Love Like Winter
Wide Awake
He laughs. A dark, malicious sound yet in a certain way I can’t help but find it seductive.
“What did you expect? A few white Zetsu, some re-animated corpses. Did you honestly not consider the possibility that you might cross paths with Taka?”
I glance at him, almost fearing what I will see and find that he is grinning like a mad man. He is grinning in a way that is dangerous, and yet, it’s almost playful too, unfortunately for his victims it meant that Sasuke had discovered he liked to play with his food before he eats it, much like a cat that plays with a mouse.
It has been a long time since I had seen my brother’s lips wrought into something other than a scowl. I wonder if he is getting a kick out of mocking those shinobi, or if he is just simply enjoying himself. Maybe even both options were true and I think… either way it’s the reason why Sasuke’s demeanor was positively ecstatic.
One of the ninja looks up at him in shock and terror. It is the same look, I think, people give me. It is the same look my kin had when I killed them during the massacre, when hope leaves and they realize they will not live to see another sunrise. It is more disturbing on the shinobi’s face then it was on my kinsmen, and I am not surprised. Because my beloved otōto was the reason for that look and that was enough reason to break my heart.
Sasuke’s trademark smirk widens at the look, as if he has seen it on people’s faces many times before, if the rumors are true, he probably has, and it makes me wonder if he once gazed at his victims the same way, or if he saves this smugness for worthy adversaries.
By now Sasuke’s two companion have joined him, waiting for their leader to finish off his victims.
“You are gonna die today… the question that remains however how?”
My expression does not change. The scarlet haired girl, who reminds me vaguely of Kushina and Nagato in a strange way, unemotionally watches Sasuke toy with his opponents having finished her own minutes ago, in a what in my opinion was a far more humane way. Her posture was straight and regal, as if nothing can touch her. The man whom I now recognize as Jūgo Tenpin, the origin of Orochimaru’s Juinjutsu. The orange haired giant’s lips are set in a frown that contrast Sasuke’s smirk drastically. His arms are folded, cloak moving slightly in the wind as a small blue bird lands on his shoulder and it stuns me that he is one with nature itself.
A nameless shinobi gapes at them as Sasuke laughs again, the mad sound echoing through the clearing. My little brother’s are alight with excitement. Yes, he is enjoying himself immensely, and it amazes me how differently are on this subject. How we feel about this situation, how I am all seriousness and he is all arrogance.
The girl is frowning now, her crimson eyes a mixture of surprise and suspicion as she turns in my direction. I realize she has to be Taka’s sensor, a skilled one at that for being able to pick up my presence. Not many shinobi have been able to do that.
“I have loved to the point of madness,” Sasuke spoke as he silently removed his chokutō from its sheath. “that which is called madness, that which to me, is the only sensible way to love.”
After ten lightning fast slashes blood hits the ground, the trees painting them crimson with the fluid of life. And the bodies five shinobi of who’s names I don’t know collapse. Sasuke had become a killer, I could see it in my little brother’s gaze. Vacant and nihilistic eyes that were glowing with crimson malevolence. The canvas of his soul was now stained with blood of his enemies. And if his brother’s lover were to believed it was my fault, not Orochimaru or Madara’s.
“Sasuke-kun…” The redhead spoke up softly but it was enough garner his otōto’s attention. “we need to leave before reinforcements arrive. The other might already be in trouble… Sakura might be in trouble.”
The change that came over Sasuke was mesmerizing to watch, and I realize their was some truth in my brother’s earlier words. Sasuke was true Uchiha one touched by the Curse of Haterd, yet in darkness of his world their was also light.
(00. Somewhere I Belong ←| Love Like Winter |→ 02. Between The Raindrops)
Author’s Note: While I loved writing this chapter, I couldn’t find a spot in the timeline where I could place it. Not to mention the style and point of view is different from the rest of llw.
Karin, Sakura and Jūgo (when he’s his normal self) prefer the mercy of a clean kill while Sasuke and Suigetsu the latter in particular also find pleasure in toying with their opponents one way or another. Although Sasuke prefers to play mind games rather chop off limbs like Suigetsu. Sasuke btw quotes Françoise Sagan in this chapter.
mitsuki0tennyo 