Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto. Sadly, he's probably not going to give us a NaruSasu ending...

Warnings: Spoilers for manga up to chapter 458.

Prologue: Change This World

"You fucking dumbass!" shrieked Naruto, as he lobbed another attack at Sasuke. "You've been hurt, so you want to hurt others? You've been wronged, so you have the right to lash out at whoever you please? You've been attacking people who've done nothing to you! Do you realize you've become the kind of person you used to despise!?"

"What do you know about anything?!" Sasuke yelled back, refusing to let Naruto get the upper hand in the fight or the argument. "My entire clan was wiped out for the sake of fucking world peace! They helped found Konoha, they yielded the leadership to Senju, and they cast out their own leader for the sake of peace! And all they got in return was suspicion and discrimination! And when they wanted to fight back, Konoha wiped them out—to maintain the fucking peace!"

"Then blame the ones who caused the massacre!" insisted Naruto. "Blame Danzo! Blame the Elders! Blame Madara for helping them along! But what did anyone else ever do to you?!"

"Don't you get it? This world caused the massacre," hissed Sasuke. "This world that we all live in, it…" Sasuke's voice choked. "It had no place for my family! So why should I give a fuck about anyone!?"

"Because," cried Naruto, "we can change this world!"

For a fraction of a second, Sasuke paused. Naruto seized his chance and attacked, incapacitating his opponent. In the end, both were heavily injured and covered with blood, but they were still alive. And this time, it was Sasuke lying on the ground and Naruto staggering towards him.

"We can change things," continued Naruto, almost collapsing beside Sasuke. "We can seek truth and understanding without spreading pain and hatred. Sasuke, we can learn from your tragedy, Itachi's tragedy, your clan's tragedy. We can learn what causes mistrust and conflict and prevent it. Believe me, human hearts can understand suffering. But you can't be one of the people causing more of it."

Sasuke closed his eyes and said nothing. Naruto grinned and leaned over him. It was a reversal of their positions at the Valley of the End.

"Besides, not everything in the world sucks, right?" said Naruto lightly. "You have people who care about you, you know. Don't forget about us."

"Dobe…"

"Yes?"

"…stop invading my personal space."

"Heh heh," Naruto chuckled. "The teme's back."

A/N: That's all for now. Not much, I know, but there will be more soon.