Broken and Abused Whats Behind The Mask

You don't have to hide

Neji was holding Hinata in his arms never wanting to let go. Her once beautiful and soft skin had become rough and shrivelled. Neji's byakugan had already seen through her, her chakra network was empty and hollow. No chakra was present.

Sasuke had witnessed everything. He walked slowly over to the crowd surrounding Neji and Hinata, limping every so often. 

"How is she?" Sasuke asked sincerely.

"Dead. From lack of Chakra. She was weak from the beginning and going straight into a chakra heavy Justu would have definitely killed her." Shikamaru said causing everyone to glance at him.

"You knew this was going to happen?!" Kiba exclaimed.

"Correction. Hinata knew that. And so did Neji." Shikamaru answered back looking at Neji who was still on the floor looking at Hinata's corpse. 

"What about Naruto?" Sasuke asked quickly. Everyone looked up from the ground, they had forgotten the aim of their mission. The friend they were supposed to save. They turned around to see two copies of Naruto out cold wrapped in burns, one had black hair with fingerless gloves up to his elbows wrapped with red belts, no shirt but long black trousers that tucked into his also black ninja shoes. The other seemed more lifeless. His shredded jacket was wide open revealing his torn black undershirt, his orange trousers were also torn and had ultimately become 5cm shorter, and his shoes were dirtied. 

"What do we do now Shikamaru?" Choji asked.

"We get back to Konoha as fast as possible. Lady fitfth will know what to do. If we try and send any message the ANBU might find out where we are." Everyone nodded and were now gathering their things. Hinata was on Neji's back ready to go whereas Kiba went to pick up Menma and Choji went to ask Sasuke about Naruto.

"Are you coming back with us?" Choji asked. Sasuke looked down at the broken concrete floor and Naruto on the ground.

"It would be best not to but..."

"We already have enough problems Sasuke. If you want to leave then just go. If you want to come back with us." Kiba gave a sincere look at Sasuke before continuing "Naruto would really appreciate that. And us as well." Sasuke was trying to gather his thoughts and Choji went to Shikamaru, leaving Sasuke stood alone. He really did want to go back home and forget all this mess, he had seen Naruto in his true form both in sadness and in anger. He could not grasp the idea of whether he was angry Naruto was still so much stronger than him or whether he felt pity for Naruto that he had also suffered alone, same as him, not asking for trouble but just trying to survive. 

Sasuke put Naruto on his back and followed Kiba out of the cave. 

When Sasuke could see the light of the outside it felt like he had finally woken up. Stars lit the sky like snowflakes in the night, yet appear still, like an illusion. Sasuke smiled, feeling the wind blow his ruffled hair into a messy mane. He was out there in the open space for what felt like an eternity. The stars moved and the galaxies tumbled and darted. But for now, with his arms holding up Naruto and his head leaning gently on Sasuke's back, the starlight kept its familiar pattern. The constellations, who have witnessed centuries and millennia just the same, watched over this tiny moment. It made him feel free.

"Oi daydreamer!" Kiba, who was next to Shikamaru holding the Uzumaki scroll and Choji next to Neji holding Hinata on his back, yelled. 

"Does this mean you're coming back with us?" Shikamaru asked.

"Hn, I guess so" Sasuke answered back keeping his small grin on his face and he climbed up the hill that leads to the forest back to Konoha. Everyone except Neji had a smile on his face which made Sasuke feel guilty. He was lucky that everyone had found him early, it may have been about a month since he left but he was drowning in darkness for a month. He wondered if they had taken any longer, would he felt the same? Would he still want to come back? Would he ever want to come back? Deep down he knew that he would come back but the reasons may have not been good. He had truly fallen and pushed everyone away because he felt if he got too close he would eventually have to go through that pain again.