"FUCK!"

"That bastard Uchiha."

'I still can't believe he'd do this. OROCHIMARU? SERIOUSLY?"

"I always knew that kid had some screws loose. You saw his face when he came out of that coffin thing."

'I have to get him back.' I gritted my teeth. 'Sasuke...'

And so began the fated battle between two rivals. One fighting to destroy bonds, the other fighting to keep them intact. 

"NARUTO!"

"SASUKE!"

His Chidori and my Rasengan collided, the force of each blow beyond what we ever imagined.

In the end, I knocked him out.

I was panting heavily on my arms and knees, barely able to stand. Kurama was healing the chidori wound in my shoulder, but we both used up a majority of our chakra. Despite Kurama healing me to the point where the wound wasn't fatal, we were still exhausted and out of chakra. Besides, the fight had taken a toll on my body. I think several of my organs were damaged in some way, and although Kurama helped with that, it didn't stop the fact that I was in serious pain, and worn out so bad that I was even having trouble staying conscious.

"Don't pass out, kit." Kurama's rumbling voice echoed in my head, his deep voice a soothing sound in the situation, "Did you hear me? Stay awake! You have to stay conscious. If the Uchiha wakes up or if someone comes you have to stay alert for as long as possible, understand?"

"Kurama..." I coughed up blood, not caring that I was talking out loud, "Thank you...for the chakra..."

"Now's not the time for that. NARUTO. Stay with me!"

I coughed up more blood, my vision going blurry.

Sasuke's pale face, unconscious but alive, was the last thing I saw before I blacked out.

Kakashi's POV ~

"Pakkun, will the rain wash away the scent?"

The little ninken glanced back at me, his forehead even more wrinkled as he furrowed his brow. "We're close enough. I know where they are. Follow me!"

Pakkun hopped down the trees and over to the edge of a cliff.

Uh oh.

I recognized this place. The Final Valley.

This was where all the explosions were coming from.

"Down there!" 

Pakkun's voice brought me back to reality. We leapt down into the ravine, and my blood ran cold at the sight in front of me. 

Naruto and Sasuke were both injured and unconscious. Sasuke's injuries seemed bad but not exactly harmful, and he was breathing okay, but Naruto on the other hand...

Well, Naruto was barely breathing, and his pulse was weak. From what I saw, Kyuubi healed most of his wounds, but whatever happened during this fight took a toll on the blond.

The storm clouds parted, just slightly, allowing a slice of light through. The small glimmer of sunlight landed on Naruto's face, before slowly dwindling. Then it was gone completely.

My heart heavy, I lifted the two of them gently, and made our way back to Konoha.

Naruto POV~

When I first swam into consciousness, the first thing I noticed was that I was moving. Apparently, someone was carrying me, though I was still dizzy and didn't know for sure what was going on.

"Kakashi...sensei?"

"Hold on Naruto. We're almost there." was what I heard before I passed out again.

The second time I woke up, I was in a hospital. I was still unfocused, and I think someone was saying my name...?

The third time, though, was much better. I slowly cracked open an eyelid, drowsy but much more oriented than before. My mind was clear, at last, and I saw that almost every inch of my body was wrapped in bandages. There was nobody else on the other beds in the room, and overall, the space was airy and comfortable. The best it could be in a hospital, really. Soft sunlight filtered through the thin white curtains.

Memories of what happened came crashing back to me like a tsunami. I jolted upright, hissing when my wounds were jostled.

"Feeling better?"

I immediately cracked a smile. 'Kurama!'

I felt his mental eye-roll again. "You were asleep for ages. Thought you would never wake up."

'Awe. You didn't think that.' I smirked, 'You say that like you were so lonely without me to talk to you.'

"Wha-" Kurama spluttered, flustered again, "I wasn't lonely. I was just worried about you!"

I scoffed at him. 'Sure.'

Kurama grumbled and growled at me, but I knew him long enough to know that every word of mine was true. Kurama and I had gotten close in the several years that I've been talking to him, and even I was beginning to understand when he was embarrassed.

'Ya big stupid fox...'

"Brat." Kurama huffed. He paused. "Tsunade is coming. Act normal."

'I am so very normal.' I replied just as the blonde woman barged in.

"Naruto!"

Before I could respond, she engulfed me in a giant hug. 

"Baa-chan..."

She pulled away and flicked me on the forehead lightly. "You brat! I was worried about you!"

I pouted. "Baa-chaaaaan."

She crossed her arms and sighed, "I'm guessing you want to know about Sasuke? And your team?"

I nodded eagerly, and she smiled softly at my antics.

"Everyone who was on the mission is stable and well. As for Sasuke, he's recovering." Tsunade frowned slightly, "There currently aren't visitors allowed, and he's being kept under watch for some time, since he did try to leave the village and all."

I wasn't happy to hear this, but I understood enough to not talk back. She had a point, after all. Sasuke may be my best friend, but after trying something like that, it's only logical to be cautious. Kurama agreed. For some reason, he didn't seem to like Sasuke much, though he never said that to me out loud.

At my frown, Tsunade patted my shoulder and reassured me, "Don't worry about Sasuke. As long as he admits that he did something wrong and proves that he won't do it again, I'll make sure he's not punished severely. After all, Orochimaru's influence had a large impact on this, so technically, he's not 100% at fault here."

I nodded, smiling at her with that grin I know she loves. "Thanks...Baa-chan."

She fake glared at me. "Gaki."

Just then, the window was thrown open and a tall man with wild, spiky white hair hopped into the room.

"NARUTO!" he shouted, rolling on the floor and up on his feet, "Never fear! Here comes MASTER JIRAIYA!"

The instant he stood up, Tsunade bonked him on the head, tick mark on her forehead.

"Baka..." she grumbled. Snarled, more like. "This is a hospital. There are patients. Many of them trying to sleep."

"Aha..." he rubbed his head where Tsunade hit him. He grinned at me. "So, how ya doing, kid?"

"I'm fine now, Pervy Sage."

"That's good to hear." he paused and jerked up, "DON'T CALL ME PERVY SAGE!"

I laughed and pointed out quickly, "If I stopped calling you pervy sage then you would be wondering why, and you'll think there's something wrong with me, or that I've been kidnapped or something."

Jiraiya was taken aback for a moment. Tsunade bumped his shoulder.

"What? Kid got you speechless?"

"What do you - NO! It's just," he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Naruto, you can be unexpectedly sly sometimes. I'll get you back for this."

I laughed. "Sure. Pervy Sage."

Jiraiya grumbled under his breath but didn't talk back this time.

"Yo." came another voice at the window. I glanced up to see Kakashi sitting on the window sill, his Icha Icha in his hands.

"Am I the only normal person who uses a door?" Tsunade muttered.

"Hey, Kakashi sensei." I smiled. With my signature grin plastered on my face, I really managed to lighten the mood in this place. Kurama rumbled in agreement.

"You slept for quite a while, Naruto." Kakashi eye-smiled. He looked at me seriously. "I'm glad both you and Sasuke are alive and okay. It could've been a lot worse."

I thought back to when Sasuke shoved his Chidori into me, Kurama's help being the only reason I even survived. "Yeah, it could've."

The light atmosphere dropped a bit, but I laughed and said, "Well, it all ended well, right? Sasuke is back in the village, everyone survived the mission, and most importantly -"

"You're doing amazing?" Tsunade interrupted, irritated. 

I chuckled. "You took the words right out of my mouth."

"Gaki..." Tsunade tried to hide her smile and, I daresay, she was failing miserably.

"Miserably is a light way to put it. She can barely contain her laughter."

'You're right.' everyone in the room sweat-dropped at Tsunade's attempts.

Suddenly, I sensed Kurama stiffen. From the way his chakra felt, something just made him mad or wary. 

'What's wrong, Kurama?'

"It's that bitch...Sakura..."

I soured at this. 'Is she coming to visit me? Now? I honestly didn't think she would.'

"If she says anything stupid -"

At that moment, the door opened softly. The pink-haired girl stuck her head in. When her eyes landed on me, she looked away with a guilty look on her face. She seemed to regret something, while at the same time feeling angry. The conflicting emotions flitting across her expression were weird and just confusing me more.

I also noticed Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Kakashi's change in posture. I was a lot more observant than people thought. From the way they tensed and looked between Sakura and me, I guessed that they must know what went down between us recently. Tsunade was Sakura's mentor, after all, and Kakashi seems to know about everything. Jiraiya, being friends with them both and extremely protective of me, was even colder than the other two. 

I studied her face and sighed. In my read of the situation, I had forgotten that the grin had dropped from my face, revealing the sharp, calculating look I usually wore when no one was around. At least, that's what Kurama told me. Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Kakashi looked at me curiously, and I instantly picked up my smile again.

"Hi, Sakura." I said, ignoring that I hadn't called her Sakura-chan.

She went through another phase of dozens of emotions at once, from worry to anger to guilt and whatever else.

"Wow..."

"Naruto..." she started. I raised an eyebrow. The other three watched, clearly interested in the turn of events.

Just then, I felt Kurama jolt again, this time more harshly. Before I could ask why, though, the door burst open again, and three very angry elders came storming in.

"We need to have a talk about this boy." 

AN

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