I really don't know how I came up with this idea, but I think it's actually pretty good. I would've gotten it out a lot sooner if it weren't for school. . Anyways, I hope you enjoy it and please review!
FYI: I don't know if needles really have tops that you can screw off, but in this story they do. So any doctors or nurses out there please let me know if my medical knowledge is crap. xD Also, this story is not SasuNaru or NaruSasu, it is pure friendship.
Italics-memories
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Long Forgotten Memories
Sasuke stared wide-eyed at the blonde haired boy lying on the hospital bed in front of him. Naruto was going to die. His best friend was going to die and it was his fault, all because he couldn't remember…
Sasuke sat impatiently in the Hokage's office, wondering why she had brought him here. He hadn't blown up anything recently, so she shouldn't have a reason to be angry at him. Unless she just wanted to send him on some stupid mission just to annoy him. Yesss that must be it…
His head snapped in the direction of the door as it was slammed open. Tsunade stormed in and plopped down at her desk, looking at Sasuke in a strange way that he couldn't identify.
"Sasuke, I need your help," she stated simply. Said boy raised an eyebrow in amusement. The hokage needed his help?
"What is it you need from me?" He replied, trying not to sound too interested.
"Well actually, it's not so much me who needs your help. It's Naruto."
Sasuke looked even more amused than before. "What, did the dobe get his finger stuck in an electrical outlet again?"
"No, I don't mean that kind of help. Sasuke, Naruto is dying."
The amusement immediately left the Uchiha's face and was replaced with a look of horror. He sprang up from his seat. "What do you mean he's dying?! What happened to him?"
"Calm down, Uchiha! There's a way to save him, so if you take a seat I'll tell you," she said, rubbing her temples in annoyance.
The raven haired boy hesitantly seated himself again and gave her his full attention. "How?"
"Naruto has a disease, Sasuke, and it's killing him slowly. Iruka found him unconscious when he visited his apartment and he brought him to the hospital. Our medics can't figure out what the disease is, all they know is that it's very strange and that it's going to kill Naruto today."
Obsidian eyes widened in horror and Tsunade felt guilty. "However, there is a way to save him," she said quickly. ", and that's where you come in. In his unconsciousness, Naruto has been mumbling things. We only just managed to figure out what he's been saying, and it's this: "Sasuke has the antidote."."
Sasuke gave her a weird look. "He never gave me any antidote. At least not that I can remember…"
"Well you need to remember, because Naruto's life depends on it."
And that was how Sasuke ended up in the hospital with Anbu, medics, and an unconscious and slowly dying Naruto surrounding him.
"I've already told you, I can't remember!" Sasuke told them for the hundredth time.
"You can't remember anything, nothing at all about the antidote?" One Anbu with a dog mask asked. Sasuke assumed he was the leader, seeing as he asked the most questions.
"I've spent five years trying to forget my memories, and now you're asking me to remember them? That's not exactly the easiest thing to do," Sasuke spat.
The Anbu leader sighed. Jeez, this kid was difficult. "Let's try another approach. It's recorded that Naruto has been to the hospital once before because of this strange disease. It's also recorded that you were with him. Can you remember anything about that time?"
An image popped into the back of the raven haired boy's mind, an image of an eight year old Sasuke carrying Naruto to the hospital. The Uchiha closed his eyes and gripped his head, as if to hold the image in place and not let it escape.
"I think I can remember…" Sasuke began slowly, and the room was dead silent as the Anbu leaned forward to hear the young boy's tale…
A blonde haired boy ran down the road eagerly. "C'mon Sasuke!" He called back to his dark haired companion. "Iruka-sensei said he would treat me to ramen today!"
The Uchiha followed his hyperactive friend at a more leisurely pace. He allowed a small smile to grace his face at the boy's excitement. His smile was replaced with a frown as he paused to flick his bangs out of his face.
Glancing up when he heard a thud, his dark eyes widened.
"Naruto!" He screamed, and was at the blonde's side in a flash. He shook his fallen friend's shoulder and called out his name, but he didn't budge. Sasuke looked around helplessly. No one was around. What should he do? I'll take him to the hospital. They'll know what's wrong with him, he thought to himself in reassurance.
Loading the shorter boy onto his back, Sasuke was painfully reminded of a time last year, before the massacre, when Itachi had done the same thing for him. Shoving this memory to the back of his mind, he hurried to the hospital as fast as his short legs could carry him.
Luckily, the hospital wasn't too far away from where Naruto passed out and Sasuke reached it in no more than five minutes. Slamming open the door, the boy bolted to the first nurse he saw. "Please, you have to help him! He suddenly passed out and I don't know what's wrong with him!" Sasuke screamed in her face.
She glanced in surprise first at Sasuke, then at the boy on his back. Then, without a word, she gently took Naruto off of Sasuke's back and held him bridal style. She motioned with her hand for Sasuke to follow and quickly took off down the hall.
Sasuke gazed after her suspiciously, not fully trusting her, but followed after her nonetheless. They must have passed fifteen doors by the time he stopped at one and flung it open. She quickly stepped inside and placed Naruto's small body on the bed. She turned to Sasuke.
"Wait here," she commanded sternly. "I'm going to get a doctor." He nodded dazedly and she turned on her heel and hurried out of the room.
Turning back to Naruto, the Uchiha's gaze passed over his unconscious friend's face. He looked so peaceful, maybe there was really nothing wrong with him and he had just overreacted…
Then something caught Sasuke's eye, disturbing his thoughts. Lowering his face to get a better look at Naruto's wrist, he noticed something other than blue veins beneath the boy's skin. Winding round the pulsing blue lines were another set of veins, but these were golden in color so he could barely see them through the tan skin.
Sasuke's eyes widened as he stepped back. Naruto had two different sets of veins. Why hadn't he ever noticed it before?
At that moment the door creaked opened and Sasuke saw the nurse and a new person, which he assumed was the doctor, walk in. The doctor kneeled down in front of him and smiled at him gently. "Hello there, I'm Doctor Hojo (I stole that name from Inuyasha.). What's your name?"
Sasuke frowned at him, but answered anyways. "I'm Uchiha Sasuke," he mumbled.
"Ahh, the last remaining Uchiha," he chuckled, ruffling the boy's dark hair. "Is this boy your friend?"
Sasuke pulled away from the offending hand and glared at the doctor. "Yes, and I want to know what's wrong with him!" The doctor's smile faded a little at the boy's coldness and straightforwardness.. He straightened up and sat at his desk, motioning for Sasuke to take a seat.
He hesitantly sat down in a seat closest to Naruto and farthest away from the doctor. He glanced up to see Doctor Hojo staring at him with scrutinizing eyes.
"What?" Sasuke snapped.
"I'm going to have you answer a few questions before I examine your friend," he said in an eerily cheerful tone.
Sasuke glared at him, but didn't refuse.
"First off, how did he fall unconscious?"
"I don't know," Sasuke answered truthfully. "We were just walking to go get ramen and he suddenly collapsed. It's weird."
The doctor nodded and wrote something down on a clipboard. "Does he have any allergies that you know of?"
Sasuke gave him a dumbfounded look. "How am I supposed to know that?"
The doctor gave him an equally dumbfounded look. "You're his friend, aren't you?" When Sasuke didn't respond the doctor sighed. "Well who are his parents so I can ask them?"
Sasuke's eyes darkened. "He doesn't have any parents; they're dead."
An uncomfortable silence followed and the doctor fidgeted nervously. "Oh, I see…how old is he then? Surely you know that."
A glare was shot in the doctor's direction for the umpteenth time that day. How stupid does this man think I am? Sasuke thought bitterly. "He's eight years old."
The doctor nodded and wrote some more down on the clipboard. Then, setting it on his desk, he moved over to Naruto. "I'll check what's wrong with your friend now."
Doctor Hojo examined Naruto in strange ways, and Sasuke only recognized a few. He checked his pulse, breathing, skin, but when he put a strange instrument to Naruto's heart he paused.
"Doctor Hojo, what is it?" The nurse asked. He motioned for her to come over. She put the instrument to her ears and placed the circular metal part over Naruto's heart just like the doctor did. After a few seconds her eyes widened and she stared at the doctor in fear. He nodded grimly.
Sasuke watched the exchange in looks suspiciously. What was wrong with Naruto?
"Wait here," the doctor ordered Sasuke. He had no smile on his face this time.
"…fine," the boy muttered hesitantly. Doctor Hojo seemed to be satisfied and he and the nurse stepped outside.
Making his decision, Sasuke crept over to the door and pressed his ear against it. He was never too keen on eavesdropping, but his friend's life was on the line here and they weren't telling him something!
"I've never seen anything like it before!" He heard the nurse hiss, keeping her voice low. They're trying to stay quiet so I don't hear them. They obviously don't know that I'm a ninja-in-training. Heh, idiots, Sasuke thought.
"I know, it's a very strange disease," Doctor Hojo whispered back, equally quiet as the nurse.
"His heartbeat is very strange also."
"Yes, and I believe that the disease is causing it. His heartbeat is slowing down drastically, and pretty soon his heart will stop."
The sound of the nurse gasping reached Sasuke's ears. "Do you mean…?"
"Yes, the boy will die."
Sasuke couldn't hear what they said after that. His ear had already left the door and he was slumped on the floor. He couldn't believe it. His best friend, his only friend, was going to die! He felt like punching something. He felt like crying and screaming and doing everything that he had promised himself he would never do again.
Yet he didn't. Because he had an idea. A stupid and crazy idea, but this idea might save Naruto's life, so he was going to try it.
Pulling himself together and making sure the two adults outside weren't coming in anytime soon, he took shaky steps towards the desk. Upon reaching it he found what he was looking for; a needle.
Sasuke picked it up hesitantly, contemplating what he was about to do. If he messed up, then Naruto might be injured. He stepped over to Naruto and picked up his wrist in a shaky hand. With his other hand, he perched the needle over the smooth skin. What if I miss, continually ran through his head.
The avenger took a deep breath. Then, steadying his trembling hand, he forced the needle into Naruto's skin. It stuck in the skin for a few more seconds, for he was afraid to see the result.
After what seemed like forever he pulled it out. The needle was filled with thick, golden liquid. He sighed in relief. I did it right, he thought. But his relief didn't last for long. Now came the hard part. How was he going to get Naruto to swallow it?
Sasuke hesitantly unscrewed the top off of the needle. He gently tilted Naruto's head back and pried open his mouth. It opened as wide as a hippo's! Okay, maybe not that big, but man, Naruto had a huge mouth! Sasuke now knew how he ate ramen so fast.
"This weird blood better be the antidote or I might've really screwed up Naruto internally," Sasuke muttered to himself. He poured the golden blood down Naruto's throat and reached to put the needle on the desk. He then paused and decided it better to clear away the evidence of what he did. Stomping on the pedal of the trash can, he tossed the needle in it.
Sasuke heard a sound and spun around, thinking that the doctor and the nurse had come back in. Instead, a violently coughing Naruto greeted his sight. The Uchiha didn't know whether to feel glad that Naruto was breathing, or to feel scared that he was coughing.
He didn't have much time to decide, because the doctor and nurse had apparently heard the coughing. They burst through the door in alarm. The nurse hurried straight over to Naruto while the doctor turned on Sasuke. He grasped the small boy's shoulders and shook him slightly. "Did you do anything to him?" He demanded. Sasuke only stared at him with wide eyes, unable to answer.
"Doctor Hojo, come over here! It's a miracle!" The nurse exclaimed in excitement. "His heartbeat is picking up to a normal pace. He's going to live!"
The doctor released Sasuke's shoulders and hurried over to Naruto. He examined his heartbeat and nodded with wide eyes, confirming the nurse's exclamation.
Sasuke's legs buckled under him and he fell to his knees in relief. He had a wide smile on his face, the first true smile he'd worn in awhile. It worked, the antidote worked. Naruto was going to live!
As Sasuke finished telling the memory, everyone in the room was wide eyed.
"Two different veins?!"
"And a golden vein at that?"
"And drinking it saved his life!"
"Sounds a lot like it has something to do with the kyu-" All eyes turned to glare at the Anbu before he could finish his sentence. He clamped his mouth shut.
"Let's try that out on Naruto then, shall we?" The dog masked Anbu hurriedly suggested, covering the slip up. The rest of the Anbu and the medics stopped their comments and nodded, realizing what he was trying to do.
The medic closest to Naruto searched his wrist for the golden bloodstream and his eyes widened slightly when his thumb passed over it. Another medic handed him a needle and he plunged it into Naruto's skin. The same medic who handed him the needle helped him arrange Naruto's head to pour the blood down it.
Sasuke noted how quick and easy they made it seem compared to when he did it. His excuse was that they were medics and they were more skilled in this kind of thing than he was. He refused to admit to the fact that he was just scared shitless when he tried.
Five minutes passed…then ten minutes…and Naruto still showed no signs of moving. They even tested his heartbeat, yet it was still slow and hadn't sped up a bit.
"Why isn't anything happening?" An Anbu with a cat mask asked.
"I don't know, maybe it only works once," Sasuke suggested.
"Or maybe you didn't tell us everything from your memory."
Sasuke turned a deadly glare on the cat masked man. "Are you suggesting I'm lying?"
"No, I'm merely stating that you might've not remembered correctly."
"You did say that you can't remember things clearly because you've tried so hard to forget them," the dog masked Anbu pointed out. "Or…maybe it's not so much that you can't remember, it's that you choose not to."
"What are you implying?" Sasuke asked in a dangerous tone.
"I'm implying that you try to forget your memories so that you don't have to remember pre-massacre Itachi."
Sasuke's eyes flashed red with anger and his fist flew towards the Anbu's face. He waited for his fist to collide with solid flesh, but it never did. His hand stopped inches from the Anbu leader's face and two Anbu were clutching his arms to restrain him.
"Let me go, you bastards," he growled, jerking his arms out of their grip.
"Language, Uchiha," the dog masked Anbu scolded. "If you didn't have such a temper then we'd have no need to restrain you."
One of the medics spoke up before Sasuke could retort. "Umm shouldn't we get back to the Naruto situation?"
"Right, of course." The dog masked Anbu turned to Sasuke again. "Can you remember what happened after he was cured?"
"Yeah, like if you talked to him or anything? Maybe he gave you the antidote then," the cat masked Anbu suggested.
"Let me think…" Sasuke said slowly, closing his eyes. He racked his brain for images, words, anything he could find. Yet the only thing he came across was Naruto's lips forming the words 'keep it safe'.
He clung to the image and delved deep into the memory.
"I think I remember…and it's the right memory too," Sasuke whispered. The Anbu and medics listened intently as he spoke his memory aloud…
Uchiha Sasuke sat perched on the end of Naruto's hospital bed, speechless with relief. The nurse and doctor left awhile ago to let the two friends be alone.
"Hey, Sasuke…" Naruto muttered, breaking the silence.
The Uchiha grunted in reply.
"How did you figure out what to do, how to save me I mean?"
"I just happened to notice a different shade other than skin color around your veins, and I kind of took a wild guess," Sasuke said honestly. "I was so afraid that you were going to die that I just did the first thing I could think of. It was stupid of me though, I didn't know what I was doing. For all I know, I could've gotten you killed," Sasuke continued.
"No, I'm grateful! I would've done the same if I were in your place," Naruto reassured him, grinning widely.
Sasuke returned the grin with a small smile. The smile then slowly faded to be replaced with a frown. "What does all of this mean, though?" Sasuke said softly. "The second bloodstream, the strange disease, all of it?"
Naruto bit his lip and glanced down. "I…I kind of can't tell you right now. I'll tell you eventually though, I promise!"
Sasuke nodded; disappointed that he didn't get the answers to the questions that burned so fiercely in his mind. He made sure not to let it show though.
"Sasuke, can I ask you to do something for me?" Naruto asked quietly.
Sasuke turned his attention towards the blonde. "What do you want me to do?"
"I need you to hold onto something for me." Sasuke nodded, signaling for him to go on. "Actually, it's more like you need to keep something inside of you for me."
"Wait…what?" Of all the things Naruto could've asked of him, this was the last thing he expected.
"Well, it's hard to explain. I'll tell you eventually though, I promise!" Naruto said cheerfully.
Sasuke decided to go along with it. "Well what is this thing that you need me to keep inside of me?"
After glancing at the door to make sure no one was coming in, Naruto threw his legs off the side of the bed and went over to the desk. He grabbed a clean needle, and after he set it over his bloodstream, thrust it into his skin. Sasuke winced involuntarily. He watched as Naruto pulled it out a few seconds later; it was filled with golden blood.
Only then did Sasuke realize what Naruto wanted him to do.
"Wait, no way!" Sasuke exclaimed, backing up.
"Please Sasuke, I need you to!" Naruto pleaded.
"I'm not going to pour some of your blood down my throat, weird golden blood no less! Who knows what could happen?"
"Nothing is going to happen! Nothing bad, I mean. Please Sasuke, trust me! I really need your help; I need you to keep it safe for me."
Sasuke stared into Naruto's sky blue eyes, searching for any trace of a fib; he saw no lies in them.
"Fine, but only if you keep your promise to tell me about this sometime," Sasuke said with a sigh, reaching out to take the needle from Naruto. He grinned widely as Sasuke unscrewed the top and poured the contents into his mouth. After his friend finished swallowing, Naruto stuck two fingers out.
Sasuke gave them a weird look. "What are you doing?"
"I'm keeping my promise to you! This seals the promise," Naruto explained.
Hesitantly, the avenger locked two of his fingers with Naruto's outstretched ones. Naruto grinned happily and a small yet happy smile spread on Sasuke's face as well.
Because for the first time in a long time, Sasuke felt like someone truly cared.
Sasuke's eyes widened as the Anbu and the medics discussed his memory. I'm such an idiot! All this time I've been trying to find a single trace that the golden blood did something to me…He pulled on the end of the bandages wrapped around his right arm. They unraveled to reveal a pale wrist, and winding around his pulsing blue veins was another set of veins, golden in color. …but it's been right in front of me the whole time.
"I know what to do!" Sasuke's sudden announcement startled the men in the room.
"You know how to save him? How?" The dog masked Anbu asked.
"Here, get a needle!" Sasuke ordered, showing his wrist to the closest medic.
"Amazing," the medic muttered, examining Sasuke's wrist as if in a trance. Another medic hurried to find a needle. "I've never seen anything like it before…"
The other medic returned with the needle and the medic currently observing Sasuke's wrist took it from him carefully. Positioning it over the pale skin, he gently dug it into the golden bloodstream.
Sasuke winced before he could stop himself. Ever since the Land of Waves incident he hadn't been too fond of needles.
The medic carefully pulled the now full needle out of Sasuke's skin. Then, after another medic had placed a bandage over the puncture, they crowded around Naruto.
"Let's hope this works," the cat masked Anbu murmured. The others silently agreed.
Everything seemed to go in slow motion as the medic unscrewed the top and let the liquid fall into Naruto's gaping mouth. The golden blood cascaded out of the needle like a waterfall glowing from the sunlight.
Everyone held their breaths as seconds passed by…minutes passed…
Please Naruto…wake up! Sasuke thought desperately. He almost thought it wasn't going to work as more minutes slipped by. Almost. Until he saw a flash of blue, that is.
Naruto's sky blue eyes blinked back at the many eyes staring at him. "Hey everyone, what's up?" He asked sleepily. Everyone sighed in relief, but Sasuke crumpled to his knees. All eyes turned to the Uchiha, and Naruto peered over the side of his bed.
"Hey Sasuke, are you okay?" Naruto asked in concern. The boy's dark bangs were shielding his face, making it impossible to see what emotions he was feeling.
The kyuubi's vessel heard a dripping sound, and he noticed that Sasuke's shorts had a few dark spots on them. Glancing up at the Uchiha's shielded face, he was just in time to see a drop fall and soak into his shorts.
Sasuke was crying. Uchiha Sasuke was shedding tears!
Naruto stared in shock. The Anbu also seemed to notice the tears, and they silently ordered everyone to clear the room to give the two a moment.
When everyone was gone, Naruto slipped off the bed and kneeled next to his silently crying friend. "Hey Sasuke, what's the matter?" When the Uchiha didn't answer Naruto began to worry. This was the first time he had ever seen Sasuke cry, ever, and it was scaring him.
"I thought you were going to die," Sasuke suddenly whispered.
"What?" Naruto asked in surprise.
"I thought you were going to die and it would be all my fault. All my fault, because I was stupid enough to try and forget all my memories," the dark haired boy whispered bitterly.
"Wait…so you're crying because you thought I would die and you would be sad?" Sasuke didn't answer, and Naruto knew that meant yes. A wide grin spread on his face and he slung an arm around his friend's shoulders. "Aww you would miss me if I died! I'm touched," Naruto teased.
"How can you be so calm and cheerful when you nearly died?" Sasuke composed himself and wiped the rest of the tears from his eyes.
Naruto chuckled nervously and, letting go of Sasuke's shoulders before the older boy punched him, rubbed the back of his head. "I think it's time I kept my promise." The blonde haired boy stood up and pulled Sasuke to his feet. Walking over to his bed, Naruto saw down on it cross legged and gestured for Sasuke to do the same.
"Okay, I want to know everything. What's up with your strange illness, why do you have that golden bloodstream, and why did you give me that bloodstream also?"
"Hold on, hold on. I have to start from the very beginning. But you have to promise me something before I tell you."
"Promise what?" Sasuke asked with a frown.
Naruto bit his lip nervously. "You have to promise not to hate me because of what I tell you."
"Why would I hate you?"
"Just promise it!"
Sasuke was taken aback. The pleading in Naruto's voice surprised him. "Fine, I promise."
"Okay then…" Naruto took a deep breath. "You know the kyuubi, right? And you know that he was sealed twelve years ago?"
"Yeah," Sasuke answered suspiciously. What does the kyuubi have to do with this?
"Well, he was sealed in a boy. And…that boy is me." Naruto closed his eyes, afraid to see the expression on Sasuke's face. He's going to hate me. He's going to detest me, just like every other villager.
However, when his eyes opened Naruto was greeted by a look of surprise and realization, but there wasn't a trace of hate or disgust in those obsidian eyes.
"Well, that would sure explain a lot," Sasuke murmured thoughtfully. "Like why all the villagers give you such hateful looks."
"So…you don't hate me too, do you?" Naruto asked hopefully.
Sasuke shook his head. "No, I promised I wouldn't. Besides, even if I didn't promise then I still wouldn't hate you."
"Why though? What makes you so different from everyone else?"
"I think it's stupid to hate someone for something that they can't control. It's not like you asked for the kyuubi, the 4th chose to put it in you. It's not your fault, if anything they should hate him." Sasuke paused and looked away. "Besides, I can relate because I have to go through the same thing."
Naruto's eyes darkened. "What do you mean you have to go through the same thing?" He asked coldly. "Everyone loves you. They couldn't hate you even if they wanted to."
"I didn't mean it that way, dobe," Sasuke said in annoyance. "I meant that everyone assumes something about me because of what I have inside of me, when they don't even know me, just like what they do to you."
"You don't have a demon living inside of you though," Naruto spat.
"There are other things inside of you than demons, idiot. I was talking about my blood. Everyone assumes that I can do everything perfectly just because I'm an Uchiha prodigy. I hate it. I'm human too, I can make mistakes. Just like everyone assumes that you're the demon yourself just because it's sealed inside of you. They don't even know us, yet they think they do."
Naruto's gaze softened and he look away. They were both going through the same thing, no matter how different their situations were.
"…you still haven't told me about the bloodstream and everything yet," Sasuke reminded him to break the awkward silence.
"O-oh yeah!" Naruto stuttered. "Hmm how should I tell this? I'll just get straight to the point. The gold bloodstream that's in you and I is the kyuubi's veins. Well, actually his veins are just in me since I'm the container, but his blood runs in you too."
Naruto almost laughed at the shocked expression on the taller boy's face.
"W-wait, so that means that all this time I've had part of the kyuubi inside of me?"
Naruto nodded and Sasuke's face went paler than usual. "Oh, don't act like it's such a bad thing! It speeds up your healing process, so it's actually a good thing!"
"So wait, why is the kyuubi's blood the cure to the strange disease you have? And what is the disease in the first place?" Sasuke asked.
"Eh, it's a long story but I'll try and make it short. First of all, the disease is called Kyuubi's Wrath and only I can get it because I'm it's container. That's also why the medics can't figure out what it is. I get it every four years, and the only way to cure me is if I drink the kyuubi's blood. It seems pretty simple, but there's a catch.
"I can use the kyuubi's own blood inside of me the first time, but the next time it won't work. That's why I have to inject the blood into another person and drink from them…jeez I sound like some kind of vampire!" Naruto chuckled. "Okay, back to the explanation. There's also a catch to that. I can't use the same person twice, and the person has to let me put the blood into them willingly or it won't work. Then, after I use that person, I can use the blood from myself again. Understand?"
Sasuke nodded slowly. "So, it goes in a pattern; you, someone else, you, someone else, you, etc?"
"Exactly."
"Okay, I think it get it all now…wow, all I've heard today is probably the most surprising and interesting information I've heard in awhile," Sasuke murmured, everything he'd just heard swimming around in his mind. "I do have one question though."
"And what's that?"
"Two questions, actually. First off, will I still have the kyuubi's blood in me or will it go away eventually?"
"You'll always have it, it can't go away. But like I said, it's a good thing. Well, unless the villagers find out. Then they'll hate you." Naruto chuckled nervously. "What's your second question?"
"Umm…does us both having the kyuubi's blood in us make us related by blood?" Sasuke asked, a faint blush staining his cheeks from embarrassment.
Naruto blinked. "I never really thought about that. I guess it does though. That means we're blood brothers!" Naruto exclaimed cheerfully. A small smile found it's way onto Sasuke's face before he could stop it. For some reason, the idea of Naruto being his "blood brother" made him feel…happy.
"Hey, Sasuke?" Naruto said sheepishly.
"Hn?"
"Um I don't know if you feel the same, but I'm really glad that you're my blood brother," Naruto said quietly, blushing slightly from the sappiness of the moment.
Sasuke tried to find a way to say he felt the same without increasing the sappiness. "The feeling is mutual."
"Naruto's face twisted into a confused look. "Wait, what does mutual mean?"
"Guess, it's not that hard."
"Does it mean you feel the same way?"
"Congratulations, you're not as stupid as you look."
"Bastard," Naruto scowled. His scowl morphed into a grin as he lifted his arm and stretched two fingers out. Sasuke repeated this action, locking their fingers together with a smile on his face.
At that moment, both of them knew that they were tied together by an unbreakable bond. It wasn't the kyuubi's blood flowing through both of their veins that were holding them together, nor was it their interlocked fingers. This bond was something that could not be seen; it was the fact that they were both willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for each other.
The two of them were ready to give up their lives at any time- give up their hopes, dreams, memories, everything- just so the other could continue living. Even if they hated each other or became enemies, they they'd still be willing to lay down their lives for each other without hesitation.
People have to have a really deep friendship to be able to do something like that. Naruto and Sasuke fit that requirement.
The avenger and the kyuubi's vessel sat smiling at each other, their fingers still clinging onto the others. They both knew that no matter how much crap they went through, and no matter how many fights and arguments they got into, their invisible tie would stay strong and true through it all.
This silent promise they made in their head, they knew, would never become a long forgotten memory.
A/N: I think the ending was kind of bad. I hope you all enjoyed it though, and please let me know if I over-sappified the ending!