were cut off as his fingers tightened even more, and I felt my vision getting blurry, my heartbeat fluttering in my ears as my fingers struggled to pry his hands from my throat. "Don't worry! After I kill you, I'll end all of this! This knife," He pulled out a thin dagger from his pocket with one hand, holding it to my throat while his other hand kept its tight hold. Jiro's hand was large enough to effectively throttle the life out of me. I couldn't even scream for help, and I felt blackness drifting over me in cloying waves. I felt down my leg frantically, and yanked my knife out as well.

I stabbed him in the chest, and he looked down with a smile.

"You have a knife? And its one of those ninja ones, right?"

I couldn't fight it anymore, I couldn't fight, I couldn't…I couldn't…

Jiro stabbed downward, and I screamed as the knife pierced my abdomen, my eyes flying open in agony as he twisted the blade with a sickening grin. His throat loosened slightly on my throat, allowing me to take in enough air to scream, to scream…

"Such a pretty face…such a beautiful corpse you'll make…" Jiro cooed, and I screamed even louder when he moved upward with the knife. I was drowning in the pain, and I knew that death would be heaven compared to this. I felt Jiro's lips touch my throat, and his teeth bit down hard, piercing the skin and making me cry out again. He leaned back, licking the blood off of his lips.

"Delicious…" Fear spiked through me, and I felt tears dripping down my face.

This man was insane…I was going to die; I was going to die–

I. Was. Going. To. Die.

Pale hands suddenly came around Jiro's head, and jerked quickly and silently. A loud and piercing crack filled the room, and he instantly went limp, falling to the side lifelessly, his eyes wide and surprised even in death.

I felt air rushing into my throat, and I gulped it in, coughing violently as the blackness faded for a moment. My head stopped spinning, and I felt tears filling my eyes as my lungs filled with oxygen. But my body still felt weak, almost drowsy in a way. I couldn't seem to move my arms, and my mind was whirling.

My stomach was on fire, and I touched the wound with a cry of pain, lifting my fingers to see bright crimson blood stained on them. My thoughts were slow and far away, and the pain seemed to be dulling as well, fading as my mind slowly began to fall into an ancient sleep. I could feel the blood dripping down my neck, and flinched as cool hands touched my arm. My eyes closed slowly, cutting me off from the blurry figure kneeling beside me.

Everything was fading, and I felt as though I was suspended, floating freely in the sky with only the clouds serving as company. I felt very peaceful, and I heard a low voice speaking, but couldn't – wouldn't – register it. Responding wasn't important, because I was dead.

Is this heaven?

Or am I finally going to wake up to the sound of my alarm clock back at home, where my mom was waiting with her love?

Sasuke watched with dark eyes as the girl's eyes slipped closed, and her body went limp. The body of the target was still with death beside her, and Sasuke suddenly noticed her injury.

When he had heard screams, he had assumed that it was just a reaction to having just killed a person for the first time. He didn't want to have to deal with a blubbering girl, so he gave her a bit of time to compose herself. But when her screams were suddenly cut off abruptly, he had realized that something was terribly wrong.

He had entered the room to find the target on top of her, his mouth at her neck, his hands at her stomach in the strangest position, as if holding something. Her voice was weak as she cried out in agony, her eyes wide and staring at the ceiling. Sasuke was frozen by shock for a split second, and then he heard the man say in a soft voice.

"Delicious…" The girl was crying, thick tears rolling down her ashen cheeks. Sasuke had acted without thinking, moving behind the man and twisting his neck so that it broke. The man stiffened, and fell to the side, his eyes wide in death. The girl gasped for breath, her eyes still staring at the ceiling, her hands clutching her throat. Sasuke saw that the skin there was bruised, as if he had been…choking her. That explained the eerie silence from before. There was also blood at her throat; the target's teeth had broken the skin. Her blue-gray eyes were clouded with pain, and he knelt beside her as they struggled to focus on him.

The first thought that came into Sasuke's mind was to scorn her, to think to himself how truly pathetic she was to let herself get caught into that kind of situation.

But then he saw the wound on her stomach, and his mind went blank as he saw blood blossoming around her navel. It was like a deadly flower, its petals spreading slowly throughout the fabric of the dress. He used his knife to cut away the dress in that area – it didn't occur to him to be embarrassed when her upper chest was exposed, he had seen plenty of women with little or no clothing – and his eyes widened in shock before he could control himself.

There was a large gash that went from her navel to just below her left breast, and it was bleeding profusely, and Sasuke leaned over her, quietly speaking to gain her attention.

"Don't close your eyes, focus on breathing." But even as he said this, he saw her eyes glazing over, her eyelids slowly closing. Sasuke swore under his breath as she went completely limp, unconscious.

She would die if he didn't get her back to the base.

A small part of his mind told him to leave her there. She was weak; she would only continue to fail if he saved her life. She was annoying as well, too bright, too much like him; the one Sasuke swore he would leave behind in order to gain power. If she was gone, he could once again push those memories of Konoha back to the untouched parts of his mind, he could focus solely on growing stronger. That was the only reason to live, the only reason that Sasuke had to do anything.

And yet…Sasuke found himself gently lifting her up, carefully adjusting her so her head wasn't lolling over his arm. Her face was pale and sickly, and her eyes moved behind closed eyelids, frantically almost.

Sasuke sighed, and quickly reached into his pocket for a match. The young man used the bottom of his sandal to light the match, and tossed it onto the bed with a careless flick. The sheets caught fire with no trouble, and the bed was soon ablaze. The flames spread to the carpet, and the body of Jiro Itoshi was lost in the flickering heat after a moment.

Sasuke made a hand sign, and let the tug of teleportation fill him as a swirl of leaves surrounded them.

The picture on the floor was only inches from Jiro's outstretched fingers, and a breeze came in through the window, making the photo flutter for a moment. It seemed that it would catch the wind and float upwards, but before it could, the flames quickly engulfed it. The outsides charred first, and it wasn't long before it was destroyed, the last things remaining for a moment being those blue eyes, staring out with a sudden sadness before the flames consumed them completely.