Coming To Terms
Prologue
A blond teenage boy lay dying with a grim smile. The dark haired teen next to him, Sasuke Uchiha, the boy he had once considered a friend even a brother, had managed to get the last hit in their fight. The blond, Naruto Uzumaki, Konoha's resident pariah and demon vessel, was dying. His time was running out but he had to keep his promise to Sakura, his teammate and best friend. He would get Sasuke to return to their home even if it cost him the only time he had left. Besides, returning to the village without Sasuke would grant him the same fate. The villagers would blame him and they would hurt him. Naruto had used a mask for years. He pretended to be dumber and more oblivious than he actually was. He had no choice now but to drop the mask to convince Sasuke to return.
"Is it worth it, Sasuke? Is this power worth losing your friends? Vengeance is tempting. I know that better than anyone, even you. I know how hard it is resist. But what will it get you, Sasuke? What will it cost? The people who care about you? When your vengeance is complete, you'll be alone. I know that feeling and it's horrible." Naruto gasped out as his vision started to blur.
Sasuke watched his friend in shock as the dying teen spoke. Naruto had caught his gaze at the beginning of his little speech so Sasuke could see the emotions Naruto had never allowed to show before, the pain and loneliness which no one had ever seemed to realize he must have felt. Sasuke had no idea how to handle this new person he had never met because in that moment, he realized he had never truly known Naruto that maybe no one had. Naruto was right, Sasuke knew the feeling of being alone because he had lived that way since Itachi killed his clan. Now, Sasuke knew he couldn't ignore this. He had faced so much death that night so many years ago and for the first time since that night he was facing the death of someone who had managed to worm his way into the avenger's heart. Somehow, without realizing it, Naruto had come to mean something to him and now that same incorrigible boy was dying at his hands. For the first time in a long time, Sasuke felt ashamed.
Naruto smiled as he saw the shame in Sasuke's eyes.
"Go back to Konoha. Sakura's waiting for you." He finally continued. He never heard Sasuke's response as he was pulled back into his own mind.
"Go back to Konoha. Sakura's waiting for you." Sasuke heard Naruto say.
"Don't be stupid, dobe. You're coming with me." Sasuke argued but it was for nothing as he watched Naruto take his last breath.
"Don't you dare die. You've got more people waiting for you than I do. Iruka, the Hokage, and the others. You can't die, Naruto." Sasuke demanded desperately but he knew it was too late. Naruto was dead and for the first time since the death of his clan, he cried. He remained over his old teammate's body, tears falling down his face until his Jonin teacher, Kakashi, Kiba, a member of team 8 holding his allied dog Akamaru, Shikamaru, the hyperactive Rock Lee, Gaara, demon vessel of Shikaku and member of the allied Hidden Sand village along with his two siblings, Temari and Kankuro finally found them. None of them expected to see their cheerful, unpredictable comrade and friend lying motionless under Sasuke. Kakashi moved to bind Sasuke as the teen had left the village intending to betray it but Sasuke stopped him.
"We have to go back. I'll come willingly. It's what he wanted and the least I can do." Sasuke said. Kakashi hesitated but in the end he picked up Naruto's body and left toward the village after a quick glance at Shikamaru with the unspoken message to keep a close eye on Sasuke on their way back.
With little choice, Kakashi sent Kiba ahead to Konoha to bring Tsunade to the gate. Despite the obvious fact that Kiba should have headed to the hospital, the teen insisted on following her to the gate after retrieving Jiraiya and Iruka as Kakashi had requested. This did not bode well for Naruto's condition. Kiba was silent to everyone's surprise as the teen was usually as loud as Naruto.
The group they were expecting came into view ten minutes after they managed to reach the gates. All but Kiba strained their eyes looking for the blond they should have seen waving and wearing the grin they all knew so well but found nothing. As the group reached them they finally saw the blond on Kakashi's back. No one knew how to react. Iruka finally ran forward, pulling Naruto off the one eyed Jonin's back. He knew what he would find despite wishing to be proven wrong, he checked for Naruto's pulse but there was none. His chest never moved and his skin had already started to pale in death. Tsunade was not the only one crying.
"What happened?" she demanded in a quiet voice, with unmistakable traces of anger and grief. It was Sasuke who answered.
"We fought. During a moment of distraction, I managed to form Chidori." Sasuke gestured at the large hole in Naruto's unmoving chest. "While he was dying, he tried to convince me to return one more time. He told me that he understood my desire for vengeance, how hard it is to ignore. He reminded me of what it would cost. His final words were that Sakura was waiting for me." He finished his eyes suspiciously watery again. He didn't know why he told them so much but he felt maybe they needed to understand that there was more to Naruto than they had known, than he had known. A gasp drew their attention.
Sakura walked along Konoha's streets to the front gates to watch for Sasuke again as she had done since everyone had left on the mission to retrieve her teammate turned traitor. She had just turned the corner of a building leading her into sight and hearing of the gate. A strange group stood in front of it. Tsunade, Konoha's Hokage, Iruka, a white-haired man she recognized from Naruto's descriptions of Jiraiya and the pictures she had seen of the legendary Sannin in the Academy. They stood in front of the gate with Kiba, one of the members of the Sasuke retrieval team. It had to mean they were back or almost back. Her suspicion was confirmed a few minutes later as she saw Iruka rush over to Kakashi who had just entered through the gate. She listened and found herself glad she hadn't revealed herself as Sasuke told them what had happened. She gasped and rushed out of hiding. Halfway towards the group she hesitated torn between which of her teammates to go, the dead blond or the black-haired teammate almost turned traitor who had killed said blond. She finally decided to run to Naruto and she collapsed next to him tearfully. She barely noticed Sasuke reach out to try to comfort her. He had almost reached her when he pulled away but Sakura had already stood and ran. Her world had scattered and shifted and she had no idea how to handle it.
The scene seemed to set everyone off as Iruka started sobbing hysterically again over Naruto's body and Gaara attempted to crush Sasuke with his sand in his rage. Tsunade stopped them half heartedly with Kakashi's help. She was just as angry as the others considering she cared for Naruto like he was a son to her. With a grim expression, she announced the funeral would be in three days and left the group to grieve in private. Everyone soon followed through Kakashi dragged Sasuke with him to keep an eye on the still potential traitor.
Everyone, who had been at the gates when the team returned and who were not still hospitalized, attended the funeral. Konohamaru and his two friends, the rest of Gai's team, the rest of the Rookie Nine, the rest of the Sand team, and the owner of Ichariku ramen with his daughter were the only attendants of Naruto's funeral. The funeral was more upbeat than most would expect but everyone had agreed that it was how Naruto would want it. He was never one for depression and gloom and would have hated to see everyone completely depressed.
The night proved far more difficult as the streets were alive with celebration as the villagers celebrated the death of the demon and blessed the Uchiha survivor for finally ridding them of the hated demon. Sasuke cursed them angrily every time he heard them.
Naruto felt the life flowing out of him. His vision dimmed and finally faded only to return with the image of a damp, dank sewer in his mind. It took him a minute to realize that was exactly where he was. With a sigh, he followed the passage to a medium sized intersection. The back wall was lost in shadows and the bars of a cage started just before the shadows. A strip of white paper hung upon them with written characters on them. This was Kyubi's seal. The cage he had been placed in appeared in the blonde's mind the day of Naruto's birth to prevent the demon fox from damaging Konoha more than it already had. He had in fact damaged it extensively before the sealing which cost the fourth Hokage of Konoha's life and left Naruto an orphan and the pariah of Konoha no matter what he did. The relationship between the two was not very complicated. Naruto had not known of the demon's sealing in him until two years ago when one of his academy teachers had tricked the blond into stealing a forbidden scroll and then telling the young teen of the sealing while said teacher tried to kill him. Naruto would occasionally demand some of the Kyubi's chakra when he was in a pinch and the demon would rant about humans and threaten Naruto whenever the blond came. Naruto fully blamed the demon for the torture his life had been and made no secret of it in the last few months. It had been strange but Naruto had noticed a change in the demon spirit. She had become quieter as she watched the blond fight to protect those he had come to care for. Naruto had once wondered if she may in fact regret her actions so many years ago not for the consequences to herself but the consequences it had caused him to suffer when he was chosen for the sealing.
For the first time that Naruto could ever remember, he pitied the fox for he was dying and he knew that she would follow him in death. She would die because of his actions not her own and for that he felt guilty.
"Kyubi?" he called, not seeing the familiar red eyes and shadowy figure straining against the cage as he usually did.
"Yes brat?" she asked moving forward so he could see her. She moved so far that Naruto could finally see her whiskered features. Red fur covered most of it, only her eyes, snout, and mouth were free of it. Naruto was surprised that she looked at him with shame and pain as compared to the fang gnashing rage filled anger her face usually managed to convey in the shadows.
"What's wrong?" Naruto asked, completely surprised to find himself worried about the demon spirit.
"I'm sorry." She said regretfully. Naruto froze, stunned that for the only time he had ever known her, she had apologized to him. He had honestly expected her to rant about how his actions were going to get her killed. He had expected it and needed it to wash away his guilt but in that moment his seemingly endless ability to forgive despite such great pain rose up inside him.
"I know. You've grown soft." Naruto managed to joke with a small smile.
"Not too soft brat. This is your fault, you know." Kyubi answered back with the slight twitch of a smile as both of the souls passed. Expecting death, neither felt the pull of their spirits as they faded from the world of Konoha to another world for another chance at happiness and hope; however, his past would not be too far away.
A/N: This is just the prologue of a story. It will be completed in two alternate stories. Each story will be a possible ending for this prelude. Each story will be a what-if scenario. Basically, two possibilities of where the souls ended up and how he would remember and resolve the issues he had never faced in Konoha.