In The End
A Naruto Fanfiction
By Teki Star
Notes and whatnot: Wow, my first fanfiction in how long? No surprises here; it's angsty. But then again, what could be expected, considering my past works? As always, this is a oneshot. So, anyone who says, "omg update soon!" or "omg make it a series!" will be eaten alive. Flames and critism is welcome!
Disclaimer and whatnot: Let's do some math! (pretend ≈ is an equal sign… eats them.)
Naruto ≈ Kishimoto
Kishimoto ≠ Teki
And, as a warning, this fic is Sasunaru, meaning: Sasuke + Naruto ≈ Love
≈≈≈≈
He could feel fresh blood leak into his eyes. He wasn't sure if it was his own, or his opponent's. It didn't really matter. It stung with the vigor of a thousand hornets and with the mercilessness of storm-manipulated waves, but Naruto kept his eyes peeled. He would not close his eyes. He could not, even if he wished for it with all his soul.
"He was a bright one, that Uchiha boy. Very intelligent indeed. He was always the top of the class. Popular with the girls, too. Not that he cared, though. He just ignored them. He never was one to socialize, mind you. Liked his solitude, that one."
His entire boy was screaming in pain, begging to rest, to stop, to die. But Naruto pushed all the cries to the back of his mind. They didn't matter, now. Everything up to now didn't matter. The only important thing was now, here.
"He was the last surviving Uchiha, you know. His entire clan was killed by his elder brother, I heard. Might just be rumors, though. Now, it's not my business, but I think that is what made him into such an introvert. I hear that he used to be a real sweetie before the whole massacre. What a shame."
Naruto's eyes had long-since abandoned their usual sky-kissed hue and opted for the deadly colour of sin and blood. His once-teeth had become fangs, dripping with the mixed blood of himself and the Uchiha. He could taste Sasuke in his mouth with every coppery drip that made it to the inside of his mouth; anger, pain, sadness, hate and then somewhere, fear.
"That boy was put onto the same team as that blond ANBU. Yeah, the one that had those scars on his face, that one. People said that they were rivals, fought a lot. Like an old married couple, many say. But even though they seemed to hate each other, they were actually the best of friends."
The slash-like pupils Naruto bore stared right into the swirling red of the Sharingan, neither blinking. A second with one's eyes shut could end it all. Both were panting, greedily sucking air to fill their aching lungs. Neither wore anything but rags, coloured brown and red from the dirt and blood, both dried and slick.
"You know, I once heard that they were more than friends, if you understand my meaning. Not that they would admit it, however. Too much pride for that. If you asked them, they were rivals, plain and simple. But any idiot could see how they felt. I wonder if that's why the pink girl hated the blondie so much? Jealousy is so unbecoming. Good thing she grew out of that."
Naruto blinked. When he opened his eyes less than a millisecond later, Sasuke was running towards him, several kunai airborne and just ahead. The Konoha ANBU dodged, but his reaction time was slowed by his numerous wounds: one kunai grazed his shoulder. Digging into his reserve of ruby chakra, he summoned an army of clones. Three hundred and fifty-six identical faces began running about, making slashes at their once-comrade. Sasuke ignored them and cut through the clones like they were air. He knew which one the real Naruto was; no mirror image could fool him.
"Nobody saw it coming when the Uchiha kid went psycho. He went mad for power, they say. He left Konoha, abandoned it like yesterday's trash. The pink one-- Haruno Sakura, is her name, I think-- tried to talk him out of it, but he was pretty intent on going. He left to join that missing nin, Orochi-what'shisface. He left his friends, home and birthplace for strength."
The real Naruto tried to push himself into the many images of himself, to seem like one of them. Sasuke kept on his tail like a lion going after a gazelle. Realizing that his plan was a failure, Naruto began gathering what chakra he could bring up in his palm, making in twirl and twist to his desire. Round and round, the chakra gathered. Growing, growing, growing.
"They tried to drag him back, of course. Since they were at war at the time, Konoha didn't have many ninja to spare. So they sent a small team of genin. Yes, genin. They failed. The brat-- Namuto or Naruto or something-- fought that Uchiha to his best, and he was nearly killed. No one knows why he spared Naruto. Maybe his heart got in the way?"
Sasuke could see what Naruto was doing, but couldn't comprehend. No matter how big the Rasengan grew to, Naruto would not be able to use it without coming close to him. Doing that would mean instant death. In mid-dash, Naruto stop and spun around, planting his fist of swirling chakra into the earth. A blinding light followed, temperairly blinding the last Uchiha.
"Naruto didn't just call it quits, though. He kept trying to drag the Uchiha back. He tried and he tried, until the Final Battle. It's a real touchy subject, that fight. They were both about sixteen when it happened-- far too young. No one really knows the details of the fight, except for those two. And they're not talking. I'm sorry; tasteless joke there."
Even before the light subsided, Sasuke could feel his nerves scream as his pounding heart spat blood out of the new hole, created by a kunai. Naruto was panting, his eyes slits, completely devoid of energy of any sort, his hand dropping from the handle of the weapon. His breaths were shallow; the poison on Sasuke's kunai had obviously begun to take effect. Whether or not Naruto had realized the deadly coating when his shoulder was grazed would forever be a mystery to the ashen boy. Both forms fell to the earth, no winner left standing. Naruto used his remaining energy to crawl towards Sasuke's form, resting his head on the crimson chest, listening to the last heart beats. In turn, the other wrap his arm around the blond's torso.
"When an ANBU squad found them, I hear they were cuddled together. Very cute, except for the blood and smell of death. You know, they fought like cats, beat each other up on a regular basis. They were rivals, always wanting to top the other one. Uchiha nearly murdered Naruto. But I guess that didn't really matter…
In the end."