Fate Wheel | Naruto

𝟏𝟏𝟖 | "He who wants all, loses all"

CHAPTER 118 — HE WHO WANTS ALL, LOSES ALL
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"In light of recent events and all that had occurred throughout the time we met, I always knew that the beginnings of something beautiful would also result in a devastating tragedy. But, I hope that through our memories, good and bad, I would not be forgotten. That you'd remember me for who I used to be and not what I currently am."

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Sasuke's POV

My anger had no stronghold.

It flowed freely, uncontrollable and wild. It'd always been this way, I surmised that the reason for my anger wasn't that I'd lost everything I once had; but rather, I knew it was going to happen all along.

I wasn't one to believe in predestined tragedies until I realised that everything my Clan was built upon lied in the fundamental nature of what made humans human. The ability to feel emotions boundlessly and the ability to surpass those boundaries in order to shelter our hearts, including those we were willing to treasure with everything we had. It took time to realise that my mother's forbearance, however much it'd stung, wasn't just an attempt to prevent our family from crumbling- but rather the impenetrable love and loyalty she had towards my father; the man he used to be and the monster he became.

And as time grew scarce and the world around me began to change, including those who were caught up in its tides, I soon developed an understanding of my father. I understood why he continued to withstand the effects of the burning for many long years under the control of a malevolent presence in his mind, I understood why he'd said the things he'd said and why he'd treated me the way he did. The burning held partial accountability, but truthfully, he knew that despite everything he did- I would not be exempt from my Clan's curse.

That I would be the last one standing, not because of my ability to outmanoeuvre death, but to understand it and persevere regardless of how I felt. I was willing to trek through the burning terrain of hell if it meant being able to see what was on the other side- or whom.

Forbearance. A strange word, I was neither patient or had much self-control. It didn't take much to admit that under the burning's jurisdiction, Dawn had been the anchor to my sanity and without her- I'd accepted death gratuitously. Without her, I wouldn't have understood the meaning of fighting with everything I had to preserve all that I love.

It was also through knowing her, I understood that not all people could be saved and not all people wanted to be saved; Dawn had never made decisions on a whim and I always knew that her abilities to see the future superintended her every thought and action. It was whether I was willing to accept the fact that I was no longer someone who had the ability to know how she was feeling through a single glance. That the moment she encountered a problem, I wouldn't be the first person she told. That when she'd leave, she'd leave me alone.

And sometimes I wondered when the answer had become so simple, so easy to transcribe. Despite everything she had done it was impossible to hate the being she had become, because I knew that I desired the same thing. Revenge tasted so sweet on my lips that embracing my anger was second nature and to unbridle its chains was an innate instinct. Over the years it wasn't an accumulation of rage, but rather the yearn to be myself unapologetically. Not once had she looked at me as if I was something otherworldly, she'd seen me as I'd seen her.