Naruto fell to his knees beside his fallen enemy's head.

Naruto looked down at Sasuke's peaceful face tenderly and only one thing could come to his shell shocked mind.

In death Sasuke was beautiful.

The malicious smirk that had once marred his face was wiped off and replaced with a small smile of sorts.

Naruto gently pushed the raven locks from his secret love's face as he examined him with a look almost akin to love. Almost.

Sasuke's pale face was more ivory than usual from the extreme blood loss that had caused his demise along with a pierced lung.

"S-sasu . . .ke. . . "Naruto muttered as his eyes glossed over and he tried to squelch the stabbing pain consuming his chest, from the stab wound or something else he didn't know.

He couldn't help the few tears that escaped as he remembered his long time rival's final words.

Sasuke fell forward as the katana protruding from his chest was viciously ripped from his body.

Naruto dropped his katana and turned his dying rival over with a look of shock passing over his face.

"T-teme! You're not supposed to die! You should-"

"N-naruto. . . "Sasuke cut his babbling short."I-I'm sorry I never told you but. . . . I a-always loved y-you, dobe." Not that it was the most appealing confession . . .

"!?" Naruto looked at him shell shocked.

"U-Usuratonkachi. Don't look at me like t-that! I-I always loved you. . . I just realized it now. T-the irony. . . "with that Sasuke reached out and gently touched the Jinchuuriki's cheek.

"You always w-were such an s-stubborn, caring idiot." Then Naruto felt something stab him strait through the bone white armor of his ANBU uniform.

He looked down to see that he was stabbed with his own katana. Only difference was the small sutra stuck to the blade. Naruto stared wide eyed before chuckling darkly.

"Now Kyuu can't heal me, lucky bastard." Naruto said with a smirk as blood fell from the side of his mouth. "I loved you too . . . bastard."he said causing Sasuke to chuckle and cough up blood.

"At least in death we can be together, eh . . . dobe?" Sasuke said with a relieved smile as he closed his eyes to never open them again.

Naruto smiled and pulled the katana from his body and fell beside the Uchiha teen.

As his eyes unfocused he could hear distant yells calling his name and trying to reach him.

'Fools. . .' he thought as a grin crossed his dying features. 'You're too late. . .'

./Others\.

Tsunade, Shizune, Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Sakura could only watch from afar as Naruto fell over and his eyes became distant.

"Naruto!" they yelled and ran faster towards the scene.

They all had similar reactions to the sight of the Uchiha and Uzumaki brats side by side. Dead.

Sakura fell to her knees and stared at them before looking away, tears falling, and her shoulders shaking.

Kakashi felt a stabbing pain attack his heart as he kneeled beside his last living student.

Jiraiya could only look away with a firm grim frown on his face.

Tsunade tried desperately to fight her falling tears as she watched her 'otouto' take his last breath.

Shizune looked on in utter horror before turning her head away and sobbing quietly.

"Don't look away." they all turned to Kakashi waiting for him to explain.

"This is the place where two shinobi fought and died for their beliefs; where two rivals had one last match to end it all; where two friends settled their differences for the last time; where two leaders fought and died for what they wanted most." he said watching as the sky darkened and a light snow began to fall.

Sakura felt the irony at the scene. It was so reminiscent of the mission to the land of Wave. She couldn't help but mutter out, "Naruto. . . Sasuke-kun. . . Are you. . . . crying?" as a few more tears slipped from her eyes.

Unbeknownst to them it was also the place of another thing. . .

It was the place where two Kindred spirits finally found each other

And expressed their love for each other. . .

For the first and last time.

They had learned to love each other. . .

In Death

-OWARI