Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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Memories/ Dreams are in Italics!!- not to be confused with thoughts

"Naruto! To your right!" Sasuke yelled to Naruto while trying to defend himself from what seemed like thousands of kunai. Naruto turned, face changing from his normal determined face, to a look of pure shock. His opponent had used a clone jutsu and was right on top of him, kunai in hand. Naruto quickly reached for his weapons holster, but was not fast enough. The other ninja slashed a cut right across Naruto's chest, right on top of his heart, and landed a devastating blow with his other hand, causing Naruto to blown back several feet. Automatically, Naruto raised a hand to his chest, gasping at the pain that was replacing the blood now flowing into his hand.

"Naruto!" cried Sasuke, who in the meantime had used his Sharingan to take down his rival. Naruto raised his head to reveal a completely emotionless face that seemed unaffected by the pain. Despite the blood that was pooling by Naruto's head as he lay on the ground, or even that there was an extremely deadly ninja still out in the forest ready to attack them, one thing affected Sasuke to a point where it made his heart ache. Naruto's eyes, usually shining bright with life, energy, and determination, looked so dead.

The eyes that looked back at Sasuke where so fearful and sad, so lifeless, that it didn't even look like Naruto anymore. Above Naruto in a nearby tree, the enemy had made himself visible again, throwing a kunai directly at Naruto's heart, to finish what he had started.

"Naruto!" Sasuke cried again, sprinting at full speed for his teammate.

"Naruto," Sasuke said sitting straight up in his bed. He felt hot; sweat making his hair stick to his forehead. It was still dark outside, and all was quiet except for the ticking of the clock in his room. He threw off the covers, chills running down his spine as his feet touched the cold floor. Glancing at the clock, it was four o'clock in the morning as usual. Sasuke walked up to his dresser and pulled out his normal attire; a black shirt with the Uchiha symbol on the back, along with a pair of black pants. He placed them on his bed and went into the bathroom.

Looking into the mirror, his reflection was disappointing compared to his image two years ago. Back then he was the great Uchiha, a good-looking boy who many envied. Sasuke raised his hand to face, feeling the dark circles under his eyes, showing how he turned into just another ninja, who desperately needed some sleep. Last night was one of his good nights where he actually got some sleep, but still woke up early. Sasuke rid himself of his cloths and got into the shower. He loved the warmth of the shower water. It always helped him to relax.

As he began to lather shampoo in his hair, his mind wandered back to the dream that always occurred whenever he slept. It was the last mission he and Naruto had before Naruto died. That part of the fight always repeated itself in his mind, causing Sasuke to recall the memory of the ending. The kunai rocketed its way towards Naruto, who had finally passed out from exhaustion. Sasuke jumped in the air and successfully deflected the kunai while throwing his own. Catching the enemy off guard, Sasuke's kunai hit the man squarely in the middle of the forehead.

The enemy fell from the tree and landed, nothing more than a pile of limbs on the ground. Sasuke swept Naruto up in his arms and carried him back to Konoha. Two days later, Naruto was completely healed and anxious for another mission. Sasuke had continued to wash his body, and smiled as he thought about how he and Naruto had spent time together as friends instead of rivals that entire week.

Everything about that week was perfect. Over ramen or even after training, they would sit and talk about whatever was on their minds. Sasuke's smile slid off his face as another memory plagued his mind. The day before Naruto had died, Naruto had been incredibly angry all day long. He didn't talk to anyone at all. In fact, he avoided them. When Sasuke finally became fed up with Naruto's attitude, not to mention being lonely, Sasuke approached Naruto.

"Naruto," Sasuke had said. "What is the matter with you? You've been acting like an ass all day."

"That's funny," Naruto replied. "That's usually your attitude." Naruto turned away; ready to jump to the closest tree and run, before Sasuke grabbed his shoulder.

"Naruto. What is wrong?" Sasuke said in a harsh yet still caring voice. Naruto stayed silent for a moment, preoccupied with the dirt by his feet. That is, until he did the most unexpected thing Sasuke could have imagined. In one quick motion, Naruto turned around and hugged Sasuke. Sasuke was too shocked to say anything. Instead he just wrapped his arms around his smaller friend, feeling as if Naruto needed it right now.

"I'm sorry Sasuke," Naruto said in a quiet, sorrowful voice. "You've been always been my best friend. You know that."

At the time, those words made Sasuke's heart skip a beat with happiness, but now made him miserable, constantly reminding him of what he had lost. By now, Sasuke was completely dressed and ready to go. He tried to think of a different subject to occupy his attention, but he knew it wouldn't work. Snatching his equipment off his kitchen table, he started off towards the hokage tower to be assigned a new mission.