A Life Remembered…

Chapter One

UzumakiNaruto stood approximately five meters away from the one he cared so much about. His blonde hair shone in the sunlight and blew in the wind. His face, once filled with joy and hope, turned to a serious glare. His eyes, as blue as the ocean, stared fixed directly onto his opponent. His body, built with age and transformed into a thing of beauty, remained still. His fists, empty like his heart, clenched together. His feet, worn from chasing his friend, were still and rotted in the sand. His heart, once empty and weak, now knew what to do. He burned with desire to be with his friend. The one called…

Uchiha Sasuke stood approximately five meters away from the persistent human being he once knew. His black hair remained deep and colorless, blowing in the wind, not bothering to reflect the sun's majestic rays. His face, once unsure, now had a look of complacency and lack of emotion. His eyes, as dark as the gaps between stars, soullessly gazed upon his opponent with a tired, sorry look. His body, built with rage and forbidden strength, remained motionless. His fists, empty like his heart, remained still by his sides. His feet, clean from lack of motion, remained still. His heart, once empty and weak, now knew what to do. He burned with desire to shatter his bond with the one called Uzumaki Naruto.

"Is this is, Sasuke?" Uzumaki Naruto spoke to his companion. "Is this what our lives have lead up to? Are we honestly going to stand here and plan on how each other will die?"

Uchiha Sasuke simply stood tall, emotionless. "Maybe," he said.

Naruto's eyes began to tear. "I know you hate me now. I know how much you hate the village. I know how much you despise me, Kakashi, Sakura, and all of the others. I know how much you wish to break the ties you have with our village. I know how much stronger you wish to grow. And I know ho strong you've become because of it."

Sasuke stared and responded: "You're exactly right, Naruto-kun. Breaking the ties with that annoying little village caused me to grow stronger than any shinobi from there. You remember my little demonstration earlier?"

Naruto remembered that day. The day when he, Sakura, Sai, and Yamato all stood before him, only to be torn down by Sasuke's power.

"Yes, I do," Naruto replied. "I also remember something else from that day."

Sasuke's eyes grew wider with curiosity.

"You had another chance," Naruto continued, his eyes filling with tears. "You had another chance to destroy me! You've had two chances to finally break our bond! Our bond is the only bond preventing you from killing Itachi, and you've had two chances to destroy it! It proves that you're not the soulless monster you claim to be."

Sasuke smiled. "You ignorant bastard. Don't you get it? My reasons for keeping you alive are plain and simple. Because I do not want to follow the same road as Itachi and fall victim to his plans. Don't you get it? This bond isn't keeping me from destroying him. I can kill him anytime I want."

"No you cannot!" Naruto interrupted. "I know that, he knows that…" he paused.

"…And you know that as well."

Sasuke glared. "I'm not going to fall into his little plan. I'm going to kill him my own way! I don't need that goddamn Mangekyo Sharingan! I don't need to follow his plan!"

Naruto gazed up, his eyes becoming filled with understanding.

"You already have fallen into his plan," Naruto said. "He wanted you to continue plotting your revenge. Didn't he even tell that to you personally? Isn't revenge the only reason why you're still alive today? Isn't revenge part of Itachis's plan all along?"

Sasuke's eyes widened as his mind was being bombarded with thoughts and flashbacks.

"The only reason…" Sasuke murmured.

"By giving up your life, your friends, and me…" Naruto continued, and then weapt more. "You continued to follow in his footsteps."

"Shut up!" Sasuke growled.

"Didn't he do that?" Naruto asked. "Didn't he too give up his family and friends all for power?"

"Shut the hell up!" Sasuke growled.

"Didn't you do that as well?" Naruto continued to ask.

"No one is dead! Don't you dare compare me to him!" Sasuke snarled back.

"But they're dead to you, aren't they? They're nothing more than a hinderance. You can kill them at any time. That's what you've become." Naruto continued, his face growing sad and his eyes tearing.

"I am not Itachi! I am not Itachi!" Sasuke repeated with his hands on his head.

"Of course not. You're Uchiha Sasuke. You're better than him, only because you can stop this madness. Only because you can return to the village and still be loved."

Sasuke glared at Naruto. "I am better. But he still must die for my family! You don't understand that! You were born from nothing! Imagine having it all, and then it being taken away from you by someone you loved!"

Naruto looked directly into Sasuke's eyes. "I have. And it was you who took it all away."

Sasuke's eyes reddened, and the trademark three-pointed Sharingan came into view.

"You…" he said. "I took everything away from you? You still have friends! They're still there for you!"

"But not family." Naruto said softly. "My family was taken away by you."

Sasuke's glare turned to confusion and anger. "Me?"

"Yes. You are my family. You are my strongest tie. And when you're not here with me… I feel like my family has died."

Sasuke glared and his palms began to sing like a thousand birds, sparkling with radiance.

"You, Uchiha Sasuke. I love you more than anyone I know." Naruto looked directly at Sasuke as his hands turned to electricity and his gaze turned to rage. "Look at what you've become. Powerful, but only after giving everything away."

"Shut the hell up!" Sasuke screamed and instantly drove his hand through Naruto's heart, the Chidori sparkling behind his back.

Naruto stood tall. "Look at what you've done."

Sasuke was dumbfounded. "You're still alive?"

Naruto smiled. "I guess you really do want to follow Itachi's footsteps."

Suddenly, the Naruto before him exploded into a white cloud.

"Shit!" Sasuke cursed. "Always with the Shadow clones, eh?"

Naruto appeared atop a nearby boulder. He instantly whipped out a weapon scroll and drew his bloody thumb across it, causing a massive blade to emerge from the lifeless paper.

"This will get interesting." Sasuke said, smiling as he drew his own blade from behind his back.

"Sasuke. Remember what I said before?" Naruto cried. "I'll take you back even if I have to break your arms and legs!"

Sasuke chuckled. "Humor me."

Naruto leapt from the boulder and onto the dirt below, charging at Sasuke with blade in hand. He swung left and right with lightning speed and accuracy, only to be blocked effortlessly by Sasuke's defense. Naruto, swung his sword horizontally, only to have Sasuke leap into the air and somersault behind him, thrusting his sword in a stabbing motion. Naruto cringed as the blade went through his gut. Sasuke removed it and sensed something behind him. He quickly slashed behind him and struck a clone. Only this clone was different. When the attack hit, the sword simply bounced off of it and showered sparks. Sasuke knew that this wasn't an ordinary bushin, but a rock clone. The stabbed Naruto vanished in a cloud of smoke and in its place lie a kunai with an exploding tag, ready to destroy.

"Shit!" Sasuke yelled and leapt into the air, right before the tag exploded. He spiraled into the air and landed feet first on the side of the jagged peak behind him. He then calmly turned around to face his enemy.

Or enemies. Ten Naruto clones came charging down the cliff's side, each with their own katana. Sasuke made a stance and fed his electric chakra into the blade. Naruto, noticing this, fed his wind chakra into his. All of his clones leapt into the air. Sasuke dodged the first few and attacked the ones coming for him, waving his blade back and forth, blocking and attacking every clone until only one was left. He screamed and charged at the Naruto before him, only to be surprised as it quickly jolted behind him. Sasuke swung his blade onto Naruto's, and Naruto's blade effortlessly pushed Sasuke forward.

"What the hell?" Sasuke said.

Naruto screamed and pushed Sasuke forward, charging at him with blade in hand. He struck Sasuke's sword with such force and power that it flew into the air and down the cliff's side. Naruto leapt backward and slashed the blade with his wind-enhanced katana, shattering it in two. He brought the chakra back to his feet and gazed angrily at Sasuke.

Sasuke was stupefied. "How…how the hell…"

"It's because of you and my dream of becoming Hokage that's made me into what you see before you." Naruto replied.

Sasuke smirked. "Your dreams are pathetic. As well as your ties with me." Sasuke did the necessary hand signs and inhaled, spitting out a river of searing flames onto the unprotected Naruto. The flames swirled and created a dome, only to part and reveal the purpose. A massive ball of chakra in his right palm accompanied by another in his left.

Sasuke instantly read this move and appeared behind Naruto, chidori in hand.

"Too late!" he said and made a stabbing motion toward Naruto's heart.

Suddenly, out from the cliff, two Naruto clones came up and held Sasuke's arms. Naruto twirled around, dual Rasengans in each hand. He glared at Sasuke and drove both directly into his chest. Sasuke's eyes rolled back and his mouth spurted blood as his body feel backward down the cliff. Naruto and his clones each split up and ran down the cliff, following Sasuke's descent in speed. Each clone leapt across Sasuke and landed a large slam into his face. The real Naruto leapt into the air and landed a flurry of blows onto Sasuke's stomach, causing vomit mixed with blood to cough out from Sasuke's body. Naruto lifted Sasuke so his legs were wrapped around his head and fell onto the ground, Sasuke's skull impacting on the surface, leaving a crater where his head smashed. Naruto leapt off of Sasuke's body and the two clones beside him disappeared.

"Don't you seem, Sasuke? You leaving the village and betraying us was not the only way to get power. You deserting and giving up everything you cared for was all Itachis's plan this whole time!"

Sasuke's battered face gazed up at Naruto's body, his sharingan eyes staring.

Naruto lifted Sasuke up by the throat and clenched his fist around it. "Don't you get it? You fell into Itachi's trap! Admit it! You gave up everything you loved and joined Orochimaru! You deserted you life and became this soulless, empty shell! Why wont you undertand that?"

Sasuke weakly began to speak. "If I must…follow Itachi's plan…to kill him…so…be it…"

Naruto's face turned to rage. "Fucking idiot!" he said and slammed his face again.

"You've become nothing but a pawn! You seek power and the only way you know how to get it is by destroying everything you love? You're not Itachi, you're weaker than Itachi. And you always will be as long as you ignore what you love."

Sasuke's eyes glared. "Never say that again." He said weakly.

Naruto glared. "You're weaker than him! You're nothing as long as you try to gain this power!"

Sasuke's face began turning black as wavy lines began to consume his features.

"And now, you're trying to use that power against me! You're still trying to kill me, even though you said you weren't going to." Naruto said. "You're so goddamn confusing! Make up your mind? What are you going to do?"

"Naruto…" Sasuke murmured. "die…"

Naruto's eyes widened. "You're going to try to kill me, aren't you?"

Sasuke's face turned dark, his lips turned purple, the whites of his eyes turned black, his hair turned purple and extended. Out of his back sprouted two massive webbed hands.

Naruto set Sasuke down and backed away in fear.

Sasuke grabbed his neck and held the seal Orochimaru had placed on him so long ago.

"Now would be a good time to use your Kyuubi." Sasuke said with a serious look on his face.

Naruto smirked, yet his eyes still showed fear. "I told old Kyuubi to take a rest for a while. Besides, I don't need him to defeat you or anyone else."

Sasuke smiled. "Naruto…Cocky as ever…"

Naruto held his smile. "Sasuke…Always trying to be the best."

Sasuke charged at Naruto and slashed his extended fingernails, slashing Naruto's whiskered cheeks. Naruto flipped back and used two weapon scrolls. One produced a long metallic pole and the other produced two small knives. Naruto quickly attached them and fed his wind chakra to each point, sharpening them tenfold.

Sasuke grinned and charged. Naruto twirled the pole behind his back and swung it's bladed points at Sasuke, each being blocked by his hands. Naruto winced and flipped backward as Sasuke went on the offensive, using his lightning chakra to explode a force field around him. Naruto's wind staff easily cut through the chakra's power and slashed through the bolts, leaving Sasuke open. As he thrust the staff forward, Sasuke vanished. Naruto sniffed the air and the double-taked, thrusting hid pole at Sasuke behind him. He held it at the center and thrust each end at Sasuke, who dodged the blades. Naruto then backed up and grabbed one end of the pole twirling and using his momentum to swing his blade with immense force at Sasuke, who frantically dodged the motions and leapt into the air, flapping his wings a short distance and landing with his back turned to Naruto. He swiped his hands immediately, striking Naruto and tearing his shirt, leaving his chest exposed and bloody.

"Impressive Naruto. You no longer rely on the Kyuubi as the source of your strength." Sasuke remarked.

"I see you still rely on your cursed seal though." He said.

Sasuke glared. "This is the power that will destroy my enemy!"

Naruto wiped the blood off his chest. "You said enemy, not enemies! That proves that Itachi is controlling you!"

Sasuke glared and charged. Naruto held up his pole and braced himself as Sasuke's force slammed into it. He held Sasuke at bay, struggling as the Uchiha put his full force into it.

"How does it feel Naruto? To share the pain of losing the ones you love, eh?"

Naruto held Sasuke above him, squinting as the pressure became too much.

"You told me you love me just now, is that right?" he asked. "Doesn't the pain want you to kill something? Like, say, Orochimaru?"

Naruto listened and continued to hold Sasuke away from him with his staff.

"Don't you want him dead for taking me away? Don't you?" Sasuke questioned.

"He's already…dead…" Naruto managed to get out. "He's already dead. It doesn't matter if I killed him or you did. As long as he's dead, I am happy. I wasn't going to throw my life away to kill him."

"But you threw your life away for me! Is that right?" Sasuke yelled, applying more pressure onto Naruto's body.

Naruto smiled. "Yes, but not because of hate. Because of love. That's why we differ, Sasuke. Because you think that hate will get you stronger. Yet, it won't. It'll feed off of you until you die."

Sasuke glared at Naruto. "So you say that I should allow that bastard Itachi to kill me and anyone else?"

Naruto kept his smile and struggled to hold Sasuke up even more.

"No. But don't destroy who you love because of it. You see, Itachi told you that you don't have as much hate as he does. That's not your weakness. In fact, it's his. Show him that you can defeat him without following in his crooked path."

Sasuke's glare turned softer and lighter.

"Show him that love can kick hate's ass any day of the weak!" Naruto said and used his remaining strength to lift Sasuke up with the staff and slam him into the ground.

Sasuke panted bled in the crater where he was slammed. His face grew weary and his body grew numb. His hair, eyes, and the rest of his body returned to normal. And his sharingans disappeared. Naruto, shirtless and bloody, walked down to Sasuke, tattered and bloody. He noticed tears trickling down Sasuke's eyes as he lay motionless in the crater.

"Naruto-kun. I'm so…" he said, afraid to admit his feeling.

Naruto walked down toward his fallen companion and lifted him up into his arms.

"Let's just go home," Naruto said, and took one step forward, beginning what would turn out to be a long journey home.