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This one-shot is my prequel to my story titled Naruto: Together again.

ENJOY!

One-Shot

Naruto and Sasuke stood directly opposite each other with blank stares on their faces. Sasuke watched as various friends and allies from Naruto's past appeared around and behind him. After a few moments passed, all of Naruto's friends and allies were gathered around him. Sasuke held a blank stare as he waited for Naruto to realize what he realized a long time ago. Naruto's expression turned into a half frown as he slowly and very reluctantly looked to his left…..Sasuke wasn't there.

After a few seconds of silence, Naruto paused for a moment then gave a sad smile of understanding as he looked forward to Sasuke who was standing directly opposite him about 30 feet away.

Naruto spoke in a hushed voice, "I understand." Sasuke studied him for a few seconds then nodded.

The sun was coming up as the two shinobi woke up. There was a long silence between the two. Naruto finally understood that Sasuke was on a different path. He didn't know if their paths would cross again or if they would one day converge, but as of right now, him and Sasuke were headed in different directions.

He paused for a moment, then turned to Sasuke, "So where will you go now?..."

"I'm not sure…"

Naruto slowly nodded his head.

Naruto slightly grinned then said, "You know where I'm going..."

Sasuke smiled, "Konoha."

Naruto nodded. Sasuke looked down the waterfall they were hanging over then continued, "That is your path."

The two were stuck on a rock hanging over the Valley of the End (VotE). It was on the same side as the Madara statue. Their bodies had failed them due to sheer exhaustion and the extent of their injuries, and the rock supporting them was slowly eroding. Their combined weight was too much for the rock to support for much longer.

As the rock started crumbling, Sasuke looked down the waterfall once more, then said, "I may not get to go to wherever I'm going, and you may not get to go back to Konoha…With the state our bodies are in, we'll drown as soon as this rock falls." Naruto nodded then looked down the waterfall as he realized that him and all his dreams were going to die here.

As he thought about his life, the only positive thing he could think of made him start laughing.

Sasuke turned to him, "What's so funny?" Naruto turned to Sasuke, "I was just thinking that, at least this way, our paths would finally converge…"

Sasuke thought for a second, then started laughing with Naruto.

There laid the two greatest shinobi of their generation, sharing one last laugh before they met their demise.

The laughing was cut short by a decisive crack from the rock. Naruto and Sasuke looked down as the rock slowly started to tilt over the edge.

Sasuke turned to Naruto. "See you on the other side…"

Naruto turned to him and, after a short pause, replied in a hushed voice…"Believe it…"

As the two started to go over the edge they saw a flash of pink and turned to see Sakura running up the Madara statue.

Sasuke closed his eyes and smiled as he thought to himself, 'At least Naruto will get to follow his path...'

Before she reached the two shinobi, the rock fully cracked and her face filled with terror as she realized she wouldn't be able to save both of them.

She had to go for Naruto right? Sasuke could still be a traitor to the village for all she knew. On top of that, he had tried to kill her and everyone else in the village. Naruto on the other hand, had been there for her through it all. He was a true friend, and if she was honest, he might have even been something more than that…

As she reached the top of the waterfall, she turned in shock as she realized she was holding onto Sasuke. Sasuke opened his eyes and looked at her with a face of pure shock then turned to the falling Naruto.

WHY?! Why did she choose to save Sasuke?! Her body must have betrayed her, she couldn't still love him after all this time…after all he'd done. It just didn't make sense.

As the gravity of what she had just done hit her, a horrible thought crossed her mind…..Naruto…

She turned to see a limp Naruto falling from the cliff. He looked directly into her eyes. They were a pale blue and she could see those sad blue eyes asking one question… "Why?" Sasuke watched in shock as Naruto fell off the cliff.

Kakashi was standing on a distant cliff above the valley and had seen the whole thing. Although he was shocked, his expression somehow wasn't one of shock. It looked more like a face of pure disappointment. He sighed and let out a disappointed, "Sakura…" He was physically drained, but at this point he had no choice but to at least try to save Naruto. He steeled himself and started making his way down the cliff.

Sakura stretched out her hand and cried out a loud "Narutooooo!" as he fell out of reach.

Sasuke looked out to the falling Naruto with a look of dread, "What did you just do…" She could tell from his voice that he wasn't actually asking, but rather that he was in a state of pure shock.

Naruto was left in a state of shock and hopelessness. When he saw her running up the statue he thought that maybe he would survive…him and his dreams. But then he realized that him and his dreams were still going to die at that waterfall.

He simply cast one last glance at Sakura, then closed his eyes as he waited for the end. As he fell, he hit his back on the first rock jutting out of the waterfall, then hit his head on the second one. He was knocked unconscious and his momentum caused him to fall headfirst in the pool of water.

Sakura froze as she realized she had probably made the biggest mistake in her life. She put Sasuke down and started running down the statue. Before she was a quarter of the way down, she saw Kakashi jump into the water.

Kakashi could see Naruto's body in the distance. Kakashi was giving it everything he had. The problem was he didn't have much left. After a few seconds of frantic swimming, he finally reached Naruto. He put Naruto's arm around his back and started trying to swim up. He swam upwards for two seconds before starting to sink with Naruto. It was no use. Kakashi had nothing left to give. He was physically done. He looked over at Naruto and thought to himself, 'I'm sorry, Naruto...but you didn't get to do all those things you wanted to do.' As Kakashi resigned himself to their fate, he felt some chakra entering his body. His expression turned to one of shock as he looked over to Naruto to see an orange, bubbly chakra all around him. Kakashi's eyes opened wide as he realized Kurama must be awake. Kakashi felt some strength return to his body, and immediately started swimming towards the surface. Before he reached the surface, he saw the surface break as Sakura started diving towards them. She grabbed Kakashi's hand and pulled him and Naruto to the surface.

As soon as they reached the surface, Sakura and Kakashi gasped for air. Naruto made no movement. Sakura froze at the sight of his lifeless body.

Sasuke was sitting upright examining the situation from above. He was still in a state of shock.

When he saw Sakura running up the statue, he thought Naruto would be the one to get the helping hand, but now Naruto was unconscious…and possibly dead.

Sakura started hyperventilating as her mind kicked into gear, 'What if he's dead and it's my fault? What if the last look I ever see on his face was the one I just saw?' As her eyes started watering, she heard Kakashi yell out, "We need to get him to shore! Now!"

Sakura knocked herself out of her daze, then nodded and started helping Kakashi bring him to shore. While they were a few feet from shore, they saw the orange, bubbly chakra start forming around his throat and chest. When they reached the shore, Naruto started coughing rather vehemently. The cough were a mix of water and blood. After a coughing fit that seemed to last forever, he let his head rest on the ground. He was now laying down on his back as the orange chakra kept moving around his body. Sakura decided to help with some of her medical ninjutsu as her hands started glowing a green color.

After a few minutes, the orange chakra disappeared then Naruto's eyes opened slightly. Kakashi looked up, closed his eyes and let out an audible sigh of relief. Sakura had been waiting in anticipation and hugged him as soon as he woke up. She whispered through tears, "You're alive…"

As Naruto came to his senses, he remembered the last thing he saw before he fell off that waterfall. His eyes started watering and after a few seconds of thought, he pushed Sakura off of him. He looked up to the sky and in a cold voice said, "You can go heal Sasuke." as he rested his head on the ground again. She was slightly stunned and muttered out, "But you're not fully re-"

"You can go...You've done enough." He said it with a slight but noticeable hint of anger and sadness in his voice that Kakashi made sure to take note of. Sakura looked like she was stuck between being sad, concerned and heartbroken. She wanted to help, but she knew what she had done. She thought about how she had betrayed him and put her head down as her eyes started watering. As the silence dragged on, Kakashi looked with pity on Naruto. He was clearly in pain – not just physically, but emotionally. Kakashi looked over to Sakura, then motioned his head towards Sasuke, "You better go." She paused for a moment, then nodded before stealing one last glance at Naruto. His face was turned away, but she could still see the streak on his face from a recently shed tear. She couldn't bear to look any longer and turned away. She started heading towards Sasuke with tears running down her face.

When she reached Sasuke he didn't say a word. He just sat there in silence.

After a few moments of silence, Kakashi sat down on the shore then turned to Naruto. After a short pause, he began, "You know-"

"DON'T!"

Kakashi stopped short in slight shock as Naruto cut him off. After a short pause, Naruto said in a hushed voice, "I knew you would, so just...don't….." then kept looking at the sky. Kakashi looked over to Naruto's usually vibrant blue eyes. They were now watering and were a pale, light blue. Kakashi felt a wave of sadness hit him as he realized that he may have just witnessed his former team implode. He didn't know really know what to say, and even if he did, Naruto clearly didn't want to hear it.

After a few seconds, he let out a sigh then laid back on the shore about a foot away from Naruto. He figured the least he could do was show Naruto that he still had someone by his side. Naruto kept looking up at the clouds as his healing factor kept working on his body. Kakashi looked up at the sky, then said in a hushed voice, "We'll watch the clouds together." Naruto let out a sniffle as he looked up at the sky.

After watching the clouds for a few minutes, Naruto and Kakashi turned to see Sakura and Sasuke walking towards them. Kakashi started using his arm to get up then felt an arm lift him up. It was Naruto. A slight look of shock crossed Kakashi's face as he realized that Naruto was now in better shape than he was. That healing factor really came in handy.

After a few seconds, Sasuke and Sakura reached where Naruto and Kakashi were standing. Naruto had his arms crossed while he wore a blank expression. He spoke directly to Sasuke. "We still have to release the Infinite Tsukuyomi."

Sasuke gave a nod, then the two formed the rat hand seal. The Infinite Tsukuyomi was slowly released and everyone who had been captured was slowly set free. After the work was done, Naruto turned to Sasuke, "See you around."

Sakura and Kakashi's expressions showed their shock at Naruto saying goodbye to Sasuke. In the past, he would've done almost anything to get him back, but now he was just…letting him go.

Sasuke's expression showed his confusion at the unusually short goodbye, then he thought about what had just happened and it made more sense. He knew Naruto wasn't mad at him, but at Sakura. He decided not to say a word, but instead gave a slow nod of understanding. Kakashi turned to Sasuke, "So you're not coming back to the village?..."

"No."

Kakashi put his head down as he realized that Naruto must have already known Sasuke wasn't coming back. That just made the betrayal worse. Sakura felt her stomach drop as she realized that not only had she just betrayed Naruto, she had just betrayed him and Sasuke wasn't even coming back.

Sasuke turned to Naruto and couldn't help feeling a little bad for him. After a pause, he said in a firm voice, "Take care of yourself… Until our paths cross again…" Naruto stood there with his arms crossed but managed to give a slight nod.

Sasuke turned away and scaled the cliffs surrounding the valley before disappearing into the jungle. As soon as Sasuke was out of sight, Naruto started walking in the direction of the Hidden Leaf Village, "We should head back."

Kakashi slowly nodded and watched as Sakura kept her head bowed and started walking in the same direction as Naruto. He knew then and there that this wasn't like some other time. This betrayal couldn't just be forgiven. Naruto had been deeply scarred and, for once, Kakashi wasn't sure he could bounce back.

Author's Note

PLEASE feel free to leave reviews on this story. I do enjoy reading reviews. They are very encouraging and they also help me get better. Be sure to drop a follow and a favorite because I update stories consistently, and if I start a story I will finish it. Believe it!