This is a tribute to Masashi Kishimoto who gave us 15 years of happiness, tragedy and great feelings including SasuNaru moments by his wonderful series "Naruto".
To deal with all the rushed events in the last 2 chapters I thought of a realistic scenario why everything may have developed this way up to chapter 700 and above. It's seen under the aspect of Sasunaru and contains Shounen Ai (boy's love), but no Yaoi. It's mostly about feelings, so who's looking for erotic scenes is wrong here. Also people who don't like Sasunaru and BL shouldn't read this.
Who doesn't want spoilers about the last chapters shouldn't read this as well (Gee, is there now anyone left who'll read it? XD)
To all the others:
Be prepared for sadness and pain, hold your handkerchiefs in direct grasp and please don't hate me! This is just a possible explanation I thought of, it claims not to be real, though it could be.
After the fight, when we laid there on the cold stone, not able to move, our blood flowing together, uniting to one stream of life, like it should have been from the very beginning, all I could think of was: He kept his word, we'll die together.
And I was happy about that.
Naruto above all the other persons in my life was the only one who never disappointed me, the only one who always kept his word, who cared for me despite of any commands or common sense. He stood by my side in my darkest moments and nothing I said or did could drive him away from me. No matter how hard I tried. And I tried really hard.
It's just fair that we should be united in death now like we never were able to be in life.
That's what I thought... but it came differently.
We survived.
I stood in front of a door and hesitated. It was his door. They had divided the hospital in two different areas, one for the citizens of Konoha and the other for outsiders. Just to be on the safe side.
Addingly my room was put under strict custody. I was one of the bad guys after all and nothing my old teammates felt and said could change anything about it. It didn't matter for me anyway. Neither guards nor barriers could keep me from going where I wanted to. I entered his room.
He still was sleeping in his characteristically dumb open-mouth-way while snoring and drooling his saliva all over his pillow. The only thing that missed to remind me of old times was his ridiculous nightcap with felt-eyes patched on it. Naruto never felt too embarrassed to make himself the target of merciless mockery. He always stood up to his obnoxious preferences. This childish idiot.
So loveable.
I approached further to his bed and as if he'd sensed me, he started to produce choking noises, turned from right to left and finally opened his amazing blue eyes.
"Naah, Sasuke. Watcha doin'? Can't sleep?"
"Hn."
He sat up, yawned, and then showed me his broadest grin he was capable of. You wouldn't think this idiot just had lost his right arm.
"You should go train with me then.", he suggested all fired up.
"Are you dumbminded? Didn't you suffer enough from our last encounter?"
"Naa, I'm almost as good as new. Don't know why they still keep me here. ...and also it's just for fun this time."
"I need a rest." I sat down on the edge of his bed, mustering him from top to toe. Was it the Kyuubi that provided him with all this energy or was it his own genuine ability? Whatever the reason, it was amazing. He was amazing.
He looked at me in a thoughtful way.
"Sasuke, are you mad at me because I... uhm, made you lose your arm?"
I snorted. "I could ask you the same, idiot."
He tried to scratch his head. It made me feel guilty when he, in his first attempt, raised the stump of his right arm, just to remember that there was nothing left with which he could reach his top. He shrugged and clumsily used his left arm instead, smiling like the carefree idiot he was.
I looked away since I no longer could bear the pain of the thought that I had brought all that damage over him and myself.
"Do you... do you regret it, Naruto?" I murmured, persistently fixating my eyes on the floor.
"I mean..., chasing after me all these years and finally harvesting... this."
There was a moment of silence between us. I heard nothing but the pounding of my heart and the light wind blowing outside.
"No.", he confirmed straightly after a short while, though to me it had seemed like half an eternity.
"Hell, you're back, Sasuke!" He excitedly hugged me with his left arm. "What's an arm for it in exchange? It's nothing!"
I heavily gulped on his words. The closeness to his body made me feel uneasy and I pushed him off. He looked at me as if I had punched him in his face.
"What's the matter, Sasuke?"
The irritation in his eyes made me sick, all of this here did. Why was he so happy? He should hate me. I definitely hated me, so why didn't he do the same?
Though I had given in to his plead to go on living, back then on the stone, I hadn't forgotten about the things I had done to come this far. All the things I had done to him...
I clenched my fist.
"Did... did I do anything wrong?" His blue eyes showed uncertainty and slight signs of guilt.
"HA!" I couldn't but cry out at this unbelievably silly question.
"Aren't you aware of the fact that I tried to kill you?" I shouted.
"Sure." He didn't seem to care.
"And aren't you afraid I'd try it again?"
"Do you?" There was neither fear nor nervousness in his voice, just curiosity.
I seriously got mad about that.
"What if?" I snapped back. "What if I just lulled you in by my words and in reality waited for a chance to complete my goal?"
I brought myself closer to him and whispered in his ear: "What if I decided to kill you now?"
He shivered, which made me feel kind of satisfied. He had to face the danger which I still represented for him, he had to become aware that I wasn't his fluffy comrade from 3 years before. He had to kill me if he wanted to be secure. Either that or...
He snickered. I looked up in irritation.
"Ahahaha, Sasuke that tickles. Don't joke around." He gently pushed me away. So easily, This... unbelievable idiot.
"MORON!" I shouted. "I'm NOT joking! Just look at me! How can you even think I'm joking?"
He looked at me and frowned. "How, you ask... Well, you're still talking, aren't you?"
This reply made me speechless for a moment.
"If you really wanted to kill me, you would have done it the moment you entered my room, when I was sleeping and defenseless. Ne Sasuke? You'd never let a proper opportunity pass by." He smiled.
I was stunned. How? How could he look through me? Why? Why, damn him! WHY?!
My composure collapsed like a paper work in the midst of monsoon. I broke down, holding a hand over my stomach and against my will tears ran down my face.
"Why can't you just kill me, Naruto?", I sobbed. "Damn you, why can't you even hate me, idiot? Everybody else does, so why not you?"
"Because...", he hesitated. "...I kind of feel what you feel, Sasuke." He scratched his head and a slight blush appeared on his face.
"Come on, don't let me repeat myself, haha. We already spoke about it." He was so embarrassed, he couldn't look straight at me anymore. The blush on his face was adorable, but I couldn't hold my look at him. I felt too guilty, so I stared down on the floor and like in a cramp desperately clenched my fist in the sheets of his bed. He laid his hand over mine and this simple gesture of sympathy let me shake up from my self-pity! Why could he be so soothing to someone who had hurt him in such a bad way?
"Naruto..." I spoke as if I had a lump in my throat. "I..." I grabbed his hand and brought my face near to his.
"Naruto, could you imagine to..." My voice trembled and my lips almost brushed his skin. My eyes got blurry like in a Genjutsu, I gazed at him as if he was the only person existing in this world and at that moment it really seemed like that. Even he could feel the tension building up between us. He started to fidget.
"Eeeeh? S..sasuke? Wh...what are you doing? You're..." He was sweating heavily. "You're not trying to... ehehe, k..kiss me now, are you?" His eyes showed panick and disbelief.
So, it seemed I already found the answer to my unspoken question. It was sobering me like a cold shower,
"No." I drew back my hand abruptly and turned away.
"Wh..what did you want to ask me?"
"Nothing."
"But you just started to..."
"It was nothing, I said."
A moment of glum silence.
"Are you... afraid of the future, because... of your past?"
I didn't answer, I... couldn't. He always hit bulls-eye and yet he didn't guess it properly this time. Maybe he just didn't want to.
"Come on, Sasuke, forget about that. You can start a new life now."
"I don't think so." My voice was steady again, as I intended. "They'll probably execute me for treason or, even worse, put me in jail for the rest of my life. Personally I'd prefer a quick execution."
"Are you NUTS?!" Naruto still was a loud one. "How can you even THINK of such a weird idea?!They'll never do something like that! You saved our asses, maaan, you..."
"I left the village, Naruto." Now my voice was icy, which made him shut his trap. Finally.
"I almost killed you when you tried to 'save me', did you forget?"
"But... that was..."
"I teamed up with Orochimaru, who killed the Third amongst a lot of other people. I did it out of my own free will, just for my benefit, I didn't care about betraying everyone and everything I always believed in. I became a soulless existence on the way into damnation. I committed unimaginable crimes just in order to gain more power."
"But... but you killed him in the end, didn't you?"
I glared at him. "For my own selfish reasons."
"Even though..."
"I killed my brother Itachi, the only remaining Uchiha except me. My brother who loved me like no other person in this world and suffered the fate of a traitor just in order to protect me."
"You couldn't know about that! He killed your whole family! You couldn't know he was forced to do it and put up an act on you."
"You're right, I couldn't know. But when I learned about the truth I planned to destroy Konoha and kill everyone I ever knew, especially you, Naruto."
"I know, I..."
"I raided the meeting of the 5 Kages, attacked the Raikage and crippled him, not to speak of capturing Bee-san and almost causing his death before that."
"But Bee isn't..."
"I killed Danzo, the protector of Konoha. Afterward I tried to kill Sakura, Kakashi and you. And last but not least I was determined to kill all the Kages along with everybody standing in my way. I longed to become a ruthless tyrant, trying to kill you again Naruto. And the outcome of it all when you tried to stop me was you losing your arm and almost dying. Blood and murder all along my way. That's what my life is. Nothing can change that, not even saving the world."
Naruto stared down, he clenched his fist in his blanket and was heavily shaking. Fine. He finally recognized the situation. I stood up.
"I will not wait for them Naruto. As poor as my life has become, I'd like to put it to an end by myself. This is my good bye to you forever. I thought I'd owe you that, before I..."
"Shut up!" Naruto's voice was dark and low. I never before have heard a tone like this coming out of his throat.
"I know it won't make up for the loss of your arm, Naruto, but at least my death will..."
"I said, SHUT THE HELL UP!" He jumped out of his bed and tackled me down. His fist met my chin the hard way. I was surprised, too surprised to dodge or resist.
"YOU IDIOT!" he shouted while punching my ribs. "I already forgave you, bastard! Didn't you listen back then?" Another punch met my stomach and I groaned. "Do I really have to rip off your other arm too, to bring some sense into your sick emo-mind?" Kneeling on me and pinning me down he placed a heavy punch on my right shoulder and it felt as if it was about to break.
"Naruto!" I yelled. "Stop it!"
He glared at me with red eyes and I seriously thought the Kyuubi had taken him over. Oh, well, just like old times...
"If you continue like that, you'll just cripple me." I yelled angrily. "If you mean it go for my throat, idiot! Come on, kill me! I know you want it."
He froze in his movement. Just as if a movie was suddenly put on standby. It was somehow... eerie. It shouldn't be possible for a human to stop in their moves like this. Not even for a Shinobi.
But nevertheless it was real.
His fist sunk down as did his shoulders, he was heavily shaking and when something wet dropped on my face I finally got aware that he was crying. Naruto was crying!
"Why?", he sobbed. "I thought I had punched some sense into you, back then. My arm, your arm, destroying the valley, almost dying, was it all in vain?" He wiped away his tears.
"Why do you always change your mind?" He stared at me angrily. "Damn you Uchiha! You're no better than a girl who can't decide for a pair of shoes!"
"HUH?" I gasped. "A... a girl who can't decide for a pair of shoes? Pardon? You seriously compare me to a girl picking out shoes?"
"AND WHY NOT?", he snapped back. "If you behave like one you deserve no better!"
"You take that back!"
"NO!"
I stared at him with wide eyes, he pouted back and suddenly we both started to laugh.
It was so ridiculous. Here I was, determined to die for my sins and just a simple tease by Naruto brought me out of it and let me fall into old, childish behaviour. I felt so pathetic. Even the thought of dying felt pathetic now. My death would just cause him more pain. It wouldn't make up for anything at all.
I was useless. I had to laugh about my pitiful self.
Nevertheless I was no girl!
"You better don't ask me for a date now.", I barked out between cackle and guffaw.
"Gross, Uchiha! As if you'd be my type." Between his laughs he tried to make a disgusted grimasse but failed. "
Though I can imagine you'd look rather cute in a skirt." He snorted and rolled on the floor.
That bastard! I glared at him, but couldn't keep it up for long. His laugh was infectious.
"You're the one to tell." I giggled. "I just say 'Sexy No Jutsu'. Your boobs were even bigger than Sakura's."
"What, you looked at my boobs? Pervert!" This time his tears were caused by laughter. He wiped them away, making weird, grunting noises.
"I couldn't avoid it as much as I tried. They were blocking the way." I couldn't stop laughing nor did Naruto. He held his sides and snapped for air.
"Next time you want to kill me, bring a sword and don't make me die of laughter.", he pressed out between his snaps fo air. "It's too painful to die that way and also unworthy for a Shinobi."
"Hn, as if I started comparing me to a girl."
"You started the crap, after all."
I took in deep breathes, my laughing reduced to a faint snickering and finally I calmed down. We both did.
"Yeah, I assume this was kind of... a bad idea."
"Your worst so far!" He nodded.
I looked away, a bit embarrassed. How could he always bring me to see things his way?
"Will you stand up, please? I know my torso feels comfortable, but it's really not suited as a longterm seat."
"Oh?" he placed his full weight on me. "I don't know, I feel quite comfty and you can't run away like this." He made a smug face. I punched him off and sat up.
"Don't get so full of yourself. I still could kill you without even catching for another breath."
"Yeah, right that's exactly why you were lying beneath me!"
"Shut up, dobe! Irony doesn't suit you, That'd be my line."
"You lost them all when you ran away."
"Idiot."
"Bastard."
We smirked at each other and raised.
"Are you hurt?", he asked me.
"No more than you are, idiot."
"Ha, I think I broke you at least a rib or two."
"You probably were dreaming."
"I heard them crunching."
"Maybe it was the sound of your knuckles breaking?"
"Sasuke, you bastard, you don't have to play the tough guy. Now show me your wounds!" He grabbed for my shirt, but I dodged him.
"What for? To satisfy your curiosity? Never saw a real man's naked chest?"
"Yeah, sure, maybe I want to check out your boobs. All girls have some, don't they? Oww!"
I punched him.
"Why did you do that Sasuke? That was nasty!"
"You know why."
"Ah, whatever! Go die if you like to. What do I even care?" He turned and threw himself onto his bed. "All this struggling made me extremely hungry and since I have nothing to eat, I'll go to sleep again. You should do the same, bastard."
Right. As if I could sleep now.
But I just kept silent and watched him going to bed. No more than a minute after he placed his head on the pillow he fell asleep. This lucky moron. He always has been like this. I sighed and watched him breathing calmly. He looked so peaceful while sleeping. He opened his mouth and drooled on his pillow. How could he be so carefree? Didn't we just had a serious fight?
I approached his bed and stared at him. He didn't seem to sense me. A low grunt escaped his throat. He seemed deeply asleep. So defenseless, this idiot. I looked into his face and was tempted to ruffle his hair, but I didn't do it. I reminded his panicked face when I tried to confess to him. Naruto seemed oblivious to my true feelings. Whether he really was or just put up an act, it didn't change anything about his unwillingness to accept the truth. He'd never reciprocate my feelings. I'd never hear the words 'I love you' coming out of his mouth. He'd never be mine.
The thought let me almost tear up since it left me no other chance than getting rid of this problem. Everything inside me rebelled against it and yet I had to do it. I took a look on him and burnt the image into my mind. He'd always look like that for me. Always. I fumbled my clothes and felt for a special item. Though I'd brought it with me for a different purposeit had to do now.
I was tempted to stroke over Naruto's face for a last time, but resisted. I could have woken him up and didn't know whether I could have withstood the charm of his mindchanging blue eyes. I felt a sadness inside me worse than on the verge of dying. I'd awfully miss him, that dumbass.
I bent forward and drew my hidden kunai, the one I had stolen from my ward. It was true what Naruto had said, I'd never let a good opportunity go to waste. He really knew me best. My best friend.
With a cold, swishing sound the kunai cut precisely through the part of his body I had aimed for.
I didn't feel anything at all.
End of part 1, to be continued...