A/N: I know I really shouldn't write more fanfics... *sigh* I got this idea when I was watching It's a Wonderful Life for the thousanth time xD
It's a one shot! I thought it was longer but it must just look longer on my mothers laptop :D Oh well! I don't write romance much so sorry if its soooooo cliche (which it is) and totally suckish! This SasuNaru! It means its a boyxboy pairing kay?
Enjoy and please review!
It's a Wonderful Life After All
One Shot
The snow crunched almost silently under the gentle feet, embedding their marks into the soft surface. Gentle flakes rained upon the lone figure as he continued his silent funeral march, deep in thought.
Wind. An odd comfort stirred deep within the pools of his stomach as a gentle touch of the slightest breeze caressed his face; black hair rippling like waves.
Eyes of the deepest black stayed glued to the unblemished snowy banks as he walked.
An invisible drum.
A shadow of what he used to be echoing around in the fortress of his mind.
Arrogant. One word that could completley sum up his 12 year old self all those years ago. Believing he was so much better than everyone, all because of his bloodline, his heritage. It was always about living up to his family's reputation and expectations even though they were long gone. Girls fawned over him for reasons he really couldn't place, he always treat them like dirt and ignored everything they had to say to him. Who could really love a traitor?
A certain blonde haired, blue eyed ninja came to mind suddenly, stirring the dormant feelings of regret and sorrow. He briefly considered what he was doing now, was he alright? What was he like now? Still the same unpredictable dead last that the teen remembered? Had he changed much from the little 12 year old stubborn genin that chased him till he was near death?
Three and a half years ago. Yes, that was right. That was the last time he had seen the cerulean eyed boy. But to him, it seemed so much longer without his best friend. He remembered with an ill disguised wince all those letters that resided in his room at Orochimaru's hideout. Each letter addressed to Naruto. Each one unsent, all 53 of them that had built up over the years. Each one stating the apology that had whirled within the recesses of the raven haired boys mind for years. Down to the smallest detail. He was sorry for leaving, for hurting him, for betraying the delicate walls of trust that had formed between them.
Each held the same symbolic meaning that could only be deciphered if you knew what you were searching for. A confession, a confession so grand and blatantly obvious to all but the one in which it was written to; naive as always.
He wanted to run. To scurry back to the place in which he had once called his home, the place in which he was born and raised, where he lost all but his life, the place that held the dearest and the most excruciating memories. A place he considered his own. Ever since he left, he felt like he had left his very soul behind with it, as corny as it sounds. He lost a piece of himself the day he left. And what had he left for? To fulfill the yearning for revenge? But every time he thought of it, the power surged within him reminding him he had a purpose he needed to fulfill, to avenge his clan.
The raven haired teen unconsciously reached up to his shoulder where his cursed mark resided and rubbed it frustratngly.
But now, walking the moonlit path, feet pushing down in the soft snow, Power didn't seem quite as important as before. This Christmas Eve night, he was ridding himself of the urge to kill, to gain more power than even Orochimaru himself. No, he wanted to embrace the seasonal spirit that he had long been depraved of. He wanted to buy silly presents for those who he considered family, spend the day putting up a christmas tree that would be coming back down two days later. He wanted to spend his time decorating the tree and having a silly little sleepover so neither of the two were alone. He couldn't do this anymore. Tearing people's lives apart for Orochimaru's sadistic pleasure. Ruining the one day of the year that is full of joy and happiness. Watching as those families were torn apart as the village burned to the ground. He wouldn't destroy the morale of the festivities for some sinister manical snake man. No more. No more would he hear the screams of terror, the wails of young children, the sound of men falling to the floor lifeless. No longer would he follow the years sick tradition.
And he was the source. The source of the sheer terror and spillage of innocent blood. He caused the pain that everyone in those villages suffered or will suffer for many years in the future. The source of the mass murder on a beautiful family night. His hands were so stained with blood he didn't know if they would ever be clean again.
He couldn't do it anymore. He wouldn't do it anymore! Sasuke Uchiha would no longer be a pawn in some psycopathic idiots sick games.
With that thought, the onyx eyed teen picked up his pace, feeling himself closing in on his primary target. He ran and ran, snow billowing out at every angle. He would end everyone's pain. He would no longer be obedient to those who seeked only to destroy.
He finally reached his destination, panting very slightly, more from emotion than actual exhaustion. A smog of air creating a cloud of visible air. He looked at where he had came to a stop and had to smile slightly at the remembrance this very site held for him and a certain blond.
He was currently standing atop the Hokage monument where he and the dobe used to sit in silence... well he would sit in silence, the dobe would ramble on about ramen or something.
He could see the whole of the village of Konoha. This used to be his favourite place to sit and think or as Naruto called it "Sasuke's brooding place".
He noted that there was a new face that was carved upon the mountain which he knew hadn't there when he had left. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. He needed to see it just once more. To know that all his friends were down below him, so close yet, so far away. It was the closure he yearned for. It was the perfect place to do what he needed to do. This was where his life began, why not be where it ends too? Now, he would rid himself from the world and no longer be a source of fear.
He could hear the distant sweet singing of carols, see the families gathered by the fire in their homes with hot cups of cocoa for each of the hyperactive kids. Purely perfect.
He sighed quietly before reaching behind his shoulder and grasping hold of the handle of his Katana, before soundlessly unsheathing it slowly. It glimmered in the moonlight and specks of snow fell onto the smooth, deadly surface of the blade. He placed the tip of the blade directly over his heart and readied himself to be impaled upon it.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you"
The sudden voice ringing in the silence startled the teen so much that he dropped the blade from his grasp and watched as it plummeted to the village below.
The raven haired teen quickly composed himself and took an offensive fighting stance.
"Who. The. Hell. Are. You?" The young Uchiha grit out, severly frustrated that this man postponed his peace, his serenity.
"Why, Sasuke. I'm offended that you don't even recognise your own flesh and blood. Then again, I wasn't really around after you were born was I? Got myself in a bit of a fix back then." The young black haired man replied.
The teen furrowed his brows in confusion. He instead fixed the new arrival with his famous Uchiha Glare.
"My name is Obito Uchiha. Now, I need you to tell me exactly why you believe ending your life would be the answer to all your problems?"
"What would you know? You don't know half the things I've done! The world would have been much better off had I not existed!" The younger Uchiha shouted in frustration.
"Are you certain about this?" asked the older man, raising an elegant eyebrow in question.
"YES!"
"Fine. Sasuke. I will show you what the world would be like had you never existed" Obito clicked his fingers and suddenly the snow stopped falling and Sasuke found himself and Obito standing on the street below.
"Let's take a walk around shall we?" Sasuke didn't argue. He really didn't know what to make of the situation at the moment.
To his suprise, the village looked so much different than when he was stood upon the Hokage monument. Actually, thinking of the monument Sasuke gave it a half hearted glance before freezing and doing a double take.
Tsunade's face, the fifth hokage, legendary sannin, was no longer displayed proudly upon the rock. Instead stood a disgustingly familiar face that made Sasuke growl ferociously in a totally un-Sasuke ish manner.
He shook his head and followed Obito down the path who hadn't stopped walking when Sasuke had.
Many houses and shops that he used to regularly visit as a young boy were boarded up, several unkempt children stood on the corners of streets trying to escape from the biting cold, shivering and begging passers by for money who looked equally as shabby. But the black haired man did not stop. He was leading them towards an old broken church that Sasuke remembered passing by on a daily basis in its glory days. The roof was caving in and the windows were glassfree. They passed through the iron gates of the churchyard, but instead of going through the doors which Sasuke had originally presumed, Obito trailed off to the side where a large cemetary stood.
Instead of questioning, Sasuke just walked up and down the columns of gravestones, searching each headstone for a name he recognised.
He stopped suddenly, eyes widened as he searched through the words on the headstone once again that he had unconsciously passed as it was hidden in a small secluded area of the graveyard, far away from any other headstones.
Naruto Uzumaki
Kyuubi Vessel
There were no other words written, not even a death date on the pathetically tiny stone.
"What... What the hell is going on? This isn't real, its genjutsu! Its got to be!"
"You never existed Sasuke" Obito said from behind him where he had suddenly silently appeared.
"That's ridiculous! If I never existed then why am I here?"
"I told you I was going to show you a darker world in which you never existed. Now you see. You may not realise it Sasuke, but you influenced a great deal of live s in this village"
"This is crazy!" Sasuke yelled in a fit of rage.
"You never existed, therefore you were never a part of team 7. You weren't on the Land of Waves mission where you protected Naruto, Nearly losing your life in the process. Two people died that day. Without yours and Naruto's plan, Kakashi died in the water prison and Naruto in an act of revenge, tried to kill Haku by himself and ended up dying because you weren't their to save him. You weren't there to nearly die for him, therefore he didn't unleash his Kyuubi chakra in rage."
"No... no... It's not true... YOUR LYING! NARUTO IS STRONGER THAN THAT!"
"He was in the world where you didn't exist. He didn't posess the same determination he did in your world because he wasn't constantly competing against you. His determination to beat you, protect you, was what drove him; that was what made him strong. Without that, he was weak and was happy to leave the earth. He never had a friend."
"What about the Hokage and all those boarded houses then? Are you saying I caused that? All that happened because I didn't exist?"
"Without you, Naruto died. With Naruto dead he couldn't persuade Tsunade to become Hokage. She died a few years later from excessive drinking. So, as you know, Danzou became the Hokage instead. He killed the people who betrayed the village, the people who had too much influence in the village, people who couldn't pay the enormous sum of taxes that he started charging and people who posed a threat to his leadership. Thats why there are so many orphaned children on the streets and why many places are boarded up."
"This isn't real! Naruto is alive! Who are you really?" Sasuke Yelled
"I'm Obito Uchiha, Your guardian angel. I have been sent to help you and will finally recieve my wings in return" A bell sounded in the distance "Gah, Damn. There goes another one. Every time a bell rings an angel gets their wings"
"Angel... Wings... huh?" Sasuke looked as though he was going to pass out with the way he was hyperventilating.
"Oh, did I not mention that before? My mistake" The man chuckled sheepishly whilst rubbing the back of his head with his hand.
"So... Because I didn't exist... I caused all this?" He asked getting back on track.
"Oh, thats not even half of it Sasuke" Obito said instantly serious again. "You know Kakashi, Tsunade and Naruto all died. But many more of the people you know died also. Sakura, she never became a shinobi because she didn't want to get closer to you since you didn't exist. Danzou eliminated her entire family when they couldn't pay the taxes. Gaara died later when Shukaku was taken out of him and never became the Kazekage, the other sand siblings died from Sasori's poison since neither Tsunade nor Sakura was their to heal them. Let's see, Lee commited suicide a few months after he was told he could no longer be a ninja. The Hyuuga clan was disposed of as they held too much influence in the village. Sai is on his way with Orochimaru and the Akatsuki to destroy the rest of the village, Ino is one of the orphaned people on the streets since her father was posed as a threat, and she is currently dying. The others became rogue ninja and their whereabouts are unknown. A great chain reaction occured from you not existing."
Sasuke took in every piece of information he was given and was near hysteria by the end of it, which was so out of character for him.
"A-all that happened... All those people dead just because I didn't exist?" Sasuke for the most part, was highly sceptic at this occurence of events
"You influenced many lives Sasuke. The village is a decrepit place without you in the world. More people died when you didn't exist than when you did exist, That's something you need to remember before you go and pull another stunt like that. Everyone makes mistakes, the people may not get over it completely, but they do forgive and forget with time. Understood?"
Sasuke's eyes were still glued to the floor, a far off look in his eye when he nodded slightly to show he had heard the older man.
"Good, Now go tell a certain someone you love them, hmm?" he added with a smile before snapping his fingers and vanishing into thin air.
The snow was once again falling and Sasuke was once again in the street, which was devoid of any child that wasn't merely playing innocently in the snow. Not that Sasuke noticed of course since he was staring ahead at where an orange clad boy was rounding the corner, arms laden with groceries. He couldn't speak, he couldn't move when the figure finally spotted him standing their in only his open Uchiha shirt and trousers. The cerulean boys eyes widened almost comically.
"S-Sasuke? Sasuke is that really you?" Sasuke didn't have the chance to respond as the blond flew at him tackling him in a bone crushing hug that almost sent them both tumbling to the ground. "Your here, your here!" The blond repeated.
Bright blue eyes filled with unshed tears of joy met onyx eyes. A tan hand reached up to Sasuke's cheek and it was then that he realised he too was crying but to be honest he couldn't care less. He was with Naruto, Naruto was here with him.
"Sasuke... What are you doing here?" Naruto asked softly, brushing away the tears with the pad of his thumb.
"Long story. I'll tell you about it later. But first... I need to do something I should have done years ago" Sasuke gently tilted his head, giving Naruto time to pull away if he wished to, but Naruto kept his hand firmly on his cheek before leaning up on his tiptoes and meeting Sasuke in the middle. The two stared intensely into each others eyes for a moment before the gap closed. Sasuke's soft lips descended onto Naruto's softly. After a few moments, Sasuke pulled back with a sigh. Naruto hadn't responded at all. Great now he just ruined a friendship that hadn't even rekindled yet.
Naruto's eyes were widened slightly and were searching desperatley in Sasuke's onyx eyes.
"I'm sor-" Sasuke was cut off.
"It is really you right? This isn't genjutsu or a dream or anything?" Sasuke shook his head and went to remove himself from Naruto's grasp.
"I'm sor-" But once again Sasuke's sentence was cut off, this time by a pair of soft lips as Naruto literally pounced at him. After a few seconds, Sasuke finally responded pulling the slightly shorter boy closer to him. When they finally pulled away, both were wearing equally bright smiles.
"You really don't know how long I have been wishing for you to do that" Naruto whispered against his collarbone where he was currently snuggled in.
Sasuke lowered his head and kissed his temple just as the bells signalling it was the beginning of christmas sounded.
"You know Sasuke, Everytime a bell rings an angel gets their wings"
"Yeah, I know. Thanks Obito" Sasuke whispered the last part to the wind that brushed against his face.
"Merry Christmas, Sasuke"
"Merry Christmas, Naruto. Now I think a hot cup of cocoa is in order. My house or yours?"
"Yours, I haven't got any cocoa."
"What about your groceries?"
"Oh, Crap!" Naruto ran over to where he had thrown the shopping upon seeing Sasuke.
Sasuke laughed lightly before going over and helping the boy. When everything was back in the bag, Sasuke looked over his shoulder and saw Obito sat on the ledge of the still intact church that was ommitting a pearly glow. He nodded to the man before walking hand in hand with Naruto towards his old family home where he would spend the rest of his life with Naruto.
Obito smiled softly and looked back at his golden wings. With a click of his fingers, he was gone once more.
So what did you think? Love it? Hate it? Think I should quit writing? Let me know! Review!