𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘉𝘌𝘋𝘌𝘝𝘐𝘓𝘌𝘋 𝘓𝘌𝘎𝘈𝘊𝘠 | ⁿᵃʳᵘᵗᵒ

To Wither Away

TO WITHER AWAY

✧

The aftermath of the battle was something that came as a blur to Asami. Once the Sarutobi retreated the Senju soon followed after. Their retreat was in part because that man on the hill deemed her enough of a threat, but also because she killed someone important to the Sarutobi. She learned from Izuna that one of the men killed was Sasuke Sarutobi's younger brother—more specifically, the younger brother of the newly inaugurated leader of the Sarutobi clan.

She'd heard of Sasuke Sarutobi before, but as she never stepped into a real battle before that day, she'd never seen him with her own eyes. With Izuna's information, she could easily connect the dots to know who the man on the hill was. How Izuna came about this information, she didn't know, and frankly did not care enough to ask.

Hana was not the only death to occur in that battle. Tajima Uchiha, amongst many others, died trying to push the Senju and Sarutobi back from their borders. Technically the battle was a success, as the Uchiha forced the offenders to retreat, but the clan was in mourning. Many of their loved ones and friends had died, along with their clan leader, and a member of the main family. The Uchiha were hurting.

It rained on the day of the funeral. The entire clan was present, paying respect to their clan leader who died an honorable death fighting against the leader of the Senju, Butsuma Senju. There was word that Tajima had wounded Butsuma mortally, but as the Senju were quick to fall back with the Sarutobi there was no evidence of his death. The Uchiha could only hope that he was dead as even exchange for their leader.

With Tajima's death came Madara's inauguration as the new clan leader. Asami was unsure how her elder cousin felt about the transition. It was a given that he was going to take over the clan one day, and had been groomed for the position since he was a child. The clan already respected Madara as Tajima's son, but now they respected him not only as Tajima's son,  but as a revered shinobi, and leader of their clan. She hadn't spoken much to Madara since they returned from battle as he'd been swept away the moment they came back with the wounded and began preparations for funerals.

There were a lot of changes happening around Asami, but she couldn't force herself to pay attention. Or to care. She was apathetic, detached from the world as she went through the motions. People gave her their apologies, looking upon her in sympathy as another shinobi who scraped by from battle. Another one to continue among the living, to carry on with the guilt of surviving where others did not. She could barely force herself to give them a reply when these condolences were given.

It was night now, the funeral having dispersed hours ago. The compound was quiet, the clan in mourning and picking up the pieces from the aftermath of the battle. It continued to rain with the occasional rumble of thunder, the sound of water hitting the roof echoing into the main family's home. The storm raged even harder than when they fought the day before.

Asami stood in the long, empty hallway in front of Hana's room. She was heading to her own room, when she stopped short, coming to the painful realization that Hana's room was on the way to her own. She didn't make any move to open it or walk away. She only stared at the paper of the shoji door, face expressionless and flat. Chills ran over her body, the pain gripping at her chest and making it difficult to swallow.

Deep down, part of her expected Hana to rip open the door and stare at her incredulously, wondering why she was creepily standing outside her door without doing anything. She wanted it to happen so bad. Asami would laugh, and Hana would too. Hana would make a comment about her garden, and how the flowers were growing. Or, she would complain about how Hanami had been spending too much time with another Uchiha boy who was courting her, leaving little time for the two of them to spend time together. She wanted Hana to ask Asami to bandage up another cut from a shuriken. To ask if she wanted to go for a walk and look at the fireflies. To eat another meal together.