Breathe Life Into the Flames
Tugging. Pulling. Yanking. Naruto knew it was important. He knew this particular game of tug of war was one he needed to win. He desperately wanted to pull back with all his strength. He wanted to force of his yanking to throw him onto his back in victory. He wanted…no…needed to win. This wasn’t just win or lose. This was life and death. So many would die if he couldn’t just keep Kurama where he…was… He needed to save…his friends.
Naruto imagined that the pain he was feeling was the equivalent of having one’s still beating heart ripped from their body. It was interesting though. One minute there was burning agony, and the next…
There was nothing.
It was strange. He felt so…empty, and quiet. Was this what a normal person felt like? But… It felt so wrong. And to accompany that wrongness, he felt the crushing loneliness. He could hear what sounded like his friends, but for every effort he gave to open his eyes he felt himself slipping farther and farther into the darkness. Where was he going? He can’t be… Was he… Naruto tried to struggle, but he could feel this…fading sensation. He couldn’t fade. He had things to do. He had people to save. He still needed to get Sasuke back to the village, and become Hokage, and, and… He still had so much to do… but… it seemed like his time was up.
A silent acceptance seeped into Naruto’s body, and the sensation of floating surrounded him. It was calm and soothing while being terrifying at the same time. Even though he knew the wrongness about the feeling, Naruto couldn’t help but feel serene. He felt like he had been floating for an eternity before Naruto remembered his friends, and, mostly, Sasuke. He felt like he had failed him. He wasn’t going to be able to walk through the village gates with his best friend in tow. No..
No! Naruto needed to be with Sasuke. He had promised Sakura. He swore to Sasuke. He had to. He needed to.
Sasuke… Sasuke!
Naruto’s struggle to open his eyes finally subsided as his orbs flew open to meet bright, yet comforted whiteness all around him. He couldn’t hear anything around him. Not even his own breathing. He could feel a strange pulsing in his chest. That must mean he wasn’t…
Naruto shook his head and took in his surroundings. Before he could look far, Naruto caught a shape in the corner of his eye. He hadn’t even fully processed who the shape belonged to before he was running towards it, and yelling.
"SASUKE! SASUKE!"
[➶]—-; ”…—uke! ”
“Sa…k—e!”
Faded calls echoed throughout the plain in which Sasuke resided. Who was calling him? Were there others here? He knew that voice. But could it be?
"Naruto?"
"Sasuke!"
His head snapped in the direction in which the reverberations originated. That was Naruto. There was no doubt in his mind. But how had they ended up here together? Had Naruto died as well?
"Naruto!"
Steps were minute at first, then he was moving briskly. He could see Naruto moving toward him on the horizon. Light shone at his back it seemed and soon they were standing face to face. Unsure of what to say, his usual scowl overcame his features and Sasuke scoffed, “Oi, you couldn’t even let me have peace in death, could you?”
