Sasuke opened the door to the apartment and nearly staggered backwards as a repugnant odor affronted his senses. He had only been in the hospital for a couple of weeks, but the place smelled like it hadn't been cleaned in over a year.

Pinching his nose, he ventured inside, picking his way carefully through dirty piles of clothes and scattered trash. He pulled back the curtains, letting light pour into the dark, dank room, then flung open the window for good measure.

With that done, he walked over to the bed and poked the motionless lump under the covers in annoyance. "Get up, idiot."

The blonde's tousled head emerged, and he was taken aback by how pale and wan he was. Naruto had always seemed to possess boundless energy, but now he lay languidly on the bed, as if all the life had been sucked out of him. It appeared that things were even worse than he had thought.

"Oh, Sasuke, it's you," Naruto said in a dull voice.

"What have you been doing?" he snapped. "Are you so much of an idiot that you can't even keep this place clean on your own? It smells like something died in here!"

Naruto didn't rise up to the jibe but merely smiled placidly, which only made him more worried. "I packed your things for you, Sasuke. They're on the floor by the table."

"Hah? What are you talking about?"

"You're leaving, aren't you?"

He crossed his arms stubbornly. "I'm not going anywhere."

For the first time, a spark of the old fire entered Naruto's eyes. "You have to leave, dattebayo! They told you about me, didn't they? That I'm a-a monster?"

"You really are an idiot, aren't you? So what if the fox lives inside you? That doesn't make you a monster."

Naruto shook his head, looking nearly hysterical. "You can't stay here! What if I hurt you again?"

"I won't let that happen," he said, his voice steely with resolve. "I'm going to become

strong enough to kill my brother, so I'll definitely be able to handle the fox inside of you too. I'll protect you so you won't ever lose yourself again."

The war waging in Naruto's mind was easy to see. "I don't understand," he whispered miserably. "Why don't you hate me? You know what I am now, and after everything I've done..."

"I already said that doesn't matter, idiot. Get that through your thick skull. Now come on." He grabbed his arm and tugged him out of bed. "We're getting this place cleaned up and then we're going to train."

Naruto jerked away. "I'm done training. There's no point anymore."

"Don't be stupid. You want to become Hokage, don't you?"

The other boy gave a bitter laugh. "That was nothing more than a silly dream. There's no way someone like me can become Hokage."

"There is," he replied evenly, "because I'll help you. I meant to say this a while ago—but that's my answer."

Naruto looked at him, confusion evident on his face. "Your answer...?"

"You asked me what I would do after I killed my brother, and I've finally decided." He drew a deep breath. "Right now, killing Itachi is my goal, so once I achieve that, I just need to pick a new goal. And, well"—he looked away in embarrassment, hardly believing what he was about to say—"I figure it might not be so bad to see your stupid face up on the monument."

He waited for some reaction from Naruto, but the other boy only continued to stare at him blankly.

He finally rolled his eyes in exasperation. "I'm saying that I want to help you become Hokage, idiot."

Naruto's mouth fell open in shock. "Do you...do you really think I can do it?" he asked uncertainly.

He smirked. "Well, an idiot like you will need some help, but lucky for you, I'm not going anywhere."

He watched with relief as Naruto's face cleared at last and he broke into a sunny grin.

"Thanks, Sasuke!" He bounded forward and threw his arms around him. "Welcome back, dattebayo!"

"Hn." He allowed himself to relax into the embrace. "I'm home."

Author's Note: And that's the end! I'll miss this story, but this is the conclusion I've had planned from the start, and I think it's a fitting place to wrap things up. I want to personally thank everyone who's come along for this sweet, heartfelt ride (as well as give a special thanks to those of you who have favorited, followed, or reviewed). Your support has surpassed anything I could have imagined when I was writing this story. Also, just a heads up, I have another Naruto fic already in the works, so I hope you'll keep an eye out for that. Until next time!