hi everyone ... well ... obviously i'm not dead yet ... but junior year's on its way and I felt like writing another one-shot. This might not be one of my longer one-shots but whatever. To start things off, I want to say that I was inspired to write this fic by a youtube video byAMP1317 on youtube and his/her video, Narusaku heaven. Awesome video. If your strain your eyes, you might catch a bit of Arkhe's "The Point" (go to my faves if u want to check it out). Haha. Anyways ... on with the show!

p.s. there might not be that much action, cuz its not the main point of the fic but I might. I haven't written a fight scene in so long!! :P

Summary: Naruto reminisces about his latest battle while looking forward to the future. Slight Naruto x Sakura

Always Wanted To

Today was going to be the day.

That's what he had said to himself that morning before heading out of Konoha, gear at his side. He remembered the feelings of confidence that filled him as he jumped through the trees, a pink-haired kunoichi to his right and the one-eyed ex-ANBU captain and emotionless artist to his left. Their mission: intercept a team of nuke-nin on their way to Konoha. And if possible, capture one of them alive.

Now, he was kneeling down in the mud, the rain storming down upon him. His sun-kissed hair stuck to his face, clinging to his skin as the rain continued to fall. Before him lay the body of the nuke-nin who was the leader of the renegade team. As he stared at his face, he could not help but let the tears slowly fall as he clenched his hands into fists and striking the ground.

A pair of black gloves suddenly enveloped him from behind, giving him the embrace he desperately needed. Turning around, he hugged her back, crying into her chest. Crying for what he had done. For what he had become. For what he had lost.

Sasuke Uchiha was no longer in their world.

The battle had been as fierce as the battle with the Akatsuki leader, Pain. Fiercer. The two brothers knew everything about each other. Their habits, their jutsu, even their specialties. While Naruto had been able to finish off the so-called God once he had mastered Senjutsu (Sage Techniques), the Uchiha had been prepared with the knowledge of its weaknesses.

Sakura had managed to quickly kill Karin with the use of her wide arsenal of medical techniques and super-strength. Sai had faced off against the last remaining member of the Seven-Swordsman of the Mist. Even Suigetsu, the last man on earth to inherit that title by defeating Hoshigaki Kisame, had fallen. The last member of Taka had no chance at all. After all, he was facing the Famous Copy-nin, Hatake Kakashi.

As soon as their fights were finished, the three had been ready to jump into the fight, but his pride stopped them. He had a score to settle with the Uchiha, and he was going to settle it today!

It could have ended as soon as it had started. Naruto had refused to use his Father's signature jutsus, the Rasengan and the Hiraishin. Begrudgingly, the Uchiha had thus decided to honor Naruto's decision to finish this with his own strength by refusing to use the Mangekyou, a power that he felt was Itachi's.

The battle had lasted nearly an hour with the two of them exchanging various elemental jutsu. Fire met with water, and lightning met the wind.

Utterly exhausted, they had decided to end things with their final jutsu. Sasuke brought forth Kirin while Naruto threw his mastered Rasenshuriken. Due to the nature of Natural chakra, Naruto discovered, to his amazement, that his control with it came much faster than normal chakra. His control came to the point where the Rasenshuriken had become somewhat of a yo-yo for him.

The collision between the two techniques left both ninja on the ground, one mortally wounded. Naruto had managed to crawl over to his best friend's body to hear his final words. Naruto had yelled at the "last" Uchiha to shut up and save his energy.

But the Uchiha continued: Protect Konoha ... like Itachi did ... Taking out a small scroll, he handed it to Naruto. Taking one last look at his blonde friend, the Uchiha smiled. Arigatou ... Naruto ... for being my best friend. Even as the Uchiha said those words, his lips curved into a final smile as the tears slowly crawled down his face.

Thank you ... for everything

And with that, the legendary Sasuke Uchiha left the world of the living.

And Naruto had cried. He cried harder than he ever did.

Even now, in Sakura's arms, he could not stop crying. Kakashi gave Sakura a nod before he and Sai left to set up camp for the night. None of them were in any condition to travel back to Konoha without rest. As soon as they left, Sakura returned her attention to the now quiet blonde in her arms. He had passed out, crying, in her arms. With a smile that hinted at the pain she was feeling, she lifted the blonde onto her back before jumping into the treas as well.

Everyone needed rest. But Naruto ... he needed time as well.

Leaning forward on the handrail, Naruto looked up into the sky. A week had passed since Sasuke's death. Naruto had honored him with a quiet funeral with the Konoha 11, their jounin-senseis, and the Godaime Hokage.

As the stars twinkled, Naruto whispered, "Sasuke ..."

The scroll he had given them explained everything. The council's plot to destroy the Uchiha clan. It also explained why they still had not found the "statue" where the bijuu were sealed. Apparently, the true founder of Akatsuki was the first and last Uchiha, Uchiha Madara. All hell had broken loose when the plot had been revealed. The counselors and Danzou had been relieved of their duty and put under constant surveilance. Furthermore, the Godaime had deemed it fit to reveal to Konoha about Naruto's heritage.

Clenching his fist, Naruto slipped over the rail and onto the rooftop, racing towards the east end of Konoha. Faster than the wind and just as silent, the blonde arrived at a door. He raised his hand to knock on the door. He brought it dow-

His hand wouldn't do it.

He could only stare at the door, hand ready to knock. But he just kept staring.

Could he really be willing to face his teammate right now? He had just killed the love of her life a week ago, and here he was trying to do something. What? He had no clue, but something made him want to just be with Sakura tonight. Just have her at his side. But he just couldn't bring himself to do it. She wasn't ready to face him after what he had done. Neither was he. After all, how would she be able to forgive Sasuke's kill- ... murderer?

Sighing he let his hand fall to his sides as he turned around to head to the Hokage tower.

He bent his knees when he heard a 'click' as the door opened, revealing the pink-haired girl in question.

"Naruto?" her timid voice asked as the shadowed figure in front of her stopped dead in his tracks. "Is that you?"

Slowly turning around, Naruto could barely nod his head before Sakura grabbed his arm and whispered, "Can you take us somewhere where we can be alone?" Once again nodding, Naruto formed a simple seal before they vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Sitting down on top of the Hokage Monument, the two teammates stared blankly at the village before them. It had been nearly an hour since the two had arrived, and neither of them had said a word. Naruto slowly turned his head to get a glimpse of Sakura. Her pink hair was a little on the wild-side, and her eyes were watery. Berating himself for causing her pain, he turned away when Sakura finally spoke up.

"They're not for him, you know?"

Slightly taken back, Naruto asked, "What are you talking about?"

"These tears," Sakura said simply. "They're not for Sasuke."

Completely confused at this point, Naruto stood up, ready to tear Sakura a new one. "How can they not be for Sasuke? Are you kidding me?" He noticed his anger building. "Five years ... Five years we spent hunting him down. F ... I ... V ... E ... Five!" How come I'm so mad? "Five years of non-stop training so I could bring him back to you! Five years to keep that promise ..." A tear fell on the ground. " ... That promise I made that day ..."

His knees hit the ground again as he buried his face in his elbow. "I always wanted to save him ... I always wanted to save everyone! But I can't!" It might as well have been raining now. "After all these years ... and all the jutsu ... I've learned ... I'm still that little boy who ... cried in the corner."

Naruto's tears slowed down as a pair of arms embraced him, and a voice talked back to him: "You're not that little boy anymore. You've become the #1 ninja in the village!" The tears had now come to a stop. "You did save him, Naruto. You saved him!" Naruto kept quiet, still breathing deeply. "You may not think so ... but for those last few moments ... he was the Sasuke we knew all those years ago. He was our best friend again."

Taking a deep breath, Naruto slowly stood up as Sakura held him. Facing her he asked, "How can you stay so strong, even after losing a teammate like him?" After not getting a response for a few seconds, Naruto started walking away.

"Because I accepted that he wasn't coming back a long time ago, and I realized that I had to be strong for someone else."

Naruto smiled as he kept walking. He raised his hand to wave good-bye before disappearing in gust of wind.

The next morning:

Naruto jumped in through the window into the Hokage's room. "BAAAAA-CHAAAAAN!!!" Quickly catching the alarm-clock thrown at him, he sighed. "You really need to stop losing these things." Turning to face the aged Sannin, he stated, saluting: "Uzumaki, Naruto, reporting for duty!"

The Slug Princess managed a "Tsch" before pulling a scroll out and handing it to the young man before her. "It's an A-Class mission. Think you can handle it solo?"

Naruto gave her his trademark grin before whispering, "Believe it!"

Outside:

"Sakura-chan, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Sakura walked to the Ramen Stand and sat down next to Jounin asking, "Hey, Naruto? What did you want?"

Facing her, he smiled before saying, "Nothing ... just wanted to do this." Leaning forward, he kissed her. Coming out of the kiss, he softly said, "Why not live life to the fullest, ne?" At the vein popping on Sakura's forehead, he ran out onto the street yelling, "I always wanted to do that!!!"

Cries of: "NARUTO!!!!", "SAKURA_CHAAAAN! DON"T KILL ME!!!" and "I HAVE AN A-CLASS MISSION TOMORROWWW!!! could be heard across the village for the next hour or so before the two ninja decided to just sit down and relax in a tree somewhere overlooking the village.

Started: July 17, 2008

Finished:December 7, 2088

As you can see ... this took a lot of time to write.( i mean ... really ... 5 months for 2000 words ... sheesh ...) In my defense ... I say that I'm a junior in High School. Haha .. yeah. I really hope you guys liked this little one-shot. I don't think it was amazing, but I do think I did a decent job. Anyways ... You know the drill!

Just a little note ... odd .... almost exactly a year after Jiraiya dies ... now another one of his sensei's die .... hmmm ... anbody sense a trend? I'm up for theories ... just PM me.

p.s. sorry for the delay in posting ... when i tried posting this on the 7th .. fanfic was being a *%*$ and refused to let me post ... ok .. so anyways .. I hope you guys like this.