13 My World

["Please. Don't love me. Don't become another thing I will lose."

Her arms wrapped around me and cradled me like a child.

"Then hold onto me as tight as you can and I'll do the same," she said smiling to me. "That way, you wouldn't be able to lose me even if you wanted to."

"Me too!" Naruto's jubilant voice chimed in. "I'll hold on too!"

I would've protested, but three would make for a stronger hold. We all knew that.]

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"Mother Mio!"

It was Naruto's voice that pried its way into Sasuke's trance. Was he out?

The Uchiha leapt backwards a few strides, creating some distance from Obito. His heart was still pounding at an incredible speed. In fact, so fast that he was scared it couldn't keep up.

His vision was dulling and so he brought his palm up to wipe away the extra water. And when that was gone, he only wished he left it there.

In front of him, Naruto was kneeling apathetically right at where the border once was. Mother's body was lying out in the open, no more force field around her or keeping her afloat.

Sasuke somehow commanded his heavy legs to move towards Mother. He stopped a foot in front and bent down, picking up her thin body and leaning her against him.

"Naruto, you did it," Sasuke commended as he stroked a strand of Mother's long black hair away from her face.

Sasuke looked at his brother's lack of response. "Come on Naruto. We did it."

The Uchiha forced a smile.

It was a hard smile.

Because even he knew. Mother wasn't waiting to be saved anymore.

"Mother?" he asked, in a muffled cry. Sasuke tightened his embrace on the cold lifeless body. "I'm still holding on Mother…" Sasuke broke down in tears as he cradled her in his arms, not yet willing to let go.

As if purposely insulting the scene unfolding before him, Obito threw a kunai in the vulnerable boy's direction.

Knowing that Sasuke wasn't going to let go of Mother, Naruto mustered the strength to block the kunai with his own as he stood protectively over his family—or what's remaining of it.

Whether it was coincidentally timed or not, a woman with brown hair and purple face paint walked out just as the two brothers began to mourn.

Sasuke didn't need to think twice before placing Mother in Naruto's arms and charging at the woman.

He wasn't thinking with a leveled head like he usually did. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been attacked from the side by Obito and sent crashing to the floor. He didn't even have the time to register that Obito was wedging a kunai through his chest.

It didn't matter. All Sasuke knew was that he had to get revenge. He got up, allowing Obito to drive the weapon further near his heart. In fact, it didn't matter if he carved his entire heart out. It would've chewed itself out on its own sooner or later.

Seeing his brother in such a state, Naruto began losing control. Bright orange chakra oozed out, melting his skin, causing him to scream in pain. But the physical pain allowed him to drown his own mental breakdown. This wasn't the way he liked coping, but this was the best by far at the moment.

Steadily, Naruto transformed from human to beast. Conscious to unconscious. Mother held him together. There was no Mother now. No seal, no control.

Sasuke watched helplessly as his brother lost himself altogether. He cursed repeatedly.

He was, once again, completely weak. After using up all his chakra to challenge Obito, he didn't have any left to contain the fox in his brother if he ever couldn't get ahold of it himself. This was the worse scenario. If only he was stronger…if only he was stronger…he wouldn't have to murder his only family left.

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["If it ever goes rampant, and I'm in no state of recovering…shut it down for me."

Naruto made me promise that I would.

"Mother wouldn't forgive me for that."

But I still promised, knowing full well that if one day, Naruto did lose complete control, it would be because Mother wouldn't be here to forgive me.]

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Taking out his blade, Sasuke activated his Sharingan and slowed down the sporadic and almost untraceable movements of Obito and the nine-tail fox.

And then, after what seemed like forever, there was an opening.

Forcing his eyes closed, Sasuke did the very thing he knew he would regret for the rest of his lonely life. With all the strength he could gather, he slammed the katana straight into Naruto's heart.

The monster roared in pain and shock, managing to land one more scratch on an equally surprised Obito before slowly slipping out of his human host.

The beast's power was so strong that Sasuke ended up burning both hands in the process of driving the finishing blow. But that didn't stop the heartbroken Uchiha from catching his brother's body when it fell and reverted to normal.

Slowly but fortunately, Naruto still managed to open his bright blue eyes. For a second, Sasuke was hopeful that he only killed Kyuubi. He knew that was wishful thinking when Naruto choked up a pool of blood.

"I believe in you." Naruto presented one last radiant smile before dropping his hand and giving in to his overwhelming urge to sleep.

Sasuke shook him once. Twice. But didn't go for three times. The nightmare was real. All his family were dead. He was alone—again.

The world suddenly turned into grayscale. Then completely black. And then blood red. It bent forwards then backwards until it just dissolved into nothing.

His world was crumbling. The Uchiha Massacre is repeating itself. No. This was worse.

History was repeating itself and he let it happen.

Sasuke Uchiha.

What have you been doing all these years? Are you still the same weakling from back then?

How did you even live with your useless self? Who would ever love something as worthless as you?

There was only one—Mother.

But now she's dead.

And Naruto too.

Naruto.

His family.

Everything that still mattered.

All gone.

This world—this spiteful world. Uchiha Sasuke didn't need it. He wasn't going to live the rest of his life in this rotten world. No.

But Mother and Naruto would want him to live on.

So he would. But he'd only live in a world where he could control. A world that only he could control. Full control. Yes.

[My world.]

"Mangekyo Sharingan!"