My GOD~ This chapter came SOOOOO late didn't it^___^; My deadline was beginning of August, it's the beginning of the next month… I'm so slow^^;;

But you know what? 2 bad! I'm the writer, and you are the readers, so I CONTROL the story!!! *laughs laughing retardedly*

But I only want to say one thing before you ppl go off to read this last chapter, I got about a dozen reviews telling me about how it was SO SAD that it was the end and that Sasuke and Naruto had died -___-

It's not the end… they did not die…

^___^; That's all, I LUV Y'ALL!!!!!!!! *heart*

Power and control really was important, Sasuke realized suddenly, it was power on your own decisions and control over your actions and determination to follow your integrity and do what is right. And power and control was always closely linked by emotion and passion, passion for oneself and passion for the one most dear.

                It was never about revenge, Sasuke knew as a blissful darkness had overwhelmed him, it was about a love lost and a love that was yet to be discovered.

                Naruto…

                Why is it at the very last moment, when all is dismantled into obliviation that he is finally able to find the answers he desperately tried to find all his life?

                Naruto… I….

                Why is it at the very last moment, before Sasuke could truly say what he wanted to tell Naruto for so long, when it all comes to an end?

                Naruto… I love you…

                He only hoped that Naruto would finally see and know what he truly felt for the blond-haired boy, by words unsaid, and his final decision for the power and control of his actions to lose what he wants most.

And to have Naruto have what is most important.

                Live…

                Breathe…

                " Sasuke."

                Was this death, something he has long tried to fight against, has it finally succeeded in consuming him? Sasuke found that it was not at all like what he had expected. The darkness was fading away to blur back into his surroundings and rather than to have his pain recede, he could still feel the distinctively throbbing of his strained muscles.

                " Sasuke…"

                He could hear Naruto's sweet tenor voice, softly calling out for him. Could God have answered his prayers and send an angel in the form of his loved one? Sasuke blinked twice, moaning audibly as his vision cleared slowly and he saw a blurred face atop of him.

                " Naruto?" He questioned hoarsely, his voice was strangled and dry and his throat hurt when he spoke. Naruto smiled weakly at him above him, his face pale but his smile still radiant. Sasuke lifted a shaking hand to place it against Naruto's face and rubbed it gently, his fingers flitting softly over the three lines that graced the side.

                He felt a waterfall of relief fall over him, the rush was exhilarating as he tried to summon the strength to lift himself up but was unable to. Instead, he brushed his own hair out of his eyes with a bloodied hand and smirked up at Naruto.

                " I'm alive." Sasuke remarked in barely concealed surprise. He was alive, and so was Naruto. Everything was going to be alright.

                Naruto grinned at him, appearing not to care at all that his arch nemesis was still rubbing his face and quickly flashed him a *V* sign. Sasuke didn't fail to notice how he flinched as he did, how his face contorted with pressure and pain with every movement he made.

                " Naruto?" Sasuke said softly and stared at him questioningly, suddenly as though something extremely cold had just slipped down his spine, he realized something wasn't right. Grunting with effort, Sasuke pulled his hand away from Naruto's face to lift his upper body up from the ground. His eyes widened as he took in everything around him.

                " What? What happened?" Sasuke stammered in disbelief. The area surrounding him was blasted into pieces and flames still flickered in dead branches. His heart suddenly clenched painfully when he looked ahead and saw two lifeless bodies in front of him. He looked to the person sitting in between him and his brother, his eyes asked the mute question already so he did not have to speak. Naruto continued to smile sadly at him, and there was something final in that smile, like his mother's…

                " Sasuke… please, don't blame your brother… It isn't his fault…"

                Before she had died, lying there on the ground battered and broken, she had looked at him with the eyes of a loving mother. A mother who loved his sons more than anything, one son that she wanted to prevent from going through of life of revenge and loneliness an inch before death, and the other who had betrayed her and yet she can never truly blame.

                It was the same smile, the one that clearly showed just how much love the person withholding it felt for the person in front of him. The love that revealed how the person would do anything to protect that special person; even in death. Yet Sasuke never saw the love and care in the smile of his mother, staring only with eyes that were blinded by hatred. He wasn't about to make the same mistake.

                " Naruto?" He asked softly for the second time, and it hurt to ask because in some part of him, he knew what had happened. He had always known what were the consequences in some small part of his mind, and he still chose the path of revenge.

                Naruto still smiled that same sad smile that told Sasuke so much more than words coming from a mouth ever could. " I-" Naruto faltered, before with a sudden lurch, a red liquid had dribbled out from the corner of his mouth and he spat out a pool of blood.

                " NARUTO!" Sasuke cried in concerned shock, he leaned over quickly to catch Naruto as he fell forward into his lap. " FUCK! Naruto! What happened!" Sasuke cried out when he saw Naruto's back gashed and bloodied, it made him sick to the stomach and he suddenly felt an awful sort of despair overwhelm him, the kind that offered no space for hope. Sasuke quickly pulled off his shirt and tore it into stips in a frenzied hurry, his mind hardly working properly at all.

                " Don't worry Naruto…" Sasuke assured Naruto, though he had a feeling he was saying it for himself even more. He wrapped the strips of clothe around the back, wounding it with quick swipes and told himself that it was alright that the blood soaked right through the clothe, swallowing it into the dark crimson. It was going to be alright, Sasuke told himself, yet he could feel the blood splash against his hands as he desperately tried to cover the wound.

                " Naruto, you'll make it. Iruka and Kakashi will come any second now and they'll help, don't worry…" Sasuke muttered again quickly, his face dripping with perspiration as he gently pulled Naruto's limp body into his arms and cradled him in his lap. He wiped his bloody hands on his pants without looking and lifted one of them to tenderly brush the blond strands off hair off Naruto's face. " Come on, come on…" Sasuke whispered, and suddenly, the entire forest stilled. Naruto's eyes slowly fluttered open, and when he saw Sasuke, he smiled a slow lazy grin. " Hey…" He said groggily, seeming not to notice that his entire back was almost torn open to the bone.

                Sasuke exhaled in relief, unable to help himself but to smile back in return, a reassuring smile. " Don't worry…" Sasuke murmured, not caring that he was repeating himself again. Sasuke rocked Naruto gently, feeling all the love for the boy rushing through his veins, and he wanted to tell Naruto so much. About how he loved him, about how he could never stop thinking about him, about how he was willing to do anything for him. But what if- what if Naruto didn't feel the same?

                " I…" Sasuke started softly, before Naruto lifted a hand slowly. " You want to know what happened right?" Naruto peered at him tiredly with half-drooped eyes in question. Sasuke hesitated, before nodding in consent.

                Naruto averted his eyes towards the sky instead, while Sasuke continued to gaze at Naruto, unable to look away. He wasn't about to care that he could feel the warm crimson liquid seeping through the stiff cloth of his pants and feeling wet on his thighs. He didn't want to notice how pale Naruto had gotten, how his skin was ghostly white and so translucent that he could see the veins around his eyes, blue and red twisting together.

                " Nine-Tails…" Naruto started weakly, his lips were still bright red from the blood that was not wiped from his mouth. " Nine-Tails, he had killed your brother, he saw him in front of us and used the last of his drained energy to end your brother's life…" Naruto said hoarsely, and Sasuke knew painfully that it was a terrible struggle for him to speak. A part of him wanted to yell out to Naruto to stop talking and save energy, but another needed to know what had happened. " But he was happy when he died though, he was smiling… I think it was a relief, and maybe it was at the brink of death when he realized everything he had done and everything he was going through, maybe death was a better path then the dead end he was at now." Naruto spoke softly, his eyes still gazing up at the skies, there was a ghost of a smile still dancing across his lips.

            There was a brief silence, and Sasuke felt the back of his eyes prickling- his brother, had died.

                " And Nine-Tails?" Sasuke choked out, hating himself for sounding so cold. Naruto drew a deep breath, it sounded like it took a lot of effort.

                " He… died as well." Naruto ended quietly. Sasuke stared at him. " Why?"

                " When a demon is trapped inside the host, it can stay alive while the host is still breathing. But there is one way to destroy it, and that is to destroy the host himself…" Naruto answered, and he turned his bright blue eyes back to Sasuke. " I'm dying Sasuke…" Naruto whispered, his eyes wide and painful. " I'm dying, that's why Nine-Tails couldn't survive… the demon always passes away before the host." Naruto's voice cracked, as though he too found it hard to believe everything that was happening.

                Sasuke was shocked for a moment, the fact wouldn't sink into his mind… it couldn't be…

                " I can't… Y-You can't…" Sasuke stammered in disbelief, and he unconsciously pulled Naruto closer to him. " You idiot!! YOU FUCKING IDIOT!" Sasuke cried out in despair so great he wanted to die just to end it. He felt his shoulders shaking as the sobs tore out of his throat harshly and uncontrollably. " You moved in front of me didn't you, just before the blast got to us! You fucking moved in front of me and now you're going to die! And you're going to leave me alone! Why the hell did you do it?" Sasuke murmured painfully, dry sobs interrupting his words several times.

            Naruto continued to peer at him, still innocent, still pure and there was almost a glow around him that Sasuke only noticed now. Perhaps it was because he was finally free from Nine-Tails, or maybe it was always there and he just never saw. " I- I don't know… I saw you in front of me and a blinding light coming towards us… and I realized, that I didn't want you to die Sasuke, as much of a bastard as you are…" Naruto felt tears begin to well in his eyes, and didn't know why. " I didn't want you to die… I wanted to protect you… I didn't want you to die…" Naruto repeated, as his tears dripped from his long lashes to runs down his smudged cheeks.

                " Why did you have to save me though, I don't want to live… not without you." Sasuke cried out painfully. " God Naruto… I don't want to cry anymore…" Sasuke murmured softly, his voice rugged and scratched. " Aniki is gone… don't leave me too, don't leave…"

                Naruto sighed tiredly, his brows wrinkled up in effort to stay awake. " Remember that day, when you sacrificed your life to save me, and Haku told me that you saved me because I was important to you?" Naruto gave a glowing smile, with his cheeks and lashes wet. " I was truly happy, perhaps I didn't realize that at first, but I was so relieved and happy that I was special to someone… to people… but I don't think I would have been so happy, and so sad if it was Iruka saving me…" A pause.

" Instead of you…"

                Sasuke was stunned and he grabbed Naruto tightly, holding him in his arms. He looked carefully into Naruto's eyes and still fought the urge to cry. " I love you Naruto… I really do..." Sasuke finally choked out. " I love you so much I want to die right now just so that I could be with you, I can't live a life without you Naruto."

                " Idiot." Naruto said immediately. " I'm giving up my life for you Sasuke, please, do me one last favour and live. Promise me, I want you to breathe in life until the day your end truly comes, and someday, we'll meet again."

                Sasuke wanted to keep this one last promise for the one he loved, but it would be so hard. He stared into Naruto's pleading eyes and nodded, there was a note of finality to it.

                " I love you Naruto…" Sasuke said again, tasting those words in his mouth like a bittersweet fruit. Naruto beamed sadly at him, and he seemed so alive there for a moment that Sasuke felt hope springing back into his heart.

                " I know." Naruto answered quietly. " I think I've always known… Just don't say that anymore, pretend that you never loved me."

                " I c-can't…" Sasuke whispered so softly that Naruto did not hear.

                " Pretend you never loved me and I'll pretend I never knew, it would less hard on both of us that way…" Naruto continued to stare at him with those beautiful blue eyes, tear droplets still on his lashes. " Just stay here with me, until the end." Naruto's eyes closed shut slowly, his chest still moving up and down steadily, a smile upon his lips.

                And Sasuke held his hand the entire time, gripping it tightly like he was pulling at Naruto's last lifely. It seemed like an enternity, it seemed like seconds, but the boy's pulse soon began to slow, then fade a way. Sasuke finally let go of the hand, and crawled over to the tree only several feet away, he then grabbed a sharp rock in his hand and carved out two names under the two that were already there.

                " Sasuke and Naruto…"

                He then stared at those words and ran his fingers over them softly. He gazed at them blankly until the sun rose and the sky cleared to a tangy orange colour.

It was in the end, when Sasuke finally let his tears fall.

*10 years later*

Kakashi pulled Iruka close to him as they walked, the sorrow had just begun to fade away, he only hoped that Naruto was happy where he was.

" Kakashi..." Iruka suddenly spoke up quietly and stopped walking, and the handsome grey-haired man peered down at his lover, halting in his steps as well. He tucked his fingers under the slighter built man's face and lifted it up slightly, he was not surprised to see them shining with unshed tears. The pain was clearly marked on Iruka's face, the guilt and the love.

" I hate it, every time we come here…" Iruka said painfully. " We could have saved him Kakashi, if we didn't waste our time running around everywhere else, we could have gotten there in time and saved him…" Iruka clutched the taller man's hand so tightly it was almost painful.

                " It was inevitable Iruka…" Kakashi said softly, wanting to comfort the man.

                " I hate being here… there are just too many memories, I want to leave." Iruka said stubbornly, the plastic bag in his other hand crinkled crisply as he moved it.

                " And deprive Naruto from his ramen? Hardly." Kakashi retorted with a chuckle, even though it was far from a laughing matter. " It happened ten years ago, we have to get over it, Naruto would want us to."

                " Sasuke never got over it…" Iruka murmured, and Kakashi felt his heart clench as well at the fact. " Sasuke is Hokage, he can have anything he wants now." Kakashi answered stiffly.

                " But he never got what he wanted most." Iruka said immediately and emotionlessly. Kakashi couldn't answer. There was a short silence before the plastic bag crumpled it again and the ramen cups inside jangled together.

                " But it's alright. " Iruka said quickly with faked cheerfulness, "we better get to the grave now before we're late and get Naruto his ramen." Kakashi nodded in agreement, and they resumed walking again through the forest. They walked for sometime before a sound stopped them in there tracks, only a few feet from their destination.

                It was the sound of despair, a desperate sobbing that made both Kakashi and Iruka's heart clench sadly.

                " Naruto… Come back to me… Please… I can't stand it with out you…" Sasuke sobbed desperately… " I don't want to live, I don't know if I can keep that promise, I don't want to live and I still love you… I can't forget about you…" He sat there with his arms wrapped around his knees, staring at the stone tablet that was nailed to the tree, tears pouring down his flushed cheeks.

                " It's been so hard… I tried so hard not to remember, but I can't help myself… I need you, I need you so damn much… I couldn't even visit you for ten years, because I was so afraid…" Sasuke whispered softly, his voice breaking every once in a while.

                Kakashi and Iruka stared at each other with sorrowful eyes, knowing how hard it was for Sasuke. They wanted nothing more than to help the young man, but there was nothing to do, he had already lost what was most dear to him.

                " I.." Iruka started uncertainly, " I think Naruto would like his ramen very much Kakashi, it's a new flavour he hasn't tried yet." He spoke loudly, so that his voice carried to the grave. He was lucky they were behind a tree, Sasuke wouldn't know they were there. Kakashi stared at him in confusion for a moment before realization dawned on him and he followed suit.

                " Yes, he would like it very much…" Kakashi answered just as loudly. They both smiled when they heard cloth rustle on the other side and knew that Sasuke was standing up quickly. They both walked out into plain view as though they had never been there.

                " Hokage!" Iruka feigned surprise when he saw the slender young man standing there, perfect and emotionless as he always was. His hair had grown out during past years and he had tied up smoothly into a ponytail, now having an uncanny resemblance to his older brother. He was still extremely handsome, though his face had hardened for there has not been one time since the death when he smiled.

Sasuke nodded acknowledgement to them stiffly before he casually smoothed out his robes and walked away without a word.

Kakashi gazed at Iruka worriedly, before they both knelt down before Naruto's grave. " Naruto, I miss you so much." Iruka started uncomfortably. " I miss your sunny smile and your cheerful voice, I miss the way you cheat ramen off me and I miss all your annoying pranks. I miss everything about you." He ended quietly.

" But we're okay now, and we're starting to recover. Sasuke would take a while, and I know you're really worried about him. But he'll be alright, Iruka and I will take care of him well." Kakashi said confidently.

" We will never forget you though, I don't think we ever could. And even if we die and we live different lives in the future, we may not remember, but we'll never forget. Even if we can't recognize your face anymore, I promise you, our love will bring us back together." Iruka said lovingly, Naruto was like a son to him. He gently placed the ramen cups at the root of the tree and the two men stood back up.

Kakashi grinned at him. " Are you sure you should be making a promise like that?" He said calmly, placing his arm around Iruka's shoulders.

Iruka stared at the tree in silence for a moment, before taking a step forward to place a hand against the two names that were roughly carved out on the bark.

" Sasuke and Naruto…" Iruka said tenderly and inaudibly, finally smiling. He walked back to Kakashi who was waiting for him, and gave his love a chaste kiss on the lips.

" Yeah…" Iruka answered, smiling brilliantly. " I think I should."

                *OWARI*

For ppl who can't stand endings like there ^____^ There's more XD