OK, this is the last chapter--don't kill me, please--but it's only the last chapter because I want to get on to the sequal that I've already started and am extremely excited about!
So here's the last--and rather short--chapter.
Kaede woke the next morning—or rather, afternoon—feeling groggy, stiff, and as if a hole had been ripped out of her heart. She slowly drew the covers off, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and shivering as her feet were chilled by the cold floor. She rested her elbows on her knees and pressed her hands to her temples. A vicious headache pounded the edges of her skull, blurring her vision. Sasuke's over-sized shirt draped loosely over her sagging shoulders, enveloping her in a sea of black material. She was utterly swimming in the shirt, but she didn't care. It was a small reminder of Sasuke.
Eventaully, she worked up enough energy to drag her feet into the kitchen and pull a bottle of water out of the fridge. She sat at the kitchen table, leaning heavily on one hand pressed against the side of her face, and sipped from the bottle. She heaved a deep sigh, set the bottle on the table, and folded her arms across her chest. She leaned forward until her forehead was resting on the cool surface of the wooden table, her eyes closed tightly. A yawn forced its way up her throat, and she lazily let it out, the sound seeming out of place in the quiet kitchen.
The urge to get up and move overwhelmed Kaede, and she reluctantly stood up from the table, padded into the living room, and stopped in the middle of the room. She looked around her, wondering why she was in there and what had drawn her to this room. As if by an invisible string, she was drawn to the couch. Further examination of the soft cushions brought on the discovery of a small, folded piece of pink paper.
Curious, Kaede settled herself on the couch and picked up the slip of paper. She carefully unfolded it and her eyes took in the leafed border. She traced the vines lining the outside of the paper and took in each little green leaf that sprouted from the vines.
Her gaze drifted to the handwriting at the top of the paper. Kaede, it read, in soft, almost graceful handwriting. She gasped—she knew that writing. It was Sasuke's.
The note read:
Kaede,
I know how much it hurt you for me to leave in such an abrubt manner last night, but it couldn't be helped. The Hokage gave me a mission that needs to be completed as quickly and in as skillful a manner as possible. There's nothing I can do about it but finish everything. When I say everything, I do not just mean the mission.
We have known each other for years, and I would not trade those days, minutes, memories for anything. You have given me something I didn't think I would every find—someone to care for and who wouldn't leave me alone again. That is why it kills me to do anything that would hurt you.
Last night, long after you were home and in bed, I left the Hokage's office. From there, I went stragiht to your house—
Kaede thought how strange it was that he called it "her house" instead of "their house." She kept reading:
From there, I went straight to your house to get what I needed. After collecting my things, I visited you while you were sleeping. You looked so beautiful, Kaede. My heart tugged to you, but I knew that there was nothing I could do. I couldn't fight the inevitable. This letter was all I left behind to remind you of me, and a photograph of the two of us. Believe me, it killed me to write this.
This is goodbye, Kaede. There is no more "us." We are through. I know you will mourn, but I'm not coming back for you. No matter how long you wait, it will not happen. Go patch things up with your parents, get to know them, and get to know some other guy who might be able to give you what you deserve. I certainly cannot.
Goodbye, Kaede. I love you.
S
Disbelief and horror coursed through Kaede's mind as the realization of what the letter meant sank in. Signed with a simple "S," the note had sent her world spiralling into a never-ending vortex of despair and loss. Her heart wrenched and twisted in a fury of sadness as she fought back tears. How could Sasuke do this to her?
How would he know what she needed and what she didn't? How would he know if he wasn't coming back? He'd have to come back, right?
Kaede held the letter to her chest, gasping for breath, struggling to hold the tears at bay. This little piece of paper, this…this…horrifying note that was causing her so much pain was the last thing she had left of her Sasuke. But he couldn't be leaving her for good, could he? His letter had seemed so definite, the whole tone regretful and cold at the same time.
"Sasuke," she whispered, the soft, salty droplets slowly running down her cheeks to drip off her chin and onto her knees. Everything that she and Sasuke had stood for was gone, was destroyed. Everything they had created between each other was for nothing. Sure, he might not trade those moments for anything, but what about her? What was she supposed to do now? Her parents probably hated her, her life was in shatters, and the one person she knew she could depened on had left and betrayed her.
There was no way she could get through this, never.
A year later, Kaede walked into the lonely Uchiha house, leaving her shoes at the door as was her ritual. She strode through the empty living room, into the kitchen, and slumped on a chair. Her face was void of emotion, her eyes expressionless and blank hazel orbs. She hadn't the mood to take off her ANBU vest, even though it was rather warm inside and outside, and beads of sweat were forming on her forehead.
Impatiently, she brushed back the few strands of dark hair that were sticking to her face and tucked them behind her ears. After a heady training session, two scroll deliveries, and a stop by her parents' house, she was wiped out. But it was the good kind of tired, the kind she strived to never feel again, along with the hurt that a certain someone had brought her. She couldn't bring herself to think the name that would make all the pain surface again.
She pulled herself out of the chair, over to the fridge, and she peered curiously inside the cold, white box. Nothing very appetizing in there. She closed the fridge and headed to her bedroom where she took off her green vest and stripped herself of the rest of her ANBU clothes. In the bathroom, she turned on the water and waited for the tub to fill with hot water.
Once the water was up to her liking, Kaede slipped into the warm bath and sank into the water up to her neck, sighing. The hot liquid felt good on her sore muscles, and the steam seeping off the surface calmed her usually tortured and whirring mind. For days after finding his letter had she stayed inside the house, mourning and weeping like a weak, wounded child. But she had been somewhat like a child before realizing that he wasn't coming back, and that acting and being weak was not going to bring him back. There was nothing in her power she could do.
That was when she had come over with a new resolve, and a new goal—to become the strongest ninja out there, and become the Hokage when Tsunade retired. Which would be in a few years, she knew. The older kunoichi seemed to be tiring of her duties as the leader of the village. Since then, she had grown stronger, stricter, and more seperated from people in general. The few friends she managed to keep had given up on trying to make her the girl she'd once been.
So far, her only competition for the role of Hokage was Naruto, and they were both almost up to Sannin level. In fact, Tsunade had taken Kaede on to teach. But Kaede had no interest in being trained by the woman—as far as she was concerned, she had already been trained by a Sannin and remembered enough of that training to perform the jutsus she'd been taught, which no one other than herself and Orochimaru knew she could do.
Kaede found her eyes closing, but she forced them open. Last time she'd fallen asleep in the bathtub, Naruto had walked in on her after searching like a good, concerned friend should when she didn't show up for practice. There was no way she would risk the blonde ogling stupidly at her again.
She stood up out of the tub, grabbed her towel, and dried off. Wrapping the towel around herself, she walked into her bedroom and dug in her drawers for clothes, one hand clutching the towel tightly in place. Her hand surfaced with a pair of black shorts and a white t-shirt. Nodding in approval, Kaede dug for some underwear, pulled them on, and tugged on her shorts and shirt. Back into the bathroom she went to hang up her towel, and from there into the kitchen for a snack before an early bed.
Opening the cabinets one by one, she came up with two chocolate chip cookies, a glass of milk, and—her girly side couldn't always be resisted—a chick romance novel. For an hour that flew by quickly, Kaede nibbled at her cookies, sipped at her milk, and absorbed the pages of the novel.
Finally realizing how late she had stayed up—not really that late, considering it was only nine o'clock—Kaede tossed her glass and plate into the sink, marked her page in the book, and strode down the hall to her bedroom. Her warm bed was waiting for her, and she climbed gratefully under the covers.
As her head hit the pillow that she had shared with him so long ago, she let the sadness overwhelm her and the memories lull her to sleep.
tear So sad, the last chapter. I know this story seems short, but the sequal will be up soon and will be loads longer. I promise!
Love you all!
Nicola