No Regrets

A Fan Fiction by KiKi RheaChan

"Here you go, kid." came the gruff reply of the Ramen man. A blonde kissed boy, looking to be the age of fifteen, smiled widely.

"Hey... Thanks!" he exclaimed, his ocean eyes alive with pleasure. "Ramen..." he whispered to himself. Gingerly, he picked up the bowl. The sweet aroma wafted through the air. "Mmm.." He grabbed his chopsticks and raised a noodle to his mouth.

"Attack! The village is being attacked!" yelled a villager. Instantly, the boy stood up. Preparing to take off he took one more look at his bowl.

"Damn it... Once it's cold it's no good!" he growled beneath his breath. "It's Orochimaru!" screamed another villager. The boy's eyes darted to an unknown spot in the air. He grew tense. He seemed on edge. "Sasuke..." the word passed between his lips as softly as his tone of voice. The Ramen man blinked his eyes rapidly.

"Hey, where'd the kid go? What about his ramen... ?" he asked himself.

Sasuke... Why are you back... ? What purpose do you have with Konoha? thought the now determined blonde. Ahead two lone figures stood in the sunlight. Sakura. Hinata. The boy continued on his way, passing by the cotton candied colored girl's ear.

"Naruto..." she whispered, her voice quivering with uncertainty.

"Sakura-Chan, remember my promise. I will bring him back. Maybe not today, but I'm sure gonna try." he spoke softly to her, his voice laced with determination.

"Be careful, Naruto-Kun." came the small whisper from Hinata. Sakura grabbed Hinata's hand and took off after him.

"Uzumaki Naruto..." came the slithery sound of Orochimaru's voice.

"Orochimaru..." he spoke venomously. Orochimaru laughed.

"A bit bitter, aren't we?"

Hatake Kakashi arrived with Maito Gai. "Sakura, Hinata. Stay back." Kakashi whispered.

"What the hell do you want!?" demanded the furious fifteen year old.

Orochimaru laughed heartily, the sound ringing through Naruto's ears. "Isn't it obvious?" he asked. He began to laugh harder when all he received from the blonde was a look of confusion. "I want you... On the behalf of the Akatsuki." the dark snake-like man told him.

Naruto's eyes went wild. "You'll never get me, you bastard!" he screamed as he ran at Orochimaru. Orochimaru, laughing at Naruto's attempt, moved out of the way.

"I'm afraid, that if you want a fight, you'll have to fight him." he whispered.

A horror filled gasp escaped Sakura's mouth. "Sasuke..." she whispered, her voice quivering with tears.

Naruto's eyes widened considerably. "Hello, loser." Sasuke taunted, a smirk gracing his lips.

Overcoming his astonishment, Naruto smirked. "Sasuke." he acknowledged. Naruto flew back as Sasuke's fist connected with his stomach. Damn! He actually hit me! the boy thought to himself. Standing up, he wiped the blood from his mouth. "Okay, Sasuke. You want a fight, let's fight." he whispered gruffly.

"What's the matter, loser? Too much for you?" Sasuke called to him.

Growling, Naruto ran at him. "You've become too confident." he replied. Holding his hand behind his back, he gathered chakra in his hand. Let's see how you like my new move, the Rasengan! Naruto hit Sasuke in the chest with his Rasengan.

"Sasuke!" came the worried cry from Sakura as he flew back through several trees.

"H-How can you call out for h-him when he's fighting N-Naruto-Kun..." Hinata asked her softly, twirling her fingers. Sakura looked down, ashamed.

"I-I don't know... I'm confused, Hinata. I really am." Sakura whispered softly.

"Hahahaha. Old friends fighting each other. Even though this is quite amusing, I really haven't the time for this..." Orochimaru told them. He appeared behind Naruto, holding his neck.

"Naruto-Kun!" screamed Sakura. Naruto disappeared in a cloud of chakra.

"A shadow clone..." Kakashi whispered to himself.

"Did you think it would be that easy to defeat me!?" Naruto yelled from a tree close to where Orochimaru stood.

"Lord Orochimaru, we really should be getting back. It's late, and you know what happens when the sun goes down..." whispered a boy over the age of twenty, his snow white hair moving in the wind.

"Need you remind me, Kabuto!?" Orochimaru hissed.

"What do you want with Naruto-Kun anyway!?" demanded Sakura. Orochimaru looked amused.

"They still do not know? You haven't told them? Why everyone's after you? Why you can call up chakra even after your limit?" he laughed.

"Shut up! It's nothing to do with you!" Naruto yelled, his eyes now narrowed in hatred. In the background, Sasuke stood up.

"Even your supposed best friend, Uchiha, doesn't know... Does he?" Orochimaru asked. Naruto growled loudly.

"Naruto-Kun? What's he talking about?" Sakura asked.

"Tell me, what happens when you become angry beyond reason?" the snake master asked.

"Nothing!" Naruto replied, his expression now an angry one.

Turning towards the ninja's standing behind him, he smirked. "Kakashi and Gai know, all the Jounin who fought the Kyuubi know." he taunted.

"Know what!?" Sakura screamed, tears threatening to fall.

"That the boy, Naruto, is a vessel for the demon known as Kyuubi!" Orochimaru laughed out as he and Kabuto left.

Sasuke stood there in disbelief. H-He's what!? He never told me!? He led me to believe he was getting stronger all on his own!? He began to shake with anger as he left his hands lay to his side. "You bastard..." he hissed through gritted teeth. He took off after Orochimaru.

Sakura and Hinata looked stunned. "N-Naruto-Kun!? Is this true!?" Sakura screamed at him. Gai and Kakashi looked at each other, both not knowing what to do.

Naruto turned his back on them, his body visibly shaking. "It's completely true..." he forced out. "The Yondaime gave his life to seal the notorious Kyuubi within me." he spat out. He turned around to show a tear stricken face. "Why do you think everyone hates me!? Why do you think you've always disliked me!? Why do you think no one respects me, looks down on me!? Because I contain the spirit of a monster! A monster that killed many loved ones!" he yelled.

I've never seen Naruto this way, before. Thought Kakashi. He's never acted this way when confronted about being the container of the Kyuubi. Could it be that he didn't want his secret to get out? That he didn't want them to ever know? For fear of how they would feel about him afterwards? For fear that all the respect he's earned might be lost when it was said out loud?

"N-Naruto-Kun..." whispered the small voice of Hinata.

"I never wanted any of you to find out." Naruto told them, his back turned to everyone and his voice now even and calm. "I wanted to take this secret to the grave." he whispered. "No, I'm not ashamed of being the container for the Kyuubi, I've accepted it. I just didn't want anyone to think of me like a monster again." he spoke softly.

"Naruto-Kun! That's not true! No one thinks of you like a monster. Sure, we find you annoying... Or like a knuckle-head, but we don't hate you." Sakura told him sternly.

"I could never hate you, N-Naruto-Kun..." Hinata whispered.

"I'm sorry." Naruto whispered before disappearing into the trees.

"Naruto!" screamed Sakura.

"Sakura, let him go. He needs time to himself. I'm sure he'll be the number one, hyperactive, knuckle-head ninja once he's calmed down. After all, when did you ever know Naruto to give up his annoying ways?" Kakashi told her.

Sakura smiled, "You're right, Kakashi-sensei. I just hope he doesn't go off and do something stupid, something only Naruto would do." she replied, taking Hinata's arm and leaving with Kakashi and Gai. Naruto, please come back safe... I can't lose you like I've lost Sasuke...

The blonde topped boy now sat on a rock in front of a Sakura tree. The sun began to set as he stared out into the sky. "Why did I act like that? It's not like they wouldn't have found out sooner or later.. Maybe I wanted to be the one to tell them.. But then this thing with Sasuke, that bastard, started and I haven't had the time..." he whispered to himself.

"So now I'm a bastard, am I? Aren't you the one who lied to us all? Who kept a secret form us all?" came the voice of a certain dark haired ninja. Immediately, Naruto stood up.

"Sasuke, what are you doing here? Not here for another fight are you?" the blonde wondered. "Why don't you just come back to Konoha? I'm sure Tsunade would forgive you and we could all go back to the way it was!" Naruto asked him, hope lingering in his voice.

"Shut up, loser. I'm not here for a fight. And I'm not here to surrender either." Sasuke told him.

"Then why are you here?"

"To know why you never told me!? You knew I hated myself for being weak! You knew that as I watched you grow stronger than me, I felt resentment! Ever since you fought Gaara and saved Sakura, something I couldn't do, and then I lost to Itachi, that bastard, I felt hatred! Why do you think I left Konoha!? Because at least with Orochimaru, even though he's using me, he knows how I feel!" Sasuke confessed. Naruto looked stunned.

"Th-That's why you left? That's why you betrayed us all... ? Because I was getting stronger?" he whispered in disbelief. Sasuke sat down.

"Why do you think, loser?" Sasuke asked him in a low tone.

"All of this could have been avoided if I had... paid attention to you?" Naruto asked himself. "I never thought you were jealous of me... I was always jealous of you..." he spoke softly.

"What... ?"

"I was always jealous of you! You had the love of Sakura-Chan. You had all the strength. You always had a strategy. You were just something I wasn't. Why do you think I pushed myself!? Not only because I wanted to become Hokage, but because I wanted to show you how strong I was. I wanted to impress you!" Naruto confessed to Sasuke.

Sasuke's eyes widened. "What... are you saying!? Why!?" he demanded roughly.

"I.. I don't know. I'm so confused when it comes to you. I feel differently than I normally do. Deep down, I want you to notice me. I want you to look at me, really take a look at me." he replied.

Sasuke looked confused. "What the hell are you trying to say, loser!?" he demanded.

"Sasuke... I think... I love you." Naruto replied in a small voice. Sasuke's eyes widened.

"What!?"

"I think I love you! Ever since we fought Haku and you almost gave your life for me, I've felt differently towards you! I started to look at you in a different light."

Sasuke looked down, his heart beating fast. Why do I feel relieved to hear that... ? Why is my heart acting like this... Could it be... ?

Naruto's eyes widened in bewilderment as Sasuke pinned him to the Sakura tree, his arm against his neck. "Sasuke..." he whispered.

"Don't make me regret doing this..." he threatened.

"Do what... ?" Naruto asked.

"Loving you..." Sasuke whispered before placing a passionate kiss on his long time love's lips.

"And as we make our love known this cool, summer night. We pledge to each other a life filled with... No regrets."