Show me the way

I: The End

Sasuke had cursed him into this existence. Even meant good and caring, it was a curse.

The Fourth Shinobi War had dragged out long enough to make most memories of a happy past a faraway dream, yet they had fought on until nobody was left standing. He had been fierce, a leader, a strong point to lean on even if he himself had been crumbling.

Sakura had died, screaming and alone with no way to get to her. She had reached out to him like she always had, but this time he couldn't reach her. She took down hundreds with her, only making it more impossible to find her body. They didn't. She was left to rot along with the Zetsu. An unmarked grave amidst a sea of corpses. He knew where she lay. He could go there blindfolded and still get to the exact location. There had never been a chance to go back, never a chance to pay the last respects.

Kakashi had died. Silent like the night had the Jounin slipped away in fevered nightmares caused by infections and sedation. The many deep cuts had never had the chance to heal before the next onslaught began. The constant agony of his wounds had almost driven him mad, giving him no respite in the moments battle lessened. With no medics available, the infection had spread through his blood, slowly creeping to his heart before his heart was forced to give out. Sasuke had found him, closed his broken eyes and whispered a small prayer before Naruto walked in on them. He couldn't handle it. He just turned around and walked away. Denial. It was a great relief when it needed to be, but an even harder blow when truth broke through. It left a scar, mentally and physically, because physical pain was a relief too. Especially when the mind was overwhelmed.

At some point in time, Naruto felt like he and Sasuke were the only ones left still able to fight. The Shinobi forces were gone, home was gone, life was gone except for Sasuke, Naruto and Madara. Somehow he knew there were pockets of survivors spread across the lands, but they didn't fight anymore. They were just surviving. Trying to make sense of all that had come to pass and rebuild with whatever was remaining. Those were not the people Naruto knew. He wouldn't be home if he went to such a settlement. Sasuke felt the same, and so they fought on.

But whatever would be left of the world after this, right now they were taking their final stand. Here, the Valley of the End. There was no life left in the valley. Even the waters that once flowed so freely was still, murky and tainted. Madara stood among the dead, a proud stance like he always had, no remorse visible. Opposite him stood Naruto, scarred and injured, but still holding on to everything, anything. The familiar red chakra cloaked him, merging with Sage's energy to form a glowing yellow coat, a coat of arms worn proudly, recognisable by all. A point of hope to others. Yet there was a falter in Naruto's step, a hesitation and dread. His eyes were drawn to Sasuke time and time again. Sasuke, who lay to the side, cast away like a leaf in the wind. The slight movement in his chest the only indication Naruto's last friend and brother was still alive and the only fuel that kept Naruto standing at the moment. To protect the last remnants of his life.

For once he was truly injured, injured beyond the repair Kurama could give him. The fox tried, but even he had his limits and the years of turmoil without rest had worn down the great fox as it had done everything else in the world. The silent agreement between them was resignation in death if it meant taking down Madara. Keep Naruto breathing only long enough for that single purpose. There would be nothing left for him after this anyway. He had had enough and it was time to stop, to finally give in and maybe find some peace in the life after this one.

Madara was as drained as they were. Death now would be true death for either one of them. Or both of them. No more tricks of immortality resided with them anymore. No matter how they were to twist and turn, death was the only outcome. Naruto was painfully aware of this, the promise he made to Sasuke would be broken, to survive or die together. He was going to die, Sasuke would live. A promise shattered would be his last action and the guilt he felt over it only made it more difficult. The guilt settled along with the burden he already carried. Just a little more weight to bear. If it was for Sasuke, he could. If it was for those he loved, he could take on the world once again as he had done before.

Even just standing, breathing, took chakra, energy he didn't have. Nature didn't provide him with more, there was nothing left to give. It was now or never to take action and embrace the end. He launched, Madara copying his actions and they collided with raw power. It was short and brutal. Madara cut deep, dragging his sword upwards from Naruto's hipbone all the way to his jaw. Using the force that was thrown at him, Naruto grabbed Madara's shoulder and head, twisting them in the opposite direction of each other, pouring all that he had left into this final move. Simple. Effective.

A snap resonated in the desolate valley. The unmistakable sound of bones breaking. Madara crumbled and Naruto followed. All strength was gone. All that was left were the empty and dead eyes of Madara staring at him as the last of his own life drained away through the open wound that marred him. Victory, or at least some form of peace for those that survived.

Not wanting Madara's dead and silent stare to be his last image, Naruto turned towards Sasuke. To see if he was still breathing or that perhaps, just maybe, their final promise was met in the end. The sight he found made his gasp an impossible breath, curdling his very soul. Sasuke was standing not far away from his, but he was weaving signs Naruto recognized and despised. He begged with his eyes, mouthing breathless words, begging for Sasuke to cease what he was about to do, but it was to no avail. Sasuke brought his hands down, touching the ground to make an intricate network of glowing lines appear. The seal, for that is what it was, crawled over Naruto's skin, encompassing every part of him. He knew what was going to happen. This seal, this cursed seal, was one made by Naruto himself. In the midst of all the battles, back when hope was still an ally, he had come up with this seal. A seal to transport someone through the endlessness of time. To shatter someone's very being and reassemble it in another time.

It was never truly used. They had tried, but it never seemed to quite work. There was something broken in it, and Naruto couldn't find out what. Without his mentor or works to reverence, he could not see the error. When Sai was mangled beyond saving after Naruto had tried the seal on him, they had stopped. Regret and guilt, something that was already weighing heavily on Naruto, had crushed his very soul beyond repair. Killing enemies was one thing. Killing a friend, even if that friend had known the risk and was willing to take it, was something different entirely. It had made something snap in the mind of the blond hero, it had made him cruel to some extent, cold. It took away a little of his mercy he always held so dear. Another part of his humanity gone. Another part of him to hate.

The seal tightened around him and he felt what Sai must have felt. Restriction that was at the same time pulling him apart, trying to get him to move while keeping him in place. It tore through him deeper than the gash left by Madara and kept ripping deeper. "Stay alive. Make it right." The words echoed through his head and seemed to settle the torent. They were distorted but clearly spoken by Sasuke. The voice had sounded broken, lost and faltering. All strength gone. But it gave him determination and a reason to push on once again. Hope, as much the cause of pain as it was the cause of comfort, and yet was welcomed no matter which it brought.

The world narrowed to a dot and before he lost sight completely, he saw Sasuke sink to the ground, eyes as dead and empty as Madara's, but a faint trace of a smile on his lips. Naruto wanted to scream, to yell, to let out his desperate need to touch Sasuke one last time, but he couldn't make a single sound. The pressure that engulfed him cancelled everything into blackness, endless blackness within endless pain. For a moment he felt like he was everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Pulled apart only to be pushed together again. His mind strained to keep conscious, but his body gave up, forcing his mind to follow into blissful unconsciousness.

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