Forgotten.

"In this world, no matter how much you try… in the end, you are nothing."

Warnings: Angst. AU. SasuNaru hinted. Rokudaime!Naruto and Returned!Sasuke. Written around a year or two ago.

Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine. Or else Sasuke wouldn't be wearing that creepy outfit, and he'd be with Naruto already.

//"Ne, Sasuke… if I die, how long will it take before you forget me?" Naruto asked boisterously, his cheery smile turned to his best friend.//

//Sasuke rolled his eyes and cuffed the other's head. "Idiot. You have your face carved onto a stone mountain. I doubt anyone would be able to forget you, even if he wanted to."//

//Naruto laughed and turned away. "Then what if I didn't have my face carved into the Hokage mountain? How long before you forget me?"//

//Sasuke sighed and stopped, forcing Naruto to turn and face him.//

//"Isn't it a bit too late for insecurities, Naruto?"//

//The blonde remained silent and turned away.//

//Sasuke took a deep breath, stepped forward, and lay his hands on each of the Rokudaime's shoulders.//

//"Look. I'm never going to forget you, okay?" A pause. "Besides, what makes you think I'd let you die in the first place, anyway?"//

//Naruto frowned and turned to his companion slowly. "…Is that a promise, Sasuke?"//

//Naruto relaxed as he saw the dark eyes soften nearly imperceptibly.//

//"Yes. It's a promise, Naruto."//

'Sasuke, you liar.'

That was the first thought that entered Naruto's mind, that morning when the wedding was announced.

He couldn't remember anything after leaving the Uchiha compound dazedly. Everything was a blur of conflicting thoughts. Conflicting feelings. Hot, cold, heavy, numb. Everything uncomfortable, everything painful; all at once.

'Why didn't he tell me? He could've at least told me before announcing it to the whole world! When did they meet? How did this happen… Why?'

He didn't remember crying, but he must have. The heavy feeling in his chest and in his eyes the following morning could allow for no other explanation.

He knew why.

Sasuke left him once, to pursue Itachi.

Sasuke left him once, for power.

Sasuke left him, for vengeance.

And for all that Naruto tried, tried so so hard… he didn't return to him. Not until he got what he wanted first. Not until Naruto's competition died in a blazing scream of agony.

But when Sasuke came back, he hoped. So much. And he believed.

Sasuke was leaving him again, now.

For his clan.

But that's what Uchiha had always said, right? That's what he had always thought of.

Only Itachi. Only power. Only vengeance. Only his clan.

In the end, Naruto would always be runner-up.

It didn't matter how hard he tried.

He was expendable. He was nothing.

He'd always known that. But somehow, he'd let himself be deluded.

How foolish of him. To hope. To believe.

…And now reality was crushing, ruthlessly killing, his carefully built fantasies. Second-best. Expendable. Forgotten.

Again, and again, and again.

Even with his bloody face carved into a bloody mountain.

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