[b]Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, all characters and references belong to Masashi Kishimoto. So please don't sue me. The only thing I own is the plot.[/b]

100 Theme Challenge

#53 - Shounen

Pairing: Naruto/Sasuke/Naruto

[center]-[/center]

The story of Naruto and Sasuke is a tale full of tragedy and romance, heartache and love, life and death. Maybe I should tell you their tale from the very beginning.

The first time eight-year-old Naruto Uzumaki laid eyes on Sasuke Uchiha, it was love. Well, it was more of a crush than love, but his young heart didn't know the difference. Naruto was being forced to attend Konoha Academy because the pranks he loved to pull got him kicked out of public school.

Sasuke on the other hand, was at Konoha Academy to see if he could be a prodigy like his older brother Itachi was.

When they were twelve-years-old, the boys shared a lot of the same classes and became rivals from always trying to one-up one another. From rivals, their relationship grew to friendship and then to best friends.

Things couldn't get much better at the moment, Naruto was actually doing well in school thanks to Sasuke's help (not that Naruto would ever admit that) and the boys were closer than ever. But, as with all good things, it had to come to a tragic end.

At Konoha Academy, there were many things that the professors didn't talk about, one of them being Professor Orochimaru and his assistant Kabuto's interest in Sasuke Uchiha. At first, the general consensus thought that it was a professional interest seeing as though Sasuke was[i] another[/i] Uchiha prodigy. Days before the incident however, that consensus took a dark turn...a [b]much[/b] darker turn.

It was realized too late though that Professor Orochimaru had a sexual interest in the young boy. Orochimaru, having already fled to the location they had deemed a safe house, left Kabuto in charge of fetching the boy on his way home from school.

Kabuto, unaware that Naruto was coming up the street, grabbed Sasuke by the arm saying that he needed to come with him quickly because Itachi was injured. Even though Sasuke detested Kabuto, he would not take a chance and abandon his possibly injured brother.

Witnessing the exchange take place, Naruto silently followed behind until they turned down End Valley Avenue, a dead end road.

It was then that Kabuto noticed Naruto and knew that the plan wouldn't work with him still alive, so Kabuto decided to kill two birds with one stone. He could break Sasuke's spirit and rid himself of Naruto easily by having Sasuke kill his best friend.

Quickly, Kabuto injected one of his personal drug creations into Sasuke's body, then as the drugs were kicking in, whispered that Naruto was the one who attacked and hurt Itachi because he was jealous of the affection the two brothers shared. He then pressed a scalpel into his smaller hand and told Sasuke that he already knew what needed to be done.

With the drugs in his system and worry over his brother's safety, Sasuke released a tirade of anger and pain on Naruto. Sasuke and Naruto had fought plenty of times before, they were both boys who studied martial arts together and competed against each other as rivals, but it had never been like this before. Never had they fought with an intent to cause real bodily hard, to try and kill one another before.

At first Naruto only dodged or blacked whenever he could as he tried to talk and insult Sasuke, to bring him back to his senses. He tried to explain that he couldn't have attacked Itachi since they had been in classes all day together, but it had no effect on Sasuke.

It was when Sasuke got the first good slice with the scalpel in that Naruto realized that Sasuke was really serious and that he would have to do more than dodge, block, and talk his way out. Naruto made the conscience decision that he would fight back with his all and attempt to disarm or knock Sasuke out so they could get away from Kabuto.

Their fight was like a perfectly executed dance. They both blocked, dodged, and connected several blows like it was an art form. It wasn't too long though before they started to get tired and their moves started to get sloppy. It was then that the final blow was delivered.

Sasuke took several shaky steps away from Naruto, still holding the now bloody scalpel, an expression akin to horror and remorse on his face. He watched as Naruto collapsed to the ground in pain, as he clutched at the upper right area of his chest where blood was spilling out, slowly seeping into his torn shirt and running down his chest.

The last thing Naruto saw before the darkness claimed him, was his horrified best friend being led into a nearby waiting sedan with Kabuto.

~TBC~