Warning: Some out of character-ness might occur, but I generally call that character development.

One Last Appeal

||-||Part One||-||

• Midnight Rendevous •

Naruto stared down at the piece of paper, emotions inside whirling like mad. He wasn't sure how to react nor was he sure how others would take it. It had been a couple years, with chance encounters and distant words exchanged, but never something such as this.

Who the hell sent out a challenge request anymore?

He sighed. Sasuke had always been someone who liked the more traditional things, after all. At least, that's how Naruto always saw it.

Now he wondered if he should tell anyone about it. Sasuke had left the village, joined Orochimaru, killed Orochimaru, and was now parading around with the Akatsuki. Even more recently, he had been head bent in destroying Konoha.

No, he should definitely not tell anyone.

The letter stated, simply, that if he wanted a chance to save the village, Sasuke would meet him 30km west of Konoha. He actually specified 30 kilometers.

Naruto huffed, trying to do the math in his head. Why couldn't he have just picked a landmark?

As he folded the piece of paper, he began to walk in the direction of Ichiraku's ramen stand. What was the point in fighting on an empty stomach? Plus, he needed to prepare. And that would come after lunch.

With a sliver of the moon for his only source of light, Naruto squinted at his map. He could sort of make out his squiggly line, marking what should probably be the 30km Sasuke had mentioned.

He had made sure that nobody noticed his absence. Team Seven had returned from a mission only a few days ago, so there wasn't any immediate need for his presence at the moment.

As he flew through the trees, he was going over the possibilities. It could be a trap, he knew that. But even if it were a trap, he figured he could get out of it easily. He hoped. Plus, he might actually be able to get a few punches on Sasuke.

And THAT was motivation enough.

When he got close to his destination, he slowed down. He crept forward carefully, hoping that it really wasn't a trap and that he'd be able to beat the snot out of his friend. And yes, he still considered Sasuke one of his closest friends.

Peering around a tree, Naruto saw a clearing up ahead. Lounging on a boulder, as if nothing could go wrong with the world, was the dark haired guy himself.

As soon as he walked forward, somebody else spoke up.

"And here's your chance, Sasuke," Tobi, otherwise known as Madara, stated. "Prove yourself. Naruto is here."

Blue eyes met black ones, one showing a strong emotion, the other one void of any.

Sasuke stood up casually, as if this fight they were about to have was a chore, something annoying to take care of, yet easy to do.

"So this is what you wanted," Naruto said, anger staining his tone. "The Kyuubi."

"What else would there be?" Sasuke said, his own tone lazy.

The blonde grit his teeth, forcing back angry remarks. It wasn't the time. Right now, he needed to focus on knocking Sasuke out, tying him up, and dragging him by his feet back to Konoha. It was 30km to the east, after all.

Being his usual self, Naruto attacked first, directly. Sasuke blocked it, turning his stance into a defensive one. Naruto wasn't going to have any of that.

"How are you going to get the stupid fox if you don't fight back?" Naruto snarled sarcastically.

Sasuke frowned ever so slightly.

After several punches, kicks, blocks, and weapons thrown, they both were beginning to feel the need to do something that gave a little more damage. Something flashy and, well, literally glowing.

Just like their previous battles, they charged at each other with their newer, improved versions of the chidori and rasengan.

Right before they would make contact, however, Madara decided to try out a new jutsu he had been itching to use. He had called them both here for just that, and now, before they made too much noise and attracted all sorts of attention, it was the perfect time.

Everything around the two boys seemed to warp and become unfocused. In a few seconds, they had been sucked right into where Madara's eye was.

In the time it had taken to warp them, he had realized something had gone wrong at the last moment.

He didn't sense their presence in the area that he had wanted to move them, nor were they standing before him.

The night was very quiet, just as if all the animals had gone to sleep as well.

"Crap," he said, his voice clearly heard through the air.

I've finally gone and done it. I've started a Sasuke and Naruto story :D

This is based off of a game that I am obsessed with, so if you see any similarities (with future parts, it hasn't gotten there yet), then that would be why.

Hope you liked it :)

Jen