A/N: This has slight spoilers up to chapter 307 of the manga. This is just my take on how things end between Naruto and Sasuke, but as the manga is on-going, this fic will probably be somewhat AU after the newest chapters come out. Oh well….sigh Anyway, there is ever-so-slight NaruSasu, but really only if you are looking for it. Still, if that bothers you, ignore it…

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters at all or ever…

The Most Beautiful Thing

Naruto stood over the body of his fallen teammate and thought it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. The young man's body lay spread out on the hard earth, his own katana sticking out of a gaping wound in his chest, bright red blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth where he had gagged and coughed in one final breath, his left arm snapped gruesomely below the elbow, his cold right hand still clutching the necklace Tsunade had given Naruto all those years ago…

And so Naruto wept, silently and bitterly, for the young man who lay there before him, his features perfect even in death, eyes closed as if he were just about to wake and stand up and perhaps smirk at the blond and call him "dumbass" for even trying to kill him…but he didn't move, couldn't move, wouldn't ever move again—the boy who had killed one of the legendary three; the boy who had escaped from Sound, leaving Kabuto's body in indistinguishable chunks; the boy who had killed his own brother…then had come after Naruto…

"I killed him," he had smirked, "I killed that man because I am an avenger…" and Naruto's eyes had been filled with both horror and hope. "I killed that man, and I didn't even have to kill you to do it…" he had given a lifeless chuckle at that and drawn his katana, the very one he had already tried to use to kill Naruto, a lifetime ago, it seemed.

"Sasuke…" Naruto had breathed, then growled the other man's name again. "You don't have to do this, then, you can come back…you…you've achieved your goals now…and…" but Naruto knew it was a lie, it was merely a dream. Sasuke was wanted dead, even if he had eliminated two huge threats to the village. That only meant he was powerful—too powerful for comfort.

"Hmph," Sasuke's smirk turned into a look of disgust. "I really do want to fight you Naruto, since our last fight was prematurely ended…"

Naruto could vividly remember their first encounter after two and a half years of training—how Sakura had held so much pain in her eyes and Sai had merely stood there, taking it all in…how Sasuke had been so close, drawing his katana…

But Naruto had grown stronger, immeasurably so, in the three years since that time. After Sasuke had killed Orochimaru, he had been impossible to find. The only reason Naruto now stood facing him was because Sasuke had chosen to be found.

Their clash had been surprisingly short—the only things Naruto truly remembered, the things that were emblazoned in his mind, were the glint in Sasuke's dark eyes and the roar of the Kyuubi in his ears…

And right when Sasuke could have easily thrust his katana deep into Naruto's heart, he hesitated, and Naruto grabbed his left arm and twisted…Sasuke didn't even flinch at the sickening sounds of bones popping and breaking; he only smirked, his katana having been dropped. Naruto picked up the weapon without much thought just as Sasuke lunged at him, and then there was a hollow choke and a spray of red as blade met flesh…

Sasuke's dark eyes fixed on Naruto's as he grabbed the blond's hands still holding the hilt of the katana and slowly impaled himself further…Naruto's eyes grew wide in shock as Sasuke forced his own blade through muscle and bone…then the dark-haired boy stumbled, allowing Naruto to release his grip on the hilt and grab Sasuke by his shoulders to steady him. Sasuke easily slumped against the other boy, the katana in his chest hanging over Naruto's right shoulder. Sasuke's mouth was pressed against Naruto's ear and the blond could feel the dying boy's erratic heartbeat against his chest…

"Why..?" Naruto whispered painfully. Sasuke inhaled sharply and tried to chuckle, but it only came out as a choked sob.

"I killed…that man…" Naruto could feel Sasuke's lips, already going cold, against the shell of his ear, and he shuddered. "I killed him…and now…there is…nothing else…"

"Why…?" Naruto repeated, now supporting his former teammate's entire weight, Sasuke slumping more every second. "What about…what about your clan…?"

"It dies with me…no one else…no one should…have to…bear this pain…no one else…I realized…we are all cursed…" Sasuke's voice was soft but still strong.

"What about Sakura, what about me!" Naruto half-sobbed. At that, Sasuke used his last remaining strength to reach up and push himself out of Naruto's grip. He took a few uneasy steps back, then fell, and Naruto knew he had never seen anything as graceful as the flutter of Sasuke's dark clothes or the way his hair framed his face or how the katana sticking out of his chest seemed to be some lever to turn the whole world on its axis as the young man fell—eyes wide—to the hard earth.

Naruto couldn't move, but his eyes locked with Sasuke's as the dying man gave a small smile…

"Thank you." It was barely audible, but Naruto saw Sasuke's lips tremble and form the words. Then he coughed violently and bright red blood bubbled from his pale lips. His eyes fluttered closed and Naruto didn't know why he hadn't noticed how thick and dark Sasuke's eyelashes were until that very moment…

So Naruto stood there for a moment longer, knowing that Sasuke wasn't going to move again or breathe again and that's when he realized that Sasuke had ripped Tsunade's necklace from his neck and that Sasuke was dead…Oh god, Sasuke was dead and he would have to pry it from Sasuke's cold, dead fingers if he ever wanted the necklace back…

And so that's how they found him, kneeling over a lifeless body, clutching something tightly, his hands pressed against his chest, sobbing openly and bitterly because there was blood everywhere, blood all over him, blood that had belonged to the one person he had truly wanted to be friends with, to be acknowledged by, to see happy…and he had killed him, and he was dead, and though his last words had been "thank you," the other boy knew he had meant "sorry" and "forgive me" and "I acknowledge you" and everything else that was left unspoken between the two…