Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto otherwise something like this probably would have already happened, or I would have ruined the whole basis behind the anime/manga without meaning to.

"Speech"

"Thought"

'Song verses/chorus'

Song: Leave Out All the Rest by Linkin Park

Leave Out All the Rest: Naruto Songfic

The moon claimed its silver brilliance amongst the midnight sky as a single shadow stood in its light, eclipsing the face of the Hokage the figure was sitting upon, their short bangs brushing lightly against their face with the passing breeze. Their clothes held a similar darkness in comparison to the night sky allowing them to blend in with the twilight, the pale skin contrasting this colour scheme as a hand stretched out to trace a line upon the stone monument, their black eyes gazing softly after the trail.

"It's a beautiful night, don't you think Naruto?"

As the figure rose their head to the silver aura the full moon emitted it displayed the last Uchiha in its wake, their clothing being that of an ANBU with the trademark animal mask laying a short distance away from the man, the prominent ears of the fox jutting up as his chosen identity. He had decided upon this particular animal for a reason, that being the Kitsune that was Uzumaki Naruto, his hyperactive team mate he always seemed to be able to brighten up any day, no matter how dull. He made him smile behind the usual stony glare that Sasuke was composed of, the only person enough to make him laugh and cry at the same time.

'I dreamed I was missing
You were so scared
But no one would listen
Cause no one else cared

After my dreaming
I woke with this fear
What am I leaving
When I'm done here'

Except now his smiles were made only my memories, and even those weren't working as the days grew on, and Sasuke began to get tired of being alone. He came to the mountain overlooking the sleeping village each night just as Kakashi did the stone tribute to look over his lost friends, knowing that the day after would only be able to be made bearable if he sat upon the Rokudaime's head, voicing his feelings aloud to a stone memory that could never answer- not that he didn't mind. After all if he were talking to the real thing he knew he would never get a word in edgeways.

As he grew older and wiser in each respect Sasuke began to regret the choices he made in his life; wishing that there was some way to perfect a time-travelling jutsu and undo all the wrong he had done and bring back the one person who still should be by his side, the person who kept the village of Konoha alive. The determination of the jinchuriki, the feral whiskers of the Kyuubi container, the strength of the Rokudaime and the pure smile of Uzumaki Naruto.

'So if you're asking me
I want you to know

When my time comes
Forget the wrong that I've done
Help me leave behind some
Reasons to be missed'

How was he supposed to know that the time spent with his team mate was coming to a close? How was he supposed to know that behind the happiness and energy lay a dying victim, a dying victim that death's hand was ready to claim? The days before the great Rokudaime's death were like all the other days before, the village in constant celebration under the new rule and each villager walking around Konoha with a smile on their face, knowing that for once there would be no threat of war, all thanks to their protective leader.

Sasuke remembered one time when he was resting upon the tiled roof of his silent compound watching the beautiful crimson sunset fall that the Rokudaime appeared by his side, sitting calmly by his comrade's side as if nothing had ever happened between them. He hadn't been wearing his usual Hokage attire instead wearing the famous colours of orange he had worn in the life before claiming the title of leader, his hitai-ate tied around his forehead in such a way that allowed his sun-kissed hair fall casually across it. Neither of the pair spoke for some time, each appreciating the beauty of the scene painted across the setting sky, the fact when a voice did finally brave the silence shocking the other.

"Teme… you know I always considered you my closest friend, my family but also my eternal rival right?"

The question seemed out of place to him, the words used almost announcing something bad was soon to follow but instead dismissed these morbid thoughts, turning to the blonde with a confused look on his face instead. He didn't know what to say in answer to the question, both knowing the answer but knowing it had to be said.

"Baka, of course I do. I feel the same."

Sasuke sorely regretted the icy tone he had used in reply, wishing that for once he could drop the charade he had pranced around in for so long in order to become the heartfelt person he wished he could be, to be like the man sitting to his side. He never admitted it to anyone, and barely liked to admit it to himself, but he envied Naruto. The pain he had felt as a child he thought could never be matched until he learned the past of his fellow shinobi, how he couldn't express any feeling to any other because his emotions were all that mattered, and only what he wanted should be granted. Yet here was Naruto, scorned and shunned by his own village because of circumstances he couldn't prevent, fate not only labelling him an outside but also doomed to walk this path without the protection or love a family could give him. At least the Uchiha had that for some time before it was taken from him. After all, it is better to have been loved than never to have been loved at all.

"Why?"

'And don't resent me
and when you're feeling empty
keep me in your memory

Leave out all the rest
Leave out all the rest'

"I just wanted to hear you say it teme. One more time, like always."

What Naruto had neglected to tell the future ANBU at that point was that one word in that last sentence was wrong; replaced by another to comfort him. That 'more' was not the true word to fit in that statement but the word 'last', the usually strong Rokudaime not letting on that he knew his time was near, and that he was soon to depart this life to lead one in an another place. That he was soon going to leave him to feel alone once again.

"I sometimes wonder if this village truly sees me as I am. Most of the smiles I see brought to my eyes are fake- Sai taught me how to see that."

'Don't be afraid
I've taken my beating
I've shared what I made'

A sad smile curled at the sides of the man's mouth, his gaze having since fallen from the crimson sunset to the hands resting upon his lap, the sorrowed stance enough to make Sasuke worried. He wasn't one to see his friend like this, the Naruto he knew was determined and strong-willed with his protection fuelling his very soul, wanting to care for the village even after all of the years of torture he had endured. To see him sad- it was unnatural.

"Eh? This village loves you, they made you their Rokudaime! They wouldn't do that if they didn't at least like you dobe!"

'I'm strong on the surface
not all the way through
I've never been perfect
but neither have you'

At this point it almost seemed as if their roles when they were Genin had came back and switched between the two males- he was now the possessor of the spirit and determination to get the other sullen male to notice him, his own depressive personality passing onto Naruto. The fact that he seemed to be so far in denial that he was even willing to diminish his own dream to fulfil it was worrying- where had the spark gone from his character?

"I just wish they could see past the demon in my stomach and actually look at me as a person, not as a tool to protect them. I'm no fool Sasuke- I know the real reason why I was able to be Tsunade-baachan's successor- the elders didn't want me being used against them. I'm only a weapon in their eyes and everyone else's. Look at me- I'm only to live so long as they wish me to."

The man to his side stood in the finally dying moments of the sunset, the last flickering seconds of light reflecting off his teary eyes giving them an almost shimmer glow, a beautiful sight in conjunction with the azure brilliance behind the water veil.

"Promise me to remember me as I am. I don't want you to think of me as just the demon container who should be given pity- think of me as your friend, your brother and your rival. I don't care what others think as long as I know you think of me as a person."

"You know I do. How can I not think of you as the hyperactive blonde menace? You haven't changed dobe."

But he had- Sasuke knew that by saying those words he was only doing what his friend hated, dictating a lie in order to comfort his friend. What was he to say otherwise? 'You have become a depressive person that could even put his past self to shame?' No matter what he thought the sorrow leaving the man's smile was comforting to him, not even realising his disappearance from the rooftop until he looked around and saw he was no longer there, only to instead find the necklace that he usually wore left behind, a scrawled note placed directly underneath the treasure jewel.

'So if you're asking me
I want you to know'

"Protect everyone you hold close- just like the memory I am soon to become. Remember me as who I am now- not the person I once was."

As he patted the cold stone underneath his palm fondly the ANBU didn't notice the pink-haired kunoichi approach from behind, only acknowledging her presence once she seated herself upon a spike next to the one he was resting upon. There were no words exchanged between them as he watched her through the corner of his eye glance down the smooth carving to examine the face they were choosing to accommodate, smiling as she saw the defiant grin of their former comrade.

"What are you doing here again Sasuke-kun? Shouldn't you be sleeping since you have a mission tomorrow?"

"I had to visit Naruto- it seemed much more important than sleep."

He watched the female's smile suddenly falter and then drop, her grief still not yet passed even with the few months that had passed since their friend's downfall. She had tried to move on and Sasuke knew it; returning to the Konoha hospital and resuming her work while he stayed stuck in the past and mourned, and he knew it but he was the reason she couldn't completely let go. When the Rokudaime passed on she needed someone to be there for her, she needed him to be there for her but instead was greeted with nothing but an Uchiha who only wanted to be alone. She needed him to help her move on but every time she tried to reach out to the reclusive male she only found herself to be shunned and after numerous failed attempts left him be, the two shinobi left to their own decisions on how to cope.

'When my time comes
Forget the wrong that I've done
Help me leave behind some
Reasons to be missed'

"He was never happy- not even when he made his dream. Naruto told me so the night before he died. He asked me to remember him for who he was at that time, not who he was before."

Sakura couldn't stop the tears from falling down her face as she suddenly lunged at the Uchiha surprising him, her fists while normally deadly pounding weakly at his chest, her tears falling off her cheeks and onto his as he grabbed onto her fists to make her stop, unable to prevent her from collapsing onto him now howling her sorrow at him.

'Don't resent me
and when you're feeling empty
keep me in your memory'

"What can't you just let it go?! I can't do it on my own- I. Need. You. Sasuke-kun!"

The last few words Sasuke knew were hard for her to say, knowing full well he had shunned her along with the rest of the village once his brother passed on. He had never openly professed his bereavement to any of his fellow shinobi, preferring to keep a reclusive profile instead and was often only seen leaving his empty home only to either participate in missions or pay his respects to the fallen Hokage. To Sakura's surprise he reached into his side pocket and pulled out a tattered piece of paper which he offered to her, the last words that the Rokudaime ever wrote.

"Because I was asked not to Sakura. If it is one thing I can do for Naruto it is this- don't take that away from me. Please."

His almost begging tone froze Sakura in the midst of her beatings- instead placing the fists on either side of the body underneath her to push herself up, the tears that had not yet fell escaping each time she dared to blink. Had Sasuke really been this badly affected by Naruto's death? They had always seemed to hate each other- well, not in Naruto's case but certainly Sasuke had enough of that emotion to serve them both- so how could he be so stricken by grief that it had reduced him to pleading with her? She picked herself from the Uchiha's body to sit humbly by his side, her hair now ruffled due to the extreme treatment it had just endured. She didn't know how to react as she read the note over, wiping her tears upon the back of her hand in order to not allow them to fall upon the last message their friend ever wrote.

'Leave out all the rest
Leave out all the rest'

"How could you not tell me about this before?"

Having already pushed himself into an upright position he watched Sakura react just how he envisioned she would once he told her- noting that even how her body was shaking in anger and resentment towards him the hand holding the scrap of paper remained still, not wanting to rip the last words of her fallen team mate. He couldn't blame her for acting in his way, especially not when he acted the same when he first read those words. The thing was at this point he wanted to place his finger gently under her dropped chin and bring it up to his gaze, wanting to brush away the grief he felt every day since Naruto's last message, not wanting to have her feel the same. But he couldn't. Once again, he was lost within his own mourning and unable to help his female friend in her time of need.

"I…I couldn't."

'Forgetting
All the hurt inside
you've learned to hide so well'

"I didn't want you to end up like me. I couldn't see another friend die."

"You seemed happy…"

"You had moved on while I hadn't…"

'Pretending
someone else can come and save me from myself
I can't be who you are'

"But I wasn't! I NEEDED you Sasuke-kun but all you did was push me away each time! You weren't there for me even when I tried to be for you when everyone else gave up…"

'When my time comes
forget the wrong that I've done'

"I'm sorry."

'Help me leave behind some
reasons to be missed'

"I'm just scared that I would forget him."

'Don't resent me'

As a silence began Sakura couldn't find the strength to reach out and comfort the now crying Uchiha, her own eyes softening as their hearts joined in sorrow, for once since their friend's death they were there for each other, even if the reason be that they are united in grief. She soon found the necessary strength to lift her hand to the broken male, offering the memento that Naruto had left behind back to its rightful owner with a sad smile.

'And when you're feeling empty
keep me in your memory'

"Naruto-kun wanted this to stay with you."

Once the paper had been accepted Sakura shuffled herself to sit beside her childhood crush, placing a hand around his shoulders as he placed her head upon her own, stroking the bare skin which bore the ANBU tattoo with the lightest of touches surprised at how cold the man felt. It almost sent chills down her spine at the icy feeling her fingertips felt as she forced herself to continue with the motion after realising that the stream of tears the Uchiha once cried had now reduced to only a few sobs, rocking him back and forth in a gentle manner.

'Leave out all the rest
Leave out all the rest'

"Naruto-kun wanted to be remembered but he wouldn't have wanted you to throw away the rest of your life for him. Don't you remember the first thing he wrote?"

She felt the male shift in her embrace as he was obviously bring the paper to his gaze, examining the first few words that Naruto had wrote as Sakura suggested. He had read the last few sentences over and over during the last few months, but he hadn't realised until now that he must have been skipping over the first words until now, only believing he should live on as long as he kept Naruto forever in his mind's sight.

"Protect everyone you hold close…"

'Forgetting
All the hurt inside
you've learned to hide so well'

"I should have been there for you instead of shutting myself away…that's really what he wanted…he wanted me to live the life he always wanted to…a life of being loved."

'Pretending
someone else can come and save me from myself'

Sasuke pulled away the kunoichi's supporting arm from his shoulders and glanced down at the hands on his lap, mimicking the stance Naruto had given him on the last night he ever experienced.

"What if I can't be the person he wanted me to be?"

'I can't be who you are
I can't be who you are'

"Don't worry Sasuke-kun; I'll be here to help you."

A/N: As much as I usually hate Sasuke here I almost felt sorry for him, especially towards the end of me writing this (I got sad by my own story, how lame).

I would have made him the dead character instead of Naruto but for some reason I thought it would work better if it were this way, since it would mean that somewhere between that lovely personality would be someone who actually cared for someone else, and actually felt the emotions of loss and the strength of his bond he tried so long to destroy.

Any reviews would be lovely as this was my first songfic of any kind. I would love to know how well you thought the song went with the story- it's just that I heard this song and I thought it was perfect for a situation like this.