A/N: Yo! I dug this out from the depths of my laptop and thought I should share. I wrote this almost 3 years ago and I'm kinda embarrassed by it haha. Story flow and writing aren't smooth, but please enjoy anyways!
The rain poured just as it had the first time they fought here.
The battle had lasted three days and three nights and now both ninjas were well depleted of chakra, only their will keeping them up. Blood stained their rip, tattered clothing and wounds covered every inch of their bodies.
"Why?" Sasuke's voice croaked before breaking out into a coughing fit. Blood splattered and dripped down his lips as he expelled the blood pooling in his lungs.
Naruto smiled at his friend, that teeth-showing, cheesy smile.
"Even if I have to break every single one of your bones, I'm taking you back." He stated, though his voice weak, the words reverberated with determination and strong will.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes, taking slow steps towards his former teammate. He had never understood Naruto and he probably will never understand that stupid devotion of his towards a friendship that doesn't exist. Everything in Sasuke's life had been about revenge against his brother, and even after Itachi died, it was revenge against Konoha.
"The only way I'm going back." Sasuke stated the words filled with the familiar bitterness and rage. "Is..." He lifted his fists, completely out of energy, weakly bumping the headband that symbolized the great village. "When I destroy this."
His face was only inches away from Naruto and the two stared into each other's eyes, trying to read the other's thoughts. Sasuke's black eyes, dead and emotionless, against Naruto's clear blues ones, determined and wishful.
This was the deciding moment. The two raised their fist, mustering all the energy they could. Their punches connecting the other's cheek and, in that moment, everything was said. They both fell sideways to ground, lying there, tired and weak.
They couldn't fight, let alone move anymore, and in these moments words were the only weapons they have.
"You could've been Hokage." Sasuke muttered, the words loud and clear in Naruto's ears.
"I can't be Hokage if I can't even save one friend." Naruto replied, his voice much weaker than before.
Sasuke scoffed. The blonde boy had changed in the years passed, but innately he was still the same as always.
"Why Hokage?" He asked, voice not mocking.
"At first, I wanted people to recognize me." Naruto paused, coughing out the blood that drowned his lungs as he lied on his back. "But… now I want to protect the people I love." He smiled weakly thinking of all his friends and family back home. Iruka. Kakashi. Sakura. Shikamaru. Chouji. Lee. Everyone.
As if the thoughts of his loved one gave him energy, Naruto got up on his knees, limping towards the man that laid only inches away from him. As his knees gave out, he fell, staring straight down into the black depths of Sasuke's eyes. Sides reversed from that first time they fought here. Naruto pressed his forehead onto the other ninja's, feeling the slight warmth of the other.
"I think…" Naruto's voice came out softly, barely audible in the pouring rain. "I should admit defeat." Though Sasuke couldn't see the smile, he recognized it in the clear blue eyes, light and warm like the sky on a sunny day.
"Naruto." Sasuke whispered softly. He had noticed it too during the exchange of fists and even though he had decided to break these bonds, the tears still flowed from his eyes, mixing in with the cold rain.
The blonde collapsed, his face a breath away from Sasuke's.
"…" He whispered softer than before. In the pouring rain, no one could hear them, just the two of them.
Naruto smiled one last time at Sasuke, though the man only looked at the grey clouds, before closing his eyes, never to be opened again.
Sasuke woke up in the Konoha hospital, chained and locked away in a secluded room. His last memories were of the peaceful look on Naruto's face and the soft promise he whispered to him in the cold rain.
"You're awake." The familiar voice of his sensei sounded.
Sasuke slowly turned his head to look at the man that stood by his bed, using more effort than ever. Kakashi looked at Sasuke, but his eyes were void and sad.
"You would've been executed were it not for Naruto's dying wishes." He stated flatly.
Sasuke continued to look at his downcast sensei, though he didn't really see. Naruto is dead and he had killed him. The hyperactive, annoying idiot was now only a memory. Surprisingly, Sasuke didn't feel angry or bitter or vengeful or even smug. He felt empty. A complete hollow hole dug from his heart. He though he broke the bonds but in truth he had only buried it, locking it in the depths of his black heart, and now that the bond had truly been severed, he felt the pain of the missing piece.
"Is he really gone?" Sasuke whispered, closing his eyes. The incomprehensible, yet familiar pain was too much for him to remain conscious.
. . .
He heard the soft peeling of apples before opening his eyes. He turned to see the tear-stained, pink haired figure clad in black. The funeral must've been today.
"I asked them." She spoke, her voice hitching on the last syllable as tears escaped down her cheek. "To let you go to the funeral but–"
She never finished her sentence or maybe Sasuke stopped listening, but the image of a crying girl was engraved into his head and before drifting out of consciousness again, he thought:
I broke the promise already.
. . .
Weeks or even months had passed before he could maintain consciousness for a majority of the day. Except for the occasional guards, Sakura was his only visitor. Although they didn't speak, her presence made him feel somewhat relieved.
"Do you hate me?" Sasuke spoke, barely a whisper, to her for the first time.
Sakura stared her teammate, surprised at his sudden question.
"I love you Sasuke and I always will." Sakura stopped. Her voice sounded weak, almost on the verge of tears, so she collected herself before speaking again. "Naruto loved you too and he wanted to bring you back no matter what. What I'm saying is it'd be pointless to hate you after Naruto sacrificed himself to bring you back."
Sasuke didn't move or nod. He closed his eyes and feigned sleep. Then the days continued where he didn't speak.
. . .
Even though Sasuke had committed more crimes against the village than dismissible, he had be pardoned from any and all punishment. The Hokage wished to honor Naruto's dying wishes, after all Naruto had been the hero of Konoha.
Eventually he recovered and moved into his own apartment, but he still refused to speak or even acknowledge anyone's presence.
He laid on the bed, looking around the room until there came a knock at the window. Sasuke looked out, his face void of any surprise. The knock came again and reluctantly Sasuke got up and opened it.
"I guess I wouldn't really have to worry about you being healthy." Kakashi spoke dispirited, holding a basket of fruits and vegetables.
Sasuke looked down, the silence dragged on.
"Are you punishing yourself?" Kakashi spoke, breaking the silence. "You didn't remove any of his things."
Sasuke didn't respond to his question, but he knew his sensei was somewhat right. Naruto's presence was strong here, to the point of being unbearable, but he didn't want to remove anything. He didn't want to remove Naruto's presence. The warm chakra that he constantly ignored until it was no longer there.
"Do you hate me?" Sasuke mumbled. His eyes void and lifeless.
"I don't." Kakashi said. "I hate myself."
Sasuke looked up at the man who spoke those words.
"I hate myself for being weak and unable to protect my own students." Tears rolled down his eyes.
Kakashi left, leaving Sasuke feeling the same as he had when he asked Sakura that same question: confused.
All his life he followed down the path of revenge and hate, leaving only destruction in his path, and now that he caused such irreversible damage, he rethought his life.
What was the meaning to it? He accomplished what he wanted and now he didn't have the energy or motivation to destroy the village like he planned. He didn't know what to do anymore.
. . .
Days whipped by as he laid on the bed, slowly rotting away. He only stirred slightly at the knock that came on his door, but he remained motionless. The knock came again, along with Sakura's voice.
"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura spoke softly, but Sasuke could hear her clearly. "We were all planning to visit his graveyard and I thought maybe you'd like to come along."
"I" So the others didn't want him to come along?
"I guess you don't want to come…"
Sasuke turned over, and put his hands over ear, blocking out the voice. He could hear the sadness in her voice, on the verge of tears, and that broke him.
He cried.
The tears didn't stop and he didn't try to stop it. All the pent up frustration, all the hurt and anger, everything was released in anguished screams and moans. He hated himself. He hated the life he chose. He cried for hours before the tears no longer came. He laid there, cheeks tear stained and throat raw. The sun was going down and Sasuke used what little energy he had to push himself up and get out of the house.
He wandered aimlessly until the sky completely darkened. Walking until he stumbled upon the graveyard, Sasuke's mind seemed to clear up. He looked around, knowing where he had arrived at, and made his way to the graves of honored shinobi.
The name was hard to miss: Uzumaki Naruto, beloved Hero of Konoha. Sasuke could feel the tug at the corner of his mouth. He bit his lower lip, fighting back the tears.
"I'll do it." Sasuke said to himself softly, then louder. "I'll do it!"
He pointed an accusatory finger at the grave of his old teammate.
"I'll do what you couldn't. I'll become Hokage and protect everything you loved because-" He couldn't keep the bitterness from his voice ."Because you had to go die idiot!"
"So even if I'm not liked, I'll definitely do it. I'll be a better Hokage than you would've been."
He collapsed over the grave, small tears dripping down his cheek.
"Anyone would've been a better Hokage than that idiot."
Sasuke turned around. Everyone was there, standing behind him.
"We knew you'd come." Ino smiled at him.
"You've made a wonderful promise and as a man you should strive to keep it." Lee said all fired up.
Sakura came out of the crowd and put her hand on his shoulder.
"I believe it." Sakura said, almost laughing as the tears streamed down her face.
Sasuke chuckled to himself. He was terrible at keeping promises, but he'll definitely try to keep this one. To preserve the idiot's memory, he'll inherit Naruto's Will of Fire.
. . .
"If my death can take away all your anger, then I'll gladly die for you. So please, don't make her cry again."