Disclaimer: I do not won Naruto. Nor would I ever claim to own Naruto. It belongs to Kishimoto-san, who is a pure genius for creating this anime/manga.

I know I probably messed up on alot of things, especially the birthday years, I just guessed at those, gomen ne.

This came out WAY more angsty than I had expected. It was supposed to be a bit of angst, but then have a bright ending. Guess I still suck at that part...

It also came out pretty short... I tried to make it longer, but was afraid I was going to ramble too much and bore everyone with it, so I cut it down ; sweatdrop

Three years. Three years had passed since that day...

Those eyes...

Neji could barely stand to look at Sasuke anymore. Not because he wasn't good looking, no. Quite the contrary. Sasuke was gorgeous. He had a lean, yet muscular body that was slightly feminine in shape. He was tall, but still shorter than most of the others his age, possibly because of the ridiculously swift growth hormones they all seemed to possess, and apparently, Sasuke seemed to lack. However, he made up for it with soft, silky hair, the color of a raven's feathers, smooth, pale skin that seemed to glow in the moonlight, and a heart-wrenchingly gorgeous face.

Naturally, humans are certainly not perfect creatures. Everyone has some flaws. Sasuke is no exception.

Many argue that Sasuke did not have any flaws. That Sasuke was perfect, in every way. But Neji knew. Sasuke was more flawed than they could ever imagine. Most of them were tucked away in the darkest corners of Sasuke's soul; hidden from society's critical gaze. Only the piercing eyes of Neji would see through the seemingly perfect facade.

Eyes. That was perhaps Sasuke's biggest flaw.

Neji frequently wondered if it was only he who could see it. But then he saw the faces of people like Shino, Hinata, and Shikamaru, when they casted worried glances in Sasuke's direction, and then he knew. Neji knew that they could see it too.

Ever since that day, three years ago, Sasuke's eyes had been completely devoid of emotion. Dead. Meeting eye contact with Sasuke was almost...painful.

Sasuke's eyes rarely portrayed anything, save for the minute waves of sorrow, pain, and longing that Sasuke tried so desperately to hide.

But he had nothing to hide under. What else was there?

Under Sasuke's sorrow, was only more sorrow.

And under Sasuke's facade...

They say that eyes are the window to a person's soul.

Neji wanted so badly to close Sasuke's window, board it up, and destroy it.

Because looking into Sasuke's eyes, Neji could feel the heart-shattering, gut-wrenching turmoil that Sasuke must have felt every day since that day.

When Neji looked into Sasuke's eyes, Neji saw a scared, lost child that was left all alone in the world. Nothing left but to await impending death.

Neji saw Sasuke slowly falling apart, holding on to what little faith he had left, but at the same time, not really wanting to. The thickest and most important thread that had held Sasuke together had snapped on that day, three years ago. From then on, another thread was being severed each day.

At first, Sasuke had tried to hold on,. He grasped the threads, desperately trying to hold himself together. But both he and Neji knew that Sasuke would not stay intact much longer.

Slowly at first, Sasuke's heart began to lose hope and his will began to fade. And with each passing day, the fibers of his being, the very fibers that held him together, began getting thinner...and thinner still, one or two being severed each day.

Sometimes, Sasuke would sever them himself, too tired to hold on to them any longer.

Weeks passed, and eventually, Neji could count the remaining threads that held the fragile boy together.

Neji had counted about ten days before it happened.

Before the final one snapped and Sasuke fell apart, broke, and shattered into a thousand pieces.

And with no one there to pick him up when he fell, Sasuke, strong, determined, stubborn Sasuke, would give up.

Neji had counted ten days, had

(hoped)

expected that Sasuke would hold on for at least ten more days,

but Sasuke let go at three.

Maybe he just couldn't stand it anymore, Neji didn't blame him,

but when he found Sasuke lying there, there of all places, with crimson blood still dripping from the wound in his

(heart)

chest, Neji felt one of his threads snap, too.

Uzumaki Naruto

October 10th, 1992 - January 1st, 2007

Rest peacefully. You shall remain in our hearts forever.

Watashi tachi no chuushin ni eikyuu ni nokoru... dattebayo.

After re-reading this story, I realized that I had gone way off track from what my original plot was going to be. I guess the story just started writing itself after awhile. I love when that happens, because you get an amazing surprise when you go back and look at the story, but I hate it because I didn't get to really write my story

Heh, well I might try again, and hope that my original idea comes out next time, because I really liked it.

Until then, pleasant somethings, everyone.

Review?