Kei-Kei Yuki: Told ya you will be getting a double update tonight! One more chapter to go before I can officially close part 1 of Naruto and jump straight into Shippuden. Heads up, most of those chapters will be center around the war. I mean of course, I going to do when Naruko returns and the Pain assault, but the rest of the show is too long and filled with fillers. Enjoy the chapter~! ; )

Beta: Ana-DaughterofHades

The Tears that We Shed

The Valley of End was now left torched with marks from Sasuke and Naruko's battle. During the climax, Sasuke awakened his full course mark and the burning red chakra of the Kyuubi cloaked Naruko. Large deformed wings sprouted from one of the two back, and the other had transformed herself into a seething red kitsune. It was as if two legendary mythology beasts were battling when, in reality, it was two lonely souls with different views fighting against one another.

Leaping off the stone statues, a swirl of blue chakra collided with ominous black lightning; a long-distance memory flashed through their eyes. Sasuke was sitting on the riverbank; the lone Uchiha had recently lost his family. Empty eyes tired from crying stared at how the sun sat on the horizon. For Naruko, it was only a couple days after Iruka had taken her in, and never before had the blonde found herself so happy. So imagine the blonde chibi's shock when her feet stumbled upon the famous Uchiha Sasuke, who all the girls in her class fawned over.

Honestly, Naruko didn't get what the big idea was about the Uchiha. Yeah, his skills were a little above average than the rest of the class, born from some outstanding clan and all that, but she couldn't be the only one who found his appearance more on the girlier side, right? Naruko was ready to leave when she caught sight of the boy's eyes, catching a reflection of them in the water. Such eyes made her flinch and take a step back due to how much the haunting image reminded her of herself. Before her encounter with Iruka, Naruko, too, had those same eyes and wished such loneliness on no one, not even Sasuke.

Naruko must've been standing there too long as Sasuke had taken notice of her presence. Seeing those eyes up close, Naruko felt the urge of wanting to reach out to him and erase such a look. Even though the Uchiha was annoying, he had a nice pair of eyes. Eyes that Naruko didn't want to be stained by a look that once filled her own. Unintentionally, her foot moved forward, and the Uchiha scowled at her, reminding Naruko of why she found the Uchiha a jerk. Sticking her tongue out at him, Naruko came to a decision, feet taking off into a dash.

No one should share her experience of being alone. The next day, Sasuke Uchiha, once again wallowing in the misery fate had so heartlessly gifted him, the young Uchiha was brought out of his despair when a blue-clad leg stomped on his desk. Sasuke trailed his eyes up to meet the person's face, and instantly what he saw was strands of vibrant sunny yellow hair and sparkly cerulean blue eyes. Such a sight almost blinded the Uchiha, feeling as if he was staring directly into the sun.

"Yo, you're Uchiha Sasuke, right? The top guy in our class that all the girls fawn over? Well, I'm Uzumaki Naruko, and from this moment forth, we're rivals!" At the time, Naruko was unaware that her action would set off a chain of future events that would forever tie her to Uchiha Sasuke. Back then, Sasuke had found the pixie blonde's broad grin annoying, but there was no doubt that her actions had brought forth a small ray of sunlight into his dreary life.

The more rays of sunlight Naruko brought into his life, the more Sasuke found himself becoming addicted. Then again, Naruko herself was an addiction; that sunny personality of hers had a way of changing people and healing them from their pain.

He stared down at the unconscious blonde lying on the ground, the torrential downpour of rain washing over his face, concealing the secret tears he shed. "I'm sorry..." These fragile words came from the deepest part of his heart, eyes running over her face one last time, before shakingly getting to his feet, leaving behind the person who was the last once of light he had in his life.

By the time Kakashi-sensei touched the ground, the sight that greeted his eyes was Naruko's bruised and beaten body resting unconsciously on the ground. Without waste, he made his way to the girl he had sworn to protect and lifted her onto his back. Once secured, Kakashi took one last look at the damage both Sasuke and Naruko had caused and sighed to himself. He recalled the words Naruko had once so proudly declared to him of how people's eyes spoke to her and that she could spot the darkness dotting at the edges of Sasuke's eyes. Of how she was going to save the last Uchiha because he was her rival, someone important to her.

Going against her own nature by sticking herself out there first, she offered the Uchiha her kindness and even though Kakashi could spot the effects it had on Sasuke, it wasn't enough to keep him in the village and from going down the wrong path. "He left me again..." Naruko softly murmured against his shoulder, eyes peering in the direction Sasuke had took.

"Sorry... Naru-chan tried, but... He wouldn't listen... I tried so hard, but he refused to take my hand. Sorry..." Naruko's voice sounded so pitiful as if something inside her had broken, voice cracking and caught in her throat as she wrapped her arms around Kakashi's neck. Her whole form radiated nothing but sadness, sending waves of guilt crashing straight into Kakashi's heart.

It should've been him that fought against Sasuke. He should've tried harder as their jonin sensei to keep his team together. Naruko didn't deserve to go through this type of pain. "You... did good, Naru-chan. Nothing is your fault." Kakashi felt pathetic; the top-ranked jonin feared by many was actually on the verge of shedding a few tears, but he didn't dare. The sun he had vowed to protect needed his support more than ever. Finding the road home seemed long and dreary.

Sakura raced down the hall of the hospital, emerald eyes searching for her blonde teammate, who promised she would bring back their raven-haired teammate. Soon she found Naruko's hospital room but paused once she heard sniffling on the other side of the door. Peeking through the gap of the adjusted door, Sakura got a visual of Naruko and gasped.

"N-Naru-chan tried Ruka... I asked him kindly, I begged him, and even fought him. B-But he still left me." Iruka mournfully stared at the girl she raised and cared for and was reminded of when the blonde was still a small helpless child searching for some form of attention and care.

A lonely little girl scorned and hated by the majority of the village, Iruka had wanted to erase Naruko's pain and fill it with happiness, but even she couldn't have predicted this outcome. Naruko's slip of tongue of calling herself in the third person was something not missed by the chunin, something the blonde hadn't done since Iruka taught her the right pronoun to use. Staring inside those watery cerulean eyes, she watched as fat droplets of tears ran down those chubby scarred cheeks.

Iruka felt so sad for Naruko and at the same time was furious at Sasuke, seeing how Naruko's chest had begun to accelerate, unable to no longer restrain the heartbreak she felt, tearing herself into two. "He left me, Ruka. He left me!" The dam shattered. Throwing herself at Iruka, Naruko finally broke down. Her wails of sorrow cut through those who could hear her, especially Iruka sitting in the room, tightly holding onto her sobbing child.

"Don't cry, Naru. You did all you could." Iruka tried to remain strong, but Naruko's wails had destroyed her shield, unable to stop her own tears. Stumbling back on her feet, Sakura didn't know how to take in the sight inside the room. But she wasn't the only one to witness Naruko break down, standing behind her stood Kakashi, Shikamaru, and Hinata, who had rushed to the hospital after hearing both Neji and Naruko had suffered extreme injuries.

This was a huge blow for the pinknette kunoichi. Kakashi had wanted to reach out to the pink-haired girl when he saw her almost fall over her feet, but instead of falling, Sakura rushed past him, blindly running ahead. Her heart throbbed painfully in her chest. Running and running to escape from it all.

She didn't want to believe it! It all had to be one big lie! Please, someone, tell her this was all one big nightmare! That when she would wake up, Sasuke and Naruko would both still be here, arguing over something pointless. Sasuke with his usual brooding self and Naruko with her loud annoying sunny self. Sakura was running so fast, never stopping for a moment and ran straight into Ino.

"What the-Sakura?!" Ino hadn't expected Sakura to have crashed into her out of the blue. Staring down at her best friend, Ino saw dimmed emerald eyes staring out into the emptiness of space. This immediately caused Ino to worry, gently setting her hand on the girl's shoulder. "Sakura?" Ino softly called to the girl and was grateful when she finally got some kind of reaction from her friend.

"I broke her, Ino," mindlessly answered Sakura.

"Broke who?" Ino was confused as to who Sakura was referring to.

"Naruko... I-I broke Naruko when I selflessly asked her to bring back Sasuke-kun! Despite knowing she was hurting just as much as me, I still demanded her to bring Sasuke back to me. But look at what happened! Ino, I broke the sun!" Sakura broke down in the middle of the street, unable to care for the looks she earned, crying harder than when she had tried to stop Sasuke from leaving.

End of The Tears that We Shed