Gaara had left, choosing to not stay in Konohakagure too long, as he might be discovered. In fact, the only people in Sunakagure who knew he was missing were his two siblings of the Sand, Temari and Kankorou. He told Naruto that he would be staying just outside of Hidden-leaf's borders, waiting for his arrival.

"Meet me in two days," he told Naruto before he left. "I will be waiting for you. Forty-eight hours should give you enough time to tie up any… loose ends you have in this town."

"Okay," said Naruto. "Take care until then." He didn't know if Gaara heard him or not, because he had already begun walking away, and didn't acknowledge his words. Naruto closed his door silently and walked back to his window to look out at the star-lit town he loved.

He did love it. A lot.

Everything he knew and loved was here. He had friends, some so close that they could be considered family… Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, all his Academy class-mates… Sakura-chan.

Naruto sighed as he rested his chin on his hands over the window sill. What would he do? He couldn't just tell her, or anyone for that matter. But Sakura deserved to know. "I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. This is going to hurt you a lot. I know it will."

He had actually had a bed feeling that this was happening, that he was dying as a result of the Kyuubi being in him. He hated it. The stupid demon fox wasn't something he asked for. He was only a baby…

"Why was I chosen?" he yelled at the city, getting no reply. "What did I do to deserve it? I don't want this stupid thing in me anymore!" Tears started to flow from his eyes as he silently cried.

"I'm not even sad that I'm going to die, am I?" he asked himself. "I'm going to hurt a lot of people. I can't even tell them why… This is so pathetic. I am so pathetic."

He stayed up all night watching the city. He wouldn't get many much more of a chance to look at his beloved home after this night.

Sakura knocked on his door in the late morning. Naruto hadn't moved form his position all night, so it was a bit difficult to walk for the first few steps. "Coming," he said when the knocking came again. He opened the door to see the beaming, smiling face of Sakura, his pink-haired love.

"Hey Naruto," she said happily as the blonde boy came into view. She looked at his face. "Naruto-kun, you look like hell. What's the matter?"

"Uh, nothing," he said a little too quickly. He turned around and walked back into his apartment, an invitation for Sakura to follow him in. He heard her shut the door as she entered. "So what's up?"

"I just came by for a visit," she said. "I was wondering if you wanted to walk around with me again today, you know, before you had to leave again." Naruto looked down sadly and sighed.

"Yeah, sure," he said quietly. He would love to spend time with her; honestly he would have any time, any time but now. It would be so depressing. Tomorrow night he had to leave, leave for good. There would never be a homecoming for him. Just being around her would be a constant reminder of how much pain she would be in when she found out he was dead.

"Naruto, what is wrong with you?" asked Sakura sternly, placing her hands on her hips. "You look like you didn't sleep last night."

"I didn't," said Naruto, laughing weakly a couple times. He turned to face her with the best smile he could muster. Sakura noticed that Naruto had just failed to give his patented, signature smile.

She walked up to him and took his hands in her own. "Naruto, something's wrong. You can't cover it up. You can tell me." Naruto looked down into her green eyes, filled with concern. He sighed.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan, but I can't tell even you," he said weakly. He pulled away and walked towards the door. "Come on. Let's get some fresh air. I could use a walk."

He left the bewildered girl in the apartment alone for several seconds. She couldn't help but feel that the nin she loved was in a great deal of mental pain at the moment, and being unable to soften his pain made her feel so helpless. She quickly ran to catch up with him outside.

"So where do you want to go?" asked Naruto, waiting for the girl to catch up.

"I don't know," said Sakura, holding onto Naruto's arm lightly. "Any ideas?"

"Hey Naruto! What about that fight!" yelled an all-too familiarly annoying voice. Rock Lee jogged up to him and Sakura, breathing heavily.

"Hey Lee," said Naruto. "Can't fight now. I'm spending time with Sakura."

"I know," said Lee, giving his nice guy smile and wink. "We'll fight some other time."

"You look tired," said Sakura.

"I've been training all morning," he said matter of factly. "I wake up at four every morning to start my training. I'm taking a break for right now for an early lunch. Then, it's back to training."

"Wow," said Naruto. "If you've been following a schedule like that, I'm afraid I might lose to you when we fight."

"You can bet on it," said Lee confidently. "See you guys around!" He ran off down the streets.

"Does anyone else know I'm leaving again?" asked Naruto to Sakura.

"Kakashi and I, plus Tsunade of course, know about it," answered Sakura. "I haven't told anyone, and I don't think anyone else has."

"That's good," said Naruto with a sigh.

"Please, Naruto, tell me what's beating you up," pleaded the girl. "I've not seen you this upset before. You can tell me you know."

Naruto stopped walking and sighed again, a seemingly repetitive task for the day. She would find out later anyway, right? He'd been thinking about it for a few minutes. She did deserve to know.

"Sakura, we need to sit down somewhere," he said quietly. He lead her to the other side of the street, where a park bench was conveniently placed, isolated from the crowds on the street. He sat down, and Sakura took a seat next to him, holding his hand.

"Sakura, I don't know how I'm supposed to say this," began Naruto.

"Just say it, Naruto," she said, annoyed.

"I won't be coming back to Konoha when I leave tomorrow," he told her. "I will never be able to return."

"You said you'd try," said Sakura. "I'll just wait for you. I trust you Naruto, and I know you'll do your best to come back, and I'll be waiting for you."

"No, Sakura," said Naruto. "You don't understand… Never. I will never be back, because it's impossible for me."

"What do you mean, Naruto?" asked Sakura. "I don't think I get it."

"I'm dying, Sakura," said Naruto a little harshly. She hiccupped at his outbreak.

"What?"

"I'm going to die," confirmed Naruto. "It's the Kyuubi, the demon-fox that's sealed inside me is killing me, and my days here are numbered. I should actually be dead, compared to the life spans of others like me who've had a demon sealed in them, but those people almost constantly used their power…"

"When are you going to die?" asked Sakura, beginning to cry.

"The next time I fight," said Naruto. "The next time I'm forced to tap into Kyuubi's power, I will be completely consumed, and I will die right after." Sakura's eyes were misted over, and the tears started to fall down her cheeks.

"I've not told anyone else," said Naruto. "Gaara knows though. He visited me last night. He's going to suffer the same fate as I am, as he's being killed by the Shukkaku demon. We came to decision."

"A decision?" asked Naruto. "What are you talking about?"

"If Gaara and I just try to avoid fighting for the rest of our lives, Itachi and Orochimaru will search for us, and they will undoubtedly kill a lot of people until they find us. And when we are found, we don't stand a chance… alone.

"But if Gaara and I take the initiative and attack together, we can take at least Itachi down with us, along with most of Akatsuki as well. We'll both fight with the help of our demons and we'll accomplish something before we die. Gaara said he managed to actually managed to uncover the secret lair of Akatsuki."

"So you're just going to go commit suicide?" sobbed Sakura. "You're just going to leave and go off to your death?"

"Yeah," said Naruto quietly. "If I'm going to die, then dammit, something good is going come of it. I'm not going to just let the Kyuubi take me without a fight."

"Can't you just have it removed?" asked Sakura. "Can't it be unsealed?"

"No, it can't," said Naruto. "Well, it can, but it will kill me anyway, and I'd have to seal it in another child. I'll be damned if another kid is going to suffer the way I did, only to find out that they're going to die. The whole purpose of sealing a Bijuu in a kid is for it to grow up and become a weapon to fight for the country it lives in. I got it for a better reason I admit… The purpose of my sacrifice was the salvation of the rest of the village. Gaara has had to live with knowing that his purpose of existence was to just be a tool, a weapon."

"That's terrible," said Sakura.

"Tell me about it," said Naruto. "So that's what's wrong. I have to leave town tomorrow night with Gaara, who's waiting at our country's border north of here, and head off to my own death.

"And that's not even what's pissing me off," said Naruto, growing angrier. "What's got me upset is what I'll be causing. Sure, I'm going to miss everything here, and I'm going to miss you most of all, but I'm going to hurt a lot of people when I die. I'm going to be leaving you all alone. I can't stand that."

"Naruto…" said Sakura. "I don't want you to die."

"I have to, Sakura-chan," said Naruto. "It's written in my destiny. I will die, and there's nothing I can do to stop it. All I can do is hope that I can accomplish some good before I go down."

End

Sad? Maybe a little. This is another kinda sappy crappy chapter. We'll get some fighting in here eventually, but keep in mind that's not the main focus of this story.