1,612Salvation – an Itachi & Sakura story
By: F.M. Wrights
Chapter Ten – Eternity Awaits
There once was a kind-hearted Jounin.
Sakura could still vividly recall the day that she first saw her newly appointed teacher and thought that hell had frozen over. How on earth could they assign such an incompetent shinobi like their new teacher who couldn't even avoid one of the oldest pranks in the book?
The fact that he was three hours late didn't help either.
He was light-hearted, seemingly careless and sadistic. She would never forget the time when she thought that he would kill the three of them for breaking his rules by feeding Naruto. The look in his eyes was of pure madness and she wondered if he actually was insane.
Afterwards, she thought he was strange, but kind. He had actually let them pass when she did nothing but pass out and Naruto got caught in every trap that the Copy-nin laid. Sasuke was the only one who had an opportunity to take Kakashi's bells.
He became more important to her during the mission to Mist though.
It was the first time she really saw Kakashi battle with all his strength against the Demon from Mist, Momochi Zabuza. She really thought they would lose their teacher right then and there. Sure, he was able to avoid some attacks from two random shinobi and even Sasuke-kun's attacks, but he wouldn't be able to beat someone who was that strong.
Sakura really thought she would lose Kakashi and it frightened her.
Luckily, he survived.
She would never forget the day that Sasuke and Naruto sparred on the roof of Konoha's hospital. She knew something was wrong between the two of them, especially when the attacks turned vicious. It looked like they were really going to destroy one another.
Then, both of them activated their strongest jutsu and Kakashi intervened.
She was crying again when Sasuke left but Kakashi had been patient and he told her in the gentlest voice that he could manage to not worry.
He comforted her with those simple words and she had always believed in them.
"Sakura, everything is going to be fine," he said to her, eye creased kindly. "Don't worry."
Sakura wished with all her heart that she could hear those words come out of his mouth one more time, and she would believe them.
There was a moment of complete silence, before Deidara moved to the table where Itachi was sitting.
Deidara muttered something under his breath as he sat down on one of the wooden chairs. He said nothing more as he buried his face back in his hands in a desperate attempt to wake himself up from a living nightmare.
Itachi had said nothing since she uttered those words and just stared at her with his one, crimson Sharingan. His mouth was set in an unreadable line and Sakura didn't even try to guess what he was thinking of now. She was sure his mind was reeling with thoughts and for once, she didn't care.
She was afraid to look him in the eye though. Sakura was afraid to see that blank look in his eye that told her he didn't care one bit about what happened to her.
Sighing softly, she fought back the tears that were threatening to spill, even though she thought all her tears were dried up.
Deidara lifted his head and stared at her with a lost look in his eye and Sakura realized that he probably had no idea what to say to her right now. She couldn't even try to comprehend what he was thinking about her right now, but she was sure that he thought she was a liar.
There were plenty of opportunities to tell him about her disease, to back out of Akatsuki, knowing that she would die in the end. He had told her about being a puppet and she should have listened and just told him about it.
But instead, she lied to him, lied to Itachi and lied to Akatsuki.
It was unforgivable and Sakura knew it.
It didn't matter if he'd say anything to her now. Sakura knew that there were no words for this, she understood that.
The blonde stood up without even uttering a word and ignored the ever-silent Uchiha that was still sitting in the corner, Sharingan fixed on Sakura's quivering form.
Deidara said nothing to Sakura as he stepped towards her and wrapped his arms around her, pressing Sakura against his chest in an attempt to make it all just go away. He wanted to believe that it was all a dream. That he'd wake up and that he would be able to feel things again, that he was able to feel the softness of her hair or the warmth of her breath upon his skin.
When he woke up, she wouldn't be sick, she would be healthy.
Finally, he understood what she meant. He realized why she wanted to join Akatsuki and it wasn't just because of Itachi. No, it was because she wanted to spend her last months together with them.
Pressing her closer against him, he softly whispered soothing words in her ear as he pieced everything together.
The coughing, the pain, the small hints all made sense now and he was a fool for not noticing them before.
"What made you change your mind?"
"Pain."
He understood now.
"Too bad miracles don't exist…" Sakura whispered sadly. "I'd like to see myself as an eighty-year-old."
Deidara breathed out something just short of a chuckle as he heard that, still convinced that this was just a bad dream and Sasori would wake him up any time now and scold him for being asleep when they had an important mission to complete.
Sakura had once believed that miracles existed.
She thought that becoming a part of Team 7 with Sasuke would bring them together and that he would one day accept her offer to go out on a date.
They would eat in a fancy restaurant and afterwards they would go to the Uchiha mansion, sip expensive wine as they sat outside on his porch, watching the stars while kisses would rain down on both of them.
He would bring her to his bed which he had covered with the silky petals of red roses and surrounded with the dozens of candles and then he would make love to her over and over again until both of them were sated.
He would hold her in his arms afterwards and she would relish in the feeling of holding him so close to her. His calloused hands would stroke through her hair as he confessed his love to her, over and over again.
Until his voice gave out…
There once was a lonely orphan.
If Naruto hadn't been her classmate in the academy, she would have never believed that there was someone actually more inept at being a shinobi than her mother who possessed no skills at all when it came to techniques.
Naruto had proven her wrong though.
After three years, he was still unable to conjure a proper Bunshin, while most of the students had mastered it after only one year in the academy. Naturally, Sakura's perfect control enabled her to become one of the brightest students in the classroom and apparently, she had caught Naruto's eye.
He loved her and she hated him because he was everything Sasuke wasn't. He was obnoxious, rude, stupid, and the thing that irritated her the most, was the fact that he hated Sasuke simply because he was jealous of Sasuke.
When she had first found out he was in her team, she was ready to go to Iruka-sensei and tell him what a fool he was for putting Naruto in the same team as the genius Uchiha.
But gradually, she started to accept Naruto more and more. He was becoming a brother to her, someone who would always be there and protect her from harm.
In return, she tried to protect and support what was most precious to him. She tried to help him reach his dream, to become a Hokage. Sakura was even prepared to quit the Chuunin exam to save his foolish dream, regardless of Sasuke's wishes at that time. Naruto's dream was her dream at that time.
She would never forget the time that Sasuke left and shattered her world. Naruto had practically confessed his love to her before leaving her. He guaranteed her that he would bring back Sasuke as he flashed that bright smile, the exact smile that he flashed to her when he came back and swore to keep the promise he made years ago. The smile that reassured her that everything would turn out alright.
He was her teammate, her classmate, but most importantly, her best friend. Someone who would always pick her side, who would cheer her on during fights. He was the one who believed in her when she didn't even believe in herself anymore.
She wished that he would be happy for the rest of his life, loved, recognized and admired by Konoha and its citizens, no longer shunned. Instead people would applaud for him at the end of his life, knowing that this would be the Hokage who gave them peace, who led the entire village into prosperity.
Sakura wished that Naruto would never be alone again.
"I wish I could make it go away…" Deidara whispered slowly, voice thick.
And then she cried.
The sheer emotion in Deidara's voice was enough for her to bury her face into his shirt and cry freely, as her hands twisted the simple black shirt that Deidara wore. In return, Deidara remained silent, seemingly at a loss of words as he stroked her back gently, being the silent support he had always been.
"What's this?" Sasori's soft voice sounded from somewhere behind her. "Ménage à trois?"
Deidara's arms tightened around her involuntarily. "Shut up," he muttered, voice nearly dripping with venom. "We're in the middle of something important."
"I can see that," Sasori remarked simply, a tinge of humor gracing his voice.
"Oh my." Tobi seemed to have joined the group.
Ignoring the others, Deidara let go of her while watching her in that dangerous and serious manner of his. Yet the harsh-looking shell cracked somewhat as he tried to smile for her while caressing her cheek gently. "How long Sakura?"
Knowing what he was referring to, she closed her eyes slightly, relishing in the feel of his knuckles brushing against her jaw. "I don't know…" she swallowed hard. "Perhaps a year, probably less."
"Are we counting down to something?" Tobi asked, curiosity lacing his voice.
Sasori sighed lightly. "You've just pushed past Deidara's limit."
"Limit?"
"You've got five seconds to get out of here before I strangle you to death… yeah," Deidara snarled icily as he reached for a kunai in the holster strapped to his leg.
"But how do you plan on strangling me with a kunai Deidara-senpai?" Tobi pressed on. Whether he was determined to get under Deidara's skin or just simply wanted answers to his stupid questions, Sakura didn't know.
She felt Deidara's arm jerk around her swiftly and instantly realized that he had thrown the kunai in Tobi's direction.
Momentarily, she was worried, wondering if Tobi got hit before she heard him run away while yelling on the top of his lungs, "But Tobi is a good boy!"
A long pause ensued as Sakura stared at Deidara's shirt, following the seam just to avoid Deidara's piercing glance. It was Sasori who finally broke the excruciating silence. His voice was cool and collected as he gently stated, "You're ill, Sakura-san?"
She chuckled softly as tears flowed over her cheeks again, unable to stop them. Her light chuckle turned into laughter, until she was almost laughing hysterically, desperate to shake all those tense feelings off of her and just move on with her life without being ill or on the verge of dying. Just her and Akatsuki. And in a perfect scenario, there would also be Naruto and Sasuke.
There would be no pain, just utter bliss as she turned back into a healthy Genin in her mind's eye. There would be only the taste of the fresh fish that they caught from a nearby river and the feel of the cool breeze in the evening while they watched over the million stars during a bright night.
On her left, Sasuke would be asleep, his back turned to her, the Uchiha logo contrasting against his blue shirt.
On her right, there would be Naruto, sleeping a restless sleep as he drooled slightly. Occasionally she would hear a mutter from him as he turned around, trying to find a good position to sleep in while using his blue backpack as his pillow.
She closed her eyes and allowed the memories to linger for a moment longer before banning them to a far corner of her mind. Silently, she uttered: "Yes."
"Incurable?" Sasori asked blandly.
"Yes."
"That is most unfortunate," Sasori sighed. Moments later, she felt his chakra disappear from the room and understood that he was probably trying to find Tobi, who seemed to have completely vanished into thin air.
"I have to leave you alone for now…yeah," Deidara whispered gently in her ear, pressing his lips against her temple before lifting his hand so that she could see the Akatsuki ring lit up, the signal that Leader needed Deidara. "I'll be back soon, but Leader is calling."
"I understand," Sakura whispered back.
With tremendous effort, Deidara finally let go of her, flashing the Uchiha in the corner a weary glance before flashing Sakura a smile. "See you."
Sakura nodded, following Deidara with her eyes as he picked up his discarded Akatsuki robe and walked out of the room, leaving her alone with the Sharingan user.
There once was a genius shinobi from Rock.
Ever since they met so many years ago, their bond was indestructible.
She was shocked when she first saw him, thinking that he might mean her end. He would kill her for overhearing one of his conversations with Kisame and Itachi, but before he could even lift a finger, Kisame had stopped him from doing anything.
After a while, she realized he wasn't so bad at all.
She grew fond of him. His humorous jokes were a nice reminder that Akatsuki didn't just consist of ruthless killers. They would fight, bicker and joke around, even if they were the strongest shinobi in the world.
Sakura loved the way that Deidara somewhat humanized Akatsuki.
As time passed by, she grew to love Deidara more and more. His kind yet devious smirk always managed to make her smile as well, but it was the way that he cared so much for her that he died for her that made her truly understand what a good friend he was…and that he truly loved her.
She owed him so much. Sakura wasn't even sure if she would be able to repay him for everything he had done for her before she faded away from this world.
Perhaps her fondest memories of him where the times they spend together, sitting outside doing absolutely nothing as Deidara made a clay bird for her or folded one out of paper and using his unique jutsu to awaken them.
They would watch as the birds flew towards the horizon, discussing random subjects as they became more acquainted with each other, revealing their most inner desires and thoughts to one another.
His death had nearly destroyed her.
Although she kept her act up in front of Itachi and Kisame, his death was another blow to her heart and it had not healed until she saw him again.
No words could express the amount of happiness that she felt then.
She wished for him to find peace with his new existence and hope that he would always stay the Deidara she had come to love.
Itachi had said nothing since she confessed and Sakura didn't glance into his direction to see his reaction.
It was silent after Deidara left until Sakura finally found the courage to turn around and look at the one-eyed Uchiha.
And it felt as if someone pierced her heart.
Itachi was looking at her with a look of intense sadness. The face that was always blank, always emotionless was now filled with so much emotion that she didn't recognize him.
She made the mistake of blinking and as soon as she opened her eyes again, she found the blank look back in his eye.
She wasn't sure if that moment was real or just a figment of her imagination. Perhaps she just wanted to see something, just a sign to show that he cared for her one way or another. Sakura tried to search his face for anything else, but his eye betrayed nothing.
"Itachi…" she finally whispered.
"You're a medic-nin, healer of all." Itachi said coolly. "Except yourself."
It was true and she knew it. Her life after leaving Konoha was just one continuous, ironic joke.
She left to save a lost boy, yet she was the one who became lost.
She loved a man who didn't care about her.
She was a shinobi trained to save lives, yet she couldn't save her own.
It was ironic indeed.
The words Itachi had uttered slapped her in the face, her gaze turning towards the floor as she walked towards the chair that Deidara had previously occupied. All the while, she pondered Itachi's harsh words.
She had no idea what would happen now, although she was certain that she would be thrown out of Akatsuki. There was no doubt in her mind about that. There was no way they would have use for a medic-nin who was sick and could die within the next few months.
She was going to die.
It was a strange emotion to feel for a shinobi. You always had to be prepared for death, there was always a chance of dying when you finally became a Genin and it only increased if you made your way up the ladder. When she had turned into a missing-nin and abandoned Konoha to find Sasuke, the thought of dying had been playing on her mind but she had always believed that she wouldn't die because there still was something she needed to do. A goal she had envisioned for herself and nothing, not even death, could stop her from achieving that goal.
"I want to remain an Akatsuki member…" she whispered slowly.
"Then stay," Itachi replied calmly, his blood-red eye focusing on Sakura, noticing the way she was shaking lightly.
She looked up, meeting his gaze. "I'm allowed to?"
He remained quiet for a while as he observed her. "Once you join Akatsuki, you can't resign."
She laughed humorlessly. "I should have known."
"You should have known," Itachi echoed softly.
"There's something I want to do before we move away from this place…" Sakura said to him. "Now that we're so close to the Fire country, I'd like to visit Konoha."
Itachi stared at her. "You wish to enter Konoha, knowing that ANBU circles around the village and we can get caught?"
"You were an ANBU member, you should know the schedule of the patrolling," Sakura pointed out. "I can sneak in at night. I just want to visit my home and get some of my stuff… And I'd like to see Naruto's face on the mountains."
Itachi said nothing, calmly grabbing an apple of the table, taking a bite as he chewed thoughtfully.
"We shall go tonight," he responded to her as soon as he finished the bite. "ANBU checks the gate every half hour, assuming they still have the same pattern."
"We?" Sakura asked, looking at the Uchiha as he consumed his apple. "You're coming with me?"
Itachi returned her gaze. "Yes."
She smiled lightly, unable to flash that fake smile of hers that she had used so many times since she joined up with Akatsuki again. Itachi coming to Konoha with her, risking his life just to join her while she relived her memories was something she had never expected from the Uchiha.
"Thank you," she whispered, echoing Sasuke's last words to her to Itachi, knowing that this was the only thing she could say to him. Anything else would just be unnecessary.
There once was a lost boy.
Uchiha Sasuke was the genius student of her year. Born into the famous Uchiha clan, he had made it into the academy at the same age of Sakura.
Along with being the being the best-looking boy in the academy at that time, Sasuke was destined to become the class heart-throb. So naturally, he caught Sakura's eye.
The first time she openly admitted that she liked Sasuke was to Ino and her friends. Sakura should have immediately spotted the look in Ino's eyes but missed it and instead blurted out all her secrets and little facts she pretended to know about Sasuke.
Until one day, she told Ino that she would grow her hair because Sasuke liked girls with long hair and Ino stopped cutting her hair as well.
Born with a genius mind, it didn't take long for Sakura to find out why Ino starting to grow out her hair. Obviously, the blonde also liked Sasuke, thus starting their rivalry which only existed, not because Ino liked Sasuke enough to continue acting as Sakura's rival, but to inspire each other to surpass the other.
Cutting herself away from Ino's friendship and becoming rivals might have been one of the best things she had ever done.
When Sasuke was assigned to her team, it was like a dream come true. No matter if the other one in the team was the obnoxious Uzumaki Naruto, Sasuke was in their team. That was all that mattered.
During the following missions, she finally understood how foolish she was, thinking of Sasuke as a knight in a shining armor, someone who would always rescue her, who would never be defeated, someone who one day would return her affections. Sasuke wasn't a knight; he was a boy who was trapped in the body of an eight-year-old whose only goal was to have his revenge.
The day she realized that she truly loved him was the day that he left.
Everything about that day was still so vivid in her mind. She still knew how many seconds she waited until she finally heard him approaching her, how many words were spoken, the tone of his voice, the color of his backpack and most importantly, the last words he spoke to her before he knocked her out and left her forever.
She was willing to leave Konoha for him.
It didn't matter that her future rested there. She would become a skilled kunoichi, one of the best, someone who deserved to be in a team with Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke. She would never be left behind again, Sakura wanted to be sure of that.
She was ready to recklessly throw it all away to join Sasuke in his search for power, just to stay with him to keep his mind clear from all the manipulation that Orochimaru was known for.
In the end, perhaps Sasuke knew he wouldn't be coming back.
Yes.
He knew he wasn't coming back. That was precisely the reason why he left her behind with two simple words to thank her for everything that she had done for him. For being there as a friend and for unfreezing his heart somewhat, showing that there were other, more important people than Itachi.
She liked to believe that wherever Sasuke was now…he would be together with his family, no longer the brooding twelve-year-old he used to be but the bright eight-year old boy who still had his hopes and dreams. And he would be watching over her until the day she would join him and finally be together with him as well.
She wished that Sasuke finally found the peace he had been craving for since the night of the massacre.
Sakura wished for Sasuke to forgive her for being with his brother who took everything away.
Itachi's prediction turned out to be right, ANBU did circle around the gates and the entrances to Konoha every half hour and as soon as one of the teams left, the two Akatsuki members snuck inside. Their Akatsuki capes were left at the hotel in River, knowing that they would be recognized immediately if someone spotted them.
Using their stealth and speed, they passed the ninja academy and Sakura smiled slightly as she recalled her time in the academy and the field of flowers that lied behind it.
She wondered if Iruka-sensei was still teaching.
It was a full moon and rather than the darkness she was used to from the nights in Konoha, the streets were illuminated brightly, reminding her of the night that Sasuke left.
The Uchiha remained silent throughout their entire trek through Konoha, his eye ever watchful as he often scanned the perimeter for any shinobi or other signs of life.
On their way to Konoha, Sakura had contemplated if she wanted to see her mother again, but decided against it in the end. She knew that she wouldn't be able to see her mother without breaking down completely. Plus, there was always the chance that her mother might spot her and she would be unable to leave then.
Giving herself back to Konoha months before she would die was something she would never do.
Scanning her house, she found that the window on the first floor was opened. And conveniently enough, it was the window that led to her room.
"She left my window open…" Sakura whispered to Itachi, pointing up. Itachi followed the direction she pointed to before nodding silently, following her as she jumped towards her window, landing without a sound. She made her way inside, Itachi following shortly afterwards.
Her room was exactly the same. Her pictures were all still there, her bed was untouched and it seemed that her mother still cleaned her room regularly.
Sakura sat down on the bed, weeping softly as she noticed the picture of her and Ino as eight-year-olds, smiling brightly. Another picture that stood on her desk was one of her and Naruto; taken a few days after he had returned.
Picking up one of the frames, she gently caressed Naruto's smiling face through the glass, noting that she missed seeing his more mature form than the twelve-year-old featured on the picture she had taken with her.
She put the frame down again before turning around to walk to one of the other windows in her room; the one that gave her a view of the Hokage Mountain.
Tears continued to stream down her cheek as she noticed Naruto's face carved on the rock, positioned underneath Tsunade's face. Like the other Hokage, he had a stern look, rather than the happy smile she was used to.
She sighed sorrowfully, knowing that the look in his eyes was partially her fault.
The roseate kunoichi turned around, wiping the tears from her eyes as she watched Itachi stare at the pictures of Team 7, the ones where his younger brother was featured on as well.
Briefly, she wondered if he ever felt any guilt for putting his brother through all that, but she cast it aside quickly.
Itachi wasn't someone who would regret whatever he had done. She should know better than to think that he had some kind of conscience.
He looked up then, his lone Sharingan piercing.
And then she smiled.
"I should hurry," she said quietly.
He merely nodded.
There once was a ruthless killer.
If anything, she had expected Itachi to be the most disgusting man on the planet. She had envisioned a tall man with dark hair and dark eyes, with a malicious grin constantly gracing his lips as his eyes showed how insane he truly was. Itachi would be rude, cold, distant, heartless and sadistic.
Imagine her surprise when only half of her vision was right.
She hated him at first.
Hated him for stealing her away from her goal, hated him for forcing her to heal his eyes, hated him for kissing her, and hated him for making her care. But gradually, her hate for him seemed to disappear as they grew closer until he started to show signs that he might actually care for her.
He was still cold, detached, heartless and ruthless, but he had gained another side, and that was the side that showed her that he cared. He was able to care for others.
And finally, she started to like him as more that a companion. She started to crave for him to show more of his affectionate side, rather than the cold man he was in front of others. More than often, she found herself wanting to just touch him and see if he was still there and wouldn't leave her like Sasuke did.
Perhaps that was what appealed most to her. Itachi wouldn't leave her. He showed that to her numerous times, even to the point that he asked her to stay. And yet, she refused him and left him for a second time.
There would be a third time that she would leave him, and this time, it would be forever.
Sakura loved him.
She used to believe that there was only one person she would be able to love and that was Sasuke. There was no one before him and there would be no one after him. Believing that everyone could only truly fall in love once, she had no qualms about being in Itachi's company after finally accepting Sasuke's death, knowing that she wasn't able to love anymore.
That is, until she left for a second time and finally understood that she probably cared more for Itachi than Sasuke at that moment. Her feelings for Itachi, ironically, had broken her heart. She had betrayed the love of her life in more ways than one.
One of the moments that she would never forget was the day that she found Sasuke's letter to Itachi and told Itachi that she was leaving. He pressed her against a wall, asked her to stay and days later, he gave her one of his most important possessions that she kept with her for the years to come, reminding her of the life she could had with Akatsuki.
Sakura just hoped that one day, Itachi would find whatever he was searching for.
Dawn was nearing when they approached the gate, coloring the sky in fiery shades of red and casting scant shadows across their faces.
According to Itachi's calculations, the ANBU batch circling around the main gate wouldn't be back for another twenty minutes and that would be enough time for the both of them to leave Konoha and reach a safe distance from the ANBU patrols.
The only things she took with her was her photo book she had hidden and was filled with snapshots of Sasuke, Naruto, Kakashi and Ino; the backpack Naruto had once bought for her birthday and the gloves that Tsunade had given her as a token that she had succeeded in her training and had become an excellent medic kunoichi.
She smiled slightly as she turned around one last time, watching how the beams of sunlight lit up Konoha as it awakened from its slumber.
Sakura stared at the Hokage Mountain for a moment, noticing that someone stood on top of the administration building, but she didn't pay it much heed. She knew that she would be unrecognizable from that distance.
Looking up at Itachi, she noticed him looking at her, as if silently asking her if this was the right thing to do, if she didn't just want to stay here and see if there was still a chance of her surviving.
But this time, she had no second thoughts as she boldly grabbed his hand and walked towards the gate. Itachi followed her with a surprised look in his eyes, staring at their entwined hands before the look faded from his eyes and made place for his usual poker face.
Sakura smiled brightly as they exited Konoha for the last time.
There were many times that she could have chosen to be with Itachi; many years that she had missed thanks to feelings of guilt and obligation. But this time, she would stay with Itachi for the remainder of her life and live from day to day, waiting to see what the next day would bring her.
And one day, she was sure Team 7 would be reunited in a far away place when all three of them cease to exist in this world.
But until that time, she was sure that this was the only place she wanted to be.
On the administration building, the Sixth Hokage smiled gently as he watched the gates.
Sakura was standing there, not the eighteen-year-old girl that had left, but the twelve-year-old girl, clad in her Haruno uniform, smiling brightly as she waved happily at him. Next to her was Sasuke, his hands in the pockets of his white shorts as he stared at his best friend.
Then, he moved his hand up and waved at him as well, hesitantly, as if not certain what exactly he was doing.
Naruto forced himself to smile back, waving back at Sakura and Sasuke as they turned around, Sakura tugging on Sasuke's arm while Sasuke ignored her. Together, they walked towards the gates, both casting one last glance back before they faded away from his vision… And he knew that he had finally accepted their deaths and that finally, he could move on.
There are things we don't want to happen but have to accept…things we don't want to know but have to learn…
And people we can't live without but have to let go.
The End
A/N: A special thanks goes out to Stem as well, for holding it out with me for this long, betaing each chapter with utter diligence. I'm sure this story wouldn't turn out so good if it wasn't for Stem!
Thank you all for making Metamorphosis a project that will forever hold a place in my heart.
- F.M. Wrights
