Seriously, the final one. By the way, there's one more slot available for the 7 Cardinal Sins mini-shots, so suggest a character if you like!

Disclaimer: I suppose since these are required, I must say, "I do not own anything of this fic but the idea!"

xliv — purgatory III

Sasuke lay supine on his bed with every synthetic light in his room extinguished, natural moonlight filtering in through his half-drawn curtains. His pillow supported his head and his left hand was motionless atop his stomach. His legs were drawn up on the mattress. It was his right hand that held the ruby necklace his grandfather had bequeathed to him hours earlier. The precious stone hung down from a thin silver chain, swinging steadily like a pendulum as he waved it so. He closed his eyes for a moment, sighing.

"Special, is it?" he groused in a mocking tone.

—I'm waiting.

Sasuke snapped open his eyes, a sudden phenomenal chill seeping into his bones. He surged into an upright position on his bed, the necklace chiming daintily as he did, its ruby gem swinging more forcefully. A strong, cold gust of wind barged past his beige window curtains, shoving them aside without mercy and confronting him. The boy raised his arms to his chest in an X formation, his head bowing down as he braced against the frosty weather. When the wind subsided, he lifted his head to scrutinize his window.

"That's weird," he muttered under his breath. "A wind like that shouldn't even be possible in this summer heat…" He slid out of bed, the necklace still in his right hand, and made his way toward the window. Sasuke shivered; had the air temperature just dropped by twenty degrees? That's what it felt like.

—Did you forget about me? I won't forgive if you if you did…

The boy froze in place, another potent gust of wind ruffling his light-weight curtains and obscuring the moon, along with its comforting brilliance. It was completely dark.

Sasuke didn't know what had impelled him to turn around in his current position. But all he knew was that when he did—

…ruby-red orbs were gleaming at him, from the reflection of the mirror set on his dresser.

"You won't escape me," the shadow in his mirror whispered vehemently in a grotesque, mutated voice, reaching towards him with a black hand. The black hand emerged from the glass world dimension, materializing into reality and groping for Sasuke from the fair distance.

Sasuke's eyes were wide and fearful as he spectated this—what the hell was this, anyway? A ghost, a creature, the devil himself…

He should have saved the thinking for later and screamed bloody murder instead, because by the time the black hand extended and simultaneously shot forth like a crack-whip, covering his eyes and face in an expansion of unidentifiable black muck, it was too late. In an instant, he fainted.

Behind every tree there's a new monster.

—Todd Rundgren

Author's Note: A bit of horror, yes. There will be much more of it throughout "Purgatory."

7 Cardinal Sins Suggestions Corner:

1) Minato (as requested by AnimeFreakAmanda)

2) Suigetsu (as requested by Thyme Spirit)

3) Kakashi (as requested by darksilvercloud & Speedykitten1643)

4) Itachi (as requested by an anonymous reader)

5) Yahiko (as requested by Sin of the Fallen)

6) Kiba (as requested by Kag Fan)

7) Open slot; one request per person, just to be fair!