When did Naruto get this strong?! When did he catch up with me?!
Said blonde threw back his jaws and emitted an animalistic howl, his enlarged canines stained in crimson. He stared at the Uchiha through feline eyes, a sort of murderous anger flashing across his face, "I won't give you up, Sasuke! You don't know what you're doing!"
The raven stood up and wiped a bit of blood from his busted lip, his slender frame rigid and proud despite the numerous times he'd been pummeled into the ground, "It doesn't concern you, Naruto. It's too late."
"No!," The Kyubbi yelled, fat tears spilling from his bloodied orbs, "Don't you dare tell me it's too late! I won't let you leave, dammit! Y-you mean too much to me!" He hunched over and howled again, forcing all of his emotional pain into one mournful note. It was one that would forever haunt Sasuke long after the fighting ended.
Sighing, the Uchiha took a step forward. If only the dobe wasn't so god damn stubborn! He cursed under his breath, took another step. How can I make him understand? I don't want to fight him anymore. I just want him to move on..
"Naruto,"he said softly, barely audible above the fox's raging, "I'm sorry."
"S-shut up," the boy growled. I don't want to admit that it's too late...
"Dobe, look at me."
Wounded orbs shifted upwards, clashing with glittering pools of onyx. Sasuke took another stride, then another, moving even closer to his best friend. He smiled tiredly, and after a moment's debate, tilted the blonde's chin a little higher.
The smaller shinobi stood there, almost immobilized, a faint blush burning into his skin. Sasuke...
"Tch, you're such a moron," the raven said, but there was no venom in the words. Without thinking, the smile faded into a smirk, then faded more still as those pale lips captured the other's.
The fox stiffened, the anger in his body being replaced by surprise.
Memories came rushing back, unbidden by their holder. Naruto challenging the raven to some pointless contest, Sasuke making fun of him, his desperation to prove him wrong, running full-tilt down a busy alleyway as they tried to escape a pack of rabid fan girls. What happened to us...?
Something slick pressed against the fox's unyielding lips, and he parted them thoughtlessly.
Sasuke's tongue slipped inside the warm crevice, tasting and touching, giving as much as it took. A pale hand went up to stroke his face, the other by his side.
The blonde eagerly met the muscle with his own, curious to feel more of his best friend. He pulled him closer, a slight hiss emitting from his throat at the feel of the Uchiha's flesh against his.
The wounds on their bodies ached and burned, but neither of the boys cared. One kiss--one true kiss-- was the very thing they needed to solidify their relationship. They both loved each other more than anything else, both wanted to save the other, but Sasuke knew that they both couldn't be happy at the same time.
He couldn't see any way around it. They both were going to get hurt, but maybe...just maybe...he could make the other boy hate him enough to override the sorrow...
Preoccupying his friend effectively with his tongue, the raven reached behind his back for a kunai. Forget me, Naruto. Hate me. Live for yourself, and for your own revenge on me...
Wordlessly, without pulling away or even blinking his eye, the pale boy plunged the knife deep into Naruto's stomach. It wasn't a fatal hit, he'd made sure of that, but it would do its job.
The blonde's eyes grew wide; he jerked back, blood dripping down his chin in a thin river. "S-S-Sasuke...W-why..?"
He hacked up a rain of crimson, his gaze fixed upon the boy he'd given his heart to, "I j-j-j-ust wanted...t-to help you." He coughed again, teetered on the verge of falling, lost his balance. Sasuke ran forward and caught him, lowering his body safely to the ground.
"Still a dobe..," The Uchiha smiled sadly and bent his head, curling pale fingers around the material of said dobe's jacket, "I-If only you weren't so...s-so..." A sob gave the sentence an untimely end. He'd ruined the relationship that meant the most to him in order to save the one he loved, but it killed him to see the frozen look of shock and confusion on the unconscious boy's face.
It's all for you, Naruto.
Sasuke sighed and untied his headband. I no longer have the honour to wear this...It's something that belongs to heroes. Something that belongs to you.
Slowly, delicately, he folded the object and placed it in the other boy's hand. "Goodbye, dobe."
He stood up and prepared to leave, then paused and walked back to kneel down beside Naruto's body. He leaned over and kissed the unusually pale lips, his forehead, each cheek. He didn't want to go.
"Please believe me...this is for the best...Please, you have to forget me..." With a final kiss, the raven stood up on shaking knees. He bowed his head and choked on another sob, trying to gather up the will to walk away.
"I-if you come after me.." he whispered fiercely to his unconscious friend, "I'll kill you, Naruto. You hear me? I'll kill you." He wasn't sure if he thruly meant those words.
Please stay away...