Well, I've had an epiphany,
folks. I've finally realized what tremendous potential Sasuke has as a villain,
and I was inspired to write this little introspective piece. Hope y'all
enjoy!
To End the Dream
He sits
alone in the spacious chamber, much too big for just one person, but his Master
insists he be comfortable while he remains with them. Don’t concern yourself
with the trivial, he says, in that mysterious way of his. You are very
important to me, Sasuke-kun; I believe you understand that.
Yes, of course. Of course
he understands. He has been marked. He has the seal, the promise of power
unimaginable.
But Sasuke imagines it.
Every night, every day, every passing minute.
“You want to defeat me,
little brother? Hate me. Harden your heart against me. Let that be your drive,
your motivation. Let it consume you. Walk through the fire and feel it sear
your skin. I’ll be waiting on the other side…”
His brother is always with
him, a specter dwelling in his shadow, a driving force that pushes him forward
inch after inch, slowly, slowly…
Sasuke tries to resist, but
he can’t. And he despises himself for it.
Because, when all is said
and done, Itachi is the fire, and he the salamander.
Come touch me, bathe in
me. I’ll remake you. I’ll turn you into something different.
That’s what he wants, isn’t
it? That’s why he extended his hand, accepted the fruit of the devil, left all
that he knew behind when the taste—
sweet, sweet, oh sweet
—filled his mouth.
The last of the Uchiha
legacy is many things, but naive is not one of them. He realizes he cannot
escape his own shadow. Until he no longer casts one, it will be there. The
persistent lover. The possessive child. The guardian demon.
Soft ye speak, the angel
of light…behold the glory and fall to your knees…
Wake in darkness and fear
what you cannot see.
---
“Don’t leave.”
The wind shares her
sentiments; it howls like a keening widow flung across the lifeless body of her
husband, like a shrieking banshee that heralds death.
“It is not for you to
decide,” he says flatly. “Go home.” His back is to her, and he refuses to
indulge her foolish hope by turning around. He has chosen, and nothing will
stop him.
Nothing.
“Sasuke-kun, please—”
“I said, go home, Sakura.”
“I’ll scream,” she says,
voice so passionate it cracks. “I’ll wake the entire village—”
The rage that clouds his
vision is a thick red curtain, and he reaches out and grabs her wrist,
squeezing so tight he feels the tiny bones beneath the flesh rub together. She
winces in pain, but he doesn’t let up.
“Listen to me,” he says
quietly. “What I do now is none of your concern. Try to make it your business,
and I won’t forgive you.” He gives her wrist a jerk. “Stay out of my way.”
“I love you,” she
whispers, tears like crystals shining in her eyes. “I’d do anything for you…let
me come, I’ll help…”
She’s so pathetic, so
fragile, so breakable
Weak.
And weakness in all
forms disgusts him, because he sees it in himself, and he is not yet brave
enough to acknowledge it.
So he stamps it out.
“Thank you.”
As she falls, face twisted
in horror, he smiles for her.
“Stupid girl.”
---
“What is it that you mean
to achieve, Sasuke-kun? Why are you here?”
“You know why.”
“In theory, yes, but I’d
like to hear it from you.”
“I have no reason to tell
you my motivations.”
“Indulge me.”
“I owe you nothing.”
“Certainly not,”
Orochimaru’s henchman grinned with ease, leaning back in his chair and tapping
his fingers against his elbow. “I’m only a lackey, after all.”
Sasuke worked his jaw, eyes
hard. “Yes, you are a lackey.”
The grin still in place,
Kabuto shrugged. “A means to an end. I, unfortunately, do not possess the same,
ah, moral fiber as you.” He reached for a glass full of an amber liquid,
and held it to his lips. “Care for a drink?”
“I’ll pass,” the
dark-haired boy’s mouth was a grim line.
Kabuto sipped. “Suit
yourself,” he said, and put the glass down. “So, how will you enjoy being my
Master’s vessel, Sasuke-kun? Does it excite you? He’s been waiting so very
long…”
Against his will,
gooseflesh prickled down his arms, and his body went rigid. He gripped the
edges of his own chair, then relaxed.
“It’s like you said,
Kabuto.” His tone was irreverent, mocking. “This is a means to an end.”
He doesn’t need to know…
“And what end is that?” Kabuto
held the glass again, expression calm.
Sasuke reached across the
table and plucked it out of his hand.
“To kill my brother.”
He drank.
---
“SASUKE!”
Blood and sweat mingles,
joins, becomes as one. Engaged in a battle as old as time itself, they trade
blow after blow, each a testament, a plea, a page turned…
Naruto fights to save
his comrade.
Sasuke fights to destroy
his enemy.
But their cause is the
same.
They share something, something deep and profound and unexplainable, and
Sasuke must dispose of it. Now, here. Before it’s too late, before the ties
take root and he can’t rip them out.
“I’m here,” he sneers. “Is this the best you can do, Naruto?”
Growling deep in his throat, Naruto drops on all fours, nails extending
into claws, incisors elongating to razor sharp points, irises turning crimson.
“I’ll drag you back in pieces if I have to,” he snarls.
“Oh?” His voice is sardonic, drunk with adrenaline. “Try it.”
The fight between two rivals continues, a mad rush, a desperate frenzy
that culminates with a clash of epic proportions, a final reckoning that takes
every aspect of their troubled relationship and skins it raw, open,
hemorrhaging…
The beginning of the end.
“You are my best friend, Naruto,” he murmurs.
He stands, raises his chin to look at the churning sky.
“What will be will be.”
The path he walks is not Itachi’s. He shall obtain power in his own way,
on his own terms.
Naruto isn’t going to die today, because Sasuke won’t give him the
satisfaction of proving his usefulness.
The bond is severed.
It cannot be healed.
“Goodbye.”
---
Sometimes, when he looks in the mirror, the embodiment of his loathing
stares back at him.
“I’m not you, Itachi,” he says to his reflection.
But you are. Don’t deny it.
“I’m not a murderer.”
Yet.
“No.”
I know you, little brother. I know your capabilities better than any
living soul. If murder will bring you closer to me, you’ll do it.
“You’re wrong.”
And you are a coward.
“Shut up.”
Admit it. Everything will be easier once you do. You’ll understand that we’re
alike. We search for a purpose.
“I have a purpose, damn you! You gave it to me!”
I did. You were worthless without it.
“No—”
Embrace my gift, little brother, and find me.
The mirror splinters like spider’s web.
He still isn’t brave
enough.
---
“They have returned.”
“…are you certain?”
“Don’t ask stupid
questions, Sasuke-kun, or I’ll be cross.”
Lowering his head, he
concealed a smirk. “Forgive me.”
“All the preparations
have been made,” Kabuto informed them as he entered the room. He turned to Sasuke.
“Are you ready?”
The self-proclaimed
avenger looked up, contempt and amusement swimming behind his gaze. “Really,
Kabuto. I’m offended.”
Orochimaru chuckled.
“Come. It is time.”
---
Darkness is no more than
the absence of light.
Sasuke knows his brother is
watching over his shoulder, but he has finally come to terms with what he has
to do.
Remove the obstruction.
Purge the filth. Eat away the cancer…
The salamander walks
through the flames.
---
Konoha will be consumed by
fire.