•Shackles of Time•

Prolouge

"naruto..." muttered sasuke sadly as he stared at his hokage -his best friend- the man who changed him, gave him light.

The said blonde was staring at a picture, four people stood in it, one considerably taller than the other three and the only female stood in the middle smiling while the two males seemed looked anywhere but the camera. It was crumpled and was slightly burned around the edges but the image itself was still discernable.

The blonde hokage held it softly yet with a firm grasp, his face void of emotion. A useful trick many had to learn in the midst of bloodshed.

The sky was a deep shade of black, no stars littering it as if they knew that the light existed no more. On the ground remained only rocks and limp forms, body far too mangled and bloody to even be remotely recognizable. Rubble littered their feet as the only remnants of shops and homes.

"sasuke, this..." started the blonde but was unable to finish his sentence. Confused whether to cry or to leap in joy. His emotions swirled inside him like a malestorm. Mind blank yet filled with thoughts.

Words caught in his throat, the two shinobi were left with a deafening silence.

The raven stared at the man's back, trying to figure the blonde out. Alas, that feat was still so far from his reach.

"what about that?" he decided to ask. Never really one to beat around the bush, thus is a natural trait for an uchiha.

"...this changes everything" said naruto, the statement not really making anything clearer for the uchiha. The raven finally decided to stand besides his hokage, to at least try and figure out what the blonde was thinking.

He stared into those ocean blue depths, its brilliance not diminishing the slightest bit over the years. It didn't have that same glow though, the one that made you feel you were floating in the sky. He had changed, such is the inevitable law of life. Eyes that once held purity and innocence now shined with wisdom and understanding. Like the depths of the ocean, swimming with experience, helping you reach greater heights, however, it can also drown you. Suffocate you.

If it were any other person, they would have found a shield, unable to get through that facade. However, sasuke knew better. Behind that seemingly emotionless mask, one he had wore for so long in his youth, was a whirlwind of emotions. Emotions he had not seen for so so long yet he couldn't understand why they show up now.

He and the blonde were quite similar, even in their childhood. Both wore a mask, his was to erase all trace of emotion while the other's was to create fake ones. Which, now that he thought about it, was smarter. A smile was all it took to deceive people, they never question you thinking there was nothing to be found. Wherein in his case, people always try to see behind his facade because they know you have emotions somewhere in there. Their only human after all.

"what's wrong?" he asked worriedly, placing a comforting hand on stiff shoulders.

"sasuke" the blonde finally let himself crack, opening a door of thoughts to the man beside him.

"sasuke... this changes everything!" shouted the blonde with a surge of emotion, whipping his head to his companion. The uchiha almost stepped back at the sudden outburst, not expecting a shout to come out of the other's lips. He... had not done that for so long.

His eyes held sadness, nostalgia and at the same time a gleam, hope.

"how exactly?" he asked skeptically, but he couldn't help the bubbling feeling of warmth slowly coat him at seeing the blonde's eyes shine again with anything but tears.

Naruto slit his wrists, the raven not even flinching knowing the blonde had a reasonable explanation. Or at least, he better have. He would never stand for the blonde hurting himself.

The male squatted on the ground, using a flat piece of rubble as his canvas and his blood as the ink, drawing intricate lines on it. Ones sasuke could never dream to fully understand. He didn't dare speak, fearing to distract the blonde from his seemingly concentrating state. Naruto however, didn't seem to mind talking as he started to explain.

"I... never thought I would have to use this" he started, not really expecting an answer "I always thought the risk was far too big... the lives we would have to sacrifice" he continued with downcast eyes.

"but... now the only ones even walking the earth are us huh? so I see no point at hesitating. I only needed some kind of object from the past, serving as an anchor of sorts for it to work. If we didn't have that and attempted this then we could have ended up in an alternate dimension for all I know" he chuckled, face morphing into something akin to a smile. Sasuke watched, confused yet happy.

He finished the last stroke, the crimson glowing a bright hue not even a moment after. Illuminating their defined features and naruto's soft expression. Before the raven knew it, the blonde held a scroll in his hands, tossing it as if it was a ball and not a precious item that, for sasuke to know in the near future, could -would- change their lives.

"sasuke" naruto breathed in, eyes closed. They then snapped open, causing the said male to widen his own in pure shock. They shined through the dark like a sun, a silver of light in the seemingly neverending abyss of darkness.

The gleamed with hope and determination.

He exhaled, staring straight into his best friend's eyes, blazing cerulean met deep onyx.

"were going back to the past"

• • • Shackles of Time • • •

And Im back with another naruto fanfic! ...What do you mean I write too much fanfiction?....pft, you haven't seen half of it! Anyways, hope you enjoy another timetravel, this time, it's Naruto with Sasuke bc friendship is magic!.... Lol.