Naruto walked towards Suna, making sure to mask his chakra. He knew that Gaara would be looking for him by now, Tsunade probably sent out a message for him days ago. As soon Naruto's feet touched sand, he heard him speak. "Naruto." Gaara spoke. "That was fast." Naruto chuckled. Naruto turned to face Gaara. "Go home Naruto." Gaara said. "I have no home." Naruto spat back. Gaara held his composure. "Where are you going?" Gaara asked. "You know exactly where I'm going." Naruto said. "Why do you keep doing this to yourself?" Gaara sighed. "I'm not doing it anymore, I thought that message was clear." Naruto said. Gaara was taken aback by that, this wasn't Naruto. "What makes you think I'm going to just let you go do this?" Gaara asked, getting irritated. "Because you know I'm going to do it anyway." Naruto smirked. "This isn't funny Naruto." Gaara said through gritted teeth. "If you tell Tsunade I'm here, keep me locked away until they get here, and they take me home, I'm going to end it anyway. Seeing Sasuke is just my final goodbye, this is something I need to do." Naruto said, his eyes softening. Gaara knew at that moment that Naruto was too far gone.
Gaara lowered his head. "I'm sorry Gaara, I'm not as strong as I always appear to be." Naruto sighed. "I would know that more than anyone I suppose." Gaara said, staring at the ground. "Goodbye." Naruto smiled and continued his journey. Gaara knew there was no point in stopping him, he just stood there, defeated.
/~***~\\\\\
Only one more day until he reached Sasuke and he could already feel his presence drawing nearer. He tried to sleep, but he was anxious and couldn't stop shaking. He pushed his hair back and tried to calm down. He could already feel Sasuke's presence and it was just the reality hitting him all at once. For the first time in his life Naruto realized it was easier to run instead of trying to be so strong. Naruto felt defeated by himself. His whole way of life was to never give up, and here he was giving up. He thought about the time his friends yelled at him for not giving up.
"Naruto, all you do is talk about Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke!" Sakura yelled. "They want to kill him, get rid of this burden and you're defending him! After all he's done to this village, to us, to you!" Kiba yelled. "Sasuke isn't a burden, he's my friend, and will be forever." Naruto said calmly. "You're obsessed, it's sickening." Ino said. "Think what you may, but I'm not going to give up on him, he's still the same Sasuke." Naruto explained. "No he's not!" Sakura screamed, tears filling her eyes. Naruto just stared at her. "Sasuke has changed you, he doesn't motivate you like when we were stupid genin, he's destroying you and you're letting him." Sakura cried. Naruto just walked away, because deep down, he knew they were right.
Tears slipped down Naruto's face, he would give up on himself before he would give up on Sasuke. Love is a cruel thing. Naruto couldn't sleep, it was a pointless effort. He got up and continued walking, the sooner he got to Sasuke, the better.
/~***~\\\\\
"I'm calling off the search." Tsunade told Sakura. "You can't!" she yelled. "Sakura, he's probably already gone…" Tsunade said. Sakura began to cry, this couldn't be happening. "I'm sending Gaara and the others from Suna to look for his body." Tsunade rubbed her eyes. "Tsunade…" Sakura whispered. Tsunade looked up from her desk. "This isn't our fault…" Sakura cried. Tsunade just listened to her. "I remember how angry I was when I had to be on a team with Naruto and how excited I was to be with Sasuke, to prove my love to him, for him to notice me. Sasuke and Naruto always had a bond, a strong bond, one not many people could see. It's now that I realize that this isn't Sasuke's fault either. Sasuke has failed to kill Naruto so many times that I've lost track, Naruto just kept fighting. Sasuke couldn't kill Naruto even if he tried. And Naruto could never give up on him, even if he tried." Sakura cried. "They need each other to thrive, and now I understand, Naruto can't bring him back, Sasuke can't kill him, this will never end, so now Naruto wants to end it. Naruto can't live without Sasuke." She whispered. Tsunade began to cry, because it was all true. They sat there in silence, grieving for the things they now realize they could never change in the first place.
/~***~\\\\\
Naruto walked the whole night, but he was more awake than ever. Sasuke's chakra was growing stronger and he was feeling his stomach turn in anticipation. He approached a tree with sword markings on them, he could tell them were Sasuke's sword. He was closer than he thought. He felt his stomach churn, something wasn't right. He approached a cliff and looked across the river. That's where Sasuke would be. He took a deep breath and then he felt it. "I've been waiting for you Naruto." The dark voice said. "Sasuke…" Naruto's voice shook.