Hi everyone! So, this is my first Naruto story, so I hope you enjoy it. Please note that I don't use the Japanese suffixes, so please don't hate me on account of that.
This was just a little idea that popped into my head that I thought I'd write down. It might be a bit too dramatic, but whatever.
Please enjoy!
Italics means flashback.
Regular is present time.
I do not own Naruto.
She'd never given much thought to what the world would be like without him. He was simply always there. She'd turn a corner, and there he'd be, grinning up at her with that ridiculous smile. But now that he was gone, there was a void. A void in the village. A void inside her.
So, she sat alone. Alone on the same bench where she'd vowed to be nicer to him, not knowing he'd come to mean more to her than anything. It was funny; it took his death for her to realize it. She took in a shuddering breath. She hadn't cried since she'd found him, colorless and gone, but she could already feel the water filling in her eyes. She continued to wait there, perhaps still holding on to the faint hope that he was going to turn the corner and smile at her and wipe away her tears. She could feel the emptiness gathering in her chest, suffocating her. That smile had filled her with something. She hadn't known what that something was until it was gone.
"I loved you..."
When he opened his eyes, he saw light. The full moon shined down through the clouds, causing Sasuke to squint. He was aware of the cold, solid ground and a warm, sticky liquid that was soaking into his skin. He looked down. Blood.
He gaped, staring at the puddle of crimson that surrounded the place where his right arm should have been. From the elbow down, his limb was gone, replaced by a flood of dark, metallic liquid.
"So you've finally regained consciousness."
Sasuke turned his head to face the boy next to him. His face was black, blue and swollen, his hair ragged and matted. His voice was raspy as he spoke. Naruto shifted and grimaced. Sasuke looked back at the ever-growing puddle of blood, noting the way it trickled from Naruto's limb. Or rather, his missing limb.
Then, he remembered. The light, the explosion. The fight that cost both of them their arms.
"It's just as it looks. You and I can't move. We've lost too much blood. We will die here," Naruto murmured. He gazed at the sky. Sasuke's stomach dropped.
The fight that would cost them their lives.
He squeezed his eyes shut as the world tilted and spun. His stomach roiled. He swallowed, hard. "Why would you do that to yourself? Just to get in the way of my plans? I... I had the power to kill any and everything that had plunged into darkness. Everyone I'd ever met, or would ever meet... no matter who it was, would always want to kill me."
He paused, and swallowed again. His eyes found Naruto, who was preoccupied with the sky. "But not you, in the end. You didn't want to kill me." Naruto still didn't answer. Something bubbled up in Sasuke, and his blood boiled. "After everything that happened... Why did you still concern yourself so much with me?" he shouted.
Naruto smiled. That stupid, ridiculous smile.
"You should know by now. Now that your body can't move, it seems your mouth is doing a good job of making up for it,"he laughed.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Just answer the question!" he snapped.
Naruto looked at him, and his blue orbs found Sasuke's oynx ones. He gave him a sad smile.
"Because we're friends."
"You've already said that! But what exactly does friend mean to you?" he challenged.
Naruto sighed. His skin was clammy and pale, and a drop of sweat rolled down his cheek.
"Even if you were to ask me to explain it, I honestly don't think I'd really have an answer. It's just when I see you carrying that burden and going on the way you do, somehow..."
"I just hurt."
Suddenly, it wasn't the hero of the Leaf Village laying next to him. It wasn't the future Hokage, or the son of a previous Hokage. It wasn't the boy who he'd hated for so long. It was the boy on the swing, all alone. It was the boy who stood and watched as his playmates were rushed away from him. It was the boy with the loud mouth and the ridiculous grin. It was the boy who'd do anything for those he cared about.
"So much pain that I just can't leave you alone!" Naruto laughed. "Though it looks like today we did a good job of getting that pain all over the place, heh?"
Sasuke felt the ghost of a smile spread across his face. It was the boy who wasn't just a boy, it was his friend.
It was strange. The Ichiraku Ramen shop was empty. Except for Iruka. He ordered, his lips barley moving, his words hardly audible. Subconsciously, he was waiting for a loud outburst and a chuckle from the owner. He glanced at the empty seat next to him. He watched as the Ayame bustled around the kitchen, her usual smile gone. Even Teuchi was solemn, his usual warmth having disappeared.
"It's so quiet," Ayame whispered. Iruka glanced up at her. It was. It hadn't been this quiet as long as he could remember, and the laughter had been seemingly sucked out of people. Iruka always preferred silence over noise. Now, it felt like an empty hole in his chest, a nagging reminder of who was gone.
It was bright. Too bright, again, and for a moment Sasuke assumed he was dead. But he was still on the ground, in a pool of blood, just like the night before. He nudged Naruto with his foot.
"Wake up, dobe," he hissed. The boy didn't stir.
"Hey, idiot! Wake up!" he rasped. Again, no answer. Sasuke's face fell.
Then, the horrid thought. It gripped him, and he groaned as his body began to inch itself towards Naruto. His friend's skin was drained of color, and the rise and fall of his chest seemed frozen. The world spun, and he pressed his ear to Naruto's chest and listened. Prayed and listened. Prayed and prayed and listened.
Nothing.
He began to tremble as he lifted himself off the body. His breathing grew hard and heavy as he stared at the lifeless body that was once Naruto. Nausea begin to build in the pit of his stomach as the seconds of silence passed by, seemingly growing longer each time. He leaned away from the body and heaved up what little was left in his body. His throat burned and his eyes stung and filled with water. He let out a cry, then another.
"Naruto!"
He should have been used to it by now. He should've been used to walking into apartments and seeing their possessions, all in the same place the were before their owner left. Left, not knowing they wouldn't be coming back.
His student's things were tossed and scattered across the floor. Kakashi expected nothing less. Shirts, pants, even empty containers of ramen hid the carpet from view. The bed was unmade, the sheets tossed aside. There were photos, photos of him and his friends. One caught his eye, and he moved towards it, slowly. He picked up the frame, and stared at the photo. The one of Team 7. He could feel the pick and burn of incoming tears. He swallowed, looking at the face of the boy who was soon to be in the ground. His hand started to shake. He forced his eyes away, and they landed right on something silver. It sat, abandoned on the desk. Red string entangled the shiny, silver spheres. The bells. Kakashi 's stomach fell to the ground, and a tear escaped from behind his mask.
He failed. He couldn't save his comrade.
Sakura was the one who found them first. She'd heard the cry; the hoarse, broken cry. She rushed towards it until she reached a ridge. That was when she found him. Sasuke, shaking the body of a blonde boy who looked an awful lot like Naruto, except there was no way that the body Sasuke was screaming over was Naruto's. She bounded down the cliff, her heart sinking with every step she took. She cried out as she neared the body. Her knees went weak, and she could feel herself shaking.
"Naruto?" she whispered. Sasuke looked up. His face was pale and sickly. He was covered in blood, and tears were streaking down his cheeks. Naruto's body was sagging in his arms.
She began to plead. Plead to Sasuke, plead to Naruto, plead to what ever God was out there. She collapsed onto the ground, and flung herself over his body. Tears began to fall from her face, but she didn't know why she was crying because Naruto always made it. He never went back on his word, and he said he wouldn't die until he became Hokage. He promised her. Her tears began to litter his face, and she wiped them away with the tip of her thumb. She'd never see his smile, or his eyes, or hear him call her name again. So, she cried.
It was raining. It was almost too stereotypical; having a funeral while rain poured from the sky.
Sasuke shivered as the cold rain melted into his skin, scoffing at the amount of people that had gathered around his friend's grave. None of these people would be here had his friend not risked his life saving them from Pain. No, it would be Sakura, Kakashi, Iruka and Tsunade standing around the marked stone. There would be no flowers. No rows of people paying their respects.
His eyes were latched onto the gleaming stone. A sob echoed through the air, and Sasuke clenched his fists as a villager began to cry. They had no right to cry like that. Not after the way they treated him. But then again, he had treated the boy in the dirt the same way.
He waited until the villagers filed out to go up to the stone. He trembled as the cold rain dripped down his back. His knees shook, and he nearly stumbled as he neared the grave.
"If we fight again...we're both gonna die."
A groan escaped Sasuke's lips and legs turned to water. He fell into the mud that covered his friend's bones, staring at his shaking hands. He could still feel the warm, crimson liquid dripping down his wrist.
"I'm sorry..." he choked as tears began to run down his face and into the ground. He clutched at his chest, trying to stop the empty void that was growing there.
His eyes found the stone cliff in front of him. He glanced over the faces of the Hokage's. He'd always assumed he'd see his face up there, one way or another.
"This is what you wanted, right?"
Naruto was dead.
And suddenly, the world seemed a little darker. A little emptier. A little more lonely.
Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!
Please review!
Best Regards,
Ivy