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