Disclaimer: I don't get money from this. This is merely a different take on the story bruh.


"I'll help you."

Sasuke's eyes widened at the look on Naruto's face. The blond boy looked down at him, his eyes watery as tears slid down his face along with the rainwater. His mouth was curled into a grimace, his nose scrunched up in an effort to hold back the already falling tears. He clenched his hands harder on Sasuke's shoulders.

"I don't know how…but I'll help you. I-I'll do whatever I can, Sasuke!"

Sasuke stared up at him in shock before he felt tears begin to build at the back of his eyes, his head becoming foggy and heavy as anger filled him once again.

"As if you can help me! I need to do this to kill Itachi! What about that don't you get?!"

"I don't get any of it!"

"Then don't try to stop something you don't understand!"

Naruto sobbed, looking as though he were having a flat out tantrum as he pinned him down.

"I don't care! I don't know and I don't care! I just know I don't want you to do this!"

"I'm supposed to kill you! I said that when I got here, didn't I?!"

Sasuke glared up at him, grinning as much as he could without breaking down.

'If I can get him to hate me…maybe…'

"It'll make my eyes stronger. I would get the Mangekyou Sharingan, and it'll be easier for me to kill Itachi, so I'm supposed to kill you. I just didn't want to 'cause then I'd be just like Itachi. But if you'll try to stop me—"

"I don't care!"

Sasuke paused, watching as Naruto started crying all over again.

"I don't care if you wanted to kill me…a lotta people want me dead! You wouldn't be the first! Even…e-even if you are my friend, I don't care that you wanted to kill me!"

Naruto moved his hands from Sasuke's shoulders, placing his fists on his chest.

"I don't care…but I just…I just don't want you to go. You're my friend, Sasuke! Even if you're a dummy, e-even if y-you wanna kill me just like anyone else, you saved me back when Haku was gonna kill me so…so you can't be that bad!"

Sasuke still couldn't say a word.

"I know…I know this is important to you, and I won't stop you. I won't stop you, but you can't do it like this!"

Despite his best efforts, Sasuke's eyes clouded with tears that began to fall off the corners of his eyes. He scrunched his eyes closed.

"Then how the hell am I supposed to beat him?! I'm not strong enough on my own! He…he came after you! He sought after you because you're actually strong…stronger than me! If I didn't have this curse seal, then I'd have no chance! I have to go to Orochimaru!"

"Then use me!"

Thunder rumbled in the air at his resolution, and it left Sasuke speechless even as tears and rain soaked them through and through. Naruto stared him straight in the eyes, voice wobbly but firm.

"Use me then, Sasuke… I'm the one he wants, right? He never said you had to fight him alone, right? Then use me! I'll fight him with you. You wanna fight using Orochimaru but…but you could fight using me instead. A…aren't I better to use than that guy?"

"N…Naruto…"

"I'll b-become really strong, okay? I'll train for hours…years if I have to! I'll kill Itachi with you even before I become Hokage, so…don't leave…"

"…I said before you can't beat him."

"N-neither can you…t-that's why we'll work together," he placed his hand on his stomach, "You saw it. Y-you saw that power…I'll learn how to u-use it better. I'm s-sure there's a lot more where th-that came from, so...I'll train as hard as I can, I promise! I'll get a lot better, a lot stronger…so strong that even Orochimaru can't deal with me! Then…then when the time comes, we'll get revenge for you together, 'kay?"

Sasuke laid still. Naruto…wasn't wrong. That power he was using was spectacular. He even had to activate the second stage of the seal just to beat him! Orochimaru promised him power, but using the seal was painful. Attempting to get the Mangekyou Sharingan was too painful. All of it was painful.

But wasn't that the point? The path of revenge was one wrought with thorns. No matter what, he had to revel in his pain. He had to accept it and move with it. He had to make it work with him until he became strong enough to withstand anything and everything that came his way. He had to, or he would fail himself.

"Sasuke…you're like a brother to me…"

"…Eh?"

"You said before that I didn't know what it was like losing my family 'cause I never had one…but you're like a brother to me. You're my brother, so I can't lose you here! I don't want to know what it's like losing your family!"

Naruto placed his hands on the ground beside Sasuke's sides.

"I…I know I can't replace your family…and I know I'm probably not really that close to you…but…but I don't want you to do this alone. I don't want you to be alone. So…so we'll do this together…"

Naruto began to wobble a bit, the tiredness from their battle finally beginning to hit him full force.

"Please…Sasuke…"

Finally, the blond keeled over and fell unconscious.


Kakashi and Pakkun arrived at the Valley of the End, Pakkun sniffing around furiously.

"Sorry man, I can't get a single whiff of them in this rain. The damage to the area says they were here at some point, though."

At the lack of a reply, he looked up to his summoner, "Oi, you listening to me?"

Kakashi looked down at Pakkun before directing him to follow. The two headed over to Harashima's statue, where Kakashi could feel some chakra. Pakkun jumped on top of Harashima's foot and looked over between the statue's ankles while Kakashi walked around it.

Both of them sighed in relief.

The two boys were sitting against the wall under Harashima in an attempt to get out of the rain. They leaned against each other, Sasuke's head nearly on Naruto's shoulder while the blond had his head nearly on top of Sasuke's, both of them very unconscious. They were covered with bruises and scars, and Sasuke held onto his damaged head protector. They were drying off a bit, so they'd conked out a little while ago.

"Looks like Naruto was able to convince him after all," Pakkun huffed, sagging with the relief that flooded him.

"Yeah, he sometimes has that effect on people," Kakashi replied, smiling under his mouth cover

"I'll go get another ninja to help carry them back."

"Roger."

Pakkun headed off in search for a helper, and Kakashi watched them as he waited for the ninken's return.


"Sasuke."

Said boy refused to look at Kakashi, glancing off to the side nervously as sweat rolled down from his temple. The boy was covered in bandages, the injuries he sustained from Naruto going rather bone deep. An IV continued to pump his body with pain-killers and nutrients needed to heal as quickly as possible. That didn't stop Kakashi from glaring down at his nearly-defected student, though.

"Sasuke, do I need to remind you what I've told you about Chidori?"

"Uhm…it was designed to protect friends…not attack them."

"Precisely," the man leaned forward, Sasuke leaning back as his nervousness grew, "And what did you do?"

"I…I uh…used it against a friend…but," Sasuke looked back at Kakashi, eyes wide and body scrunched, "…but I won't do that anymore. I've learned my lesson. I'm sorry."

Kakashi didn't show it, but the man was trying not to laugh. It was as though Sasuke was a completely different person, like he was back to his old self again.

'Who is this timid child in front of me? This is almost too funny to be real!'

"I…I still want revenge," Sasuke began, looking down at his bandaged hands.

Kakashi's glare grew for a moment, but it softened upon seeing the expression on Sasuke's face. He looked upset, but not rage-filled.

"I want revenge at some point…but…I think it can wait a while. I'll get stronger first," he finished, looking back up toward his teacher.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Kakashi asked, just being sure.

"By training. I…I don't want to use the curse seal anymore."

Kakashi nodded in approval, "Good. That's what I like to hear. I'll replace that seal on you once you're a bit better," the man smiled.

"Welcome back, Sasuke."

The boy gave a bit of a wry smile, but it softened earnestly.

Suddenly, a loud voice came bursting from the next room over.

"OIIII, SASUKE! YOU BETTER NOT BE PLANNING ON RUNNING AWAY AGAIN OR I'LL DRAG YOU BACK HERE BLOODY!"

Sasuke flushed in embarrassment as his fists balled up in his bedsheets.

"SHUT UP! THIS IS A HOSPITAL! STOP BEING SO LOUD, USURATONKACHI!"

They both ended up getting yelled at by a nurse.