The Will to Live

A/N Enjoy the new chapter! Please excuse any spelling and grammar mistakes. By the way, for those of you who don't understand yet, my time line goes a little different. So far, it hasn't been just a day or two since the outbreak. The group has been at it for about four and a half days now. Just to make that clear.

Chapter X

"Naruto Alone"

Above the ground, in a U.S jet, shots could be heard even above the loud roaring of the powerful engine, as lights could be seen flashing from the tinted windows of the expensive sky flier, and just as the outside looked calm, the inside was complete turmoil.

"Shit! Aim for the head!" a man dressed in a black suit, holding a standard Desert Eagle shouted, shooting bullet after bullet at the approaching mass of infected, beside him, another man, this one holding an M-14 Rifle protected one of the injured flight attendants.

"God dammit! Who let them on!?" the man holding the M-14 shouted as he took aim and unloaded on two of the infected, one a older looking woman wearing a solid gray dress skirt combination.

"Fuck! The first ladies been bitten!" the same man cried at seeing the older woman.

While the main area of comfort and civilian leaser was over run, behind closed doors in a more secure area, the president of the Untied States and the General of the United States Military argued over a simple button in the Presidents hands, a button that could change the outcome of many lives, for better or for worse was to be seen.

"You must press the button Mr. President! This is a matter of national security! You and I have both been bitten, and we must eliminate all threats to our great Nation by destroying any Country with ICBM's! We must fulfill our duty! We mu-"

The General suddenly stopped, keeling over and vomiting up a large amount of blood over the desk, from beside him, two men approached to help, a worried expression on their faces as they glanced at their own bandaged wounds, and the one over the Presidents hand.

Thing's were not looking good all, and this seemed like the end.

"M-Mr. P-President.." the General whispered as his skin began to turn a dark gray, the President watching on in horror, although he hid it well.

His old and weary eyes drifted to the button in his hands, and just like that, he realized a choice must be made, he just hoped the people could forgive him...not just his own, but all over the world.

Naruto groaned as he collided with the brick wall, some cracks appearing behind him from the force of the blow. He had no time to even consider the pain, as the sharp end of the spine whip rushed towards him, the blonde was ready however, as he flipped backwards, landing on the wall in a crouch and using a small amount of Chakra to stick to it, watching the whip pierce the brick wall like a knife through hot butter.

"What the hell is this thing made of!?" he thought frantically.

As soon as he and whatever this monster was broke apart from the stalemate, the blonde had moved quickly, ducking low and stabbing his Kunai, which was now currently lodged in its leg, in the same spot it currently resided in.

To his surprise, the monster wasn't even fazed, instead, the wound healed right in front of his eyes, the Kunai becoming apart of its body.

So now, he realized he was facing a monster with a healing factor that was much like his, with an unbreakable bone whip made out of its freaking spine, that was currently after his head.

"Fuck me!" the blonde roared, busting out in a full sprint across the wall, the monster moving its large arm, the whip responding as it tore through the wall following the sprinting blonde.

Naruto noticed this and stifled another groan.

"Come on, think! Why does this seem familiar!?" the teen mused, flexing his legs as he jumped from the wall and landed on the upper levels of the factory. Watching the creature swing its arm around, the powerful whip tearing everything around it apart.

"It looks like it's still blind." the blonde mused, and then dived and barrel rolled as a car door was sent flying his way crashing into the railing causing it to shake around wildly.

"Never mind!"

The creature flexed its powerful legs and gave a mighty leap, clearing the first level and landing on the railing as well, making an indent on the metallic material, its red eyes glaring deeply into blue, it looked almost hungry...like it was searching for something.

Now that it was even closer, the blonde noticed that the black vein markings began to pulse even more, and it was giving him a slight tingly sensation in the back of his head.

Whatever this creature was, it had something familiar in it.

The monster snapped out of whatever trance like state it was in and began its assault once more, clearing the distance between the two in less than a second, its free hand raised high into the air, claws stretched wide.

Naruto growled as he raised both hands, pumping Chakra into them to make them stronger as he caught the larger appendage, wincing at the strength of the blow.

The monster growled, and cocked its head back, then gave a mighty head butt causing the blonde to holler in pain and fall to his knee, letting go of the arm in surprise as he gripped his forehead, blood leaking from the broken skin.

The large creature didn't give up there however, it then gave a powerful knee thrust into his gut, bringing the blonde up and sending him rocketing into the ceiling, the teen then collided with the a support beam, blue eyes widening at the sudden pain, as a rush of blood flew from his mouth.

"Shit! T-This thing is fucking strong!" he thought to himself as he fell face first to the ground.

With no weapon, and his current Chakra level things were not looking good for the blonde at all, he needed to find a way to fight back soon, or else this could be it.

Whatever else he was thinking was ended suddenly as the monster slammed its shoulder into his side mid fall, sending them both into the wall, and making the blonde scream out in pain, a crunching sound reaching his ears as the super infected backed off, watching him fall from the wall onto the ground slowly holding his ribs in pain.

The creature gave a piercing roar, cocking its hand back, the whip responding to the action as it cut through the air, then with a swift jerk, the bone weapon was sent hurling the blondes way, the sharp tip that was still stained with his earlier blood rushing towards his torso.

"Shit!" the blonde cried, eyes darting around for anything he could use as the deadly weapon approached, growling, he forced himself to move despite the pain. His beaten body falling over to the side, just as the whip broke through the wall once more.

Pushing through the pain as much as he could, while the Kyubi did its best to heal the wounds, he gripped the bone weapon and then with all his strength attempted to snap it.

Bone was still bone, and it could be broken.

The blonde however didn't count on the creature being smart either, as it pulled back its weapon, the sharp edges cutting the blondes hand.

"What the hell!?"

He couldn't fight like this, he was literally a sitting duck right now. With barley any connection to his Chakra, and no way of fighting back, he was literally screwed.

"There has to be something I can use!" he whispered, ducking another attack and watching the creature roar in anger, suddenly it hit him.

It wasn't complete, and he still didn't have the finesse that Kyubi wanted him to have with it, but it was better than nothing.

A much younger blonde panted heavily as he fell to one knee, the clearing he currently resided in was now nothing but a small crater in which he was in the center of.

"Kyubi! How was that?" he asked mentally to the fox.

"Good. You're getting close, you need to control more of the output, and lessen the extent of the outside damage. The attack is precise and lethal, it isn't meant for mass destruction like this." the fox responded, mentally gesturing to the small crater the teen resided in.

Naruto gave a loud groan, falling onto his butt as he stared at the clear night sky. He had been at this for a couple of months, but the Tenkai was a tough Taijutsu to master, let alone understand, but he didn't plan on giving up. He needed this, who knows how long he'd be without access to his full Chakra pools, the whiskered teen had to have some sort of ace encase of who knows what, after all, wherever he went trouble seemed to follow.

"Okay! One more time!" the Uzumaki cried, pumping his fist in the air in excitement as a grin split his whiskered face.

"Remember, the Tenkai is an Uzumaki art, make use of your already enhanced healing and endurance. By my estimate, your body can handle the transformation for no more than three minutes, any longer and it will shut down from the stress." Kyubi warned, watching from inside the cage as the blonde gave a loud snort, a cocky smirk replacing the grin.

"I've got this!" he stated confidently out loud.

Closing his eyes, he began to focus, inhaling deeply as the familiar warm feeling coursed through his body, around him, the pressure increased as his outline began to glow a dark blue color.

"Focus on control, instead of exploding the Chakra pathway, concentrate the energy flow."

Snapping his eyes open, he prepared to activate the Tenkai, when he suddenly felt darkness creep up from around him, a sudden cold feeling gripping him as the warmth left, and then just like that, he dropped to the ground on his back, out from exhaustion and over working his body, the last thing he heard were the words of the fox.

"Too much brat, your body can only handle so much. The Tenkai is a reverse of the Eight Gates, created by the Uzumaki. Unlike the Gates, which involve flooding your Chakra pathways, you thin them out, concentrating all of the Chakra flow into one part of your body for a powerful attack. You have quite the amount of Chakra, which means more work." the beast closed its eyes as it prepared to rest as well.

Naruto chuckled in his mind, ready to give in to the demands of his body for rest, who the hell was he to give up?

He'll get this no problem, but first, some rest.

Just like that, the young Uzumaki passed out in the middle of yet another crater, dreaming of sweet Ramen and a harem of women feeding it to him.

Naruto grinned, its been a while since he had attempted to use the Tenkai because of the stress it put on his body, but now was an emergency. Slowly standing, he glared at the super infected before him, cracking his neck as he did so.

"Alright ugly. You want a fight, you've got one!"

Crossing his fingers, he made a familiar hand sign.

"Shadow Clone no Jutsu!" Two puffs of smoke later, and another two blondes stood next to the blonde, who was now on his knees coughing up blood.

"T-This better work!" the teen whispered, wiping the blood from his lip as he tried focusing on the fight and ignoring the pain.

"Alright you guys, distract him while I get ready!" he ordered, lifting himself up.

"Right!" the clones chorused, then rushed the confused creature, as it was seeing triple, giving it a powerful double tackle and taking it down to the ground.

"Alright! Let's do this!" the original chanted mentally.

Closing his eyes, he inhaled deeply, flexing his body as a warm feeling coursed through him once more. Thinning out the Chakra output in his body, he ignored the monster roaring and the puff of smoke from the first of his clones scumming to its spine whip.

The blondes body began to glow with a dark blue outline once more, as the pressure thickened around him, small cracks appearing on the floor. His skin grew a paler color, as the blood rushed wildly around him, while veins bulged and pulsed all around his body.

Another puff of smoke, and a loud cry, as the final clone fell to the mutated infected.

Naruto winced as his ribs snapped back into place, and his wounds slowly began to heal as his Uzumaki traits began to be pushed to their farthest limits in order to keep his body in a stable form.

"Three minutes. All I need!" he growled, snapping his eyes open to reveal a slightly lighter blue with a dilated pupil.

Flexing his arms, he watched as his exposed veins pulsed, and relished in the power he was feeling.

The super infected roared, and then charged at the blonde, in return, Naruto just stood there, a smirk slowly forming as the creature approached ready to tear him limb from limb. The infected brought its powerful claw down in a flash, crushing the ground underneath it, sending smoke and debris flying out all around him and the blonde.

"You missed." Naruto whispered from behind it.

In a show of strength, the blonde grabbed the creature by the arm, and then twisted it back.

"I'm aware that you don't feel pain."

Snapping the bone with his hand, he watched as the creature squirmed and roared, unable to move as the teen had it pinned.

"I remember why you're so familiar now. Two years ago, I fought someone with a Bloodline that resembled your little bone powers. Kimmimaro. That's what his name was."

Squeezing his hold, he slowly began to pull back, while with his other hand, he ripped out the Kunai that was still stuck in its leg.

Growling, the blonde pulled, and in one swift movement ripped the larger limb from the body of the infected, blood spewing everywhere as the creature roared in what seemed like pain, causing a slim blonde eyebrow to rise.

"So you can feel pain.." he whispered.

Crouching low, he watched as the creature let go of the spine whip, and held the stub that was now its arm, its crimson eyes wide.

The teen grinned, it was time for a little pay back, and just as he was about to attack, the creature turned and grabbed the spine whip, ripping it off its back, even more blood pooling around it, then slammed the end into the stub that was now his arm, its healing factor coming into play as tissue and muscle formed around the bone weapon, until a makeshift arm was formed out of the whip.

"Holy shit...I'm going to need to repress that." Naruto stated, eyes wide.

The creature roared in rage, and then charged, its new arm cocked back as the hand, which was now a small blade, was aimed directly for the blonde.

Naruto ducked under the attack, and then gave a powerful kick to the creatures gut, sending it flying back, the blonde wasn't done however as he disappeared in a burst of speed, reappearing above the creature, and giving a bone crushing blow to its chest, the creatures back hitting the ground as a small crater formed around it.

Oh yea, definitely payback time.

Shizuka sighed as the Humvee drifted over the calm waters of the small river, the group deciding to make their own path to get to the other side of the bridge, it had only been an hour ago since the whiskered blonde had disappeared along with whatever that creature was.

She couldn't help her worry for Naruto, everyone else passed out from exhaustion, the only ones up were her, Kohta, the small girl they rescued who's name she discovered was Alice and Saya.

Takashi had fallen asleep a little after his outburst, with Rei and Saeko falling over him, Kyoko had taken to the back of the Humvee, while Yuuki had fallen asleep on her chest.

Things hand gotten tense in the group, more specifically between Takashi and Saya. The pink haired girl seemed to be deep in thought, a forlorn look in her eyes.

From above, Kohta and Alice sang Row Row your Boat, while Kohta changed the words to Shoot Shoot your Gun, something that annoyed the pinkette very much.

"Hey tard! Don't teach such things to little girls!" she hollered from inside the Humvee, making Kohta sweat drop while Alice giggled.

Shizuka sighed once more, and turned to the others. "Wake up everyone" she cried "We're almost there."

Her voice carried through, as Rei slowly opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the sleeping face of Takashi, which brought a smile to her face, however the second thing she saw was Saeko passed out on his lap as well, which brought an annoyed vein to pop over her forehead.

Growling, she pinched the brown haired teens cheeks in a rude awakening.

"Well aren't you popular." she whispered.

Takashi opened his eyes, and gave her a confused stare, only for her to dart her eyes to his lap. The teen followed her eyes, and was surprised, and secretly pleased, to see Saeko slowly awakening, a cute dazed expression over her face.

"W-What?" she whispered, only to then finally realize the position she was in.

The swords woman jumped up in surprise, a blush over her features as Rei grabbed Takashi arms and leveled her with a glare.

From behind them, Kyoko was already waking up Yuuki, who only turned her face to the red headed teacher, grumbling about five more minutes.

"Miku-san, wake up, we're almost to the shore."

At that, she sighed to herself, and slowly stood, stretching her arms out wide as she yawned.

Once everyone was up, Takashi glanced around and asked the first question on his mind.

"Is Naruto back yet?"

At the mention of the blonde, spirits went down, no one could deny they weren't worried for their blonde friend, although each to a different degree.

"I'll take that as a no.." he whispered.

Saya glanced at her childhood friend and growled, she hated seeing him down, and all because of that stupid blonde. She couldn't deny that she above all others was worried, but she was positive he would be fine, I mean, there was no way that hard headed ass would die?

Right?

The more she thought about it, the angrier she felt.

"Why does he have to be a fucking hero all the time!?"

Shaking her head at herself, she tried to focus on more pressing matters at hand, there was no use in thinking like that, after all, as long as she believed in him he would be fine.

Unfortunately, some others didn't share her state of mind, as they didn't know the blonde long enough.

Saeko being one of them.

She prided herself on her skills, but her skills seemed to not be enough it seemed, because if they were, then the blonde would still be with them. Over the last couple of days, he had proven to be quite the loyal friend, and a great help in their survival. It pained her to think of him gone, but whatever that beast was, it was powerful, and with the wound he received, the chances of him surviving were slim to none.

"Suck it bitch!"

Naruto roared as he slammed the head of the mutated infected into the concrete repeatedly, in just a minute he had decimated the monster completely.

The whiskered teen was not done however, as he then gave it a sharp kick in the side, sending it rocketing towards an abandoned old vehicle, the creature crushing it under its size and weight.

"Who's your daddy!?" he cried, launching himself into the air, gripping his elbow as he fell directly onto its chest, crushing whatever bone was left in the bruised cavity.

"Uzumaki Elbow!"

Yes, his chances of survival were slim to none indeed.

Takashi however continued to blame himself, his best friend was now in the clutches of some twisted super monster, probably fighting for his life, and because of him they were safe and sound.

If Morita was alive, then he and Naruto would go find him together, but he couldn't do that with the blonde dead, or worse, becoming one of the infected. The brown haired teen swallowed at that, he could only imagine how bad it would be if Naruto become one of them, he was incredibly strong as it was, if he were to ever be turned, it would spell out trouble for the entire world.

"Stop hitting yourself!" Naruto continued to beat the creature with its severed arm, the car underneath it being crushed even more from the force of each blow.

One minute thirty seconds.

Oh yes, he was enjoying this.

Everyone else felt the same, while Kohta was making sure Alice was entertained, he couldn't help but think of his blonde friend. Although he was only just starting to know blonde because of the situation they were placed in, he was truly enjoying it, he added a sort of care free vibe to the ever present death the were forced to face in the past couple of days.

He trusted the blonde to return however, Kohta knew there was something strange about the blonde, and one thing was for sure, not even some freaky monster could kill him.

The strangest of all was Yuuki, with the blonde gone, she had no shield to hide behind, the girl was no fool, the only reason she was even allowed to stay in the group was because of him, and now that he might be dead, because let's face it, even if he did manage to escape whatever that monster was, he would have bled to death by now: who knows how long until they leave her to fend for herself, she could already tell that Saya and Rei had a problem with her, and the only person she really knew here was Kyoko, seeing as she was apart of the Ping Pong club her Freshman year.

"Maybe I should have stayed with Shido..shit, I'll stick with then just a little longer. Who knows, they might still be useful." the short haired girl mused.

Speaking of the red headed teacher, her thoughts were on the blonde as well, caught between the sick satisfaction of knowing he might be dead, and the painful feeling in her chest that she still couldn't comprehend.

"I don't understand. This is what I wanted, why don't I feel as good as I should."

She couldn't get those cold blue eyes out of her head after she had called him a monster, perhaps she really did cross the line.

Even if he did survive, she doubted the blonde would be forgiving her anytime soon, so why did she care for his opinion or forgiveness? The woman sighed mentally, she just wanted a break, they all did.

As the Humvee left the still waters and rode on the grassy lands, one thought was currently going through most everyone's minds.

"Naruto, come back safely."

"Shit!" the whiskered teen cursed, ducking as the now enraged monster swung its blade arm around wildly, it seemed that taking a beating from the blonde really sparked its anger, and it wanted nothing more than payback itself.

The creature gave out a roar and closed the distance between the two in a flash, giving the once cocky teen a powerful back hand that floored him.

"I'm starting to feel the after effects of the Tenkai, I need to finish this now!" he thought.

True to his word, he was already at two minutes in release state, any longer and his body would shut down from the stress.

Kicking himself up, he back flipped out of the way in time to avoid being sliced in half, and with a swift flick of his wrist, sent the Kunai in his hand flying straight for the creatures eye.

Being wide open, it had no time to dodge as the sharp end of the weapon pierced its crimson orb, blood pooling from the wound.

"I only have one shot!" Naruto whispered as he cocked his fist back, the veins bulging even more as a navy blue aura surrounded it.

Naruto watched as the creature ripped the Kunai out, its eye beginning to heal right before his eyes.

"Just a little more!" he thought.

Two minutes thirty six seconds.

The mutated infected roared one final time and charged, its bladed arm ready to tear into him and end his very life. The blondes arm grew larger as it was coated in the aura, small wisps trailing off of it.

"Come on." he whispered, watching it get closer and closer.

Two minutes forty two seconds.

Blue eyes widened as the pupils morphed into slits once more, the creature was now inches away from him, the spine blade extended.

"Now!" he roared.

The blonde threw his fist out forward with al the force he could muster, the glowing appendage colliding with the end of the bone blade, and actually resisting the sharp weapon. From underneath, the ground cracked from the force of the blow as the blonde pushed even more power into the attack, his eyes returning to their regular blue color as he lost the glowing outline, the veins that throbbed around his body receding, and his skin returning to its natural tan.

"Take this! Keibatsu no Kyuuten!"

Just like that, the blondes fist tore through the bone blade, breaking it into little pieces before continuing to tear through the makeshift arm, then, in one final blow, the blondes fist connected with the creatures head, from behind, a hole the size of a full van was blown through the factory wall as the winds rushed and roared.

The creature gave out one final roar before its head was completely crushed from the attack, its body rocketing back and crashing into a pile of rubble, smoke rising from the scorched and headless neck.

Naruto then reverted back to his normal state, the Tenkai release disappearing.

Two minutes fifty five seconds.

Just in time.

The blonde fell to his knees as he threw up a large amount of blood, the effects of holding the technique for so long, as well as the over use of Chakra hitting him full force. It felt like his insides were on fire, and his organs were being put through a blender, the blonde could feel the rift energy over running his system, tearing it apart causing him to vomit another pile of blood. It was only when the Kyubis healing Chakra came in that he could let himself fall to the floor in exhaustion.

"Never 'pant' doing 'pant' that 'pant' again." the teen wheezed.

He let himself lay there for a while, before finally standing up and making his way to the gaping hole he created in the wall with his attack.

Stepping out, he turned to the down creature and flicked it off, then turned to the outside, only to be met with pure chaos. The factory was on a higher hill, so he could see from where he was standing the blood stained streets, lower infected rampaging through and tearing people apart, everything from eye balls to limbs flying through the air as smoke and fire clogged the air, cars crashing into each other and buildings alike causing explosions as people with guns ran the streets shooting at the walking corpses and each other. Women, children, men, young and old screamed in terror, while choppers flew high over the sky full of men dressed in the Special Forces outfit trying to contain the chaos.

It was hell on Earth.

Naruto clenched his fists at the sight, and looked away, his eyes on the bridge that had the most lights and people. He needed to get across that bridge, and get to the other side to meet up with the others, or at least see if they were stuck on the bridge as well.

Steeling himself, the blonde rushed off, leaving the corpse behind. If he would have stayed for a fraction of a second longer, he would have seen a small twitch in its only remaining arm.

The fight had only just begun.

-OMAKE 1-

The leaves would fall, some farther than others, from the tall tree that stood in the forest. Each leaf represented a part of the great tree, although each leaf was different, they all came from the same home, and time and time again, they sheltered the home from the cold, or the intense heat. From that great tree, two small leaves fell at the same time, drifting slowly to the ground as the gentle breeze carried them.

At the tender age of twelve, Uzumaki Naruto had seen many of things. He was already wiser to the world than most people could ever be, but all the pain never cracked his smile.

It was hard, he would admit that, to always move forward, to never look back and ignore those who told him he would never achieve anything, but he did it, and one day, they would all see just how wrong they were.

That brought a bright grin to his face.

"What are you smiling about idiot?" a low voice questioned.

Cerulean eyes stared into dark onyx, and the blonde found himself frowning.

Uchiha Sasuke was the exact opposite of him, he had everything he could ever want, all doors were open to him, and yet, he chose to ignore all the love, and actually shelter himself in the loneliness and hate.

Naruto knew this, because he had been there once before. So close to that point, so ready to crack and allow his hate to take over, but one small action changed everything.

Now, here he was, Genin under Hatake Kakashi, and a member of Team Seven. On his way to achieving all of his dreams.

"None of your business bastard!" he responded hotly.

The Uchiha gave a 'hn' sound and turned away from the annoying, as he saw him, blonde.

Naruto and Sasuke.

These two had a habit of causing problems whenever they were around, but as of right now, they were the only two in each others presence, their sensei long gone, and the third member of the team, one Haruno Saukra already gone as well, each leaving after the team training was over and done with.

Somehow, the two remained.

Each having the same idea, train even more, be even better.

So now, here they were.

The blonde leaning against one of the poles he had been tied onto not even two months ago, while Sasuke stood beside him, sitting on one of the others.

It was late, they both knew it, the sunset was washing a serene portrait on the sky, pink and orange and white and blue.

Naruto chuckled to himself as he gazed at the sky.

"Hey, bastard." he spoke.

Sasuke opened his eyes, and glanced at the blonde giving him a questioning look.

"See that, the sky, it kind of looks like us. Pink for Sakura-chan. Orange for me. Blue for you, and white for Kakashi-sensei." he pointed out.

The Uchiha gazed at the clouds, his dark eyes seemingly brighter as they took in the colors. He guessed it was kind of ironic. The Sharingan wielder let a small smirk fall into place, not one of superiority, but a playful one.

Something seen rarely by most other people, expect Naruto.

"Idiot." he stated simply.

Surprisingly, the blonde did not respond, instead, he just gave a much smaller grin and raised his arms, before placing them behind his head.

Kicking back as the two watched the colors begin to blend, time went on, until there was nothing but the dark blue sky, and the orange streaks that pierced the night.

The two leaves danced on their way down, intertwining with each other, before suddenly splitting apart . Only for the small breeze to push them back together. They were slowly approaching the ground, the end of their journey, and one of the small leaves drifted a little farther from the tree.

Sasuke sighed inwardly.

The blonde next to him had chosen to close his eyes and bask in the final warm rays the orange sun provided.

Why bother?

The sun would set, and then there would be nothing but a cold and lonely night ahead for the two orphans.

He knew it.

He had seen it with his own eyes, while other children ran to their parents, to be happy, to celebrate, they walked alone.

They woke up alone, they ate alone, they left their cold homes, and came back to an even colder place. Happiness was only temporary, and it was only a distraction, something that made you weak.

Why should he allow himself to feel the warmth of love, when at the end of the day he still had to face the cold reality.

He felt anger swell up inside of him, anger at himself, anger at Naruto.

How did the fool do it!

He would question himself every day.

How could he still smile, how could he give them a chance.

Sasuke was not blind, he noticed how the villagers would treat the blonde, the looks of pure disgust and hate, mixed with a little fear, and on others, guilt.

Yet, the blonde ignored it all, he moved forward, he forgave them every single day of his life. What he hated the most was the look in his eyes as he did it, a look of understanding, as if he didn't mind being the object of hate, shouldering the pain so others didn't have to.

It drove him insane.

"You don't have enough hate.."

His brothers words would leave him feeling cold and haunted, weak and powerless.

The nightmares, the constant nightmares when he would wake up alone, tears falling down his face as he witnessed the death of his family over and over again.

The nagging feeling in the back of his head, the voice that would tell him that it was wrong, that his brother would never do that without reason. To forgive him, to ask for answers.

He was just lonely is all, he still foolishly thought that maybe it was all a bad dream, and he still had not woken up from it.

That one day, the sweet sound of his mothers voice would call to him, and his eyes would snap open, and everything would be okay. He might even invite Naruto over to the clan home after the Academy, and treat him to a nice dinner with his family, so the blonde could experience it, at least once.

Itachi would always tell him to befriend the young whiskered teen, when he would as why, he would receive a small smile, and his brother would speak.

"Because loneliness is a harsh reality."

He never understood, until now.

He knew he should have been training, getting stronger, that just sitting here with the orange wearing loud mouth ninja that he had begun to call his closest friend was nothing but a waste of time, but..he didn't mind it, not one bit.

The small leaf drifted farther away, but for some strange reason, the winds picked up, and the other leaf pushed against it. Causing them both to drift closer to the tree, and each other, than ever before.

"Hey, Sauske."

The Uchiha was mildly surprised that he used his name.

"Hn." he responded, he was never one for words.

The blonde extended his hand out, finger tips seemingly brushing the sky and the moon. Tonight was one of those rare nights when even though the sun had yet to disappear, the moon was visible.

Two different things, each a necessity, never showing at the same time, for a small moment lived in peace on the same sky.

"Back at the bridge..why did you save?" the blonde asked.

Sasuke paused, his mind drifting back to the particular memory,he found himself squashing down a tinge of jealousy at the fact that Naruto was the one to defeat the powerful Shinobi known as Haku.

"I told you, my body just moved on its own.." he responded quietly.

It was a crap answer, he knew it, Naruto knew it, but still, the blonde gave a grin and chuckled.

"You know..I think..no, I know. If the situation was reversed, my body would move on its own too."

It was a simple statement.

Yet, it meant so much to the young Uchiha.

For once, a small true smile fell upon his face, something that Naruto did not miss, if the smile on the whiskered teens face was anything to go by.

The leaves drifted down together, circling each other slowly as they danced in the cool wind. These two leaves, that fell at the same time, that danced together, shared a special bond.

"Naruto."

Now it was the blondes turn to be slightly surprised.

"Hm?" he responded.

The Uchiha uncrossed his arms, and extended his hand outward.

Naruto stared at the hand for a little, before giving a small grin and reaching up to take it. The two stood, and basked in the warmth of each others company a little more.

No words needed to be spoken, they understood.

Suddenly, Sasuke realized something.

The sun may go down, but the light from the sun still reflected off the moon, allowing it to glow brightly in the dark sky.

The sun never left, and the moon was never really alone, and as the two walked side by side into the forest, two small leaves danced behind them in the breeze.

Gotta say, this had to be one of my favorite Chapters to write. Hope you guys liked it, by the way, I took down Rise and Son's of the Battle cry, I have new plans for them. Anyway I'll be making Omakes at the end of some of the chapters now to not only increase character depth and relationship, but as fun, like when Naruto, Morita and Takashi go to the strip club. This one I made a small one shot, but took it down because I felt like it would make more sense in this story, hope you liked it. This chapter sure does bring up a lot of questions huh? I can't wait till we get further into the story, I have so many goodies for you guys. Let me know what you think, review!

Next Chapter- Maelstrom Awakened

Translations and Infected Guide:

Tenkai (Heavens Release)

Keibatsu no Kyuuten(Judgment of Heaven)