Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ There's a Magic Spell in Smiles ❯ Of Heroes Smiling Strong and Bright ( Chapter 8 )

Wow… thank you all for the continuing support that you've given me with this fic. I wasn't sure if people would like it when I first came out with it but I'm glad that a lot of people did. In just one week, I've received so many reviews. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I love you all and here's the final chapter.

 

There's a Magic Spell in Smiles

Chapter 08: Of Heroes Smiling Strong and Bright

By Kyuubi-kun

 

When Naruto heard the sounds of the invasion, he automatically called for the children he had been playing with to follow him. Gathering up all of the villagers he saw on the way to the hidden tunnels, which had been changed since Sasuke abandoned the Leaf, he left them in the care of the ninja that were there.

“Good luck, Uzumaki-san,” one of them said, and Naruto briefly recognized the shinobi as someone from his Chuunin exam - one of the people who he obviously hadn't paid attention to.

Ripping his mask out of his pocket, he tied the golden cords carefully.

“Thanks,” he called as he vanished. The other nin waved after him, before leading the children inside to safety.

Naruto rushed to the front line. He knew that his team was close behind him. They had worked when he had not been helping out around the village, so even if their structure wasn't perfect, it wasn't as bad as it was when Naruto hadn't cared about his team.

Now he cared, and he was going to make sure that his team pulled through - hopefully alive. If not, then they would die fighting for a cause that none of them loved more.

They swept along the village, point people in the right directions to the caves. They tried their best to get to the battlefield, but by the time they had reached the battlefield, Sound had already poured through the gate.

Naruto looked around, dodging random shuriken and kunai. He had to find Sasuke. Sasuke had to be here.

This day - his dream - wouldn't work if his other half wasn't here.

There.

He spotted the ever-familiar black hair as he swiftly turned to kill an enemy. His kunai bit deeply into the chest of his opponent. Naruto wrenched the tool out and gave chase to the Uchiha.

This was his battle. He had trained, waited, dreamed and looked towards this moment for five long years.

It wasn't going to go to nothing right now that he had it in his grasp.

Sasuke was fast - faster than he had been before. Of course, that was to be expected. Sasuke wasn't the type of soldier to lay off training for a day, let along five years. A challenging grin spread across Naruto's face as he upped his speed, happy that he had another fight against his rival.

It would be just like old times. Except this time, Naruto had to be the victor.

If he wasn't, then who knew what would happen?

Naruto chased Sasuke throughout the village. The Uchiha wasn't letting up in speed. Naruto finally caught up to Sasuke, throwing shuriken at the man, just as they entered the playground next to the Ninja Academy. Sasuke stopped to avoid the weapons.

“Uchiha Sasuke!” Naruto screamed out. Sasuke jumped at hearing his name, turning around slowly, his Sharingan eyes flashing at whoever had dared to stop his flight to the Hokage's Tower, which was where he was assigned to attack.

“It's rude to not introduce yourself when you know another's identity,” Sasuke pointed out, a smirk placed on his lips. His eyes were cold, merciless. The Anbu in front of him was unfamiliar to him - yet at the same time, they were someone Sasuke knew. He didn't know how he knew that fact, and he didn't really care either.

Naruto grinned roguishly behind his mask. “It's against regulation to do this,” he commented softly. “Especially when I'm on-duty, but I've never been one who cares about rules much.”

He shrugged off the deep purple cloak that he wore as a symbol of his rank. Tossing it to the dusty ground, Naruto stood completely in Anbu gear, colored all black and purple. He lifted his hand up to his face and his other untied the cord that held the mask to his face.

The blonde slowly took the fox mask off, revealing who he was. After all, there were no other blonde-haired, blue-eyed, whisker-scarred shinobi that he knew of. He had been all over the world, so he would know if there were.

“Naruto…” the other murmured softly, as though disbelieving the sight before his eyes.

Naruto tossed the mask to the side, letting it hit the ground with a soft thud. “Seems I didn't need to introduce myself, did I, Sasuke?” he asked with a slight uplifting of his brow. “You seem to recognize me without me saying my name.”

Sasuke felt his voice catch in his throat. Here was Naruto. Naruto of all people. “Why you?” he breathed out, his voice barely audible. “Why did it have to be you?”

Naruto suddenly vanished, appearing directly in front of Sasuke, making the Uchiha stumble back with disbelief. “What do you mean?” he asked innocently. “I think after what you did, this is the least that I deserve.”

He stepped backwards. Pulling out a kunai, he lazily swirled it around his index finger. “Sasuke-kun,” he told the other in a cold voice. “I suggest you prepare yourself. And please, don't take it lightly. I may still be a moron, but I want a real challenge.”

Sasuke, even though he was astonished by the blonde's new attitude, still snorted at the boy's words. With a smirk that could rival the ones that his younger self used to dole out, Sasuke took out his own kunai. “At least you finally admit you're a moron, dobe,” he smirked.

Knowing that being defensive in this fight would do no good, Sasuke rushed forward. Naruto had moved at the same time. They whirled in their dance, kunai's clashing together harshly and sending shivers through them. Both looked at each other, the blood red of one eye meeting the blood red of another.

Anger jolted through them both. Fueled by adrenaline, both attacked each other in fury. They both had to win - they both had something to prove.

They wanted to prove something to people who had died five years ago. They wanted to prove something to the long lost parts of themselves.

The next time that their knives smashed together, Naruto kicked out at Sasuke. Anticipating this, the Uchiha blocked the blow and grabbed onto Naruto's ankle. He swung the boy away from him. Naruto hit a nearby tree, falling to the ground. Spitting blood out of his throat, he grinned as he got back up.

Concentrate, Naruto, he told himself. Can't get anything done if you're too hyped up because you've seen Sasuke again.

He shook his head, trying to calm down. Being the hotheaded boy he was though, it wasn't exactly working. Naruto rushed in again, a smile on his lips. No fake smiles to give anymore, he only had real smiles left. He could only smile even though the chances of him dying by the hand of the one he loved the most were great.

The next time that the two separated, Naruto felt pain travel through his abdomen. This wasn't good. The seal was faltering, which meant that Kyuubi would take over his body soon. He didn't think that he would be able to come back if he let the fox take over.

The blonde had spent too much time thinking as Sasuke rushed up to him and kicked him in the gut, sending him flying. Naruto collided with the swing set, bending the supporter beam. He emitted a small cry at the pain, having long ago learned to control his voice.

“Goddammit,” he cursed himself softly as he rose shakily to his feet. He quickly went through the muscles and bones to make sure nothing was broken.

Left leg? A little slow.

Left arm? Good.

Right arm? Sprained.

Right leg? Good.

Neck? Stiff.

Back? Painful, but I'll live.

Head? He smirked to himself. Since when was my head ever all right.

He rushed in again, making compensations for his slow muscles that were ripped or sprained. He couldn't go all out against Sasuke. He had to think. He had to understand what the older boy was thinking, and then counter whatever the Uchiha's strategy was.

Unfortunately, Naruto had never been very patient. The knives were knocked from their hands by Naruto's flick of a wrist. He didn't hesitate as he started pummeling Sasuke with his fists. Sasuke returned the beating.

Neither boy cared for defense as both knew that there was no effective way to defend themselves against the other. Instead of worrying about things like that, they put all their power into their attacks.

Blood was streaming from both boys, bruises dotted their torsos, arms and legs yet neither was willing to give up.

Pain raced through their nerves as they stood, not ten feet apart, breathing heavily. Sweat poured from every pore in their body but still, they stared at their opponent. They had long ago forgotten about the war that was going on. Naruto had chased Sasuke deep enough inside the village that the war didn't matter.

It wouldn't reach the Ninja Academy. Of that, both were sure.

So they didn't need to worry about outside forces. They just had to worry about what they were going to do when dealing with each other.

“Why?” Naruto gasped out.

Sasuke tilted his head to the side, confused. “What?” he breathed, unable to get enough air in his lungs when trying to talk.

“Why did you say you loved me and then leave?” Naruto growled, forcing himself to stand straight. Pain laced his entire being, but he wasn't going to look weak to Sasuke.

Blood red eyes of the Kyuubi no Kitsune looked at the same crimson color of the Sharingan. Neither spoke. Even the environment was still. The sounds of the war had long since faded in their heads, and the only two people who existed in this world as of now were Sasuke and Naruto.

Sasuke couldn't bear to look at the blonde. “I left,” he began, “because I loved you.”

Naruto's eyes narrowed at the answer. “You expect me to believe that?” he asked in a deadly snarl.

Sasuke shook his head, finally standing straight again. His muscles groaned at the effort but he ignored them. “No,” he finally replied. “I don't… I… I don't know what to believe anymore. I love you. That enough is clear, I've always loved you - that I know is true. Believe it or not, it's your decision, but it's true. I… I left because we… we would never be accepted by Konoha. I… I didn't want to bring you pain… so I left.”

Now, Sasuke stared at Naruto. To not look at the one he loved would be an insult to the blonde, as well as injury to himself.

Naruto shook his head. “You bastard,” he managed to get out before falling to his knees.

Sasuke rushed to the blonde's side, not realizing what it was doing to his own condition. He spit a mouthful of blood out onto the sidewalk. He felt moisture running down his side as he fell to his knees next to Naruto. He looked down and saw the deep gash of a kunai. When had Naruto managed to do that? He didn't care. All that mattered was the wounded boy in front of him.

“You fucking bastard,” Naruto growled, his forehead touching Sasuke's. A small smile played on the blonde's lips. “Who the fuck cares what people think anymore? I would've been able to face the stares of anyone if I had you with me.”

“R-really?” Sasuke stammered, eyes widening. He moved his hand to Naruto's cheek, caressing the whisker marks there. A tiny smile, a mirror of Naruto's, twitched into existence. “You… but… I…” His voice died off and he tilted his chin forward, catching Naruto's lips with his own.

Everything was clear now. The kiss was fleeting, but it said everything that needed to be said. Naruto had tried to run his hands through Sasuke's hair, conveniently forgetting it was his arms that were supporting him.

Off balanced, both tumbled down. Naruto landed on Sasuke, clumsily and after hearing the Uchiha's hiss of pain, he rolled off. They lay there, side by side as they stared up at the skies. Neither cared for the fight anymore or the war or even whether they were going to live to see tomorrow. Neither cared for the last five years of hell that they had gone through, or how it was just one mistake of judgment that had caused those five years. Everything that had once been so important to them was left in the wake of the feelings surging around the two.

It was a long while before either of them spoke, so lost they were in this trance - this moment of the earth that none would remember but them.

“Ironic, neh?” Naruto asked softly, his voice barely recognizable because of the low, rustling tone of it.

“Hmm?” Sasuke answered, not really knowing what else to say.

“We're going to die right here… and its here where it all began,” the blonde seemed strangely happy about this.

“What do you mean?” Sasuke wanted to know. Naruto was leaning over, his head touching Sasuke's shoulder. If they were sitting up, it could be said that he was leaning his head on Sasuke's shoulder, but as they were not - it merely gave the image of this.

Naruto chuckled, which ended up in him coughing up more blood. “You don't remember, do you?” he asked. “When we were little, you came over to me. You were the one who made me smile.”

Sasuke didn't remember any of this at all, to tell the truth, but there was something nagging at the back of his mind: a feeling or a memory long forgotten but locked away in a treasure chest just so that it could be opened at this moment.

Suddenly, the stoic Uchiha felt something grip his hand and he knew it was Naruto's hand. He felt happy that Naruto didn't hate him. He was glad that, even as they lay here with their lifeforce abandoning them to soak into the ground, they were here together. He didn't have to die alone - and neither did Naruto.

“Naruto… do you still love me?” the Uchiha asked. It might seem out of character, but he was about to die, and so therefore he really didn't care about his reputation or what color mask he wore anymore.

He didn't care about the war that was going on less than a quarter of a mile away from them.

Sasuke only cared that Naruto was by his side.

“I never stopped,” Naruto whispered back to him.

“That's good,” Sasuke replied, his voice barely audible. “Because I still love you.”

There was a pause, both admiring the stars that were coming out and the great lantern of a moon that hung in the sky, illuminating the landscape in a fragile silver.

Naruto shifted his head, as his neck was beginning to get stiff. When he was finished, his cerulean eyes wandered until they were facing Sasuke's chin, because Naruto no longer had the strength to sit up and look into Sasuke's eyes.

“Are you scared, Sasuke?” Naruto wondered. He knew that he was going to die - it was a stronger feeling than the one he had described to Kakashi two months before.

“No,” was the Uchiha's answer.

“Why not?”

“Because I have you here with me.”

“That's good.”

“Why?”

“Because Sasuke said that Sasuke would always protect Naruto. When Sasuke told Naruto to smile more, Sasuke promised to protect him. Naruto loves Sasuke more than anything else,” Naruto spoke up. He didn't care that he sounded like a stupid toddler when he spoke in third person. It just felt right to speak like that.

Sasuke smiled at his blonde Kitsune. He mimicked Naruto's third person-speech. “Sasuke loved Naruto more than life and death. Sasuke will always keep his promise.”

There was nothing else said as they lay there, in the playground where their friendship had originated in, all those years ago. The dawn rays were just peaking over the horizon, basking the foggy air with golden lights, when within moments of each other and the Sun's waking, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke breathed their last.

 

The Sound Ninja, once they found out that their leader had not taken over the Hokage's Tower, fled - or those that were alive did. Luckily, Leaf did not suffer many casualties. Those that had lost their lives were given an honorable funeral.

Even Uchiha Sasuke.

Naruto and Sasuke were buried side by side in the back of the playground by the Ninja Academy. Their shared grave was at the exact place where the old tire swing had been.

 

A year later, on the anniversary of the battle, saw Kakashi at that small grave in the back of the playground. The boundaries of the playground had been moved so that the grave could be placed here. Placing a bottle of sake, a bowl of ramen and a plate of onigiri on the grave, Kakashi stood back, reading the names carved into the stone.

Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto.

When Kakashi had found the two a year ago, they had lain side by side, their hands firmly clasped together. Both had been the death of the other, Kakashi could remember, but he could only feel a strange sort of peace - rather than sadness - at the thought.

After all, hadn't Naruto's dream come true?

“Aren't you afraid of not fulfilling your dream before dying? Didn't you want to be Hokage and have the entire village recognize you?”

“That really doesn't appeal to me anymore. I'd rather just see Sasuke one more time rather than have an entire village try and pretend that the past didn't happen. At least by chasing Sasuke, I'm acknowledging that the past did happen. I'm not going to ignore what happened just because we've changed in rank. We're friends - at least to me, we are.”

The jounin leaned against the tree near the grave. “Hi guys,” he said softly. “Hope the two of you are happy. It was hell getting around the fact that Sasuke was the one leading the Sound. After the Anbu threatened nearly half the villagers, it became like the Kyuubi and no one's supposed to mention it. However, people still talk about it. It doesn't matter, though - those who care aren't going to allow anyone to desecrate your grave. Naruto, just to warn you - Tsunade-sama's pissed because of you dying before she could pass the title of Hokage off on you. Hope she doesn't become depressed. She's actually doing pretty well. Everyone is.”

The jounin heard something, so he unveiled his Sharingan, looking around wearily for intruders. All he saw were two boys sitting by a tree nearby. One looked surprisingly like a tiny Sasuke and the other was the mirror image of a tiny Naruto.

Sasuke's double was sitting against the tree when the blonde toddler ran over to him and stood in front of him. Kakashi, seeing the indefinite similarities between the late Naruto and Sasuke and the two kids in front of his eyes, thought that he might be having a hallucination. That didn't stop him, however, from tuning into their conversation.

“Hello,” the Naruto-look alike said. His voice was soft, but soothing.

“Why are you talking to me?” Sasuke's double replied, a frown on his face.

The small blonde put his hand out to the Uchiha. “My name's Uzumaki Naruto, what's yours?” the boy asked. Kakashi's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he heard this.

“Uchiha Sasuke, why?” the black-haired toddler said with a suspicious pout.

The blonde merely smiled at him. “Want to shake hands?” he asked.

“Why would I want to do that?” came the other's reply.

“Because… you look like you need a friend,” Naruto told Sasuke truthfully, though his tone showed he was a little unsure of what he was saying. “It's a sign of trust. Kind of like a smile.”

Sasuke glared at Naruto, though it looked more like a pout at the age the boy was. “Smiling isn't a sign of trust.”

Naruto razzed at the other. “Wrong!” he said with a grin. “There's a magic spell in a smile.”

“What kind of magic spell?” the Uchiha wanted to know, but Kakashi could see that the younger Sasuke was really happy underneath his cold exterior.

“If you smile at the world instead of frowning, it's as though nothing can make you cry.”

“Are you sure?”

Naruto's smile grew. He stood there, with that smile and the outstretched hand. “Yeah,” was his reply.

Slowly, the young Sasuke reached out his hand and clasped Naruto's. A smile came to his face at the angelic look on the other's face.

“See?” Naruto asked. “Hey, c'mon Sasuke! Let's go find an adventure!”

“Okay!” was Sasuke's reply.

The boys, hand-in-hand, began to walk off.

“Kakashi-sensei?” someone called, startling the Sharingan user out of his trance. The person who had approached him was none other than Sakura.

“Yo,” was the jounin's reply.

“Is there anything wrong, I was calling you for a long while,” Sakura told him.

Kakashi looked back to the spot where he had seen the two boys. They had vanished. Smiling at the grave, he hoped the two would be at peace at last. Turning back to Sakura he got to his feet wearily.

A broad grin, complete will a curved eye was flashed at the pink-haired girl. “No, nothing's wrong,” he told her as they began to walk away.

Taking one last look at the grave, Kakashi could feel a new strength to be his old perverted self again wash over him. It was as though everything had worked out perfectly from the beginning.

Thinking of Sasuke and Naruto, Kakashi realized that everything didn't have to work out in the beginning after all and that no one was to blame for what had happened to the two.

Everything was right in the end, and that was all that mattered.

 

Every night I think of you

Every day I want to see

You standing there in front of me

And don't you know?

Didn't you once say?

There's a magic spell in smiles

Follow me and I will show you

What you've long forgotten

There's a magic spell in smiles

Let's start our adventure together

No need to cry any longer

Never show a frown while we're here

Don't you know?

Didn't you once say?

There's a magic spell in smiles

There's a magic spell in smiles

Kyuubi-kun, Final Message

 

Kyuubi-kun's Korner!

 

Well… there's the ending. I'm sad to see it end, but I'm also happy because of how it ended. After all… even though this is an angsty fic, I needed a happy ending. Especially for those two - they deserved it.

 

I love all of my reviewers and I would give you all presents if I had the cash, but since I don't, I'll just keep you all in my heart and love you all for being reviewers. :)

 

Here's the poem that the chapters made…

 

Whisper to the night

Something out of sight

Do what you think is right

Don't let your horizon sink out of sight

Through this terrible plight

We'll always search for the light

And maybe you'll see the might

Of heroes smiling strong and bright

 

Not one of my best pieces, but it was a spur of the moment type of thing.

 

Ciao, everyone!