This story begins after Naruto and Sasuke's fight at the Valley of the End. There will be flash backs of before the Valley of the End in Chapter 2. This story does have adult themes and later on, or sooner, it will have boy on boy so if you don't like where this is going then please leave immediately.

Disclaimer: I do not own nor will ever own the Naruto cast that is used for your pleasure in this fanfiction.

Chapter 1: With a Heavy Heart, Part I

Clouded periwinkle blue eyes sadly opened to the drizzly world. A petit body too small to be that of a 12 year-old boy exhaustedly struggled to get up from the too thin a rag the nurses had given him as a blanket. Ever so slowly with the patients of an age old monk the petit blond trotted to the window his only escape from the yellowish-white darkness, his darkness, which was his hospital room.

Outside of the yellowish-white hell hole mourned the citizens of Konoha with the loss of their precious Uchiha heir. Although, none could tell that the heavens cried of the cruelty that was about to happen to the golden-haired earthbound angel that was Naruto, or the way the great stone statues of the past Hokages miraculously wept as their hearts grew heavier with the disappointment for the people they had sworn to protect.

…drip…

A Singed sun-kissed hand roughly closed the blinds as the other reached behind and pulled out a hand-sized jagged piece of poisoned glass that had nicely been left behind as a present to him by the very nurses that had given him his blanket when he complained of the cold in front of the current Hokage, Tsunade, not a few hours ago, when he had quickly passed out, again. Scowling he hastily made a makeshift outfit from whatever he could find in the restroom facility being as he had no doubt the nurses had also so lovingly thrown his clothes away, and would no doubt become deaf at his request for them. Making a mental note to prank them after he had completely gotten well he transformed into an orange cat with blue eyes and quickly got out of the hospital with no one the wiser, not even the anbu that were, oh so carefully, guarding the door to his room.

Having cleaned his wounds Naruto went into the closet and set up a miniature chakra barrier with some of his clones and went into his mind to speak with his soon to be other self, Kyuubi.

"Hey Kyuu-niichan, how are things in your end?" An equally exhausted Kyuubi growled out its frustration and began to glow bright red engulfing the petit boy.

"I hate these humans and their pathetic attempts at killing us. The only one that even got close was that Uchiha brat and that was because you wanted to do it the hard way instead of actually using what you know to shut him up and bring him back to this filth of a place you call home." Big sapphire eyes became even wider as the giant fox spoke its opinion.

"Wow! You must really be upset, I don't think I've ever heard you say so much not even when I was three and those men wanted to rape me."

"Hump." Mahogany tipped tails swayed behind the elegant creature as it began to make itself comfortable letting go of the child.

"So, how long until I can go after him again?" Naruto innocently inquired as he began to paw at the tails as they teasingly danced in front of his face just out of reach.

"Well with that blow you took to the chest the merge will actually happen sooner than either of us were expecting and then the poison added into your system along with the internal bleeding and missing organs, blood loss…. I say we're looking at a week without any chakra if everything that can possibly go wrong does or two days if everything goes well. Though I must thank your Baba for helping me heal you at least to the point where you won't die now."

"If you want we can head over there now."

"Hmn."

Naruto calmly got up ready to return to the conscious realm. Not even bothering to look at the giant fur ball that had curled up while ribbons of red chakra continued to dance in every which direction disappearing into sparks as it was absorbed by the physical body that contained it.

One such ribbon was different from the others as it was securely tightened in an intricate bow elaborately claiming Naruto like a marionette entangled with another's strings. Yet, this ribbon did not promise death or demise but of the bond shared by mates, and stretched to an unknown point in the vast word that was Earth.

Naruto looked at the heated ribbon that encircled him comfortingly and smiled a cheerless smile as black-fire eyes with ebony silk tresses that artistically framed black-fire eyes imbedded in alabaster skin came into view. 'Soon.' A once charred hand gently wrapped the delicate but firm ribbon around his hand and brought it up to his lips caressing it with his breath then promptly letting it flow back into place. Having sealed his personal promise Naruto disappeared from the blackened corridors of his mind.

Elsewhere in the world long elegant fingers curled up as though trying to hold onto an invisible ribbon. Tears welled up in closed eyes laden with the sweet scent of unconsciousness.

"How long has he been out?" A golden-eyed man asked from the door frame as he observed a completely wrapped Sasuke unconscious in a generic bed in the medical ward.

"A few hours now, but I'm not expecting him to wake up for at least a couple of weeks." A silver haired man responded as he made a few last notes on the clipboard with Sasuke's progress before he too followed Orochimaru's lead and left. So no one was around to see the Uchiha's stoic face crumble in pain as he whispered Naruto's name into the empty room before he too let go of the heated ribbon in his mind's eye leaving a light burnt streak where the ribbon had once been held in his hand. Later, in the days to come, Kabuto would come to wonder where such wounds originated from when they were not there the day before.

Hey now don't cry, I'm almost done with chapter 2 and it will have flashbacks to show what happened the night before Sasuke left. By the way the way I want to know if people want male pregnancy in this story or for Naruto to be a female and have kits. I would like your opinion before I post the next chapter, please and thank you.