Disclaimer: Naruto. Not. Mine.

Pairing: SasuNaru. ItaNaru. KakaNaru. (Waaaaaai, you made me sounds like a slut - Naruto)

A/N: Haha, dear readers, you probably want to know what Naruto wants to do ne? Don't tell you…At least not yet. The truth will reveal itself in the Epilogue which is still quite a long way away. Bwahahahaha. A hint? Let just say it is something sadistic and disrespectful.

Overall Warning: Yaoi. Otherwise, dark themes and angst.


Five Years Ago…

Evening found the Valley of the End a blank of sorrowful silence. The tense fight that has taken place a few hours ago between two best friends has finally ended in painful conclusion; Uchiha Sasuke was the winner. Few miles away, a certain copy ninja sped towards this particular destination, not relenting in his urgent pace to reach forth. Overhead, the once blue sky was now torn apart by the threat of black clouds. Thunder rumbled momentarily and nearby, a fleet of birds took flight in fright. Then, the first drop of rain splattered to the water-logged dirt, followed by another and another. Lightning flashed, highlighting the two figures, one lying down and the other hovering over, in sharp contrast of shadows and light. Sasuke looked down from his point of vantage, upon the sweet innocent face of an oblivious Naruto and his heart pangs. Painstakingly, he bend over to crouch beside the blonde.

"Sorry…Naruto." the dark-haired boy sighed quietly, his breath coming out in a ghostly puff. With that said, he then placed his hitai-ate on the ground and stood up again, stalking away calmly; a shadow retreating into the forest and further away from Konoha. In his wake, wind howled pitifully and rain started to pour in torrential, drenching everything in its cold aftermath.


"Hokage-sama, why is Naruto healing so slowly?"

"I can't be too sure, but I think that gaki is disallowing the kyuubi to heal him."

"What?! Really?!"

"Hai, I feared that to be true."

"Bu..but...why?"

"I don't know too."

"So, when is he going to wake up? He has been unconscious for days already."

"Theoretically said, it should be any time soon. But…"

"But…?"

"It depends on his choice."

"His choice?"

"Hai. If Naruto chose to slumber on in his comatose state, nobody can force him to wake up."

"You mean he could sleep on like this for months, years or even forever if he refuses to wake? No! Hokage-sama, there must be something you can do! Surely, there must be some methods..."

"Iruka, get a hold on yourself. I'm certain that Hokage-sama has tried her best."

"…"

"Maybe it is for the best. At least Naruto could avoid the fate of facing the harsh reality."

"He is such a special boy."

"I know, Iruka, I know. Afterall, Naruto is one of my precious students too."


Few Months Later…

The autumn day settled to a lazy afternoon with an occasional sigh of breeze that ruffled the pristine white curtains of a sparsely decorated hospital room. To the side, upon a narrow bed, lay an unconscious blonde. He looked gaunt and deathly pale, baby fats lost over the months of living solely on substances fed into his veins through IV tubes. If not for the constant beeping of the heart monitor, and the gentle rise and fall of his chest, he could have been passed off as dead easily.

Under the gentle assault of the wind, his soft golden locks fanned out upon his heart-shaped face. On his lips, was a hint of a frown that marred his otherwise serene expression. For a moment, eyeballs lolled behind closed lids and fine lashes fluttered disturbingly.

- Flash - "Sasuke...Please return. Everyone back at Konoha needs you." Naruto pleaded, tone soft with desperation. "Me too." -Flash -

Somewhere in-between, a finger twitched.

- Flash - A hand shot out and tightened around Naruto's neck, strangling mercilessly, while the other fist paused before the guy's stomach. "I. Am. Not. Going. Back. With. You." Sasuke snarled ferociously at his confused friend, and punched him hard in the midsection, sending the poor boy flying over the edge of the statue and into the plunge pool below with a loud splash. - Flash -

Out of the blue, the heart monitor skipped a beat and beeped erratically.

- Flash - "The future is not where Konoha and my dreams are..." the Uchiha heir proclaimed calmly to Naruto who widened his eyes in hurt. - Flash -

A moan grappled the peaceful silence. "Nnn..."

- Flash - The water cushioned Naruto's fall. Spluttering to the surface, the boy glared at the other and cursed quietly, "You're actually serious about this…damn it!"

"Yeah. I'm serious. I intended to kill you." the simple reply was yet so bitterly cold when spoken from the dark one.

"Do you no longer considered me as your friend? Everything we did together as team7…was it all meaningless to you?" Naruto cried.

"It was not meaningless to me. You've become my closest friend. And that's why…that's why it is worthy to kill you…"

"I still don't get it. But you're serious about killing me, Sasuke." - Flash -

A fine tremble ran through Naruto's body as his fingers twitched once again.

- Flash - They rushed at each other again, bend on making the other surrender and possibly die. As one charged up with a ball of crackling chidori, the other answered with a swirling orb of rasengan. Can you kill me calmly, Sasuke? Naruto thought when his blue eyes met cold ebony ones. - Flash -

Beads of perspiration rolled down his pale forehead.

- Flash - For a short minute, Sasuke held Naruto's gaze seriously as though telling him that he really was going to aim for his heart in the next strike. And, he did.

Maybe I was the only one who thought we were friends. The kyuubi-boy choked softly on his blood, his mouth gurgling full with it. - Flash -

Naruto shot up from the bed, eyes wide open. Awake. Just at the moment, the door opened to admit a nurse into the room. "…Doctor, Doctor, Uzumaki is awake!" she immediately ran out again, screaming.


The days that followed found that particular hospital room a sharp contrast of unrest over its previous peacefulness. Tsunade, Jiraiya, Kakashi, Iruka and many others have came to visit the blonde, only to be ignored completely. Each time, Naruto seemed more withdrawn, turning his back on them and burrowing under the sheets. Nobody could made him talk, nor smile. He was not Naruto.

"For kami's sake! Naruto, talk to me!" Tsunade burst out angrily, hands clenched around the collar of Naruto's flimsy hospital robe. Without reservation, she shook him hard, screaming all the while for some reactions. However, the blonde just gazed blankly into a distance, head rocking to and fro violently with her movements.

"Hokage-sama, stop it. You're going to hurt him." Iruka protested feebly, eyes shimmering with tears.

"Tsunade, listen to that chuunin's words. Tsunade!" Jiraiya interfered then, stepping in to clasp big hands around the female's shoulders, restraining her from further crazier actions.

All the while, Kakashi remained silent, a frown visibly mapped against the cloth of his mask.

"B..but, he wouldn't talk. And…smile. Naruto wouldn't smile." The 50-year old hiccuped in broken, stammered cries, turning to bury herself in Jiraiya's embrace.

"Naruto, see what have you done? You made Tsunade cried. You made the Hokage cried. Hokages don't cry." The white-haired sennin growled sternly. "Stop this nonsense, brat."

Seconds ticked by and nobody made a move. Once again, tense silence was resumed. Outside, a gust whistled passed the tree-tops, scattering golden-red leaves all over the ground. Far off to the horizon, the sun descended, dipping the sky in a blaze of bright maroon-orange. Everything seemed so beautiful.

Yet, tense silence was what the blonde preserved.


Shafts of sunlight showered down on a small stream which happily gurgled its way beneath a red bridge. Atop the contraption, stand a lonely pink-haired genin whose emerald eyes were staring glassily into the sparkling water. Clutched in her left hand, was a photo of Team 7 together with their Sensei. Weary of the thoughts that ran in her mind, Sakura sighed and closed her eyes momentarily.

"Yo." A single syllable murmured was what announced Hatake Kakashi's presence to the troubled gal.

Swirling around, Sakura looked almost accusingly at her sensei for interrupting her 'quiet' time and blurt out a 'hi'.

Thoroughly not disturbed by her glare, the silver-haired jounin settled himself comfortably on a tree-branch, a sad look in his single visible eye. "Naruto has been awake for several days already."

"I…know."

"Then why didn't you visit him?"

"I…I…don't know what to say to him."

"But still, you should visit him."

"…"

"At least show him you cared enough to make the trip down to the hospital. Afterall, you are his only remaining teammate."

"You're saying it as though Sasuke has died!"

"Don't twist my words. You know what I mean exactly, Sakura."

"…Is this visit really that necessary? He failed to bring Sasuke back…I may scream at him."

"You are just being difficult. Wait 'til you see the state Naruto is in. You wouldn't even have the heart to accuse him of anything."

"No matter what I say, you still want me to go then…"

"You can't ignore the inevitable."

On this note, the pink-haired gennin sighed most audibly and hunched over the railings, defeated. A few strands of her hair, fell free from its headband and overcast her emerald eyes in cryptic shadows.

"Catch." Kakashi added promptly and threw something towards her. In the shift of air, a compact item flew in the direction of Sakura and clanked to the cemented ground.

As immediately as she recognized the object, her body stiffened while twin pupils dilated, widening in shock. A small gasp slipped from her lips as she bent hesitantly over to retrieve the said item.

It was Sasuke's hitai-ate.


The door swung shut behind Sakura, bringing her to the existence of a dimly lit hallway. Down the long passage, on the other far end, was the only other door that led out of this rectangular void. At the same time, it was also the same door that would led her to see the person she did not want to see most at the moment. Leaning forth, the pink-haired gennin lift her left foot up as though to make a step forward. However, hesitation made her paused in mid-action as wide emerald eyes darted to and fro, observing the elongated shadows on the grayish-white walls. Somehow, she felt intimidated by the darkened hallway which was pretty ironic considering what occupation she did.

By then, the silence within that space was breathing almost too loudly for her comfort. Inhaling sharply, Sakura broke into a short run, skidding across the polished floor. Her right hand reached out desperately for the looming doorknob, twisting it even before her body reached the destination completely. In her rush, Sakura roughly pushed open the door with her body and slipped into the room. Once inside, she collapsed back against the door, slamming it shut behind her. The noise momentarily startled the room's blonde occupant, and he dove back into his covers, not even turning once to face her.

"Naruto…We need to talk."


Few Minutes Following Sakura's Entrance

A silver-haired jounin strode into Konoha's hospital, lazily slouched with both hands tucked in his vest's pockets. Stopping over at the check-in counter, he was about to sign in at the vistors' list when he spotted Sakura's name scrawled neatly at the top.

'So she did come afterall.' Kakashi thought, left eye crinkling up in a pleased arch.

Feeling slightly relieved for the first time since days from Naruto's waking, he softly whistled to himself and made way towards the ICU wing.


"NARUTO! I'M TALKING TO YOU!" Sakura yelled, fists tightened around the blanket which the blonde hid under. "CAN YOU FACE ME? I GOT SOMETHING TO PASS YOU!"

Without reservation, she tugged at the cloth, trying hard to untangle the quivering mass from it. Frustrated and angry, she growled lowly and pulled with her life. A wide jerk later, she succeeded in tossing the blanket away. Smirking almost victoriously, the pink-haired gennin then shoved the mentioned item in his face. It was then did she really focused on his face…


Kakashi twisted the doorknob and stepped expectantly into room. However, what he saw next is a total different sight from his expectation. His eyes first caught on the fact that Sakura was backed up against the wall beside the entrance, body quivering and face faulted in an expression of utter disbelief. Her mouth was hanging wide open while eyes bulged comically wide, arms swinging slightly at the sides. A helpless stutter barely escaped from her lips. Immediately, the jounin sensei focused his attention on the source she was looking on-Naruto…

TBC…?


A/N: I've decided! This fic is going to be pure angst and tragedy all the way! Wheeeee, aren't I evil? But…minna-san, do not despair! I'll specially write a branch fic from this with a happy ending too. That is if you guys want me to…Otherwise, just a tragedy ending for you. Wouldn't want to waste my time, would I?