Darkness

Disclaimer and A/N: Hey y'all.. I don't own Naruto yet.. and well here it goes with my notes... /'s designate that it's thought and **'s designate flashbacks...I like the way that I can fall into my stories when I'm writing them.. I feel like it's only natural... Anyways... I believe that I can get a lot of chapters done today... :P Have fun and enjoy.


Chapter 7:The Fox and the Rabbit

Naruto's breathing started to become shallow, as his body began to shut down. The coldness that surrounded his body was slowly killing him, and he was too uncaring about that now. All he cared about was the sunset that he was seeing with Sasuke in his mind. How the hands surrounded him, and kept him warm, even in the chilly breeze that flew by. A smile was etched into his frozen face, as he still dazed, not realizing that this was going to be the last smile he'd have.

Sasuke panted as he continued to run through the streets, following the quickly disappearing footprints in the snow. "Damnit! Why did I have to say those things to Naruto!" He yelled out, feeling the same guilt he had when he saw his parents dead. /Yet I can't dwell on that now! I MUST find Naruto. MY NARUTO!/ He screamed out again. "NARUTO!" He was hoping that he could get a responce, though he knew that the snow drowned out his voice.

His eyes watered, but he wouldn't let himself cry, not now, not in the most important situation he's ever been in. "NARUTO!" He yelled out once more, trying to get a responce. Sasuke stopped for a second and panted, trying to gather his breath. He didn't want to end up like Naruto. Yet he could hear the rumors in the Leaf Village now.

"Sasuke Uchiha dn Naruto Uzumaki both found dead, and it seemed that they were looking for something."

"Maybe it was each other?" Sakura would only fan the flames. "Yeah, I saw a note that said that they were lovers." He knew she wouldn't betray him, but what if she did? What if she would have told the whole village if both he and Naruto die, or even if Naruto died.

/Can't think of that now!/ He scolded himself, as he summoned his chakra into his body. "Dragon Flame Jutsu!" Sasuke screamed, as he let the flames from his mouth shoot out and melt some of the snow in front of him. It seemed time stopped for a moment as he saw a small flower on the ground, and an orange butterfly sitting on top of it. "N-Naruto?" He stammered as he saw it. The butterfly flapped its wings and darted off towards where the footprints led. In the back of his mind, he knew that this was a sign, a sign that he could follow to Naruto.

Even as he began to follow it, the storm grew fiercer, winds blew from all directions, as the snow threatened to engulf the whole village. Yet, Sasuke perservered, he didn't want to lose the only person he had feelings this deep dfor. "I won't let him down." He muttered as he continued to trek through the snow, catching glimpses of the butterfly. Following it, he weaved in and out of the streets, his own footprints being covered up quickly by the storm's new vigor. He knew if he didn't find Naruto and get back to the apartment, they would not be known to have left it, or to even be lost in the snow. They would be out training, everyone knew that they trained the hardest, always trying to best one another.

With another turn through the streets, the butterfly disappeared from sight. Sasuke looked around, wondering where it could have gone, but it was nowhere to be found. Yet, he saw a huge snow dune in front of him. "Naruto?" He asked, as if he wanted an answer from the unmoving dune. But it was moving, slowly heaving up and down. "NARUTO!" He exlaimed as he started to dig out his koibito from the snow, his hands becoming numb as they hit the coldness. "Don't worry, Kitsune-kun, I will save you!" He said, as he continued to dig the young blond shinobi out.

However, when he finally dug deep enough to see what it was, it seemed that it was a fox, covered in tattered orange clothes and dark brown fur. "Na..ru..to?" He let the syllables come out slowly, seeing the puff of smoke from his mouth from the coldness. Sasuke didn't have time to worry about all of this, and just grabbed the slowly heaving body, that seemed to still stay warm inside the fur. The body's slow breathing made him think of hibernation, and because of the chill in the air and the snow, he could only agree with his assumption. The fox demon had taken over Naruto's body completely, but took on a normal fox form, letting the fur keep itself warm as he put Naruto's body to sleep.

Rushing back to where he thought the apartment would be, he used his chakra to help him push through the snow and stay on top of it. Already a foot deep, it would have hindered his movements if he had to walk through it normally. "Don't worry Naruto, soon I'll have you home, and you'll be protected." Sasuke cooed to his lover as he toted him over his shulder. His bones began to ache from the strain on them in one day, along with the chilling of the winds and snow around him. Naruto on the other hand, was perfectly warm, and sending out more warmth in his chakra that seeped out of his body.

Within his mind, Naruto's dream changed, to that of a memory.

**It seemed that the darkness smiled at him for this thought. Words as soft as a wind’s breath whispered into his ear. “That’s right. This pain is forever. It will never end. Never cease. Unless you stop it yourself. You have that power.” Glazed over, Naruto’s eyes seemed to squint a bit, as if he was still contemplating it. They opened slowly, and a small smile crossed Naruto’s face. I will end it. He thought, and slipped a hand into the pack. Pulling out the same kunai he had used so many years ago for the Oath of Pain he had given himself, he grasped it in both his hands and held it over his chest where his heart was.

Yet, as he pulled back to thrust it into him, another kunai came flying by and nicked his hand, causing him to drop the one in his hand. With that moment of real pain, Naruto’s eyes bolted open, and the glazed look that had covered them, disappeared instantly. “..ru..” He heard through the darkness. “Na…to…” He could hear the raven-haired shinobi yelling at him. “Naruto!”**

He wanted to break the darkness around him now, but he couldn't. No... something wouldn't let him. Something was keeping him in the darkness for protection. An overbearing voice echoed in the darkness that had followed the memory. "Naruto! I will take it from here, just rest, enjoy the darkness for now." But Naruto couldn't enjoy the darkness. He felt afraid of it, afraid of what he did not know was there.

Sasuke stumbled and fell into the snow, his feet giving way to the ground. His body finally collapsed from the fatigue of everything he'd been doing since he woke up. "D-damn i-t-t-t." His teeth chattered with disgust, as he pushed himself up to his knees, but he couldn't move his legs. "I'm-m-m s-s-so-r-r-ry N-n-na-r-ru-t-t-t-t-o!" He howled out as he fell forward, his vision blurred by the snow.

Naruto's body fell a bit forward from where Sasuke was laying. Sasuke held out a hand to Naruto, trying to make sure that he was alright, but Naruto had moved since he fell. He looked to the side of him and saw a heaving large fox, just as it clamped hits teeth around Sasuke's neck. Sasuke blacked out after that, feeling as though he lost, lost to the elements and his sanity. Naruto couldn't have been moving, since he was asleep. He was in a deep sleep. But, nothingness took over Sasuke's thoughts as his body went limp in the fox's teeth.