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Sasuke's POV

Sasuke looked as Naruto created his countless clones and spread them around the trees, in a pointless attempt to create confusion.

Sasuke smirked. This wouldnt do. He had seen Naruto using the same technicque many times ago and it didn't phase him anymore. He knew how to react to that and how to work his way around.

Somehow, though, watching him fearless and relaxed as the blonde prepared his defense against his enemy, the hokage's words repeated themselves inside Sasuke's head.

''You won't miss me at all.''
He didnt know why but those words annoyed him. Sasuke Uchiha was known to be a selfish brat but not a liar in the same time.

And even though Naruto had every reason to doubt him, seeing as Sasuke was the one coming after his head, deep down he knew it wasn't true. That somewhere in his traumatized heart, he'd ache for Naruto when he'd gone, in his own unreadable weird way.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, as he snapped out of his annoying thoughts, watching as Naruto stood as an open aim on a rock.

There had to be a trick behind this, he thought.

The clones didnt seem to do a good job spotting him, he had only encountered two so far, spying him on his branch and he had eliminated them into mere air with the rapid throw of a kunai.

As far as it concerned Sasuke, he didn't want to give Naruto, the hokage and ex teammate, a painful or torturing death. Actually, he wanted to make it as easy as possible but he had never dared to think a hokage would let him have it just like that. But then again, with Naruto, it was a whole different situation and not so different in the same time.

When feelings got in the middle...things turned out more complicated.

Still knowing the blonde, he had great amounts of stored pride inside him, which was by far what had given him the motivation to make it to the top of Konoha's food chain.

He could handle him a straight forward attack and take him down as he stood on that very rock there, but he thought this could be as well either a cheap clone or a substitute that would turn to rock or wood when the first kunai would strike its aim.

What did he have to lose in any case? He had come to risk his life, and that meant he had to accept defeat and even death if he was willing to fight the hokage in the first place.

For one thing, he knew that this fight had to be brief. The anbus would be alarmed pretty soon when they noticed their hokage was absent for a weirdly long time and they'd come out seeking for him.

For a moment, the thought of hypnotizing him and dragging him to a place where they could carry on their fight unbothered seemed appealing to him.

But then again, he could hypnotize him and kill him on the spot for all he cared. It sounded easier and faster. But something of the like wasn't in him. His pride would be terribly hurt if he couldn't prove to Naruto that he could defeat him in full battle.

If things got worse with the anbus, he could always make a deal with Naruto and knowing him he probably wouldn't refuse.

Not wasting any more time in thoughts, as time was precious to the fight, in a flash he stood in front of the rock Naruto was standing on.

He leaned his head slightly upwards to get better view of him.

He didnt have to go all the way there to find out. A simple kunai and he'd know. But if this was indeed a trick he thought that was what Naruto would have wanted him to do, so as to spot his current position.

Might as well walk out himself, if that was the case. And so he did.
If Naruto was to come to him from any other direction, he knew better to expect and dodge it.

He jumped on the same rock the Naruto figure was on and unseathed his katana.

Naruto didn't seem phased, and Sasuke knew better to not pay attention to this.

He covered the distance between them, their breaths mixing, as he ran the edge of his katana softly against Naruto's wound.

''It's a foolish trick, isn't it?'' he asked, with an ironic smirk on his face, waiting for Naruto to attack him from his in front or any other direction possible at any given moment.

Naruto's POV

He could feel them. His clones. The few that managed to stumble across Sasuke, he could feel them as soon as they died. He also knew the instant their chakra slipped back into the air, and became nothing. However, his focus remained trained on the one section where the most clones had gathered; barely noting how they looked to him for orders. When he uttered nothing of value, several vanished into the trees, while the others made sure to hover nearby. This was not a fight he intended on winning, they realized, merely on stalling.

He found me. To be honest, the hokage saw the katana in Sasuke's hand before he saw him. He did not flinch away from either, simply stood his ground. A gust of wind ruffled his disheveled hair, while one hand gripped the shuriken, ready to use. In a whim, he couldn't help but memorize the rough outline of Sasuke's form, poised and cold. Naruto let out a belittled sigh, letting both of his hands sway against the wind.

''Took you long enough.'' he said,

''You get lost or somethin'?''

Naruto's grin was wide, childish. Though his overall expression was rather tired. He looked down at Sasuke, then snorted. He wasn't taking this threat very seriously. After all, why should he? Yes, he was closer to dying now than two minutes ago. But, for some reason, the hokage was seeing this as some sort of joke. So much for bravery in the face of death, eh?

It's not over.

the blonde presented Sasuke with a shake of the head, acknowledging this fact. His weapon shook in his hand, daring him to make a move. If he were going to do anything against Sasuke, he figured, now would be the time.

Too bad he still wasn't much for planning.

The hokage leaned forward slightly with the soft slice, breath catching on a dribble of blood. Blue eyes locked with black once again, permitting his smile twitch to a lower degree. The cut didn't hurt much, sure, but when re-slicing his already existing one..? Naruto wouldn't deny it hurt a bit more than it should.

''Yes, it is.'' He was lying. But hey. If Sasuke was allowed to do it, why couldn't he? The man raised an arm, thrusting the shuriken forward. His chest protested the movement, but he ignored that about as much as everything else. A soft whimper parted from his lips, yet the boy continued to try his best to strike at the Uchiha.

A few clones darted up from their remaining positions; mocking their creator with a growl. It was moments before the first actually took a swing at Sasuke from behind, while the other's alternated between ideas of kicking, or pulling Naruto back to safety.

We have to finish this quickly, or else...

His friends. Their friends, to be more precise. They would start wondering where Naruto was soon. Probably were already. Guilt washed over him when he thought about the chances of being found by Sakura… her horror - stricken gaze washed out by tears alone.

It was enough to make him feel like scum, though he didn't stray from the blade. Didn't avoid his attacker, or try to do much more than his previous strike. Pride or not, Naruto was ready for this. He needed it, actually. In Konoha.. he was miserable. He could barely handle paperwork without withering away, or smile at people with unkempt strain behind his laugh.

His other hand felt an alerting shock start to throb throughout it, a heat that rose up his forearm and into his heart. It was the start of his Rasengan, something he didn't even consider conjuring enough to attack with. Sasuke was too close for any type of move like that, lest, important to him in general.

''.. You always have to win, don't you?''

Sasuke's POV

''Shut up.''Sasuke ordered in his bold but emotionless voice. He didn't like people playing with him but something inside him told him that this was the real Naruto by the way the blonde's face grimaced lightly when his katana slid up his reopened now wound.

Feeling his tension slightly rise as he could feel the dobe's clones gathering around him some in order to attack him and others in order to defend him, he realized Naruto was lying:

''You might be a foolish liar, but you were no coward last time I checked.'' he said huskily, leaning slightly closer to him, the katana digging a tad bit deeper into the superficial rash, causing more blood drops to roll down the hokage's bare chest.

Then, noticing Naruto's calm expression, almost serene, something in Sasuke tingled. Did the dobe think this was just a game that he could have fun with? No, letting the blonde idiot take him lightly was the least of the things he'd ever dreamed off.

Angered with Naruto's foolish fearless attitude- he didn't know if it was because he dared take him lightly or because he didn't enjoy the fact that Naruto wasn't going to do anything to protect himself against him, he let out a sadistic smirk, his attention gathering to Naruto's hands, where something as the start of a rasengan appeared to start its formation.

Then, hearing Naruto's last words, his onyx unreadable eyes shifted back into cerulean one's, not without something as slight frustration.

A simple rasengan wasn't going to be effective against him but the more he thought about the hokage's moves so far the more it seemed to Sasuke as if the blonde boy didn't have any urge to fight him.

He seemed emotionally worn out. What had happened to Naruto while he was away? The past optimism and energy he had acknowledged in his former friend seemed absent now from the blonde guy that was standing in front of him.

And this was angering him. It made it harder for his slumberous conscience to attack him as ruthlessly and emotionlessly as he had planned to many weeks ago.

''It is only cause you let me do so.' 'he said and not leaving him any more time to react, he jumped in a flash highly in the air over his previous post and dodged the clones that were gathering around and behind him with swift throws of multiple and well aimed kunai.

Landing as fast behind Naruto, he captured the blonde's wrist tightly in his hands and flipped his arms behind his back, dragging his back against his chest all in the same time.

Getting hold of both wrists with one hand, he used his free hand to pull out a poisoned kunai and placed it on Naruto's lowest part of neck.

Naruto didn't seem to do any protest so far and this was only fueling his actions.

He leaned his head down on Naruto's neck and let his nose brush against the blonde's skin, slowly as he took in his scent.

''Is this the scent of defeat? Cause it is all over you, Naruto.'' he whispered in a slow tone.

He jerked the blonde harder against his chest, his grip tightening on his thin wrists, as he ran the small but dangerous kunai from his collar bone to his chest. The little sharp item came to a halt right above Naruto's heart and dug superficially in the spot.

''In case you want to know, I watered this kunai with poison I gathered especially for you. You see, my longing to kill you was as much. But little did I know the real Naruto I once knew, was already dead.'' Sasuke said, raising his head to look into Naruto's eyes from the side, his face taken over by an arrogant insulting expression as if he was trying to wake him up and provoke him to fight - give his best shot.

His hand holding the kunai was slightly shaking, he wasn't still accustomed to the idea of ending Naruto's life with his own hands. And mostly when Naruto was passive as he was now. He was making it too hard for him and he cursed inside him for getting so emotional.

gear. No doubt that the raven could tell, being as close as he was.

There was only one way to make Naruto take him seriously, right now.
If he didn't care for himself, the hokage would sure care for the village he was ruling, though.

Sasuke leaned his face over Naruto's neck again, his eyes slowly taken over by the sharingan as he felt his anger growing bigger the more apathetic Naruto stayed.

Closing his eyes, he took in Naruto's scent once more. It felt so mesmerizing, so magnetizing- as it did in the past though he'd never admit it- and as from an instinct he didn't know he possessed inside him, he dove his teeth in the hokage's neck, biting him a bit roughly and sucking the bruised skin with his thin lips in the same time.

Parting his mouth from the young but tired boy's skin, Sasuke whispered emotionlessly.

''If you want me to kill you just as simply, I won't protest. I bet it'd be more fun to slaughter the entire Konoha afterwards. They surely will express more fear than their brave hokage.'' he whispered, his hot breath still ghosting over Naruto's tanned neck.

Naruto's POV

His hands were still shaking. He hated that. The aching twang that hammered into his joints because it too closely resembled the throbbing agony in his chest. A ferocious animal had ripped everything from him. But it wasn't really an animal, it was just Sasuke.

And now he was dying from the metaphoric wound. The minutes were dragging by and for a while he just considered digging the damn blade into his chest himself. But it was too late, since Sasuke leaned closer, doing the deed for him. Slowly but surely, Naruto's head leveled downward, seeming astonished by the measly cut.

Naruto hated how weak he was acting, at how hard it was keeping a shred of normalcy. And a part of him, however deep, wished that he could hate Sasuke for it. But he could not. Not ever. Naruto was only half listening to what the other was saying now; since he was too busy deciding whether he really like it when Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows like that, or if he just missed seeming him irritated.

''I'm the coward, huh?'' The tone he used was accusative, but he pushed no further. He just kept breathing deep, contemplating how long Sasuke would prolong this conversation. Because quite frankly, he didn't think he could take much of it. Every time Sasuke spoke, it was like a jarring hit. Every word circled in his head over and over before giving him a chance to respond.. as if secretly, his brain was looking for something.

His throat felt tight with pressure because he was holding back. But not from the anger. Or any odds at yelling. No, it was from fear. For the things that should have been said a long time ago, and all the apologies. He needed to stick to the plan though, and just let this be the end of things. It's what had been decided.

Everything else was frivolous. If anything, it caused more stress in his head, like a rehearsed line that should have been spoken at one of his long-winded speeches, back at Konoha. All these years of build up, and he was almost glad to resign with a fate such as this. He didn't want to hurt but then again, Sasuke's absence had been hurting him, even though it was unknown to most for years.

He could not lie to himself and say that he could ever forgive Sasuke for this. He could not lie to himself and say he was not repulsed by his own feelings or concerns. But they remained. He tilted his head back up, a sudden urge overwhelming his body to look at those eyes again.

Can't he just be satisfied? He had always wished he could predict Sasuke's reactions. Sometimes, he pretended to know, but ended up short. The Uchiha was just too wild, too untamed, for him to ever pin a single word that came out of his mouth. To prove his point? He never would have guessed Sasuke would jump like that, and take out all of his clones at once. It appalled him, really, how easy he destroyed them. But still he remained in his place, like an obediant fool. The shallow wound on his chest created small streaks of red, little paths along his tan skin.

''H...Hey!'' Digging the soles of his shoes into the ground, Naruto shifted the few feet into Sasuke's chest, his back pressed firmly against the planes of the other. And instantly, he was tense. Because last time, he had a sword to his neck that had rendered him powerless to death. Now, he was just being held - quite painfully, he might add - by the wrists. He didn't struggle, despite this discomfort, meerly whined at the bruising skin. Even though he could have easily fought his way free, Naruto didn't find himself enough will to try. When the kunai was placed to his neck, he admits to stretching his head away from the object, cerulean orbs connecting with the sky in a timeless embrace.

''Defeat?'' that voice wasn't his. He felt like he was reading from the script of someone else's life. Disconnected and broken. With Sasuke's breath pressed against his neck, Naruto also admits to feeling entirely bewildered. What exactly was he doing?

''.. Don't know why you care.'' He cringed, feeling the grip tighten on his sore wrists, while being thrusted closer to Sasuke's chest. If that were even possible. He could feel every part of his captor, the pale skin making his own incredibly warm.

The sharp tool had moved, albeit he barely cared, and dug a tiny spot over his heart. Heh. How appropriate. He really wanted to reach out and touch him, but balled his hands into fists instead, still staring up at the sky. He felt ashamed. He felt stupid. But most of all he felt nothing but regret. He shouldn't have let himself get caught in a situation like this. He most certainly should not have been this comfortable with dying, either.

He's been... planning this. For a long time. He wanted to be embarassed at how pathetic he was. How easily he'd become loyal to a man who wanted nothing more than to destroy him. But it didn't. And Sasuke's admittance did nothing but destroy Naruto's fleeting heartbeat for a moment, before kicking it into a higher gear. No doubt that the raven could tell, being as close as he was.

''..Your right.'' After all those years, he couldn't remember the countless times he had ever admitted such a thing. His voice was shallow, careful. The small smile still played on his lips, but fell somewhat with Sasuke's thought.

''He died a long time ago.'' You could always count on Naruto to say something stupid. By tally, he was on a roll today. Silence cloaked the pair in an unbearable sense, making Naruto shift from foot to foot.

But that kid died searching for you.

Just a little longer, and he'd be off in oblivion. Before tonight he could count how many times he had during the year on his hand that he'd actually felt alive and now, here he was nearly s**t - faced with adrenaline. His eyes watered again, if only for a moment, before returning to their usual hue. He wanted to be strong, to prove to Sasuke that he wasn't a total wimp.

God, I am such axx The moment the teeth sunk into his neck, Naruto found his mind wander into a haze of this. A place where white spotted his vision, and the surroundings swirled in one. A gutteral moan ruptured from his lips, followed by a suppressed 'ah!~' He didn't know what was happening, but he was freaking the hell out.

''Sas...'' The darker man's lips suckled on the mark, prying for a blush to coat his cheeks. Bursts of questions conjured themselves in his mind then, most of which were unnecessary and stupid.

The words that followed however, managed to strike a nerve. His eyes grew wide with panic, a variety of images dominating his vision. Horror, fire, and carnage.

Man, he should have known this would happen.

Sasuke would never be satisfied with him. Never had been.

''No!'' The word exploded from him. The shout gave him courage, however small it may be, and he immediatly started squirming. He could barely focus with Sasuke breathing on him like that, but he had to try. For goodness sakes, he threatened Konoha!

''Don't... don't!'' he took a shaky breath, practically vibrating.

''I'll...''

.

Sasuke: So…uh…you were saying something about not being able to find the beggining of the next chapter, right?

Me: Why do you feel the need to empty me out in front of our readers? -.-

Naruto: Yeah, Sasuke-teme, why?!!! Wait, whaaatt? You don't have the next chapter?!! Do you mean this??!!

Sasuke: Heh… dobe, you're too slow.

Naruto: Don't call me that, teme!

...

Hey! Also, I am not slow!

Sasuke: Heh...

Me: Hey, hey, guys! That's not even the point right now! God!

Naruto: What's the point?

Sasuke: Tche…idiot.

Naruto: Teme!

Me: Shut up, you two!

Okay, here's the deal, I don't know when I will update again and if the story is going to have an end, because apparently I am missing a file and if I don't find it then…there will be a big loop in the story and I wouldn't like that. So…

Naruto: So…let's go eat ramen!

Me: -.- Is this guy ever serious?

Sasuke: No.

Me: Yeah, my dear fans , you heard the deal. Sorry for any inconvenience. I will let you know if I will continue the story or not. Until next time!

Oh and... R&R, please?

Sasuke: Hypocrite…I am sure you did this on purpose because I talked back to you…Very low.

Me: I guess we'll never know, now, will we? ;)

-To my fans, I was serious. :3 ~