"It's the Kyuubi." Karin stated as she felt a chakra nearby, Sasuke showed no emotion. Something he'd gotten so good at doing after so many years, but really on the inside his eyes had tightened, frown on his face and his brow had dipped. "What are we going to do?"

"Keep moving." Sasuke replied coldly, he could feel Naruto's chakra moving in on them, Sakura and Kakashi were with him. The raven watched as his three team members continued walking before turning his head in the direction Naruto was running from before following the others.

The sun was starting to hide behind distant mountains and Team Hebi came to a stop, preparing to set up camp for the night, they'd lost the remainder of old Team 7 awhile ago. Stars were starting to light up the night sky, scattering around a crescent moon and fireflies and moths awoke from slumber to fly paths through the air, circling through the forest of trees. Suigetsu had taken first watch as Sasuke, Jugo and Karin fell into sleep.

Sasuke was walking through a dark forest that was calming and familiar, like the forest Sasuke had spent hours training in through childhood to reach his goal of killing Itachi, something that now he had done it, realised it brought him nothing. His hatred for Itachi was simply redirected onto Konoha and he now was faced with annihilating his closest bond so that he could watch Konoha fall. Sasuke could not ignore that Naruto and his bond was still intact, no one else would go so far for him, follow him to the end of the Earth and back. A bond he couldn't break.

As Sasuke walked between trees that were growing and fanning out into one another he could smell something putrid, something rotting. It smelt like death. The breeze blew through the branches, ruffling raven hair and the smell came stronger, whispers floating along the wind.

"Sasuke."

He knew that voice. He'd heard his name whispered and yelled by it with every emotion that he'd ever known.

"Naruto?" Sasuke whispered back and heard a soft mewling on the other side of the clearing, like something was in pain. Walking closer, a tiny fox cub that could only be a runt of a family sat in front of a heap on the ground, the orange of the clothing still visible through the dark night.

"Naruto!" The blonde didn't move, no sign of life came from him, Sasuke rolled him onto his back and Naruto's scared face was stark white, so pale compared to even Sasuke and he was cold to touch. Blood was pooling from a wound in the middle of his chest, Sasuke knew exactly what would have caused this wound. Chidori, the lightening blade of Sasuke's, it could have done such damage easily, Sasuke's chest tightened and he felt something warm dripping down his ribs and abdominal muscles, staining his white shirt crimson, blood. He was heaving for air, trying to gasp in oxygen but wasn't getting enough, he was dying, lungs drowning in his own blood.

The fox cub watched as he sunk to the grassy floor beside Naruto, pressing a hand to the blonde's scarred cheek and watched as an owl flew overhead and fireflies buzzed above their heads, shooting streaks of light across Naruto's pale face. Sasuke's own wound stinging painfully whenever he moved, it was the perfect round shape of Naruto's Rasengan and Sasuke didn't care that he'd also fallen, that he too was dying and that he would never see Konoha crumble before him.

This was the outcome of their last battle, a fight to the death as Naruto had said. Both would die.

Sasuke didn't care, he treasured this moment of his death because he lay beside Naruto while he sank further into darkness and away from this world. To die beside Naruto, that was to die happily, an honour to die beside the one person he could never get out of his head and a ninja he knew, could have been Hokage. So long as Naruto was with him...

A larger fox strode out from between the trees and its teeth sank into the orange of Naruto's jacket and started to drag the blonde away, out of Sasuke's arms.

"No! No please!" Sasuke gasped out, struggling to move against the wound. "Let me stay with him." He could feel the cold closing in, death wasn't nearly as peaceful now that Naruto wasn't right there with him.

"You don't deserve to." A hiss came across the breeze again, almost as if the fox had said it. The adult fox started to drag Naruto away and Sasuke couldn't move but watched as a trail of blood was left wherever Naruto was moved to, the fox cub following.

"Sasuke." Naruto's whisper came again and Sasuke turned his head to see that Naruto was still limp and pale.

"I can't lose you."

"You already have." Naruto's whisper replied.

Sasuke woke up panting, cold sweat making his clothes cling to him, rubbing his face with his hands. The nightmare had been so realistic. No matter how much he didn't want to admit it, killing Naruto, that was also killing apart of himself.

After he watched Konoha fall, what would he do? Naruto wouldn't be there to turn to. His home would be gone and he'd be alone in the world, no friends, no family. Yet his best friend and most favored bond was only miles away, probably asleep, unaware of the turmoil within Sasuke.

Never once had Naruto faltered in searching for him, he didn't give up on it. No matter how many times Sasuke had almost killed Naruto, he kept coming back. Sasuke couldn't shake him off and he didn't want to. Naruto would give his life for Sasuke, he'd already proved that. Was that friendship? Was that the meaning of it all? The other rookie nine had been friends, they wouldn't have died for him and gave up on him by now. Naruto hadn't, so what was Naruto?

His answer...it was lying just miles away. Hands flying from his face, Sharingan whirling he sprinted from the tent.

"Hey, where are you going?!" Suigetsu yelled after him.

"Change of plans, I'm taking last watch." Sasuke replied as he sprinted out of the campsite and running in the direction of Team 7's camp as quietly as possible, Kakashi was probably on watch and prepared for a random attack on Naruto from him and the rest of Team Hebi.

He was only a mile from Naruto's campsite when he slowed to a stop, something wasn't right...This place. An open clearing, fireflies and moths dancing as they flew, owls hoots echoing through the forest. An orange and black jacket discarded carelessly on the forest floor. Sasuke concealed his chakra as he walked carefully out from the dark trees and saw a small fox cub scurry out from undergrowth to curl up next to a serene Naruto. His usual goofy smile replaced with a calm expression as he ran fingers through the fox's soft fur, twirling a leaf in his other hand. Sasuke snapped a twig as he walked closer and Naruto whirled around, jumping into a defensive stance, calm expression completely gone and the little fox sprinted back into the shrubs.

"What the hell do you want?"

"I'm not here to fight Naruto." Sasuke replied calmly, allowing his Sharingan to receed and Naruto raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Then why are you here?"

Why was Sasuke there? He'd come for answers but did he want to hear them? His goal was to take down Konoha, what would these answers bring him?

"I..." What could he tell him? 'Oh I had a dream about you.' How can you say that without sounding creepy? "...Couldn't sleep."

"So you come to me?"

"Why are you here?" Sasuke asked, ignoring the question. "Your far from camp."

"So are you." Naruto glared before sitting down next to the fox and continuing to stroke it. "I got in a fight with the others, I need time out."

"What over?"

"You. Sakura's waiting out the day I die, she's scared...You don't seem...like you."

"I had a dream."

"Generally that happens when you sleep."

"You died in it."

"Must have been a good dream then." Naruto replied stiffly.

"It made me realise something...Why? Why do you keep coming after me? Even after I've tried to kill you so many times. You have friends back home, I'm not your only one."

"I-...How many of them have seen their whole family slaughtered and feel a pain that I do? None of them can understand, about Kyuubi and my family. You're more important, our bond means more to me then anything. If I die, I want it to be because I fell to someone as strong as you and without the humiliation of it being Akatsuki captured me."

"What am I Naruto?"

"What?"

"To you, if this was the end right now, what would you say to me?"

"That...I...You...We...argh!" Naruto groaned out and Sasuke's eyebrow raised, it was rare to see the dobe so flustered. "I would say that I didn't want this to be the end. That I wish you'd stayed in Konoha and none of this shit happened and that...I would give up my dream so you could have yours."

"Why?" Sasuke knew exactly where this was going.

"Fucking hell teme, don't make me say it!"

"I want to hear you say it."

"This bond, it's more than brotherly for me."

"I don't get it." Sasuke smirked, he knew, he just wanted to hear it.

"I...like you more than I should."

"Uh-huh and?"

"For fucks sake! I want you to come back because I can't leave Konoha, I would but I can't. I'm weak because I can't bring you back, no matter how hard I try you still leave! I'm not going to say anymore, you're just going to make fun of me!"

Sasuke walked forward and pulled Naruto into a hug, he could feel Naruto's hands fist the back of his shirt and felt wetness on his shoulder. The dobe was crying.

"Why? Why do I have to feel this? You and I, we're enemies and...we're meant to kill the other. That's always in my head and I hate it!" Naruto yelled into Sasuke's shirt as the tears continued.

"Naruto, wind is what fuels a fire." Sasuke whispered into his ear and Naruto pulled back slightly with a dumbfounded expression. "The fire never builds without wind. I realised that, in the dream. I can't have you taken away from me."

"Is this your way of breaking a bond?" Naruto chuckled quietly, ear pressed against Sasuke's chest, listening to a heartbeat.

"Far from it. Tonight I'm not your enemy. Truth is, I'm just to weak to break it, I don't want to." Sasuke replied and tilted Naruto's head back slightly before ducking his head so his lips hovered just barely above his. "If I stayed, what would we be doing? Right now? Show me." Naruto smirked in reply before smashing his lips onto Sasuke's, sliding a tongue across chapped lips before forcing into Sasuke's mouth and they fought for dominance, tongues dancing and memorizing the taste of the other as Sasuke smirked against Naruto's lips and pulled his black t-shirt over the blonde's head and discarded his own white shirt, the kiss deepening into almost aggressiveness from teenage hormones of need. Sasuke pressed his hips against Naruto's so the blonde could feel his arousal against his own and Naruto moaned and rocked against him. "Holy shit Naruto, keep that up and I'm going to lose control." Sasuke gasped out.

"Lose control then." Naruto smirked and Sasuke got an odd glint in his eyes.

"If you insist." he replied and pulled Naruto's leaf headband over his eyes. "When vision is taken away from a body, the four other senses pick up things they never usually would. The senses of reacting to touches seem to enhance a lot. Wouldn't you say Dobe?" Sasuke had whispered into the blonde's ear before kissing slowly down his neck, Naruto biting his bottom lip, keeping in moans, small beads of blood gathered around his teeth as they dug in deep. Sasuke sucked on his sweet spot and he whimpered.

"Fuck Sasuke!" Naruto finally gasped out and he could feel the Sharingan-bearers mouth pull up into a smirk. Naruto whimpered as the raven continued down his chest, making nipples hard before continuing down over tan, well-built abs and tracing the perfect spiraling pattern of his curse mark with his tongue, cold air making Naruto shudder as he pulled away. A pale hand reached at the blonde's crotch and started it's ministrations, Naruto stumbling slightly as his zipper was opened and hands were replaced with a mouth, as soon as the tongue moved against sensitive skin his legs gave way from shaking and he fell under Sasuke who smirked but continued his work. "Sasuke!" Naruto whimpered through pants for air.

"Mm?" Sasuke's throat vibrated and Naruto groaned.

"Your such a teme!" He gasped as he felt himself being swallowed and moaned out the raven's name as he came. His breathes coming out in quick pants as he moved a hand down to Sasuke's pants and pushed them down along with his boxers. Ocean blue eyes met onyx ones, glinting mischievously and tan skin pressed onto sensitive cream skin and Sasuke choked back a moan as he felt a hand rubbing him. Naruto pushed Sasuke back onto the forest floor and started his own ministrations, teasing sensitive skin until Sasuke felt the same exploding white haven of pleasure Naruto had felt and Sasuke sunk back into the floor, flushed and panting as Naruto lay beside him in silence, watching stars twinkling in a night sky.

"You're still not going to come back are you?" Naruto whispered quietly

"I have to kill Itachi, you know that."

"I think the whole entire frickin' world knows that by now because it's all you talk about."

"So then the whole world knows about you becoming Hokage in the future." Sasuke smirked and turned his head to look at Naruto. "I can't go back to Konoha. Not yet."

"I'm still going to chase you." Naruto stated and entwined one of his hands with Sasuke's, both looked down and examined their hands. They fit together like a puzzle. "How do you not get lonely after all this?"

"I'm not so lonely when I think of you, Naruto." Sasuke replied and Naruto grinned. "You going to say it first?" Sasuke smirked as Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"You first." Naruto replied before curling up to sleep. Sasuke watched quietly as the blonde drifted off to sleep before resting lips near Naruto's ear.

"I love you Naruto Uzumaki." He pulled back and closed his own eyes and listened to the cicadas nearby.

"I knew I could get you to say it first." Naruto muttered and onyx eyes flew open to meet a laughing blonde.

"You were awake?"

"Yes! And you said it first!" Sasuke turned away from the gloating blonde and he heard the laughing stop.

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked and Sasuke turned to look at him again. "It's good, because I love you too." He said and smiled and for the first time, Sasuke smiled a real, genuine, happy smile back. "You see what you do to me?" He asked as he placed a pale hand over his heart so Sasuke could feel the rushing beat that was caused by his touch. Naruto threw his arms around Sasuke and settled in for the night. Sasuke's eyes rolled as Naruto nuzzled into him.

"I just knew you'd be a cuddler, dobe."

"Shut up teme."