Someone Screaming

Ayane Selznick

Author's Note

This short fic is dedicated to my friends, to all the Naruto Fanfic writers, and to those who frequently read and review my works. Actually this story was inspired from a Naruto Fanfic, She belonged to spring, by Stella Bomb, Moon Child and Rurouni Kenshin OVA Tsuiokuhen. While doing this fic, I was listening to RK's OSTs some sad themes from Naruto OST.

Summary

Blinded by revenge, his thoughts turned to confusion. A tragic love story of the last survivors from the Uchiha Clan. Spoilers from chapters ??? SasuSaku

It was raining heavily.

The clouds have its gloomy presentation in the sky. Rainy days had depressed so many lives, so many people and so many days. The heavy drops of liquid from the clouds could be heard. It comes after the other like an endless notes being played by a musician.

Birds have fled somewhere else to find shelter. So did the other land creatures. Just when did this rain come pouring down the earth? It wasn't even a blessing.

Or maybe the tears from the heaven...

Then why is the sky crying? Where are the ones who have been shedding these tears? They might have been so sad...

No...

That's not it...

They were crying for the misfortune, for every misery, that these people had experienced.

Aside from the cry of the sky, there was the sound of a crying human. A male. Why was he crying? What happened to him? What did fate do to him?

Out of nowhere, he screamed...

"Don't leave!!!"

There were unending tears flowing in his eyes.

Uchiha Sasuke, a 20-year-old Missing Nin, had been hiding within the shadows of the darkness. After knowing Orochimaru's purpose, he went all-out rage and killed him. It wasn't even difficult when Kabuto, Orochimaru's right hand, stepped in the battle because before he could even touched the boy; he was violently murdered in a blink of an eye.

The curse seal that Orochimaru gave him, had reached its maximum power wherein the vessel won't be able to control his self. Not even the one who gave it could stop the rage. And so the Hidden Sound died along with its leader. There won't be any threats for Konoha now.

Uchiha Sasuke had saved them.

Three months had passed and yet he wasn't able to find his brother's lair that all he could think of is to become stronger. A preparation for his battle.

He lived outside Fire Country for seven years. It was an unhappy life. His life was unhappy, anyway, that he thought if he was still worthy to have a happy life. He countered his thoughts.

Of course, I am. But... will I be able to find a happy life? Now that everything had been lost.

He was alone. Always alone. But he was used to it, to a life where nobody had cared for him. Well, except for some people whom he had been attached to... especially for one certain person.

He walked the deserted plains of Earth Country. He didn't know how he got himself in that place, but he was sure that he would be able to find his brother in this place. He could sense him.

They are both Uchiha's anyway.

And it was easy for both of them to feel each other's presence, especially that they have the same blood flowing in their veins.

They're brothers... yes, they're still brothers.

Even if one of them had committed crime and the other must hunt for him. Still, they are brothers. Brothers that had ties though left in the past.

They're still brothers.

One cloudy afternoon, Sasuke found an inn where he could rest and stay. It has been like this. All the time he would find some place, pay for the room and service and lay on a not-so comforting bed. He was not picky. He didn't mind his place at all for all he wanted to have is a place where he could rest.

However, he wasn't able to fall asleep. He was afraid of the nightmares that had been frequently shown in his dreams.

It won't leave him.

It was like forever.

A never-ending torture...

He looked up on the ceiling with his hands resting underneath his head.

"Seven years." He would say, "It has been seven years since I left Konoha... I had become a Missing Nin. And surely..." He sighed. "Hunter Nins have been sent out to hunt me."

He rolled to his side to face the midnight blue sky past the window. The sadness of his eyes could tell the nostalgia emitting in his expression. And as his eyes travel to the sky he found out that there was a full moon... clearly stating that it was autumn. Second by second, he could visibly see the slow movements of the clouds as it covers the blue radiance of the moon.

He stood up from his bed and walked near the window frame. He turned his attention to the village that he was in to. Though there was light coming out of each house, there weren't any noises. It was dead silent.

A ghost town...

Like his own ghost town back in Konoha...

Yes, the Uchiha district... The place where he could call his home... was actually long gone.

His hands balled into a fist. Shaking angrily as he recalled all his brother's doing. The hatred his brother wanted him to have never left him, although, a part of him could feel the love he had killed for his brother. There was no emotion left except for hatred. And vengeance is the only answer – the only way to push this nightmare away.

One thing that Sasuke wasn't able to follow his brother's requirements was to acquire Mangekyou Sharingan. Back then, he was drowned by his selfish desire to acquire it and almost killed his closest friend... Uzumaki Naruto. From then on, he had promised that he would never ever be liked his brother. A human being born to test his capacity in which, in the end must kill his own kin to test himself. How cruel. However, instead of having that requirement... he was sure he could kill his brother with the use of the upgraded curse seal. It has reached its maximum strength anyway. He believed he could do it.

Finally, the clouds moved away and the moon's radiance regained its beauty. The light from the window struck a familiar small metal attached on a cloth, as it was resting on the table. It glowed brightly from the darkness. Attracted from the glow, he wheeled his head and walked to the table. Stopping beside it, he watched how his own shadow ate up all the brightness it has been glowing.

It was his forehead protector... Konoha's forehead protector...

He had never placed the protector in his forehead after he left. It was like he had forgotten everything about Konoha. Actually he had betrayed Konoha when he left and that was the reason why he doesn't have the right to wear it again.

Surprisingly, a sudden flashback occurred in his mind.

(Begin Flashback)

After the Sound Nin Genins attacked them and their friends had left, his pink haired teammate, Haruno Sakura, slowly rose from her position and walked under the branch. When she came back, she was holding their forehead protector.

"You guys were sleeping, so I thought of taking it off of your heads. Here... you can have them back." She extended her left hand to Naruto.

"Thanks a lot, Sakura-chan." Naruto said with a not-so common grin on his face.

Few moments ago, he had shrieked right after he noticed the huge change from his teammate. Sakura's hair was sliced and it was too short. He knew Sakura was taking care of her hair everyday and it was really beautiful. But then, she sacrificed its beauty to stall time, fight the Sound Nins to protect him and Sasuke. It was such a heroic act for some teammate.

When Naruto took his forehead protector and tied it behind his head, Sakura approached Sasuke to give him his forehead protector.

"Here, Sasuke-kun." She softly said while extending her hand to him.

Sasuke directly looked at Sakura's extremely short hair, and then to her bruised face and bleeding cheeks. He flinched inside. She had made an extreme sacrifice and he was thankful that he was able to execute such strength and fought the intruders for hurting her.

"Sasuke-kun?" She noticed that he wasn't even moving his hands to get back his things.

Out of the blue he said, "Wear it."

"Huh?" There was an obvious startling expression in her face. She knows that he knows it was really his forehead protector... so why was he giving it to her?

"You can have it." He shifted his eyes to the forehead protector resting on the ground. It was hers.

All Sakura could do was to smile... "Thank you, Sasuke-kun."

(End Flashback)

He took the forehead protector from the table and leveled his hand until it reached the level where he could have a nice view of the equipment. The forehead protector he was holding was Sakura's and this forehead protector contained all the memories she had with him. He closed his hands and placed it on his chest.

"Sakura..."

Darkness had fallen; still there was someone under the full moon, who had been running endlessly. Based from the swift movements and from the shadow, the person was definitely a female. A kunoichi. She was running inside the thick forest as if she was in a hurry. Shortly after she had passed the remaining trees, she was visibly seen under the strong radiance of the full moon and the stars.

Long pink tied hair...

Red outfit...

White circle etched at the back of her dress, below her neck...

White mask... copied from a cat's face...

Black Konoha-symbol tattoo on her left arm...

A black sheath with sword from her back...

An ANBU or maybe a Hunter Nin. But she was definitely all too familiar. However, it was so strange to go on a mission by herself where usually a group of four or three ninjas were dispatched. And if she were an ANBU, she should be in a small group with a number of ninjas.

But she was all alone...

Reading her current location, she had past the Fire Country two or three days ago. She had rested for a whole day inside an inn from Hidden Grass. And to this night, she had currently passed the walls of the latter village. In a while, she had stopped to take another rest. She chose to sit on a thick and strong branch of a tree right in front of her.

When she sat, she took off the rope that binds the sheath on her back and placed it in front of her. After which, she took off the cat-mask on her face, revealing the pale beautiful face of a grown up woman. When she opened her eyes, it revealed her beautiful soft jaded orbs. She carefully placed the mask on her lap and fixed her hair.

Seven years ago, her eyes showed all her deepest emotions that it was too visible to predict what she wanted to tell to the one she was talking to. This time, there were no emotions from it. Those eyes were just as cold as the atmosphere of the night. It was piercing yet lovely. A poison.

She looked up on the sky to watch how the stars twinkled in delight. She witnessed the attractive brilliance of the blue full moon. And somehow, it made her smile. When was the last time she actually smiled? She had forgotten. It was like she had forgotten how to reveal her emotions again, to show her prettiest smile and the most pleasant laugh. Why did she forget those?

Slowly she brought her eyes down to the ground and then to the level of where her eyes could see the flurry green trees. The sea of sand that makes up the ground was being blackened by the darkness of the shadows. Suddenly, the cold breeze swept her long and straight pink hair. She held some of its tresses behind her ear.

It was night; after all, that's why it was cold and silent.

Cold... and...

...Silent.

A blurry vision of a raven haired boy came into her mind...

Ever since he left, insanity had taken over me. Hoping that someday he would come back in good condition and that we will live the way we used to.

She closed her eyes.

But it never happened. I've been waiting for four years and yet there was no sign of him. Godaime declared that he had officially joined Orochimaru's league. That snake-freak... He bit Sasuke on the neck, left him suffering and even gave him strength. Indeed, that Curse Seal had been Sasuke's source of power, but the power itself had been sucking his Chakra, his soul, his personality, his whole being...

That Curse Seal took my Sasuke away

Angrily, she balled her hands into a fist and looked up on the sky.

Tired of waiting, I chose to strengthen myself. I know that I do not have talent in Taijutsu and Ninjutsu and I only know some Genjutsu, but it was not a burden. I took the Chuunin Exam once again paired up with the remaining Genins in my batch. I was even happy when I saw Ino as part of the batch for the next Chuunin Exam.

She chuckled in her nostalgia.

Every now and then we would rival, but... our rivalry for Sasuke had come to an end. It was pretty obvious that she had given up on him, while I don't. She told me heart-to-heart that she had seen the sincerity I have shown only for him. It was true love and hers was just a crush. I chose not to tell her what happened and what I said to him before he left. I decided to keep it all in myself.

When we passed the exams, I began serious training. I had to admit that Sasuke was the biggest distraction in my life but through him... when he left... I vowed to myself that I would be strong. Years passed by and I had successfully become a Jounin. I did not let anyone teach me. I was indeed a selfish girl, but then again, it was the only way where I could repay what I did not do in the past. I've wasted too much time already. And it was only recently that I had realized I have talent in handling swords. I received a wonderful comment from Kakashi-sensei and Jiraiya-sama. I was flattered, but it did not make me happy.

She clutched the sheath on her lap to let her hands feel the roughness of its surface.

I had striven so many trials for me to gain strength. And it was then I realize... that Sasuke had chosen the wrong decision. If he were just... to train himself... and did not depend on evil strength... he might have been living with us.

He might have stayed with me.

The piercing narrowed-eyes shot the visible blue moon.

For me to see him, I had to become a Hunter Nin. I was glad that I had become an ANBU and turned out to be a Hunter Nin. They were dumbstruck by the fact that I could kill mercilessly. That I could kill without remorse. That I could kill with these cold eyes. The same cold eyes that he had shot me, passing through my weakest barrier, creating the darker side of my personality.

Therefore, I became like him.

She took her mask and wore it on her face then grabbed the sheath and tied it on her upper chest. Soon after, she heard a succession of rustle of leaves somewhere around the place. Stealthily, she crawled her hands to her pockets to grab some weapons to prepare for some sort of actions.

During the wind's shredding noises, the opponents' weapons came flying towards her direction. As if she could read their strategy, she hastily jumped off of the branch. Reaching the mid-air, she threw some shurikens, creating bloody rain in the night. Fortunately, it took two of her opponents down. One had been stricken on top of his head, while the other straight to the chest.

Hearing all the coming weapons nearing her, she hastily executed hand seals and produced a water barrier. As the kunais hit the newly produced barrier, the kunoichi grabbed a scroll from her pocket and placed it between her teeth. She, then, performed some hand seals quickly until the scroll finally glowed.

Fire Element: Flaming Arrows!

The blazing inferno encircled the kunoichi as if it was a barrier then it begun chasing the unidentified ninjas who had attacked her earlier. There are lots of arrows raining up from the sky then to the ground like a meteor rain seen once in a lifetime. Hitting five ninjas at the same time, it didn't end there yet because she had sensed that some of them had been saved. She bit her lower lip and began chasing after the remaining ninjas.

She was not careless. Actually she's a good strategist especially when she's dealing on-the-spot decisions. It's like she could read their minds without difficulty, thanks to her experience.

Ten traps awaits me to the east and north, west is an ambush... the only way I could get through them without being noticed is...

Without any seconds to waste, she began executing another set of hand seals. Out of nowhere she disappeared. The pursuers stopped on their tracks to look around for her.

"She disappeared." The first ninja stated.

Stopping his trails he began examining the area, "She has yet to escape. Don't let your guard down."

As if on cue, there was noise coming out of the ground where a figure surprisingly appeared. Yes, it was none other than the target that these ninjas were after. However, before they could even run to her, the flaming arrows came raining down on them, again.

But she received raining kunais, which had struck the near-vital parts of her body.

Tsk.

She landed on to a branch where she could have a good view of her opponents. She could hear herself breathing heavily and she could feel the pain she had received when the weapons struck her flesh. Analyzing the current situation, only two ninjas left to face her. They were injured and it might help her to slow them down. She must find a strategy and leave this place quickly.

One of the ninjas, wearing a white mask, looked up to her and started talking.

"I suppose you're a Leaf Kunoichi. What's your business with the Earth Country?"

"Like I'd tell you. You do not belong to one of the villages around here." The kunoichi fired back.

These ninjas are nothing but assassins. They may be called as Missing Nins, but there are no insignia of what village they belonged to. So why are they attacking me?

"You're a tough lady huh." The other commented and disappeared immediately from his latter position.

The kunoichi leapt from one branch to another, still grasping her bloodily wounded left shoulder. In fact, not just her shoulder but also the other parts of her body where the weapons left traces of blood in her flesh. Her wounds drastically slowed her movements, but this won't affect her much...yet.

She withdrew her hands on her shoulder and started forming another hand seals.

Kage bunshin no jutsu!

Three of her clones appeared behind her, racing with same speed and carrying the same wounds. Her clones and her mind is so much connected, well, that's because she created them. She could hear the enemies drawing near, so without further babbling, one of her clones started executing some seals and like the latter Ninjutsu, she had called forth the flaming arrows. Timed after the first attack, the second clone started forming an earth barrier to limit the area of the assassins; they could get out of the barrier, but not the arrows that came raining on them. Unfortunately, one of the shinobis used a water barrier of their own to protect themselves from the fire arrows. Just as it did, one of the remaining clones executed another hand seals where sharp leaves around the assassins, had been called and pierced all of the vital parts of their body.

Somehow this strategy slowed them down, making them open for any attacks. Without hesitation, she pulled the katana in its sheath and ran towards them.

Nights like this were just the same. Every now and then, some ninjas will pass by and attack her without reasons at all. But she could defend herself now, unlike before. However, due to her Chakra shortage, she has to hurry herself and find a place to where she could restore every wasted Chakra.

I...have... to make it...

After finishing the ninjas, she kept her katana to her back and started walking to elsewhere. She doesn't know where to go to now, but she has to rest, then resume to her own mission.

Sasu...ke...kun...

And because of her blurry vision, of her open wounds, of the blood gushing out of her flesh... there's nothing she could do but to give in...

Another few steps will do, but with her tiny steps, almost dragging herself to nowhere, she won't make it.

I... have to...

Slowly, her eyelids felt heavy as it were starting to make her doze off. But before she fainted, she saw a silhouette walking towards her. If it was their reinforcement, then she was defeated...

To be continued...

Standard Disclaimers Applied

Author's Note: I've decided that this will not be a one-shot fanfic. A very LONG one-shot fanfic will just bore you, so for you to feel the suspense and tragedy I intended to show you, this cliffy thing will be my purpose (ain't I bad?). Don't worry guys and gals, I'll be continuing this. I'm having a very very long free time to continue and finally end this in one. Please support me. Kindly read and review. Honestly guys, your REVIEWS are important to me, what ever you want to say, (well except flamings and criticisms...). Watch out for the next chapter!