Disclaimer: I do not own the anime Naruto or the characters written below in this chapter, all I own is the story idea but if I owned Naruto...Well let's just say that there would be quite a few changes made in favor of Sakura~


Chapter 1

Years ago, when Sakura was still a ninja of the Leaf Village, Naruto and Sasuke decided that they would have a fight to finally settle the scores and end their rivalry. Naruto wanted to keep his promise to Sakura and bring Sasuke home so he followed the raven that Sasuke sent him.

It was early in the morning, just before the sun rose and Naruto was sleeping soundly. His body was curled around a pillow, hugging it close as he drooled, that odd sleeping hat covering his head and mumbling something as a smile appeared on his face.

He woke to something continuously knocking against the window. He stretched, blinking before rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, wanting to go back to sleep where he had been dreaming of dancing ramen bowls.

Naruto still heard that knocking and turned towards the noise, slouching and still half asleep. When he saw the raven sitting there on the window sill, he couldn't tear his eyes away from it. He remembered how Itachi used ravens but he was dead and something inside of him told him that the raven had to do with Sasuke Uchiha, Itachi's younger brother and his ex-best friend.

He was wide awake and quickly dressed, believing that it was sent to him for a reason and if he followed it he would find Sasuke.

It led Naruto to Sasuke's location but Sasuke didn't plan on going back to the Leaf Village. He planned on getting rid of the little pest that was always following him around and standing in his way. They fought with every ounce of power they had, each fighting for different reasons.

Sasuke had already killed Itachi, found out the truth, tried to get revenge on the Leaf Village, failed and had nothing left to loose or care about. He only had one last thing that he gave the slightest thought to. He needed to completely cut ties with his old village, he needed to kill the annoyance that always came into his thoughts and reminded him constantly of his past.

For Naruto it had taken him years and many failed attempts for him to bring Sasuke back to the Leaf Village and fulfill his promise to Sakura. He knew that she no longer cared about that promise but he did. When Naruto Uzumaki made a promise, he would keep it no matter what or how long it took.

They fought for hours with fatal wounds continuously bleeding; they fought until their last breath. When they both finally collapsed from blood loss and their wounds, they were both using all the energy they had left just to breathe. Sasuke was face down, blood pooling where he lay, blood trickling from the side of his mouth, and his vision becoming fuzzy.

Naruto had fallen to his back, struggling to breathe as blood pooled in his lungs and seeped from the wounds that covered his body. He watched the sky and tried to will his body to heal itself, to move, to do anything… but he couldn't. All he could do was lay there, lay there like a corpse and wait for death. Even the Kyuubi's chakra couldn't help him now.

He blinked, trying to clear his eyes of the tears that began to creep into them. He saw Sakura's face in front of him, smiling, and all he could think was, 'I'm so sorry Sakura. I failed you. I was too weak to fulfill my promise to you and bring Sasuke back…'

In the Leaf Village, Sakura was worried because she had searched the entire village for Naruto. She had asked everyone she knew and other villagers, desperately searching for the bird brained knuckle head. No one knew where he went.

Everyone was searching for him, everyone was worried. Sakura wished that Kakashi was around for this, but no, he just had to be away on a mission. Sakura had enough and asked Kiba if she could borrow Akamaru. He agreed and the two of them were following Naruto's scent.

Sakura was riding on Akamaru's back since he wouldn't move until she did. He was faster than her so it was only logical to him. The scent led out of the village and Sakura felt dread clench her heart when Akamaru began whining. She buried her hands in his fur in an attempt to calm him and herself.

She told him to run faster and he complied. When he stopped she got off and Akamaru wouldn't move, no matter how much she tried to coax him, he only whimpered and pointed his nose in the direction he wanted Sakura to go. She was confused but she didn't have time to try and figure out why Akamaru was acting so strangely.

On their way they had seen massive damage done to the forest but as Sakura went into the clearing that damage looked like child's play. Everything was destroyed and Sakura was looking around hurriedly, trying to find the ninja that was her best friend and she loved like a brother.

When her eyes found him she saw Sasuke lying face down a few yards away and she couldn't care less. Naruto was lying face up on the ground, covered in wounds and from a distance Sakura couldn't even tell if he was breathing. "Naruto!" She cried as she rushed to him.

His forehead protector was lying above his head, resembling a halo. Tears ran down her face as she cradled him in her arms. "Sakura?" Sakura only cried harder as she heard how weak his voice was. He heard her voice, believing he was in heaven, her voice only a comforting illusion. She sent chakra through his body and couldn't stop the wail that escaped her lips.

She wouldn't be able to heal him, no one would… "I-I'm here Naruto. Please s-stay with me…" Sobbing as she watched his eyes blink and his lips curl into a smile. Naruto had lost his sight but knew it was her by the scent of cherry blossoms that enveloped him, comforting him. "Sakura… I'm sorry; I wasn't strong enough to bring Sasuke back to the village…"

Sakura bit her lower lip, she knew what she was about to do was wrong but she didn't care. She smiled sweetly down at him and kissed his forehead, using a softer, happier voice as she spoke. "Silly Naruto, we are in the Leaf Village. I found you and Sasuke and brought you back. You didn't fail me Naruto, you fulfilled your promise and I am so thankful to you for everything you have done for me. I am so grateful to have you as a best friend Naruto."

If it had been any other circumstance Naruto would have blushed at Sakura's words. He smiled. "I'm so glad Sakura, I was so worried…" His voice was fading fast and Sakura wanted to do one last thing for her best friend, remembering one of his wishes. She leaned in and kissed him, his lips were covered in his blood and his skin was becoming cold but she didn't care because this would be the last thing that she could do for the friend that had given his very life to keep his promise that he made to her when they were children.

She pulled away as he tears fell from her eyes and slid down his face, hugged him tightly, whispering in his ear. "Naruto, always remember that I love you." A few seconds after she said those words his heart gave its final beat. He died with a smile on his face and his blue eyes looking up to the sky. Sakura trembled as she laid his body on the ground and closed his eyes.

She screamed and wailed his name over and over as the tears streamed down her face, showing no signs of stopping. Their friends came crashing through the forest into the clearing, yelling Naruto and Sakura's names in a frenzied panic. What they saw saddened them to their cores and would be forever engraved into their memories.

They now knew why Sakura was screaming and Kiba knew why he saw Akamaru just sitting there with his head down outside of the clearing. Everyone was crying and sobbing, all of them sad to have lost one of their best friends. Shikamaru was crying but he was the only one to either notice Sasuke's body lying face first in the dirt or the only one to care.

He went over to check if Sasuke was still alive only to hear Sakura's sobbing temporarily stop. "Don't bother; he's already dead by now." Even though he heard Sakura he checked for Sasuke's pulse only to find it nonexistent.

After half an hour Sakura just sat in front of Naruto's corpse, no longer crying, her hair covering her eyes. Her friends looked at each other, trying to decide who should go check on her. Before they could Sakura gathered Naruto's body in her arms and turned to her friends. "We should get back to the Leaf Village; Lady Tsunade will want a full report…"

Her voice was cold, emotionless, and no could see her eyes. Only Kiba and Akamaru could hear what she said next. "We have to get them back for their funeral…" It was barely louder than a whisper and her voice was breaking on almost every word, showing how heartbroken she was.

Ino was the first to speak. "She's right, let's go." Sakura carried Naruto's body the entire trip back to the village, never taking even a glance at Sasuke's corpse. Hinata was there with them and was forlorn over the love of her life's death but she knew that his death had affected Sakura more.

A pang of jealously coursed through her as she watched Sakura carrying all that was left of the Naruto they knew. The two of them had been so close from the beginning, like siblings, but Naruto always loved Sakura. Nothing could change that even when Naruto left for years, training, he came back and still loved her.

Hinata realized how petty she was being. Her friend had died, Sakura had the right to carry her best friend's body and be close to him after what she had been through. Neji noticed Sakura's avoidance of Sasuke and knew that she blamed him for Naruto's death, but she blamed herself even more. If it hadn't been for that promise Naruto made her when they were younger he would have possibly let Sasuke go.

Neji shook his head. No, Naruto wouldn't have ever let one of his friends go, no matter who they were, promise or not. Naruto had proven that point time and time again through the years. He was simply looking for someone to blame Naruto's death on. He knew it wasn't fair on Sakura because the guilt she felt couldn't be worse and he would never know her pain, her sorrow.