Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and I am not profiting from this fan fiction in any way.

A/N: My other fics are being worked on, but this popped into my head so I decided to start it first. I don't have an editor, so my apologies if there are spelling and grammar errors. Also I realize this is pretty cliché so, sorry.

Warnings: This has major OOCness. Begins right after Naruto wakes up from failing to bring Sasuke back. Anything that happened after their fight did not happen in this fic. The POV will change from time to time. It will be Naruto-centric for the first chapter or two. At this point it's only rated T but the rating will go up later for language, sexual situations, possibly attempted suicide. This fic is Yaoi (boy x boy relations for those of you who don't know.) Don't like don't read. If you're going to leave a negative comment at least make it witty.

/thinking/

"Speaking"

Fading Into Darkness: Ch.1

Naruto POV

/where am I? It's so dark. / Glancing at my surroundings I noticed a soft white glow in the distance. Considering it's the only thing around I figure I may as well move towards it. /What happened? I remember fighting with Sasuke and then… Wait, where's Sasuke?/ I knew I was beginning to panic. I couldn't help the quickening of my breath as my heart beat so hard I felt it may break through my chest. I ran towards the light screaming Sasuke's name. /Please, he has to be here. /

Normal POV

"Sasuke!"

The group surrounding the unconscious boy all jumped as the desperate scream ripped through the blonde's throat. Naruto was gripping the sheets so hard his knuckles were white, arching his back off the bed in a way that was sure to be painful. Naruto grabbed his chest and let out a heartbreaking wail as tears streamed from beneath his eyelids in his unconscious state.

Sakura watched on with sad eyes. No matter what everyone had been telling her since Naruto was brought back by Kakashi six days ago, she couldn't help but believe it was her fault. She had sent him after Sasuke, even though she should have known he wouldn't come back. She turned abruptly and left the room, no longer able to take the overwhelming pain in her heart at watching her teammate suffer.

They watched in silence for a few moments longer when Tsunade entered the room.

"Iruka, Kakashi. You should go home. I'll call you if he wakes up." She walked to the blonde's side and placed a hand over his eyes. Concentrating her chakra, she tried to relax the boy so he wouldn't harm himself. After fifteen long minuets, she removed her hand and ushered the two men out with her.

"Tsunade-sama, will he…be ok?" She glanced towards Iruka with tired eyes.

"Physically he'll be fine. However, when he wakes up and realizes Sasuke is gone…" She shook her head lightly, indicating that she wasn't quite sure what to expect. Iruka turned and made a hasty retreat, not wanting to break down in front of so many people. Kakashi watched him walk away and turned to Tsunade, gave a quick bow and disappeared in a puff of smoke, no doubt to go after his distraught dolphin.

It was two days later that Naruto awoke. He slowly cracked his eyes open only to groan and throw his pillow over his head. It was another five minuets before he removed the pillow and looked at his surroundings. /The hospital? Sasuke must have brought me. I wonder where he is. / He slowly moved to a sitting position, noticing he wasn't in any pain except for a nasty headache. As he waited around for someone to show up, his stomach grumbled loudly, reminding him that he was absolutely ravenous. He fought with himself over whether or not to push the call button for the nurse. He knew they didn't like him here and he would much rather wait for a friendly face, but in the end his stomach won out.

At the nurse's station, a buzzer went off and an orange light flickered to life indicating that one Uzumaki Naruto had called for assistance. She hesitated and turned to the head nurse on duty.

"That boy is awake, should we go check on him?" The head nurse gave her a disgusted look.

"Absolutely not, Send word to the Hokage, she can deal with that monster!" The younger woman nodded to her superior and picked up the phone, dialing the Hokage's office. When she got Tsunade's assistant, Shizune, she told her that "The Kyuubi was awake" and asked her to please inform the Hokage.

Naruto sat in his bed still, annoyed that no one had come in. He had pressed the damn button three times in the last twenty minuets and no one ever showed. Just as he was about to get up and leave, Tsunade came bursting into the room. She heaved a sigh of relief and smiled softly at him.

"Hey brat, I called Iruka before I came. He's bringing you some ramen." She moved to his bed side and began checking his now fully healed body over and asking how he was feeling. After ten minuets of pointless poking and questioning, he grabbed her hands in his and gave an annoyed huff.

"I'm fine Baa-chan so calm down." She gave a light smile and gave him some space. She had been trying to distract him until Iruka showed so she could avoid the question she knew he would ask.

"Tsunade, Where's Sasuke?" She looked into his eyes and shook her head sadly.

"He didn't come back Naruto, he's gone." All the color drained from Naruto's face. She continued to stare at him as if trying to read his thoughts. So many emotions went through his eyes. Confusion, sadness, anger, she watched as each passed. She was slightly startled to see his eyes go completely blank after a few moments. He relaxed completely and gave her a blank stare that sent chills down her spine.

"Tsunade-sama, I need to be alone. Please leave." He got out of his bed and walked to the window, turning his back on her. She gave him a pitying look and left without another word. What she saw in this twelve year old boy today, it broke her heart. She knew that in a sense, he had just died. Sasuke was such a big part of his life, Held so much of his spirit and his heart. She wondered if he'd ever recover from this. Glancing up, she saw Iruka striding down the hallway with a smile, obviously excited to see Naruto. She grabbed him by the sleeve and pulled him along with her in the opposite direction of the blonde's room, telling him that the boy needed to be alone right now.

Naruto continued to stare out the window, Headache and hunger now completely forgotten. /I think I'm in shock. Why do I feel so numb/ He shook his head and decided he would consider the lack of feeling a blessing for now. Who knew what tomorrow would bring.

A/N: Okay there's the first chapter. The next chapter is going to skip ahead by a bit. It's going to remain a pretty dark fic for quite a while. Please review.