I've just been rewatching my entire collection of Naruto episodes for the first time in several years. It's funny the things you notice as you grow older that you would never have picked up on as a child. This fic is mostly told through flashbacks from Sasuke's point of view. The present is written in italics, while the past is in normal font. Sasuke's thoughts during flashbacks are also written in italics. Just pointing out that, I don't hate Sakura, nor am I into Sakurabashing. There are some points in this chapter that may seem like Sakurabashing, but I assure you they are not.

Disclaimer: Trust me, Naruto and his pals do not belong to me, or the story would have ended much differently (not that I hate the ending, mine would just include more SasuNaru canoodling). This story is mine, everything else belongs to Kishimoto, Shonen Jump, Viz Media, and anybody else that holds rights to it. Enjoy!


One Last Kiss

A Memory

I stare at him. I can't tell if he's alive or dead… My vision fogs. I know, I said I wanted to kill him… That I needed to kill him. But now, in this moment, every fiber of my being just needs him to be okay… N-Naruto!

It was the day after graduation, and everyone in my class had gathered at the academy. I assumed, so the teachers could once again explain exactly what was expected of us as Genin. 'Hmm, Genin. I'm one step closer to him.'

"Um, good morning, Sasuke," a voice broke through my thoughts. I look over at Sakura Haruno, and my eyes narrow. By far the smartest in our class, but other than that, she was completely useless as a ninja. She, along with nearly every other kunoichi, had been practically stalking me since second year. I am not sure how she actually graduated, but she is not worth my time.

"Hn," I responded in disinterest.

Her eyes brighten. "W-Would you mind if I sat next to you?" she asks.

"Back off, Billboard Brow! I got here first, so I get to sit next to Sasuke!" Ino Yamanaka bursts in. 'Oh, good God… She's so loud, she'll attract the herd… Aagh!"

Sure enough… "Wait a minute, technically, I was here before both of you!" "Yeah, me too!" "I wanna sit next to Sasuke!"

I closed my eyes and tried my best to block them out. Just as they were fading out, I felt a sudden presence just in front of me. I look up to see Naruto Uzumaki staring down at me.

Naruto Uzumaki. Class clown and resident reject of the village. He's been at the bottom of the class ever since first year, not for lack of trying, mind you. I honestly couldn't say how many nights I'd lie awake listening to him train until he was frustrated, and then keep going. We've lived in the same barrack complex since my clan was destroyed. Or, at least, that's when I moved in. Naruto had always been there.

'Why is he here? I had heard he was the only one who didn't graduate… But he's wearing a leaf headband, I guess that wasn't-'

"Naruto! Stop glaring at Sasuke!" Sakura screeched.

Naruto turns to acknowledge her for a moment before turning back to me… 'What could he be thinking?'

The next moment is always a blur. No matter what I do, I can never remember what happened between the moment he was glaring at me, and the moment his lips were on mine.

In a flash, my mind went blank. Time seemed to stretch in this moment, and to this day, I can't decide whether it was from shock or hesitation…

Both of us seemed to wrench ourselves away from each other. 'What the hell was that!' I couldn't wrap my head around it, and to make it worse, Iruka-sensei just walked in. I just hope he didn't see that.

"Good morning, everyone," he announced. "Now that you're all genin, we'll be splitting you up into groups of three!"

My eyes narrowed at that. 'Groups of three? Why? That'll only slow me down…'

"Now, if you'll all sit patiently, I'll assign the groups." He glared at Naruto until the dobe slumped himself into the empty seat two places over from me. Once everyone was seated, Iruka began reading off a clipboard in his hand. "Group 7: Sakura Haruno! Naruto Uzumaki!" Sakura's head drooped beside me at the mention of his name, while Naruto seemed absolutely thrilled. 'The idiot, he hasn't got a clue.'

Iruka continued, "And Sasuke Uchiha!" Now it was Naruto's turn to look disappointed. 'Oh, just great.' The image of us kissing flashed through my head. 'He's just not going away, is he?'

"Aaggh, Iruka-sensei! Why does such a great ninja like me have to be teamed up with a slug like Sasuke?" Naruto complained.

'Slug, huh? Well, you're not the only one who's not happy about this arrangement, dobe.' My gaze drifted towards Iruka. I was rather curious about his reasoning myself.

Iruka closed his eyes in mild irritation. "Well, Naruto, Sasuke achieved the highest scores out of all the graduating genin. You, Naruto, received the worst scores. We simply placed the best ninja with the worst ninja."

"Aah, what?" the dweeb continued with his rant.

"Just make sure you don't get in my way, loser." I muttered into my hands.

Naruto growled at me. He actually growled. "Hey, what did you say?"

"Hard of hearing?" I retorted. 'This guy… He's so annoying… How did ever get to be a ninja?'

That had been the first time. The first time we spoke, the first time we kissed… How did it come this? From that first kiss, to seeing him lifeless at my feet by my hands? Why, Naruto? What happened to us, to me?


And there's the first chapter. Right now, I'm thinking three or four chapters, as there's only so much Sasuke can think about at this point in time. I know not much really happened here, but please stay tuned! Not all of this will just be flashbacks from the show or manga. The second chapter should be up in a couple of days. See you, then!