Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Or Sasuke. But hopefully, because of a friend, I shall in a few days own a Sasuke plushie.

A/N: This is for Sweetsong's challenge, and I hope I don't mess it up too much. -sigh- Why am I always so worried? Anyways, here we go.

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Once upon a time, there were two friends who had grown up together. They knew each and every single thing about each other, and in time their mutual friendship grew to affection, to love. They knew the two of them were meant for the other, and theirs was a beautiful relationship, full of trust and understanding. They, with fate on their side, lived happily ever after.

That was the beginning. It is not a very good beginning, nor is it very accurate. But perhaps, a clever reader may infer a few things more from what is going to be pointed out. There is no mention of gender in this fairy-tale like opening, only two childhood friends. In fact, it is all very general, isn't it, passing the point of vagueness and bounding onto the territory of concealment. It does not include any specific names at all. Would you all like the names? Well, since all readers are endowed with natural inquisitiveness, or so every author hopes, here are the names of the childhood friends, or should we say, acquaintances.

Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto.

Surely, everybody has heard some version of… the first time. The first love. Perhaps the first happiness, or the first tragedy. And undoubtedly your version is much less vague than the one above and needs a lot less explanation. But, this is not about the first time. This narrative is written about the second time. They meet again, Naruto and Sasuke, in a later time but in a not so different place. They meet, because the first time was a disaster, and some unknown force in the world whose name is sometimes Love and sometimes otherwise wants for them to have another chance at the happiness that is so important to a human life. Love gives them the chance again.

It does not work. Readers, dear readers, do not be resentful because the ending is spoiled for you. This is a warning. This is how it ends on… the second time.

"Sasuke?"

"Yes?"

"Promise me one thing?"

"Anything, anything you want." Sasuke answered desperately.

Naruto chuckled weakly at Sasuke's compliance, and gathered up his strength to pass on his wish. "Don't throw away your life like I did. Don't go running to a demon and wish for immortality and numbness. Just… live. Live on without me, as I'm sure you can. You never did need me that much, did you?" He smiled, the expression still innocent even through centuries of pain. "And… Sasuke, I'm sure, that… in someplace, in sometime other than here and now… I'm sure we have a happy ending just once. I've learned that the hard way. So… don't despair, ok?"

Naruto closed his eyes for what seemed like a small eternity, and Sasuke waited with bated breath for them to open once more. And when they did, a sharp sigh escaped his lips, for they were coated with the lazy film of death. He didn't bother to wipe away the tears that came from his eyes.

"Don't cry for me, Sasuke." Naruto whispered. "I don't deserve your tears. I don't deserve anybody's tears."

His breath became shallow, and for lack of better words Naruto reached up and brushed away Sasuke's tears for him, leaving bloody streaks on Sasuke's cheeks where his fingers touched. He let his arm drop in an awkward pile afterwards and closed his eyes again.

"Naruto," Sasuke called as he put his hand on Naruto's chest and found the heartbeat of a dying man, "of course you deserve my tears. I-I…"

He couldn't go on. The impending doom of this irreversible death made those few words seem utterly insignificant, and he didn't know what he would achieve by expressing them. Would it take away Naruto's pain? Would it heal his wounds? Would it prevent his death? No, none of those.

And yet Naruto seemed to understand, and to appreciate, even at this moment.

"I know, Sa-" he breathed in painfully, his blood continuing to spill over Sasuke's arms and legs. "-suke. I'm just… glad not to be your weakness anymore. And," another sharp breath, "I…love you…too…"

Sasuke held the dying Naruto to his chest, and as he did he heard a familiar sound, the sound of a band welding Naruto's and the Kyuubi's souls together shattering into nothingness. It was indeed the last band, and the Kyuubi roared out, trying to break out from the dying body that was encompassing his soul.

But it was of no use, for even as he began to struggle, his soul was being dragged to the afterworld, entwined forever with Uzumaki Naruto's and forever unable to escape back into the mortal world.

The sun above came out from the clouds and shone down on the world once more, illuminating the tragic scene below with uncaring rays.

Sasuke watched as a ray of sun struck the burnished gold of Naruto's hair, and wept inconsolably as he wondered whether it had been this hard for Naruto the first time, when he himself had died and left a brokenhearted Naruto to deal with the world alone. And suddenly, for the first time, he couldn't blame the blond from running to Kyuubi just to end his pain. Not when suicide had suddenly appeared in his thoughts. But… he would listen to Naruto. He would live without him.

Just… he needed this time to weep for his love, because, besides him, who else would? Everyone else would see this as the end of Kyuubi, of a dangerous demon that should be dead, but only Sasuke would see this as the death of a boy who had given up everything for him, the acceptance of a community, the innocence of his pure soul, and finally, his life, all for their love.

And…what could he do now? Naruto was dead. Itachi was dead. The 5th Hokage was also keeping company with ghosts. What could he do now?

Then, suddenly, there came a distraction.

The delayed Konoha shinobis came racing into the meadow, ready to fight to the death for their beloved Sasuke, their village prodigy.

But what they saw stunned them. Uchiha Itachi was lying dead, crimson blood seeping into the grass on one side of the meadow, and Kyuubi, in his human form, was lying dead and being cradled in their prodigy's arms.

It took a while for the trained ninjas to recover their composure, and when they did, an especially courageous one asked respectfully, "What should we do now, Uchiha-sama?"

Sasuke didn't know how to answer that question, but as a brief acknowledgment looked into their eyes just once before looking back down at Naruto. The shinobis took that their own way, as an order to dispose of the bodies, even though he hadn't meant any such thing. They immediately gave suggestions and went into action.

"We should start forming funeral plans in the Uchiha cemetery and announce the deaths formally to the village." someone said, and hurried off.

The shinobis took for granted, even without speaking, that Sasuke-sama's older brother would be buried honorably with his ancestors, as was due to one with his blood. No matter what horrible things he had in his life, he was still born an Uchiha and that was what mattered.

As for the Kyuubi, well, that was a problem. How should they dispose of it properly? Should they burn it and scatter the ashes? Should they tear the body up into a thousand pieces and bury them all separately? Should they just cut out his heart and brain, would that be sufficient?

Well, whatever they would do, they would have to make sure the nine-tailed fox demon would never come back again. And as for the boy, the human form, his name had been practically erased from history. He had never existed, never been a living part of Konoha. And even if he had, well, that was a long time ago, and since then he had betrayed the town and committed a horrendous crime with no apparent reason. Besides, the one thing that had survived the obliteration of Uzumaki Naruto's life, besides his name which was never to be uttered, was the fact that he was an orphan, abandoned in a city street and forced to sleep on the hard floors of the ninja academy, because nobody would take him in. Didn't that show something? Even as a child nobody loved him and everyone abandoned him. He deserved to be punished in the afterlife.

"Let's burn the Kyuubi!" Someone started, and shouts of agreement ran out from all sides instantly. It was just as quickly stifled however when Sasuke threw out an icy glare.

"Is that all he is?" he called out, challenging everyone around him to dispute him, but nobody did. "Is that all he is, this innocent boy who is now dead?"

"He wasn't in the least innocent!" A voice lost in the crowd called out. "He sold his soul to the Devil!"

And indeed, Naruto had sold his soul to the Devil, or more specifically, Kyuubi, a long long time ago. A time, dear readers, that you will all learn about quite soon if you keep reading. Of course, there still is that if. This ending you all know, but it is not the whole ending yet. And perhaps, if you all keep reading until the whole ending is said, perhaps you might forgive the haphazard way this story is narrated. This author does not want you to cry or be clouded by emotions, or to feel pity. This author believes that if you all know at least part of the ending, you all may not feel so sad. This is meant to soothe you, and to help read with a calm heart and appreciate the moments when Naruto and Sasuke are truly happy.

But, as of right now, that moment when this narrative is finally complete is a long time off. Still, here is the beginning. Let us start. And the beginning, this time, will be much more accurate.

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Sasuke awoke, as he did everyday, at precisely 5:45am, with the goal to get to the training grounds and to train alone for a half hour at the least every morning. Or at least that was the reason programmed into his clockwork mind, and that was how he conquered nature every morning and woke up at exactly the same time. Except, on this morning, he had the unnatural wish to stay in bed even though he was very much awake. He idly wondered to himself why that was. Hmm, he was so warm, he didn't want to get up, and 5 more minutes couldn't hurt…

He breathed in and out peacefully for five minutes more, before opening his eyes and discovering just who was sleeping next to him. A shock of blond hair, definitely not his own, covered his eyes, and he brushed it away almost wearily. What had he done last night? He never let girls get this close to him… wait, no, that was something else. What was the last thing he remembered?

…Darkness.

Before that? Torches. Shouts. A great amount of running. A goal. Determination. But then… one color. A devilish red. Yes, a red pulsing around him.

THE KYUUBI!

With a flash he remembered and understood. He sat up instinctively, not wanting to be caught sleeping at a time like this. Who knew what dangers were surrounding him? He was still wearing his bloodstained clothes from the hunt, he realized as the sticky fabric clung to him. That was going to minimize his movement… but wait, again.

His eyes darted around, analyzing the setting, but there was no visible danger as far as he could see. There was just the morning light shining through a window into a stark white room. And inside the room he was sitting on a bed, someone else's bed, covered with stark white sheets. Where was this? An illusion? Perhaps, but a good one if he couldn't sense it.

"Sasuke…" a lazy voice drawled out, and his head whipped around, to see within the white blankets a beautiful blonde child with half-lidded beautiful blue eyes. His hair was spread out on the pillow, framing his pale unblemished face that was devoid of emotion, as befitting an angel. Then he smiled. It was only a small uplifting of his lips, and yet it put a sparkle in his eyes and made that face all the more human and all the more enchanting. How did this angel know his name? And why did he breathe it as if Sasuke was his own personal savior? He hadn't ever seen this boy before in his life, and yet, yet he seemed so familiar.

"Sasuke, let's go back to sleep…" His eyes closed and Sasuke stared at him, amazed by this strange behavior. Why was he addressing him so informally? Even Hinata-chan addressed him as Sasuke-kun, never as Sasuke. Why was there such an intimate air about this situation? Besides the obvious, that they had woken up in the same bed, this boy angel seemed so used to Sasuke's presence.

…He needed answers.

"Hey, angel, wake up!"

He stirred a little, and cracked one eye open. "Angel? Me, Sasuke? I'm honored. And why should I wake up? I only get to see you in my dreams…" His eyelid came down once more, shielding his eyes from the harsh light of morning and Sasuke's penetrating stare. Dreams? This was even more puzzling.

But it seemed like this boy wasn't going to wake up, so Sasuke took this time to assess the situation on his own. It was very apparent to him now that he had been kidnapped by the Kyuubi during the annual hunt, though how it had been achieved he still couldn't remember. But it was not so out of place, after all. For almost all of his fifteen years of life, and since a long time before, after each hunt, the townspeople would find there to be someone, usually a young man, missing from the group that had gone hunting, and every year the atmosphere in Konoha would tense unbearably until the young man came back, which he always did, unhurt and seemingly unchanged except for sexual orientation. These young men seemed to turn homosexual, or at least bisexual, every time. And they would mutter endlessly about some blonde angel, which, Sasuke realized, was the boy sleeping next to him, the boy whose beauty had gotten a reaction from even the cold Uchiha Sasuke. He turned to watch the sleeping boy, noticing how he seemed almost preternatural in the shadowed light.

Hmm… this boy seemed about the same age as him, and yet had been around for more than five times his lifetime. Who was this boy? Sasuke looked down at the angel's face, noticing that it had not blossomed fully into adulthood. There was a common theory throughout the village that this blonde angel had seduced all of the young men, that he was only the human form of Kyuubi. But how could a demon take such an angel's form? Sasuke concluded that it was impossible, and he resolved to learn more about the boy and the Kyuubi while he was semi-imprisoned like this.

In fact, it was the perfect time to learn more about the Kyuubi, while he was inside of the demon's lair, no pun intended. And, who knows? He might actually capture the K-

Sasuke froze in surprise. Were there ARMS clasping him around the waist possessively? He looked down. Yep, there were. And they were NOT letting go, provoking a strange reaction from Sasuke. He relaxed, hesitantly, but definitely relaxed. This boy was just so warm, and he had such a nice shade of hair. And anyways, it was nice to feel…loved. Not admired, or idolized. Just loved, and wanted.

The blonde angel woke up once more after a few hours, the later hours very uncomfortable ones for Sasuke, who was trapped in his grasp and couldn't get out no matter what he did. In those few hours, he could've sworn that the whole lower half of his body had fallen asleep. Sasuke was greatly relieved when the boy finally woke up.

"Hmm? Am I still dreaming?" the boy asked sleepily, loosening his arms at last to rub his eyes. He then turned those bright blue orbs onto the black-haired boy. "Or are you really here, Sasuke?"

Sasuke summoned up a look of contempt at this ridiculous question. Of course he was really here! Did he actually look like he came from a dream or something? He answered testily, "Of course I'm here, baka, if I wasn't, blood would still be circulating in my legs!"

He didn't get any further, due to the fact that the still-anonymous-boy had flipped over on the bed and was on top of him, squeezing him madly.

"H-Hey!" he cried out, but the protest was drowned out.

"SASUKE! Really? Truly? You're HERE? I can't believe it!"

"What? Who are you to say that? I haven't ever met you in my life; I don't know WHY in the world you would be so excited." This would have made more of a point if it wasn't punctuated with the wheezes in between every few words.

Sasuke took a much-needed deep breath as the blonde released him from the tight grip, but he still didn't get up off of him. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm rushing it and messing it up, aren't I? My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and-" What could Naruto say? That he was Sasuke's soulmate? That they had been in love oh so many years ago? That he needed Sasuke as much as he needed air to breathe? For they were all true. Except… Sasuke didn't know any of that and Naruto meant to keep it that way. "-since you're going to be stuck with me for probably more than a week, you should know that I'm loud, rude, and annoying to a huge degree and that I'm no angel at all."

"Oh…" Sasuke was still stupefied at the abnormality of this introduction. "Are you sure?" He then realized what he just asked. "Wait, don't answer that. Eh, um, I'm-"

"Uchiha Sasuke, I know." Naruto grinned widely, the smile reaching his eyes once again.

"But how do you know me? I've never seen nor met you in my entire life!"

Naruto's eyes glinted suddenly. "Or maybe you've just forgotten…"

"What? No, how could I?"

"Hmph, I don't know."

"Anyways, you're going to tell me, aren't you?" Sasuke grabbed hold of Naruto's wrist when it seemed like the boy was going to climb off and run away.

Naruto stopped trying to get away, turned his head, and enunciated clearly, "No, I'm not."

"Why not?" Naruto watched as the furrow between Sasuke's eyebrows deepened.

"Cause you don't want to know."

"How do you know what I want or don't want?" When the blonde didn't answer, Sasuke put out a last attempt. "Ok, fine. Then you can call me Uchiha-sama since we're still strangers."

"Mmm-hmm, good try, but I won't budge, Uchiha-sama. There are some things in life that should be kept secret until the right moment. Now, if you wouldn't mind, I'm going to take a shower and I'd greatly appreciate it if you'd let go of my hand."

"Oh." Sasuke hadn't realized he had still been holding onto Uzumaki Naruto's hand: that was evident by his nervous expression. "Oh, um…"

Naruto turned back, glancing at Sasuke with one eye. "Yes?"

"What should I do?"

Naruto turned back, sighing. "What a trivial question. You'll stay here until I get back. I mean, you don't really want to get lost in this place. And I don't really have the inclination to rescue you either."

Sasuke blushed, but whether from the condescending tone Naruto had used, or how he was now staring at said blonde's delicious backside (he was wearing only a pair of boxers), he didn't know. All he knew was that this Naruto was affecting him, a LOT. He hadn't blushed since, what? More than 10 years ago…

Then, suddenly, a loud crack penetrated Sasuke's eardrums. What was that sound? Despite Naruto's warning, he rushed out of the bedroom, trusting his finely tuned senses to lead him to the source of the noise. They led him to a door, (that was promising) and a locked one at that (more promising). A few seconds later, Sasuke unlocked the door and opened it slowly, wary of danger...

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Eh, I know, it's very unorthodox beginning with the ending. Should be fun to write the rest though. And it might actually motivate me to finish this fic…