Chapter One

Black Blades and Blood

"Why am I such a screw up?!" Sasuke yells, slamming an arm into the trunk of the tree, barely wincing at the pain, as small amounts of blood trickles down his arm. His breathing is heavy and laboured and whenever he shifts his blood drenched clothes stick to his flesh. His head is bowed and his white bangs are hiding his eye as his hand against the bark twists and desperately tries to grab onto the tree as his knees give way and he sides painfully down to the ground.

The bright sun seems to mock him, not allowing him to be surrounded by rain which would better suit his feelings.

"He got hurt - again." His voice quavers as the hand which is not on the tree slowly moves up to the centre of his chest, just to the left, where his heart is. "He got hurt because I couldn't protect him…Why am I such a fucking screw up?!" His voice gets louder and louder until he yells the last bit, hating himself.

Suddenly, his sword is unsheathed, the black blade whispering for Sasuke's blood. Instead of holding the sword outwards, it is turned inwards; point just touching his throat, his arms are stretched out completely to hold Shibien in place.

Sasuke's golden cat-like eyes close and instantly he can see the beauty of the forest in his inner eye. The sunlight is streaming down through cracks in the canopy, causing golden particles to gently float in the warm breeze. The darker patches of the forest are filled with plants, trees and flowers.

Standing just a few feet in front of the boy is Sanada Yukimura. One hand is lost in his silky black hair, pushing it off his face, while his other hand has a string looped around it and the string leads to the ever present sake bottle.

Letting out a breath, Yukimura would gently place both hands upon Sasuke's and caringly lower the sword away from the boy's neck to point into the moist, fern covered ground.

But it was just his inner eye.

"Yukimura would never do that. Why would he waste it on someone - no, something like me? After all, I'm just a failed Mibu Clan experiment." He mutters bitterly, Shibien falling from his grasp, accidentally slashing open his right leg as it touches the ground.

In the silence of the forest, Sasuke just stares at the new blood that flows from the wound.

The warm breeze that is winding its way through the trees does nothing to stop the tiny tremors that suddenly appear, wracking the young boy's frame.

As more of the ruby liquid runs down his leg like molten lava, Sasuke just watches it, distantly wondering how long it will take before he passes out from blood-loss.

'Not that anyone will really care.'He thinks, gently letting his body to completely slump onto the forest ground. 'This probably has never happened before…A Jyuuyuushi just walking away without permission.' Then another though strikes him. 'I wonder if he'll punish me…'

Sasuke blinks a few times, trying to clear the blurriness that has taken over his vision. 'I'm sure Shindara - the old Sarutobi Sasuke never acted like this.'

He freezes completely. The former Sarutobi Sasuke, now called Shindara and former servant of Nobunaga.

The one who abandoned Yukimura.

After a full two minutes of lying frozen on the ground, Sasuke half twists so that his upper-body and head are pressing down into the ground. He exhales sharply as some dirt gets into wounds before he mumbles, "At least he was a better Jyuuyuushi…When he was one." He sighs slowly, letting his body completely relax into the ground. "I-" he tries to speak, but nothing comes out. Closing his mouth, he blinks a few more times, aware that the edges of his vision has turned black.

'Could be worse that I thought…' He smiles almost happily as oh-so-slowly the burning pain from his wounds turn to sharp pricks of ice. 'I failed this time…Didn't I, Yukimura?' Sasuke thinks, wishing his master was here. 'If Saizo hadn't been there…Then, Yukimura could have…No. He is stronger than that.'

Do not go down there. Do not think about what could have happened.

Do not.

'Yukimura's alive and probably in his room, drunk and surrounded by bottles of sake.' Sasuke's starts to laugh, but it almost instantly turns into a hacking cough, and the moss in front of him turns a brown-y red colour, due to the amount of blood he coughed up.

'That must have been from the blow to the face…'Sasuke muses as he swallows the coppery tasting liquid, his vision finally almost completely fading. 'Yukimura wouldn't want a screw up like me around anyway.' "After all, you can always just find another Sarutobi Sasuke, can't you?" His voice is soft and quiet. Not because he wants it to be, but because he cannot manage anything louder.

"How many Sasuke's will there be? Yukimura? It doesn't matter though. All Jyuuyuushi have a duty to protect you… And -" He has to stop as another horrifying coughing fit rattles him. Both hands are covering his mouth, as if to try hold the blood in. "A-And" He continues shakily, still talking as if Yukimura was in front of him. "If we can't protect you, then what purpose do we serve?" As the last of his consciousness fades, he manages to whisper, "What would you w-want with a useless failed experiment like me, Yukimura? Love is something given to other humans. Not things…"

And then there is silence in the forest as the sun happily shines down upon all the life in the trees and the warm breeze dances with almost a carefree nature, swirling around with a few strands of white hair on an unmoving boy.

Disclaimer: Don't Own.

So this is 'Love is For Humans, Not Things' Point 2.

Basically, it's the exactly same story line, but I've gone through and tried to correct spelling mistakes and grammar,

HOWEVER,

I have removed KOTAROU from this story completely. This is set now, totally in the manga, and Kotarou Died.