(I don't own Naruto and this is set before the Gaiden but after the Shippuden.)

The day wasn't gloomy, it didn't match the scene. The sun was shining brightly on the large group of people, almost the whole town had come, and those who hadn't weren't even in town. The sun was bright and cheerful, nice and warm too, today should've been a good day. Should've been a good day..

The kids would've been running around the park, playing with beaming smiles on their faces while the adults watched their kids joyously. Some of the ninjas may have even taken the day off just so they could relax under the warmth of the sun's rays. People would be having picnics all around, everyone would've just been..happy. But not today. Instead, the whole town was all gathered up in one place, every single person there was wearing black.

And everyone looked distressed or upset.

But there was one person especially who looked especially upset. The raven couldn't even meet other's eyes as he just stared at the ground, somehow able to weave himself through the crowds. He ignored his girlfriend who called out to him, he ignored his friends who tried to comfort him, he ignored anyone that even acknowledged his presence.

Because..this was his fault.

The whole town hung their heads in shame for not being able to protect him and relying on him too much, but it was Sasuke who truly had to hang his head in shame. The town hadn't done anything. Sasuke was the one who watched the blood drip from the poor blond's wound, the one who watched it all happen in the blink of an eye, the one who was at fault here.

Maybe if he just hadn't been as cocky..

The raven shook his head as he finally made it out of the crowd, out of the funeral, out of everyone with sorrow and guilt in their eyes. Everyone who blamed themselves, when they were all wrong.

He just wanted to get away from anyone he cared about, be alone for a little while. Mainly because he didn't want anyone to see him cry..

After a little while of endless walking, away from the town and away from everyone, the raven ended up at the stone statues, in the Valley of the End. It was mostly destroyed though, the statues ruined, but in a way..it was better this way. Madara and Hashirsama were enemies in the end, and even past the end. But Naruto and Sasuke weren't, they were friends at...Naruto's end.

Sasuke swore that he would never forget Naruto as a friend, in the moments of his best friend's death, that's what he swore. And he swore to protect his village, for Naruto's sake. Whether that meant becoming Hokage or not, Sasuke wasn't sure. He just knew that he had to protect the village now or he'd never forgive himself.

The raven sighed quietly to himself as he sat in the rocky spot he had lost his arm, the blood stains still there, the spot where he and Naruto stopped fighting. He may have lost an arm then, but he had gained something more precious.

And now..he lost it again.

Sasuke closed his eyes as he laid back, remembering what had happened to cause Naruto's death.

A job for the two most powerful ninjas in the village, if not the entire world. Naruto and Sasuke was zooming through the forest that they had grown up in together, one only having one arm, and one with a robotic arm. They've both healed well since then, and their stamina was up again. Despite for his appreciation of friendship now, Sasuke hadn't changed much since when he and Naruto were put on team seven. He was being smug, cocky, and kind of a dick. But Sasuke was doing it because he was comfortable now, and he knew Naruto could see it. It made Naruto feel more relaxed, like nothing had happened between them.

So Sasuke kept it up.

"Yesh! We got the plant!" Naruto cheered as he pointed to a small, green plant that glowed brightly. Sasuke frowned a little when he saw the plant, feeling a bit pathetic that was all they were here for. Lady Tsunade had sent them on a stupid mission like this, even when Naruto was supposed to become the Hokage next week. Yeah, the raven knew that they were still weren't at their strongest, but they were better than getting a plant.

"Oi, Sasuke, you alright?" The blond asked, looking up at his best friend who was now staring directly at a nearby cave.

"Yeah." Sasuke nodded quietly, still looking at the cave. It felt..weird. Like there was some type of presence inside..and not the good type of presence either. But the strangest part, was that he couldn't sense Chalkra..but he knew what was in there was dangerous. Was it bad that that seemed to make him smirk.

"..What are you looking at?" Naruto asked him cautiously and slowly stood up from his crouching position to see the cave. The boy had an unreadable expression at first, which only told Sasuke that he could feel whatever 'it' was too.

"No." Naruto said sternly, having been able to see what Sasuke wanted to do. The raven ignored him though as he quietly made his way to the cave, the presence feeling stronger as he did, and the scent of blood lingered in the air.

"Sasuke, we shouldn't do this." Naruto sighed and placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, but the smirking man brushed him off and got close enough to the cave where he was standing right in front of the entrance, the presence so strong that it felt like it was right in front of Sasuke, and it might have been.

"Why not? Since when have you been such a scaredy cat?" Sasuke taunted him a bit, knowing that might punch a sore wound on him, but it didn't.

"Sasuke, we're still not as strong as we could be. Going in there might endanger the village too. We should tell Lady Tsunade first." It was obvious that Naruto had grown. Before, when it was the beginning of team seven, Naruto would've easily gone in the cave without a second thought, but he seemed a lot more mature now. Sasuke wasn't sure if he liked that or not.

"It'll just be a quick peak, that way we can tell if it's a threat or not." Sasuke stated and took a single step inside. Behind him, he heard the blond groan since he knew he wasn't going to win this fight, so Naruto walked in with Sasuke.

What happened next was so fast, that even Sasuke couldn't comprehend it. Before the raven could even examine the cave and the blood stains, most of the blood stains where Naruto and Sasuke were standing, there was a flash of light and a scream of pain. Whipping his head to the side, he saw Naruto on the ground..with a giant, gaping hole in his stomach, with his own blood joining the stains that were already there.

"Naruto!" Sasuke yelled out his friend's name as he fell to his knees to see his friend, his face had a painful expression on it, but his eyes looked sincere. Sasuke couldn't help but shake his head at this, pretending it didn't happen. "I-I can get you to the hospital.." Sasuke mumbled quietly, but he knew that he wasn't fast enough to get back to the hospital in time, not when Naruto was bleeding out this fast.

"Protect..the village.." He said quietly, his voice weak and fragile, but his eyes were still sincere and joyful as the light slowly died out in them.

"N-Naruto?" Sasuke asked when he saw his friend close his eyes. None of this had happened. It was just a dream. It was all just a dream. He wasn't losing his best friend now, not when they were only supposed to get flowers. How could this have even happened? They have survived so much together but this one attack..this one quick attack while Naruto was weaker than normal..had someone planned this?

No..no..

No one could have planned this..it was just a dream.. just a dream..

"NARUTO!" he yelled as the realization dawned on him and tears flooded down his cheeks when he felt that his friend had no pulse anymore.

The presence..was gone.

Sasuke bit his lip as he slowly let the tears fall down his cheeks again, one at a time. Naruto was gone because of him, the happy smiles that could light up any room, his stupid pranks, the way he cared about his friends, every single thing about him. All. Gone.

He wouldn't be coming back, ever again. They had done so much together, they had lived through so much together, it was a shock to see him die so..quickly. So mercilessly.

Sasuke's heart ached as he let the tears slip from his eyes a few more times before he finally opened them, his vision a bit blurred from the water in his eyes and the puffiness underneath it. He stared over at the broken statue of Hashirama and whispered four special words, he wished that he could've told Naruto but he was too scared to.. "I'm sorry..for everything.."

But the words were swept away with the wind, just like his tears.

No one would ever hear it.

No one would ever hear how he felt..no one would ever be able to fill the hole in his heart..