Violent Reunions Ch. 3 - A Cruel Fate
Sasunaru!
WARNING: Angst, extreme graphic violence, and yaoi.
I laid quietly on Naruto's chest, silent tears streaming down my face. He seemed so lifeless. If he was breathing, I couldn't tell. I felt broken. The careful walls of indifference that I built up around myself were lying in shambles at the bottom of my heart. If Naruto wasn't dead, he was going to be soon. Just one more thing in the long list of tortured memories. One more thing that Itachi had stolen from me.
I lifted my head and brought my good hand to Naruto's cheek. I traced my fingertips over the whiskers there, avoiding any burnt flesh. I could have saved him this pain, this cruel fate, if only I hadn't ignored Itachi. I had been too caught up in the storm of new emotion surrounding my reunion with Naruto. I should have killed him when he was in that crumpled heap. I should have taken his head. If only I would have.
As if stirred by my thoughts, Itachi began to move. I heard soft groans of pain coming from him as he started to pull himself off the ground. My blade was still stuck at an angle through his middle, the tip through his stomach, the rest protruding from his back. His cloak hung heavy, awash with blood. It dripped off the hem to splash in an expanding pool beneath him.
With one last stroke to Naruto's face, I began to stand. The cut and burns on my the side of my face stung with salt from tears. I held my arm below the knife wound, where the kunai still protruded from my flesh. Feeling was starting to return to my hand. I wiggled my fingers. It was painful, but it was healing and I could move. I dragged my feet against the dirt of the road until I stood as straight as possible, squaring off with Itachi.
My heart pounded in my chest as I stared at him, my chest rising and falling faster. A buzzing began in my mind, erasing logical thought, filling my ears like a swarm of bees. The red of my sharingan didn't only fill my eyes, but all my senses. Red. All I saw was red.
I ripped the kunai from my stomach, blood trailing the air behind it in a crimson wave. I dashed the few steps to where Itachi was standing. I didn't give him a warning. My arm moved hard and fast as it slashed at him. He was able to deflect my hand with his wrists despite being skewered by my blade, but I made contact. I could feel the knife rip through his cloak to the flesh underneath. Droplets of blood were flying through the air, splattering each of us like rain. It wasn't enough.
“I'll fucking kill you, I swear it,” I yelled. I continued to cut, my hand and the kunai slick with blood. My hand was beginning to slip in it's grip. Itachi was able to move and parry an increasing number of my attacks.
“You can,” Itachi began as he ducked and knocked my hand away, “...wish for that, Sasuke,” Itachi breathed. I slashed at his face, but he was quick to grab my wrist. He moved his head close to mine. “But it will be in vain.”
I closed my eyes and concentrated on my chakra. I thought of the cursed seal on my neck where Orochimaru had marked me. The seal that had lured me into his power and granted me so much in return. I felt the skin ripple where I was branded. A path of burning power snaked across my neck onto one side of my face I opened my eyes, one now black and yellow, to stare at Itachi's dumbfounded face. His eyes were wide, his grip loose on my wrist. I felt the tainted flow of power down my left arm, twisting it's shape and changing it's size.
I turned my arm, freeing it from Itachi's. He stumbled backward, reaching around to pull my blade from his back. He let out a growl of pain as it broke free. Blood spurted from his stomach and his back in a thick fall. He grimaced and charged to meet me. In my partially released state, he seemed slow. I was easily able to dodge his thrusts and slashes. His brows were drawn together in concentration and I could hear sounds of exertion from his throat with every movement.
Itachi charged at me. I moved to the side and grasped his arm with my left hand. He tried to use his right hand to go for my throat, but all he met was my other arm. I had enough strength in my hand to push his away. I squeezed his arm tightly and spun around, throwing him a few feet away, to slide into a wall. He quickly pushed to his knees and formed a series of seals that were too quick to follow.
“Katon! Ryuuka no jutsu!” Flames engulfed Itachi's form. A stream of fire was ejected from the middle of those flames, headed straight for me. I rolled out of the way, the cursed seal lending me speed that I wouldn't have had otherwise.
I raised my arms, fingertips pointed in Itachi's direction. Snakes slithered down my arms, emerging from my sleeves. They shot straight toward him. I watched his surprise as they emerged from the smoke and wrapped securely around his body, curling tightly around his arms and legs, restricting any movement.
I twisted my wrist. It was still stiff and uncomfortable, but it would do what I wanted. I took a deep breath and moved my hands slowly together. At the last seal, chakra began to gather in my right hand. I pulled it back to my side and concentrated. The glow became brighter, sparks and surges of electricity began to jump from it. The sparks intensified, until it sounded like a flock of chirping birds was contained within my palm. I backed up to the wall on the opposite side of the road, where Itachi was still restrained by my snakes.
I closed my eyes. My hair was moving in a wind of my own power. My chest rose with another breath then slowly fell as I exhaled. I put one of my feet flat on the wall and bent down slightly. I opened my eyes and stared at Itachi's form. He stood motionless but for his eyes. Even from this distance, I could see the swirl of his sharingan, boring into me as if he could send daggers through my heart with it.
I pushed against the wall as hard as I could and charged toward him with all the speed I could muster.
“Chidori!”
Itachi's eyes stayed on me through the attack. I pulled my arm back farther, straining my wrist. I thrust at him and my fist connected in a burst of white blue light and smoke. I was pushed backwards by the force of it. I watched the spot where Itachi was as the smoke dissipated.
My snakes were gone, thrown away when I hit him with chidori. He was on his knees, head hanging to his chest, blood squirting from where the sword had been in his torso, from the same spot that I had just hit him in. I didn't hit my target. I had hit too low, my attack weakened by my injuries and the limited mobility in my right hand. No matter. I would finish this.
I reached into my bag to pull out two knives, longer and more narrow than kunais, as I walked slowly toward him. His blood had splattered the wall and turned the dirt around him into macabre mud. I crouched in front of him. Red streams ran down his chin as he coughed and spat. His hair hung loose around his face. I took a fistful at the back of head and dragged him to his feet against the wall. His eyes had returned to their original blue black color, heavy lidded and unfocused.
“Itachi,” I whispered. His eyes met mine and the fuzziness cleared. He frowned, but made no other movement. “Well, hello there, brother.” He coughed and launched spit and blood at my face. I released his hair and stepped back, wiping the blood away with my palm. Itachi swayed unsteadily in his place, but kept his stance.
I took hold of his wrist and extended his arm away from his body. His eyes tracked my movement. I held his hand flat against the wall and raised the knife. I watched his eyes fill with fear as I drove it though his wrist until it bit into the concrete beyond. His head fell back against the wall, his face screwed up tight as he let out a whimper from his lips. The corners of my mouth upturned slightly at the sight of his agony.
I moved in front him. His eyes were sparkling, trying to hold out against the pain. I put my face to the side of his, pressing my lips to his ear.
“How does it feel, Itachi?” I breathed. “Are you enjoying it?” I pulled his lobe into my mouth and bit down hard. Itachi gasped. “Do you like being... dominated?” I licked his ear where my teeth had been and moved my head so we were face to face. I reached down to take hold of his other hand. His eyes were wide, his chest heaving with near panicked breathing.
Blood was still running slowly down his chin. I ran my tongue over his bottom lip, took the flesh into my mouth. The salty liquid poured in and I moved away.
“Sas-” Itachi began. I spat his own blood back into his face. His head jerked back and he grimaced.
“Not very pleasant, is it, brother?” I splayed one of my palms over his face, covering it with blood, and smearing it over Itachi's cheek. He shut his eyes and closed his mouth tight, humiliation staining his features. I squeezed his face tightly as I spoke. “No, it's not,” I said.
I pulled his other arm away from his body. Itachi knew what I was going to do. He shook his head violently as I poised to drive the other knife in. I paused and looked at him. He opened his eyes wide, his mouth opening and closing, but his voice didn't escape it.
“You could have avoided it, Itachi,” I said. “You could have just died and spared yourself the torture. I could have been merciful and quick, but you chose this. You chose it when you hurt him.” I glanced to Naruto's prone form. He still hadn't moved. Tears threatened to fall at the sight of him, but I drew my brows together and shook my head.
Itachi caught my strain. In spite of all his injuries and weakness, he grinned. With his mouth covered in blood and teeth caked with it, he grinned. I locked my jaw and struck out. The back of my hand and the edge of the knife caught him across the side of his face. His skin split and another crimson wash flowed down to join the rest. He laid his head back against the wall and swiveled it to face me. The grin was even wider.
I grunted and lifted the knife, stabbing it into his wrist without hesitation. It bit into the wall with more force than before, and this time, Itachi let out a cry of agony. I stepped away as Itachi's body slid down as far as it could. He hung from the stone by his wrists, his body limp.
Blood was in a thick pool at our feet. Itachi's face was almost completely covered in blood, dripping from his chin and the cut in his cheek. The wounds at his wrists were beginning to carve a path down the wall behind them. His cloak was ripped in the middle, exposing the raw meat of muscle and organs to the air. The fabric was dark and shiny, saturated by the immense amount of blood that had been spilled on it. As horrendous and wholly morbid the sight was, it still wasn't enough.
I walked to where my sword had fallen a short distance from Itachi. I picked it up and held it firmly in my right hand. The pain was gone, thanks to my accelerated healing. It felt warm, the muscles tight, but it was back to normal. The wound in my stomach had stopped bleeding as well. I returned to the spot in front of Itachi and leveled my blade at him. I put the tip under his chin and raised his head. He lifted his eyes to me, a resigned look on his face.
“I'm finished playing with you, brother,” I said, repeating the words Itachi said when he had left me to bleed to death. I moved the blade to my side, gripping the hilt with both hands. He didn't move or speak, just watched the edge of the sword as it moved. I swung with all my strength.
It cut along Itachi's shoulder, digging into the wall behind it and continuing it's path along his neck. It shot through the other side, shooting rubble in front of it. Itachi's eyes were wide and glistening as I finished my movement. Blood began to well around his neck as his head slowly detached from it's rightful place. It fell to the road and rolled toward my feet. His lifeless eyes stared up at me as blood rained down to stain my clothes and the ground around us.
“Now that's enough,” I said.
I took a deep breath and focused on the cursed seal. I felt that strange burning sensation pulling itself back into the symbol. My arm contorted and began to take it's original shape as the power receded. I walked to where Naruto's body lay and knelt beside him. I put my hand on his chest and closed my eyes tightly.
“I'm sorry, dear friend,” I whispered. I put my arms underneath him, one at his back, the other at his knees. I lifted him gently so he rested on my chest. “I'm so sorry,” I murmured once more.
I began to walk down the road in the area the Uchiha clan once called home, leaving the terror that had been Itachi and my tormented memories behind. The sun casted a pink and yellow glow to the sky, chasing the last of twilight away, as I walked through the streets of Konoha. There weren't too many people, but those who were still out stopped their activities to stare. I could hardly blame them. I was covered in blood, my clothing splattered with it. Wounds were visible on both Naruto and me. I kept my gaze straight ahead and continued walking, hushed whispers following my path.
Though the walk to Naruto's place hadn't taken very long, it seemed like it. I turned the handle to the front door, unsurprised to see that it was unlocked. I stepped inside and locked it behind me. I sat down in the entryway to slip off my blood soaked shoes. I set Naruto in my lap to pull off his as well, though I wasn't sure why I bothered. He wasn't going to care.
I stood back up and walked to Naruto's bedroom. I laid him in his bed and unzipped his jacket, gently separating it from his charred flesh. I removed his pouch full of tools and took out a kunai. I carefully ran it down the front of his shirt, lifting him up and pulling it away. I gently touched the reddened skin around the burns. Pieces were beginning to blacken and peel away from the blisters. I swallowed back the lump in my throat. I had been too late.
I threw Naruto's ruined clothes in a pile on the floor and began to undress myself. I left only my pants - they were the cleanest thing I had on. I climbed into bed beside Naruto. I took his hands in mine and kissed his scraped knuckles one by one. My eyes welled up with tears. I had exacted my revenge. Itachi was dead, but Naruto would be, too. I couldn't do anything to heal his wounds. I didn't know how.
I laid my head on Naruto's chest, fingertips trailing the ridges of muscle that age and training had given him in my absence, avoiding his damaged flesh. My eyes rained onto his skin, sliding down his sides to wet the sheets underneath us.
All that was Naruto would perish. His hot-headed ambition and all his power, the skin under my hands, the soft caress of his lips and the tender cadence of his voice as he spoke my name... it would all vanish. My body felt like ice, dread filling every part of my soul. All of me would go with him.
I drifted into unconsciousness, knowing that Naruto was fading in my arms. Knowing that when I awoke, he would be the icy shell of the one I cherished so dearly.
WARNING: Angst, extreme graphic violence, and yaoi.
I laid quietly on Naruto's chest, silent tears streaming down my face. He seemed so lifeless. If he was breathing, I couldn't tell. I felt broken. The careful walls of indifference that I built up around myself were lying in shambles at the bottom of my heart. If Naruto wasn't dead, he was going to be soon. Just one more thing in the long list of tortured memories. One more thing that Itachi had stolen from me.
I lifted my head and brought my good hand to Naruto's cheek. I traced my fingertips over the whiskers there, avoiding any burnt flesh. I could have saved him this pain, this cruel fate, if only I hadn't ignored Itachi. I had been too caught up in the storm of new emotion surrounding my reunion with Naruto. I should have killed him when he was in that crumpled heap. I should have taken his head. If only I would have.
As if stirred by my thoughts, Itachi began to move. I heard soft groans of pain coming from him as he started to pull himself off the ground. My blade was still stuck at an angle through his middle, the tip through his stomach, the rest protruding from his back. His cloak hung heavy, awash with blood. It dripped off the hem to splash in an expanding pool beneath him.
With one last stroke to Naruto's face, I began to stand. The cut and burns on my the side of my face stung with salt from tears. I held my arm below the knife wound, where the kunai still protruded from my flesh. Feeling was starting to return to my hand. I wiggled my fingers. It was painful, but it was healing and I could move. I dragged my feet against the dirt of the road until I stood as straight as possible, squaring off with Itachi.
My heart pounded in my chest as I stared at him, my chest rising and falling faster. A buzzing began in my mind, erasing logical thought, filling my ears like a swarm of bees. The red of my sharingan didn't only fill my eyes, but all my senses. Red. All I saw was red.
I ripped the kunai from my stomach, blood trailing the air behind it in a crimson wave. I dashed the few steps to where Itachi was standing. I didn't give him a warning. My arm moved hard and fast as it slashed at him. He was able to deflect my hand with his wrists despite being skewered by my blade, but I made contact. I could feel the knife rip through his cloak to the flesh underneath. Droplets of blood were flying through the air, splattering each of us like rain. It wasn't enough.
“I'll fucking kill you, I swear it,” I yelled. I continued to cut, my hand and the kunai slick with blood. My hand was beginning to slip in it's grip. Itachi was able to move and parry an increasing number of my attacks.
“You can,” Itachi began as he ducked and knocked my hand away, “...wish for that, Sasuke,” Itachi breathed. I slashed at his face, but he was quick to grab my wrist. He moved his head close to mine. “But it will be in vain.”
I closed my eyes and concentrated on my chakra. I thought of the cursed seal on my neck where Orochimaru had marked me. The seal that had lured me into his power and granted me so much in return. I felt the skin ripple where I was branded. A path of burning power snaked across my neck onto one side of my face I opened my eyes, one now black and yellow, to stare at Itachi's dumbfounded face. His eyes were wide, his grip loose on my wrist. I felt the tainted flow of power down my left arm, twisting it's shape and changing it's size.
I turned my arm, freeing it from Itachi's. He stumbled backward, reaching around to pull my blade from his back. He let out a growl of pain as it broke free. Blood spurted from his stomach and his back in a thick fall. He grimaced and charged to meet me. In my partially released state, he seemed slow. I was easily able to dodge his thrusts and slashes. His brows were drawn together in concentration and I could hear sounds of exertion from his throat with every movement.
Itachi charged at me. I moved to the side and grasped his arm with my left hand. He tried to use his right hand to go for my throat, but all he met was my other arm. I had enough strength in my hand to push his away. I squeezed his arm tightly and spun around, throwing him a few feet away, to slide into a wall. He quickly pushed to his knees and formed a series of seals that were too quick to follow.
“Katon! Ryuuka no jutsu!” Flames engulfed Itachi's form. A stream of fire was ejected from the middle of those flames, headed straight for me. I rolled out of the way, the cursed seal lending me speed that I wouldn't have had otherwise.
I raised my arms, fingertips pointed in Itachi's direction. Snakes slithered down my arms, emerging from my sleeves. They shot straight toward him. I watched his surprise as they emerged from the smoke and wrapped securely around his body, curling tightly around his arms and legs, restricting any movement.
I twisted my wrist. It was still stiff and uncomfortable, but it would do what I wanted. I took a deep breath and moved my hands slowly together. At the last seal, chakra began to gather in my right hand. I pulled it back to my side and concentrated. The glow became brighter, sparks and surges of electricity began to jump from it. The sparks intensified, until it sounded like a flock of chirping birds was contained within my palm. I backed up to the wall on the opposite side of the road, where Itachi was still restrained by my snakes.
I closed my eyes. My hair was moving in a wind of my own power. My chest rose with another breath then slowly fell as I exhaled. I put one of my feet flat on the wall and bent down slightly. I opened my eyes and stared at Itachi's form. He stood motionless but for his eyes. Even from this distance, I could see the swirl of his sharingan, boring into me as if he could send daggers through my heart with it.
I pushed against the wall as hard as I could and charged toward him with all the speed I could muster.
“Chidori!”
Itachi's eyes stayed on me through the attack. I pulled my arm back farther, straining my wrist. I thrust at him and my fist connected in a burst of white blue light and smoke. I was pushed backwards by the force of it. I watched the spot where Itachi was as the smoke dissipated.
My snakes were gone, thrown away when I hit him with chidori. He was on his knees, head hanging to his chest, blood squirting from where the sword had been in his torso, from the same spot that I had just hit him in. I didn't hit my target. I had hit too low, my attack weakened by my injuries and the limited mobility in my right hand. No matter. I would finish this.
I reached into my bag to pull out two knives, longer and more narrow than kunais, as I walked slowly toward him. His blood had splattered the wall and turned the dirt around him into macabre mud. I crouched in front of him. Red streams ran down his chin as he coughed and spat. His hair hung loose around his face. I took a fistful at the back of head and dragged him to his feet against the wall. His eyes had returned to their original blue black color, heavy lidded and unfocused.
“Itachi,” I whispered. His eyes met mine and the fuzziness cleared. He frowned, but made no other movement. “Well, hello there, brother.” He coughed and launched spit and blood at my face. I released his hair and stepped back, wiping the blood away with my palm. Itachi swayed unsteadily in his place, but kept his stance.
I took hold of his wrist and extended his arm away from his body. His eyes tracked my movement. I held his hand flat against the wall and raised the knife. I watched his eyes fill with fear as I drove it though his wrist until it bit into the concrete beyond. His head fell back against the wall, his face screwed up tight as he let out a whimper from his lips. The corners of my mouth upturned slightly at the sight of his agony.
I moved in front him. His eyes were sparkling, trying to hold out against the pain. I put my face to the side of his, pressing my lips to his ear.
“How does it feel, Itachi?” I breathed. “Are you enjoying it?” I pulled his lobe into my mouth and bit down hard. Itachi gasped. “Do you like being... dominated?” I licked his ear where my teeth had been and moved my head so we were face to face. I reached down to take hold of his other hand. His eyes were wide, his chest heaving with near panicked breathing.
Blood was still running slowly down his chin. I ran my tongue over his bottom lip, took the flesh into my mouth. The salty liquid poured in and I moved away.
“Sas-” Itachi began. I spat his own blood back into his face. His head jerked back and he grimaced.
“Not very pleasant, is it, brother?” I splayed one of my palms over his face, covering it with blood, and smearing it over Itachi's cheek. He shut his eyes and closed his mouth tight, humiliation staining his features. I squeezed his face tightly as I spoke. “No, it's not,” I said.
I pulled his other arm away from his body. Itachi knew what I was going to do. He shook his head violently as I poised to drive the other knife in. I paused and looked at him. He opened his eyes wide, his mouth opening and closing, but his voice didn't escape it.
“You could have avoided it, Itachi,” I said. “You could have just died and spared yourself the torture. I could have been merciful and quick, but you chose this. You chose it when you hurt him.” I glanced to Naruto's prone form. He still hadn't moved. Tears threatened to fall at the sight of him, but I drew my brows together and shook my head.
Itachi caught my strain. In spite of all his injuries and weakness, he grinned. With his mouth covered in blood and teeth caked with it, he grinned. I locked my jaw and struck out. The back of my hand and the edge of the knife caught him across the side of his face. His skin split and another crimson wash flowed down to join the rest. He laid his head back against the wall and swiveled it to face me. The grin was even wider.
I grunted and lifted the knife, stabbing it into his wrist without hesitation. It bit into the wall with more force than before, and this time, Itachi let out a cry of agony. I stepped away as Itachi's body slid down as far as it could. He hung from the stone by his wrists, his body limp.
Blood was in a thick pool at our feet. Itachi's face was almost completely covered in blood, dripping from his chin and the cut in his cheek. The wounds at his wrists were beginning to carve a path down the wall behind them. His cloak was ripped in the middle, exposing the raw meat of muscle and organs to the air. The fabric was dark and shiny, saturated by the immense amount of blood that had been spilled on it. As horrendous and wholly morbid the sight was, it still wasn't enough.
I walked to where my sword had fallen a short distance from Itachi. I picked it up and held it firmly in my right hand. The pain was gone, thanks to my accelerated healing. It felt warm, the muscles tight, but it was back to normal. The wound in my stomach had stopped bleeding as well. I returned to the spot in front of Itachi and leveled my blade at him. I put the tip under his chin and raised his head. He lifted his eyes to me, a resigned look on his face.
“I'm finished playing with you, brother,” I said, repeating the words Itachi said when he had left me to bleed to death. I moved the blade to my side, gripping the hilt with both hands. He didn't move or speak, just watched the edge of the sword as it moved. I swung with all my strength.
It cut along Itachi's shoulder, digging into the wall behind it and continuing it's path along his neck. It shot through the other side, shooting rubble in front of it. Itachi's eyes were wide and glistening as I finished my movement. Blood began to well around his neck as his head slowly detached from it's rightful place. It fell to the road and rolled toward my feet. His lifeless eyes stared up at me as blood rained down to stain my clothes and the ground around us.
“Now that's enough,” I said.
I took a deep breath and focused on the cursed seal. I felt that strange burning sensation pulling itself back into the symbol. My arm contorted and began to take it's original shape as the power receded. I walked to where Naruto's body lay and knelt beside him. I put my hand on his chest and closed my eyes tightly.
“I'm sorry, dear friend,” I whispered. I put my arms underneath him, one at his back, the other at his knees. I lifted him gently so he rested on my chest. “I'm so sorry,” I murmured once more.
I began to walk down the road in the area the Uchiha clan once called home, leaving the terror that had been Itachi and my tormented memories behind. The sun casted a pink and yellow glow to the sky, chasing the last of twilight away, as I walked through the streets of Konoha. There weren't too many people, but those who were still out stopped their activities to stare. I could hardly blame them. I was covered in blood, my clothing splattered with it. Wounds were visible on both Naruto and me. I kept my gaze straight ahead and continued walking, hushed whispers following my path.
Though the walk to Naruto's place hadn't taken very long, it seemed like it. I turned the handle to the front door, unsurprised to see that it was unlocked. I stepped inside and locked it behind me. I sat down in the entryway to slip off my blood soaked shoes. I set Naruto in my lap to pull off his as well, though I wasn't sure why I bothered. He wasn't going to care.
I stood back up and walked to Naruto's bedroom. I laid him in his bed and unzipped his jacket, gently separating it from his charred flesh. I removed his pouch full of tools and took out a kunai. I carefully ran it down the front of his shirt, lifting him up and pulling it away. I gently touched the reddened skin around the burns. Pieces were beginning to blacken and peel away from the blisters. I swallowed back the lump in my throat. I had been too late.
I threw Naruto's ruined clothes in a pile on the floor and began to undress myself. I left only my pants - they were the cleanest thing I had on. I climbed into bed beside Naruto. I took his hands in mine and kissed his scraped knuckles one by one. My eyes welled up with tears. I had exacted my revenge. Itachi was dead, but Naruto would be, too. I couldn't do anything to heal his wounds. I didn't know how.
I laid my head on Naruto's chest, fingertips trailing the ridges of muscle that age and training had given him in my absence, avoiding his damaged flesh. My eyes rained onto his skin, sliding down his sides to wet the sheets underneath us.
All that was Naruto would perish. His hot-headed ambition and all his power, the skin under my hands, the soft caress of his lips and the tender cadence of his voice as he spoke my name... it would all vanish. My body felt like ice, dread filling every part of my soul. All of me would go with him.
I drifted into unconsciousness, knowing that Naruto was fading in my arms. Knowing that when I awoke, he would be the icy shell of the one I cherished so dearly.