Mine

So I don't have to keep telling everyone who asks: YES THIS STORY HAS A (mostly, sorta, kinda) HAPPY ENDING! Ye of little faith. (Although this chapter is full of lots of angst, just fyi. -_-")


Mine


"It's hard to say for sure, but the evidence does lead to one person..."

"WHO?" Naruto bellowed. Tsunade sighed.

"Sasuke."

Naruto had disappeared in a rage from the room before Tsunade had finished saying his name.


Chapter 13: In Shock


Naruto felt numb. He felt the utter rage of betrayal, but it seemed to be bubbling below the surface ready to explode at any moment. His body moved without conscious thought of where he was headed, but he knew instinctually where he was going.

Sasuke.

Naruto shook his head, burning tears falling down his face, unable to stop them, not caring to either.

Sasuke.

It was his fault, Naruto mused. His, not Sasuke's. He had led Sasuke on, and he had killed Sakura in his jealousy. He should have been able to stop all of this. He should have never given Sasuke any stupid ideas.

Sasuke.

But damnit! What the hell was Sasuke thinking? Sakura was his wife. He loved Sakura. And now he'd never be able to see her again. Sasuke was an asshole. Selfish. Uncaring. Didn't he see what he would do to Naruto? Sasuke didn't really care about him. He couldn't really care about him if he would murder Sakura.

Sasuke.

Naruto ground his teeth together in anger, anger at himself. How could he have been so foolish? Why had he been so obsessed over Sasuke? He'd spent three years of his life chasing the bastard, and more recently, he had been cheating on Sakura because of Sasuke. Why couldn't he get away from him?

Well he would now. He'd make sure he'd never see Sasuke ever again. He would have his revenge.

Revenge. Sasuke knew what that was like. Perhaps Naruto would regret his revenge as much as Sasuke regretted his, but at least Naruto would be justified. At least Naruto knew for sure that his revenge was not befuddled by twists and turns.

Sasuke!

"I hate you!" Naruto yelled.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Tsunade stretched as she walked into her office, rubbing at her eyes. She had had a nice dinner out at her favorite dango stand (that also happen to sell cheap sake), and she wasn't looking forward to getting back to her piles of paperwork after such a nice meal.

"I'm ready to be rid of this job," Tsunade mumbled to herself. Not feeling ready to get to work, Tsunade bypassed the chair of her desk and reached for the bottom drawer where she kept the sake hidden. She stopped mid-motion when she saw that her adjacent medical room door was open. Tsunade narrowed her eyes when she felt the familiar chakra signature in the other room, wondering what was going on.

Tsunade entered her medical room, and stopped short, taking in the scene before her.

Sakura's body lay on the medical table, her body half wrapped in traditional burial dressings. Her body seemed exceptionally kept for someone who had been dead for two weeks, and Tsunade was sure that someone had to have performed some jutsu on the body.

Tsunade's eyes trailed over to see herself hovering over Sakura's body carefully dressing it for a proper burial. Tsunade gasped. Tsunade had to do a double take before she realized it was Shizune, henged to look like the Hokage. It was clearly Shizune due to the chakra emanating from her, but Shizune's appearance startled her.

Why was Shizune in a henge, looking like her?

"I wondered when you would return from dinner," Shizune said, except that Tsunade's voice came from her lips, disapproving.

"What's going on?" Tsunade asked quietly, though she had a feeling she had a good idea. "Why are you in a henge that looks like me?" Shizune lifted the henge with the releasing seal. A dry sob wracked her body as she turned to look at her Hokage.

"How could you?" Shizune asked. "She was your pupil! You killed Sakura!"

"She tried to kill me. I'd be dead if Naruto and Sasuke hadn't showed up when they did. She's no pupil of mine. I gave her a chance to go and never come back. She should have stayed away when she had the chance," Tsunade said darkly.

"That was over a year ago that she attacked you! She was upset! She-"

"Why were you henged like me?" Tsunade demanded, cutting Shizune off. Shizune looked away from Tsunade as she put her face in her hands.

"How could you of all people be capable of something like this?"

"Her death was quick and painless. I even henged into Sasuke to try and make her death seem more justifiable to her. I thought in her last moments seeing Sasuke as her would-be-murderer might bring her some comfort as she would have expected it from him," Tsunade explained. She didn't bother to add that the recognition on Sakura's face clearly told Tsunade that Sakura hadn't fallen for it. But at least Tsunade had tried to make it as easy on Sakura as possible.

"You two were so close," Shizune said as she continued to wrap Sakura's body, a tear slipping down her face. "Would you do the same to me?" Shizune asked bitterly.

"Sakura and I were not that close. She and I had Naruto in common. I wouldn’t have agreed to train her if she hadn’t told me she wanted to be stronger for her teammates’ sake. And of course I wouldn’t kill you. You're like family. You would never try and harm me. Your attitude now proves that."

Tsunade's words didn't seem to comfort Shizune. Instead, she seemed more disgusted with herself than anything else.

"I couldn't believe it when I saw the wound," Shizune said, wiping the tear away. "But all the medical evidence was there. The amount of strength needed to lodge the kunai in that way clearly had to be a male with great upper body strength – or someone who could naturally enhance their strength. The angle of entry ruled out suicide as it's not physically possible for Sakura to have inflicted the wound in such a manner. The angle of entry also showed medical knowledge, precisely done in a manner that would kill the victim instantaneously, a style you were known for back during the last Great Shinobi War. It all pointed to you."

"You still haven't answered my question. Why were-"

"I told Naruto."

Tsunade was silent for a few moments.

"What?"

"I knew it was you. I panicked. I feared that someone in the hospital might have recognized Sakura’s body. The first person they would ask about her death would naturally be her husband, Naruto. So I called him here before someone else found him and told him anything. I henged into you and told him that Sasuke was the murderer."

"You told him what?!" Tsunade bellowed.

"What was I supposed to do?! I couldn't tell him it was you! And Sasuke seems the most obvious person with a motive to kill Sakura."

"Why tell him it was Sasuke then?! If Naruto does something foolish, he might try and kill Sasuke. Without Sasuke, that’s like a death sentence for Naruto…" Tsunade trailed off.

"I thought about it! Of course Naruto wouldn’t try and kill Sasuke. He’s probably the only person who he wouldn’t kill for killing Sakura. And this is your fault! You killed Sakura and then didn't even dispose of her body properly. Oh dear kami-sama! Poor, poor Sakura!" Shizune moaned, her hands coming up and stroking Sakura's cheek gently. "You didn't deserve this."

"Why the hell didn't you wait for me? Why didn't you find me?" Tsunade asked furiously. Shizune didn't answer her, but the way that Shizune's eyes looked at Sakura's body she had a feeling. "You were afraid I was going to kill you too?" Tsunade asked quietly. Shizune avoided the question.

"Why bury her body? You should have disposed of it better," Shizune said bitterly, wiping tears from her face.

"A body had to be present for proof later on. It wasn't as though I could keep the body lying around here, not with Kiba and Akamaru coming in here to report missions. They would be able to recognize her smell."

"Proof, what proof?" Shizune asked.

"Of my treachery, of course," Tsunade said, as though that point were obvious.

"What?" Shizune said, aghast.

"I'm getting too old for this job, and I'm tired of it. Finding the dead wife of Naruto at my hands, the villagers would demand for him to replace me as Hokage in their outrage. No one would ever ask me to look at another damnable report again, and Naruto would be thrust into office with more than welcoming arms, even from those who had opposed him before. Sasuke and he would end up together, and Sasuke would make sure to take care of Naruto when I leave."

"Leave? Tsunade – what you're talking about is utter insanity! No one would let you leave! You would be tried and-"

"Do you think I would be around for that? I have been making preparations to leave before her body was found," Tsunade paused, putting a hand to her head and rubbing her temple. "This whole situation has become problematic."

"You talk of this as it is nothing? What's wrong with you? What happened to the Tsunade that-"

Tsunade turned on Shizune.

"I have seen people die Shizune! I have been unable to save far too many. I have protected Konoha as best I can, and my best is not good enough. The only other person besides you that I care about, who is still living and breathing is Naruto, and Sakura's meddling could have killed him. She had the nerve, the nerve, to make an attempt on my life. I taught her! I taught her and she tried to kill me-"

"She was drunk-"

"Tipsy at best! The ANBU guards were right. Once I had sobered up, and after Sakura had left, I was able to look at things in a clearer focus."

Shizune took a look at Tsunade, shaking her head.

"You've been drinking. You were probably drinking then. You-you're not in your right mind," Shizune said, as though trying to make up excuses for Tsunade, trying not to recognize that Tsunade had gone mad.

"I'm fine," Tsunade snapped, waving her hand around. "Now, things have changed. I need to rearrange some things due to your lapse in judgment about telling Naruto about Sakura."

Shizune looked outraged that Tsunade had the nerve to tell her that she had a lapse in judgment, but wisely kept her mouth shut.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

"Where the hell are you, you bastard?!" Naruto bellowed, as he searched through their – no, Naruto had to stop calling it that – Sasuke's home. Naruto felt sick with himself as he looked around. He had found solace here when he shouldn't have. Sakura had left, and he'd enjoyed being with Sasuke so much more than he should have in her absence.

An overwhelming sense of guilt washed over Naruto. He knew that type of lengths that Sasuke went through when he truly desired something. And part of Naruto had a hard time blaming Sasuke for wanting to stay with Naruto so he wouldn't have to be alone. Naruto knew that he was the only person that Sasuke was truly close to. If Naruto were to limit his interaction with Sasuke due to Sakura's return, Naruto could understand the fear that Sasuke had probably felt – though the bastard would never admit it – of the knowledge that he would be alone again.

Naruto cursed. What was wrong with Sasuke? Didn't he know that Sasuke was the one that kept him alive? Didn't he know that Naruto needed Sasuke? And not just for physical needs but emotional ones as well. Sasuke was his friend. His BEST friend. And yes, Sasuke was right. Naruto cared more about his friend than he had his wife.

But that hadn't meant the fucking bastard could kill her! Naruto loved Sakura. She was his wife. His dear Sakura...

Naruto wept openly. She was gone. He had lost her. And he had lost Sasuke too.

What was Sasuke thinking? How could Sasuke expect Naruto to be with him if he killed Sakura? It just didn't make sense! Sasuke was a genius – he should know better! Naruto shook his head. Sasuke should know better, but there were time that Naruto knew his friend...his lover...didn't think rationally.

Naruto cursed at himself. Even though Sasuke had killed Sakura, he couldn't bring himself to hate the bastard. Still, he couldn't bring himself to want to be with the bastard either. He could never again have sex with him knowing that Sasuke had murdered Sakura.

If he couldn't do that...

Naruto swallowed, knowing what the implications meant. No Sasuke. No sex. No Naruto.

It was the only thing that Naruto could think of to make up for being partially responsible for Sakura's death – forfeit his own life.

But it scared Naruto. He didn't want to die, not really. But he couldn't be with Sasuke again. Without Sasuke around, Naruto would slowly die. Yet he didn't want to just die, wasting away as his body gave out on him without properly balancing his yin and yang. He was a ninja – a shinobi. A shinobi died fighting.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled again, banging around the outside of the Uchiha complex, looking for Sasuke. "This is your fault! You have to help me fix it!" When Naruto still couldn’t find Sasuke outside near his house, Naruto went inside to wait for him. His anger couldn’t be contained.

"Argh!" Naruto cried out in frustration as he punched a hole in Sasuke’s wall, his chest heaving as a dry sob wracked through his body. He sank to the floor and began to cry. Naruto swiped a hand across his eyes, wiping at his tears. Looking at the back of his hand at his tears, Naruto got an idea.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Sasuke walked through the streets of Konoha, scanning the crowds for any sign of pink hair. He couldn't help himself. Sakura's return would mean a drastic change in the relationship he and Naruto had formed over the past year. And after today...

Sasuke closed his eyes, allowing a smile to grace his lips. Naruto had come to him, willingly. Sasuke hadn't instigated anything, and Naruto had even let them fool.

Licking his lips, Sasuke wondered if he could ask something of Naruto he had been curious about for some time. With his sharingan activated, Sasuke was able to watch Naruto's body move, watch the tremors that shook through his body. Sasuke was curious. What would it be like if Naruto were to be inside of him?

The idea made Sasuke shiver excitedly, knowing that would mean that their sex had nothing at all to do with keeping Naruto's chakra balanced: just pure, blissful, lovemaking. The idea made him aroused, and he adjusted his loose pants just in case anyone bothered to look.

Once, when he and Naruto had been drinking, he'd managed to wriggle out of Naruto that having anal sex was more stimulating, more intense, than having his cock fucked. Sasuke smirked. The idea that he truly could give Naruto better and more intense sex than Sakura made Sasuke's head swell.

Sasuke sighed. Once again thinking about Sakura made his arousal deflate. He whimsically wished she would return and divorce Naruto, claiming that she had realized that Sasuke was the better choice for Naruto. Wouldn't that just be perfect? He doubted that would happen though. Still, he'd been thinking...

He had a feeling that Naruto might be adverse to an idea Sasuke had, might even hate Sasuke for suggesting it, but he was also sure that Naruto would agree to it in the end. Sasuke also had a feeling that Sakura would agree to it too. Sasuke had been thinking long and hard about how to make Sakura's return easier – on him. He was selfish, and he knew it. He knew Naruto might not like the concept of Sasuke's idea at first, but Sasuke was sure Naruto would forgive him for suggesting it even if Naruto said no. Sasuke would go through with it – unwillingly so – if it meant he wasn't cut off from Naruto.

If Sakura agreed, Sasuke had contemplated – his arousal was completely and utterly gone now – asking Sakura if she'd be willing for a threesome. If Sasuke could include Sakura, perhaps Naruto and he could still be together? Then again, Naruto might feel jealous if Sakura said yes. He had a feeling the idea of Sakura with him might be a sore spot for Naruto. Naruto would get over it though, and forgive him, once he saw that they could work out that way. If he could stand to be in a threesome with Sakura, certainly everything would be okay then, wouldn't it?

Sasuke took another fleeting glance around the crowded market area, wondering if he would spot Sakura. He was sure that she would probably head for Naruto first, but that didn't stop him from looking around to ask her about his idea before she got to Naruto and requested he come right back to her. Sasuke was in no particular rush at the moment, although he saw his destination in front of him. This time as he searched the crowd, he looked for Naruto's mop of blond hair. The last he had seen Naruto, he had been sleeping peacefully in their bed. Even so, Naruto might have woken up hungry since then, and everyone knew that Ichiraku Ramen was Naruto's favorite place to eat. Sasuke was slightly disappointed that he didn’t get a chance to meet Naruto there, but no matter. He was there to get take out anyway.

"Four take out pints of miso ramen," Sasuke ordered as he got up to the counter. The owner smiled at him.

"Having Naruto over for dinner while his wife is away?" Teuchi asked. Sasuke merely nodded. Apparently to the ramen storeowner a large order of miso ramen and Naruto went hand in hand. Though Teuchi's choice of words made Sasuke wonder. Sakura had been gone for over a year. He wondered if Teuchi was implying something else about Naruto and him. Sasuke idly wondered if anyone suspected the two of their... affair. They had always spent a lot of time together, so it might not seem suspicious if the two of them were together even more with Sakura gone. He wondered if their relationship seemed suspicious to anyone. If so, it didn't bother Sasuke any what others thought, though he had a feeling it might bother Naruto some.

After a few minutes of waiting, Teuchi handed him the bag of take out. Sasuke handed the man the money along with a hefty tip before heading back to his home.

Home. It had only been home again since Naruto had moved in. Sasuke closed his eyes, praying that it would still feel like home when Sakura returned.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Sasuke frowned when he heard a crash inside of his home. He could feel Naruto's chakra spiking, and he hoped Naruto was okay. He was probably just training. Normally Sasuke would have said something to Naruto about training inside his house, but he didn't want anything to spoil any more Sakura-free time before her return. As Sasuke opened the door, he was surprised as Naruto stood in front of the door looking at him enraged.

Naruto snarled as he threw red pepper powder into Sasuke's eyes. Sasuke cried out in pain dropping the pints of ramen as he rubbed furiously at his eyes before his brain caught up with his instinctual reaction, realizing rubbing would just make it worse. It burned so much!

"Now you won’t be able to use your fucked up sharingan!" Naruto yelled angrily.

"What the fuck Naruto?!" Sasuke yelled in anger as his eyes continued to burn, his eyes tearing up at the intense pain.

"I wish I'd never met you!" Naruto yelled. The way in which those words came from Naruto's lips caught Sasuke off guard as a pain even worse than the horrible burning in his eyes ripped through his heart.

Sasuke grunted as Naruto punched his face and then his shoulder.

"Fight back!" But Sasuke refused. Something was seriously wrong. For Naruto to attack him without warning as soon as he got home, and for Naruto to use red pepper powder on his eyes wasn't like him at all. Naruto knew that it made it near impossible for Sasuke to use his sharingan with that, and Naruto had never done that because it was like saying Sasuke needed a handicap for Naruto to win. That would wound Naruto’s pride. Something was horribly, horribly wrong. Why was Naruto attacking him so viciously? Sasuke wasn't about to fight back until he knew why.

"Stop Naruto! What the hell is going on?" Sasuke raised his arm to block Naruto's punch. Not fighting didn't mean he would let himself be used a punching bag though. Even so, the pepper in his eyes seared so much it really would be hard to fight back.

"Fight damnit!" Naruto said as he punched Sasuke in the stomach.

"Naruto-" Sasuke gasped out, pain searing through his eyes.

"Why aren't you fighting me?" Naruto began to cry.

"I don't-"

"I know it was my fault, but why?!" Naruto screamed. Sasuke kept his eyes shut in his pain, trying to get away from Naruto, running down the hall into the kitchen and to running water.

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke cried over his shoulder as he fumbled around blindly, the pain intensifying as his eyes burned badly.

"It should have been me, you bastard!"

"Wha-"

"Kill me!" Naruto cried as he pushed Sasuke, throwing something at him. Sasuke grunted as he felt the familiar weight of his sword shoved into his stomach by its hilt. He let himself fall to the ground, refusing to get up. A cold fear dripped through Sasuke at Naruto's words. It was hard for him to think with Naruto yelling at him, and the pain that burned his eyes. "Just a kunai?! Why not at least your sword? That would have been more honorable than a kunai!"

'Kill Naruto? Naruto wants me to kill him? My sword? What is Naruto doing with my sword? What kunai is he talking about?' Sasuke stayed still on the floor, hoping Naruto would stop fighting so they could talk – and so Sasuke could treat his eyes.

"Get up!" Naruto bellowed between sobs. Sasuke put his arm over his eyes, putting pressure on them, wildly hoping the cloth would absorb some of the pepper from the water his tears provided. He could feel Naruto getting closer to him. Sasuke didn't flinch when Naruto kicked him. "I said get-"

Sasuke kicked Naruto's legs from out from under him. Naruto fell to the floor, still sobbing. Sasuke rolled on top of Naruto, using his body weight to pin Naruto beneath him.

"What is going on?! What's the matter with you?" Sasuke demanded, placing his eyes firmly against the crook in Naruto's shoulder to stop the searing pain.

"You're the matter with me! This is all your fault," Naruto said, sobbing harder as his body began to shake with sobs. "No...it's mine. I should never have led you on..." Sasuke swallowed hard.

"Wh-what? Is it about Sakura. Is she-"

"Don't you dare talk about Sakura!" Naruto hissed, struggling again as he pushed Sasuke off of him. Sasuke grunted as he figured it must mean that whatever Naruto was upset about had to do with Sakura.

"What's wrong Naruto?!" Sasuke demanded frantically, trying and failing to keep his panic hidden. He was never good at hiding his emotions from Naruto. If it had been anyone else, Sasuke wouldn't have lost his cool.

"FIGHT!" Naruto yelled, flinging Sasuke's beloved sword back into his stomach. Still practically blinded, Sasuke grasped Kusanagi in his hand. He put it in a defensive position in front of him. Blearily he could make out Naruto coming to attack him with a kunai in each hand.

"Stop!" Sasuke demanded, holding his sword in front of him to try and deflect the kunai in Naruto’s hands.

The next moment, Sasuke almost felt like he had his sharingan activated because of how slow Naruto seemed to move as he attacked. Sasuke didn't move his sword, figuring he would try and block the kunai attack if he could. Instead, at the last minute, Naruto twisted his body, dropping the kunai to the ground in a clatter of metal on tile.

Naruto's words from earlier, "Kill me!" rang through Sasuke's ears, and a horrible realization of what Naruto was trying to do dawned on him. At the last moment, Sasuke twisted the sword to his left, but was caught off guard as Naruto's whispered words contradicted with his enraged movements.

"I love you," Naruto murmured.

Time seemed to speed up again as Sasuke felt his sword slice through flesh before he blurrily watched and heard the sickening thud of Naruto's body hit the ground.

Sasuke stood in shock for half a second before screaming.

"NARUTO!"


Next Chapter: The True Killer


::hobbles away as fast as possible on crutches away from angry readers:: Oh come on! Did you honestly expect Sasuke to kill? Sasuke’s not that stupid.

Please excuse any errors in this chapter as there might be more than usual. I edit my own fics, but as I’ve had surgery this week, I’ve noticed the pain meds are making me a little loopy and dizzy. (Walking on crutches while being dizzy is not fun – though funny for others as they watch me.)

Look for an update within the next week and a half.

Let me know what you thought of this chapter! ~ Jelp