Hi !
Naruto is absolutely not mine !
This story begin in the valley of the end : Naruto and Sasuke's fight.
This is dedicated to Clin ! Because She is great !
This story is kindly beta-ed by Krow ! Thanks Krow for saving the poor readers from my (very) bad grammar and for all her effort to help me ! XD
Painful Praise
Sasuke's hand went through Naruto's chest right above his heart.
'Why didn't you move Dobe ?' Sasuke thought as he withdrew his hand.
Naruto staggered on his feet.
"Will you come back to Konoha, now ?" He asked coughing blood all over Sasuke's face.
Sasuke frowned.
"What are you talking about ?" Sasuke voiced his thought.
"Now that you have the same power as him, will you come back home ?"
Sasuke's heart stopped as he stared into Naruto's blue eyes. Naruto coughed again, blood dripping down his chin as he smiled sadly.
"I promised I would get you back... even if I have to break every bone... no matter what it takes me..."
Naruto coughed once more as Sasuke grabbed him by the shoulders shaking him.
"And how is that more important than your life ? What about your dream Naruto ? What about being Hokage ?"
Sasuke stopped shaking Naruto and looked into the blonde's eyes. What he saw made him shiver; the once bright and lively summer sky blue eyes were becoming a darker shade of blue, like the night sky.
Naruto bit his lip and looked down.
"I gave my word... and I never go back on my word..." Naruto said in a quivering voice.
He sniffled and raised his head again, a small sad smile on his lips.
"It's alright... it will all be alright." Naruto said in a weak voice. Slowly he closed his dull blue eyes and suddenly collapsed to the ground.
"Naruto !" Sasuke cried falling to his knees next to his fallen friend.
Sasuke stared at Naruto's beaten form, the hole in his chest was half closed but the blood continued to flow out.
Sasuke fought back his tears. 'What have I done ?'
Naruto's breathing was labored and irregular his chest rising and falling in an erratic painful rhythm. Sasuke tore his shirt and folded it on Naruto's chest in a desperate attempt to stop the blood but, despite his best efforts, the dark blue shirt rapidly became darker as the blood continued to flow out of Naruto's body.
Sasuke listened to Naruto's labored breathing: the rhythm was becoming slower and slower, Sasuke bit his lip worriedly.
"Naruto ? Naruto ? Answer me damn it. You can't die ! You hear me ? You cannot die ! You're the damn future Hokage... Naruto please don't die..." His voice trailed off to a whisper.
Slowly, Naruto's chest stopped rising and Sasuke watched unable to do anything.
What could he do ? All he knew was how to kill, not how to save. He'd never thought he would ever need to deal with injuries it was simply not possible. But now, here he was watching his best friend, his only friend die by his hands.
Sasuke shook his head in denial and continued to apply pressure to the bloody shirt even though by this time, Naruto's blood and body were cold and his lips had taken on an un-natural blue color.
It seemed like an eternity until Kakashi entered the valley. He looked around and found Sasuke minus his shirt, knelt over Naruto's body. Silently he approached them. As he drew nearer, Kakashi had a better view of the scene before him : knelt beside Naruto with tears streaming down his face, head bowed and hands placed on a dark cloth on Naruto's chest was Sasuke. His hands soaked in blood that was obviously not his and whispering seemingly to the still blonde.
Kakashi gulped and looked down at Naruto : He looked like an angel with his blond hair framing his face. A face that was a much paler shade than its usual lively tan, his eyes were closed, visible trails of tears marked his now colorless cheeks and his lips were an unhealthy shade of blue contrasting with the crimson blood on his lower lip and chin.
He was too late. He was always too late, and once more he had failed only for someone else to pay the price.
Kakashi shook his head : it was not the time for self-recrimination, he had to take care of Sasuke. He approached Sasuke slowly and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Sasuke ?"
Sasuke made no move to acknowledge him so Kakashi knelt down before him.
"Sasuke ?"
Sasuke lifted his head, his dark sorrowful eyes meeting Kakashi's.
Kakashi was not surprised to see the Mangekyô Sharingan swirling in Sasuke's eyes.
"Sasuke, he's dead." Kakashi gently pried Sasuke's hands apart. "It's over." He said gently glancing mournfully at Naruto.
Sasuke turned his hands over and stared at them. They were covered with blood, Naruto's blood. Sasuke's eyes widened as he began to hyperventilate, staring at his hands, his heart was hurting him.
"No..." He whispered. "No, no, no no, no..."
Kakashi watched Sasuke mourning his friend and tried to calm him but Sasuke wouldn't let him near.
"NO !" He finally yelled as he tried to get rid of the blood on his hands.
"He is not dead... he is not dead... I don't want... I don't want him to be dead... I don't want to have killed him..."
He suddenly stopped moving, his face paling as he looked down at his now mud covered hands then reached up to his eyes. A demented, sickly smile grew on his lips before he began to claw at his face trying to rip his eyes out of their sockets.
Kakashi quickly caught his hands.
"Sasuke ! Sasuke ! Snap out of it, Naruto wouldn't want that."
Sasuke immediately stopped at the mention of the other boy's name and began to sob uncontrollably. Kakashi let go of his hands and watched as Sasuke curled himself into a tight ball at Naruto's side.
Kakashi sighed : This was bad. If he wanted to take Sasuke back he would have to take care of Naruto's body first and as it was now, he couldn't wait for the hypothetical reinforcements.
Kakashi reluctantly dragged Sasuke's unresponsive form away from Naruto. Then he knelt down, cleaning Naruto's face and then the rest of his body. It wasn't an easy task considering the amount of blood covering him. When Kakashi finished, nearly one hour later, he bent down and retrieved Naruto's forehead-protector. He took a few steps back eyeing Sasuke who hadn't moved an inch. He began a series of seals finishing with the Tiger :
"Katon: Gogakyû ryû no Jutsu."
The flames engulfed Naruto's corpse. Seeing that, Sasuke tried to make a dash into the fire yelling but Kakashi held him back.
"No, no, no, no, he is not dead... He is not dead..." Sasuke chanted in a quivering voice.
Kakashi chopped Sasuke on the neck and caught his body as he collapsed into Kakashi's waiting arms. He maneuvered Sasuke onto his back and dashed away without looking back.
He never saw the fox head appearing in the flames and a form rising up out of the fire.
Chapter 1 end.
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