"You asshole."
His face was impassive against my abrupt and rather rude insult. He stared at me whle I stared back, tension immediately rearing its head.
"Why are you here?" I finally asked, my eyes narrowed. He stepped forward, and the Hokage shot him a wary glance.
"I need to speak with her." My eyes narrowed into slits, anger boiling in my skin. He wanted this after months of not talking to her, after months of leaving me to deal with her torturously silent grieving.
"Didn't you tell him?" I said, glancing at the Hokage before settling my gaze on that asshole again.
"She doesn't speak to anybody." My voice was hard and unforgiving. A silent moment, and then he nodded.
"Then she can just listen." Annoyance bubbled up in me.
"Why would you come now? After all this time?" I questioned. His jaw tightened slightly, but I saw it.
"Because I couldn't avoid it."
A disgusted smirk appeared on my face.
"Of course. How considerate." I turned from him, bowing to the Hokage. "I will escort him now, Lord Hokage. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to deal with him."
The Hokage gave me a warning look, and I nearly rolled my eyes.
"We'll be fine. It's not like I'm going to kill the guy." I reassured with a cheerful smile as I recalled all the hand signs for my Lightning Blade jutsu.
The Hokage sighed, nodded, and left in a whirl of wind.
"Ready?" I said, sobering up as I turned back to him. While he nodded, I noticed the sunken look to his face. He still looked as powerful and strong as when I first met him, but he seemed worn out. Exhausted. Like there was something weighing him down.
Like Saya.
Then I realized she might not be the only one grieving hard. My face softened, but only slightly as I gestured for him to follow me.
"Where's that boy?" He said, his green eyes looking straight ahead as we walked toward my apartment. I gave him a look. Was he seriously trying to make conversation?
"What boy?" I grunted as I picked up my pace, hoping he would shut up.
"The one who came with you to save her." I stopped. My lips tightened. That seemed like such a long time ago.
"Sasuke? He left the village soon after we got back."
I remembered the solemn look on his face when I had brought a trembling Saya back. The thing was, he had been deciding what to do for awhile. His answer came from Saya's misery. His eyes got darker, he got quieter, and I knew it was only time before he would leave.
I hadn't said anything, but I knew he would say goodbye to Saya. She had been sleeping deeply, and those were the moments I could watch her because she looked at ease. But only for the first few hours before she got into another nightmare. Then, I had to wake her up to get her to stop screaming.
I heard soft creaking, and I shot up, alert. When I saw a mop of dark hair, I covered my chakra as thoroughly as I could and hid myself, watching as Sasuke slipped in through a window., slowly pushing it open. I should really get a lock on that.
He was wearing his normal attire, only difference was he carried a bulging backpack with him. The moonlight left intentional white scars on the darkness of his hair and the shadows on his face. His eyes gleamed red in the darkness, and my body tensed. Why was he using his Sharingan?
He approached the bed, staring at Saya with an expression I couldn't decipher. He leaned down, pressing his forehead against hers, breathing in softly and slowly. When he spoke, his voice was raspy, a croak of words.
"There once was a boy who lost the star that made him burn the brightest. When it was gone, when it was destroyed, he knew only darkness. He couldn't see, so he didn't know. He didn't know there was better. So when a star brighter than the one before showed up to light up his world, can you imagine what that did to him?"
His lips pressed against her skin gently and he whispered," It made him believe he could be a star too."
Saya sighed softly in her sleep, like she understood.
"I thought for a moment it was true. That your light could save me. But your'e fading, aren't you?" He said softly, his eyes searching her for an answer, like it was a question she would answer at any moment.
He stood up suddenly, his face dropping all the emotion it had on before.
"I'm not going to be here to see that happen. That Kakashi, he'll do it because he's got a terminal case of masochism. Me? An eye for an eye, Saya. If you choose to be selfish, I can choose that too. I won't be here to see you fall from the sky. The darkness, the place where I'm most comfortable at, not even you can burn me."
And then he left.
"He seemed rather attached to the girl." He said, ignoring my pause in steps and continuing on. "I wouldn't have expected that from him."
"You'd be surprised how selfish people can be." I growled, giving him a glare. He turned to me abruptly, his eyebrows furrowed.
"Do not hold any ill will against me. I am a man of honor, but I also have my pride. It took time for me to mourn, to learn that I could not blame anyone but myself for..." He faded, his eyes hardening.
"You don't know anything about me, so do not criticize the way I grieve."
I watched as his jaw tightened, his hands clenching at his sides. I began walking us again towards the apartment.
"She's grieving too." A bitter sound behind me, a broken one.
"Don't make me give a response to that."
I fell silent as we finally arrived, slipping a key into the door and going in. I figured he would invite himself in anyway as I walked around the house, looking for her. She would probably be staring out the window or sleeping. Maybe, eating, but she only did that on days when she wanted to remember the smell of the tea Molly used to make. Those were rare, when she could handle those days.
I found her sitting up in bed, her eyes blank as always. My heart clenched, but I reigned it in. This guy could see for himself what I meant before.
He walked in, spotting her immediately. I watched as he absorbed everything in front of him, studying the empty shell of her. Sometimes, I thought she was nothing but silence when she got that way. Almost already gone.
"How depressing." The man muttered. Saya hadn't even acknowledged our presence yet.
But he immediately got her attention with his next words.
"Molly is not dead, Saya Mori."
It was like a shot of electricity went through every part of her body and awakened her from a deep sleep. Her eyes snapped up to his, and the awareness in them sent my heartbeat on overload.
The man smiled bitterly, the only one of us still fully coherent.
"Rather, she can't die. Because you're keeping her alive. I suppose you never took it too seriously, Saya Mori, when Molly promised you both would always be connected. From the beginning, she has made sure that connection was real. I know this for myself because I have seen your pains become hers, your joys, your discoveries. Somehow, your inability to let go...is keeping a part of her soul in her body."
My heart was rising, hope blooming in my chest. Was it possible? Would she get Molly back? Would she finally be able to break out of this-
"I've come to ask that you let her die."
Her face paled. Her mouth opened, moving but no sound coming out. Tears welled in her eyes.
The man's eyes hardened.
"What, you thought I brought good news? No, Saya Mori. I only wish. This is just my own plea that you stop letting the woman I love suffer because you can't live without her assistance." His voice was cold, sharp enough to cut.
I got in his face, angry.
"Is this necessary? Can't you see you're hurting her?" I spat. He shrugged me off, staring intensely at the trembling mess Saya had become, continuing on.
"You are pathetic. Even now, after all she's given, you still can't live up to her expectations. Even death cannot teach you to lose that selfishness of yours." I began to protest vehemently, but she surprised me, moving fast enough to stand right in front of him.
"My punishment is this. You cannot take it away from me." The man laughed.
"Did you not just hear a word I said? Your "punishment" is what is torturing her. She cannot even have peace because of your trivial decision to become a useless vegetable. Save your noble soliloquies for those who care." He snapped.
She recoiled back, as if bitten.
"Torturing her too? What do you mean?"
"Finally listening? She's not dead. Her body is only alive because her soul is trapped. Still, it is...her condition has gotten worse." Suddenly, he grabbed her shoulders.
"Do you understand? The love she gives you, the love I envy so much, the love she chose over me, it is so deep that your pain is killing her. She cannot rest until you are happy." He said the last word with disgust.
The tears finally fell from her eyes, and he pulled away from her. I came forward, pulling her towards me. She shoved away, her hands not able to push me too hard, but it still felt like a brick was thrown at my chest. She didn't want my help.
Was I already nothing in her eyes?
"Take me to her." She whispered, staring at the ground. The man with green eyes glared at her, unyielding.
Saya dropped to the ground on bent knees, bowing her head deeply, her shoulders trembling with a much stronger force now.
She raised her head, meeting the man's eyes. The luminous glow in them shivered with power as she stared at him with an intensity she had not exposed for what felt like forever. I almost cried with relief.
"Let me try this one last time."
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So I hope you liked! It feels short, but it actually took me awhile to write this one down. Let me know what you think!
Peace. Mitch.