[Hello guys! This is my 5th fanfic and my first one about Naruto. Unfortunately, some people can be disappointed because this fanfic isn't based on any pairing. I believe that a relation doesn't need to be always romantic. There are really strong bonds that don't require any romantic feelings. For example-the bond of friendship. Here,I'm gonna focus on two friends whom the fate had torn apart yet fate is the thing that always brings them closer to each other. These two persons are none other than Naruto and Sasuke. However, NaruSasu fans are free to take this fic in their own way. I won't stop them from fangirling but yes, in my view, it's the story of two friends only.

For the first time, I'm gonna dedicate one of my fics to someone. I want to dedicate this fic to two of my very good friends. One is a very good writer herself, Arlecchinin - she is totally obsessed with Naruto. I've been thinking of dedicating something to her for a pretty long time. She is one of the sweetest and most supportive friend that I've ever had. We have a very good understanding. However, concerning Naruto, I really respect her views but I can never agree with them. The other person is, say her name is Icarus. Arlecchinin is a very big Uzumaki Naruto fan and Icarus is obsessed with Uchiha Sasuke. I think I couldn't find anyone better to dedicate this fic to. Actually, it's a birthday present for Icarus. I have been trying to find something to get her on her b'day and this is what I've come up with. I just hope they both will like it. I ask for everyone's honest opinion. So, no more talking. Let's start!]

(Note : All things in Italic are either thoughts,flashbacks or something that the characters say to themselves)

Mingled Fates

Uchiha Sasuke, the proud ninja, whose Sharingan never missed a thing, that same Uchiha Sasuke and that same Sharingan, watched in disbelief. The Sharingan which held the powerful ocular jutsu and the Uchiha survivor who proudly wielded that Sharingan's massive power and created illusionary techniques, that same Sharingan saw something that was hard to believe even for its wielder. As if the creator of the biggest illusions was seeing an illusion himself. Sasuke watched in disbelief, his eye lids were heavy and it was taking all his strength to just keep breathing. Still, he wanted to open his eyes one last time to check whether he was really seeing what he was seeing or maybe he was just hallucinating. But, no, that blond ninja was really standing before him, cloaked in the coating of thick blood -protecting the same Uchiha survivor who had just tried to take his life. The enemies were strong, unbelievably strong - strong enough to give the Uchiha genius and also the Konoha's orange hero a hard time. However, the starting of this battle was not at all like this. The starting was an old one. The starting was the battle between two lost friends—one whose path was laid in the darkness, the other who tried his best of the best to bring light in the first one's life. But the scene changed when a bunch of enemy appeared to take the life of the avenger boy. That appearance suddenly changed a lot of things. A while ago the two friends who were just fighting against each other, that same two friends had to fight side by side. Not only the enemies were strong but also the boys had to count their own lack of chakra. The enemies probably wouldn't have attacked the future orange Hokage if he hadn't tried to stop them from attacking the Uchiha. It wasn't like the Uchiha had asked for any help, but it was visible that he needed it. And when the Uchiha boy was at his limit, the leader of the enemy team used his best shot. Uchiha Sasuke had no chance of escaping that attack. For the first time in years, Uchiha Sasuke had to consider the thought of death. It was frustrating for him of course. But, sometimes people had to expect the unexpected. The unexpected part was-before even Sasuke could blink, he saw a certain blond ninja teleport right before his eyes. Yes, Uzumaki Naruto did it. He kept his promise, he had protected his friend, no matter what the cost was. Sasuke could no longer see clearly. Before he closed his eyes, he saw some flashbacks- Flashbacks of some old memories that he had buried deep down in the farthest locker of his brain. He saw a simple minded boy's face and he murmured -'B-b-aka!'

'Am I dead?', Uchiha Sasuke wondered.

His subconscious mind replied - 'If you were, then why are you still fighting?'

Sasuke : 'Am I fighting? But my eyes are closed and I can't feel any movement.'

Subconscious : ' Yes, you are. You are fighting against me. I am your subconscious part. You don't need to see me, feel me, touch me..because I'm always inside you. The fight between you and me is going on and on-that's also inside you.'

Sasuke : 'Why should I fight against you?'

Subconscious : 'Because I remind you what is true and what is not. Because I remind you what you want and what you don't. Because I remind you that deep down in your heart you also know that you don't actually want what you are doing. Because I remind you that what you call hatred is actually a different face of love.'

Sasuke : ' You are wrong.'

Subconscious : ' Then tell me, why do you want to destroy Konoha?'

Sasuke : ' Because that village is the reason that I no longer have any family. That village is the reason that my only brother is now dead.'

Subconscious: ' Why do you cause yourself so much pain? You know that Itachi wanted to protect the village. Why are you ignoring his sacrifice? If you wanted to avenge his death, only killing off the elders should have been enough. But you stick to your resolve of destroying the whole village. You blame the habitant of that peaceful village although you know that they were not guilty for your brother's death. Then why are you acting so stubborn? I'll answer. You want to destroy Konoha so that you won't have the urge that haunts you everyday -the urge to return to the village where your friends are, where your heart still is. If there is no place to return, then that urge won't haunt you anymore-that's what you really think.'

Sasuke : 'You are wrong! I have long since closed my eyes, my only goal is in the darkness. Petty things like home,love,friendship don't hold any meaning in my life anymore.'

Subconscious : 'If your goal is really in the darkness, then why do you wish to see light? Why do you feel glad when you see Uzumaki Naruto still trusts you as his friend? At that last moment, when he stood covering you from that blast, why did you suddenly compare his blond hair with sunshine? Why did you suddenly wish that the blast should have hit you instead of hitting him? Why did you feel the same pain as you had felt when you learned about Itachi's truth?'

Sasuke : ...

Subconscious : 'Darkness and light are two sides of the same coin. Darkness complements light. You want to embrace the darkness because you hunger for the light. Your heart wishes to see that light, but your pride restrains you. You think your so called hatred has made you strong. But even you realize that it has only made you weak. Look at Uzumaki Naruto and you'll understand what true strength is. You've let one of your brother's sacrifice go in vain, now don't let the same thing happen again-Uzumaki Naruto sacrificed his everything. ...Wake up Sasuke. Embrace what you really want before it's too late. I've already won the battle—you know it!'

Uchiha Sasuke slowly opened his eyes. His body was numb, so was his brain. He could smell a familiar yet a very distant scent, as if he had known this scent for ages. He tried to tilt his head a bit but couldn't. He suddenly felt that something was tying him to the bed. He could feel that he was alone in a room, the room was dark. But surprisingly, it wasn't bothering him. He didn't know why he felt so calm. Slowly his eyes got accustomed to the darkness. He tried to remember what had happened to him. Just then he heard some distant voices. The voices were growing louder and closer.

'Senpai, don't you think you're being rash? You know how dangerous Sasuke is. Still you're saying that we should move him somewhere else!'

'Yamato, you know that the first time Naruto wakes up, he'll look for Sasuke. If he sees that Sasuke is locked in a cage with no window or no light, you know how bad he'd feel. Moreover, Sasuke may have strayed from the right path but he was once a Konoha shinobi. It's really cruel to put someone in that room. Moreover, he's tied tightly with your special wood element jutsu. Even his lightning chakra won't have any effect on that wood. If he still tries to use that strategy to get free, the lightning wave will only pass through the wood but won't be able to affect it. I, you and several ANBU members are here. We are more than enough for him in his current state. Even if he tries to flee with that injured body of his, he won't be able to escape. What we need to do now is give him medical treatment.'...Sasuke was listening everything. 'So,Naruto is alive.'...The voices were just outside the door. He had recognised the second voice. It belonged to the copy ninja Hatake Kakashi. Sasuke couldn't but felt a bit surprised that Kakashi was thinking of treating the rogue ninja who had declared war against all of them.

' I understand your point senpai. But shouldn't we wait for Godaime's order?', Yamato asked.

'Godaime is coming here soon. I've already sent Pakkun to her. She had some things to handle. That's why she's taking so long. Don't worry- She will understand. But we can't wait for her arrival because Naruto will get back his consciousness very soon. We have to move Sasuke be...', Kakashi couldn't finish his statement. 'Naruto!'

'Kakashi-sensei, where's Sasuke?', Naruto's voice was firm.

'I tried to stop him but he wouldn't listen. He says he needs to talk with Sasuke-kun right away.', Sakura said in a tensed voice.

Sasuke was silently listening to everything. He didn't know why he was listening so intently. He hadn't made even a single attempt to break free and sneak away.

'Naruto, Sasuke is alright. We were just talking about giving him proper treatment. Once he gets better, you can talk to him.', Kakashi tried to convince Naruto.

'Kakashi-sensei, please. Please let me t..', and there was a thud.

'NARUTO!', Sakura screamed.

'Are you alright, Naruto?' Yamato and Kakashi said in unison.

'I'm al...alright.', Naruto said. His voice told everyone that he was lying.

'See,you can't even stand properly. You and Sasuke both need to recover first.', Kakashi insisted.

'Kakashi-sensei, please, at least you should understand. Every time I tried to catch up to Sasuke, I got pushed even further away from him. If I wait now, who knows maybe he'll vanish this time too. I don't want him to go away again. I want him to stay here, in Konoha! This is the place where he belongs. This is his home. I want to let him know that he's returned to where he should.', Naruto's voice was pleading.

'I'm in Konoha? They've brought me here when I was knocked out...So,this familiar scent...I haven't forgotten this scent...Have I?', Sasuke thought in sheer shock. Still he was calm, he didn't know why.

Kakashi was silent for a while. Shocking the other two he said,' Alright. But you have to accept one condition –he'll be tied the way he currently is and I'll be staying outside the room. If something happens, don't take it on yourself.'

Naruto calmly said,'I understand'.

Three months had passed since Uchiha Sasuke had been living in Konoha once again. Nobody other than Naruto and Sasuke knew what exactly their conversation on that night was like. Nobody even asked any of these two. On that night all that Kakashi,Yamato and Sakura heard was a scream. They had hurried in that room only to find that Naruto was shaking. At first they all became frightened but they couldn't believe their eyes when they saw Uzumaki Naruto smile so big that the side of his lips almost touched the corner of his eyes. After that Naruto had collapsed and Kakashi later commented that Naruto was awake till then only by the help of his willpower. Everyone was so happy that no one even asked what had made the Uchiha change his mind; the mind which was so tainted with darkness. Since then Uchiha Sasuke had started to go on missions the same way he did before. He was on the same working team as Naruto,Sakura and Kakashi. It was the same team 7,yet it wasn't the same. Yes,Uzumaki Naruto was still as cheerful as ever. He still believed that he'd become the next Hokage. Sakura still liked to punch him for nothing. Kakashi still liked reading those Icha Icha novels again and again. He still liked to tease Naruto. Sasuke was still the cool ninja who talked less than the others and had a rather cold attitude. So many things were unchanged. And yet,so many things had changed!

They were on a mission again. It was night and everybody except Sasuke was asleep. Sasuke was thinking...'Who'd say that this is the same Uzumaki Naruto? When I look at him, I feel that I haven't matured at all. People who hated him, love him now. And the people who used to call me "tensai" or "the cool genius", those same people avoid me now. People used to call him dumb and they called me intelligent. But in the end it was me who turned out to be the dumbest. I took so long to understand what Itachi wanted.' Sasuke then remembered what Naruto had told him. On that night, when Sasuke was once again telling Naruto that Naruto could never understand a bit of his endless pain, Naruto had replied,'I know that I can never fully understand what it feels to lose a brother, what it feels to see him annihilate with one's own eyes. But I can imagine your pain because I know the pain of seeing my brother stray away from the right path. I know the pain of seeing him wither bit by bit. I know how it feels to see that no matter how much I try, I only get farther away from him. You probably want me to give up. You want to avenge Itachi's death. But what you're doing won't make Itachi happy. It'll only make him feel that his sacrifice was for nothing. He'll feel that after all he couldn't protect his beloved brother.' Sasuke had then asked Naruto what had made him say that. The answer that Naruto had given him was probably the thing that had made Sasuke think over his decision. Naruto had said –'Itachi knew that his time was up. He knew that all that he could do as a big brother, he had done them all. He wanted to leave the rest to someone who would be able to understand his view, who would see you as a precious brother like he did. That's why he came to meet me. He tested me. Then he left me some of his power. He said that he didn't want me to use it, but he gave me that power hoping that someday I'd bring you back. This is what Itachi believed and this is what you're destroying. Still you think you're doing the right thing. I can understand your wrath but think about the brother who had given his all up just to bring you back. If you still don't want to stay back, I must inform you that I will never give up on you. I won't even hesitate to do something like Itachi if it meant the only way to make you stay here. This is what a brother is for!'...It was always hard for Sasuke to believe that Itachi had lent his power to none other than Naruto. Itachi had believed in Naruto-this belief made Sasuke put some of his belief in Naruto as well. 'So, Naruto, you understood my pain all along, didn't you? Guess I have to understand your pain too- The pain of being ignored by others around me, the pain of being left out, the pain of the scorching eyes that make oneself feel that he is nothing but a monster. I have to go through the same thing that you did and you had to go through the same thing that I do now. Only you, Kakashi and Tsunade behave normally with me. Sakura tries to act normal but I can sense the hesitation in her too. I can't blame her. Any girl would act like that after what I did to her. Moreover, I can see that she loves you now. I wonder if I'll also have to win over their trust like you did. Or maybe I'll have to leave the village again—once and for all. Or maybe I'll have to walk down the same path that you had. You're my best friend and my best competitor too. Our fates probably are mingled, aren't they?'

Only time can give the proper answers to Uchiha Sasuke's questions.

[This story probably seems unfinished but I plan to leave it like this. According to me,this is the most fitting ending. However, you are free to think of its ending the way you want (If my ending seems improper to you). I don't know why but at this stage this story seems quite meaningless to me, as if it has nothing to say. I'm sorry if that's really true. But please let me know. And kindly forgive my spelling or writing mistakes. R & R!]