Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, it is owned by Masashi Kishimoto

"NARUTOOO!"

"SASUKEEE!"

These words roared throughout the valley of the end. The sources coming from a blonde-haired boy, bloody and beaten and cloaked in a red demonic essence; and a raven-haired boy, with hand mutations coming out of his back, and a traitor to his home. They both stared at each other in rage as their hands began to glow with powerful chakra.

Sasuke held his arm as it began to crackle with dark chakra, smirking as he held it toward the blonde across the river. The whisker marks on the blonde's face only thickened, as his fangs grew sharper and sharper in his rage. His blood red eyes moved down to his hand, as the demonic chakra cloaking him formed a perfect orb in his hand, watching it spiral in its condensed shape. They both glared at each other, before lifting off from where each stood, flying in the air toward each other at blisteringly high speeds.

They threw their techniques forward, the only thing on their minds: I MUST WIN!

"CHIDORI!"

"RASENGAN!"

The techniques clashed and immediately exploded out, creating a swirling mass of power around them. That didn't stop them from having one final brawl in the eye of the storm. Naruto swiped at his would-be friend, hoping to cripple the fool. Sasuke easily avoided the attack, swooping in and punching the blonde hard in the gut, causing him to stagger. Sasuke wasn't done yet, though... He continued his onslaught, punching Naruto in the gut repeatedly. He then kicked him in the face, sending him flying out of the torrent of power.

Naruto trembled as he laid in a heap, looking up as the torrent faded away, leaving Sasuke slowly descending toward him. Blood ran from the blonde's mouth, as his cloak left him. He was defenseless, and his body refused to move.

'You damn demon! NOW you decide to stop helping me?!' He shouted toward the demon within him, he heard nothing in response. A grunt escaped Naruto's lips as he was picked up by the collar of his jacket, he stared down at the boy before him, his now cerulean eyes meeting Sasuke's yellow, snake like eyes.

"W-Why don't you just get it over with, Sasuke...!" He growled out, coughing up blood. "I know you want me dead...! Just get it over with!" He told the raven-haired traitor, fully accepting his fate. Sasuke threw the blonde against the cliffside, his face engulfed in shadow.

"No... There is no value in killing the likes of you..." He said to Naruto, throwing several kunai into the blonde's being, pinning him to the wall. "I know you secretly hold a hatred for me... Good... I want you to hate me, to detest me..." He said to him, before turning away. "That way, when we fight again... I'll take pleasure in killing you, Naruto..." He finished, slowly walking toward the forest. He then pulled off his forehead protector and threw it at Naruto's feet as he descended into the shadows.

Naruto gritted his teeth, as he looked down, his vision beginning to darken. He could feel the toll of using the fox's power, along with his injuries finally catching up with him. If it weren't for the adrenaline running through his body, he knew he'd be screaming in agonizing pain. All he could feel was a numbness that was exhausting his senses.

"You... You were... My friend... You bastard..." He whispered, before falling unconscious.

Kakashi rushed through the forest, making his way toward the sounds of techniques and explosions. It was at this moment that his heart sank, in that moment he felt something terrible had just happened. All he could hope was that they weren't too late.

"This is bad... We must hurry!" He shouted, before looking back at the pink-haired girl behind him, who nodded in response.

"Yes, Sensei!" She agreed, picking up the pace, and following him closely.

Kakashi sighed inwardly, looking forward. He didn't want to bring Sakura, but she wouldn't back down.

"This is something I need to see, Sensei!" Sakura told her teacher, looking up at him with worry and determination. "I won't take no for an answer!" She finished, causing Kakashi to sigh heavily.

"I'm going to get such an earful for this..." He muttered, before looking back down at Sakura. "Fine, but you must stay by my side... No matter what." He ordered, as Sakura nodded in acceptance.

"Sensei..." Sakura started, causing her teacher to look back at her. All he saw was a tense look on her face as her fists were by her side, trembling from how tightly they were balled up.

"What... What do you think we'll see?" She asked, almost grimly, before looking down. Kakashi could only frown at the sight, before looking back.

"I don't know, Sakura... But I'm sure it'll be alright." He tried to reassure her, giving her a smile. Sakura smiled sadly in response, trying to stay positive.

"Thank you, Sensei..." She thanked him, before blinking. "Sensei, I see a clearing!" She told him, causing the Jounin to look forward. Kakashi's eye narrowed as they made their way toward the exit of the forest, noting the lack of the sounds they had been hearing earlier.

"We're here..." He told her, jumping out of the clearing and onto the rocky shore. He looked around, trying to find them. What he found was a massive battlefield.

'These two... How long were they fighting for, to cause this much damage?' He asked himself, as his eye caught sight of something yellow and orange. He felt his body tense up in shock from what he saw.

"Sensei? Do you see anything?" She asked, as she began stepping out of the woods. Kakashi whipped his head in her direction, barely able to move from where he was standing.

"Sakura! Don't. Leave. The woods." He ordered her. Unfortunately, he was too late. Sakura stepped out next to him, raising an eyebrow.

"Huh? Why are you sayin..." She trailed off, her eyes meeting the sight he had laid his eye upon before. Her face slowly twisted into a look of horror as she began to process what she was seeing.

There were pools of blood everywhere by the waterfall, torn bits of clothing, and the blonde himself. He was pinned against the cliff side, stabbed in several parts of his body with kunai, and blood was rushing from his body. Sakura's pupils started to shake, as she started to breathe rapidly, her hands slowly going over her agape mouth.

"N-N-N..." She could get the words out as she kept breathing rapidly as tears started running down her face. All she could do was let out a blood curdling scream.

"NARUTOOOO!" She screamed out, falling to her knees as her body trembled. Kakashi immediately got down on his knee, holding Sakura by her shoulders.

"Sakura, stay with me!" He told her, keeping her gaze focused on him. He started beating himself mentally, he never should have brought her. Sakura looked at Kakashi, as she cried heavily.

"B-B-But...!" She tried to choke out, as Kakashi looked back toward the blonde.

"Sakura, we don't know if he's dead, alright? Now stay...!" He trailed off as Sakura wrestled out of his grip and rushed over to where Naruto was pinned down to.

"NARUTOO!"

The blonde's eyes slowly began to open, his vision was blurry, and he felt heavy. He looked around at his surroundings, and he saw a white room. He groaned as his vision became clearer, he had an IV strapped to him, and his legs were in braces.

'My head is killing me...' He thought to himself, before noticing someone else in the room. Sakura was sleeping in a chair next to his bed. 'Sakura-chan?...' He thought in confusion.

"Sakura-chan?..." He said out loud, causing a stir from the pinkette. She slowly opened her eyes, and then they fully opened immediately at the sight. Sakura's jaw quivered as she tried to keep herself together.

"Naruto...! You're awake...!" She pointed out, smiling sadly as tears built in her eyes. Naruto nodded slowly, rubbing his face tiredly before looking down.

"Y-Yeah, I am..." He said to her, staring down at his blanket. "...How long was I out?" He asked her, judging from her reaction, it was longer than he would've wanted.

"A week." She told him, hugging herself in sadness. A sad and frustrated pout showed on her face, clearly trying to work up the nerve to say something to him.

"Naru..."

"Ah, so you're awake." The two looked over to see the new Hokage walk into the room, as she looked down at the blonde. Naruto stared at her for a minute, before looking down.

"Baa-chan..." He said quietly, as he grabbed his bed sheets tightly. Tsunade folded her arms, while looking at the boy. Her expression softened somewhat at the sight, clearly having a soft spot for the boy in front of her.

"So, you didn't recover Sasuke." She pointed out, causing Naruto to hang his head further. She then looked toward Sakura.

"And you... You defied a direct order and went with Kakashi to recover Naruto." She pointed out, causing Sakura to bite her lower lip. Tsunade sighed heavily, while looking at the pinkette. "I don't understand, why did you even bothe-"

"-I wanted to see Sasuke-kun for myself... I wanted to see if Naruto had done it, and beat Sasuke-kun to bring him back..." She told Tsunade, admitting that the original reason was not for the blonde's sake.

Naruto stared at his bed with empty eyes, slowly letting go of his now wrinkled blanket. He felt the room spinning around him as he processed the information Sakura had presented to him. Silence filled the room, as Tsunade shook her head.

"Well, you're not going without a punishment, Sakura. You will be unable to take the Chunin exam next year. Being a Chunin is not a simple task, and you need to show that you won't disobey a direct order, for such selfish reasons. Understand?" She ordered, causing the pinkette to sink further into her chair.

"...I understand." She said to the Godaime, her grip tightening on the chair.

"Good. Now then, Kakashi has already debriefed me, so all you need to do is rest. Got that, kid?" Tsunade asked as she turned toward Naruto, who could only nod silently in response.

"Good... If you'll excuse me." She then walked out, closing the door behind her. The two sat in silence, neither of them would look at each other. Sakura rubbed the back of her head, clearly getting impatient from the awkward silence as she looked over at the boy.

"Na..."

"I think you should go, as well... Sakura." He said to her, getting a surprised look from the pinkette. All he could hear was the chair rattle and slow footsteps toward the door to his room.

"...If that's what you want..." She responded, before walking out, closing the door behind her.

Naruto laid back, staring up at the cieling. His thoughts going back to his fight with Sasuke, remembering the words that Sasuke had said to him.

'I want you to hate me, to detest me... He said... Why?' He thought to himself, a frown forming on his face. Why did Sasuke want Naruto to hate him? So there would be no remorse in their next fight? So they both could go all out?...

'I wanted to see Sasuke-kun for myself...' The blonde's eyes widened as Sakura's words echoed in his mind, like a knife cutting deep into his heart.

'She couldn't have just left it with the promise... She also had to see if I had actually done it, in order to believe it?...' He asked himself, biting his lower lip.

'Then staying at my bedside... Acting like she cares about me, I know Sasuke is her only priority...' He thought sadly to himself. He covered his face as tears ran down from his face.

"I'm so stupid... To think that would ever change between us... That she... Would ever care...!" He told himself as he wept.

"I'm such a god damn fool...!" He said to himself, crying into his hand.

Sakura was standing with her back against the door, her eyes wide at hearing Naruto's words.

'No... No you're not, Naruto...' She thought to herself, hugging herself tightly, before walking away.