Soulmating

A/N: It is finally here: the battle at the Valley of the End! I've been waiting for this moment for quite a while now, because from here on, the story is really starting to be interesting! So go on and read, I'll give you some info on how the story will progress further in the author's note at the end of the chapter!

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"SASUKE!!!!!" Naruto yelled.

And there they were, standing on either side of the waterfall. Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto. Rivals. Teammates. Friends. And, as Naruto now had realized, even more than that.

"Sasuke! What are you doing, teme!"

"That's none of your business, dobe. This is something I need to do."

"Like hell it isn't my business! It wouldn't have been my business if we had been just teammates, even if we had been just friends. But we are more than that and you know it."

"Even if we are, it doesn't change anything. I always thought I could combine my life in Konoha with getting my revenge, but as Itachi demonstrated, I am just as far away from killing him as I was the day he murdered my entire clan."

"Sasuke, there are plenty of people who could still teach you. Kakashi-sensei can train you with your sharingan, all the other jounin have awesome techniques as well. You could probably even convince Jiraiya to train you, who is on par with Orochimaru."

"Don't you get it? All those people, all these ties I have with them, they are a distraction. When I'm in Konoha, I need to go on missions, taking away precious training time, I start to care about people, bringing me to fight for them, to defend them. All of these thing will distract me from my goal and will slow me down. But I don't give a crap about Orochimaru or Kabuto. When I'm with them, all I will have to think about is training."

"Is that what we are to you? What I am to you? A mere distraction?"

"Hn."

"Well, seeing you won't change your mind willingly, I'll just have to beat some sense in to you."

"Finally."

Both boys flew at each other, throwing punches with full force. Naruto was the first to land a hit, throwing Sasuke from the top of the statue down into the waterfall. He himself dove after the raven, but before he could reach the water, Sasuke flew out from it, punching him in the face. As the battle intensified, both boys jumped backwards. Naruto summoned a clone to make a rasengan, Sasuke charged his chidori. And then they lunged forward, their attacks colliding in a bright flash of light. Both boys were thrown against the rocks.

"So you really are serious."

"Finally realized it?"

And then the battle began once more. Sasuke partially unleashed his cursed seal, and started throwing fireballs at Naruto, who could do nothing but dodge. Suddenly, Sasuke was in front of him, punching him in his stomach. There was not time for Naruto to fall down, because Sasuke picked him up and lifted him into the air, charging a chidori in his other hand.

"Sasuke, please..." Naruto begged.

And then Naruto kissed him. Their chakra started to spiral around them, intertwining even more than before. Sasuke kissed him back, trying to enjoy it while it lasted. And then he pushed his chidori through Naruto's chest.

"I'm sorry..." He said, tears running down from his eyes.

"Sasuke..." Naruto growled. "How could you?"

"I can't Naruto. No distractions."

---

"Uzumaki Naruto!" A deep voice grumbled.

Naruto looked around. He was in some sort of prison. In front of him was a cage with a seal on it. It couldn't be...

"Uzumaki Naruto!" The kyuubi roared as his claws tried to break through the cage. "You idiot! You think you just can go and die on me? I swear to god, if you weren't dying already, I'd kill you!"

"Nice to meet you too, Kyuubi. It seems I'm not as dead as you say I am, me still being here and such."

"Well, it's not thanks to you, I can tell you that! I'm healing you as we speak, so get out there and kick that motherfucker's ass!"

"Thanks for that. And I'll try, though I can't promise anything. I'm coming back later to speak to you."

"GO!"

---

Sasuke had no idea what was happening. Somehow, Naruto's lethal injury was being healed at an incredible speed. Not only that, but an evil, red chakra was spinning around him, forcing Sasuke to let go of him.

"Sasuke! I will not let you go to Orochimaru, even if I have to break every single bone in your body!" Naruto roared.

"What the hell are you?"

"A boy who is in love with you."

Naruto lunged forward, the Kyuubi's cloak enveloping him. Sasuke tried to dodge at first, but Naruto's speed had grown exponentially. He knew there was not other way.

"You should be honored, Naruto. You will be the first to ever see me in my new form." Sasuke said, as he fully activated the cursed seal.

"Let's end this." Naruto said.

Both boys started gathering chakra for one final attack. And then they ran forward, Naruto with rasengan against Sasuke with chidori. As they collided, a giant explosion was caused. Bright light enveloped them both.

And then they were back in that strange, temple-like place again

"Boys, you disappoint me. Best friends, in love, and still killing each other." The strange voice said again.

"Hn."

"Show yourself! Who are you?" Naruto demanded.

"I guess the time is right." The man said, appearing from the shadows. He was wearing some kind of weird, ceremonial robe and he had purple eyes with circles in them. "I am the sage of the six paths. I know that name will probably mean nothing to you, but it is all the info you are going to get right now."

"Why are we here?" Naruto asked.

"Why did you cast that jutstu on us?" Sasuke demanded.

"I didn't cast it on you. I just cast it, but the jutsu chose you as the most suitable, though I have my doubts. As for why, all in good time. And you are here, because you are both dead."

"WHAT!" They yelled in unison.

"Well, not really. You are in a state of near dead, but not to worry: I will revive you both. What I'm here to say to you right now, is that this was the last time. You see, this connection has its consequences. For instance, if either of you goes and kills the other, you will both die. It's some kind of insurance, to make sure neither of you kills the other to sever the connection. I made this jutsu so that if that would happen, I would be able to save you once and tell you about it, but know this: next time, you will die. That was al I have to say for now. I will be seeing you again."

"Wait!" Naruto yelled, but it was too late. He could feel he was falling unconscious.

Back in the real world, Sasuke was kneeling over Naruto's body. He wasn't dead, but the blonde's injuries were worse than his own. As it started to rain, Sasuke started to cry like he never had before, knowing that nobody's would be able to see it.

"I'm sorry Naruto. I really am." And with those last words, he kissed his best friend and walked away.

---

Naruto was lying in a hospital bed, looking up at the ceiling. He had failed. He had told Sasuke he was in love with him, and he knew Sasuke was in love with him too. But it hadn't been enough. He felt empty inside. The connection with Sasuke had been sealed off, like he had expected. Probably some kind of sealing technique of Orochimaru. He had decided that he wouldn't just leave it at this. He wouldn't let Sasuke become the snake's new vessel. But he had to become stronger first.

"Hiya." Jiraiya said, hopping in through the window.

"Go away, I'm not in the mood for your perverted stuff."

"Ahw, that's a shame. I was just about to offer you to become my apprentice and train for a full three years."

"I'm listening."

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A/N: Well, not a really long chapter, but an important one nonetheless. So, the sage of the six paths is the caster of the connection jutsu. What could his intention have been? And, maybe even more important, Sasuke and Naruto finally realized and confessed they are in love with each other! But unfortunately, it didn't stop Sasuke from leaving. So now, I conclude the first part of my story! Yay! We've arrived at the time skip, which I will be keeping in my story, though I will probably do some flashbacks. When Naruto comes back he will be much stronger, but also smarter, which is a bit OOC, I know, but it has always bothered the hell out of me that after three years of training, Naruto has just gotten a bit more powerful. I mean, if you think about how much time it takes him to learn stuff in the part of the manga that we see, it is almost impossible that he has learned so little in three years. I'll have him doing a lot of research on the sharingan and the sage of the six paths, so that he'll know some useful stuff in the next part of story. I won't write it before next year, so merry Christmas and a happy new year everybody! Oh, and remember Sasuke's cool new technique I mentioned? It probably won't be long now before you see it!
Replies to reviews:
Kristin: I'm glad you like it :D I hope you're happy with this chapter.