Author's Note

This is a story about how things could've turned out if the final fight between Sasuke and Naruto had gone down differently.

It is simple, it is clichéd, a little silly and it is sappy. There is also angst and quite a lot of hurt.

It also contains my take on the Coliseum. I always found it so strange that ninja just accepted being treated like property.

But mainly, it's about two boys trying to do their best in a messy situation.

If you want romance, pining, fluff, angst and some dumb jokes that may or may not fly, then please; stay and read. Hopefully, you will enjoy it. If you do; we are kindred and should probably hang out.

End of Author's Note.

Naruto was sick of fighting. He had never expected himself to tire of it; the thrill of a good battle - he did love being a ninja, after all - but he was sick to his stomach by this. By the twists and turns that he should be prepared for by now, but still wasn't.

Most of all he was sick about the fact that after hours of fighting a common enemy, he had to exchange blows with the person of whom he cared the most. Again.

He didn't want this, despite the bravado and bright smile he had displayed before facing it. He was tired. Not physically, despite the war he had just fought (and won), but mentally. Emotionally. Desperation built up to a crescendo inside of him as he and Sasuke kept punching the ever living crap out of each other underneath the familiar masses of stone above them.

Had Hashirama felt this way when he fought Madara here? Had he been tired? Had he been sad? Had he wanted it all to just end?

Naruto didn't want everything to 'just end', though. He would never give up, no matter how difficult things got. No matter how much it hurt him to hurt Sasuke. Not to mention how much it hurt to take the full force of Sasuke's attacks. He sure had gotten strong.

Naruto knew that already, of course. Sasuke had always been strong, but during their years apart he had passed all limits of what should be humanly possible for someone who wasn't a jinchuuriki. Having trained under Orochimaru, fought his own brother and obtained the mangekyo sharingan and eventually the damn rinnegan - of course, he was a dangerous opponent.

But so was Naruto. The power surging between them was enough to level mountains and he was glad that Sakura was not there. He didn't want her anywhere near this, hundred healings jutsu in effect or not.

He could barely believe they had all been together mere moments ago. Fought together, won together. It had been like a dream, even amongst the horrors of war. They had been together; Team 7, at full power, and together.

Naruto had spent countless hours wondering about Sasuke's whereabouts when they had been apart. And not just that, but about his health, about what he did, about whether or not Sasuke ever thought about him. And that last part had always hurt Naruto the most, because what if he didn't? In his darkest moments, he had feared that Sasuke really did want to rid himself of his connection to Naruto. To Team 7. To Konoha - to everything that wasn't vengeance in some form.

Naruto had always been able to pull himself back up, because even though he sometimes felt doubt, he didn't really believe that. He had seen Sasuke's heart, in this very place, almost five years ago, and yes, a lot had happened over those years, but Naruto still believed that it hadn't changed.

Yet, here they were; fighting. In the same place, but for other reasons, and the stakes were so much higher this time around. Naruto had to win. He had to beat Sasuke badly enough for him not to be able to resist anymore so that Naruto could bring him back to Konoha.

It just hurt so much to inflict pain on Sasuke. Naruto felt as if his heart was breaking with every hit, with every punch that hit its mark, with every drop of blood that emerged from his former team mate.

But Naruto had to win.

His fist connected with Sasuke's jaw once again, and this time the Uchiha fell backwards and hit the stony riverbed with a splash. Naruto welcomed the opportunity to fall to his knees - exhaustion almost overtaking him - straddling Sasuke to the ground. He managed to get a number of hits directly in his opponents' face, and Sasuke's head fell back, which gave Naruto the chance to grab his collar. Their eyes met for a split second - an icy gaze meeting Naruto's burning eyes - and then Naruto pulled Sasuke forward, hard.

Sasuke's eyes almost fell shut and his face, which the second before had been near maniacal, all gritted teeth and almost snarling, was smoothed out and suddenly somewhat relaxed by the force, and maybe the surprise, of the pull.

At that moment something came over Naruto. It felt like a spark of electricity ran up his back and fired off in his brain. He had intended to headbutt Sasuke with all the force he could muster, but within a millisecond he had changed his mind, and without thinking Naruto braced the impact - and kissed him instead.

Their teeth nearly collided, lips pressed forcefully together as all of the desperation and longing that Naruto had felt for months poured into this moment, this one action of his inner truth. And need. And want.

It all happened so fast that he hadn't considered what Sasuke might think of it. The Uchiha was stiff beneath him, lips against his and Naruto's hands still tightly curled in his collar. Naruto had no time to prepare for the retaliation he was sure would come - and was surprised when he realised that it didn't. He was even more surprised when he noticed Sasuke's body relaxing, slowly - as if he was leaning into it. Leaning into the kiss, into him.

Naruto's breath hitched and the rush of electricity that ran through his body suddenly felt like fire. And he kissed Sasuke, this time for real, not just by banging their lips together and hoping for the best. His tongue found its way past Sasuke's lips and Sasuke met him, more careful at first but then with matching intensity. Their eyes met momentarily and Naruto noticed that the Sharingan had faded away. The dark, mismatching eyes fluttered shut and Naruto closed his eyes as well, loosening his grip of the collar, but still holding Sasuke close, and reaching up with one hand to touch soft, dark hair.

What is happening?, he thought, dazed, before he pushed the question away. He knew what was happening - he just couldn't believe it.

He stared blankly up into the roof of his dimly lit room. There were cracks in it. He wasn't quite enough the sad romantic to think just like in my heart, but it wasn't that far away.

Naruto was lying on his back in his bed with his hands behind his neck. It had been another sleepless night and dawn was near. He was supposed to go on a mission in the morning after two days off, and he couldn't wait.

It was easier when he was working.

When he was out on a mission he didn't have time to think about this stuff. He didn't have to see the stupid cracks in his stupid roof of his stupid, lonely apartment.

He tried to see past the roof and picture the moment again in his head. The moment when he understood that he hadn't been alone with his feelings. That Sasuke had felt the same way - or at least something similar. He tried to remember the feeling of Sasuke in his arms for the first time. It wasn't that hard, the moment had been etched into Naruto's memory like a tattoo; the rather clumsy kisses and very rough hands that tried to adapt from having punched the shit out of each other mere moments before to suddenly attempting at showing affection.

It had been such a mess, but a good mess. The best mess. And still, after all the time that had passed since then, his heartbeat started racing just thinking about it.

There were more memories like that by now. But the first kiss, that was special. Naruto had his selection of favourites and he could call almost all of them up if he just tried hard enough. He could picture them in his head almost as if it was happening again.

Almost.

But thinking about it wasn't the real thing. Sasuke wasn't there. He hadn't been for a long time, and Naruto hated every second of it.

Two years. Two years of this shit, he thought.

And just as he did, the other voice inside him rumbled:

"Is it really worth it, kid?"

Naruto didn't respond at once. Not because he didn't know the answer, but because he felt like he had to phrase it in the most correct way possible.

"Fuck yes, it is", he mumbled, his voice low, but sure, and Kurama said nothing else.

This asshole.

Yotsume eyed him over the edge of her glasses. The pale boy was smiling, but she knew she couldn't trust that. Thank god for the other two or she would have tried to avoid having to give them assignments and have someone else do it. But she couldn't turn down the chance to see the great hero of the 4th ninja war, and so here they were. The girl Sakura was rather delightful as well, no less since she was the only one who could shut Sai (the little prick) up. Yotsume had heard that he had a girlfriend now and she couldn't in her wildest dreams understand how someone could put up with his impudence. The girl in question must have the patience of an angel, and maybe something wrong with her head, because who could look at Team 7 and notice Sai before a true hero like...

Her eyes turned to Uzumaki Naruto. Tall and bright and so handsome. He was looking out the window, a rather solemn look on his face, which was slightly unusual. He was prone to smiles, she had noticed, and was easily flustered when people focused too much on him. Even this look suited him, though; he looked like the tragic hero of a romance novel, she thought and her heart skipped a beat. His back was straight as an arrow and his blue eyes caught the sunlight perfectly, making them shine like sapphires. She managed to hold back the sigh that was threatening to escape from her lips.

He must've noticed that she was watching him then because he turned and snapped out of his thoughts. One of his hands left his pocket to touch the back of his head as an embarrassed smile crossed his face.

"Sorry, sorry, Yotsume-san, I spaced out. Did I miss something?"

She cleared her throat, tried to hold back the blush that threatened to paint her cheeks pink and shuffled through a few of the papers she had in front of her.

"Er, no, Naruto-sama, I was just about to see what I have for you today."

"Just 'Naruto' is fine."

He said it almost absent-mindedly, and she was well aware of what he thought about being addressed that way, but she didn't care. He was a hero - he deserved respect. Yotsume thought that maybe he appreciated it deep down, but that he was too humble to let it show.

Sakura shifted her feet, cocked a hip to the side and placed a hand on it. Yotsume realised it was because she was getting impatient. Sai just kept on smiling his creepy ass smile.

She went back to her papers to look for something worthy of the hero and his team. High ranking missions weren't really a regular occurrence anymore, but she had at least a couple of A-ranks to choose from today. The Daimyos weren't all as chummy with each other as the Kage were these days, and some of them gladly paid to undermine a rival. Usually it was dumb stuff, more or less pranks, that were quickly discarded since they weren't suited for ninja. But sometimes the Daimyo actually had real reasons to check up on each other.

Yotsume quickly skimmed through the two A-ranks and picked the one she deemed the most appropriate for a ninja of Uzumaki Naruto's standing. A Daimyo suspected another of hosting an illegal fighting ring. These were not unusual allegations, but this one actually seemed viable and too important to not check up on. The suspicion was that the fighting ring was connected to a larger one, well known but never found; the Coliseum. It was a fighting ring for ninjas and thus the mission was considered dangerous.

It was strictly recon, though. If it actually was connected to the Coliseum it was important that they didn't spook the criminals operating it. The focus was to find proof of what was (or wasn't) going on and bring it back to the Daimyo who paid for this part of the mission (probably because of some personal vendetta against the other Daimyo, but still) and to the Hokage, who would decide the next step of the investigation depending on what type of evidence was found.

She knew Team 7 rarely got recon missions, although she was a little unsure why. Surely Uzumaki Naruto could handle any situation thrown at him. Plus this was the most exciting mission she could find, despite it being recon.

She cleared her throat.

"Your next assignment is A-rank, recon only. All you need is in the file."

Sakura picked up the file and bowed her head slightly in thanks. Naruto smiled and waved as they both turned to leave and Yotsume let her mind wander as she watched him go. Her eyes followed the line of his body, from his strong neck, to his broad shoulders, toned back and slim waist down to…

"Bye, four-eyed pervert!"

She snapped out of it, a crimson blush creeping up her face.

Fucking Sai…

"A recon, though?" Naruto said as they left the building. "They must really be running dry on missions, when was the last time we got recon?"

He scratched his head as he leaned forward over Sakura's shoulder to try and get a look at the file. She sighed and turned, waving it in front of him, clearly annoyed.

"Don't complain, Naruto, we get what we get. Either way we should just do our best and savour these last few missions together. Both Sai and I will be taking our jounin exams next month and when we pass we'll get assigned to other teams or positions. This might be one of the last missions we do together as Team 7".

Naruto straightened his back and the hand on his head drifted to the back of it. He had a sinking feeling in his gut; he knew she was right, there was no risk of either of them failing the exam. And he, since he was technically still a genin, renowned war hero or not, couldn't take the test with them.

He knew that Sakura was planning on moving on from a life of missions and take position at the hospital after becoming jounin. She had told him that her goal was to become head chief of medicine before turning 20 and he believed she could. She only had a year left to do it, but she would probably make it. She was the best medic-nin to have come along since Granny Tsunade, after all.

Naruto glanced over at Sai, who said nothing and seemed unfazed by the idea of an undercover job. Naruto figured he was used to this sort of mission. He'd probably even excel at it. Naruto knew Sai wanted to enter the police force and use his knowledge from his time in Root to make sure nothing like that ever happened in Konoha ever again.

Naruto's own goal seemed farther away than ever. Taking the chunin exam again, without his team - or anyone else he knew, for that matter - was not happening. He was rarely ashamed, but the thought of being put on a team with 13-year olds to get through the exam… No, plain and simple.

Kakashi-sensei had given him a way out by offering to let him study until he was considered jounin-material, but studying had never been Naruto's strong suit, and after a few months with his head buried in scrolls as soon as he wasn't on a mission, his motivation had dwindled, and as such Iruka sensei never recommended him for the position.

The absence of any signs of life from a certain someone hadn't helped.

Team 7, by the way… Sure, they were technically Team 7 - and Sai was a natural part of it by now - but they weren't complete. Kakashi-sensei was the Hokage, Yamato-taicho was off doing whatever the heck he was doing (they had barely seen him since the war ended) and Sasuke… Well.

Either way. The thought of losing Sakura and Sai soon sure sucked. Their missions together was one of the few things that kept Naruto's mind off other things and their companionship made him feel less lonely. And soon they'd be split up. Naruto bit the inside of his cheek, trying to hold back any signs of how that made him feel. He was happy for them but really sad for his own sake at the same time. Not that he would ever admit that. He wouldn't want to rain on their parade.

He sighed and raised his hands in defeat.

"You're right, you're right! I'm not complaining, I'm just surprised, that's all", he said and produced a faint smile.

Sakura seemed to relax by that and she handed him the file and put her hands on her hips. Her face had softened and Naruto, to his dismay, noticed a hint of concern embedded in her light green eyes. He didn't want her to worry about him, but he knew she did anyway.

He tried to wave it away by changing the subject.

"Sai, dude, why are you always rude to Yotsume-san? It's so unnecessary."

Sai smiled, not the weird, forced smile he still sometimes displayed among other people, but a real one. He tilted his head slightly to one side and said, matter-of-factly:

"Well, because she is a four-eyed pervert, of course. She has glasses and she's always checking out your…"

"What Sai is trying to say…" Sakura interrupted, glaring at Sai to make him shut up. "... is that she's clearly smitten with you and has a hard time keeping it a secret."

Naruto stared at them both, dumbfounded.

"What?"

"Naruto, please. You can't possibly be this dense", Sakura sighed and touched her forehead with a slightly bothered look on her face. "Look; you're a hero. Everyone knows who you are and everyone thinks you're great."

Naruto cringed a little inside. The 12-year-old him would have loved hearing those things, but now he just found it strange. It was weird to adjust from being shunned to being... He wouldn't say loved, but admired, at least. He didn't think he'd ever get used to it.

Sakura continued:

"It's not unusual for people to be attracted to that sort of thing. You probably have to get used to it, and most of all; you have to learn to notice it and realise when someone likes you for you or for your status. I get that that will be hard for you, but please, just try? It's embarrassing to watch how oblivious you can be to these things."

Naruto listened to her as he watched a group of younger girls pass them by. They were whispering, eyes wide and they even started walking backwards to be able to keep looking at him. He smiled nervously and the group erupted in excited screams and giggles.

Okay, that was pretty obvious.

Sakura snorted at the girls, annoyed again. Naruto figured that if everyone was just a bit more like those girls and were open and unashamed of their emotions things would just be a hell of a lot easier. But he still didn't think he'd ever get used to it or learn how to handle it well.

The type of romance he was used to was vastly different, after all.

It didn't take them very long to gather the things they needed for the mission. Since it was recon and they were supposed to execute it undetected and undercover, they had to opt for a less "ninja-ish" look, so all three went back to their respective flats to change into civilian clothes. Sakura had given the boys some pointers and promised them to get the finishing touches for their disguises herself.

Naruto chose to still wear his black jacket since he deemed it discrete enough, but he changed his shinobi sandals for regular ones and his orange pants to a more loose-fitting, light grey pair. He folded the legs on them twice to leave his ankles bare.

Of course, he skipped the forehead protector, utility bag and the other gear he usually wore and packed a regular bag with whatever he deemed necessary. The looser pants gave him the opportunity to hide a kunai by strapping it to his calf. The mission was supposed to be discrete after all and none of his jutsus really fitted that mould, so he reckoned it could be useful to have a silent weapon easily available.

When he was done he threw his travelling cloak over his shoulders and left the apartment to meet up with Sakura and Sai. He was more aware than ever of all the people who turned to watch him as he walked through town. A few of them waved and greeted him, but that Naruto was used to by now and he gladly waved back with a smile. It was just a nice thing to do. But he had no idea how completely oblivious he had been to all the eyes that were upon him each step he took - and especially not the way some people looked at him. Sakura's lecture about how people were drawn to him turned out to be very accurate, and it was bothersome.

How the hell was he supposed to execute a secret recon mission if everyone recognized his face? Did people in other places know what he looked like as well? Should he be wearing a mask…?

When he finally reached the gate where they were supposed to meet, he was a little flustered and his cheeks were slightly red. He felt exposed and almost… dirty. The last drop had been two women, probably a few years older than him, who had watched him like a couple of wolves getting ready to devour a helpless fawn. How had he not noticed these things before? Naruto almost wished Sakura hadn't said anything so he could've kept on living in ignorant bliss.

He looked around for his teammates and spotted Sai. Sakura didn't seem to be there yet. Sai was dressed in a plain, dark grey haori, his usual, narrow legged pants and black, civilian sandals. He didn't look up or greeted Naruto in any way, he just jumped right into conversation.

"What happened to you?"

Naruto winced.

"What?"

Sai looked him over, a neutral, kind of hard-to-read expression on his face.

"You look embarrassed", he said simply, and after a thoughtful moment he added: "I think".

Naruto made a face and leaned his back against the wall by the gate. He crossed his arms and tried not to pout, but it was dangerously close. When he talked he bit out the words, just a few at a time.

"It's just… Sakura was right. People stare. A lot. Especially girls. And they giggle."

Sai smiled, almost empathetically. He had gotten a lot better with these kinds of things since he started dating Ino, Naruto thought.

"It must be because they can tell you have a really small di..."

"Oh, shut up, asshole!" Naruto growled.

Apparently he had been wrong, Sai still sucked at these kinds of things. To his surprise, Sai laughed and Naruto realised he had just been teasing, using his old mean nickname for Naruto as a joke and nothing else.

Naruto wasn't sure if he found the joke very funny, but he couldn't help but smile. Sai hadn't used that nickname once since the war. It was dead and buried, along with Sai's old troubled, smile-less self. Overall Sai was really nice to be around, these days, at least for the people who knew him. People he didn't know still got to experience his less… accommodating self, at times. Like Yotsume-san. Naruto suddenly realised that the reason Sai was mean to her might be because he didn't like that she was ogling Naruto in inappropriate ways.

It wasn't the first time that Naruto's view of Sai changed slightly, but he still was surprised by that revelation.

"I tried to cheer you up. Did it work?" Sai asked, seriously.

Naruto blinked at him, again - surprised. Then he smiled. He wasn't so dense that he didn't notice the faint hint of hopefulness in Sai's voice.

"Yeah, I guess. But don't call me that, that's not what cheered me up."

Sai just smiled back at him.