Note the from the Author: I got this idea after watching episode ninety-eight again.

Elizabethan fun fact: I love classical literature. :blames Vladimir Nabokov and Edgar Allen Poe for the style this is written in: It's that kind of literature that's supposed to seem like poetic journalism – it's something Poe does often that I adore. And anyone who has read Lolita knows this is how Nabokov writes as well.

Porny: Yes, well, at least I have come to terms with Orochimaru's OOCness.

He does look like Voldemort … except Voldemort is bald. Actually, on DeviantArt, I found a great fan art piece that was Kabuto and Orochimaru and Harry Potter's, like, kicking at Orochimaru and flailing his wand, and Orochimaru's all like, "Kabuto – what is this?" and Kabuto holds up one of his little card dealies and says, "That's Harry Potter, sir. But I don't know what his problem is – I think he's just a mean mofo."

… Just thought I'd share. o.O

Furuido: I am very proud of my Kabuto. Do you see it? Do you see the pride:pride:

I disclaim Naruto and "The Coliseum."

It Had Begun

"Vastness! And age! And Memories of Eld!

Silence! And desolation! And dim Night!

I feel ye now – I feel ye in your strength."

There were often misunderstandings when one didn't proclaim clearly what one thought, or felt, or needed. Here are the facts of one such case.

Tsunade had chalked Naruto's quiet departure from Sasuke's hospital room up to consideration for the feelings of Sakura, who had joyously embraced the healed and unresponsive Uchiha when he awoke.

But really – Naruto had left because he was as selfish as he'd ever been. He'd felt an emotion he didn't understand and didn't like: jealousy.

Upon hearing that, one may think: Did he care so deeply for Sakura as that? Or did he just envy the affection of others simply because he wasn't overly familiar with it himself?

Once again, his feels and actions would be tainted with misconception – one thing he was overly familiar with.

He had, with Jiraiya, spent weeks tracking down the elusive and retired med nin, Tsunade, so that she might heal the people he care for and – on a far less important note at the time – to become the Fifth Hokage. He had searched for her because he needed her to fix the broken person he cared for most in the world.

Uchiha Sasuke.

Now, the listener may be shocked. Or maybe one is pondering: Might it be platonic? Might he consider him just a dear friend, as well as a rival?

The simplest answer would be: "No." Naruto felt for Sasuke as deeply as Sakura ever had – deeper, really, since her 'love' for him was based more on a physical attraction.

But it never really had been about the pink-haired kunoichi. She had been a stepping stone – the mediator that had kept each of them from ripping out the throat of the other long enough for them to realize that they were a perfect team – and left Naruto wishing they were so much more.

Often, we say unrequited love is the sweetest – especially when it remains unconfessed. It ripens, blooms, festers in the heart – never fading – and no one will ever be hurt in the process.

It had begun when they were twelve and thirteen years old.

Uzumaki Naruto loved Uchiha Sasuke.

It would take him years to realize that, as Sakura's wrapped around Sasuke's shoulders,

Sasuke's eyes had been on him.

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Additional A/N: I need to get over this morbid hatred I have for Sakura and my love of making her suffer.