"How to Love" Sai x Hero

*Flashback*



"H-Hatori! W-why did you do that?"



Hatori stood before me,holding the knife that he'd ran through my stomach. I watched as the warm crimson seeped from my wound,spilling over my fingers. My eyes rose slowly to look at the boy I still called my best friend. Hatori wore a blank expression; a mask that concealed his emotions.



"H-Hatori...! I know...this isn't...this..."



My friend lifted the blood-stained knife in his hand as I took a step forward. He was prepared to stab me again,should I advance any further. I was wounded,but I was daring.



I was Hero.



"Hatori..we don't have to do this," I insisted. His emotionless expression did not faulter. The grip on the blade in his right hand tightened; I took another step.



The terrain around us was not so forgiving. Traps had been placed underground,as well as above us. Even in the trees. I'd already suffered a few shuriken straight through the back from my blind side. All set up by the curtousey of our beloved instructors. Our trainers. Our teachers.



"It doesn't matter if we die here," Hatori told me. "One of us will leave alive. If it can't be you,then our world can't go on. Show me..."



"Show you?"



A snap came from behind me,and I threw myself forward. Seconds later,a series of explosions sounded. I'd barely made it away,and now my bleeding wound was covered with dirt from the ground. I had to get it treated fast,or it would become infected.



This had to be a nightmare.



What had happened to my sidekick?



The one before me was a feel-nothing,emotionless puppet with the intention purely to kill.



'Kill eachother,' my instructor had said.



The final exam.



No one had told me this. No one had warned me.



Hatori began to approach me now. It seemed he would deliver the final blow. With all the strength I could muster,I pulled myself to my feet. The wound in my stomach was starting to split further. A great amount of blood had muddied the ground. Without any time for me to recover from the pain,Hatori flipped the knife in his hand,and stabbed into the wound he'd already created.



My body tremored; the pain was excruciating.



I opened my mouth to let out a scream,but it seemd to be stuck in my throat. A second later it came,bringing with it the last ounces of strength I had, to stand where I was.



My strength caved in,and my body fell forward,heavier than lead. Hatori held out his arm. Tears filled my eyes,with the thought that he was going to catch me.



"Hator--"



A burning sensation shot through my re-wounded stomach. The sharp of the blade twisted in,tearing my organs. Hatori was holding me gently,but the things he was doing...Perhaps my body would suffer to the end,but my mind,overcome with the other half of this final memory,would not.



"Hatori.." I sputtered,droplets of blood dotting the ground where I'd settled my eyes. "You know...there's no way our would could survive,if one of us dies..". Hatori looked down at me. His mouth trembled,but nothing more. Sadness strayed away from his eyes.



"I'll..." I whispered,pausing to draw in a painful breath. "I will...be your hero. If you'd rather take my life and leave this place,then do it. I want that for you...I wanted it for the both of us,but...but..."



The wounds in my back had long ago become numb. In my stomach,the pain was finally beginning to subside. Hatori noticed my slowness in speech,and slid the knife from my stomach. His other arm moved to wrap around me. I would die in his embrace; and that was fine.



My arms moved on their own,as far as I was aware. In them,I held no feeling. They felt like led,as they slid around Hatori's neck and settled on his shoulders. I hadn't even left this world yet,and already,I was in heaven. "Hatori..." I whispered,kissing the shell of his ear. My bloodstained lips left a red print where they had been.



"I love you..."



The boy that held me gave a great shudder. I strained my ears to hear his sobs. My grip around him was loosening,but I wasn't ready to let go yet. "Please," I told him. "Draw for this world,that isn't ours. Show them beauty. The things that we wanted can only exist within our minds,so...draw them out. Inspire everyone that you meet..."



That was it for my strength. My hands slipped away,and my heart stopped cold in my chest,giving one or two faint pounds. Hatori released me then,and my body hit the ground.



I felt no more. I heard nothing. My lips moved to create the word that I would leave forever with the boy that I loved.



"Smile," I whispered.



And so,came the darkness.