here for safe-keeping
Author: Nihilism
Fandom: Naruto manga
Rating: PG, for dark themes.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters depicted herein and I am making no money from this writing, it's purely for fun. The lyrics belong to Common Rider.
Well, it's one thing to be broke
And another thing to be broken
'I will miss you when I'm drowning'
Said the rain to the ocean
Thick, chilling rain fell in curtains, as if it would cry for him. He could not; would not allow himself to. He had no reason to be sad.
Beneath, the civilians and fellow nin were gathered, overlooking the ocean as the pyre floated towards eternity. Flames rose high from the wood despite the downpour, devouring the body of the boy, the man who had such a bright light of his own during life, despite all attempts to drag him down. Smoke ascended and with it, his essence joined the gods.
Some cultures, Sasuke knows, required a person live a clean and wholesome life to have peace in the afterlife. But he believed that not even those cultures could disregard this soul as sinful, despite the dark deeds it had done, and he perhaps knew more of those dark deeds than the majority of the villagers gathered below. Even those deeds were pure by comparison.
He remembers long ago, long enough that it may as well be another lifetime, Naruto's shining smile as he claimed that he, too, would be added to the memorial of heros. How that grin had faded when Kakashi had told them what made a hero. But, here he was, floating ever farther away and someone was likely carving his name into that stone right now.
His hands abruptly fist themselves by his sides, red eyes flashing indignance. This was not how it was supposed to end. He had spared the other boy because that was not how it was supposed to end, either, but this was...inexcusable. Unacceptable. Impossible. This was no way for their relationship to end, hateful or otherwise. They were supposed to be life-long rivals, never fully getting the better of each other, until...until...
Sasuke's hands relax and he takes a step back from the cliff. Soon enough the funeral pyre will be out of sight and the villagers will start to look around; it wouldn't do for them to spot him here. Without Naruto, he doubts there is anyone who would be happy to see him here, and he could do without a torture interrogation session. Sakura, maybe, would stand up in his defense but he does not want her pity, does not want her knowing he came back for this. They were supposed to be dead to him already.
Pacing farther away from the cliffside, the crashing of the waves fading from his aural perception, he falters before turning back to return. But neither does he want to return, to Orochimaru and his destiny. It sits cold with him now. It seems gloryless. Without his nemesis and best friend, everything feels empty, and he marvels at how easily he walked away from his company in the first place. If he'd only known...
He cannot come up with a fitting finale, and faltering again falls to his knees. The ocean is silent now, all he can hear is this morse-code rain with its incessant message. This was not how it was supposed to end.
Fandom: Naruto manga
Rating: PG, for dark themes.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters depicted herein and I am making no money from this writing, it's purely for fun. The lyrics belong to Common Rider.
Well, it's one thing to be broke
And another thing to be broken
'I will miss you when I'm drowning'
Said the rain to the ocean
Thick, chilling rain fell in curtains, as if it would cry for him. He could not; would not allow himself to. He had no reason to be sad.
Beneath, the civilians and fellow nin were gathered, overlooking the ocean as the pyre floated towards eternity. Flames rose high from the wood despite the downpour, devouring the body of the boy, the man who had such a bright light of his own during life, despite all attempts to drag him down. Smoke ascended and with it, his essence joined the gods.
Some cultures, Sasuke knows, required a person live a clean and wholesome life to have peace in the afterlife. But he believed that not even those cultures could disregard this soul as sinful, despite the dark deeds it had done, and he perhaps knew more of those dark deeds than the majority of the villagers gathered below. Even those deeds were pure by comparison.
He remembers long ago, long enough that it may as well be another lifetime, Naruto's shining smile as he claimed that he, too, would be added to the memorial of heros. How that grin had faded when Kakashi had told them what made a hero. But, here he was, floating ever farther away and someone was likely carving his name into that stone right now.
His hands abruptly fist themselves by his sides, red eyes flashing indignance. This was not how it was supposed to end. He had spared the other boy because that was not how it was supposed to end, either, but this was...inexcusable. Unacceptable. Impossible. This was no way for their relationship to end, hateful or otherwise. They were supposed to be life-long rivals, never fully getting the better of each other, until...until...
Sasuke's hands relax and he takes a step back from the cliff. Soon enough the funeral pyre will be out of sight and the villagers will start to look around; it wouldn't do for them to spot him here. Without Naruto, he doubts there is anyone who would be happy to see him here, and he could do without a torture interrogation session. Sakura, maybe, would stand up in his defense but he does not want her pity, does not want her knowing he came back for this. They were supposed to be dead to him already.
Pacing farther away from the cliffside, the crashing of the waves fading from his aural perception, he falters before turning back to return. But neither does he want to return, to Orochimaru and his destiny. It sits cold with him now. It seems gloryless. Without his nemesis and best friend, everything feels empty, and he marvels at how easily he walked away from his company in the first place. If he'd only known...
He cannot come up with a fitting finale, and faltering again falls to his knees. The ocean is silent now, all he can hear is this morse-code rain with its incessant message. This was not how it was supposed to end.