Warning : heavy AU, shounen-ai, yaoi, fantasy-world with lots of action (the descriptions would be really flowery though), mild violence, slightly-coarse language, my hyperactive mind placing the Naruto world in another different one… bastardized Sasuke (uhh, and a lot of characters too)… yeah XD Uh… another one of those super-AU stuff… with forbidden love and all that XD

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Inspired By: Gatekeepers (It's a pretty cute anime…), me watching the reruns of Beyblade (all seasons; Kai is such a traitor… a sexy, adorable traitor…), me getting fed up with the filler arc of Naruto… me indulging myself in the latest Naruto manga chapters… Card Captor Sakura (another cute anime), Bleach (OMG another great anime), Full Metal Alchemist (OMG, yet another cool anime)… and yeah T-T


Duel of Destiny

His hands are poised for a lethal shot, and he knows that despite his earlier hesitations, he's going to kill this guy. He wonders, not for the first time (and sadly, most probably not the last), about the circumstance they found themselves in. Everything has been going quite well between the two of them, friends, comrades, rivals… and he had hoped for them to become so much more…

He's caught-up in his musings and his heartbreak, and the other's movements suddenly becomes too fast for his reflexes. He barely has a millisecond before the dangerous shadow-black daggers that the other fancies so much hit his liver. He swiftly twists his body, the dagger catching a handful of clothing, leaving a middle-depth scratch on its wake.

Uzumaki Naruto lands on the rough ground, but the pain on his side (and on his knees when he scrapes his skin on the coarse soil) is negligible compared to the pain that's engulfing his insides. He should've known; Iruka has been acting weird since he introduced Uchiha Sasuke to him. He has mentioned the dark-haired teen's name to Tsunade, and the blonde's reaction is much less than simple dissatisfaction.

He half-kneels on the uneven soil, and he hears faint scratches. There's a distinct smell in the air, and his eyes widen in realization. This moment of realization is enough for his opponent to attack ruthlessly. "You're too slow, Naruto!" The other's voice is ice-cold, much colder than the sword-like projections that rain from the darkened sky.

Uchiha Sasuke's power resides in his ability to compile different objects (or attacks) on special cards, and he releases the cards' contents (he could combine different cards to produce different attacks) when fighting with his enemy. Right now, he is releasing the contents of the Ice and the Sword card, causing ice swords to rain from the sky.

Naruto, however, isn't about to let the other beat him. He's determined to get to the bottom of this and save Sasuke from the shadows haunting him constantly. Uzumaki Naruto's power involves the ability of changing the form of objects to whatever he desires. Right now, he is changing the jagged ground into a shield from the ice swords.

The smell of heavy water disappears after a few moments, and Naruto warily stands away from his shield. He sees Sasuke panting slightly, a couple of meters away from him. He lets himself show his exhaustion too; the attacks they performed not more than ten minutes ago are energy-draining.

"Yo, dobe," The silky voice wraps around him, and it slithers (much like a traitorous snake) smoothly towards him. In a second, Sasuke is already behind him, warm breath tickling his right earlobe. Sasuke's navy-blue bangs tickle the back of his bare neck. The other's teen fingers rest lightly, teasingly over his heart, while Sasuke's right hand lounges comfortably on his neck, ready to cut his carotid artery.

Naruto takes a shallow breath, idly wondering if Sasuke would really kill him. "Bastard…" He breathes out raggedly, his fatigue catching up with him. The cold metal of that damned black dagger reminds him of Sasuke; darkened with his inescapable past, burdened with his relentless fate, sharpened with his desire to emerge victorious.

It also reminds him that the same Sasuke that he has met and befriended (and complained about and insulted more than the number of sheep it takes to make him fall asleep on insomniac nights), is the same Sasuke that is going to kill him soon.

His determination dwindles, like the flame on a dying candle, with surroundings' oxygen exhausted. The wick falls to the wax, bowing down, as though apologizing for being unable to keep the light going. The darkness wraps everything tightly, including the extinguished candle, much like the way Sasuke's body presses up securely to his, like the way Sasuke's arms hold him firmly, never letting go.

He promised his friends, he promised everyone, that he's going to finish their work, as their top fighter. He promised his friends that he's going to defeat and kill the Akatsuki's trump fighter, and end the long battle between the two. He grinned his trademark "Uzumaki grin", and he set out to fight their enemy's best soldier.

If only he had known that it'd be Sasuke, he would have turned down the order, and even pleaded Tsunade for some reconsideration. The Akatsuki is a notorious organization threatening the peace of every people living on Earth, but if Sasuke is a member, then… they couldn't be that bad.

The flabbergasted look in Sasuke's eyes when the other saw him shows that the Uchiha is also surprised to see him as their opponent's best fighter.

And now…

He tries again to push himself forward to get rid of Sasuke's silky arms wrapped tightly around him, to no avail. "Don't you wonder, Sasuke?" Those words are enough for Sasuke's heartbeat to quicken, and Naruto feels it from his almost-shirtless back.

"Yeah…" Sasuke's heavy sigh washes over Naruto's neck and ears, making the dagger's blade feel colder than before. "… I do."

"I… feel so stupid, you know. I…" Naruto's voice is a mixture of longing, despair and hope. It's combined with the self-hate and hate towards his fate. To think that he thinks that people could change fate…

"I know." The Uchiha's reply is terse, and Naruto sinks slowly to Sasuke's embrace, both teens highly aware that their comrades are watching their face-off. The dark-haired teen sinks forward, fitting their tired, wounded bodies as tightly as possible.

"Naruto…" Sasuke has never said his name as beautifully as that. The blond closes his eyes, disinterested with watching how the black clouds start to disperse and let the sun's afternoon, scarlet rays pierce the sky.

Sasuke swallows thickly, and Naruto feels it against the back of his neck. The dagger lifts away from his skin, and it comes back a mere second later, and viscous, crimson liquid spills out from broken skin.

Naruto feels wetness at the back of his bare neck, and thinks that Sasuke must be crying. He can't, however, turn around and hold the other even if he truly wanted to. So Naruto stays in Sasuke's arms, welcoming the approaching darkness with open arms.

To Be Continued

It's short, it's the prologue and it's a sort-of cliffhanger –sweatdrop- I'm sorry, but that's how it's supposed to be. As some of you may have figured out, the next chapters would be flashbacks, since the scene above is the "climax". I'm trying out a new method of writing, so I hope you all give feedback about this one too :) Though I must admit that writing "backwards" is more than a bit difficult T-T

Oh, and Naruto's not going to die :) After all, I never said that blood came out from Naruto's broken skin XD

Flames will be ignored. Reviews (constructive criticisms and other types of feedback) are always welcome. Thanks in advance:)