Deidara's Funeral

When Sasuke called to him, Naruto Uzumaki's eyelashes fluttered. He slowly opened his eyes to find his best friend's face filled with worry.

He managed a weak but determined smile. "Oh, it's you, Sasuke. I'm fine. Just feeling a little drained, like there's nothing left in me. But I should survive. Heh."

Hearing him joke eased the tension in Sasuke's chest, but it was quickly replaced by a surge of fury.

He slammed his fist into a nearby rock that had survived the battle. Crack! It shattered.

"Damn it!" Sasuke's voice was ice-cold. "Those bastards attacked you when you'd used up all your strength!"

Naruto drew a breath and patted the arm Sasuke had wrapped around him. "It's okay, Sasuke. Don't be angry. At least we made it through the worst of this."

"As for those rats hiding in the shadows and the Talismans, we can investigate them later."

Sasuke knew anger would do no good right now. He forced it down and carefully helped Naruto to his feet. Naruto was unsteady, leaning most of his weight on Sasuke.

As they made their way back, Naruto seemed to be trying to lighten the mood with his usual, slightly foolish optimism.

"Hey, Sasuke, I might really not be able to beat you anymore. Don't go stealing my Hokage job, okay? Or I'll get mad..."

Thud!

Before Naruto could finish, Sasuke drove an elbow into his stomach, cutting off the nonsense.

"What kind of stupid thing is that to say, Dead Last?" Sasuke turned his head away, his tone awkward as ever but utterly firm. "Who'd want your lousy Hokage job?"

He paused. When he spoke again, his voice was low, weighted by all they had survived.

"You're going to stay alive. You're going to watch Boruto and Himawari grow up, get