A Memory of a Memory
A/N: I actually wrote this before I wrote the story that comes before it, Omen, because at the time it was just another random, seemingly pointless idea. However, now that Omen is starting to sound like this story's prequel, I decided to make them companion stories. So...enjoy!
Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto or any of the characters that make up its world.
A downward glance. That was all it was. But, even though it was just a simple gesture that relayed shame, it meant so much to him. Why? Because he was supposed to be fearless. He was supposed to be shameless, blameless, headstrong, and confident. Yet he could not bring himself to fight back.
Fighting back against the echoes of your memory…
It wasn't really all that hard to give up, he found. Rather, it was a relief. To know he had failed, to know he could never repay anyone anything…anymore… It both shocked and puzzled him. But it wasn't like it really mattered now. Once everything was said and done, it would all be over. All of his pain would be gone.
I struggle through this pain that binds me to you.
There would come a release that would swallow him whole, would snuff him out from ever existing in the world…and then…the Fall. The destruction that would ensue afterwards would be his fault, he knew, for giving up like this. But he no longer cared. All those people deserved to die, for lying to him. Besides, he would come back, and grow up in a different world…a world that he would raise, and become leader of. The way he saw it, death to all the rest. They were useless.
You fell away and left me to just hang on.
True, once there had been people who cared for him, but not now. They had been taken too, just as he would soon be. He, too, would be devoured by this same demon that had overpowered the others. Just like the rest. He, too, would fall away. It didn't matter now. Come to think of it, it never did. He had stared blankly at the wall for so many years, yearning. Finally, finally…they would all pay.
I've paid the price for your transgressions.
He would sacrifice himself, give himself up to the demon. The strongest of all of them. The others had been eliminated. As the mortal demon had…Orochimaru, too, was gone. Just like the rest. Everyone. Everyone had been put down; destroyed. There was nothing left. No. There never was…There was a loud noise like a foghorn, and he stood in his dusty corner, awaiting his deployment. He was not the last one left. There was still one other. The one whom he still cherished deeply, but would have to let go.
And now it's time…time for me to say goodbye.
The door to his cell opened without anyone there to open it. It was his time. He was ready. Everyone must be eliminated. Everyone must fall away. Even his best friend. Even the one he cared about the most, the one who had saved him so many times before. The one whom he had chased after for so many years. It was time. Soon he would be collected by his demon, devoured whole and vanquished. It was not what he wanted, but so be it. He would not stop now, not even for a friend. The feeling that had washed over him so many times when he had killed the others; his old friends, even his beloved. His lover. That feeling of guilt, of fear…it consumed him, but he absently shook his head and tossed the feelings aside like an old shoe. This was not the time for old feelings. Feelings meant nothing anymore. He was to kill, and nothing else.
I try to hide my feelings, but I know you sense the truth.
He walked out of the dark, where he had lived for the past seven months. There was fire, burning all around him. Dull blue eyes focused on the last survivor. The only one left to kill. The emotion flared within his chest but again he blew it out. It would not be like last time. He would not lose. He had to destroy this boy, before he moved on. Before the demon wiped out the rest of the earth.
If everyone else leaves me, will you still be there?
A foolish dream he had once owned, to be the leader of all those who trusted him and even those who didn't. He had once longed for attention, for love, for…companionship. He had found it, long ago, in the spirit of the boy who now stood before him. This boy had abandoned him, betrayed him, despised him, yet had returned asking for forgiveness, because he could not deny their bond.
Or was our bond broken long ago?
Now…now this boy could not save him, could he? He had saved him, from the darkness, but could it work vice versa? Blue eyes darkened and narrowed. A dark growl could be heard for miles…Finish it now. But for some reason, he could not. He could not bear to see the dark eyes of his friend go blank with loss of life. He couldn't stand the thought, yet he longed to see him dead before him.
Where was I when we made the promise, to not forget?
He remembered, almost forcibly, their promise. He had told his friend that they would always be there for each other, right up to the very end. Was that what this was? Was he trying to remain loyal in friendship, even when his friend had been possessed and corrupted? Perhaps… A deadly smirk darkened his features and he laughed an evil laugh that made the other boy flinch. Was this too much? No. He was afraid, but wouldn't back away.
You saved me from my darkness, now I'll save you from yours.
"What's the matter, huh? Why aren't you fighting me? I thought you always said you were the best. Are you finally admitting defeat?" The pathetic moron. That's right. All destroyed. All will fall away. Best friends too. "Come on, Uchiha-san, don't you think it's time to give up now?"
"N-No…"
"Then you're making a grave mistake, going up against me. I have to kill you. There's no other choice."
I'll never give up. I'll never give up on you.
"You're wrong. There's always a choice."
"What other option is there? I'm gonna die anyway. I might as well take you down first. Heh…that should be an honor, since you're my rival."
"That was a long time ago. We're friends now, remember?"
"I don't remember you ever admitting to being my friend."
The other boy was getting desperate. "You promised me! You promised everyone that you would bring me back, and you did! Then we made a promise to each other, to never let go. To never give up. You never go back on your word, Naruto! That's your ninja way!"
You gave me your word, you would always remember.
The flames roared around them, but neither paid attention to them. The last spoken thought seemed to echo in an awkward silence that wasn't there. Your word, your promise, your ninja way…
"Argh! Shut up!"
"It's true, and you know it! You may have been brainwashed, but you're still in there, I know you are!"
Even though you may have vanished, you are still so very real to me.
"N-never go back on my word…"
"That's right. Your nindo. Remember?"
"Who…what…?"
"Please, remember! This isn't you! You're not really the one doing this! Come on, idiot, snap out of it!!"
"You are…who are you?!"
"Uchiha Sasuke…The one that never was."
It seemed to ring a bell.
"And I am…?"
"I don't know anymore…you were…no, somewhere in there, you're Uzumaki Naruto, the one that changes lives!"
"But I'm also Kyuubi…"
"No, no, you're not! I refuse to believe that!"
"THEN WHO AM I?!"
Please let me know these secrets can heal all of my scars.
The fire lingered around the two in a circle, the flames dancing playfully, seeming to hesitate drawing nearer. There was sweat dripping off both boys' brows, but still they stood. Was this meant to be? Were they to die together, or one before the other? Or perhaps never to die at all?
There were no memories to heal the confusion within his mind. He thought he could sense a coolness, calming the heat inside himself. Slowly this being was dispersing the anger. But who…? How…?
"I will kill you, and fulfill what I was foretold to do," he declared finally.
"You can't kill me," was the answer.
"Why is that?!"
"Because you're my friend, and I still believe in you."
You will save me, I know, as long as I believe in you.
Belief…it was a foreign concept, one he hadn't known in a long time. Seven months really did seem like forever when you were living in the dark. In the hatred. In the silence.
There was only one left. He had to do it now. But he still couldn't move. 'Help me,' he thought to his demon, but was answered only with a pulse of coolness from that other being within him.
'There is truth in what he says. He will bring you back…'
'No! I won't lose this fight to him!'
'This fight is not from without. It is from within.'
'Who are you?! What are you doing here?!'
'I am who you truly are. Believe…remember…'
Memories flashed through his mind so fast it was almost painful and he fell to his knees. Emotions raced through him all at once until finally he stood and just screamed:
"I AM NOT GONNA LET THIS BEAT ME! BELIEVE IT!!"
A strong pulse of bluish-white chakra flared out from him and doused the fires everywhere. In the echoing pulsations that seemed to respond, there was a peace that he had forgotten he'd had. Slowly, it began to rain…
Let the rain wash away all of my doubts and fears.
"What…happened just now…?"
"N-Naruto?"
He looked up from where he had fallen once more to see the other boy staring at him intently, mixed emotions flashing through his eyes; he didn't bother to conceal them this time.
"S-Sasuke?"
"Is—Is that really you?"
"I…I think…so."
He was crushed in a hug that would have nearly killed him had he not been expecting it.
"I told you you could do it, you idiot!"
He was crying. A rare thing to witness. But there was a finality to that last statement, a sort of depressing sadness that made a weary Naruto flinch.
'Wh-what is this…?'
"What's going on?"
The question was never answered. There was an eerie silence hanging in the air, and a cold blackness surrounding. The voice that rang out now was hardly recognizable, as consciousness was soon fading.
"Well done…well done…"
A faint memory crossed his mind, of the moments before the seven months' time, spent with Sasuke and sometimes Sakura too. Then that fading echo of a voice reached his ears once more:
"Thank you, Naruto."
The blackness overwhelmed him, and then there was nothing more.
As the fading echo of your memory sings me to sleep, I promise I will always remember…
Owari