Sasuke just stared wildly from Hinata to Naruto trying to find something…anything to alert him that it was an illusion but alas it was not. Itachi chuckled softly as he caressed the cheeks of his two prisoners garnering evil glares from Kakashi.

"What's the meaning of this Itachi?" Jiraiya asked. "If you're not going to release them then why'd you bring them to meet us?"

"And what's the bullshit about them wanting to stay?" Sasuke asked. No one in their right mind would want to stay with that lunatic! Again Itachi just chuckled. "Well? ANSWER ME GOD DAMMIT!" All of a sudden Itachi gave Hinata a playful nudge and she broke into a run across the bridge. Kakashi couldn't believe what he was seeing and it wasn't until she was in his arms that he realized it was real. He kneeled down and just buried himself into her, squeezing her tightly while she cried happy tears on his shoulder. He pulled away and patted her on the head.

"We'll pick this up later alright? Now get behind me." She nodded tearfully and then quickly ran behind him so that she'd be protected.

"Alright. So you've sent the girl over. Are we going to have to fight you for the kit?" Jiraiya asked. He dropped his back pack and pulled out a scroll readying for battle.

"You know, Itachi and I go out of our way to be nice to you all and this is the thanks that we get? Maybe we should leave now Itachi. They don't…"

"No wait…please," Kakashi managed. He was still in shock about Hinata and it was taking everything he had to hold it together but he still had a job to do. He'd have to cry later. This was more important right now. "Please just…tell me why you are giving them back without a fight? I...I'm confused."

"Them?" Itachi asked. "Whoever said I was giving them both back?" Kakashi and Jiraiya just looked at each other with grim expressions on their faces.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU PLAYING AT ITACHI?! GIVE NARUTO BACK TO ME NOW!" Sasuke screamed. Itachi's smirk turned into a wide grin and Sasuke couldn't take it anymore. Blinded by rage, Sasuke's body began to transform then without thinking, he started across the bridge after his brother.

"NO! SASUKE WAIT!" Kakashi yelled but then…

"GAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Sasuke was sent flying back across the bridge flat on his face. Kakashi ran over to Sasuke to check on him but Sasuke slapped his hand away. He slowly stood to his feet, a hurt and confused expression drawn on his face. "Why…Naruto? I don't…understand," he huffed. Kakashi and Jiraiya both gasped when they finally looked across the bridge. Surrounding Kisame and Itachi were hundreds of shadow clones in the form of Naruto, each one holding a kunai in their hands. Kakashi's heart just sank and Jiraiya looked furious.

"Naruto…what's the meaning of this and boy you better make this good. After all I've done for you and you go and do something like this? ANSWER ME BOY OR I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU MYSELF! I'LL FORGET ALL ABOUT THE FORTH BEING YOUR…" All of the sudden, the clones disappeared leaving the true Naruto standing out front. He took a few steps away from Itachi but just stopped staring at his former master.

"What…did you just say…pervy sage?" the kit asked. Jiraiya continued to stare the boy down, his face red with fury.

"It doesn't matter what I said Naruto. You owe me an explanation for this and…"

"Did I hear you correctly in saying that the 4th was my father?" he asked completely ignoring his former sensei. Jiraiya cursed softly under his breath before shaking his head.

"You didn't hear anything."

"Oh…I…I see," the blonde said softly. "Well then. Guess there's no need for me to hang around." The kit took a few steps back towards Itachi but Jiraiya had already begun his assault. Of course, Itachi was already a step ahead and managed to block the flying kunais from hitting Naruto. The kit turned glaring angrily at his former master.

"Why'd you attack me?"

"You…of all people Naruto…you would betray your village just so you can live? That doesn't sound like the student I trained," he spat.

"Yeah well, I don't care anymore. Besides, you never trained me like you said you would anyway. All you cared about was your precious research and…"

"Naruto!" Kakashi had about had enough of this. Just what is Naruto trying to do? Is he really for real… "Naruto…you're joking right?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" he asked. Kakashi cut his eyes over at Sasuke who was just standing there staring at the ground. It was as if he was dead inside with no hope for carrying on.

"Naruto. Think about what you're doing here," Jiraiya pleaded. "I…You know I could never kill you. I just…even if I wanted to I'd never have the heart to actually do it but listen to me. If you defend those two then you are betraying your village. That's treason and it's also a crime."

"So what? It's not like the villagers really give a shit about me anyway."

"Na…Naruto? Where's all this coming from?" Kakashi asked. He was still utterly confused about the whole situation. Nothing…nothing about the situation was making much sense. He would have thought that his precious Hinata would have been raped or tortured (thank God she wasn't!) but they'd returned without so much as a scratch. It just didn't make sense. Why kidnap somebody if you were going to give them back?

"I had some time to think things over and I realized something sensei; I realized that I'm not needed in the village anymore. I haven't done anything but cause people unnecessary trouble but if I stay away then everything will be alright."

"How? How will everything be alright?" Sasuke asked. "I don't…this isn't you Naruto. You…are you just giving up without a fight? You know those bastards want to kill you so you're just going to give them what they want?" I don't understand. God…help me understand why he's…

"Yeah well…I know it sounds bad but…I've made my choice. The Akatsuki were after me and so they got me. Now that I'm gone, the village will be safer and everyone can get on with their lives. Besides, most of the people in the village still fear me. Others hate me." He shrugged. "I think it's time for me to go. I'm not needed here anymore…"

"HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT NARUTO!?" Sasuke screamed.

"Because it's the truth Sasuke. The Hokage-sama thinks I'm troublesome. That old coot is always finding a reason to leave the village so I always end up training alone. Sakura hates me. You hate me…"

"I DON'T HATE YOU NARUTO!" he screamed. "GOD…IF ANYTHING I…" He never got a chance to finish his statement for the battle had begun. Itachi and Kisame were now on the other side of the bridge facing off against Jiraiya and Kakashi. Naruto turned and was running away from the fight. Sasuke however, refused to let him go and so he ran after him. "NARUTO! NARUTO WAIT! DON'T…PLEASE…" The kit stopped in his tracks turning slowly to face his friend.

"Go away Sasuke. I'm serious. I don't…I won't go back."

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME NARUTO! YOU CAN'T…YOU JUST CAN'T LEAVE LIKE THIS!" Sasuke was now panicking and it was coming out through his wavering voice. Naruto only stared at him with a dull look on his face.

"Why Sasuke? Why should I stay when all this time you've only cared about yourself?"

"THAT'S…THAT'S NOT TRUE! I'VE ALWAYS CARED ABOUT YOU! YOU WERE LIKE A BROTHER TO ME SINCE THAT BASTARD ITACHI…"

"Don't…you…dare…call him a bastard Sasuke. You may not have murdered your entire clan but you are no better than him. Remember when you tried to kill me so you could run off to be with Orochimaru?" Sasuke's face went pale at the very thought of that day. Naruto laughed coldly at the look on Sasuke's face. "Yeah. Judging by the look on your face, I'd say you remember quite well."

"Na…Naruto listen to me. I…I was confused. I…I NEEDED SOMEONE TO HELP ME GET MY BROTHER AND…"

"Always about you," he scoffed. Sasuke watched as Naruto's normally beautiful blue eyes suddenly turned cold as ice. The look he was getting from the kit was making his blood curl.

"Na…ruto…I…"

"You never cared about me Sasuke. Oh sure you may have thought of me as a brother at one point but to even think you are better than Itachi is just plain wrong. You did the very same thing to me that he did to you. You left me…your own brother…your very best friend to be with the enemy…and all because you couldn't handle that I was better than you."

"But…BUT THAT'S NOT TRUE! I DID CARE…"

"All you could think about was finding a way to be better than me."

"THAT'S NOT TRUE AND YOU KNOW IT! YOU'VE KNOWN SINCE WE WERE LITTLE THAT I'M AN AVENGER! I HAVE TO GET HIM BACK FOR WHAT HE DID TO OUR CLAN! HOW IS THAT SO WRONG NARUTO??"

"It's wrong when you hurt the ones you claim to love to reach your goals."

"But that's…"

"Not fair? Hmpf. Give me a break Sasuke. You wanna know the big difference between you and me?" Sasuke just stared at him horrified as tears streamed down his face. "I worked my ass off to get to where I am today and I had to do it alone. If I had not ran into that pervy sage, I would have been stuck with Ebisu as a trainer for the chunin exams and I never would have realized my potential. Still…Jiraiya could have cared less whether or not I made chunin. All he and the rest of the elders cared about was making sure the 'nine tailed beast' was kept safe from the Akatsuki. And you…Kakashi was very adamant about training you," he mocked. "Oh yes, let me train my precious little Sasuke so he can…"

"ENOUGH! I'VE HAD ENOUGH NARUTO! WHAT ARE YOU JEALOUS OF ME ALL OF A SUDDEN?"

"Yeah right. Like I'd be jealous of you. I'll admit that I used to be jealous of you but now, I'm actually very ashamed of you. I would never do what you did to my friends and even though I can't stand you right now, I could never kill you Sasuke because I care about you very much."

"AND I CARE ABOUT YOU TOO! THAT'S WHY YOU…THAT'S WHY YOU HAVE TO STAY BECAUSE WITHOUT YOU…I'M NOTHING WITHOUT NARUTO! I HAVE NO ONE ELSE BUT YOU! YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE WHO UNDERSTANDS ME AND…"

"I'm sorry but I can't. I've made my decision and…" Sasuke quickly ran at Naruto tackling him to the ground. He then straddled him pinning both his hands above his head with one hand and the other he kept as a fist. He drew back to punch Naruto in the face but then he began to sob.

"Why…Naruto? I don't…I know I hurt you before…but you never said anything about it. I came back to the village to be with you…"

"You didn't act like it. All we did when you got back was fight." Sasuke looked down into the kits eyes searching desperately for some kind of warmth in his eyes but there was none. He could see nothing but emptiness and loneliness in his eyes. "Oh…God Naruto…" he sobbed.

He cupped the kit's face and pressed his lips to his but there was no response. He started planting sloppy wet kisses on the side of his neck praying he'd return the feelings but he would not. He tried kissing his lips again but the kit just smirked. Its no use...

All of a sudden Sasuke was blown away from Naruto; his back landing harshly against a stone boulder. The impact of the hit took the raven haired shinobi off guard and the very wind had been knocked out of him. He did not move for several seconds because the pain was just too much. His entire body was hurting like hell and he was fairly certain he'd cracked a few ribs. When he finally managed to open his eyes what he saw made his heart sank. Naruto was standing over him holding a Rasengan ball in his hand, eyeing him with a cold, intense stare.

For the first time in his life since that day in the Forest of Death, Sasuke was scared he was going to die. Sasuke tried to move but pain shot through his body like a bolt of electricity causing him to cry out in pain. But that pain was nothing compared to the pain he was feeling in his heart. He somehow managed to move his head enough to look down at his chest. Sure enough it had been Naruto's rasengan that had hit him in his ribs. He quickly looked up to meet the kit's lips near his. They were close enough to kiss but the kit only smirked. He leaned closer and placed his lips to Sasuke's ear and whispered.

"The Valley of the End was where you left your heart. Here, at The Great Naruto Bridge, is where I'll leave mine. Good-bye…Sasuke." Naruto drew back and hit Sasuke one last time with the Rasengan.

"Na…I love…" Sasuke's eyes blinked open a few times before they finally closed for the last time; the last images being Itachi, Naruto, and Kisame disappearing into nothingness together. Naruto…I…I've lost you forever…I guess…I have no reason to exist anymore…

AN: Alright people. We possibly have one or two more chapters and that's it. I might do a sequel but if I do, I won't start it immediately. I have to finish up my other Sasu/Naru story. If you haven't read it, it's called 'Confessions of a Dying Heart'. The next chapter will of course, feature more of our beloved Kakashi/Hinata. AND the next chapter will probably be REALLY long. I say this because the way it's looking, it will be pretty long. Which is why the next update won't be soon. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. All questions will be answered in the next chapter. Review if you want. Thanks to all my readers who continuously stick with me and leave awesome comments. You guys are the best! For the people reading 'Nightwish', I promise to update that one soon too. Just taking me sometime.