Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to the wonderful Kishimoto-sama!

I was sitting on my usual rock sharpening my katana against a whetstone Suigetsu had lent me. The last time I had tended to it was several weeks ago and the edges of the sword were beginning to blunt.

I could hear Karin and Suigetsu bickering in the background. She must have stolen his toothbrush again or something just as trivial. And as usual, I ignored them. Anyone who knew me was aware I did not possess the time or patience for such mindless antics.

I had just begun sanding the edges when Tobi walked into the room.

He was pleased. It was not obvious, but I could tell. There was the slightest, infinitesimal, bounce in his step and the smallest glint in the eye that shone through the hole in his mask. It was not much, but to an Uchiha, that made all the difference."I have good news. The Juubi is now complete," he announced.

I was not sure what to say, so I did not respond.

It did not escape me that Karin and Suigetsu stopped arguing to throw furtive glances in my direction.

If the Juubi was complete, that could only mean one thing: he was dead. He had been the last remaining bijuu and, until now, had managed to avoid the clutches of the Akatsuki. I had fought with him many times. I had even looked forward to our fights, they never failed to exhilarate and excite me.

But he had gotten himself caught, and not even by me.

He was no longer worthy to be my rival.

I stood in the shade of Konoha's gates. I did not know what compelled me to come here, but I felt the need to return.

Without requiring much effort on my part, I was able to slip unnoticed into the village. The first place I visited was the morgue. He was not listed amongst the names of the deceased. I was surprised, for I thought he would be there. I did not think they would have buried him so quickly. There needed time for mourning and a funeral service.

I checked the hospital next. It was the only other place I could think of where they would store a body. And it was there that I found him, lying on the bed nearest to the window in a room on the third floor.

I was confused. His eyes were open. Needles, joined to thick tubes of fluids, pierced the skin of his arms. The heart monitor whirred in a drone of slow, steady beats.

He was alive.

But I knew there was something wrong with him.

He sat limp in his bed. His large blue eyes, blinking slowly on occasion, stared blankly out ahead as though not seeing.

I said his name aloud, something I rarely did but I knew he enjoyed – he would always smile if I bothered to. He did not respond this time.

The door opened. I immediately reached for my katana.

Sakura stood at the entrance holding a tray of medical equipment. I held her green gaze. If she was shocked to see me, she did not show it. Her eyes lowered to my cloak of red and black. I saw the way her lips pressed tightly together and turned down into a distasteful frown.

I watched silently as she fussed over him, assessing his conditions and making notes on a clipboard kept by the side of his bed. I recalled the past when she would not have shown such concern for him. She had changed. We all had.

"When we found him, he was still alive, but barely," Sakura said. Her voice sounded loud and rough compared to the silence from before. "Tsunade-sama was able to stabilize him, but all his internal systems have been damaged. The extraction destroyed his chakra nerves. He cannot perceive us anymore."

I thought she was trying to tell me something as she watched me with tired resignation, but I did not know what she wanted.

"I always hated that 'bond' he had with you," she said sadly. "I always felt like an outsider. I could never understand it." She sighed and turned to leave, then paused. She pulled something out of her pocket and pushed it into my hands. "He always used to carry this with him wherever he went." She left afterwards.

It took me a moment to realize it was my old Konoha hitai-ate. I had not seen it in years. It had never occurred to me that he might have kept it for me all this time.

I placed it in my pocket.

The sun slowly climbing down the horizon told me that it was time to get going. I wanted to leave, but I felt there was something I must do.

I looked into his dulled eyes. They had always reminded me of clear skies and open seas on warm days, but now they did not. I felt unsettled.

Some part of me was glad that I would never again have to look at his too-big smile and the way his eyes would light up as soon as he saw me. I would not have to hear his voice calling out my name and chasing me. Always chasing me.

I stepped closer to his bed so I could have touched him if I wanted to.

I slid the pillow from under his head and reached out to stroke his whiskered cheek. His skin was warm and smooth, just as I had imagined touching him would be. I wanted to brush my lips against his, but I did not.

I brought the pillow to his face and held it down firmly.

He did not struggle. The beeps of the heart monitor grew uneven, fast then slow.

My hand slipped slightly and I pressed on the pillow with more force. His body gave a tremendous shudder beneath me.

I removed the pillow and glanced down. He looked like he was sleeping. He had that smile on his face.

The door burst open. The Fifth Hokage ran at me in all her fury. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sakura's slight nod of approval. I jumped out the window. I could hear the Hokage's screams of agony as I teleported before I could hit the ground.

Karin was the only person in the room as I materialized. When she noticed me, she was completely baffled.

"Sasuke, why are you crying?"

End