Skeletons

Chapter Nineteen/Twenty

by: Lazuli

PG/PG-13

Disclaimers/other notes: Don't own Naruto. Beta-ing love goes to proud_snapist. She's been wonderful through this whole process. Thanks to everyone who has been following this story--yes it ends on chapter twenty. You read that right. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter, and if the ending sounds confusing, don't worry--it'll all make sense. And Laz can't write fight scenes. Meh. ^^;

Skeletons Chapter Nineteen

It had been a chore getting Sasuke into the house—while Naruto could manipulate energy and objects in small amounts, the full grown body of a man was a bit of a strain, even for him. It didn’t wear him out or make him lose the tenacious grip of his chakra, but it did prevent him from doing anything so major again. The most he could manage was a message, keyed to reach Neji. Naruto hadn’t done such a thing in years, but he was grateful that it worked and the older man showed up not too much longer after Naruto had Sasuke settled.

Naruto looked from the still figure of Sasuke in the bed, to Neji. "What happened this time?" He asked, hiding his worry behind annoyance. "Something must've gone weird when Sasuke was reborn—he keeps passing out like some girl." He snorted in amusement. "Just wait until he wakes up and I can tease him about this…"

Neji shot him a serious look, hands moving away from Sasuke. "I am not entirely certain that he will wake up, Naruto." Naruto's startled blue eyes met his as Neji continued. "His mind has had quite a shock—I am not entirely certain what he saw in that graveyard, but his mind is still stuck in the memories of the past right now, and the pressure of that has shut down most other functions. He's comatose, Naruto."

Naruto shook his head. "You can do something to get him awake again." He insisted. "Damnit, Neji—he was given a second chance and I'm not going to see it go to waste!" There was an almost desperate quality to his voice, and Neji winced at the pain that was laced through it. "Fix it." It was half a demand, half a plea.

"There is nothing that I can do to fix it." Neji glared at him, blank eyes making the look that much more intimidating. "It is partially my fault that this occurred, and I don't wish to compound my mistake." Brushing his hands off, he turned back to Sasuke for a moment. "Only he can get himself out of his nightmares, Naruto. You just have to wait it out—for whatever the results will be."  He looked off. “Apologies do not do much good in situation like this—but again, Naruto…I am sorry for what has occurred here. I never meant for it to happen.”

With that, he left Naruto alone with Sasuke—and unwittingly thrust Naruto into his own recollection of a past that he wished never happened. He 'sat' near Sasuke, eyes trained on the still form—Sasuke's dark hair falling across his face, chest rising with each shallow breath.

"What are you dreaming about, Sasuke?" He asked quietly, as if his voice would disturb the other man. "You still can't remember the present, I guess—so you must be dreaming about the past. Are you angry with me for being so stupid? Is that why you aren't waking up?"

Naruto couldn't escape from the past—if he even thought about it, the memories were as sharp as if they occurred only yesterday instead of eighty years ago. Seeing Sasuke sleeping in the bed, pale skin almost transparent brought back the memories even stronger.

“We’ve been in this spot before, you know?” He murmured quietly. “Right after that stupid attack—you … “ He ran a hand through his hair. “You didn’t have to save me, idiot. Why’d you do it if you knew there was a reason for my forbidding you to use your chakra like that?” There was no answer, and Naruto didn’t really expect one. He just hoped that this time, whatever the outcome of the dream was—things would turn out better.

~

It was clear that this Sasuke wasn't without friends, although Naruto never expected anybody to come by—although he had been alone for so long, he'd almost forgotten what life was like outside of the estate grounds, and how normal people interacted with each other. So when the gentle knocking came at the door of the estates, he wasn't expecting a person from outside Konoha to be there.

The girl hardly blinked when she saw him, which Naruto silently granted her points for. She was very collected and matter of fact with him. "I'm Kuri, one of Sasuke's classmates." She said briskly. "Since he hasn't shown up for the last few days, I was wondering about him." Her tone indicated that anything that Naruto might concoct wouldn't fly with her and only the truth would work. She also had to know Sasuke—to know that he wasn’t just slacking off and there was a knowledge there of past experience with Sasuke as well. As Naruto let her in, he wondered if she was one of the people at the Valley of the End when Sasuke passed out.

She obviously wanted to come in and only the protections that Naruto placed around the buildings prevented her from pushing her way in. She can’t really harm anything—and she looks sort of familiar. Maybe descendent of someone from my time? He mused silently as he obvserved her before letitng her on the estate grounds.

Naruto didn't let this girl—Kuri—go any further than the living room, at least for the moment. "Sasuke's sick." He said bluntly. "You can leave his stuff here—if there are any assignments or whatnot, but he's not really up to seeing visitors at the moment." That was the understatement of the year.

"I know what's wrong with him—or somewhat, at least." She muttered. "My family was a part of Konoha once and we all know about you, Naruto—as well as what happened to the previous Sasuke."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Oh, do you?" He asked. "Listen, little girl—you don't know half as much as you think you do. The only two people that know of went on that day are myself and Sasuke. Now, it's nice that you came to visit him, and I'll pass on your well-wishing—but you don't just waltz in here assuming things."

"Oh, get over it." She said crossly. "I've suspected for ages there was something different with Sasuke. Especially with how you let him stay here and all." Her eyebrow rose. "Or don't you think I remember visiting here as a little girl and knowing Sasuke? You showed up only when he was around—and he acted completely different around you as well."

Naruto started in surprise. Someone else that had known Sasuke as a kid… "Argh… he could have asked you, instead of going through all this mess." He grumbled, half to himself. :"Alright, you—I think I'll let you see him." His smile was a little more friendly this time. "Just don't freak out, okay?"  If she didn't freak out when Sasuke passed out the first time or when she saw Naruto as a ghost, it wasn't likely that she'd do so now—but it didn't hurt to voice the concern just the same.

Sasuke's breathing was calm and steady and he looked as if he was just sleeping instead of being in comatose state. But the almost transparent nature of his skin showed that there was something more there than just simple sleep.  Kuri stepped closer, eyes moving from Sasuke and back to Naruto. "What happened?" She asked simply.  She seemed more in awe of the fact that Naruto was once the Rokudaime—a person that her grandparents had known for the short time he was in power, than the fact that Naruto was a ghost or Sasuke was unconcious in bed.

Naruto gave her a faint smile as he settled near Sasuke, sitting crossed-legged in the air. "He remembered something he shouldn't have." Kuri was about to reply to that, until she looked at Naruto more closely and saw the expression on his face.

"I see…." Laying the books and papers she brought with her on the bedside table, she patted Sasuke's hand gently before moving away. "Well—I know that he's in good hands with you, Naruto." Her voice lost the previous briskness, but she was quite convinced with her statement. "I'll probably stop by again in a few days to see how he's doing." With that, she took herself out and left Naruto alone. 

"I wish I was half as convinced that I can take care of him." Naruto muttered to the empty air, eyes trained on the still form of his best friend. "I haven't done a good job so far." His mind went back to the last time he and Sasuke were in this position—and wondered if Sasuke was dreaming the same thing.

~

Sasuke glared at the blond, hands on his hips and to all the world looking like an upset mother or wife. "Care to repeat that?" He asked, eyes narrowed, his annoyance plain to be seen. "You've done some stupid stuff before, Naruto—but this—"

Naruto waved him off. "I said, that decreasing the guard around the estates was something that you earned and that I would defend that statement to the council if necessary." He glared at Sasuke. "You're not some common criminal—you were always a dangerous idiot, but you've proven yourself at this point."

"Your confidence in me is overwhelming." Sasuke said dryly. "Look—the sentence is up soon enough, I think I can stand to be watched at for a little while longer. It's not like I'm not used to being stared at when I go out all the time." The faint smirk that accompanied his words spoke of their younger days when he was practically stalked by the female population of Konoha. "At least I don't have to worry about them jumping on me for just a strand of my hair."

"You never know." Naruto leered at him, "Some of those guards are female, after all. They may just decide to 'rough' you up a bit and blame it on you trying to run off." Even though Naruto's tone was joking, there was an undercurrent of real worry there. Naruto wasn’t worried that Sasuke couldn’t defend himself if someone came after him—but that he wouldn't be able to do so properly and get off without more harm to his trustworthiness.

Sasuke just gave him an impassive stare in return. "I just think you're jealous." He shook his head and went back to the earlier comment. "Just don't act stupid, Naruto—you're too close to the Hokage position to screw it up over thinking too hard." His gaze assessed him coolly, but there was a hint of a smile on his face with his next words. "It never was your strong point."

"Bastard." Naruto muttered, but without much heat. He was tired after the long run of studying, training and preparation that Tsunade led him through. What to do once he became Hokage, how to handle this situation and that situation—how to act when the villagers 'forgot' something he decreed. She knew that he would have some problems, more so than many of the other Hokages that came before him, and wanted to help him out as much as she could.

Sasuke peered at him critically. "What's with you lately?" He asked. "I know it's not just Tsunade's training—she could kick your ass clear to Wave Country and you wouldn't even break a sweat—something else is up." His eyebrow rose. "Don't tell me your concern for me is that exhausting."

"Don't flatter yourself." Giving him an irritated shove, Naruto moved to the couch and flopped over the majority of the space. "It's not just your or Tsunade." His hand rested lightly on his stomach. "There are other things that are involved as well."

"I see." Shoving Naruto aside enough for him to sit down, he seemed to lose a little of his annoyance. "Are you telling anyone your problems?" He asked. "Or are you bottling it all up inside and hiding it from the world as usual?" Sasuke had made his displeasure of Naruto's 'masks' known earlier on.

"Who am I going to tell?" He snapped. "This is something that I have to handle on my own—no one else knows how to deal with it as well as I do, and I've already begun plans to handle the problem." He eyed Sasuke from his upside down position on the couch and thunked him between the eyes. "Don't worry so much, it ruins your image and gives you wrinkles." Sasuke was slightly hurt that Naruto didn’t open up to him for this—they had come so far that they trusted each other with almost anything. This setback was almost painful and he was determined to jerk the idiot out of his self-pitying mood.

Sasuke grabbed his hand, squeezing briefly for a moment before letting go. "Don't be more of an idiot than you already are, Uzumaki.." he said sharply. "No one wants to see you doing something foolish before you become Hokage. We were subjected to enough of that when you were a kid." His eyes were fierce. Don't you dare leave me alone.

He tugged Naruto towards him, startling his friend out of his relaxed state on the couch. "You're not sleeping there—and you are going to bed soon." His look said he wasn't going to deal with any protests. "You're not superhuman and you do need sleep eventually. I'm sure that the guards circling my house won't let me sneak out in the middle of the night."

Naruto's look was incredulous. "Do you even realize what you sound like?" He asked, eyes lighting up with amusement. "Like some old granny or mother—" He snickered at the death glare that Sasuke sent his way. "Not that I don't appreciate your…concern…." He snickered again. "But what I what I want to do when I get you into bed isn't sleeping, Uchiha."

Sasuke's eyes met Naruto's amused ones, and there was a brief silence there that almost off-set the blond. Their relationship—the level they had taken it to—was fairly new and Naruto still wasn't certain of all the ins and outs of it, what Sasuke or himself would allow. For two boys that had never had much of a happy, loving childhood, touch was almost an anathema.

And this touch—the way Sasuke's hand slid slowly from his wrist to his shoulder—the grip tight and reassuring—Naruto's eyes involuntarily closed and he let Sasuke pull him this time; let Sasuke be the one directing the movements towards their bedroom. He needed the reassurance that Sasuke actually wanted this, that Naruto didn't have to always initiate. Granted, Sasuke wasn't an idiot and wasn't one to be carried away by the moment or just deal with the limited resources provided—but sometimes Naruto doubted.

Sasuke seemed to sense the general run of his thoughts as he shut the bedroom door behind them, hands cupping Naruto's face and glaring fiercely at him. "Thinking so hard doesn't fit your image, dobe." He murmured. "If I didn't want to, then I wouldn't—hell, we've been alone together before this whole mess happened and you didn't see me lusting after you before."

Naruto made a face at that. "Considering we were thirteen at the time?" He asked dryly. "I didn't know it was possible to like another boy, much less fantasize about doing this with you." He gave a faint smile as he continued. "Although I knew that I couldn't lose you—I knew that you meant a lot to me." Leaning forward, he rested his face in the crook of Sasuke's neck for a moment, kissing the skin there. "Still, I never thought it'd come to this point."

"Well, we did and so don't dwell on how we were before." Sasuke said sharply. It was a change for him to not worry about what happened before, but after killing Itachi… after making himself the last of the Uchihas… he realized there were a lot more important things in life. Even with his hands slowly tugging off Naruto's shirt, he still berated Naruto for his thickheaded ways. It was comforting to know that some things about Sasuke would always stay the same. A well-placed shoved had Naruto falling backwards on the bed, Sasuke crawling over him and smirking. "Letting yourself get caught off guard, Naruto?" He murmured.

Naruto frowned up at him, but didn't protest when Sasuke's lips covered his own; when his hips pressed Naruto further into the mattress. This was what he wanted and needed; and having Sasuke reciprocate his feelings healed something that he had known was broken all his life, but wasn't aware could be fixed.

~

It was a few days later when Naruto stomped in the estate, his blue eyes dark with annoyance. "This is so stupid." He growled, tossing his mask onto the table, and turning to Sasuke, who only regarded him calmly. "Just because those people are around again, the stick in their ass elders are making noises about you again."

Sasuke started, more emotion on his face now. "What the hell are you babbling about, Uzumaki? I don't exactly have an ear in town to know what's going on lately." Naruto had been more close mouthed lately than usual, and any of the guards that watched the estate weren't filling in any of the gaps, either. He was certain that if he could see through the ANBU masks, they'd be glaring at him, though.

"Just… " Naruto hedged, pulling off his gloves and hanging up his cloak to buy time. "There have been shinobi from enemy factions spotted nearby, and some people are …" He bit his lip, obviously trying to find the best way to phrase things. "They're afraid that if they find you, they'll 'win' you to their side or something—thus making you more dangerous. Some idiots are already blathering about you having already contacted them, that you're a spy—" He gave a disgusted snort. “Big, scary Uchiha who has the blood line limit. Didn’t those idiots figure out before about what happens when you fear something like that?”  He was referring to Haku and what happened in his village. “Just because you’re stronger and went a little weird before doesn’t mean that you’re an enemy.”

"What if I was?" Sasuke's bland question caught Naruto off guard. "You haven't questioned me or anything of the matter—I could be." When Naruto's hurt gaze met his own, he shook his head. "I'm not—but one day you're going to face a friend that isn't really a friend, Naruto. Someone that you trusted—“

"That already happened with you, and I already know that you’re my friend. I don’t have to worry.” His lips turned up faintly. “You were quite blunt about saying what you were going to do; you’re not the type to sneak around the shubbery.” Naruto said shortly, interrupting Sasuke’s patronizing speech. "You’ve proven yourself trustworthy since then." His eyes were as determined as they ever were. "If you were proven to be a spy, Sasuke—I would have to kill you. But I trust you to watch my back, more than anyone else."

Sasuke met the gaze and nodded—none of his sarcasm or contempt was present in either tone or expression. "Glad to hear it." He said simply. "Now—tell me about these enemies so we can be prepared to counter any moves they make."

Naruto gave him a dry look at that. "You're not going to be doing much at all." He said. Sasuke's face darkened in anger and he stood up to glare at Naruto, who only returned the look. “I’m serious, Sasuke—not many people know that you have weapons, and there are still a lot of people that think you would kill your guards and run off again.” He held up a hand to forestall any immediate protests. “Look—I already told you that I trust you, but not everyone is so willing to see you armed again.”

“What about my chakra, then?” Sasuke’s eyes challenged Naruto. “Going to stop me from using that?” Sasuke knew very well why Naruto wouldn’t let him use his chakra—and it wasn’t the excuse of people being scared or the fact that he was still under house arrest. He wanted to see if Naruto could be honest with him, instead of trying to protect him. “There are a lot of things that I can contribute to the safety of this estate.” His tone turned flat. “Remember, Uzumaki—it’s my home, not yours.”

“Are we going to play that game?” Naruto’s voice held none of his anger, only a sort of tiredness. “I won’t deny you the right to make sure your place doesn’t get desecrated or burned to the ground—but I also promised you that I’d protect this place with all my strength. I know it’s stupid to have you do nothing, Sasuke—but…” He grimaced.

“Wouldn’t they forgive me if I was doing this to protect their future Hokage?” Sasuke pressed. “I’m already like an unofficial bodyguard for you, what’s the harm in taking it a little further?” He was watching Naruto carefully, and was surprised by the flash of pain in his eyes. “Somoene has to watch your back in case things…happen.” It was unspoken of what people would and had done to Naruto in the past.

“You think they’d really be happy at you saving me?” He asked quietly. “You’ve been away from Konoha too long, Sasuke, to think that.” Reaching out, he squeezed Sasuke’s hand tightly, his voice going from the slightly bitter tone to his usual determination. “And if you died protecting someone like me, idiot—I’d never forgive myself.”

~

Sasuke had no intention of sitting back like an untrained civillian—especailly when he was perfectly capable of fighting. So he made his own plans, in secret so that Naruto wouldn’t know about them. What he doesn’t know about, he can’t get in trouble for. Sasuke thought reasonably. And chances are, they won’t even come here—the center of power in Konoha is the Hokage Tower and the Academy. If they wanted to strike at a vulnerable spot, the Academy would be it.

He told Naruto that much—he could at least offer his opinions without Naruto getting uptight and suspicous. It wasn’t as if Sauske would go so far as to leave his family estate. That was part of the deal he agreed to, and with only a month left of the sentence, there was no use being stupid. If anything came here, he’d defend himself and Naruto. Even if it meant using his chakra and all the dangers that came with it. They knew that the Sound-nin would be coming through the abandoned section of the Uchiha estate—that was were they saw them heading at least. They best they could do was try to intercept them—and the best way to defeat them was to have the confrontation on familiar ground. And since Naruto was already there with Sasuke, it was the ideal ‘test’ for their future Hokage.

Sasuke just hoped that Naruto and the random guard or two wouldn’t be the only ones in the thick of the fight when it started. They needed to be spread out over the massive grounds  of the estate. One unguarded entrance could mean an outlet for the ninja to pour through. Sasuke would do what he could until help arrived—until they figured out where everyone was.

He wasn’t exactly expecting to live up to that self-made promise. 

~

It wasn’t until Naruto was in danger that Sasuke reacted. He didn’t mind the part of the estate being damanaged as much—repairs could always be made later. It wasn’t worth risking his life over, and that was exactly what he would be doing if he utilized his chakra in any way. So when the building that belonged to his cousin Koru was burned to the ground from a well-aimed jutsu, he shut away the part of him that reacted to it. When they attacked the family shrine, his blood boiled and only a deadly rain of shuriken was needed to take care of the problem.

Naruto wasn’t so much protesting at him taking care of the intruders with his taijutsu and weaponry skills; his hands were full taking care of his own share of the enemy. Naruto was using all of his energy and a complicated, never-before-tested jutsu to keep them in the grounds—as well as using every trick he had to fight the ones that were scattered around the massive estate.

They were attracted to the power that Naruto practically exuded—the fact that he held the kyuubi held inside of him was hardly a secret anymore, and the enemies had garnered that information a long time ago, even before most of Naruto’s classmates knew. And so Sasuke wasn’t sure if they were here because of Sasuke himself—or the power that was now attached to him.

But he wasn’t going to let anyone take Naruto away from him. While he wouldn’t admit it out loud or hardly even to himself—Naruto was practically the only thing that kept him going, kept him alive. When he was dragged back to Konoha, he expected to die and welcomed it. When he was brought back to his family estates, he wanted to kill himself. But with Naruto always there—he didn’t want to die as much.

And when he saw the future Rokudaime—his friend and the one he loved—surrounded and frozen by a clever jutsu that blocked even kyuubi’s chakra—he lost it. Activating the Sharingan and knowing he would pay for it later, he assessed the weakest points and prepared to counter it. Luckily, the lowest level of the Sharingan didn’t take up too much of his chakra—and the seal that Naruto placed over the curse seal was still holding and allowed him to analyze without the risk of dying. But he knew the more he used his chakra, the more the protective seal got damaged.

Naruto nearly fell over when the jutsu snapped, his eyes glazed for a moment as he tried to catch his breath. His eyes narrowed on Sasuke and his lips turned up in a brief, resigned smile when he saw the Sharingan fade from Sasuke’s eyes. “I’ll forgive you this time—but only because you saved my life.”

The conversation was lost the on the enemy, who renewed their attack as soon as they recovered from the backlash. Sasuke didn’t have a chance to reply to the inane remark and instead concentrated all of his energy on watching Naruto’s back. He consoled himself with the thought that Naruto couldn’t be too angry at him. It’d probably end up worse if Naruto died and he was the only one left—they’d say I was a part of the enemy all along. It wouldn’t matter that he took out several of the enemy.

The battle was rushed and confusing and time didn’t even seem to work right as he—and a few of the now-present ANBU guards fought to keep the enemy away. Sweat ran into Sasuke’s eyes and he wished that he dared use a stronger attack to just get rid of the threat. Being restricted to only hand to hand combat with the occasional usage of his Sharingan was extremely frustrating.

His chance came sooner than he expected—the Sound-nin were always tricky, never giving up. They were loyal in their own way—and Sasuke really couldn’t blame them for that loyalty. What was the difference between a Konoha shinobi and one from Sound or any other ninja village? And Naruto couldn’t see it—it was only by the …luck… that he served under Orochimaru he was able to know of the attack at all.  Why they wanted him back, he wouldn’t know. Not unless Orochimaru was still alive somehow, using a temporary body or needing Sasuke’s to complete the jutsu that never worked.

He couldn’t actually stop fighting to ask why. Between the smoke bombs, henges, bunshins and other jutsu, there was simply no time to investigate. The scouts that reported to Naruto said that there was no communication for them to eavesdrop on. It would fit what the Sound was like—and after their last, brutal defeat they would be more cautious than ever.

Sasuke pulled out all the stops in order to save Naruto. With every jutsu that he learned as a child, every lesson he studied and strived to master—he had an almost unlimited arsenal of tricks to throw at the ninjas. Starting with the simplest of the fire jutsu and working his way up, he took out a wide swath of enemy—but even as he fought, he knew that he was going to pay a heavy price.

~

He was barely aware of the sound of chidori—of feeling the pulsing, spinning energy of Naruto’s rasengan combining with it. He was more aware of the fire that laced through his veins, turning his vision into a mass of blotchy spots. Of the curse seal spreading over his body faster than it ever had before, save the first time it awakened in his body. Nothing was clear except Naruto and the few remaining ninjas that their combined attack took down. The negating force of the jutsu blew back on him, and Sasuke held onto that thread of consciousness long enough to see that the enemy was dead, and Naruto was safe. Only then did he succumb to the blackness. 

~

There was pain and there was Naruto. Those were the two anchors to his world and he tried to desperately hold onto them. He promised Naruto that he wouldn’t leave him alone—and Naruto promised him the same thing. If he died—Sasuke winced inside his mind at the thought—he knew that it was inevitable—he would be leaving Naruto alone.

He could hear random snatches of Naruto’s voice, mostly of him pleading with him to stay alive—berating him for being an idiot and taunting him for being weak. If one tactic didn’t illicit a response, Naruto tried another, and the desperation in his tone mounted with every word.

When he managed to open his eyes, he was shocked to see the pallor of his own skin, marred by the dark swirls of the curse seal. It seems that I’m going to die with that bastard’s mark on me. He didn’t want to go that way—he didn’t want his last memories to be of his curse-marked skin. He wanted…Naruto. The blond wasn’t far from him and Sasuke noticed with detached amazement that his friend now wore the Hokage’s robes, with “Rokudaime” stitched in kanji on the sleeves.

“You made it.” Sasuke whispered, and focused his gaze on the worried blue eyes, rather than his own skin. “I knew you would, dobe—even with all your idiotic mistakes.” Naruto’s eyes flashed briefly at the barb, and he managed a smile.

“Well, thanks to your stupid move—I won’t have you as my guard until you recover.” He shook his head, as if amazed at Sasuke’s own stupidity. “You’re going to be laid up for weeks, moaning and complaining—“

Sasuke smirked up at him. “But at least I get the personal attention of the Rokudaime.” His hand reached out to grab Naruto’s, and a contented smile found its way to his face. “That’s something I get to brag about to everyone.”

Naruto rolled his eyes. “As if there aren’t enough great things about you as it is—gods, adding another one is asking too much.” He saw the way that Sasuke’s eyelids dropped, as if the short conversation wore him out. “Look—you get some sleep now.” Naruto murmured. “I’ll make something for you to drink when you get up, okay.” He pressed a kiss to Sasuke’s hand, uncaring that it was sappy and sentimental and they just didn’t do things like that.

Sasuke didn’t care—he heard Naruto leave the room as his eyes closed. His body still hurt, it was still agonizing—but it didn’t bother him as much anymore. 

~

Naruto stood in front the gravestone, his eyes solemn. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to help you when you needed it…" He said softly. "That I screwed up so badly that you had to come to this. I can't really ask for your forgiveness—" He shook his head, a short, humorless laugh coming from him. “At least you looked okay at the end, you knew that you had…” He broke off as a familiar presence made itself known.

"You always were an idiot, Uzumaki."

Tbc…

Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion!