It felt so odd to be leaving the village at that time. Although she was permitted to leave at any time, it still felt as if she were under cover, being watched. The trees echoed silence, and the moon continued to cast that eerie blue glow on the landscape in front of her. Perhaps the set of eyes she felt on her were Itachi's...
She stealthily hopped through the trees, the wind streaming through her hair. She had allowed it to get longer after the war, too busy with the new hospital to get it cut.
She estimated the trip would take around three days, at top speed. She would not make any delays.
The sun rose and set on the first two days rather uneventfully as she arrived on the border of the Land of Frost. She could tell she had arrived by the significant drop in temperature that chilled her to the bone.
It was an unguarded border, so she needn't worry about getting clearance to enter. The whole area seemed uninhabited, but she knew better than that. She rose over the next snow covered hill to find a small, dilapidated town with bundled up civilians attending their business.
The Land of Frost was poor, but was quickly developing following the war. No doubt, Sasuke had helped get this town on its feet.
She continued toward the northern border of the Land of sun set that day, painting the melting alpine landscape and snow covered mountains red and orange.
She spent that night in a cave, hoping to find a village by morning to inquire about the raven-haired man with the deep, charcoal eyes that she was searching for. Anxiety rushed through her blood, and she bit her lip. She knew in her heart that her dream was not simply a coincidence, and she believed Itachi that Sasuke needed her assistance...she just hoped Sasuke wouldn't be angry with her, knowing it was his journey of redemption...and had nothing to do with her.
There was a distant caw, caw, caw in the distance.
She was reassured, and fell asleep.
That night she awoke to the sound of lightening and thunder crashing above her. She jolted out of bed, listening to the winter rain let down its fury on earth. But this was not what terrified her the most.
There was the raven, sitting right beside her.
She leapt out of bed and followed the eerie bird, this time in silence, back in the direction she had headed.
Where are you taking me...she wondered silently as she chased after the bird. She noticed the way it was flying frantically and she found it difficult to keep up at this point.
Then, it disappeared from the sky.
Her gaze fell back down to the Earth to find a lone, darkened silhouette bent sickly over the ground.
Chills ran down her spine at the sight as she listened to the blood that gurgled in its throat.
And then she realized that the thin figure with the blood dripping from his throat in front of her was none other than Uchiha Sasuke.
...
The rain was pouring now, and as he struggled to stand, the world began to spin. The blood was suffocating him as he hacked and coughed, and pooling beneath him.
Maybe...this is the consequences of my actions...
I guess after everything...it makes sense that I die this way...like my brother...
He closed his eyes, breathing in what he could, remembering what Konoha smelled like. Wondering what everyone was doing at that very moment. Envisioning his own funeral. Hoping that life in the village would be okay, protected, without him in the shadows to ensure it.
I'm sorry, dobe...Kakashi...
...Sakura...
There won't be a next time.
The bushes to the left of the clearing shifted, and before he had time to react in his weakened state, something caught him where he fell. Warm arms enveloped him where he knelt, and before he lost consciousness again, a pair of emerald eyes stared terrified into his own.