S O U L M A T E S (SasuNaruSasu Magazine) SOULMATES MAGAZINE N1 | Page 30

Small stories for great readers
FAREWELL BY Zeny
(WRITING FOR SASUKE WEEK 2018)
Sasuke enters the ruins of what once was
the proud Uchiha compound. It's not more
than a memory, now, and in his mind that
still wrecks him: he's the only one left, his
brother gone, and there's no one else that
can shoulder the burden of his name. The
Sharingan will die with him; when it will
happen it’s a decision he hasn't made yet.
There's things to fix in the world, and so-
meone trusts him to help. The difficult
part is rousing every morning to that pur-
pose, knowing that many of the objectives
he fought to accomplish lay between rub-
ble and dust, in the underground chamber
where all of his clan's secrets will be en-
tombed.
Maybe is for the best, he thinks: as it’s
now, the world would benefit from the
absence of his kekke genkai.
But one last time; one last time for his eyes
to memorize this sacred, cursed place whe-
re he started his pass as an avenger. One
last chance to say goodbye: Otou-san,
okaa-san, I did what I could. I will honor
you to the very end.
Itachi…
Thinking about his brother it’s complica-
ted; a part of him still hates him, and he’s
almost sure that will never change. Sasuke
loves in a strange way, and maybe that’s a
curse too: he gives his heart; even if they
squash it in a bloody fist, it won’t stop bea-
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ting for those he holds dear. Sometimes,
what changes is if the person is aware or
not of their power over him, for when Sa-
suke gives himself in that way he does it
unconsciously, fearfully, with a voice like
a child’s asking: Will you hurt me? Will
you love me? I’ll take care of you forever.
It’s hard to understand that he’s not the
only one capable of a love so complete,
masochistic and visceral.
It’s hard to believe, but Sasuke believes: it’s
his existence which has persuade him to
keep living.
He says goodbye: he says goodbye to the
ruins, to the trees, to the lake; he says
goodbye to the new Konoha, one that he’ll
never explore. He says goodbye to the
people, shinobi and citizens alike: to the
ignorant, the compliant, the corrupt, the
ones that didn’t play any part, the ones
that were the murder tools of war, the
ones he was going to kill.
Otou-san, okaa-san, Itachi… I’ll be fine. I
think I can finally look to the future.
At the village’s gates, two backpacks besi-
de his feet, Naruto awaits with a smile.