Sasuke was laying under a tree with a hole in his chest. Naruto had taken him here after he had gotten injured on their mission and had bandaged him. now Naruto was sitting in front of him with his sword by his side while explosives were set off all around them.
"We have to retreat," a voice came from the radios they both wore on their necks.
"Alright," answered their leader. "Units 1 and 2 retreat. Unit 3 will stay behind and distract our enemy and then they too will retreat."
Naruto reached up and turned on his com. "I need someone to get Sasuke."
"Alright," their leader answered again, "unit 1 will help you."
"Yes sir," came a resounding answer from Unit 1.
Naruto waited a moment before he reached over and grabbed his sword and his mask. "Where are you going?" asked Sasuke as he stood.
"I'm part of Unit 3," answered Naruto as he placed his ANBU mask on his face.
"Please don't go," Sasuke begged.
"I have to Sasuke," he answered.
"Then promise me you'll come back," he said.
"Sasuke I…" he was cut off when a relatively close explosion went off. "I have to go," he said before he took off towards the explosion.
It wasn't until Naruto had disappeared when Sasuke realized that he had never promised to come back. Then he realized when Konoha ANBU were surrounding him that Naruto was placed in the same unit as he was. He was in Unit 2.
Sasuke and the rest of Units 1 and 2 had only been back a few days when the news spread that Unit 3 had been spotted close to the Konoha gates. All of the ninjas that had been on the mission had immediately gone to the gates to see the people that were returning. There were significantly less people than had originally been in the Unit and, of those that had returned, half of them were seriously injured. Many people, ninja and villager alike, crowded around the men as they tried to find their loved ones. There was many people sobbing in both great happiness and great despair.
Sasuke weaved his way through the men looking for one in particular, but he couldn't seem to find Naruto anywhere.
"Sasuke?" someone asked from behind him. He turned quickly thinking that it would be Naruto, but instead he found Sakura standing before him. She was a little cut up, but luckily she was one of the ones that was the least injured. He hadn't even known that Sakura had been on this mission, let alone on Unit 3. He probably should have known that she would be on this mission since she was one of the best medic ninjas.
"Are you okay?" he asked her. He felt bad because he really didn't want to know if she was okay. He just wanted to know where Naruto was.
Sakura seemed to know what he was thinking as she spoke. "He asked me to give these to you," she held out her hand to give the items to Sasuke. Tears ran down Sasuke's cheeks as he took Naruto's leaf headband and his beloved necklace away from her. "He said that he would have given you the engagement ring too, but that he wanted to keep it to remind him how much you loved him."
Sasuke didn't even answer her as he ran to his house where he cried his eyes out with the two items Naruto had given him held close to his chest.
For the next five years Sasuke always had the necklace tied around his neck and Naruto's headband around his arm whether he was wearing his uniform or casual clothes. No one ever questioned him or told him that he should take the items off. They knew that those items were the only things keeping him sane throughout all of these years. The only time anyone had though to separate him from the items was when someone suggested that he should bury them since they didn't have a body to bury, but Sasuke had immediately refused and turned away from the person who had suggested it.
"You need to forget about him Sasuke," Sakura said to him one day when they were out on a relatively easy mission.
"Never," Sasuke answered.
"Sasuke," Sakura sighed. "He's not coming back and remembering him is just hurting you." Sasuke didn't answer. He just stared at her. "Sasuke. This isn't good for your health. I haven't seen you outside of missions and when I do see you, you don't speak more than a few words. You have to let him go."
"Never," Sasuke said again.
"This isn't what he would have wanted for you Sasuke!" yelled Sakura. "He would have wanted you to move on with your life and be happy instead of living in the past and wallowing in despair." Again, Sasuke didn't answer her and Sakura finally let all of her anger and worry towards him take over her body. She grabbed a hold of Naruto's head band and it slipped off Sasuke's arm. She hadn't taken it away from him for a second before she was staring into sharingan red eyes and a hand was wrapped tightly around her neck.
"Give it back," Sasuke growled. Sakura almost didn't give it back, but then Sasuke's hand tightened and she felt like he would break her neck so she handed it to him. Sasuke allowed her to drop to the ground as he turned to head into the forest that surrounded them.
He hadn't been walking long when he found a clearing. As soon as he entered it he collapsed against the nearest tree. He couldn't believe that he had just tried to break Sakura's neck just because he had taken the headband off of his arm. He just felt that she was trying to take him away from him and that had made him snap.
Sasuke looked at the headband in his left hand and then at the right hand that had been wrapped around Sakura's neck. Maybe Sakura was right. Maybe it was time for him to give Naruto up and move on. Even as he thought this his hand tightened around the headband, not willing to let go. Sasuke suddenly felt anger at himself and he threw the headband away from him. His life was ruined and it was all Naruto's fault. He ripped the necklace off of his neck and threw it too and then allowed his head to fall down as tears once again fell over his cheeks and onto the ground.
It took Sasuke a whole five minutes to compose himself again. When the tears had completely stopped falling, Sasuke looked up and felt his heart stop. Among the tall grass he could only barely see the head band and he couldn't see the necklace at all. He rushed forward and picked up the headband, but he still couldn't see the necklace. Activating his sharingan, Sasuke fell to his knees and began searching frantically through the tall glass. He felt so stupid for throwing his most precious items away from him and not even keeping a close eye on them. He would never forgive himself if he lost them.
Suddenly, his eyes caught sight of a shiny object and he grabbed the beautiful necklace from the grass that had been hiding it from him. "I found it," he said to himself as he pulled both the items close to himself again.
"Sasuke?" a voice said from behind asked.
Sasuke froze. The voice was dried and cracked as if it hadn't been used in years, but he would recognize that voice anywhere. He closed his eyes, unwilling to turn to look at the owner of the voice only to find that it wasn't who he wanted it to be. He turned slowly and allowed his eyes to open. Sasuke stood frozen as he stared at the man in front of him. He was pale and much skinnier than he used to be, but there was no mistaking this man that stood before him. naruto was standing in the clearing with him.
"Sasuke?" Naruto asked again as he stepped forward slightly.
"Naruto?" Sasuke asked in return as he too stepped forward. "Is that really you?"
Naruto smiled brightly and held out his left hand. The hand that proudly wore the engagement ring that Sasuke had given him five years ago. "It's me Sasuke. I'm back."
Sasuke ran forward and threw his hands around Naruto. "What took you so long?" he asked as he held the man protectively against him.
"I'm sorry Sasuke," Naruto said as he hugged Sasuke back with a little less force. "I've been sleeping this whole time."
"Sleeping?" Sasuke asked.
Naruto nodded. "I've been in a coma. I've only just recently woke up."
"I can't believe it's you Naruto," Sasuke cried against him. "I've missed you so much."
"I dreamt about what my life would be like with you if I survived," Naruto said. "You're what got me through this. You're the one who helped me survive."
Sasuke stepped back slightly and looked straight into Naruto's eyes. "And you are the only thing that has kept me sane these past five years," he said as he put the necklace and the headband onto their true owner.
Naruto smiled as he took hold of Sasuke's hand and leaned forward for a kiss. "Can we go home now?" asked Naruto.
"Yes," Sasuke nodded his head and turned back towards where the camp and Sakura were waiting for him to return. "We can go home now." He led Naruto into the forest without ever letting go of his hand.
"Wait here," Sasuke said. "I have to go talk to Sakura before we go." He was reluctant to leave Naruto, but he felt that Sakura deserved an honest apology without Naruto there to distract him.
"Sakura?" he asked her when she entered into his sight.
"Sasuke!" she gasped as she turned to face him. He was relieved to see that she didn't have any scars. Though he knew it was probably because she had healed herself. "I'm sorry Sasuke," she said.
"No," Sasuke replied. "I should be the one apologizing. I overreacted. I shouldn't have tried to choke you."
Sakura gave him a surprised look. She hadn't heard him talk that much since Naruto had died. "Sasuke?" she asked. "Are you alright?"
"Yes Sakura," he nodded. "I'm perfectly fine." With that he began to gather his things.
"What are you doing Sasuke?" she asked.
"I'm going home," answered Sasuke.
"You can't do that," said Sakura. "We're on a mission."
"We both know that this mission is way too easy for two ANBUs, let alone three."
"Three?" Sakura asked confusedly. "There's only two of us Sasuke."
"I'm going to take Naruto home." Sasuke said as he started heading towards where he had left Naruto to wait for him.
"Naruto is dead Sasuke," Sakura said exasperatedly as she grabbed hold of his hand to turn him to face her. Sasuke was a little over a head taller than her, so when he turned to face her she saw that he was no longer wearing Naruto's glittering necklace. She looked to the side to find that he wasn't wearing the head band either. She felt bad. She had wanted him to get over Naruto's death. Not get rid of the items that reminded him of Naruto. "Sasuke," she said sadly. "Where are the gifts he gave you."
"I gave them back to him," Sasuke answered.
Sakura shook her head. "You can't have done that Sasuke. He's dead."
"He's alive Sakura," said Sasuke. "I saw him."
"Your mind was just playing tricks on you Sasuke," she said. She had seen these symptons in so many of the other people who had lost loved ones in Unit 3. It was only their mind wanting the person back so much that they saw the person.
"I touched him Sakura," he growled. "My mind isn't playing tricks on me."
"You have your sharingan eyes on Sasuke," she said. "They could have created a genjutsu without you realizing it. That's why you were able to touch him. He's dead Sasuke."
"He's waiting for me," Sasuke was starting to get worried. Sakura's words actually made sense to his mind and he didn't want to go back to where he had left Naruto only to find that he had never been there. "I have to go find him." He tried again to go to where he left Naruto, but he couldn't escape her firm grip on his arm without hurting her and he really didn't want to hurt her again today.
"He's dead," yelled Sakura. "He's not waiting for you. He's not coming back. He's dead and you need to get over him."
"Never!" Sasuke yelled even louder. He didn't usually raise his voice, but he was getting frantic. He had to go find Naruto. "Let me go! I have to go to Naruto."
"No Sasuke," said Sakura. "I can't let you go. Not until you give up on him."
That was it. Sasuke had to get back to Naruto even if it meant cutting off the arm of one of his best friends. He reached into his weapons pouch and pulled out a kunai so fast that Sakura didn't even see it. Luckily, someone else did.
"Sasuke don't!" Naruto yelled from behind him as he wrapped his pale hands around the arm that held the kunai. Sakura was shocked. She couldn't believe that Naruto, the man whom everyone thought had died 5 years ago, was still alive and standing before her.
"Naruto?" asked Sasuke.
"I'm sorry," Naruto answered. "I know you told me to wait over there, but I heard yelling."
Sasuke didn't say anything he just wrapped his arm possessively around Naruto. Naruto accepted the affection without a word he knew how much his absence had affected Sasuke and now he planned to stay by Sasuke's side forever.
"Are you guys on a mission?" Naruto asked.
"Naruto?" asked Sakura. "Is that really you?"
"Yes," answered Naruto with a sincere smile.
"But you're dead," Sakura said disbelievingly.
"No," answered Naruto. "I've only been asleep until now. I've been in a coma. I came back as soon as I was able."
"Doctors aren't supposed to keep someone in a coma for more than a year," said Sakura.
"Yea," answered Naruto. "They told me that they took me off of life support after a year had passed, but I didn't die so they just kept feeding me and let me sleep. They said I was very stubborn."
"Let's go," said Sasuke. "I want to take you home."
"Alright," Naruto said. "I can't wait to get home. Are you coming with us Sakura?"
"No," she said. "I have to finish this mission." The mission had actually been to help Sasuke forget about Naruto and now that Naruto was there it was over, but she felt that they needed to be left alone.
It took Naruto a week to convince everyone that he was truly alive, but then when he did there was a huge party celebrating his return. Soon after that he and Sasuke got married because neither of them wanted to wait any longer. It was a quick ceremony that was put together at a moment's notice, but practically the whole village was there. After that they lived happily ever after.
hey guys. i hope you like it. i was originally planning on making this a oneshot, but then i thought i should write what actually happened to Naruto so that's what the next chapter will be about.
i hope you all enjoyed. i would love it if you commented.