Author's Notes:

Hopefully the world of Pern, if it's unfamiliar to you, will be explained clearly enough as chapters progress. But for anyone interested, Wikipedia's Pern page has a brief overview, with another page on the dragons in particular. (Sorry, can't link right in here)
Additionally:
-Please note that Hyuuga Hiashi is not himself in this fic, his character is being totally bastardized for my nefarious AU purposes. I'm sorry about that.
-For those who've read the Pern books, you'll notice I've chosen to ignore the elided names that dragonriders adopt in McCaffrey's books in favour of keeping the Naruto characters' names familiar.

PROLOGUE

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked groggily. He blinked in the dim light of the half-covered glowbasket.

"Leaving," Sasuke answered, matter of fact, a warning snap to his voice. Naruto barely noticed it over his own shock.

"What?" he pushed himself to a sitting position. Sasuke was stuffing clothing into a bag, and ignored him, grim hostility the only emotion Naruto could read from him. He blinked stupidly for a moment, and then felt his insides chill as Sasuke turned a gaze of utter disinterest on him. Deep, chilling anger lay in those black eyes, the pain beneath almost invisible, the grudging warmth for Naruto that Sasuke had started to show was nowhere to be found.

It was the same look he'd had a few days ago when he'd finally woken from the strange illness that had overtaken him after his brother's infiltration of Konoha Weyr.

"This place is worthless," he said, voice flat, "Soft." He smirked contemptuously at Naruto, reaching out to jab his forehead. Naruto flushed self-consciously. So what if he wore the headband to bed. "And you're so proud."

Stung, Naruto glared back. Sasuke was an ass at the best of times but this was unusually nasty.

"What's your problem?" he snapped, "What do you mean, leaving? You can't leave!" Naruto's temper was rising too, in automatic response to Sasuke's arrogant manner, but that was only normal. What really overcame him was a further anger at this… this betrayal. They'd come so far. Naruto had even caught up, while Sasuke had been sick, passed his exam, though they'd had a knock-down drag-out raging fight when Sasuke had been well enough to leave the bed, well enough to pretend as though Naruto had accomplished nothing at all.

Sasuke was the smartest, quickest, strongest person Naruto knew. And he'd been so proud to have been catching up. Sasuke had been unimpressed. It had called for a fight, a pity it had gone unwon. Master Kakashi had pulled them apart before it went anywhere decisive.

And now he wanted to leave? Wasn't Naruto worth competing with anymore? He'd shown him he was.

"There's nothing here for me," Sasuke said, voice hard with cold anger, but still so infuriatingly indifferent to Naruto's reaction. "I need strength. Power…"

"We're training—" Naruto exclaimed, cut off as Sasuke narrowed his eyes, mouth thinning in contempt.

"For trust?" he asked, "Teamwork?" he drew the word out mockingly. Naruto felt his glare intensify, and hurt welled up behind it. Sasuke's expression turned even more derisive, and he turned away.

Naruto threw back the covers and bounded forward. He yanked Sasuke around by his shoulder, and Sasuke moved with the motion, unbalancing him. Sasuke had been expecting it, turning easily and rushing forward smoothly, like they'd been taught in self defense, to land a blow that sank in Naruto's stomach.

Naruto stumbled back with a grunt, choking with lack of breath, but he kept his grip tight on Sasuke's shirt, and hauled them back together.

"You're going to find him, aren't you," he growled, "you can't, he's dangerous! I won't let you, I'll break your legs before that." He pulled back, reaching for the neatly folded headband that lay on the table between the beds. "Put this back on, you belong here," he shoved the headband against Sasuke's chest, "I thought we were—we were friends," he shook Sasuke, finding it hard to speak. His throat was blocked and his face was hot, and he told himself it was all anger.

"Friend. You… you stupid, soft runt." Sasuke said, and Naruto felt the empty tone like another punch. Sasuke's eyes were cold, hard. "No."

He bulled forward, crashing Naruto against the low night table so his knees buckled and the headband he still held jerked through his fingers, the embroidery caught on the table's corner. His head struck the stone wall. He saw stars, and then fingers were pressed against the arteries of his neck, and everything blurred, vision dimming.

"No more. It's a weakness," Sasuke hissed, black eyes slits in his pale face. "It's over."

Naruto couldn't move, all the rage and grief pounding at his chest, glaring at Sasuke, until he saw no more.

Sasuke watched Naruto's eyes fall shut, veiling that angry, uncomprehending gaze. He withdrew his hand.

Do you hate me? He heard Itachi's poisonous whisper from that terrible day, as he always did, Not enough. You're weak.

He could kill Naruto now. He should. Then he'd be on the path as it was meant to be. Prove he wasn't weak, wasn't attached to useless things.

He imagined dragging Naruto to the bed, pressing the pillow down over his face. Feeling the struggles that would come even in unconsciousness, hands clawing at his arms.

Or he could use the work knife in his pack. Open Naruto's throat, empty his blood over the bed, empty his body of life, like Itachi had done to their parents.

His calmness eroded, his stomach rebelled, churning with nausea.

Blue eyes grinned at him from memory, clear and open. They were angry, challenging, gleeful, proud… and always completely uncaring of anything about Sasuke but Sasuke himself. Not that he hadn't been aware of Sasuke's situation. But Naruto hadn't been like everyone else, who'd simply... handled him, like a rabid dog, or idolized him, like his dim-minded peers who thought him a tragically romantic figure.

They'd both seen the similarities in each other's situation. Neither had ever so much as silently acknowledged it. Naruto had been genuine since the beginning. Laughing and teasing and taunting and aggravating from the moment they'd been stuck together in this tiny room.

Sakura's eyes were next, brimming with tears. That hadn't been the angry, childish betrayal of a jilted crush, but real grief. Her face had been drawn with it, not relaxing even when the knockout drug had taken affect. He'd left her on a bench in the dining hall, now mercifully silent, the half-empty mug on the table still.

And last, Itachi's scornful smirk flashed before his eyes, the half-remembered words from the recent attack returning like he'd heard them clear as day. You still don't hate enough, little brother. It won't do. To kill me, you need to kill like me.

Bile burned in his throat as the thought echoed again. Be like me.

Loathing for his brother overwhelmed him. Itachi needed to die. He poisoned everything.

"I'm not you," he said aloud. I won't become you. I'll just kill you.