He was exhausted, and even he had to abandon his usual pride in admitting so. Both the war and Naruto had left his body ravaged; his left arm had been torn to pieces when the Chidori and Rasengan collided one final time, but to him, the loss of a limb was justified payment for his sins.

Sasuke had fallen into a darkness that even his Sharingan could not see through, but somehow, the "Number One Hyperactive Knucklehead Ninja" had never lost sight of the light that guided him. As pathetic as it was, the young Uchiha had to admit defeat; his old friend had something that he was lacking—unconditional care for those around him. No matter how many times Sasuke questioned Naruto's motives—no matter how many times he asked him why he was so obsessed with him—he had always just answered that he continued his pursuit because they were friends. There was a bond between the two powerful shinobi that hatred, or even an ever-raging battle between the wills of the late Indra and Asura, could not sever.

Naruto had always stumbled in front of his comrades, not because he believed he was superior but because he wanted to take the first hit; the lives of those around him meant more to him than his own, and walking in front of his friends and allies was the best way to ensure that he could protect them. Sasuke had forgotten what it felt like to live one's life in service to others. Orochimaru's power seemed more promising to him than a life alongside a bunch of everyday ninja. He was sure that he sealed his fate the day he chose to depart the Village Hidden in the Leaves, but his former teammate spent years following closely behind him in an attempt to save him from himself. In the end, he was offered a life that he did not feel he deserved—the life of a shinobi and ally of the Hidden Leaf Village. Kakashi taking on the role of Hokage, Naruto's heroic influence, and Sasuke's contribution to releasing the Infinite Tsukuyomi swayed the village council, as well as the other Kage, into pardoning him for his prior crimes.

The Sharingan user sat on the roof of the Konoha Hospital, rummaging through his thoughts and memories under the light of the stars. Since his return to the village, he had spent many nights this way; his extended stay in the infirmary left him with an abundance of time to himself. His other former teammate, Sakura, had been overseeing his care. In Sasuke's absence from the village, she had grown strong in many ways, from her superhuman strength to her medical ninjutsu. He attempted to apologize to her on the day that he and Naruto brought their battle to an end, but she refused his apology, saying that as long as he did nothing like he had again, they could call it even. Thanks to her skills as a medic, he was regaining his normal use over his body much more quickly than they had originally anticipated. What would he do once he fully recovered from his injuries?

"Stargazing again, huh?" A voice snapped Sasuke from his musings. Upon glancing to his side, he saw Naruto making his way over to him. "Do you ever sleep?"

"It isn't that I sleep too little; on the contrary, it's that you sleep too much, you loser," the young Uchiha retorted, keeping his gaze on the night sky.

"WHAT?! You're gone for years but somehow you still have that smug attitude of yours! I'm just trying to get a lot of rest so that I can heal as quickly as possible! That's all!"

Sasuke smirked at his companion's outburst. "Whatever you say."

The knucklehead ninja visibly pouted for a moment, and then glanced up at the stars. "It's hard to believe that moments like this could've been lost forever," he stated, a weary smile gracing his lips as he sat next to the young Uchiha. "So many things could've gone wrong, ya know?"

"What is the point of getting hung up on 'what ifs'? We won the war. That should be the end of it," Sasuke replied, secretly skeptical of his own words.

"Y-yeah, but…No, ya know what? You're wrong. Winning the war wasn't the end. Everyone is still scarred from the fighting—men, women, children…Everyone. I don't think…that there was a true winner. We're all hurting from what happened, in one way or another."

The ex-avenger stared silently at his old friend. When had he become so…wise? He was correct—there was no such thing as a true winner in war; it was a fight for survival, but sometimes surviving could be difficult even after the enemy was defeated.

Sasuke examined his surroundings. A wire fence ran along the perimeter of the roof, and laundry was hung out to dry on fine ropes. The village was dim as most people had retired for the night, and the moon shrouded the buildings in faint white light. He and Naruto sat at the base of one of the several water tanks spread out across the rooftop. It was a calm night; a gentle breeze swept through the village, causing leaves to rustle. There was no impending danger for the first time in what seemed like forever.

"Hey, Sasuke. I've got a question I've been meanin' to ask you," Naruto stated, propping his leg up and resting his left arm on it.

"What is it?"

"Our first battle at the Final Valley…you could have killed me. I really thought you were gonna, actually. You talked about it a lot—how you wanted to sever our bond or whatever, I mean—but you didn't do it. Why didn't you kill me that day?"

"Hmph. I dunno. Probably would have saved me a lot of trouble, though," Sasuke responded, causing the obnoxious ninja to narrow his eyes in frustration.

"Hey! I'm being serious here!" Naruto exclaimed while gritting his teeth. Although he was getting irritated, it was hard to take him seriously.

"I told you already—I don't know why I didn't."

"Huh. Well, I guess I'll just count my blessings that you decided not to, then! To be honest, I couldn't have killed you either."

"Yeah, I know. You can't end someone's life when you are the one who lost."

"Here we go again with the snarky comments! Man you tick me off!" Naruto shouted. The young Uchiha could never confess it out loud, but he kind of missed his old friend's obnoxious outbursts while he was seeking revenge. "For your information, what I meant was that I couldn't have brought myself to kill you if it had come down to it…I saw your pain, and I wanted to save you from it. I never wanted to be the cause of any of it…"

Sasuke examined the knucklehead ninja. If it had not been for his actions, the ex-avenger may have wandered the darkness until he met his end. "Hn. Soft as always."

"Better to be soft than to be a jerk! Would it kill you to—"

"Thanks," Sasuke interrupted, avoiding eye contact with the hyperactive hero.

"Huh? For what?" Naruto questioned, cocking his head a bit.

"For not giving up on me when I had long-since given up on myself."

Naruto did not reply; instead, he gave a proud smile and a thumbs up. Sasuke grinned in response. The two old friends were back together—a sun and a moon, occupying the same sky.