Ok, this story and this theme could be a whole lot better than what I wrote, and the theme behind it could even become a side-shot thing for Demons Within, but I don’t really care at the moment because I have done something that is angsty and lame and I like it. XD So this one is up for your most hard critiques and criticism. I want to know how I can improve this than besides refocusing it and rewriting it completely.

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It wasn't me you saw there, crying

Something must have gotten into my eyes…

It wasn't me you saw there, yelling

Surely I was just laughing a bit too loud…

—Lupin Drake

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DEEP INSIDE

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He moved with much more speed and he hit his targets with much precision than he had ever before—his pulse was racing and pumping through his veins and all he could hear his heart beating in his ears. He didn't mind that his feet slapped the ground a bit too hard and he didn't notice the pain in his shoulder when he collided into a wall—He didn't care that there were horrified faces all around him or the blood—

If anything, the blood was what made him move faster—as if it were some siren calling out a song that only he could hear, but his eyes were redder than it, so maybe it was something from inside him wanting that liquid pooling on the ground…

"Sasuke, don't!" Sakura screamed. She herself was clutching her side; a small amount of redness seeping through her clothes, green light from her hands already coming forth and slowly suppressing the stinging that was surely there.

He ignored her.

And suddenly, his vision went black and he was pushed harshly into the ground, a weight on top of him and refusing to move or allow him to move despite his struggles and best attempts to remove it—but with one last final jab into the middle of whatever was on him and a grunt, he reversed their positions and saw a flash of blue.

"Do you really want to kill me Sasuke?"

Naruto looked up at his friend, teammate, comrade, brother… calmly. This was not the first time that he had brushed up with death, and it was certainly not going to be the last. So, why show any fear for it? Sasuke's eyes kept spinning red and black, as silence over the whole battlefield drew out longer and longer, and their enemies decided to retreat and regroup while they still could, as some of them had already met their demise.

"Naruto…" he whispered. Quickly, he flung himself away from the blond, and tossed the kunai knives he had in his hands harmlessly to the side, blood from them splattering onto the dusty earth. "I—I…" he stammered. Blinking, his Sharigan was deactivated, but his hands started shaking and he finally looked around and saw what he had done…

"It's ok," Naruto said as he crawled over to him. "It's ok… really."

"I almost killed you!"

Naruto shook his head. "And that didn't happen! So really—" Sasuke suddenly grabbed him and pulled him into one of the tightest and most desperately embraces Naruto had ever been a part of, burying his face into his shoulder.

"I… I…" he stumbled.

Naruto clenched his eyes tightly, feeling the pain his friend was going through, knowing what thoughts were most likely going through his head, what nightmares he was going to have tonight, what guilt he was going to have to live with, before returning the hug just as fiercely. He couldn’t imagine what was going on through his head at the moment, or what was happening to him only moments before…

"It's all right, it's all right. We all have demons deep inside us…"