The Sacrifice – Part 2

TW:Gore(?)

Sasuke POV

He does remember her. Pretty and shy, and his.

The girl's tears are running down her cheeks, wetting his fingers. Her eyes are glossy and scared and he feels…the tiniest bit of remorse, for having scared her, for having held her face so roughly. He just forgot. It's been a long time since he's last seen her. It happens, immortal creatures cannot remember everything.

She looks the same as last time, perhaps younger than he had ever seen her before.

He runs his other hand through silky long midnight hair. She flinches despite the gentle touch. He does it again, staring at each individual hair strand as it falls.

A frown appears on his face the longer he looks at her. The more he remembers her.

She's small and fragile and mortal and he has seen her die once and that is one too many times.

Letting go of her face, he shouldn't have dragged her here. Hinata's whole body is shaking in fear. She'll have no power in her legs, she won't be able to leave the mention on her own. Sasuke will have to take him outside himself. But he can't.

"You can leave"

Nodding to himself. Yes. He did good. That's all he can do.

Walking slowly back to his rock. Legs crossed, hands on his knees. Eyes closed. And he's not here anymore. Yet he is here. In another time.

A time when thunder is roaring, cold rain is hitting him in the face, but he doesn't mind it because he doesn't care enough about himself to mind.

But his Hinata does. Her eyes widen and she runs to pull him away from the rock and the tree. And she's looking at him with worry and love, telling him he'll catch a cold. Which he cannot. But it's too difficult to explain to her that so he nods and follows her inside.

The estate is bustling with people. It's not in ruin. It's homey. They live in one of the wings, together. Away from the peering eyes.

Sasuke stops in the doorway. And he watches as an image of himself, from the time when he hid his true form, from when he looked human, follow her in the warm room. He watches as she dries his hair with a towel and gives him a kiss.

And it's all unfair. This all happened so long ago he can barely recall the year, he made it a point to forget. Because soon enough she'll be gray and old and he'll look the same. She'll smile at him and hold his hand in small fragile old hands. She'll take his hand and kiss his fingertips, and her lips against his skin are no longer soft as they were barely moments ago.

Hinata made him realize how ephemeral human life is. She was bright and beautiful, she loved him and for a moment he thought he could lover her too. But that is all it was a moment. He blinked, he took a short walk around the yard and she was too old to even eat.

She was a candle in the wind and he took his eyes off of her for a second only to find her snuffed out.

That's when it happened. The night Hinata kisses his fingertips and told him she was sorry. Something happened that night something was wrong with him. His chest hurt and there was water leaking form his eyes.

And he was angry at all the others. At the laughter outside his window.

So he snuffed them out. He needed silence.

The present Sasuke, meditating, is transported to that moment. And he watches his past self rip the individuals limb by limb. He watches him weep and scream in agony, not even knowing what all of those are.

He watches him stop. Take a step back to see what he had done. Sees his eyes widen as he runs away from the bloody hallways, to their room. Where his Hinata is, pretty grey hair, eyes closed. And he holds her in his bloody arms for what feels like a moment.

But his eyes open and she no longer looks…human.

More water leaks from his eyes. And he has to let her go. Has to let them all go. Bodies buried in this very yard. And he slowly falling into a slumber, only awoken each time someone dares to disturb him.

So when present Sasuke opens his eyes to see a young Hinata still on the floor, shaking. Staring at him. He knows he cannot do it again. She'll die too soon too.

Hinata POV

Fear and panic paralyzes Hinata still, even as the…creature walks away from her. Her eyes won't move from him, she cannot help it.

He appears to be…in pain. And for some unknown reasons her chest hurts and she has the impulse to go to him. Thankfully she cannot move.

His eyes open once more, cold and unfeeling, but a single tear falls down his cheek.

"Leave"

The word holds much authority, but it is also a plea.

As if finally awoken from a dream, her body listens to her. She is up and running away from the house. But there is part of her that forces her to look back, at the dragon, to see him with his eyes closed again, fingertips against his lips.

Her eyes stay on his hand that then extends towards her, almost as if he's sending the kiss her way.

A chill runs down her spine and she trips and falls. But he does not open his eyes. Trembling hands on the wall, she pulls herself back up and finally leaves the estate.