Forget Me Not
By The Ambitious Blank

Disclaimer- Naruto doesn't belong to me. ^_^;
Comments- Here we go.. next chapter. ^^ Tiny bit of bloodiness in this one..

~*~Chapter 4- Lavender Heather, "Solitude"

Naruto had never felt quite so alone.

There was, of course, the time where the demon fox had caused almost everyone in the village to shun him like the plague. That sort of loneliness, knowing that everyone hated you and not being able to do a single thing about it ached terribly enough. But the loneliness that came from knowing someone you cared about, someone you may have even loved, someone who your feelings for had never quite been sorted out, died just for the sake of saving your life.. that sort of loneliness numbed your entire body and mind, left a gaping hole in your very heart, and made it feel as though your soul would tear itself in two from the agony.

Suicide was an option he'd tried already. He hadn't been able to feel the kunai piercing his wrist, everything had gone so numb, his entire world turned into something that seemed so unreal. But something had stopped him for a moment, made him hesitate, and that was when Kakashi and Iruka happened to stop by to stop him. So Naruto just.. gave up. Death didn't seem like a good enough punishment for someone who had let their best friend die for them.

Blank blue eyes stared out at the rain pounding against the glass of his window. It had been raining for days, as though the world wished to mourn the total annihilation of the Uchiha clan. Naruto turned to look around his small apartment. For once, the floor was clean, he'd hardly eaten anything for days. Iruka had somehow managed to force some ramen down his throat, but even that tasted like dust to Naruto.

Some days he would pass by the Uchiha manor and peer inside the gates, as though if he stood and stared long enough, Sasuke would emerge and yell at him for being stupid, standing there like an idiot, just.. staring.

It was frustrating, knowing how alone, how sad, how upset he was by all this, and not being able to figure out what he wanted to do about it. He wanted to die, wanted to scream, wanted to break down in someone's arms sobbing, but there was no one to hold him. Just like before, when he was shunned because of what was sealed inside him, there was no one. No one to wrap their arms around his shoulders and tell him everything would be alright, no one to chase his fears away, no one to be there whenever he needed to confess what he felt. The only person that would have ever showed him such a kindness was Sasuke.

And he's dead. A nasty, bitter voice in Naruto's mind practically spat. He's dead because you couldn't protect him, Uzumaki. He's dead because you couldn't control the damn fox inside you.

More than anything he wanted to be comforted. He knew it was impossible, that indeed the person closest to him was the young Uchiha heir, but he'd lost that. He'd been stupid and lost it.

"So now what..?" Naruto murmured, pressing a hand against the cool glass, feeling the faint vibrations of the rain pounding against the windows. "You bastard, Sasuke. You left me here alone. You were one of the only people who understood me.."

Who understood what the meaning of loneliness really is.

Naruto wandered to his bed and collapsed onto the soft mattress, letting violent sobs overtake him.

~*~

"Naruto! Naruto! Wake up, you lazy bum."

Naruto pulled the covers over his head, miserably mumbling incoherently into his pillow. Tsunade sighed, putting a hand on her hip. Shizune meekly watched on from behind as the Hokage reached down to shake the Uzumaki boy again. Naruto tried to shove her hand away, but to no avail. Finally, he rolled over, glaring up at the blonde woman and simultaneously shielding his eyes from the brilliant sun now streaming through the window, a stark contrast to the pouring rain of the previous night.

"What?! What do you want, you stupid old hag?!"

"I'm choosing to ignore that comment, Naruto, for now." She crossed her arms. "I came to let you know that Sasuke left you just about everything he owns, his house included." She sighed. "Whatever he left to other people has already been given to them, so all that's left is you. We assume you want to move in there."

Naruto stared at her, dumbfounded.

"Sasuke left me.. everything?"

"Yes. And it would be appropriate, I suppose.. after all, Naruto, you do have the last remaining bit of the Uchiha clan in you." Tsunade pointed out. Naruto put a hand over his heart and looked down.

Sasuke.. why.. didn't you ever say something?

~*~

The day seemed almost insultingly beautiful. The sun was overly cheery and bright, and Naruto was beginning to understand why Sasuke always seemed so annoyed when it was light outside. One hand shadowing his eyes, he began walking in the direction of the Uchiha manor, trying to avoid everyone's gazes on the street. Some were sympathetic, some seemed angry with him again. Most just ignored him. So he kept walking until he came upon the gates of the Uchiha manor, pushing it open and stepping inside. He glanced about him. It was too quiet. Even the birds refused to sing in this place, a place of sorrow and death.

After he gave himself a tour of the huge house, he went inside and began looking through the drawers, finding various photos. He found a strange, unexplainable anger rising up within him as he looked over the older photographs of Itachi. Wondering if somehow Sasuke's thoughts and emotions remained in his chakra, he decided to put the photos away and continued walking through the house. He stepped into Sasuke's room, and his suspicions were nearly confirmed. A sort of warm, comforted feeling overcame him, despite he knew he should be nervous about being in someone else's house, even if the aforementioned someone was dead.

Sighing, Naruto sat down on Sasuke's bed, running his fingers over the blankets. The room still smelled like Sasuke, even. He lay down, staring up at the ceiling.

I wonder how many times Sasuke would just lie like this. I wonder.. if he ever thought about me while he was here.

//Dozens of times.// A soft voice spoke in Naruto's mind.

"Huh??" Naruto jerked up, looking around.

Sasuke..? Sasuke!! I know I heard you.. where are you..?

No answer.

Naruto fell back down onto the bed, feeling more tears rising up into his eyes.

"I think I'm going crazy. I'm hearing Sasuke's voice, now.. and he's not even here. It's not even possible." He rolled onto his side, one hand gripping the blankets tightly. "You left me alone, you asshole. You left me here to suffer, even after.. even after I was starting to like you a little." He closed his eyes tightly. "I hate you, Sasuke!!"

//I'm sorry you feel that way.//

The blonde jerked up again. There, it was that voice. That painfully familiar voice. He looked around frantically, as though he expected to see Sasuke standing in the room, looking annoyed. But still, there was nothing, only his own aching loneliness.

After a while, he felt the clutches of sleep overtake him, and he let himself fall into the warm arms of slumber, still lying atop Sasuke's bed.

He dreamed.

~*~

Naruto was standing in a huge field of flowers. He wasn't sure why or how he'd gotten there, only that he was supposed to be meeting someone here. Sasuke. That was it, he was supposed to meet Sasuke by the tree in the middle of this field. He could see it off in the distance, and began to run towards it, when Sasuke appeared in front of him. The boy smiled and beckoned him over.

"There you are!" Naruto said, grinning, and rushed towards him. Sasuke's eyes suddenly widened, and he vanished just as Naruto was reaching him. Naruto stared at his empty hands.

"What the hell..?"

Sasuke appeared back in front of him a little ways, smiling again in the same exact way as before. He ran forward, but again, Sasuke vanished. He rushed forward, Sasuke appearing and vanishing again and again until he reached the tree.

"Tell me why, Naruto."

Naruto whirled around. Sasuke stood there, glaring at him hatefully. Naruto jerked back in surprise, and Sasuke advanced forward.

"Answer me. Why did you kill me?"

Naruto whimpered. Sasuke's eyes narrowed further, and suddenly, he smirked menacingly.

"I'm just another death on your account."

The blonde's eyes widened as he scrambled back.

No..

"I'm just another death to add to the list."

No.. no, Sasuke..

"..just another death because of your damn demon fox."

"It's not true.. it's not true! I'm not the demon fox! I'm not, dammit, I'm not!!" Naruto yelled, putting his hands to his head. "I'm not.. I'm not.. stop saying that.." Painful memories flooded into his mind. The constant looks of scorn sent his way, the way he'd constantly be beaten for what he was, for what he couldn't help but me.

"You killed me, Naruto. I'm dead because of you. Just another of the thousands you've already murdered. The blood is on your hands." Sasuke said cruelly, still with that horrible smirk on his face. He reached out and grabbed Naruto's wrist roughly, yanking it down from his head, palm upward. Naruto peeked his eyes open and stared at his hand. It was stained with crimson, fresh blood oozing down his palm, dripping into the flowers. The moment it touched one of the innocent petals, the world around him turned to red, and all the flowers in the field were splattered with blood. Sasuke turned, staring off. Naruto followed his gaze, hearing shrieks and horrible cries.

The demon fox stood a few hundred yards away, shrieking and tossing it's head as huge, monstrous chains were thrown around it's legs and neck. It howled and the chains exploded as it reared it's head, tossing several faceless ninjas far into the distance.

"..who will be next, Naruto? Who will be the next to die..?"

One of the figures flew their way and landed in front of him. Sasuke scoffed and kicked the body, rolling it over, the lifeless face of Kakashi staring up to them. Naruto screamed and backed away. Another form landed near them. Sakura. He turned and ran, ran as fast as his feet could carry him, the bodies of his friends lying about the field of once-beautiful flowers. Shikamaru. Neji. Ino. Chouji. Hinata.

Naruto froze as a shadowy figure stumbled towards him.

"..he.. help me, Naruto.." The figure straightened a little, and Sasuke's helpless eyes stared up into Naruto's. The Uzumaki boy reached out to help, but a shadowy hand made of the fox's red chakra flowed out from his palm, stabbing through Sasuke's stomach. The Uchiha shouted in pain, staring up at Naruto with eyes full of sadness and betrayal as he collapsed into the bloodied flowers. Naruto backed away.

No. No. It's not me. I'm not the demon fox. I'm not him!! He thought desperately and put his hands to his head again.. his palms felt sticky, and again he stared at his hands. They were still stained with blood, and feeling faint, he fell back.

He was falling, falling into nothingness. A scream echoed through the darkness, which he barely recognized as his own voice.

~*~

Cerulean blues snapped open as Naruto awoke with a start. Immediately he ran to the bathroom and dropped down in front of the toliet, emptying what little contents were in his stomach into the bowl. Once he had stopped heaving, he quickly moved to the sink and furiously washed his hands. He felt so dirtied, and worst of all, he felt even more alone than before. He looked down at his hands. They were clean, and somehow in the back of his head he knew they'd never been bloody, not like in his dream. He stared into his reflection.

Pitiful.

He might as well have been some teenage girl that just got dumped or something. His eyes were puffy and red from the constant tears, his hair was mussed from sleep (or lack thereof), his clothes were wrinkled as he'd been too lazy to wash them, and his face was pale.

"Heh, I wonder what Sasuke would have to say about me now. Probably something about me having to grow up."

He stared sadly down at the sink.

"..Sasuke.."

The name seemed dirty. Unfit for his lips. He was cursed, and even though the demon fox was gone from him, traces of it still remained, and the fact was that he had been that fox. His whiskers still remained on his face, and the seal was still on his stomach, even though the fox was gone. He lifted up his shirt and ran his fingers across the markings, then looked back up at the mirror and stumbled back in shock, staring dumbly at his own face.

A pair of Sharingan stared back at him.

~*~To Be Continued..

Interesting side-effects, ne? ^^; Well, sorry it took so long for me to spit this one out. I'm gonna go work on more stuff now. Mwah.

~TAB