Summary: Everyone has a breaking point. Sasuke finds his in a future he never wanted and a reality he cannot face alone. So he won't. Time travel and I suppose mild AU, if we're getting picky.

Note: Man, I dig time-travel and here's my hand at it in the Naru-verse. Over done? Maybe so. I don't really care.

Another Note: This is actually/factually not really a SasuNaru- persay...I do believe it is in spirit-

Warnings: Fighting and somewhat macabre imaging, cursing and the like.

Disclaimers: Not mine. (Le Naruto, I mean)

So, let's get on with it!


A Broken Reality

"Death is not the greatest of evils; it is worse to want to die, and not be able to"

-Sophocles

Naruto clenched and unclenched his fists at his sides, starring down at his feet. Tears welled up in his clear blue eyes. Sasuke stood a distance away, his face that irritating, condescending, infuriating blank.

"Don't you get it, you arrogant fuck?" Naruto couldn't help the tremble in his tone as he jerked his head up to gaze hatefully at the one he once called his friend, "There's NOTHING LEFT." Chakra sizzled, static in the air, "Everyone is dead. All of the people we cared about are dead."

Naruto stood, cold and furious and Sasuke didn't flinch. This is what he wanted. Fighting Naruto was the most exhilarating and terrifying thing Sasuke could do. Everything was so fucked up; he had never meant for this to happen. Sasuke wanted to feel something other than his own hate. He needed to fight now.

Terrify me, Naruto-

"That…" Sasuke's voice dripped with a malice as red as his eyes, "must feel awful-"

Naruto was in front of Sasuke in an instant, his hand squeezing Sasuke's throat painfully tight. "How can you say that like it's a joke?" he hissed, power radiated from him.

Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment, he felt it- the pain-that disgusting fear. Naruto threatened to snap his neck, the fingernails digging into his neck were slowly turning into claws and in enough time Naruto would crack and kill him. It was perfect. Sasuke brought a hand slowly to Naruto's iron grip. Naruto was waiting for an answer.

"How?"

Sasuke's eyes snapped into focus and his sharingan spun dangerously, "Because it's so funny."

He twisted Naruto's hand off of him and side kicked him to the ground a distance away.

We'll start this, Naruto. We'll start it and then we'll finally finish it.

Naruto laid there on his side; never before had he wanted kill anyone so badly. It was true that Madara was the one who led the invasion of Konoha but Sasuke enabled it. He was the reason the plan succeeded-and the fact he was laughing about it…Naruto would kill him.

Sasuke twitched in irritation. He was just lying there, Come on, damnit, come on.

"Do you want to kill me, Naruto?" Sasuke made the tone as mocking as he could. "Do you want to avenge all the people you've lost?" Naruto could hear him get closer with slow, measured steps; his katana's tip just barely grazing the edged of the ground as he walked. "And you want me to explain why I think this is funny," Sasuke sneered, "you really are more of an idiot than I give you credit for."

Sasuke stared at Naruto's unmoving form and he was so full of hate; for himself and Naruto. For Orochimaru and Itachi and Kakashi and Madara and everyone who let this happen. All of this pain and death.

'There's NOTHING LEFT'

And Naruto. He was so stupid and Sasuke blamed him as much as he blamed himself. Naruto: the moron-idealist who started with nothing but gained it all. His life had done nothing but get better and better while Sasuke's had only gotten worse. The jealousy and the bitterness mingled on his tongue like ash.

Naruto slowly got up, his back facing Sasuke. They wanted to break each other. This was a perfect arrangement.

Naruto was rigid; the Kyuubi slowly enhanced his features, making Naruto look as inhuman as he felt.

"They're all dead," he repeated slowly through his fangs.

Almost there.

Sasuke stared at Naruto, his red eyes bleeding tears he no longer felt.

"...And what are you going to do about it, dobe?"

Come on

They both already knew.


The punches were bone-breaking and the jutsus were aimed to kill. They were going to kill each other and they both couldn't care less. Their own lives didn't matter any longer, what mattered is that the other was dead at the end.

Sasuke hated Naruto so much; his best and only friend. What perfect irony to be killed by the only person he cared about anymore-

Is it really 'caring' when you're slicing your katana through their Achilles's tendon?

Sasuke wasn't sure anymore. He hurt all over, so much hate it hurt. Not that that was anything unusual...

…Then was all of that a dream?

He hated himself so much, he had since he was a kid. The things he'd done; there used to be a point to this violence. It wasn't supposed to be this way-

…No. It wasn't a dream. But then what was it?

Crack.

Sasuke sat on the swing overlooking the lake. His short legs hung limply from the seat, his feet barely brushing the grass. He was seven years old.

Again.

Again? When was there a before?

He looked at his short arms and his bare knees, expecting to see the slices and bruises and bones peeking from beneath the battered and calloused skin but...there was nothing. He was a seven year old child- and he knew that. But why did he feel like all of those things were real?

They are real.

But that wasn't possible. None of what Sasuke had seen or felt for the last hour was possible. He was just sitting there and then these things, these facts took him by complete surprise. His body had stilled and he gripped the ropes tightly as a torrent of images and feelings imploded inside of his mind.

It hurt. And it scared him once the shock wore down.

He knew things and he saw things. Sasuke saw another him and another Naruto, of all people. They were older; teenagers and very powerful- frightening, even. Things were strange and they were best friends? When did that happen? He barely talked to the moron!

And some of the weirdest stuff.

Sasuke suddenly knew where Oto was and that it got very cold there in winter. He knew that tomatoes in Cloud Country were the best in the East. He knew that most snakes had six rows of teeth and that all of them were poisonous- and that they hurt.

But how do I know that?

Names like Kakashi, Tsunade, Orochimaru, they meant something suddenly. He knew them and they knew him. He saw their faces. He remembered them and then he shuddered.

Oh God, they were all dead. Blood and bodies scattering places he'd never been to, but seemingly so familiar. The massacre of his second family slaughtered throughout a burning Konoha. Everything utterly ruined. Left to decay because there was no one left to even try and rebuild.

And it's because of me?

But that didn't make any sense, he didn't do anything.

It was because of him that Konoha was destroyed, his quest for a pointless vengeance. The 'memories', they were unimaginably raw. The anger he remembered feeling…was chilling. The crushing sadness and regret- if only he could have done things another way-

But he didn't do anything!

He started shaking and he felt sick. Those things were factual. He wasn't sure how, but Sasuke knew it.

Is this a dream then? No.

But that doesn't make any sense. Both can't be real. I didn't kill all of those people- I only want to kill Itachi.

But he's innocent.

What?

More information. More facts. His brother threatening Danzo, demanding he let Sasuke live. His father giving Itachi orders to initiate the coup. He knew his brother hated it, he knew that the council made him betray his family to avoid another great war- the greater good-

It was ridiculous. The implications…it didn't make any sense. It felt like he was waking up, memories attacking his mind; scattered and half-way explained. Things left unsaid and in pieces on the floor. Unapologetically true.

Was he crazy? He had to be.

Itachi had killed their clan only three days ago and the ever-knowing 'they' kept saying that the Uchiha would snap-if he hadn't already. No one had seen him since he fled the hospital to 'be alone'. But…Itachi was…he didn't want to even think it.

Innocent? No, not innocent. He still killed everyone- that didn't change the fact that he was a murderer! He murdered their parents! Their entire clan! He ruined everything he-

he...

Things were more complicated than he once thought. No, Itachi wasn't free from guilt but he very much still cared for Sasuke. Sasuke was the only one he wouldn't kill. Konoha had...but Itachi was the one who...why did Sasuke still love his brother after all of the things he had done? Why was this so confusing? Why did Itachi still love him?

It would have been so much easier that way. To understand. To know how to react.

Everything.

It was all a lie.

Sasuke didn't notice the tears slide down his cheeks. He didn't feel his nails dig into his palms or the cool breeze that shifted his hair because everything he knew for the last four days had been a lie. All of the horrible things he had felt for his brother and the desires he had to kill him were sickening. Itachi had killed everyone but in the end he still loved Sasuke. How could he hate his brother if he still loved him? He wanted to deny it but he just sat there in silence. Sasuke felt helpless because in his bones he couldn't deny what he now knew.

He wanted to vomit.

He almost did.

I wanted to kill him, he thought wretchedly, suppressing a gag. I wanted him dead, I imagined him dead and he protected me? I don't understand-

LIAR!

But it was true. He knew that, damnit, he knew it. Sasuke was frozen in his seat and didn't dare move-

Sasuke didn't dare breathe-

He gazed across the lake-

Naruto's eyes looked so blank, it didn't fit him, it was frightening to see-

Fact:


Sasuke spun to avoid the rasengan, bringing his katana up in an arcing slice aimed straight for Naruto's face-

Kill me-

They split apart and Sasuke electrified his katana with the light of his chidori, Naruto crossed two kunai in front of him and ran at Sasuke with unimaginable speed.

Erase me- this mistake-

Sasuke ran to meet him, he was ready. Sasuke saw Naruto glow with the Kyuubi's red chakra. He felt the murderous intent and saw the demon in Naruto's eyes.

DO IT, NARUTO!-

Naruto made a decision. He threw open his arms, exposing his torso at the very last moment. Before Sasuke realized it had happened, his face was an inch from Naruto's and his Katana was buried to the hilt through Naruto's ribs.

The moment froze.

Sasuke's eyes went wide and he yanked the sword out of his best friend on impulse, causing Naruto to fall back, landing hard on the ground. He wheezed lying on his back, his own blood slowly pooling around him.

Naruto looked up at Sasuke and didn't speak. So much had happened; words weren't enough. Words were never enough for them. What mattered was action and he…they both...

Wait, what just happened?

Naruto stared into Sasuke's eyes as they bled to black. He was shocked with disbelief and Naruto grimaced in what could have been a smile.

Sasuke.

Sasuke didn't dare breathe, his panic so entirely clear on his face.

So he really did care. What an annoying bastard...

Blood seeped from the corners of Naruto's mouth and made a trail down the whisker-marks on his cheeks. Naruto's gaze lost focus as he looked past Sasuke to the sky. He could see past the dark clouds and he knew that really the sky was so impossibly blue. It made him happy.

Naruto coughed one last time.

He missed how things were.

Oh, what we could have been.

And then he died.

There

Was

A

Moment.

What just happened? Sasuke felt the question blow over him like a shallow breeze. Everything was so still and the quiet was so loud in his ears-

And reality lurched to life. Lines and colors sharpened, everything was in focus- impossible to deny.

Everyone has a breaking point.

This was Sasuke's.

"No..." Sasuke slowly shook his head, "No, don't you get it?" He said loudly, his voice breaking at the end, "You were supposed to kill me!"

The panic, the panic seized his throat and tried choke him. He stared, wide-eyed, at Naruto's limp form, and then his still, blue eyes.

"How could you have died!" Sasuke screamed, "Get up!"

Sasuke stabbed him roughly with his katana through the shoulder. He twisted the blade in deeper, React, Damnit! Get up! - but Naruto's body didn't flinch and his face didn't twist in pain. Sasuke's face froze in horror and quickly jerked the blade from Naruto's body. He looked at the blood dripping from his sword, the blood seeping from Naruto's unmoving body, the blood that stained his hands and spattered his face.

Blood

Blood …

Blood everywhere. A real mess.

His grasp loosened and the katana clattered to the ground as Sasuke dropped to his knees. He didn't feel the pain of his broken bones and fractures and cuts. Pain was what he had wanted, he didn't want this. He had never wanted this, no matter what he had said-

Sasuke shot his hands out and grabbed Naruto's shoulders, the blond head fell back limp.

"Naruto?" Sasuke whispered in a shaky breath. Everything was so fucked up. Naruto was all he had, all he ever really had, and this was so fucked up. He let out a panicked, frustrated cry as he used one arm to prop up Naruto and support his lolling head and used the other hand to quickly push back Naruto's hair from his face. Sasuke's sharingan spun to life and he gritted his teeth, forcing his bloodline and his chakra to take him exactly where he wanted to go.

Naruto's mind.


He held onto the swing ropes so tightly his knuckles were white.

Sasuke trans-fixedly stared down at his shoes. His eyes were wide and glowing red with the sharingan, the sweat dripped from his forehead hitting his bare knees.

What the hell-

His breath hitched, and as he slowly bowed his head closer to his knees he fell forward off the swing and onto his side. He remained there unmoving and tense. His joints were rigidly set and his eyes were open so wide they were screaming. His heart pounded so violently it sent tremors down his spine.

He wanted everything to stop. Sasuke silently begged whatever it was to leave him alone. He didn't want to know these horrible things anymore. He didn't know what any of it meant, he just wanted to forget it.

Naruto…I kill Naruto? My only friend? I kill my only friend?

He was the monster he thought Itachi had been.

Sasuke brought his hands up to his head and intertwined his fingers into his hair. He twisted it and clenched his hands painfully, gritting his teeth.

Stop it stop it- please, please just stop it! I don't want to know!

"I don't want to know!" he shouted hoarsely into his knees, clenching his eyes shut as tightly as he could. A weak growl escaped his throat. " I don't want to know…"


In a blink their battle field was gone and so was Naruto. Sasuke was left kneeling in in the depths of Naruto's mind, his knees submerged in dark liquid.

The place was falling apart. Cracks snaked throughout the walls and the dark, bubbling liquid was hot and steaming all around him. Sasuke saw chunks fall and splash loudly into the smoking water from the ceiling so tall you couldn't see it.

Everything was quickly deteriorating and Sasuke stayed there on his knees and glances around, trying to see through the billowing steam and past the crumbling scenery.

This couldn't be the end of it. Sasuke didn't want Naruto to be gone; the world needed Naruto. He was going to be Hokage, everyone knew it, there was no way he could die, there was so much for him to do still. He had to live, Sasuke had to find him-

"Naruto?" he called out; the sound echoed and Sasuke felt an odd pang of loneliness he thought he'd outlived. He got up quickly and staggered a bit before yelling again, "Naruto!"

Sasuke heard a dark, humorless chuckling come from behind him.

"Naruto?" Sasuke wheeled around and forced his feet to move him forward. The steam cleared in his view and he came face to face with the gate.

And the Kyuubi inside of it.

Sasuke was a bit startled to see that the demon, what Sasuke could see of him, was crumbling and steaming too; the gate was as solid and pristine as ever.

"Where's Naruto?" Sasuke asked urgently, "Is Naruto here?"

"What a stupid question," the Kyuubi's voice rumbled like thunder and cracked like lightning as more of his face fell to the dark water. "That wretched human is gone-"

"Fix this," Sasuke didn't care how desperate he sounded, "you're a demon, your powers are limitless-"

"Obviously they are," he snarled viciously.

"Fix this!" Sasuke demanded with as much authority as he could. He willed his sharingan to force the Kyuubi to obey him, like Madara could, but the fox only laughed.

"Oh, the gall of you Uchihas," he said darkly, "I'm glad you're all dead."

"Naruto," he said weakly to himself, he had thought that he'd find him here, even though he knew it made no sense. Sasuke felt his posture crack and tumble like the walls around him.

"Oh, poor little Uchiha," the beast leered with a steaming smile, "doesn't know what he wants. I thought you wanted to be dead. The brat may not have noticed, but I did-"

"I didn't mean to kill Naruto!" Sasuke shouted, he wasn't speaking to the Kyuubi, he was telling himself. "I didn't want this! Heal him!" he commanded, "why aren't you healing him!"

"I CAN'T." The Kyuubi growled and Sasuke felt the hair on his arms sizzle off, "He sealed my chakra."

Sasuke looked over to the paper seal keeping the gates closed. He saw that scrawled over the top of it was another seal done in thick blood. Sasuke stared.

"Such cute parting words too," said the beast, clearly angry, "Ha, ' good riddance', indeed. Insufferable humans!" he screeched, "All of you! What a horrid way to die! Trapped in the body of such a weakling- pathetic! Curse all of you!"

Sasuke continued to look at the seal. Naruto's blood. He looked to his hands. Naruto's blood.

"There isn't much time left at all. Leave me, human, so I can end in peace-"

Sasuke's eyes were open wide and he walked slowly to the gate's doors.

"Oh oh Uchiha, so prideful and stupid and arrogant to the end." The demon's sneering mouth fell to the ground with a splash. "Ignorant and clingy fool," spoke the mouth from the floor, "by all means stay here and die- I'd like that very much-"

"There has to be a way…" Sasuke said slowly. He brought his had to the seal and it burned his skin but he didn't pull away.

There has to be a way.

"You're such an annoyance!" the Kyuubi groaned.

Sasuke stared at his hand and he felt the skin begin to peel.

No. Things weren't supposed to be this way…

And they wouldn't.

Sasuke snapped out of his haze and wiped away the blood seal with a hiss.

"What are you doing, human?"

"Give me your chakra," Sasuke said lowly into the demon's eyes, "you don't want to die, do you?"

They Kyuubi eyed him with incredulous humor.

"What do you think you're going to do with it?"

"Madara's teleporting jutsu," Sasuke explained quickly, "it bends reality. Give me your chakra and we can bend it back! We could go back-"

The fox let out such a loud and insidious laugh, more pieces of scenery cracked and revealed a white nothingness behind it. There wasn't much time left.

"You really believe such a thing!" he crowed, "You're a little fool-"

"It doesn't really matter," Sasuke said, "if it doesn't we'll both just die. If it works maybe we'll both go back. It might work- it could"

Sasuke was frantic in his thoughts. It could work, right? It didn't seem very plausible, but it could work- if there was enough power behind the technique.

The Kyuubi stilled and looked up in thought, " I suppose…" he said slowly, "there's really nothing left to lose."

Sasuke gritted his teeth and concentrated everything within him into his eyes. Madara's technique didn't require hand seals but it took every ounce of control that the person had. It took incredible will and strength to bend something so unbendable as reality.

The Kyuubi channeled tendrils of energy from his cracked form and sent it into the Uchiha. Sasuke felt the Kyuubi's chakra collide with his own and he thought of Naruto.

He could feel the chakra rushing through him and he forced all of it into his sharingan, his eyes were strained and opened wide and cast down to the dry floor, chipping away around his feet into the white oblivion.

Everything was falling away and Sasuke couldn't afford to lose concentration with all of the chakra in his body. He thought his eyes would burst with all of the pressure and the strain; the sweat dripped down his neck and sizzled off his body.

His vision blurred and he felt the continuous flow of the Kyuubi's chakra stop, "that's all I have left," said the smoking vesper that used to be the feared, demon fox, "If this works…" he said darkly, " I'm going to kill you."

The smoke vanished and Sasuke shook with contained power. This was it.

The sharingan spun faster and faster and with it, Sasuke's vision spun too. What little there was left of Naruto's inner world distorted at the speed of Sasuke's eyes. He felt a panicked constricting force on his heart.

Take me to him- bring him back. Do it…

He felt every last drop of chakra leak into his eyes as they went completely blind.

NOW

A startling, painful snap and then reality broke itself.


Sasuke dragged himself up from the grass and sat there with his chin rested on his knees. He needed to calm down, he just needed to relax.

But he couldn't.

I want to leave, I need to leave here- right now- I'm going to go and never come back and I will never have to think about these things again-

"Uh, Sasuke?"

Sasuke's blood ran cold. He looked up and there was Naruto in his dirty torn shirt and too big shorts. Hand-me-downs from the trash.

What is he doing here?

Sasuke quickly noted that his face was tear-stained and contorted in a look that screamed fear and he quickly brought his sleeve to wipe his eyes in a jerky motion. Naruto seemed as uncomfortable as Sasuke felt and shifted awkwardly on his feet.

Sasuke could subdue the initial shakes he got from seeing Naruto.

Sasuke tried to reason: This was Naruto. He was young and stupid and annoying- he was nothing like that red-eyed demon Sasuke remembered from his truth.

But he would be. He could be.

Is he?

His eyes widened in horror before he could stop himself. Everything he saw, everything he felt was going to happen again- he would kill Naruto. He was going to kill the person in front of him.

He would kill his only friend.

Sasuke choked.

"Uh…" Naruto scratched the back of his head and cast his eyes to the ground. He looked into Sasuke's frightened eyes and said bluntly, "I'm sorry your brother killed your family."

I'm sorry I killed you.

At any other time Sasuke would have told him to scram or he would have left to be alone but he let the silence stretch as he looked into those beautiful, beautiful utterly alive eyes.

"Me too…"

This was all so messed up

There was another awkward pause. Naruto offered him another awkward smile.

I want to leave

Sasuke couldn't escape the urge to flee.

I can't stay here anymore- I need to leave-

And idea hit him; Sasuke knew precisely what to do.

I'm going to leave

"Naruto," Sasuke's voice was small and low, he looked straight into Naruto's eyes, "Come with me."

Naruto gave Sasuke a puzzled look and glanced around for a moment, "What do you mean?"

"This place, Konoha," he said slowly, gaining more momentum with each sentence, becoming more assured with every word, " why are we even here? What's keeping us here anymore?"

Naruto looked at him, confusion plain in his eyes, "I don't get it," he said, "what are you talking about?"

"My family is dead," said Sasuke. "You don't have one. I am sick of their pity and I want to leave." It was true, but not the reason.

"These people are nothing but cruel to you," he continued. "You want to be Hokage to have their respect but why do you even want their respect? They don't deserve you-"

Naruto stepped back and stared at Sasuke with an abashed look on his face, "H-how did you know that?"

I don't.

"It's written all over your face..." Naruto was staring adamantly at him now, his eyes wide and somewhat vulnerable. They were both children and Sasuke found that fact as odd with all he'd seen.

He needed Naruto to understand that the villagers didn't care about them- he needed to make him understand that this village could be nothing to them, as they were nothing to it. Sasuke needed Naruto to be with him until he could understand why he had killed him; so he could protect him.

I'll never kill you. I promise.

Convincing a child as lonely and isolated as Naruto was far easier than it should have been. But of course there were last minute protests:

"But- but," Naruto stammered, unsure of something so different, "where would we go! What would we even do-?"

"It doesn't matter," Naruto could feel the conviction in his words and was stunned. "We'll figure it out," Sasuke continued intently, "we can do whatever we want. Go wherever we want. Just the two of us."

I'm sorry I killed you. I'm so sorry, can you ever forgive me?

Naruto lip wavered, "But…why are you talking like this to me? Why are you talk to me?"

Naruto's eyes were desperate for an answer- he needed confirmation. Part of him was still so scared that this was all some elaborate joke.

Sasuke paused and looked down for a moment. He looked up at Naruto through his bangs and said the only thing he learned that he wasn't afraid of.

"…Because we're best friends, aren't we, Naruto?"

I won't kill you. I promise.

The reaction was dramatic. Naruto physically staggered back and his face was set in complete shock. Sasuke could see the tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

Naruto turned away quickly, his eyes still wide with disbelief.

A best friend.

The concept was new for both of them.

That night Sasuke led Naruto to the front entrance gates of Konoha. They brought what they wanted to travel with and Sasuke wasn't surprised that Naruto had so little. Sasuke brought extra clothes and what little money he found in his old house. He was sure that the ANBU knew they were leaving but they hadn't been stopped once. He even had the sneaking suspicion that Konoha wanted them gone.

It didn't matter.

Sasuke didn't know if fate was inevitable, he didn't know if this would change the 'future' he saw bits and pieces of, he didn't understand most of what he knew. But it didn't matter. Sasuke looked to Naruto who was looking back at Konoha. There was a pause and the Naruto looked back at Sasuke with a bright grin.

"Let's go," he said.

Sasuke had never heard words so beautiful. He looked at his friend and turned to walk on down the path and into a world he knew nothing about except Oto was cold in winter and Rock country had good tomatoes.

Sasuke wondered if destiny was real. He wondered if anything was really set in stone or if it was just flying on a breeze. Was it even possible for it to be both? Would leaving and running from a fate neither of them wanted really be for the best in the end?

The greater good. Was there such a thing in the first place? Did that even matter? What truly mattered anymore?

Sasuke looked back at Naruto who trotted up next to him until they walked in step. Naruto was deep in thought but Sasuke saw him and he looked...

Happy?

Could two people as fucked up as they both were...could they really be happy? All of the people who were after them for whatever reasons they had, all of the forces that were separating and throwing them back together, all of the betrayals and reasons and conceded emotions that made them hate each other-

And yet; here they were.

Sasuke felt his small smile turn into a small smirk as he turned his attention to the path ahead.

Let them try and stop us.