It's dark. I can't see anything. I can't feel anything. It's just dark. Is this what it feels like to be dead? Strange. I always thought that Hell would be filled with flames. Now that I think about it, this is almost worse. An eternity of nothing. No light. No pain. No smells. No sounds. Nothing but darkness.
"Naruto." Wait. Someone is calling my name. It sounds so far away, but it's still there. Who is it? Who could possibly be calling to me in Hell. I'm sure that no one I know would have joined me down here. Besides nothingness cannot be penetrated by anything. So, why did I hear that voice? And why do I feel the slightest sensation of a warm hand holding mine? Maybe I'm just imagining things. That must be it. In the absence of something to listen to my mind is supplying hallucinations. This will be my curse for the rest of eternity.
"Naruto." That voice. It seems so frantic to get to me. Why? Does somebody else need my… No. Does somebody else need Kyuubi's help? That must be the case. They need me to help them get to the Kyuubi. That's always what it's about. Kyuubi. I'm sorry whoever you are, but I am dead. I cannot help you get to the Kyuubi. If you want him, you'll have to get him yourself.
"Naruto." There it is again. That voice. That strangely familiar voice. Who's is it? Who is calling to me in this nothingness?
"Naruto." Sasuke? I think that's Sasuke's voice calling to me. Why is he calling to me? He didn't die during the battle with Itachi did he? I hope not. Sasuke doesn't deserve to die like that. He deserves to live a long life with some beautiful woman. That's what he deserves and yet I'm still trying to grab hold of him and keep him here with me. I'm very selfish. I'm sorry Sasuke.
"Naruto?" I want to see him. I want to see him one last time before I surrender to this nothingness that will be my fate. I want to see him, but my eyelids feel so heavy. They don't want to move. I'm so tired. But I want to see Sasuke so I force the stupid things that were blocking my view of Sasuke out of the way as quickly as I could, which was actually rather slowly.
"Sasuke?" I asked. My throat feels soar. I wonder why. I don't think that I did anything that would damage my voice. Oh well, it doesn't matter. It'll probably heal in a few moments. That is if I wasn't dead. I wonder if it will work the same when now that I am dead. Probably not.
"Yes," he smiled. "I'm here Naruto." Why is he smiling? Or better yet, why is he here? I'm dead I shouldn't be able to see anyone that is alive. Let alone communicate with them. That is unless…
"Are we dead?" I asked. That is the only explanation. We are both dead and Sasuke is here to punish me for endangering the Kyuubi's life when we were fighting Itachi. That has to be it. That is the only explanation.
"No," He shook his head slowly. I must be seeing things though, because I think I see tears gathering at the corner of his eyes. I see. This must be another illusion that is brought on by the nothingness. I wonder how long I'll be able to withstand these illusions before I go insane? Is it even possible to go insane in Hell? I don't know, but I guess I'll find out soon. Especially if these illusions continue to show me these scenes with Sasuke.
"Where are we?" I asked. I'd rather like to know where we are in this illusion. I think, for my sanity, I need to play along with this illusion. If I'm going to do that, I need to know all of the particulars.
"We're in the hospital," Sasuke answered. Why are we here? That's strange. I've never actually been the one who was lying on the hospital bed too injured to move, but I guess that makes sense. The nothingness doesn't want to give me enough room to move. After all, that would be against the punishment that I will have to deal with for the rest of eternity.
"Are you hurt?" I asked. It was the only thing that I really wanted to know. Sasuke was my main priority. Forever and always.
"Just a couple of flesh wounds," He answered with a slightly amused smile tempered with worry as he got just the slightest bit closer to me. For a moment I wondered if I should move away from him. What if he decided to hurt me? But I don't care about that. I like to be close to Sasuke no matter what the reason is. "But I will be fine."
"Why are you here?" I asked. If he was truly uninjured as he claimed than why was he in a hospital. I never thought that he would be here for any reason except his own injury. It's amazing what my mind can cook up for me in my illusions.
"What do you mean?" Seriously? How can he not know that I'm talking about his uncharacteristic appearance at the hospital that he hates? There's no reason to be here. I guess there is one. Since I'm here, the Kyuubi must also be here. Could it be that he still needed the Kyuubi's help.
"Is your brother still alive?" I asked cautiously. I know how he hates any mention of his brother, but I have to know if I'm going to be able to help him. If Kyuubi's going to be able to help him.
"No," He shook his head. If Itachi's not alive, than why is he here?
"Then why are you here?" I asked again. I have to know. Even if this is just an illusion that my mind has made up for me, I have to know why.
"I'm here to see you." he answered cautiously. Was he only answering the way he thought I wanted to hear? I don't want that. I want to know the truth. No matter how much those words made my heart swell, I want to know the truth. I'm done living in this fake love. Sasuke deserves so much more and I can no longer stand to live with this pain that has been filling my chest. Please, I know this is an illusion, but please just tell me the truth for once.
"Why?" I asked. The blunt question made him flinch, but I can't help it. I want to know the truth "You got all that you wanted from Kyuubi so why have you come to see me."
"What are you talking about Naruto?" Stop it. Please stop it. I just want to know the truth.
"Kyuubi helped you kill Itachi," I elaborated, "so you don't need me anymore."
"You think that the only reason that I was dating you was because I wanted you to help me kill Itachi?" he gasped. Please don't pretend that you weren't doing that. I've known this whole time that you were so please just stop pretending.
I looked away, but nodded my head slowly so that he could see my answer. That must have been the wrong move, though, because Sasuke stood from his chair so quickly that it fell over with a loud clanging sound. My answer must have made him angry because he released the careful hold that he had on my hand and moved to the other side of the room to pace. He always paces when he's made. It helps him think. I wonder what he's thinking about now. I guess it doesn't really matter. I should apologize to him though. I don't want him to be made at me. Even if he hates me I don't want him to be mad at me.
Sasuke turned to me after a moment of walking and it almost looked like his eyes softened. I must be mistaken though. Sasuke's eyes don't soften when they look at me. Besides it's hard to see past the blurriness that's starting to form in my eyes. What is that? Oh it's tears. I hadn't even noticed. Sasuke did though, he notices everything, and now he's coming over to me. That's not good. Sasuke doesn't like it when people show weakness and here I am getting ready to cry. I have to stop before he gets mad at me again.
He's coming back now, but I can't get the tears to go away. He's going to be mad at me. Please don't be mad at me Sasuke. He's at the bed now. He's moving closer. He's moving on to the bed. What is he doing? Is he getting ready to hurt me? That's the only reason that I can think that he would be this close. That's the only reason that any one has ever gotten this close before. Sasuke's not like that though. He doesn't hurt people. Not physically at least.
Sasuke laid down on his side so that he could fit on the small bed with me, but our knees still touched. I have to admit, the contact felt so much better than I had imagined. Well I guess it doesn't since this whole moment is just my imagination, but that doesn't matter right now. While I was alive with Sasuke, we barely ever touched each other. Sasuke doesn't like physical contact. Especially not with me. I can understand that though. Nobody really does.
"Naruto," he said quietly. Why was he talking so quietly? I don't understand. I don't understand anything right now. "I told Lady Tsunade that I didn't want you to come with me to kill Itachi."
"What?" my eyes widened drastically. I wasn't even good enough to go with Sasuke to defeat Itachi? But I thought he needed me to go so that he could get Kyuubi. No. That's not true. He could have just gotten Kyuubi before he left. It would have been a much quicker trip and there would be the added challenge of my screw up. Sasuke was right it would have been better if I had just stayed home.
"I told her that I wanted you to stay home because I didn't want you to get hurt," he continued. Lie. That must be a lie. Sasuke wouldn't worry about me like that. It has to be a lie. Why can't you just tell me the truth Sasuke. "Itachi is really strong, and he's been chasing after you for a while. I knew that whatever chance he got, he would try to kill you. I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't let my brother kill you, but Tsunade said that I had to take you with me. She said something about not thinking that I would come back if you weren't there. I don't think she thought that I would survive without your help." he stopped for a moment. That's good. I need the time to convince myself again that what Sasuke is saying to me is all just lies. Just words conjured up by illusions from the nothingness. But they sound so believable. I want to believe them. I want to believe the lies, but I want to know the truth even more. Please tell me the truth.
He looked away from me. See. Now I know he's lying. People look away from you when they're lying. He's looking away from me so he must be lying. Right? "So I took you with me with every intention of protecting you, but then I saw you get injured and I couldn't believe what was happening. The only thing I could think about the whole time that I was facing Itachi was getting to you and saving you. The only thing I could think about was how I wasn't going to be able to live without you. The only thing I could think about was how much I love you."
"You love me?" I couldn't help it. The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop myself. I wish I had though. Now I've given him permission to continue lying to me, but maybe these lies aren't so bad. Maybe a little more time enjoying this fake love won't ruin me too horribly. It doesn't matter anyway. I'm dead and this is just an illusion. Everything is fake, but I don't care.
"Yes." He looked me straight in the eye when he said that. Sasuke's a good liar. He always has been. It's one of the best skills to have as a shinobi. I'm glad that he is so good at it thought because it makes it so much easier for me to believe him. "I, Uchiha Sasuke, am in love with Uzumaki Naruto. If he were to be sad, then I would try to comfort him. If he were to be mad, then I would be mad with him. If he were to be happy, then I would admire his happiness. If he were to be hurt, then I would beat up whatever idiotic bastard would dare do such a thing even if it were myself. If he were to hate me, then I would hate myself as well. If he were to die then I would kill myself just to be with him."
"Why?" I managed to choke past the lump that seemed to be forming in my throat. I don't care that I've asked him to lie to me even more. I don't care about knowing the truth. I just want to hear more of those sweet words. Please lie to me more.
"Because," he said as he kissed away the tears on my right cheek that I hadn't even noticed had slipped past my attempts to hold them back, "there is no person who is stronger," kissed my scarred left cheek, "faster," kissed my small nose, "more beautiful," kissed my tan forehead, "and absolutely perfect like you." He kissed my lips. He actually kissed my lips! Sasuke has never done that before. The only place that he has ever kissed me before was on my hand when we first started this fake love. His lips are kind of dry, but I don't care because they're Sasuke's. I'm so happy. Now I think I'll be able to bare the nothingness that awaits just beyond this illusion. Now I think I won't go insane because now I have this illusion, which has given me something that I never thought I could have. I don't care that it's fake. I don't care about the truth anymore. I just want this moment to remain in my mind just like it is for the rest of eternity.
"I want you to be mine forever," he said. I can't be any happier than this moment. It's just not possible. The only thing that could make me happier was if this were really happening, but since that will never happen, this is the happiest moment of my life even though it occurred after my death. Thank you Sasuke. Thank you so much for giving me such a happy life even if you didn't do it on purpose. Thank you so much.
Woot! This is the first chapter of Eternal Love. This is the start of everything getting better. I hope you enjoy this chapter. thank you so much for reading. i love all you guys who have sticked with this story so far. thank you. and as usual please R&R.
Oh yea! i always forget to do this. i don't own Naruto or any of the character from said show.