I wrote this when I was inspired by the picture that Re-chan on deviant drew for me for her 16,000 kiriban. I love the picture so much and thought that there should be a story behind it. This little idea came to mind when I was looking at the drawing. I hope you all enjoy. :D Everyone go check out her DA page and show her some lurv! re-chan (dot) deviantart (dot) com. ---you know what to do to get there. :D

Naruto stumbled down the road, clutching the remains of his jacket around his body. It was a warm day in the middle of the summer, but he was weak, injured and shivering from blood loss. He had woken not too long ago in the middle of the woods. He could not remember who he was or what he had been doing. He was currently trying to find some form of civilization.

As he topped a large hill, he looked down into a valley that housed a village, snuggled within its confines. He sighed in relief, "Thank God." He murmured as he descended into the valley.

Just as the last of the sun's rays dipped out of sight, Naruto walked through the gates of the village. He stopped at the gate, "Excuse me. Do you know where I can find a place to rest for the night?" He asked the guards.

One of the guards pointed down the main road, "Follow this road till you reach the fountain and then turn left. You can't miss it. It's the only inn in the square."

"Thank you." Naruto nodded in understanding and walked down the street. As he neared the fountain he turned left and sure enough there was a sign hanging above a door, two buildings down that read "Village Inn". He began walking but suddenly stopped. There was a familiar feeling in the air. He didn't know what or who it was, but he did know that he should.

"Naruto." A voice growled behind him.

Naruto continued to walk towards the inn. Intent on getting a warm bath and a soft bed.

"Naruto." This time the owner of the voice grabbed him by the shoulder and swung him around.

"Hey! What's the big idea?!" Naruto yelled at the man. " What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He glared at him.

"Naruto?"

Naruto looked at the man, "Do I know you?" His eyes widened, "Naruto! Is that my name?"

The man frowned, "What's the matter with you? It's me. . . Sasuke."

Naruto shook his head. "I'm sorry. If we're supposed to be friends, I don't remember." He scratched his head nervously, "Actually, I don't remember anything."

"What happened to you?" Sasuke asked.

"I. Don't. Remember." Naruto said, punctuating every word. "Which part of that didn't you understand? I just remember waking up in the woods. That's all."

Sasuke arched his brow and regarded Naruto skeptically, "If this is some new ploy into tricking me to come back then-"

Naruto sighed exasperated, "Listen, I'm tired and hungry and I want nothing more than a good nights rest. So if you could just leave me alone, I'd greatly appreciate it." Naruto then began walking away.

Sasuke moved to stop him when Naruto suddenly fell to his knees and then to the ground his head hitting mercilessly. Sasuke rushed to his side and turned him over onto his back. It was then that he noticed that Naruto had been bleeding from a particularly bad wound in his stomach. "Idiot." Sasuke grumbled as he hooked one of Naruto's arms around his neck and helped him towards the inn.

Naruto slowly opened his eyes. He sat up as a room came into focus. He was laying in a western style bed, a fire was roaring in the fireplace across the room, casting the only lightening in the room. He shifted and tried to stand, but winced and settled back down. He looked down at his waist and saw that it was tightly wound in clean white bandages. "Someone dressed the wound." He said to himself.

"I did."

Naruto glanced towards the voice. Standing in the door way was Sasuke, holding a tray. He walked further into the room and Naruto's nose picked up the enticing aroma of food. He stared at the tray like a ravenous wolf and his stomach gave a loud, echoing rumble. Naruto looked away from the tray and at the fire, trying to hide the blush that rose up his cheeks.

Sasuke sat down on the bed and set the tray into Naruto's lap. "Some things never change I guess. You always did like to eat."

Naruto began eating the offered soup and bread that was on the tray. "Thanks." He said as he scarfed down the food.

They sat in silence as Naruto ate. Naruto's attention focused solely on the food in front of him, Sasuke's on the flickering flames in the fireplace. Naruto took the last bite of his meal and then a sip of water. "Thank you." He said again.

Sasuke looked up and his one time friend. "So. . . have you remembered anything?"

Naruto just slowly shook his head. "No. The first thing I can remember is waking up in the woods. My clothes were torn and I had this wound." He rubbed his hand absentmindedly over the bandaging. "All I knew was that I needed shelter and I needed it quick. So I tried to find some. Luckily I came across this village." Naruto knitted his brows together and frowned at Sasuke. "You never said how we knew each other. For all I know you could be my enemy."

Sasuke choked and shook his head. "We. . . we uh. . . were childhood friends."

Naruto smiled, "Really?! That's awesome!"

"Why is that so awesome?" Sasuke asked, curious.
Naruto shrugged, "I don't know. I was beginning to think that I was all alone in the world."

"Why would you think that?"

Naruto stared down at his hands in his lap. "I figured that if I had someone close to me, then they would be worth remembering. And since I don't remember anything, I thought that maybe my life and everything in it, wasn't worth remembering."

"Don't." Sasuke growled.

Naruto looked up, surprised at Sasuke's tone.

"Don't you ever think that again." Sasuke finished as he stood up.

"What else am I suppose to think? Why can't I remember anything?"

"It doesn't matter why." Sasuke seethed. "Maybe you should try and rest some more." He said removing the tray from the bed.

Naruto lay back down and closed his eyes. "Maybe you're right." He yawned as he easily drifted back to sleep.

Sasuke watched Naruto sleep, from his perch next to the window. "What happened to you?" He thought. Sasuke knew that the wound in Naruto's stomach should have healed by now. "If it hasn't healed yet, then that means the fox is weak. It means that he was forced to use nearly all of his AND the fox's chakra. What exactly was Naruto up against to have to use so much power?" Sasuke leaned his head back against the wall. "What am I going to do? I can't just leave him here. And it's too long a trek back to Konoha for him to make alone. I suppose I could stay here just long enough for him to be able to travel alone. And then tell him where he should go for more help." Sasuke sighed and closed his eyes. He'd think about it more tomorrow he thought as he drifted off to sleep.

The next morning Sasuke opened his eyes and surveyed the room. He sat up when he realized that Naruto was not in his bed. He jumped up in a hurry but only managed to fall down, when he feet became tangled in a blanket. "A blanket!? I wasn't covered up when I went to sleep." He thought as he untangled himself and stood.

Suddenly the door slammed open and Naruto came running inside. "Sasuke you're awake!!" He grinned widely as he stopped right in front of him. "Did you know that this inn is connected to hot springs?!"

Sasuke looked at Naruto. "Where did you get that?" He asked pointing to the yukata that Naruto was wearing.

Naruto looked down and smiled, "The owner's wife. She's really nice. What don't you like it?" Naruto turned around to show Sasuke all of it. It was a royal blue with a pink floral pattern on the bottom of the hem and the sleeves. It had teal and red obis' around the waist with black spirals on the red one.

"It looks fine Naruto." Sasuke said, looking the other man up and down.

Naruto grinned, "You really think so?"

Sasuke smirked and nodded, "I really think so."

"OH! I almost forgot." Naruto ran over to the bed and came back holding a black bundle. He unfolded it and held it up for Sasuke to see. "She gave you one as well." His was black with a red collar and red designs on the cuffs. It had a simple red obi, but had an elegant dragon embroidery on the back.

Sasuke fingered the dragon embroidery as he held his yukata. "Did you remember to thank the lady for her kindness?" He asked.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Of course I did teme(1). I lost my memory, not my manners."

Naruto did not seem to notice his slip of the word, but Sasuke did. Naruto had called him teme and Sasuke became worried that he would regain his memories before he could get away.

"Anyway," Naruto said bouncing on the balls of his feet, "you should get changed so we can go to the hot springs."

Sasuke walked into the adjacent bathroom and began to change. "Have you even eaten anything this morning?" Sasuke called out to him.

There was silence for a few minutes before Naruto answered. "No. I. . . I haven't."

Sasuke walked out of the bathroom, now wearing his yukata. "Why not?"

"Well. . . for one I don't have any money."

"And for two?" Sasuke asked.

"Huh?"

"You said, 'well, for one' which meant there was more than one reason."

Naruto blushed and mumbled his response.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Speak up. I couldn't understand you."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and kept his eyes firmly glued to the floor by Sasuke's feet, "I said, that I wanted to wait for you." He looked up into Sasuke's shocked face. "But you looked tired and kind of peaceful sleeping there, so I covered you up and left the room."

"You're the one who covered me up?"

"Yes. Was that wrong?"

"No. I. . . uh. . . thanks."

Naruto grinned once again. "It was no problem. I owe you a lot any ways."

Sasuke smirked, "You're going to owe me more after breakfast." He said walking towards the door. "And we are NOT eating ramen." He said as Naruto followed him out the door.

Naruto cocked his head to the side, "What's ramen?"

Sasuke stopped mid step and slowly turned to face Naruto. "Are you serious?"

Naruto smiled and nodded his head. "Yeah, what is it?"

Sasuke sighed and closed his eyes. "Fine, we can have ramen this one time. I'm not paying for it again after this."

Naruto's smiled widened, "YAY!" and then it faded, "But seriously, what is it?"

Sasuke chuckled, "Just come on."

They sat at the ramen shop down the street from the inn. Naruto was slurping down his noodles as if his life depended on it. "I can't believe there is something this tasty in the world. I can so totally see this as being my favorite food!"

"I'm beginning to regret telling you that." Sasuke said as he delicately ate his ramen.

"I'm glad you did though." Naruto looked at Sasuke and smiled. "I bet you were my best friend. Weren't you?"

Sasuke looked up at Naruto, "Why would you say that."

"Because you and I just seem to get along really well. It kind of seems natural, you know." He said before drinking down his broth.

"Yeah." Sasuke said in an almost whisper. "We were."

"What I don't understand," Naruto said, putting his bowl down, "is what happened. I mean, you said that we were childhood friends. So . . . what happened? Did we have a fight?"

Sasuke closed his eyes, "Something like that." This time it was a whisper.

Naruto noticed Sasuke's change and demeanor. "Oh." He said quietly. "Was it that bad?" Sasuke just sat there staring into his bowl of ramen. Naruto fiddled with his hands. " I see. I. . . didn't mean to be such a burden."

Sasuke looked up quickly, to say something, but Naruto was already up and running into the crowd. "NARUTO!" Sasuke quickly paid for their food and ran after him. "NARUTO, WAIT!" He called after him, but he soon lost him in the crowd. He stopped and looked around, trying desperately to spot a patch of blond hair in the crowd. "Damn it!" He cursed out loud. "That could have gone better." He scolded himself.

Sasuke spent the rest of the morning and all of the afternoon searching for Naruto. He finally arrived back at the inn just as the sun finished setting. As he walked through the door he was greeted by the inn keepers wife.

"What did you do?" She asked, her face scrunched up in a scowl.

"Excuse me?" Sasuke asked, baffled.

"What did you do to Naruto?" She huffed. "That sweet innocent boy came running in here about an hour ago, crying. I want to know what you said or did to him. Whatever happened, he couldn't have deserved it. He looked absolutely crushed." She put her hands on her hips, "I'll ask one more time, what. Did. You. Do?"

Sasuke stood there slack jawed for a moment before composing himself. "I didn't do anything. Or at least, not on purpose." Sasuke sighed. "I don't know."

"I see the way you look at him you know." She said, her features softening.

"What are you talking about?"

"Last night when you brought him in, injured. The way you practically cradled him as you carried him to the room. The way you looked into his face. And again this morning, the look in your eyes is one of much more than just friendship."

Sasuke sighed, he was getting tired of this meddlesome person. "Look, it really isn't any of your business. I hate to sound rude, but it doesn't concern you." He began towards the stairs to head up towards their room.

"It's in his eyes too, you know."

Sasuke stopped and turned, "What?"

"He looks at you the same way. Although, with his memory the way it is, I don't think he realizes why he feels the way he does towards you. But he does. Whatever it was that separated the two of you, you should resolve it."

Sasuke sighed, "Like I said, it doesn't concern you." He put his right foot on the bottom step and started to climb.

"He's not up there."

Sasuke growled and turned back around, "Then where is he?"

The lady just smiled sweetly and pointed to a different door. "He's in the hot springs. With the summer festivities going on, there would be no one else there right now and I thought he needed to relax. So I told him he could use them."

Sasuke looked at the door and then at the lady. "Thank you." He ground out and headed through the door.

The inn keepers wife giggled. "Oh my, he doesn't seem like a very happy person. Naruto can change that." She said as a matter of factly.

Sasuke walked through the doors into the hot springs. The steam immediately obscuring his vision and the rushing water of the falls, hindering his hearing. He stood still for a moment to center himself and listened. Just barely over the rushing water he could here the tale tale signs of sniffling and crying coming from the right in the mist. He began walking towards it, following the sounds. As he neared the water, the bright colors of Naruto's yukata came into view. "Naruto?"

Naruto was sitting at the edge of the pool, one foot dipping into the water. He looked up at him, his eyes a deep red. Obviously he had been crying for a while.

"Naruto, it's not what you think." Sasuke said as he sat beside him. "It wasn't bad. But it wasn't a good thing either. We parted on . . . uneasy terms." He said.

Naruto shook his head. "Does it make you feel better?"

"What?" Sasuke asked, confused.

Naruto sniffed and wiped his eyes, "Does it make you feel better to lie to me?"

"I'm not lying Naruto."

"STOP!" Naruto shouted, clearly still upset. "I've had a lot of time to think today. A lot of time to try and remember what happened."

"You remembered?" Sasuke asked, apprehensively. "Please God, no." He thought. "Not yet. I. . . I'm not ready to leave him."

Naruto shook his head. "Not everything. I can't remember specific memories. I just. . .you say that 'we parted' meaning that we both wanted to leave. But that's not true is it?" Naruto couldn't help the tears that began to flow. He hiccuped as he tried to continue. "You. . . YOU LEFT ME!" He screamed. "You abandoned me! Just like everyone else! I can't remember how, or when or even WHY, but I do know that I was alone! Alone until I met you!" His voice got quiet as he finished, "And then you left me."

Sasuke swallowed thickly, "Naruto, I-"

"I have these feelings. When I look at you, I feel happier than I thought possible. I don't like being away from you, for even a minute. Because when I am, my heart beats fast with anxiety. I have this feeling that you are going to run away. . . again. I don't understand it, but I don't question it either. For some reason Sasuke. . . I . . . I love you. And I don't think I can bare to lose you again."

Sasuke's eyes had welled unnoticed as Naruto spoke. He had felt so lost and alone when he had left Naruto at the Valley of the End. He had wanted to run back to him, so many times. But he had stopped himself, not fully understanding what he was feeling. And he was just now realizing what it was. "Naruto, I. . ." He reached over and placed his hand on top of Naruto's. "I love you too." He whispered.

Naruto looked at the hand holding his and shook his head in disbelief. "You left me." He whispered. "You left me, you abandoned me, you left me, you left me." He kept whispering, shaking his head slowly from side to side.

Sasuke scoot closer to Naruto and swiftly pulled him into his lap.

Naruto gasped and looked into Sasuke's eyes.

A tear rolled down Sasuke's cheek and Naruto reached up and wiped it away, "I'm so sorry, Naruto." Sasuke whispered. ". . . I'll never leave you again."

"Promise?" Naruto exhaled.

Sasuke nodded. "I promise." He pulled Naruto to him, embracing him tightly, both closing their eyes and enjoying the warmth given by the other.

And that's that. I hope you all enjoyed it.

AN: (1)I don't generally use Japanese in my stories. It doesn't really flow well when the rest of the story is in English. But on this one hand, I felt that "teme" had to be used to portray the significance of what Naruto was saying. I know that every hard core fan knows what it means so I won't bore anyone with translations.