A single snowflake made itself loose from the grey clouds covering the sky and slowly danced towards the ground. It was soon followed by others of its kind, each with an individual design and movement. In contrast, the earth beneath was black. Large craters making testimony of a fierce battle marred the ground, making it uneven. There was seemingly no life to be found. Trees had been struck down, rocks crushed and the ground burnt. The destruction covered miles. The snow making its way down seemed to cover all the hurt like a bandaid over a wound. Like rain after a drought.
Amidst all the destruction, there were two figures lying on the ground, still clinging to life, barely breathing.
The first snowflake to fall from the sky landed on a whisker marked cheek. The man crinkled his nose at the sensation.
"Ahh... It's snowing. As if it wasn't cold enough as it was."
"Are you surprised?",
the black haired man to his left said with closed eyes.
"It's the snow country after all."
"I guess..."
The men were laying on their backs, not far apart from each other. They had both lost their prosthetic arms and were bleeding out of the open wounds. The blonde man had even lost one of his legs in the battle. Though his body was gradually getting cooler, his blood was still warm and whatever snow merged with the red liquid melted within a second.
Naruto and Sasuke couldn't move. The battle they had engaged in had taken all their chakra and more. It was painful to even speak but they had at least fulfilled their purpose. The enemy was dead and the hidden villages were safe. The corpse of their enemy was no more than a burnt crisp. He had troubled the minds of the peace longing villagers for years but it was finally done. Naruto had lived up to his name as Hokage and protected his people. The only thing he wasn't pleased about was the cost it had come with. Naruto shot a quick glance to his left. Sasuke had his eyes closed and looked calm. Almost serene. Yet blood trickled down his eyes and his skin revealed the ugly marks of violence.
Naruto's eyebrows knitted together, as his eyes followed the trail of bruises on the other man's body.
Why did Sasuke have to show up? Otherwise he was great at staying away from the village and his friends but when he for once wasn't wanted, he appeared as if someone had whistled for him. A jerk true to his name.
Naruto hadn't wished for this. He hadn't asked for Sasuke's aid, although he knew he had been in need of his help. The enemy had been strong. Stronger than first anticipated.
Naruto had suspected this when heading to his final battle. Hence why he had set off on this journey alone, without company. Enough people had died as it was.
Naruto was not one to give up or leave anything half done but deep down, in the core of his soul, he had known what he was getting himself into. He had suspected that he might not come out of it alive. He had been ready.
As long as he knew the purpose he was willing to embrace the consequences. Knowing the others to be safe, he would gladly have embraced death on his own.
Yet Sasuke had appeared.
Naruto averted his gaze once again to the sky.
"Sakura is way late.",
Naruto said and sniveled from the cold, wishing he could move his arm to wipe his nose. If he didn't die from blood loss he'd surely get leucemia.
"I don't think Sakura will be able to make it, this time around.",
Sasuke replied. Naruto tried to smile.
"Yeah... shit..."
They stayed silent for a moment, watching the snow quietly gather around them. Soon the landscape was covered in a thin, white carpet. It was slowly hiding the abuse the land had suffered and tried to cover the boys as well but the remaining warmth, however cold they felt, still kept the snow at bay.
Naruto followed the falling snowflakes above with his eyes.
"Hey... ",
he finally said, breaking the silence. Sasuke made a sound, indicating that he was listening.
"...if you had a second chance... would you have done anything... differently?"
It was out. The question Naruto had long been meaning to ask but always had postponed. Maybe he had never thought of it as important or maybe he had been scared of knowing the answer. Still the time to ask had come. If he hadn't acknowledged it before, then this question was the acceptance of the fate they were facing. The closure.
Sasuke didn't answer right away but when Naruto glanced over to him he could see that Sasuke had opened his eyes, observing the grey sky above, contemplating.
"No...",
Sasuke spoke slowly but with a tone that showed his resolution.
"Not under the same circumstances.",
If Naruto wasn't in so much physical pain he would have nodded at this.
Not under the same circumstances...
That made sense. This was the life they had been born into and they had in turn reacted to it. There wasn't much to it. There was no if and when. Everything they had done had led them to this moment. He had always made a big deal out of asking Sasuke this question and now that he had his answer it seemed ridiculously obvious. What had he even expected...?
Naruto allowed his gaze to return to the sky.
He didn't see how Sasuke opened his mouth to speak again, only to press his lips into a thin line.
A quiet moment passed.
"How about you?"
Sasuke's counter question wasn't unexpected but Naruto still took his time before he replied.
"Me neither.",
He finally said.
"I don't regret anyhing but I wish I could have remained a bit longer. Bolt and Himawari still have so much to learn."
At the thought of his children a dull throb pierced through Naruto's heart that had nothing to do with the physical pain. He saw the faces of the two rascals in his mind. They were teenagers by now. Almost adults but could anything really prepare them for this? Naruto had said goodbye with a smile on his face and left them in the unknown. Maybe it had been cruel of him but he didn't want their parting to be filled with sorrow. Also, they would have tried to stop him and Bolt would have tried to mask his bawling face, which always looked ridiculous when he cried.
"Especially Bolt.",
he added with a sad smile.
"Well, he is like you so that's a given."
"You ass."
Despite Sasuke's mean comment, a slight chuckle shook Naruto's body. They were rivals even when it came to their kids.
The chuckle quickly turned into coughing and Naruto felt a sharp pain in his chest, before the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. He gagged and his coughs created small bubbles before the blood finally escaped from the corner of his mouth to run down his cheek and jaw line. He tried to even his breathing again.
A smile tugged on his lips.
"... we really are dying, aren't we...?"
"Hn..."
Depsite the pain, Naruto chuckled again as a memory pushed through his subconscious.
"Hey Sasuke. This is like I predicted, remember?"
He saw himself and Sasuke as teenagers again. Sixteen years old, standing on water. Blood running down Sasuke's left eye and the sting he himself had felt on his right cheek from the poisonous kunai cut. The words they had spoken and the shocked look on Sasuke's face at that time. Their exchange of fists.
"In the end we really are dying together."
"Whatever you say is more like a curse than a prediction."
Naruto could tell from the tone of his voice that Sasuke was dwelling on the same memory. Though sounding exasperated, his voice was soft.
Although it was freezing cold and his limbs frozen numb, Naruto felt strangely warm inside. It was a weird, content feeling, ridding him of any pain and fear he had felt.
He wasn't alone in this.
A small grin tugged at his lips. He knew he was being a hypocrite. He had been kicking, screaming and cursing at Sasuke for showing up at the battle field earlier. He had been furious at Sasuke's intervention and yet...
"Hey Sasuke.",
Naruto said, closing his eyes to rest them for a bit.
"I'm glad you're here."
Silence fell upon them once more.
The snow continued its graceful dance, neverending. Sasuke observed the falling snowflakes with tired eyes. He slowly parted his dry lips.
"... Maybe...",
he started with hesitance in his voice.
"...if things... had been different..."
He stopped himself from talking, not sure how to put his thoughts into words but Naruto didn't press him to continue either way.
"Naruto?"
Sasuke tipped his head to the right, directing his ebony eyes to the man next to him. Naruto was quiet and had his eyes closed. No breath escaped through his lips anymore and his chest wasn't moving.
Sasuke gave a small scoff.
"Don't die when someone is talking to you."
There was no reply, no yelling or retort but there was no need. Sasuke could already imagine what Naruto would have said. Well, maybe not... After all, Naruto had always been full of surprises.
Sasuke silently looked at Naruto's still form. The only thing moving was his blond hair, softly tugged at by a passing breeze. Hadn't it been for the blue spots on his skin and lack of breath, Sasuke would have thought that Naruto was simply sleeping.
It was as if the blond would jump up at any second to talk about going to Ichiraku's for breakfast.
But he didn't.
Sasuke's fingers twitched as he tried to move them. It was painful and his arm felt as heavy as lead but he was determined to see his will through. With huge effort, his arm started to inch closer to Naruto, bit by bit, pushing through the snow that had gathered around them. He had stopped shivering long ago and the pain and cold had made his fingers numb and unfeeling. Still they reached their goal. Naruto's hand was as cold as ice but that didn't bother him. Trembling from the effort, Sasuke extended his index and middle finger and wrapped them around Naruto's. There they remained.
Darkness started to descend upon him but it had nothing to do with the weather or time of day. Sasuke's vision was blurry. The intense fight and extensive use of sharingan had rendered him nearly blind but he kept his gaze firmly on Naruto's face as long as his vision allowed him to. Even when darkness claimed his sight, the picture of Naruto remained within him. In front of his inner eye, Sasuke could still see the whisker marked cheeks, the blond locks, the foxy grin and the determined, sky blue eyes.
We'll be able to truly understand each other in the next world.
Unwillingly Sasuke started to smile back at the grinning, sixteen year old Naruto in his mind.
"Next world, huh?"
Sasuke inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. There was no need to see anymore.
The cold had numbed his body to the point that pain couldn't reach him anymore.
He still felt Naruto's fingers though and his grip around them tightened.
If possible I'd like to meet you there.
The snow gathered around but the freezing temperature didn't bother the two men anymore. They were beyond feeling cold or pain. Only hours later would they be found under the snow by their griefstruck comrades, their fingers still interwined.
Maybe things will be different next time.
A/N:
And let the AU fan fictions begin~
So, I was pretty upset about the last Naruto chapter for a number of reasons and I wondered how I could somewhat fix things in my headcanon. Then I remembered that it was simple and pretty much handed to me by Naruto himself. Naruto said he'd die with Sasuke so they could understand each other in the next world. They have the strongest bond in the series and are pretty much twinflames. Souls and reincarnation actually seem to be a thing in the Naruto world and soulmates always find each other in one way or another.
Things didn't work out romantcally between them in the ninja world but if they truly have this strong bond, then there is no way they won't meet again in a different life and who knows? Maybe things turn out different then. Maybe romantic love isn't out of the question when they don't have to feel pressure about reviving their clans.
So please don't see this fan fiction as an ending but as a beginning of a new story involving our favourite pair of idiots.
You can see this story as a prologue to AU SasuNaru fan fictions but I will add add my own "AU" to it as well. Thanks for reading!
