Naruto sat on top of the Hokage monument, it was a clear, slightly windy night. The moon shined bright against his tear-glistened cheeks. He barely slept anymore, the village was quiet, and he was still wide awake. His thoughts kept him awake at night. No one knew exactly how much pain he was in, but then again, they would think he was perfectly fine now. He was the village hero, everyone loved him, and he was finally accepted. Although, the most important thing in his life was missing, Sasuke.

He punched the tree next to him with all of his might, of course, knocking it over, the trunk in shreds. "Damn it." He cursed. He stood up and began his walk home. He stared at his village, being slowly rebuilt from the destruction of Pein. He watched his village burn, and as the ashes fell from the sky, so did his dreams. Sasuke was his lesson never learned. He wouldn't give up on him. He was still fighting for his acceptance after all these years. His hope was smoldering beneath Sasuke's fire.

He shut the door behind him and sat at his kitchen table. He pulled out a pen and paper and began to write.

"If I wasn't here tomorrow, would you care? Would you lose sleep? If you weren't so hard and hollow, maybe you would miss me. I know I'm a mess and I wanna be someone, someone that I would like better. I can never forget so don't remind me of it forever. What if I just pulled myself together? Would it matter at all? What if I just tried not to remember? Would it matter at all? All the chances that have passed me by, would it matter if I gave it one more try? Still stuck inside this sorrow, I got nothing and I'm going nowhere. Can you help me forget? Don't wanna feel like this forever...

Goodbye Sasuke, I can't bare this pain anymore.

Naruto"

Tears were falling down Naruto's cheeks, he couldn't believe this was happening. He would leave in the morning, deliver this to Sasuke personally and say his final goodbye to the only person who gave him a purpose. He packed his bag and crawled under the sheets, he stared out the window all night, until sleep finally kicked in. He awoke at 7 AM. He stood up, slipped on his clothes and walked out, his letter safely in his jacket pocket. He took the back way out of Konoha so no one would notice him leaving. It would be too hard to say goodbye to the others, he knows they would try and stop him. Naruto didn't rush, he knew where to find Sasuke. It would take a few days to get there, but this was his final decision. His tears had dried up and now he just stared emptily at the path before him. He felt more like an empty shell than a human being. He felt more human when he was being ridiculed for being a demon. This was it, his final goodbye. It's not like it would matter anyways. He took a deep breath and stepped forward into the early morning sun. It was time.

/~***~\\\\\

"He's been missing for three days Tsunade! We have no leads except knowing he's going to look for Sasuke, wherever the fuck he is!" Kiba screamed. Sakura was still crying, Tsunade's expression remained blank. "There's something you guys should know." She said, staring out the window. Sakura looked up and Kiba stood there shaking. "You remember when Naruto was hospitalized after his last encounter with Sasuke?" she asked. Sakura managed a small "uh-huh." And Tsunade sighed. "He wasn't hospitalized for injuries." She said. "What do you mean?" Kiba asked. There was a long pause. "What the fuck does that mean?!" Kiba screamed. Tsunade turned to face him and said, "Naruto was hospitalized for trying to commit suicide." A tear creeping down her face. Sakura gasped and starting hysterically crying. Kiba just plopped down in a chair with shock. "We have to find him!" Sakura screamed. "Sakura…there is no use." Tsunade said. It was quiet for a long time after that.

"I just think this is Naruto's goodbye, he didn't want to be stopped so he just left." She began to cry. Kiba said nothing, he just escorted Sakura out of her office.

The two of them sat atop the Hokage monument and wept together. "Naruto…please come home…" Sakura whispered to the wind.

/~***~\\\\\

Naruto found an area to camp out at for the evening. It would take about three more days to get to Sasuke's hideout. The last time he encountered Sasuke, he was alone, he was hoping it would be the same this time. He had the note secure in his bag, along with the photo of team 7. This journey was going to feel like an eternity. Naruto had felt so empty for so long that he was just ready for it all to end.

Nobody would miss him and he knew that. 'Village hero' he snickered at the thought. He was nothing but a monster until recently.

His thoughts drifted to Sasuke as he sat around his fire. The distance between him and Sasuke was killing him for so long. Naruto lied down on the cold ground and he prayed that something picked him up and just set him down next to Sasuke. He looked up at the sky and looked at the stars. He smiled when a shooting star went by. He closed his eyes and dreamt of Sasuke.