• He couldn’t handle this.

    Uzumaki Naruto couldn’t handle the position of ANBU.

    Everyone had told him he shouldn’t do it, that he was too kind for such a heartless job. But there was no other way. To become Hokage one must have been in ANBU for at least five years.

    He was on his third.

    And it was driving him slowly insane.

    His nights were full of screams and blood and cries of innocent children that lost their familes, of wives that lost husbands. He woke up in a cold sweat every night, screaming at the top of his lungs.

    Once on a mission he’d done this and nearly killed Kiba who had tried to wake him up.

    Currently he was on another such mission.

    The target;

    A retired Shinobi who had been plotting against Konoha with a younger generation. He had two sons, a daughter, and a wife.

    And he had to kill all of them.

    And as his sword came down and their blood splattered onto his clothes and flesh, his sanity shattered.

    Sasuke was worried…

    He’d come back from his ANBU mission early and had figured Naruto would have been long done with his own. But when he asked Tsunade the woman said that he had yet to return.

    What had happened…?

    Naruto was usually the first to finish a mission; especially one so gruesome. He knew that the blonde hated his ANBU missions, that they were driving him slowly insane and eating away at his soul, but he also knew these was Naruto they were talking about- the blonde haired idiot that everyone loved and knew.

    He wouldn’t give in so easily-

    How wrong was he?

    Come on brat…You know you want to just to take of the seal… If you do you won’t have to feel anymore… I promise…

    The fox whispered in the blonde’s conscious as he held himself against the wall, his knee’s drawn to his chest and his face hidden in his knee’s, the soft ‘plit’ ‘plit’ of water dripping in the Kyuubi’s cage the only other sound that was heard.

    W-What if the fox was right…?

    He DID just want to forget…He wanted to forget everything- anything that had to do with the world outside of this chamber. He looked up then with distressed blue eyes and then reached his hand out towards the paper marked seal. His fingers brushed over the paper for a moment.

    He felt Kyuubi’s glee and triumphant aura as he did this and then he closed his eyes tight and ripped the seal off.

    His world exploded with a flash of red light and then everything went black as he sunk into his subconscious... The only thing passing though his head was this…

    What had he done?

    Kyuubi smirked as he took over the blonde’s body, all ready changing it’s appearance, the blonde’s blue eyes took on a blood red tint and then got a cat like slit down them, his hair grew longer and he had to use a tie to pull it back, he got just a bit taller and his fangs and claws also grew. He smirked lightly, such a foolish boy… So naïve.

    Tsunade was woken up from her slumber by a disturbing message. Naruto Uzumaki was attacking the village. She got up then quickly and ran to the window to see what was happening.

    And then she saw him.

    “…Kyuubi…” she growled under her breath. She knew the blonde couldn’t handle ANBU missions; she knew it was weakening his mind, but he had insisted… and she couldn’t deny him.

    “Get the Uchiha! He may be the only one who can stop this!” she said then as she jumped out the window.

    Kyuubi! I didn’t want you to attack the village!

    Sorry gaki… I guess I lied about being good… He smirked here and Naruto growled again,

    KYUUBI!

    But the fox just ignored him-

    That is until he felt a sudden chakra and when he turned he saw that Sasuke Uchiha was standing before him.

    “…Naruto…”

    Naruto looked up as he heard the voice vibrating though the cage, a hundred times stronger then normal, “Sasuke?” he looked around then, “Sasuke!”

    “…Let him go Kyuubi.” He growled then.

    “Oh? And what are you going to do about it? I can kill him right here and now if I wanted and just move on… I’m free now and he’s the one that’s caged. Like everyone wanted.” He smirked then and Sasuke’s eyes blazed in rage. “Naruto… I know you’re in there!” He thought.

    Kyuubi easily caught him by the neck and held him up of the ground, smirking as he squeezed his hand around his neck just a bit tighter, “…I could kill you right here and now…”

    “NO!” the blonde shouted then as he heard Kyuubi say this and he threw himself against the cages bars, they made a loud clanging sound but didn’t budge, “Don’t hurt Sasuke! Sasuke!” he cried out desperately.

    He flung himself against them again and cried out in pain as he did.

    Sasuke say a change go though the blonde’s eyes then and for a moment he saw the flash of blue and he knew the blonde was there- was fighting. Suddenly he felt the hand releasing him and he fell, coughing and spluttering to the ground.

    “…G-Get…get a-awa-y….” he looked up then and saw that the boy in front of him had one blue eye and one red eye and was slowly backing up, “…run!” as he said this he turned and ran in the opposite direction- towards the Hokage faces, he saw the blonde stagger slightly and he gave chase anyway.

    Naruto collapsed on top of the fourth’s head as he felt his body convulsing, he knew Sasuke had followed- he knew and he had to end this now.

    “…Kyuubi…Our lives end here now.” He said then as he took out a kunai.

    “Naruto!” The raven cried out as he saw the blade glistening in the sun light, he reached his hand out then as he ran; he was so close- just a bit more.

    Let me make it!

    Sasuke…

    I’m sorry…

    Sasuke…

    The blade came down as Naruto swung with all his might and stabbed himself in the abdomen, blood splattered the ground as he tossed his head back and cried out in pain, but his own cry was masked by the sudden roar of a great demon in pain.

    “YOU FOOL! YOU’LL KILL US BOTH!”

    The voice roared from his own mouth and he turned his head away, “Then so be it…” he took the knife out and more blood fell and his eyes meet Sasuke’s, he smiled weakly, then- turning away he closed his eyes and stabbed the kunai in for the second and final time.

    The roar that came from his throat was inhuman, it was full of pain and angst and then it faded and the blonde’s body fell forward, but he didn’t hit the ground as he was suddenly enveloped in strong, pale arms.

    “Naruto! Naruto please! Don’t go!”

    He looked up then as he felt something wet hitting his face and he saw for the first time Sasuke Uchiha crying…Crying over…over him?

    “…s-sas’ke… i’m…s-sorry…” he reached up then with a blood covered hand and touched the raven’s cheek which smeared with his crimson blood. “…i-i made a m-mistake…f-forgive me…”

    “No! No Naruto…You didn’t make a mistake…You didn’t…” the raven clung onto him tightly even as he felt the blonde’s breath turn harsh and he heard him trying to talk over the blood that was filling his mouth, he leaned in closer as the soft voice whispered-

    “…i-i…I lov-…ou…” and then the hand dropped and bright blue eyes faded.

    Faded until the raven’s was staring into a pair of lifeless eyes that even in death were still a brilliant shade of blue, “…n-naruto…NARUTO!” his angst-filled voice rang though the tree’s and though the village as he buried his face against the blonde’s neck, clinging to the body as he sobbed out his heart. He felt it breaking into little pieces all over again… and this time there was no beautiful blonde haired boy to pick up the pieces… to smile and laugh and fill his life with some meaning… to make him happy.

    His world had shattered the moment Naruto’s had.

    Tsunade rushed towards the Hokage Mountains, filled with a feeling of foreboding and dread. She stopped dead in her tracks as she saw the sight before her.

    “…n-no…” her eyes filled with tears and she fell to her knee’s only a few feet away from the darkly romantic scene.

    The blonde’s eyes were now closed and his body was held close against the raven’s chest as they both lay on the ground in a pool of their own blood which had mixed together as one. The raven’s hand was over the blonde’s, still gripping it tightly even in death. Their faces were only a few inches away from one another, and…

    They were smiling.

    Drip…drip…plit…plit.plit.plit.plit…

    Everyone was standing in front of the picture as the rain began to fall heavily down on the village.

    In the picture there was a blonde haired boy and a raven haired boy. The blonde had a wide grin on his face as he wrapped his arm around the other’s shoulders, who looked- if anything- annoyed by the blonde’s closeness, but even in the picture… His eyes couldn’t hide the truth, that he was just glad the blonde was with him.

    Everyone walked out, the sound of the rain and of people’s held back sobs the only thing that was heard as each of them laid a flower in front of the picture for their fallen friends; their family.

    Tsunade stood before all of them then, just next to the picture, wearing a long black dress as she bowed her head against the rain and tears.

    “…Today…” she had to pause to keep her voice straight, “…Today we honor the memory of two of Konoha’s finest Shinobi… Sasuke Uchiha and Uzumaki Naruto were two of the brightest and most skilled of their years… and would have gone far in this world if they had been given the chance…”

    “We all knew of Naruto’s kindness… his determination to make things right…to protect the ones he loved. He will be- and all ways will be… The greatest shinobi Konoha will ever know… and as such… I am giving him the title of sixth Hokage…For it should have been given to him a long time ago.”

    She continued from there until all had been said or all that had needed to be said, and as she did the rain began to stop and the sun started to come out and two figure’s were vaguely seen against the horizon as the sun set and if one was close enough they could see that one was a sullen looking raven haired boy and the other was a golden blonde.

    The two figures’s locked fingers then and looked at one another before they walked away into the sunset.

    And from that day…

    People say you can still see their silhouettes, hand and hand over the village.

    Watching over it for all eternity.