Chapter 10/Epilogue

In the Village of Sound, in Orochimaru's secret hideout, Sasuke had trapped himself in his living quarters. He had yelled to not have anyone disturb him, and had paced around in his room lifelessly for a long time. He didn't know how long he had stayed in there so far. A few days? Maybe a week? It didn't matter.

Sasuke obliviously sat on his bed, and his mind replayed Sakura's last words over and over. The pain in his heart hadn't subsided at all; even now he felt a throbbing in his chest. He stared at his left hand, at the hand that had pierced Sakura's body. It had been cleaned when he came back, but Sasuke could still envision the traces of red sliding down his hand, as if the blood was still there…

He closed his eyes, but the only images that flashed into his mind were the images of Sakura's lifeless face.

Why was he feeling this way? Why did it hurt so much? He had finally been able to advance his eyes, and yet… why did he feel so much regret? Hadn't he rid himself of all feelings towards everyone when he had left that night?

Trying to shake away his thoughts, Sasuke wobbled to the bathroom and splashed his face with cold water. For some reason, the water felt like ice piercing his face. He turned off the faucet and gazed up to see his reflection in the mirror.

What he saw were his blood-red eyes, with the unmistakable design of a Mangekyo. He had finally gotten it. But he didn't feel accomplished at all. Instead, he felt suffering.

Sasuke felt disgusted upon seeing his eyes in the mirror. The more he stared at his reflection, the more disgusted he became with himself.

Crack!

Without thinking, he had punched the mirror with his left hand, shattering it. As he withdrew his hand to relieve the pain, Sasuke saw the blood trickle down his arm, and suddenly he was hit with a wave of all the memories he had shared with Team 7, and with Sakura.

"Stop!" yelled Sasuke as he clutched his eyes. But his mind replayed every scene he had shared with his past team, until finally it ended with the latest memory of Sakura's death.

Sasuke sank to the floor, one hand clutching his heart. The usual silence of his room was filled with the sounds of his raspy breaths.

Ah, he finally understood why he felt this way. He still loved Sakura. He had never gotten rid of his feelings for her no matter how much he had tried to. No matter what he did to shut her out, she still had found a way to plant herself into his heart.

What have I done?

Sasuke lifted his head and peered up at the bright light in his bathroom. As his eyes grew watery, Sasuke finally understood Sakura's question to him.

In exchange for your Mangekyo, what greater things have you lost?

He had lost his best friend. He had lost the chance to rebuild his team and relationships. He had lost the chance to return home. He had lost any chance at attaining happiness. And most importantly, he had lost his lover.

Sasuke continuing sobbing on the bathroom floor, as he finally realized. That he had made a grave mistake. A mistake realized too late. That now, he was truly alone in the darkness.

"Sakura…" he wept as he bent over and brought his arms and head down to the floor.

"I'm sorry…"

"Sakura…"

"Forgive me." He whispered, but there was no one to answer him in the cold silence of the dark room.

A/N: And that is officially the end of this series! Thank you for reading until the end! Yea… it was a 'sad ending' (Mr. Sunshine reference that last episode emotionally killed me TT_TT). I just thought Sakura was a real trooper for believing in Sasuke that is real love right there I'm sure most people wouldn't have been able to hold on for so long. But I like my fair share of sad endings so I thought why not write one? Anyways, college has already gotten hectic (premed majors unite!) so I haven't had time to finish my other stories :( It's gonna be a while before I post a new story, but I guess as a sneak peek you can look forward to a sakusaso story and fe:fates leoxcorrin story sometime in the future? It might take a while. Anyways, thank you once again for all the support and follows! Reading your reviews has given me lots of happiness! Until next time!