A/N: Dark themes
The adrenaline that fuelled her movements trickled out of her system, fatigue taking its place, washing over her like a tidal wave. Not yet, she chanted to herself, biting her lip as she held out the kunai in front of her in a defensive stance. Even then, she could see her hand trembling from exhaustion. A quick glance behind made her gulp.
She was cornered.
Backed onto a cliff, she had nowhere to run; nowhere to hide. Her only options were to fight, or jump. Peering over the cliff, she gulped when she caught sight of how high the drop was. The raging waters below didn't make the decision any easier too. Either option would likely result in death. She scoffed at that dark thought.
"[Name]!" Resuming her defensive stance as her pursuer caught up to her, she made up her mind.
She would die at the hands of the man she loved.
He appeared before her in a flash. Wearing the standard issue jonin outfit, his headband proudly proclaimed the village's symbol. And when she finally took a good look at him after running away for so long, tears welled up in her eyes. It had been years since she last saw him; years since she last spoke to him.
And now, there they stood.
The saviour of the village and a deserter.
A hero and a villain.
"Daichi."
His gaze softened when she murmured his name. He begun to lower his own kunai before he caught himself, and gripped onto the weapon harder than before, a deep frown marring his face.
"I'm sorry, [Name]... I have to take you back to the village with me."
"No... no!" She shook her head frantically. "Daichi please, just let me go."
"I can't."
"And I can't go back!" She screamed, backing away from him. "They'll kill me!"
"Don't do anything rash." He said urgently when she stepped closer to the ledge. Dropping his weapon, he put his hands up as he carefully approached her. "I won't let that happen. I promise I won't let them kill you."
"That's even worse!" Tears started rolling down her cheeks as she spoke. "They will do anything to get information out of me. By the time they're done I'd be better off dead."
"Give them the intel they need. They won't do anything if you give them what they want."
"And then what? They'll let me go? They'll take me out of the bingo book? Do you actually think that they'll give me a new headband and welcome me back into the village? I've done so many things, Daichi... so many terrible things. No one will ever forgive me for what I've done. No one will ever accept me for who I am anymore."
"[Name]," he grabbed her shoulders firmly, making her look into his eyes. "No matter what you've done, I will always love you. That will never change."
She laughed bitterly. "But you're the reason why I'm in this position in the first place."
Daichi could almost hear his own heart breaking as he felt it crumble in his chest. "Then let me atone for my mistakes while you atone for your sins. Please... just come home with me."
"As your prisoner? I don't think so."
He stared at her intensely, as if willing her to change her mind. "[Name], please. I won't let anything happen to you. I'll make sure they don't mistreat you. All you have to do is to give them the information they need and I'll get you out of there. You can come live with me. I promise this time I won't let anything happen to you. We can start afresh and live the life we always dreamed of."
Sighing heavily, she whispered, "Why are you trying to be a hero? That's not possible... You're an idiot if you believe that I can ever make amends for what I've done. And I would be an even bigger idiot if I believed a single word you've said."
Spinning her kunai in her hand, [Name] thrusted the weapon into Daichi's chest. Refusing to let go of her, he braced himself for the pain, only to receive a dull ache when the handle of the kunai hit his vest.
"Shit," he cursed as he looked at the blood flowing freely from where she grabbed the blade. She always poisoned her kunai. "Why did you do that! Where's the antidote? You need to take the antidote now!"
"Kill me."
"W-what? No!"
"Just do it, Daichi. I have nowhere to go anymore. And I can't return to the village. No matter what you say, you and I both know that I can't just waltz back and pretend nothing ever happened."
"We can prove to them that you can change."
"There is nothing I can do that will make them trust me, Daichi. A villain can never just leave their reputation behind them. People will always talk; people will always gossip, and I'll go mad knowing that everyone around me will act all friendly around me for your sake while they're off talking behind my back."
"You don't know that..."
"A famous jonin, vouching for his enemy lover. What kind of stories do you think they'll make up?"
"I don't care what anyone thinks of us. I lo-"
"But I do.... Please, Daichi, just end this for me. I've had enough of this misery. End all these pain and suffering."
"... I can't kill you... If I could bring myself to do it, you would have been dead by now."
"Well..." She whispered, leaning up to kiss him on the lips, "that makes two of us then."
"[Name], please." He murmured against her lips. "Take the antidote and let's talk this through."
Shaking her head, she slid out of his embrace; out of the comforts of the only place in the world where she knew was her home. "There's nothing left to talk about. There is nothing left for me."
Fingers ghosting against his cheeks, she whispered, "I've never blamed you for what happened and I love you. I'm sorry."
A leap was all it took for her to launch herself off the cliff.
She could faintly register Daichi screaming out her name as she jumped, reaching out to her and trying to grab her. He looked devastated. As she fell, the wind raged against her ears, ringing loudly as Daichi's outstretched figure became smaller and smaller.
Thousands of memories flashed through her mind. All of her and Daichi; spending time together and growing up as both friends and lovers. Both the good and bad memories played through her head. The last image she envisioned was one of her favourite memory with him. An afternoon in a flower field, the sun washing over them in its warmth, and Daichi reaching out to her, not unlike the way he currently tried to catch her. The irony of it all made her want to laugh. He was always there in all the prominent moments of her life. Now, as her final chapter was coming to a close, he was the last person she'd see. The last of her tears escaped from beneath her lashes and she closed her eyes. That was enough for her.
And in the darkness, she finally found peace.
___
A/N: I really like this fic, and I hope you did too!! as always, comments and votes are very much appreciated. thanks for reading <33
