Important: This is still dedicated to my dear friend, Mel. I wanted to post this up earlier, but I've been too busy with other stories and now college. Melly, we may be apart, but you're still the closer person in the world to me! I love you so much and you know it XD!

Okay, this is Naruto's point-of-view. I tried to make Sasuke's chapter sound very proper and used a form of wording that I felt Sasuke would use and I tried to make Naruto's sound more passionate, honest and straight from the heart. I did this to make it sound like the characters and to show how different, yet similar the two of them are. I hope it came out like that in the story.

This is not meant to be Boy Love. I, as you should know, am a huge supporter of NaruSasu and SasuNaru, but… Having them love each other (that way) defeat the entire moral of the story. You know, the one that my friend showed me. They're just friends… Only in this story though :evil laughter:.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. It's best this way. Because Naruto would have not done as well if it had been created by a hyperactive American girl aside from a talented Japanese man.

To me a "best friend" is some one who will see all of your qualities and accept both the good and the bad. I thought I had found that in one person, after so many years of having nothing. I'm not quite sure if I was wrong, but until I know for sure, he will continue being the "best friend" I have and will ever have.

He's name is Uchiha Sasuke. When I first met Sasuke, my first impression of him was that he was a prick. A few years later… and I still believe that to be true. Don't get me wrong, Sasuke is a great guy, but he has that natural talent of getting under your skin and making you want to strangle him to death.

Not that I would ever want to kill him! I mean… I couldn't. I know that he has tried to kill me and almost succeed, but I still could never imagine having him die by my hands. I would never forgive myself. And call me crazy and naïve, but I feel as if Sasuke could never consciously kill me and be able to live with himself. That may be something that people wouldn't be able to understand or think was possible, but then again, they don't know Sasuke like I do. Though, Sasuke may deny the fact that I am even possible of understanding him, let alone knowing him the best out of anyone. But that's just how he is.

Ever since the day we join Team Seven he always looked down on me. Like he was a god that people should respect and obey. And for the most part… people did.

Being the last of his clan, people always expected great things out of him. Now that I think about it, I wouldn't have like to have such great expectations forced upon me and I can sympathize with him about that. But the respect and acknowledgement that he received without doing anything really pissed me off. It was the one thing that Sasuke had that I craved for myself.

I never told anyone, beside maybe Iruka-sensei, but I would sometimes cry myself to sleep when I was younger. I felt as if no one would even admit that I was alive. And that feeling of utter loneliness tore my heart to shreds. But that's when I met Sasuke.

I feel that our friendship really started to grow when we faced off against Zabuza and that Haku kid (he was way too pretty to be a boy). But anyway… during that battle, when I thought that I was done for, Sasuke jumped in front of Haku's needles and saved my life. He would never tell me why he did it; the only response I could get out of him was that his body moved on it's own. I never really understood what he meant. He always did have a knack for getting me confused.

But I think… No. I know that Sasuke had to care even a little about me. Even if it was just as a part of his team or as drastic as his friend, he cared.

And likewise for me, I must have cared for him a hell of lot. Seeing him die unleashed something within in me. I'm not sure if I subconsciously call forth the Kyuubi's powers or if it was an accident caused by my rage, but I fought with everything I had. Maybe Sasuke felt that exact same emotion when his clan was murder. I'm getting sidetracked. Anyway, my point is that the battle with Haku proved to me that we cared for each other. He was my brother, as I was his. "Best friends" is you wish to call us. And from that point on, our weird friendship grew.

Though I'm sure he won't admit it, we both needed each other. He made me feel like I was needed and I'm sure I did the same for him (at least I hope I did). Even after gaining so many people that would accept me and acknowledge me, I feel that Sasuke will always be the one that knows and understands me the most. We both know that feeling of loneliness and we can both agree that it is the worse feeling in the world.

Besides the feeling of being abandoned my your "best friend," but I'm not sure Sasuke would understand that (unless he feels that I abandoned him somehow).

I think that when Sasuke left Konohagakure to seek out Orochimaru was the worse day of my life. I would rather suffer through fifty more years of all the cold stares and the lonely nights of my childhood if it would bring Sasuke back.

He was never one to acknowledge my skills. And after gaining acknowledgement from so many others, I found that Sasuke still would not admit that I was anywhere near his level. That is probably why we fought each other so often. Not only to prove to ourselves that were worth something, but to prove that fact to the other as well.

I often miss those carefree days where we were still part of Team Seven. When Sakura-chan (and mostly ever other girl in Konohagakure) would fawn over Sasuke for being "so cool." I would try to prove to her that I was better than Sasuke in hopes that she would like me the way she did him. I don't think that will ever happen though. And Sakura-chan and I would yell at Kakashi-sensei every time he showed up late for training and gave us some lame excuse about how he got lost. Those were times when we felt like our happy days of D-ranked missions and fun and memorable adventures would last forever. I have to admit, they were some of the happiest days of my life.

It was probably sometime during those happy days where the change in Sasuke happened. That certain change where he became even more moody and angry with the world than his emo self was already. Everything I did seemed to annoy him and all he wanted to do was prove to me that I was still leagues behind him.

Sasuke's ego is one thing that I think he could have lived without. I'm not sure who installed it into his brain that Uchihas are better than everyone else, but that person deserves to suffer a truly great punishment. Unless that person was part of the Uchiha clan (excluding his brother, Itachi), then they don't have to be punished. I think they suffered enough.

Anyway, Sasuke's pride and stubbornness eventually led him to Orochimaru. That creep promised Sasuke power and believe me… he got it.

During our fight at the Valley of the End, I saw exactly what some one with his powers could accomplish. Sasuke was almost terrifying with the immense amount of power the curse seal gave him. Though I'm sure he thought the same about when I summoned the Kyuubi's charka. Even I scared myself.

But when I woke up in the hospital and realized that Sasuke had not finished me off, I knew that he was still the same prick I knew. And that he needed me, like I needed him. After all we were like brothers, maybe closer, and Sasuke knew it. I hope he still does.

All those years of being alone made me decide that I would stop crying over my problems and move on. I wanted to be known as the kind of person that could endure anything and still come out smiling, keeping the pain inside and not letting anyone see my weaknesses (1). I wanted to be strong, not only for myself, but for others, so that they would also find the courage to move on with their lives and accept their horrible memories… not as weaknesses, but as reasons to grow stronger.

At this point in my life, I'm not sure if I've really helped anybody or if I was just trying to feel like they needed me. Maybe Sasuke was right. Maybe I do feel like I can fix people. Maybe I can and maybe I can't. But what I do know is on that day that Sasuke left I wanted to be there for him.

I wanted to make sure that he was all right and safe, and my instincts told me that if he left the village it would be the biggest mistake he would ever make. And now that he's gone, I hope to the gods that I was wrong.

It's true that I'm still jealous of Sasuke. Born with natural talent and then continues to get stronger (and more stubborn) everyday. I really hope that one day he'll come back, either through my persuasion or of his own free will, because, and I'm not afraid to admit it even now that he's a traitor, Sasuke is my "best friend" in the world. And just like he almost died to save me in the fight at the Land of Waves, I would still do the same for him.

Sakura-chan of course would say that doing something like that is foolish, but when I think about all the times that Sasuke had to save me, it seems like I owe him as much. Though he'll never thank me. Both of us would never thank the other for our help. I guess we really are more alike than even I thought. I wish he could see it. Sasuke always did seem to think we were nothing alike. Maybe he was in denial or maybe I'm the one who has things wrong.

Damn it! Ever since you left, bastard, I've been second-guessing myself. I've found myself second-guessing what I want in life, what I'm capable of, and even second-guessing our friendship. Sasuke told me when he left for Orochimaru that our bond was broken… that he was going to sever it, but I didn't believe that for a moment back then. But lately I'm been thinking, and maybe Sasuke's right. Maybe our bond really is broken. Maybe I'm just trying to hold onto the first real friend I ever had. Sasuke would say that I'm weak for doing so. But that is one thing I'll never second-guess.

I trained for almost three years in order to get stronger and bring him back to Konohagakure. It was our friendship that I had always treasured and still do that made me push myself farther… to my very limits. Just so that I could improve myself and be strong enough to bring him back. And Sasuke can't deny that he didn't want to get stronger because of me. Though he may say it was because he wanted to defeat me, and maybe that's true, but nonetheless, I was the reason he wanted to get stronger (or at least one of the major reasons).

Call me selfish, but I just don't feel the same when you're gone, Sasuke. I don't think that I will ever be able to completely be the same old Naruto I was when I knew you. Everyone notices the change in me. And I wish I could fake a smile and fool them, but they're too smart. You would say that's no surprise, right?

Sasuke… I'm not sure where you are right now, but wherever you are I want you to know that I will find you, defeat you, and finally bring you back home to Konohagakure. Where you belong.

No matter how much you deny it and try to run away, I will always be your "best friend." You said so yourself. So deal with it (2).

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(1) My friend actual said that she wanted to be known as this kind of person. I think it's awfully brave of her to be the person that will smile through their hardships and move on, instead of complain about them.

(2) You have no idea how tempted I was to turn this last line into "Believe it!" But I figured that people would come after me with pitchforks and fire. :pause: I don't like it when I'm speared with pitchforks… Or when I'm on fire.

Naruto's version of his feeling took a little more time for me to write. Maybe it's because I feel more like I can understand Sasuke as to understanding Naruto. So yeah, that would make my friend Naruto and she is like him in many, many ways. You already know about one of them from the footnote above this section. Though, since she's leaving… I guess that makes her Sasuke. Which would make sense, because she has balck hair and dark eyes and I'm blonde with blue eyes... :confused herself: I don't know. We're like them, I'm just not sure who's who anymore XP.

So I hope you enjoyed this story little two-part story. The meaning behind it is very important to me and I hope that my feelings were portrayed well through this. Thanks for reading!

Owari.