Authors Note:

Sorry it took so long for me to update !

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, if I did then Kabuto would be called 'Orochimaru's bitch'.

I mean, come on, he so is.

Italics : character thought

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Dead Last

Naruto was blind. He couldn't see a thing. But that was probably due to the fact that his Hitake was covering his eyes. Sasuke had insisted; demanded, that he be blindfolded. Quite why, Naruto didn't know. All he knew was that the raven-haired Uchiha was dragging him along by the hand to some unknown location. He stumbled over a rock of some sort, but the other boy didn't pause. The blonde found himself struggling to regain his footing as he was led down a slope that appeared to be covered in all kinds of obstacles. Sticks kept getting caught under the impaired ninja's feet, tripping him constantly.

"Sas-uke!" Naruto dug his heels into the ground and pulled against the Uchiha's grip with all his might, eventually slowing the raven-haired boy to a stop.

"What!?"

Naruto caught the hard edge in the other boy's voice and bit down on his lip a little before shaking his head.

"N-nothing" He was positive he felt his shoulder leaving its socket as Sasuke once again resumed his frantic pace.

Why the big rush?

After what seemed like an age, Sasuke slowed down and Naruto breathed a sigh of relief-but it was cut short, as he found himself being shoved in the small of the back.

When had Sasuke moved?

"Climb."

And when did he start giving orders?

Muttering to himself, the blonde ninja began to blindly scramble up the trunk of the tree in front of him. All of a sudden, he felt those familiar cool fingers lock around his wrists and yank him upwards.

How does he move so fast?

Shortly afterwards, the fox ninja found himself sat on the large branch (or that's what it felt like) of a tree, still blindfolded. He couldn't help but be a little doubtful of this 'surprise' or 'secret', or whatever-it-was that Sasuke so desperately wanted to show him. After all, here he was, sat in a tree, with no sight and only his thin training clothes on. And man, was it cold. The young ninja tensed a little as he felt something brush against his cheek, but it was only the other boy's hand reaching round to untie the headband that blinded him. Just as he felt the material begin to slide down, anticipating finally regaining his sight, the blonde found his eyelids fluttering shut once more.

Why?

A breath of air tickled his nose before lips slammed down on his own.

Oh…that's why.

Naruto eagerly fought back against the mouth pressed against his own, but still found himself being forced back against the trunk of the tree. Fear of losing his balance and tumbling down however far it was to the ground made the blonde cling onto the material of the other boy's shirt for grim death. In response, Sasuke groaned and slammed Naruto back against the tree with the hand he had placed on his chest. Quite when, Naruto didn't know. The Uchiha began to bite down on the other boy's lower lip, tugging at it and drawing blood. The fox ninja winced a little in pain and opened an eye, to find that his forehead protector had only slipped down on one side, remaining over one eye and obscuring his vision. He felt the teeth withdrawing from his lip, only to have his mouth invaded by the other boy's tongue. Determined not to be dominated so easily the blonde began to wrestle the intruding tongue with his own. Unfortunately at that moment in time a strong gust of wind chose to hit them, making Naruto wobble on the branch. His grip on Sasuke's shirt tightened and the fingers on his other hand latched onto the nearest thing-which happened to be Sasuke's carefully styled hair. The young ninja was sure he had yanked out a good handful of dark hair, but rather than grimacing in pain Sasuke moaned in pleasure and began to slide his hand underneath the Kitsune's vibrantly coloured shirt. The cold skin ghosting over his own made the blonde shiver; he had forgotten that it was the middle of the night and practically sub-zero. His teeth began to clatter together, catching the Uchiha's tongue as it continued to roam his mouth.

Reluctantly, the black-haired ninja drew away from the warm body that was pressed so close to his own. The (slightly) smaller boy was shaking with cold and his skin had a pale bluey sheen. Even his hair was tinged blue in the eerie morning light, reminding Sasuke of a night that seemed so long ago now.

--

Flashback

"Ne Nii-san where are we going? …Nii-san?" Sasuke hurried after his brother, who hadn't spoken a word for a good 20 minutes. The little boy could barely keep up with his brother's swift pace, even when running. He had no idea why he was chasing his sibling through the bustling streets of Konoha in the early hours of the evening. All he knew was that he had been woken from his nap by a harsh prod in the forehead by a giant, shadowed monster looming over his bed. He had opened his mouth to scream, but a gloved hand covered his mouth, muffling the sound that was trying to escape. Just when he thought he was going to suffocate, a shaft of sunlight had shone through the open window and revealed that the monster was, in fact, his brother. He was still dressed in his ANBU uniform, having clearly just got back from a mission. The stale scent of blood and sweat clung to him, but Sasuke didn't care. To be the centre of his brother's attention was his wildest and most unfulfilled dream. It seemed like Itachi never had time for him; he was always 'busy' or 'training'.

Now, 20 minutes later, he was struggling to keep up with the 'Uchiha prodigy'. All he'd said since he'd prodded Sasuke awake was 'follow me'. He hadn't mentioned where they were rushing to, or why. Nevertheless, Sasuke followed him blindly, glad for the long-awaited attention from his idol.

They spent what seemed like an impossibly long time tramping first through Konoha and then through forest, until the last landmark known to Sasuke (the training field) was far, far behind them. Finally, Itachi stopped. It was so sudden, that His younger brother very nearly crashed straight into him, but he smoothly sidestepped and his brother slid to a halt a few feet in front of him.

Itachi offered no explanation as he seized his sibling around the waist and leapt up into the tallest tree in the clearing they had arrived in. Sasuke sat patiently beside his beloved Nii-chan for a good hour before becoming restless, and eventually breaking the silence.

"Ne, Nii-chan what are we waiting for? It's going to be dark soon!" He tugged at his brother's arm, but Itachi merely shrugged him off before looking pointedly at the horizon. From where they were sat, they had a panoramic view of the whole village.

"Just watch." Even the persistent younger boy knew when to be quiet, and the harsh tone in Itachi's voice told him it was one of those times.

And so Sasuke sat next to his silent, blood-covered brother and watched the sun setting over Konoha. His young mind marvelled at the brilliant orange and cold hues of the clouds hanging over the village. The sight was quite simply breath taking.

Once darkness had descended, Itachi silently leapt down to the forest floor once more, signalling for Sasuke to follow him home. He did so in almost silence, his soft breathing combined with the light pitter-patter of his sandals and the rustling of his clothes the only noise he made.

Itachi never explained why he had taken his brother to that clearing. Sasuke only spoke to him once more after that; the next night he murdered the entire Uchiha clan, save for his younger brother.

Looking back, Sasuke viewed this as 'The Sun setting on his life'.

After that, Sasuke's life had been destroyed; he had deemed it irreparable, but now he was going to set things right. The curse his brother had cast on him would be broken. He hoped it would be.

End Flasback

--

Naruto was shivering, his teeth gently clacking together, the sound reminding Sasuke just how cold it was. He noticed that the exposed skin on his arms was covered in goosebumps and that his own teeth where chattering. To counter this, he huddled closer to Naruto, trying to conserve what little body heat they had left. A sudden urge to stroke the other boy's cheek surfaced and he tried and failed miserably to overcome it. He could feel the blood rushing to his own cheeks as his hand slowly traced the whisker like markings on the blonde's face.

Why do I feel nervous all of a sudden?

His stomach twisted uncomfortably as a million different scenarios flashed through his mind; all of them ending in rejection, failure. But he wasn't going to fail; not now he had come so far, so close to finishing this. He intended to end this terrible chapter in his life and start anew. This time, he wasn't going to be alone.

"Ne Sasuke, why are you gritting your teeth?"

The other boy's eyes were narrowed in suspicion.

"Why are we here? I thought you were going to show me something?"

Sasuke couldn't help but grin a little at the comical expression on Naruto's face.

He looks so… adorable when he's curious.

Rather than answer straight away, the Uchiha re-arranged his body so that he was facing t East-away from the village. Naruto copied him, a puzzled look still plain on his features, muttering complaints under his breath all the while.

"Saaas-uuuke" Naruto moaned, exaggerating each syllable. "What are we waiting f-" he began, whilst shuffling around in a feeble attempt at trying to get comfortable.

"Ssssh" Sasuke cut him off, but didn't stop gazing out at the horizon. "It's about to begin"

At this, Naruto narrowed his eyes once more.

"What is?"he hissed "Stop being so weird and tell me already!"

His mouth formed a perfect pout that Sasuke could see from the corner of his eye, but he resisted the temptation to kiss those heavenly lips and succeeded in keeping his eyes staring straight ahead. The sky ahead was lightening, and so too was his heart. It felt as if it had expanded and filled his entire chest. His lungs felt as if they were being crushed, his breathing was staggered and his heart was pounding so hard at his ribcage he felt like he was about to break.

If this doesn't work, then I will break. I'll shatter into a million pieces that can't be gathered again.

"This is starting Naruto" he whispered, the words catching in his dry throat. "Our Life"

As the first rays of rose-hued light broke across the horizon, Sasuke slipped his hand into Naruto's, immediately feeling a rush of warmth when the other boy did not pull away. In fact, he too was focusing on the glowing light that was growing ahead of them. Sasuke felt him squeeze lightly on his hand, as if to assure him that he was still there.

And so the two young ninja's; one with inky-black hair and equally dark obsidian eyes, the other with a bright blonde shock of hair and brilliant blue eyes, sat hand in hand, legs swinging beneath them.

Their heads leant together as sun began to appear, casting a golden glow across the clouds above them. The two very different colours of their hair mixed in the light early-morning breeze as they waited together with their backs to the village which had shunned and labelled them. Last.

Eventually, the sun rose into the sky, signalling a new dawn. A new start, only this time they weren't alone. They were together and the very first to see it.

This time they weren't the last, Sasuke had made sure of that.

--

Authors Note:

Argh! This totally didn't turn out right! I don't know where that crappy mushy ending came from ! I'm sorry!

I might edit it if I think of something better...

Reviews appreciated

I need some tips on how to improve my writing, as you can probably see...