An idea that caught a hold of me a while back. I've been saving this little piece and asking myself if i should post it or not. Probably a one shot but i have ideas for how it could continue. You know the routine, i don't own Naruto...wish i did though.

Uzumaki Naruto was crying again. He had felt the feeling coming again and fled as far from the Tazuna household as he could before the feelings broke over him again. He found a convenient tree and pounded on it until his fists ached. Then he cried.

It had been several days since that horrible day. Sasuke had been killed by the ninja Haku during a protracted fight inside an ice prison of Haku's making. Naruto and Sasuke had been slowly beaten until they could hardly muster the strength to continue the fight. Despite their best efforts to break free the prison held. Then Sasuke had done something no one had expected. He had jumped in front of an attack meant for a downed Naruto and temporarily brought Haku down, but at a terrible price. The senbon needles had pierced vital spots, slipping past Sasuke's best efforts to land them elsewhere on his body. The raven haired boy had fallen into the arms of his teammate. With his last breaths Sasuke lamented the fact that he had not been able to kill his brother and avenge his clan. His final words however, were not about his brother. They had been burned into Naruto's soul because they were directed at him. "You, don't die" Sasuke had said as his hand dropped and he slipped away from this world.

A fiery passion had consumed Naruto who proceeded to, with the help of some mysterious red chakra, destroy Haku's prison and knock the boy flying. The rest hardly compared to those last few moments. Naruto continued on autopilot until he heard Sakura's voice calling his name.

"Naruto, you're ok! Where's Sasuke-kun?"

Naruto had gritted his teeth but could not respond. Sakura got the message anyhow. She rushed past him with Mr. Tazuna in her wake to find Sasuke for herself. Her cries a few moments later told Naruto that she had realized the truth.

Again Naruto's memory blanked. The emotions that had taken a hold of his mind and heart refused to let go of him. Yet he some how influenced a nearly defeated Zabuza and put him on the right path. A few minutes later it was all over. Both Haku and Zabuza were dead, Gatou's hoard that had appeared to deal with the ninjas had fled after their leader had been killed and the people of the islands had come to Team Seven's aid. Yet it wasn't as happy an occasion as it could have been. Sakura continued to cry, refusing to budge from the dead Sasuke's side in the faint hope that this was all just a bad nightmare, that Sasuke would come around and surprise everyone.

Nothing of the sort happened.

Kakashi had picked up the dead boy without saying a word and marched him solemnly back to the Tazuna House. Haku and Zabuza were buried on a hill top overlooking the water that evening.

Sasuke had been cleaned up and placed in a makeshift coffin in the cold room of the town's butcher. Sakura, for a while at least, sat in the freezing room with the coffin because she refused to leave but a forceful Kakashi finally dragged her away for a night's rest. Naruto on the other hand, refused to look at his fallen comrade. The boy had died in his arms, how was Naruto supposed to act? The memory kept him up at night and refused to let sleep claim him. The same was true for Sakura who was always one step away from crying at all times, if she wasn't crying already. Sleep didn't come easily to Kakashi either. The Jounin was broken up over the loss of yet another teammate. The fact that Sasuke had been so young was making it especially hard for Kakashi to handle but he did manage sleep. Years of nightmares had dulled their effect on him. What was one more to him?

I've wanted to do that for so long...kill Sasuke...change history. When i saw those episodes for the first time I cried...yes a guy cried over something like that. A really emotional point that i wanted to expand on. Tell me what you thought and give me a nod if i should continue.