Double Bar-Line Test

By Insomniac Owl

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Fire County, Konoha Police records:

3:12 am. Call to Bypass 3. A boy, 18 years of age, blond, 5’5’’, was found dead under the bridge leading to the main highway. There were stab wounds on his chest and stomach, and a head wound to the frontal lobe (front), which controls vision, and to the occipital lobe (rear): (see autopsy report pg 3). We interviewed his closest friend, Uchiha Sasuke (see Uchiha Itachi) but the results were inconclusive. He said he was at a friend’s house at the estimated time of murder; this has been verified by five people.

x

You were there.

I remember; you were sitting on the bridge with your legs hanging off, and you had a cigarette in your mouth - one of those really addictive ones you told me never to try, but always smoked yourself. You were wearing a pair of the most ridiculous sunglasses I’d ever seen, but they were black and matched your hair.

Why didn’t you go for help? Why didn’t you run down and try to stop him? Save me? I yelled, but you didn’t acknowledge me. I waved, screamed, tried to run, and all the while you sat up there on the bridge and didn’t move, didn’t speak, just sat there with the cars racing past, all full of inattentive jerks like you. If just one of them had glanced down here, to this muddy ditch by the side of the river…. They might have saved me, you know.

You might have saved me - but you didn’t.

It’s funny. This was the same bridge we used to jump off of when we were little. Do you remember? We’d come down in the summer, before your parents had a chance to miss you (my foster parents just didn’t care), and we’d strip to our underwear and jump off. Again and again, until we were breathless and icy cold. And then we’d walk home barefoot, along that long winding path that followed the freeway. That path’s broken up now - tree roots coming through the sidewalk, sharp edges jutting up to scrape hands and knees - but it’s still usable, I think. I’d been meaning to come down here with you for the longest time, thinking we could jump off this bridge again for old time’s sake - and then walk home barefoot, along that same path. I never got the chance to ask you, though. I still feel bad about that...

But there’s nothing to be done now; I couldn’t ask you if I wanted to

I blamed this on you for the longest time, oh yes, I screamed at you and cursed you and called you all sorts of filthy, dirty names I had no right to use, because you were always so much better (cooler smarter faster) than me. Even sitting up there on the bridge, you were composed and calm while I was down here in the mud, crying, struggling against hands and a knife. I don’t blame you anymore though, Sasuke, so please don’t worry about it.

I’m just a little sad. I mean, I thought we were friends...

finis