"We are all strong enough to bear the misfortunes of others."

-Due de la Rochefoucould

It was going to be a long walk home. Naruto was sure of this when he felt Sasuke move against his back, stirring into consciousness. He continued foreword. Sasuke shifted again, then tensed up completely as he struggled to figure out where he was. Wind tossed his hair slightly. He could smell dirt and water. Trees too. A forest? But he was moving as he attempted to move legs, a mind numbing pain shot up his spine. He groaned, and sagged back into the warmth below him.

Upon hearing Sasuke's pained cry, Naruto slowed to a stop and lowered his companion to the ground.

"Sasuke." He whispered loudly, leaning closer to Sasuke's sweat streaked face. "Hey man, Sasuke!" He whispered louder. The dark haired man whimpered and opened his eyes. He was met with a blurry darkness, blue and grey. He searched for the voice, finally encountering a fuzzy blond blur.

"Nnn…"

Sasuke heard a sigh of relief. "How do you feel?" Sasuke tried to sit up, only to have that same, horrible pain race through his body.

"Ahh!" He could feel tears welling up in his eyes. And he was shaking. He could feel that too. Just when he thought he would blackout from the now constant ache, Naruto's warm hand came to rest on his cheek. The blonde man leaned in so he and Sasuke were touching noses.

"I think there is something wrong with your back." He confided. If Sasuke had had the energy, and no agonizing pain, he would have reached up and smacked the blonde. As it were, neither of his criteria was met, so he settled for letting his eyes slip shut as he tried to relax his body. Obviously, tensing up any muscles in his back would bring for the sharp stabs, so relaxing should prevent it.

Naruto, upon seeing his friend drift into a sleep like state, sat back on his heels and examined the young man's face.

"Hey Sasuke." He whispered loudly into his friend's face. The young man twitched and whimpered. Sasuke laced a hand over his face, hoping Naruto hadn't seen the tears spill onto his cheeks.

"What?" His voice sounded strained, Sasuke knew. But with the stinging surging through his slowly deadening body, he felt that it really didn't matter.

"…" Sasuke's ears were only met with silence. For a moment, he thought that Naruto wasn't going to finish whatever it was he was going to say. Seconds had seemed t o stretch into hours before Naruto finally continued. "I'm sorry" He sounded childish, a regular kid apologizing for the broken window. But Sasuke knew that this was much bigger than any window.

When Sasuke didn't respond, Naruto tried again. "I'm sorry Sasuke!" Sasuke could hear his voice breaking, could hear Naruto's heart breaking inside his body. But he was alive still. Why was Naruto so upset?

"Naruto." The blond head shot up. "Stop. It." Sniffle. "I'm not dead yet. "

"I'm sorry. If I hadn't--you wouldn't--"

"Naruto. I'm still here." This he said so quietly Naruto almost didn't hear him.

I'm still here.