Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, though I wish I did.

This story was inspired by Letters from War by Mark Schultz.

Letters from War

It was a bright summer day, the first in a long time. With a smile on her face, a beautiful woman with red hair stepped out of her house and headed towards the mailbox hoping she'd finally get a letter from her beloved son who was fighting in a war far away. Opening the mailbox door, she pulled out everything and upon seeing the what she'd been waiting for, she ran towards the house, clutching at the letter for dear life.

Hey Mom,

This is the first of my letters. Sorry about that, it's been quite hectic but I've finally got some time to write. The weather here is nice. It's warm in the afternoon but at night it gets quite cold, but it's very beautiful. We were placed in group units, and I made friends with each of them. And you wouldn't believe this, but most of them are from our home town. It's a small world after all! There's this lazy guy, his name is Nara Shikamaru; despite his demeanor, he is a tactical genius. Rock Lee, Akimichi Chouji and Inuzuka Kiba are good at frontal assault and are usually sent out first to test the water. Aburame Shino and Hyuga Neji are our defense. Neji, I don't know how that guy does it, but he always knows when enemies are nearby and their weak points, so that always comes in handy. The last of the group, Uchiha Sasuke, he was a bastard at first, but we've become really good friends. He has an older brother who is also fighting in this war, he's in a different unit. Sasuke told me Itachi, his brother, has been fighting for several years. I've been doing a lot of thinking since coming here, mostly about dad and the life he had. About the fun times we had before his passing. He was the Hokage, right? I want to reach that rank as well.

I have to go now, mom, I love you and miss you.

In closing, I just want you to know, that you're what I'm fighting for.

With lots of love,

Naruto.

Kushina smiled and hugged the letter close to her chest. Tears glistening in her eyes as she placed the letter back in it's envelope and laid it on the table. Reaching over, she grabbed a blank sheet of paper and began composing a letter in turn. She told him how much she loved him and missed him. Told him how happy she was that he made friends. She spoke about everything that's been happening with her and the town. In closing she wrote, 'make it home, make it safe.'

Naruto smiled as he folded the letter and placed it in the envelope and placed it in the side pocket of his duffle. where a stack of similar letters were already placed. Blue eyes turned, scanning the clearing that he and the rest of his group were camped up in; each reading their own letters from home.

"Hey!"

A soft voice from his left caught his attention, he turned only to meet pitch black ones. "What is it, Sasuke?" The blond shifted so he could face the older male. "Is something the matter?"

Sasuke shook his head, "No." Black eyes glanced at the blond, taking in his features. Soft golden hair fell like silk curtains to rest at the boys waist, which was usually held in a loose bun when in combat. Long, thick eyelashes, blue eyes, perfectly arched brows. high cheekbones, a small nose, full pink lips and a slender, feminine body. "Can I asked you something though?"

Naruto rose a curious brow and shrugged. "Sure. What do you want to know?"

"Why did you enlist? What are you fighting for?" Sasuke couldn't understand why someone so pretty like Naruto would want to fight in a war. He had nothing against the blond and on more then one occasion he was awed by the sheer genius the feminine male showed, but Naruto was so fragile and dainty looking, Sasuke couldn't help but wonder at the younger boys reason.

The blond furrowed his brows before leaning back on his hands, "Well, my father had been a military man as well. He was the fourth Hokage." Sasuke's eyes widened a bit. The fourth was legendary for his Godlike strength and tactical exploits. And Naruto was his son. Well, that made sense, he suppose. Naruto had shown to share that same brilliance the Yondaime had been famous for. "I wanted to be just like him before he died and now, I want to make him proud of me, so I fight in the war that he died trying to stop. It's been years you know, and no one foresees a close to it, but I want us to be the last, to finally give the people whose been fighting even longer, like your brother and his platoon, some semblance of peace at last, instead of this constant threat looming over them. Though I suppose some of them, such a Hidan and Kisame, enjoys the thrill." At those words, Sasuke's eyes softened. That sounded nice. "Beside, I'm also fighting for my mother. to protect her." Naruto smiled brightly at the look Sasuke had. "Since dad died all those years ago, she's had to take care of me by herself, even before he died she's been doing it."

"Naruto, come here!" Kiba yelled, arms waving wildly in the air. "Sasuke, you can come to, if you want."

Getting to his feet, Naruto laughed, patting sasuke on the shoulder. "Coming, Sasuke?" the Blond questioned, not bothering to wait for a reply as he made his way towards the spiky haired brunet. "What is it Kiba?" He called, not seeing the look the dark haired male had thrown at his back and a silent promise that he made to himself in that moment.

It was late in December, when they'd been ambushed. No one expected it. As shots rang out and the bombs exploded, Naruto rallied up his group. "Hurry, this way!" he called out, leading his team to a safe location where they could form a foolproof strategy. Standing to the side, the blond glanced at every member, counting each one and making sure everyone was here. Blue eyes widened when he realized someone was missing. ""Where's Sasuke?" he questioned.

"The last time I saw him, he was heading towards the hill that overlooks the area."

Naruto turned, "Continue on. I'm going back to look for Sasuke." with that said, the blond took off, he didn't get too far before someone grabbed him and flung him against a tree. A soft groan escaped his lips as he sunk to the ground. "Damn. that hurts." he murmured, rubbing his shoulder.

Reaching down, the man yanked Naruto to his feet. "What a lovely little prize I've obtained." the sleazy sounding voice purred, coldly, into the blonds ear, causing a shiver of repulsion to shoot down his spine as glacier eyes glared at his assailant. "I wonder what ever possessed someone like you..." Here, the man ran a gloved hand down the blue eyed males side. "to want to fight in something so dangerous."

"That's none of your business." Naruto hissed, squirming, trying to get away from the man and his unwanted touches when a shot rang out from somewhere in front of him causing the blond to wiggle in his captures hold to see what was going on. His eyes widened when he saw his destination. That hill. But that wasn't what shocked him, it was the figure on the ground. "Sasuke" he mumbled, blue eyes hardened as he watched a glove hand grasp at his injured leg. A man stood over him, gun cocked, about to finish what he started. Without any thought, Naruto drew his gun, a 45 automatic colt XD-S and pivoted, shooting his capturer in the head before running towards the one threatening his friend, he released a round of bullets. The man, not expecting the attack, failed to see it coming and thus couldn't defend himself. "Sasuke." Naruto called out, slipping his weapon into his holster, the blond grasp the older males arm and pulled it over his shoulder. "I'll get you somewhere safe. You can't fight with that injured leg." the blond whispered, dragging him towards an upturned tree trunk and placed Sasuke against it, in a way that the leaves and branches hid him from sight fairly well. "Do me a favor." Naruto reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a piece of paper, "Write to my mother for me."

At hearing the request, Sasuke's eyes widened, "Why? Where are you going?"

"I have to go back out there." Blue eyes glanced in the direction the others left in. "I have to make sure the others stay safe. We're a team after all. We look after each other. So promise me." He held out the paper to Sasuke.

Grasping the paper, the dark haired boy nodded his head. "I promise." he whispered, watching solemnly as Naruto got to his feet, gave him a smile and ran towards the battle, pulling out his weapon once more, and quickly changing the magazine. He watched as his free hand lowered into his holster drawing out another gun, a twin to his first, checking to see if the bullets were good and the safety was off, when everything was set, the blue eyed male stopped and turned in his direction, raising a hand, he gave a brief wave before vanishing into the darkness.

'Be safe Naruto!' Sasuke closed his eyes, clenching his hand into a fist, crinkling the paper in his hand. Opening his eyes, he unclenched his hand and stared at the blank paper, the only thing on it was an address, and he guessed that was where Naruto lived. Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew a pen and began composing the promised letter.

Wrapping an orange scarf around her neck, Kushina grabbed her black faux coat and slipped it on before grabbing her boots and putting them on. After making sure she was covered as much as she could, the redhead left her house. It was a cold, snowy, December and she wished feverishly that Naruto was here with her. She missed her little boy so much. Heading to the mailbox she opened the door and grinned upon seeing the letter. Grabbing it, she ran towards the house.

Opening the letter, she blinked in confusion at the unfamiliar writing.

Hello Mrs. Namikaze-Uzumaki,

My name is Uchiha Sasuke and I'm writing to you because I made a promise to your son, Naruto, that I would. I don't know what to say or where to even start, but I guess I could start with telling you the reason why I'm writing to you. We were resting for the night, and I needed a little alone time to think about some things. I headed towards a hill. It was quite, too quite, I should have known something was wrong. The attack was so unexpected. The sound of shots going off and bombs exploding caused me to turn towards the direction but before I could do anything I was being engaged in a fight. That's when I saw him. Naruto had appeared a few yards away, and he'd been captured. So distracted was I that I'd let my guard down. I got careless, the guy shot me and as I fell to ground, I knew it was over for me. I would accept my death with dignity and grace. At that moment. the only thing I felt regret for, beside hurting my family would be not being able to protect Naruto. Your son has come to mean the world to me. I care a lot about him and it saddens me that I will be unable to protect him. But, before the enemy could finish me off, a man saved me and that man was your son. Naruto had somehow gotten away from his capture and killed the assailant who sought my life. He saved me.

He told me to write to you. I said I would. I promised. It was the least I could do for him. He went off after getting my agreement. Naruto left to find our teammates, and I don't know what the outcome will be. And, in closing, I want to offer my apologies, for my carelessness, I won't be able to watch your sons back like I've been doing for months now. He's my partner and I can't be there for him.

My best wishes.

Sasuke.

Tears fell as she finished. A sob poured from her throat as she shook her head. "No. I lost Minato, I'm not going to lose Naruto as well. Not my baby." Reaching over she grabbed a piece of paper and began composing another letter for a son, ending it, the same way that she always did. "Make it home. Make it safe.' She folded the letter and placed it in the envelope. After sealing it, on the back, she wrote; 'Be Safe.'

Two Years Later

It was a beautiful autumn day, Kushina stood outside, hanging up her laundry when a car pulled into her driveway. It's been two years since she'd received that letter from Sasuke, and it's been just as long since she'd heard any news about her son, but she never lost hope; she couldn't. She had to believe that her little boy was alright, that he'd be coming home to her, safe and sound. He couldn't die, not before her.

Turning she stared at the car for a while before she shook her head, falling to the ground. Tears falling from her eyes. It was the same type of car that had come to her with news regarding Minato's fall. A captain was here to tell her that her beloved baby was dead. A heartbreaking cry escaped her lips as she covered her face. The sound of leaves crunching beneath feet alerted her to the persons presence before a hand grasped her shoulder.

"Mom." the familiar voice caused the woman to turn and stare at the beautiful male kneeling beside her. Hair just as golden as she remembered and eyes just as bright. "I'm following orders, from all of your letters and I've come home again." he whispered, tears in his eyes as he fell into his mother.

Kushina wrapped her arms around her son and cried into his shoulder, holding him tightly. "I love you Naruto and I'm so happy that you're home." the redhead whispered through her tears before pulling away to take a good look at her boy. "Just as beautiful as I remembered." Kushina smiled, "I bet you had to beat those boys off of you with your weapon, didn't you?"

"That was my job!" a cool, detached voice called out, causing mother and son to turn towards the speaker. Kushina blinked at the sight of the very handsome male standing not to far. "Hello, my name is Uchiha Sasuke. I wrote that letter to you two years ago."

Nodding her head, the Kushina and Naruto stood up, "I see. It's nice to meet you at last Sasuke. And I want to thank you for everything that you've done for my baby." Sasuke rose an eyebrow. "I could tell that you cared very deeply for Naruto and had there been any choice, I know you would have done everything in your power to shield him. And by what you just said. I can assume, that the two of you are committed."

Naruto nodded head. "Yes." Blue eyes turned and stared at the Uchiha with a fond look, "He practically demanded that we date. It wasn't romantic at all." The blond giggled and turned his head to face his mother with a mock exasperated look, "I considered saying no just to spite him, but I liked him too much to actually turn him down. He got better though."

Kushina smiled and stood up, holding her son, "Lets get inside, we have much to talk about. I'll put some tea on." Blue eyes glanced at her sons chosen companion, "And I would love to get to know you as well, Sasuke." She turned, observing the changes in her son, before she gasped, a hand covering her mouth, "You..." her trembling fingers rose and caressed the necklace wrapped around his neck as well as the badges on his chest. "You..."

Naruto and Sasuke smiled. "He is." the dark haired male nodded his head, eyes showing how proud he was, "He's going to be the next Hokage. The Godaime." Naruto's smile couldn't be any brighter even if he tried.

"Then we really have to talk. let's go!" with that said, Kushina looped her arms through both males and dragged them towards the house. In his hand was a stack of letters. His letters from war.

The End

I fell in love with the song, 'Letters from War' by Mark Schultz and was inspired to write this story. I hope you all like it. I couldn't resist throwing in SasuNaru, though I do prefer ItaNaru, Sasuke seemed to work better for this one.