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Will do my best to update within the next two weeks...until then, enjoy! And happy new year!

Chapter 18

The Injured, the Exhausted, and the Dead

I sat straight up in the makeshift bed
My blood all froze;
Crying "Why'd you save me, woman,
I'm the very one who razed your home."

~The Second Book of Akash, Verse V

"Ino! Stop it," Yuki demanded. But the blonde continued to bawl while the other adults stared on in silence; it was clear that Ino was useless. Yuki hissed, the air making a thin whistling sound as it rushed past her clenched teeth. Ignoring the searing pain in her shoulder and the curious looks of the nurses, Yuki stood, grimacing all the while. She disregarded the stars dancing across her vision and walked over to the operating table as evenly as she could.

"Troll, what are you doing?" Tsunade asked dryly.

Yuki came to an abrupt halt, closing her eyes mid-stride. "Shut up." Her eyes snapped open and regarded the former Hokage coolly with the sharingan. Tsunade blinked, her anger fading in the wake of surprise. Yuki completed her journey over to her injured sensei, and continued in an icy tone, "Please stand aside."

One of Tsunade's eyebrows rose in a high arch. "Now this should be interesting," she muttered, making way for the girl. Behind her, Sakura continued to blink at regular, two-second intervals, as if she couldn't quite believe what she saw.

I can remember everything that strange woman did—it's almost like a crystal clear photograph. Was this the power of the sharingan? Yuki always had what her teachers called a photographic memory, but her recollections of the foreign woman were different than just recalling information from a textbook. Every detail of what Yuki had seen was etched into her mind like a perfectly rendered painting, each small detail crisp.

She lifted her hands over Konohamaru's chest, gathering whatever scrap of chakra she had left in her system. My chakra isn't much, but it will do. I won't let another comrade die. Not today. Fuck—no. Resolve sharpened her senses; she activated the light around her sensei's body, much in the way the petite kunoichi had done for Yuki in the forest.

There! I can see it, the swirls of black energy... She made sweeping motions with her hands, brushing the inky vortexes with her fingertips until they elongated like black, feathery clouds. Breathing heavily, she concentrated the light in her hands on the darkness.

It's working! The black spots dissolved into green light, and soon the space around Konohamaru's body shone brilliantly, like newly polished silver. His erratic breathing became smooth and regular, and some color returned to his face. Yuki let the jutsu fade. Thank Kami...

Sakura, who hitherto had been silently appraising her daughter, broke into the quiet of the room. "Yuki-chan— what in the world did you just do?"

Yuki was dizzy and steadied herself with one hand on the operation table. She deactivated her eyes before murmuring, "What? Didn't you just see for yourself? It's obvious."

Sakura blinked owlishly. "Um...I didn't see you do a damn thing besides raise your hands over Konohamaru. And that light glowing in the middle of your forehead. And suddenly—he was fine."

"I cleaned the chakra around his body." Yuki began blinking fiercely, as the room blurred. I had a light on my forehead? Is that part of the sharingan package or something?

"Around his body?" Sakura murmured, confused. "Chakra flows in chakra vessels, not around the body—what are you talking about?"

This is going to be way too much effort to explain. Especially because Yuki had no idea exactly what had just transpired; she had merely copied a jutsu, but did not understand the exact physics of it. She shook her head to erase the blurry lights trailing across her eyes, but it didn't quite work— she felt her knees buckling out from under her. The last thing she felt were her mother's strong arms around her waist, and then she knew nothing else besides darkness and strange dreams.

As Yuki lay sleeping in a hospital bed, the building around her became a beehive of activity. And who could say what happened first or second? The linear order of things was hard to decipher in the whirlwind of whispers.

The hospital staff shuffled through the neon hallways and rooms, like ghosts haunting a lonely catacomb; doors creaked open and closed as they passed, groaning on rusty hinges. There was the IV dripping into Konohamaru's arm, his face ashen, but his breathing steady; Cho's eyelids fluttering open and Ino crying out in relief. The sunlight faded into twilight, then twilight merged with the seamless black night; inky clouds obscured the moon and stars. There was Hinata's halting approach to room three-hundred-and-seven, and her pale, muffled shriek; while Shikamaru shook his head in the hallway, eyebrows narrowed, calculating.

Sasuke sat silently by Yuki's side, an almost palpable weight on his shoulders, thinking:If only I had gotten there sooner, if only I hadn't failed. But I always fail; I fuck up, and others pay the price— it always ends this way, always, always, always. In his mind's eye, fragments of full moon memories surfaced: Mother, father, limbs splayed, blood pooling, glinting, unforgiving moonlight— Itachi why? Why take them and leave me? Why—

Then Sakura entered, breaking into his incoherent thoughts with the creaking of hinges. He nodded in silent greeting, slowly rising from his worn seat. She mumbled Naruto's coordinates, her eyes staring at the ground, as if she was afraid to look at his face; as if she was afraid of what he might say. But there were no words, nothing he could say in response; he gestured for her to take his place in silence, and in silence, he left Yuki's bedside. He made his way to room three-hundred-and-seven, where his hands only brushed the doorknob but lacked the strength to twist it open. So instead he slumped down by the closed door, trying not to hear the subdued sounds inside.

It must be midnight by now, or so he thought; the deep space of night accentuated the harsh brightness of the interior lighting, the long lightbulbs hummed and the vibration punctuated the deathly silence. The sound sucked the marrow from his bones, and like his bones and his slumped spine, his thoughts lacked any real integrity, his observations flowed in a dream-like narrative devoid of any lucidity. Not knowing what to do with himself, he sighed; the air rushed out of him all at once, like a punctured tire. Suddenly the door opened and a heavy hand landed on his head.

Startled, he looked up, even though his eyes could not see. "Hinata..."

He sensed that she was smiling. "I'm just heading home. My father was nice enough to watch the kids for me..." her voice broke as she said the word 'kids,' her words trailing off into the florescent hum of the hallway. Sasuke rose and took her hand in his.

"I'm sorry—"

Hinata cut him off abruptly by placing her free hand down in a hard motion on his shoulder, not wanting to hear anyone else tell her that they were sorry. Kami, what a phrase to hear at a time like this. Like a drowning man reaching for a threadbare rope, no one knows what to say and so they mutter I'm sorry: as if that could encapsulate anything. No, Hinata would have much preferred silence; she was afraid to look at people, afraid of what they might say. Uchiha Sasuke of all people should have known this, the fear of words, the tyranny of sound; better to have a void of voices, a simple silent presence that could encompass or surpass a trifling turn of phrase.

But plans must be made, destinations must be ascertained, and so words must fill her mouth. A soft, sad smile played across her lips as she whispered, "They're all probably asleep, so you can collect Takeo and Saki tomorrow."

Sasuke shook his head. "Naruto...?"

"Is going to stay. While they prepare the body. I can't bear to stay while..." her voice failed her again. Unable to complete her sentence, she stared down at the linoleum floor.

"Let me come home with you."

"That's all right—"

"I insist. Let me be there for you. Please."

Hinata looked up at Sasuke and smiled again, fat pearlescent tears falling from her eyes. "You should stay here. With Yuki-chan. And for Naruto..." Hinata sighed sharply before continuing, "My father and Neji are at my house...so, I'll be okay. Why don't you go in?"

Without waiting for his answer, Hinata opened the door and gestured for him to enter. Powerless to stop the trajectory of his own feet, he shuffled inside past Hinata's sadly smiling face; she whispered goodbye and closed the door behind him. He could sense Naruto sitting in a hard backed chair, staring idly into space, while an aide removed the barbed arrows from the corpse's back. Ryuu... Sasuke thought fiercely to himself— it wasn't just a corpse, damn it: it was the body of Naruto's first born son.

On the battlefield, Sasuke had never given a second thought to the dead bodies piled around him in scattered, rotting heaps. Especially not in the last war. He had been numb, immune to any feeling then. But now, just this one dead body had the power to rob the breath from his throat and to drain the blood from his face. He was chilled down to his weary bones. He had watched this boy grow from a small sprout into a rambunctious, affectionate young man— only to be cut down.

Sasuke exhaled sharply, myriad disparate images flooding his mind's eye: Itachi's farewell smile before his form crumpled on the stone, slick with rain and blood; then Sasuke, half-dead himself, falling next to him. His childhood living room grown dark, the cherry wood floor cradling his parents in its polished, bloodied embrace; Itachi's frenzied form hovering over their corpses like a vulture. And then running through the Uchiha compound, the cobbled streets literally flowing crimson, the blood steaming in the cold night air, as if the dead were offering incense to themselves—

He shook his head. These memories didn't come back to haunt him very often, and he was surprised at their sudden reemergence. Damn sharingan. I don't even have sight anymore, but those images have been burned into my mind. And before him lay another victim of some madman targeting a sharingan user. Not for the first time, Sasuke silently cursed the day the ocular jutsu— a source of nothing but suffering— came into the world.

Sasuke slowly sat down in a chair next to Naruto. Not knowing what to say, he said nothing. After a few moments, Sasuke placed a tentative hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Thanks." Naruto whispered it so quietly, Sasuke wasn't sure he had heard him at all. So he just sat there, saying nothing, his hand on Naruto's shoulder, until dawn's rosy fingers pulled up the curtain of night, staining the eastern horizon blood-red.

Sakura woke with a start when someone laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey."

Yawning, Sakura replied, "Hey, Tsunade-sama." The older woman took a seat beside her and regarded Yuki's sleeping form with curiosity. "What's up?" Sakura glanced at the clock, which told her it was just past four. She had only been asleep for a handful of hours.

Tsunade idly twirled a strand of long blonde hair before replying, "A few things. First of all, I'm worried about Yuki's mental health. Ino...told me what she saw."

Sakura exhaled slowly as Tsunade expounded upon Ryuu's rather gruesome death. After her mentor finished, there was thick silence left hanging in the air. Sakura closed her eyelids tightly, too worn and tired to feel much more than a heavy numbness hanging where her heart should be.

Tsunade coughed softly and continued, "Also, there's the fact that Yuki was healed and almost kidnapped by a strange woman, who placed an unknown seal on Yuki's forehead." The older woman leaned forward and tapped her lips with chapped fingertips, deep in thought.

Sakura nodded and whispered, "It seems to have helped her heal Konohamaru. I doubt it's harmful, but..."

"But we don't know for sure." Tsunade continued dryly, "I don't know how much we can trust Yuki's potential kidnapper. However, there is one more thing that concerns me even more."

Sakura exhaled loudly and leaned back into her chair, her stiff back aching. Tsunade explained, "Ino seems to think that this strange woman possessed the sharingan. Although whether or not that was a hallucination of Yuki's remains to be seen."

Sakura hissed. "How...?"

"How is that possible? Indeed," Tsunade finished her student's sentence once more before leaning back in her chair as well. "We have more questions than we have answers, which makes me extremely uncomfortable."

Sakura nodded, lost in thought. Why was her daughter being targeted? Why did her potential kidnapper bestow a seemingly beneficial gift on her? And why did this mystery person have the sharingan? Sakura shook her head and replied, "Uncomfortable is an understatement."

"I'm going to need you to do me a favor, Sakura." Tsunade eyed her apprentice and stated, "I'll be assuming the Hokage's duties for a while, until Naruto has had some time... I'll need you to assist me. I'm too old to do this confounded job by myself."

Sakura's mouth twitched upwards in a half-grin. "It'll be just like old times. You sign the papers, I hide your sake—"

Tsunade snorted. "For your first job, I'll need you to take a full mission report from Yuki-chan. The more information we have on the enemy, the better. You'll need to analyze that seal on her head, too. Meanwhile, I've already sent the ANBU out to the border to collect information; though I doubt there will be much left to find."

"Yes. Yes of course, shishou. I'll talk to Yuki in the morning, after she recovers..." Sakura gulped at that, realizing how shallow her words sounded. It would be a long time—possibly a lifetime— before Yuki ever recovered from the loss of her teammate and childhood friend.

Tsunade put her arm around her pupil. "I've seen a lot of death in my time Sakura, but this one hits hard."

Sakura gulped and nodded. "Would you mind looking after Yuki-chan while I check on Naruto?"

Tsunade nodded. It looked like one of those nights where not many would sleep, besides the injured, the exhausted, and the dead.

One minute, she was healing her sensei, the next, she found herself high up on a mountain, overlooking an expanse of pink sky. Yuki's breath hitched in her throat; the way the undulating hills merged into the misty horizon, one could almost imagine the mountains continuing on into infinity. Konoha had its own small clusters of volcanic formations, but Yuki had never seen anything like this: so many rolling, majestic peaks spread out like rows of rosy tinted tortoise shells that had been shed by giant, mythological beasts.

"Yuki."

With a start, Yuki turned towards the source of the commanding voice. "Oh. It's you— the angel." Yuki supposed she should thank the woman for healing her, and for trying to save Ryuu's life, but the words caught in her mouth.

The so-called angel shook her head from side to side. "My name is Aya. I'm no angel, I'm a spirit walker." The petite woman brushed her dark curls over her shoulder and held out her hand. She took it gingerly, but before Yuki could get a word in, they were flying in the magenta aether.

Yuki let out a yelp of surprise.

"Don't worry, you won't fall," Aya replied serenely.

Yuki clenched her teeth nervously, but it was so beautiful, high up in the air like this, that soon Yuki was engrossed in enjoying the miniature landscape below, her fears quickly forgotten. As she gazed down at the lolling mountain range below her, she noticed a small settlement.

"What's that, down there?"

Aya smiled kindly and replied, "That's my home."

Without further ado, they swooped down like a pair of hawks, landing gracefully on the edges of a small village. Aya turned towards Yuki and spoke, "You need to come here as quickly as possible. Remember my words. Before one month passes, you must leave your village— you and your grandmother. Walk with your back to the rising sun for one day, then march due south for another. When you first lay eyes on the Akash mountain range, summon Tama and ride. She knows the way." Aya smiled again, but then winced. "I don't have any more time to explain, and I won't be able to come to you again. I know you must have many questions, but you just have to trust me. Okay?"

Yuki looked at the woman with trepidation. "But I—"

Aya shook her head sadly. "I have to go. Remember. It's unbelievably important that you come before the month is out. Otherwise, both of our villages will be destroyed. You will come, won't you?"

Yuki's mouth opened of its own accord. "Y-Yes!"

The small woman gave Yuki another sad, soft smile. "Good."

Suddenly, the world lurched—

"Yuki! Yuki-chan!"

It felt as if the words were coming from miles away, muffled by the weight of darkness pressing on Yuki's eyelids. She wished the noise would go away: she had important things to do in this dreaming space, and the voice was interrupting her. But despite her wishes, the voice was insistent, repeating her name with increasing force. She felt a hand brushing her forehead, which startled her; ninja should be acutely aware of her surroundings, and Yuki clearly had no idea what was going on, muddled as she was by dreams. "Ah—um...ah..." Yuki blinked rapidly. "Mom, is that you?" Her vision was blurry from her deep sleep, but it was hard to mistake the pink blur in front of her as anyone but her own mother.

"Oh, sorry, I was worried. You were talking in your sleep." Sakura smiled and put an arm around her daughter.

Yuki's dream came rushing back. Was that...real? But she had no time for recollections: Sakura was frowning and probing Yuki's forehead with chakra.

"Tch. Mom, what are you doing?"

"That mark on your forehead— it's gone." Sakura frowned.

"I had a mark on my forehead?"

Sakura exhaled sharply. "Let's see how the rest of you is doing." Humming a tune, she channeled chakra into her palms. "Looks like you are healing quite nicely. You're starting to recover your chakra, but please refrain from using any jutsu for the next few days." Sakura released her jutsu and embraced her daughter in an impromptu hug.

Yuki, never one for displays of affection, uncharacteristically hugged her mother back.

"Mom?"

"Yu-huh?"

Yuki sighed. "I'm sorry."

Sakura moved back so she could look at her daughter's face. "Why?"

Yuki hung her head. "If I had been a better shinobi...Ryuu wouldn't be dead right now."

Sakura tilted Yuki's chin up so that she could look directly into her daughter's eyes. "You are an excellent kunoichi. If you weren't, you, Cho, and your sensei would also be dead." Sakura's eyes misted over, but she forced herself to continue, "You did the best you could with what you had. Blaming yourself for his death won't bring him back."

Yuki sighed heavily and looked down at her blankets, her hands twisting the bedsheets. Suddenly she burst out, "Oh! Shit, I knew I forgot something!" The girl bit her thumb, jumped out of bed, and slammed her bloody hand down on the ground.

"Yuki! What did I say about jutsu!" Sakura yelled as Tama manifested in a poof of smoke. But then Sakura's face broke out in a grin, and she muttered something about how it was easy to forget that Yuki-chan was only ten; she looked and usually acted so much older. Besides, today of all days Sakura was not going to be harsh with her daughter.

"Mistress?"

"Tama! Thank Kami, you're all right!" Yuki wobbled a bit on her feet, and Sakura guided her gently back to her bed. Tama purred, shrank down to the size of a house cat, and jumped up on the bed to rub up against Yuki. "I'm fine! I had healing done on the wound from that nasty arrow."

Sakura cocked her head to the side and looked at the summons. "Your leg," Sakura murmured as she pointed to Tama's leg all wrapped in bandages, "How was it healed?"

Tama blinked, thinking a moment before replying, "I'm sorry. That's a clan secret."

"Can you tell Yuki?" Sakura asked.

Tama blinked up at Yuki. "When my mistress is ready to know."

Sakura wanted to ask more, but Yuki broke in forcefully, "Tama, would you be able to carry me on your back?"

"Yes, I think so..." she mewed.

Sakura stood and placed her hands on her hips. "Young lady, you are NOT going anywhere!"

Yuki sighed, but just then her stomach grumbled. "Tch. I was just going to get some food."

"I'll get it for you, Yuki-chan. Just stay put, okay?"

"It's Yuki-san, and yes, thank you."

Sakura rolled her eyes, smiled, and exited the room.

Tama looked up at Yuki and purred, "Is your mother always so easily fooled?"

The corners of Yuki's mouth twitched up in a half-grin. "Only when she gets all mushy gushy on me and forgets that I'm a shinobi. Let's go quick, before she gets back. I need to speak to the Hokage."

Tama puffed up to tiger size. Yuki sat down gingerly, and in a moment, they jumped out of the third-story window.

"Here we got Yuki-chan, I've brought some soup— YUKI! DAMN IT ALL!" Sakura huffed and looked out of the open hospital window. "Now where in the world could she have gotten off to?"

"I see. Thank you, Yuki-chan."

Yuki leaned back heavily on her summons, sitting cross legged on the floor, as Naruto leaned forward on the kitchen table, his head in his hands. The Hokage looked like he hadn't slept in a week, and the flesh around his eyes was puffy and purpled. He looked like he had been dragged through the seven circles of hell. Behind him, Hinata stood with her hands on his shoulders, smiling softly, and on either side Naruto was flanked by his daughters. Sora, young thing that she was, just looked confused, while Hoshiko's red and swollen eyes rivaled those of her fathers.

Hinata's soft voice broke the silence. "Thank you for giving us Ryuu-kun's message, Yuki-chan. And for being such a good friend to Ryuu-kun. I'm glad you were there, fighting alongside him...until the end."

Yuki bit her lower lip, but otherwise forced her features to remain smooth before replying, "H-He was a much braver ninja than I. He saved my life." Yuki made herself look Hinata and Naruto right in the eyes. "I'm sorry—if I had been stronger..." Unable to complete her sentence, she squeezed her eyes shut while fighting to maintain her composure. It's all my fault... Tama leaned over and licked Yuki's cheek with her rough tongue.

"Okaasan? When is Ryuu coming back?" Sora asked politely.

Hinata shook her head. "He isn't coming back, sweetheart..."

"But why? I miss him." Sora crossed her arms and pouted. Naruto merely picked the girl up and gave her a bear hug. "Ugh, daddy, you're hugging me too hard!"

Naruto smiled down at her and kissed her forehead. "Sorry, Sora-chan," he whispered. The girl smiled and settled into Naruto's lap, still oblivious to what was going on.

Hinata walked over to Yuki and kissed her cheek. "It was very sweet of you to come visit us,Yuki-chan."

Yuki dragged her arm over her eyes and regarded Hinata in confusion. Hinata smiled and sat down next to the genin, rubbing her back. "Please, Yuki-chan. Don't blame yourself for what happened..."

Yuki blanched— "How— how did you...?" Yuki didn't think the Hyuga had mind reading capabilities.

"You are much too like your father. He always blames himself for every little thing, like the milk going bad in the fridge, or rainy weather on a festival day, and the like." Hinata winked at Naruto, who managed a forced-sounding chuckle. The Hyuga sighed wearily and ran her fingers through Yuki's hair. "I've always thought of you as another one of my daughters. I'm glad I didn't lose two children that day." Hinata smiled sweetly and gathered the Uchiha girl in her arms as Yuki began to sniffle.

"How—how can you say that? It's my fault that Ryuu—"

"Hush now. No one believes that." Hinata continued stroking Yuki's short, spiky hair. "We're blessed that Ryuu had a friend like you, Yuki-chan. And I'm sure Ryuu would tell you to stop blaming yourself if he were here."

Yuki completely lost it at that point and began to weep in Hinata's arms. Why am I the one crying? I was supposed to be strong... Yuki wiped her face on her sleeve after a few moments and murmured, "I-I don't understand. Why aren't you crying, Hinata-sama?"

Hinata perched her chin on top of Yuki's head and replied lightly, her eyes closed, "I physically ran out of tears last night. I think the tear ducts can only cry so much before they just run dry." The dark haired woman kissed the top of Yuki's head. "But I think it's time now to take you back to the hospital. Sakura-chan will be furious that you've left."

Yuki grimaced. "Hmmm. Probably." Hinata handed her a tissue, for which she was very grateful. At that moment, Sora, who hitherto had been comfortably ensconced in her father's lap, slid down and approached their visitor.

"Yuki-sama?"

The corners of Yuki's mouth twitched up in a grin at the flashy honorific. "Yes, Sora-chan?"

Sora blinked up at her, and then blithely hugged her leg. "Will you come back and play with me when you're feeling better?"

Yuki beamed down at her. "Of course. It would be my honor."

Sora nodded, content. "I want to be an awesome kunoichi when I grow up, just like you!" The wide grin on Sora's face was the exact twin of Ryuu's iconic expression, and Yuki had a hard time retaining her cool upon seeing it. Not wanting to risk breaking down in tears again, the Uchiha merely forced a smile, pat the young girl on the head, and lay down on Tama's back before being carried out of the Uzumaki's kitchen.

Sasuke stood in an expansive field. It was strangely illuminated on all sides though there was no sun present. The grass all around him was an almost artificial shade of chartreuse, and though there was no breeze, the field undulated in waves. Nearby, a creek gushed, creating a backdrop of static sound; somewhere in the distance he heard doves murmuring, like a chorus of mourners. A peaceful but eerie scene. It had been a long time since Sasuke had this particular reoccurring dream, and he was surprised at the detailed world he found himself in. He had been blind now for over ten years, and his dreams had faded in all that time from perfectly captured pictures to darkness accompanied by muffled sound: that is, until now. His sight unnaturally restored in his dream, he found himself squinting in the brightness of the light—

Behind him he heard the sound of flapping wings, a rush of feathers, and darkness which quelled the light, replacing it with shades of lamp black and charcoal gray.

"Itachi," Sasuke muttered, even though his lips did not move.

Sasuke heard gentle laughter, echoing hollowly throughout the hillside and mingling with the noise of the rushing creek. It was an oddly liquid sound.

Sasuke continued speaking as he spun around to face his brother, "It's been—some time."

In fact, Sasuke swore that it had been years since he had a lucid dream like this—and it had been just as many years since Itachi had come into his dreams. Some part of his mind, still awake despite his dreaming state, noted that the two phenomena seemed to be interconnected. As he faced his brother, Sasuke perceived how each line of Itachi's face seemed etched with a fine tipped pen, drawn with ink as dark as a night without moon or stars.

Itachi nodded silently to Sasuke's greeting. His long black hair became unbound in that motion, and flowed around his head as if suspended in water; his locks formed arabesques, surrounding Itachi like a dark halo. The elder Uchiha turned away from his brother and walked to the babbling creek with slow, deliberate strides, seeming almost to float over the rolling grass. He procured a silver bowl from the folds of his black cloak, then dipped the vessel into the creek. He returned to where Sasuke was standing with the same erie floating quality to his stride, and held out the bowl full of clear water in front of Sasuke.

"Look," Itachi's voice rang like a hammer hitting hard metal, echoing painfully inside Sasuke's skull. As if transfixed, Sasuke edged closer to the bowl and peered inside—

The water swirled and flashed in the light's brilliance, silver shining like a thousand suns. Sasuke blinked— the light dissolved into thick, paste-like darkness, and he found himself standing on a murky steppe, barren save for small patches of brown grass and dried thistles. In the center was a large pile of corpses, putrescent, the forms of individual bodies indistinguishable from the greater mass of limbs protruding from the heap. From the wreckage a spider the size of a small house emerged; it wove a web around the carnage, a thick, gauze-like blanket that soon enshrouded the mound. When its work was done, the spider blinked a myriad of glassy eyes at once and looked up at Sasuke, its eyes and fangs gleaming metallically in the darkness.

The arachnid blinked again, focusing its multi-faceted gaze on Sasuke once more before advancing towards him on its long, hairy legs. When it was only a breath away from Sasuke, the creature's dark eyes swirled with crimson and cadmium, whorling to reveal three dark commas on a field of blood, mirrored a thousand times in a thousand different eyes—

Suddenly, the space shifted. Darkness dissolved back into light, and Sasuke found himself in the original bright grassy clearing once more, his brother beside him. Itachi, birdlike, blinked down at his younger brother. The silver bowl was still in Itachi's hand, but now it was empty of any water. Itachi threw it up into the air where it transformed into a field of crows, their cries filling the sky like falling snow. Likewise, Itachi's body also dissolved into innumerable black wings, turning the bright clearing dark once more under the weight of black feathers.

And as the dream began to fade, and Sasuke returned to consciousness, Itachi's final words rang in his mind like an echo trapped in a deep canyon—

"He's coming..."

When Sasuke finally woke, blinking blindly at the sunlight streaming in through the window, he fought in vain to forget the darkness.

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke groaned and stiffly extracted himself from the waiting room chair he had fallen asleep in. "Hmmm?"

"It's morning—are you okay?"

"Hn." Sasuke rubbed his aching back and stood, willing himself to forget the disquieting dream. "Is Yuki awake?"

Sakura made a face. "She has just returned from visiting the Uzumakis..."
"She's returned? As in, she left the hospital?"

Sakura nodded.

"Well. At least she's feeling better?"

She laughed bitterly before replying, "Yuki said that Naruto-kun wanted to see you. He's in his office now. Yuki-chan is sleeping again, so she won't miss you."

"Okay." He stretched his aching back with a grimace.

Sakura gave him a peck on the cheek and funneled some healing chakra into his back, to which he murmured his thanks. The healing chakra was a drop in the bucket though; Sasuke's whole body felt like it had been dragged through the Forest of Death and back. Though he supposed that truly, it was the weight of death itself that crushed him, that made every fiber in his body scream with pain and weariness; it was a feeling he had grown accustomed to as a youngster, after his family had been murdered; and it was a sensation he would not recover from, no matter how much healing Sakura gave him.

Sakura seemed to sense his lachrymose state; she offered, with false mirth, "If you can't sense it, I'm winking at you."

Sasuke's mouth turned upwards in a hollow smile. "I know." He kissed the top of her head, then enfolded her in his arms; he held her for a long time, longer than usual. He did not often fancy embracing her in public, but at the moment, he didn't seem to care.

"See you later. Sakura." He finally released his wife and then slowly made his way out of the hospital. Sakura looked after his retreating form, her lips pressed together anxiously, before striding off in the opposite direction down the long, white hallway.

The morning light was painfully bright; Sasuke adjusted the scarf covering his eyes, then ran a hand through his tangled hair before striding towards the Hokage's tower. And then, because he hadn't slept in quite sometime besides the contorted nap in a hard wooden chair, he headed towards the newspaper kiosk to purchase a caffeinated beverage.

"One large coffee, please."

"Nice outfit there, Uchiha-san."

Sasuke, startled, realized that he was still wearing his hippie hobo rags from his ill-fated mission with the 'Traveling Stardust Experience.' "Um...thanks. Keep the change," Sasuke mumbled as he handed the vendor a bill and received a cup of coffee in exchange. He gulped down the warm, bitter liquid, then leapt from roof-top to roof-top, hoping it was too early for anyone else to catch a glimpse of him in his quasi-Halloween-costume. Because besides the harrowing mission he had just returned from and his lack of sleep, he was not in the mood for snide comments.

Finally, he dropped himself down in front of the Hokage's tower and entered. There was no snickering as he glided through the halls. Unlike the civilian population of Konoha, the ninja here were all too aware of the tragedy that had befallen their leader the night before. His outfit went unnoticed, but he had a hard time feeling grateful for this fact. Sasuke tried to ignore the all-encompassing ambiance of anguish as he opened the door to Naruto's office.

For a moment, Sasuke silently stood in the entrance; Naruto was gazing out of the window, lost in his own thoughts. Nearby Shikamaru, his arms crossed, stared down at the ground, as if his eyes could drill a pair of holes through the floorboards. Sasuke shuffled his feet and coughed.

"Good morning, Sasuke-san. Have a seat," Shikamaru intoned, gesturing towards the vacant leather chair next to his. The sound of the Nara's voice startled Naruto out of his reverie; he jumped slightly, then swiveled in his chair to regard his visitor. For a moment, no one spoke.

Sasuke barely repressed a sigh before offering, "You wanted to see me, Naruto?"

Naruto nodded. "I've been advised by my counsel that it... It would be beneficial to the village if you would accept an eye transplant...from...from..." his voice broke at that, and he was unable to complete his thought.

Sasuke covered his mouth in horror. "What?"

Shikamaru leaned forward and reiterated, "It is likely that the village will soon be under attack, and we need every available fighter to be ready. You'd be more of an asset if we could transplant Ryuu's eyes..."

Sasuke's stomach lurched, the acidic coffee not helping the feeling of dread curdling his guts. "No. No. Ah...no."

His normally stoic mind reeled from cognitive dissonance. Was this someone's idea of a sick, morbid joke? A superstitious part of himself mused that he should have never made that wish on a shooting star for the return of his sight. Be careful what you wish for, isn't that what they say? Because it might just come true. Sasuke shook his head, partially in disbelief, and partially to dispel the idiotic thoughts crowding his head.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes at the Uchiha's inelegant phrasing and was about to speak himself, but Naruto waved towards his chief of intelligence to stall him. Naruto looked directly at his former teammate; Sasuke could feel the intensity of the gaze boring into him, despite the fact that he couldn't actually see it.

"Sasuke. The safety of the village aside... Do this for me."
"What?" Sasuke asked again in quiet shock, as if he couldn't quite believe his pitch-perfect ears.

Naruto nodded and continued, "Please. For me. I want to see him live on— through you. I'm being selfish...I know. Please. Just do it. For me."

"I— I can't...Naruto..."

"Please, Sasuke." The Hokage said it in such a quiet, pleading voice, it made Sasuke's stomach clench.

Sasuke hung his head and rubbed his aching temples. "Can I...think about it? Kami, I don't even know if it's physically possible!"

Shikamaru broke in, "The sooner we do the operation, the more likely that it will be a success. We've already...had the eyes removed. They are ready...when you are. Additionally, Sakura confirms that your damaged optical nerves should have healed sufficiently for her to do the operation, although it will still be delicate work."

Sasuke's head snapped up at that. He sucked in a breath. "Sakura...?"

Shikamaru repeated slowly, as if he were speaking to a small child, "Sakura confirms that your nerves have healed sufficiently to handle a transplant."

Sakura—wait—no! How could you? When did you...?

Naruto nodded before standing in front of the Uchiha, placing a hand on his shoulder. Sasuke covered it with his own and looked up, blindly, at the Hokage.

"I would like for you to do it...as soon as possible," Naruto whispered.

Sasuke's breath caught in his throat. How could he refuse the wishes of the dead boy's father? How could he refuse Naruto, Naruto who had believed in him unwaveringly, drawing Sasuke back from the edge of madness through the sheer force of his fiery will? Naruto, whom he abandoned and tried to murder several times; Naruto, who had loved him selflessly, who had only ever wanted Sasuke—the one person he thought of as a brother— to be happy. While Sasuke himself had never been anything but a burden, hardly a brother, let alone much of a friend. Sasuke owed everything to this man.

What if their positions had been reversed, and Sasuke was offering Yuki's eyes to a blind Naruto? He shuddered at the thought. Yuki... All at once, his weariness, guilt, and sorrow came crashing down on him, and he was too tired to argue. He didn't have that kind of hubris anymore, to deny his friends their own conceptions of generosity. If this brings Naruto even some shred of happiness—Kami knows I fucking owe it to him...

"I—I'll do it if you really want me to. For you. But I have one condition."

Naruto nodded listlessly. "Anything."

"I want—I want you to finally put the death seal on me." Sasuke's mouth was set in a thin line of determination; Shikamaru hissed in surprise at the socially inappropriate response.

Naruto paled, and his fingernails dug into the flesh of Sasuke's shoulder. "I don't have the strength to argue with you, or to convince you as to why that is a ridiculous request. So I'll just say yes, as long...as long as Sakura holds the key to the seal."

Sasuke shook his head in disbelief and replied, sotto voce, "You really want me to—have his eyes...?"

Naruto nodded. "I do." A few pale tears fell from the Hokage's eyes.

Sasuke sighed sharply, and it seemed to him that all his strength left his body along with the gust of air expelled from his lungs. "Okay. When do you want...?"

Shikamaru exhaled slowly. "Right now works."

"If this is really what you want, Naruto. I'll do it...for you." Sasuke rose out of the leather chair stiffly.

Naruto forced himself to grin, though it came out looking more like a grimace of pain. "Yes. Let's go."

a/n hope you enjoyed the chappy; it took forever to write!

Please let me know your thoughts via a review:) What was your favorite part?