Damaged Pieces (SasuSaku AU)

XXXIII. Ends & Beginnings

DAMAGED PIECES: Ends & Beginnings

"Go out in the woods, go out. If you don't go out in the woods nothing will ever happen and your life will never begin."

Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Women Who Run With the Wolves
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"I killed Deidara."

The three awful words became a recurring cacophony in her ears as the pinkette sat on the couch, shocked into silence. Sasuke was staring at her in a peculiar manner, managing to plead without words that she say something - anything. But, she had a log stuck in her windpipe.

The younger Uchiha stared back and forth between his girlfriend and the clock, worry growing every next minute. Had he finally done it? Had he finally pushed her off the edge into neverending silence? God, he hoped not. Sasuke didn't know what he would do without this woman in his life anymore. And it would be pretty ironic if she left him because he killed someone who hurt her irreparably, after he waited for her for a year. Irony was not his most favourite word right now.

Sasuke could have sworn an hour passed before she spoke - it had been about ten minutes. But, in his defence, they had been ten minutes of excruciating scrutinization of his entire life and rather pitiful begging in his mind.

And when she does speak, this is what the woman chooses to say after putting him through that.

"So.. you killed.. Deidara?"

"Yes."

"As in.. killed him? Like, took his life? Stopped his breath? Killed him to death? Ceased his oxy-"

"I get it," he cut her off, annoyed to great extents. "I think 'killed' only has one meaning here, Sakura."

"So, Deidara is dead.." she repeated as if she hadn't known the published fact. Furrowed pink eyebrows continued, "... because you killed him."

"Yes!" Sasuke threw his arms up in frustration. "I killed the guy - shot him right through his goddamn head!"

Sakura flinched at the graphics. She had no idea what to do with this bit of information. Wait, hold on.
A fine eyebrow went up and green eyes pointedly looked at him.
"You are not guilty," she told him.

Sasuke shook his head, confirming. His girlfriend massaged her temples. Okay, she was not taking this as bad as he had thought. But, it was not looking very good either. When had he seen this Sakura before? Oh, wait. Never. Why, you ask? Because none of her boyfriends had ever shot dead a man. How many boyfriends did she have before him anyway?

Stay on track, Sasuke. Stay. On. Track.

"You know," she began, turning her body such that she could look out the window. "I asked the interrogating officers and even your brother how those two died. No one told me."

Sasuke had nothing to say to that. Green eyes traced the route from the window sill to the floor at his feet.

"No one ever mentioned it was you who committed -" she caught herself in time and rephrased her sentence. "- who killed Deidara."

"You were going to say 'murder'," he flatly stated.

"No."

"Might as well have."

Sakura stared, tendrils of hurt and anger coiling around her steady gaze. Sasuke was mad. What about, he himself couldn't decide in exact. He didn't consider what he did as right. But, he couldn't bring himself to call it wrong either. Those men had the deaths of many upon them.
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