I... got a lot of encouraging and amazing reviews, so I tried to make the ending as well-written as possible. I.. don't know how well I did, and I'm kind of not satisfied with the ending. Depending on what you guys think, I might do an epilogue later.
i don't own naruto
Naruto
Pounding, pounding, something is breaking the rhythm of his (weak, weak, weak) breathing.
It sounds like feet hitting metal, or like his heart, beating loftily in his chest.
It sounds like darkness coming down upon him, pressing the chains into his skin and the shadows into his soul.
It makes him cold. It gets darker.
His eyes blur and for a second the chill disappears.
He closes his eyes against the dark for more blackness, letting sleep take him.
There, it will not be cold, cold, cold… dark, dark, dark…
Sasuke
He glances sharply behind him, red swirling eyes picking up the shape of Sakura, running with him steadily.
Her eyes are a bit different from what he remembers, and for a second he is tempted to tell her to leave, turn around, go back.
Instead he faces forward again, listening for the scrape of metal, of chains.
Sakura
She can see it, feel it almost. The glow of the sun is filling the dark hallways, mixing with the light of the moon, finally, finally overpowering the terrible pink of dusk and dawn.
They're getting closer, and yet the pale face of the moon holds uncertainty. With a bold step, she takes the lead and follows the light.
I will be useful, this time!
Elsewhere
Outside, the sun is rising on a new day.
Villagers are preparing their ribbons and lamps, excitement growing in every person. Today is October 10th,
the anniversary of the defeat of a great fox, the Kyuubi no Kitsune.
Shinobi are rising, shinobi are falling.
Sakura has disappeared, but no seems to care. (She had gone mad, anyway.)
InoShikaChou meet on their separate paths, not even speaking as each continues on their way.
Team 8 is attempting to get ready for the festival together, but Kiba can't keep his mouth shut and Hinata's hands are shaking too much to tie ribbons.
Team Gai almost doesn't exist. Neji knows he will not see Lee or Tenten at the festival, and he knows no one will see him.
Iruka considers celebrating the anniversary with a bowl of ramen, then remembers and decides there is nothing to celebrate.
Kakashi will definitely not be attending.
And Tsunade sits at her desk, eyes bleary as she signs another document, trying desperately to keep the date off her mind.
Today is October 10th, the birthday of Uzumaki Naruto.
Naruto
He is dreaming. Obviously.
Because he is filled with a strange warmth, and the corners of his mouth want to turn upwards, as though in a… smile.
Happiness is so foreign to him now, he almost rejects the idea, remembering how the colors hurt his weary mind.
Because with happiness comes sorrow and fear and hate and love….
Before he knows it, he is remembering and his brain screams out and everything is growing dark again.
Except… this time…
There is something other than darkness to sink into. There is something that is not cold and stone and metal.
It is not cold, cold, cold, it is not dark, dark, dark.
It is a face.
It is a voice.
And it is calling his name.
Sasuke
"Naruto!" Sasuke cries, as clouded blue eyes stare up at him, unfocused and blank.
This is scary. He would never admit it to anyone, but seeing his foe, his rival, his friend, like this….
He looks so dead. And its not the pale skin that clutches to his bones… its not the filthy torn clothes or heavy chains. It's the eyes… because in this darkness, they don't look so blue anymore.
"Naruto!"
Sakura
She runs in after him, to his screams and the face of someone half-dead.
But, despite this, they are in orbit again, the three of them. The sun looks hollow on the inside, but to sooth the moon she reaches forward with a green light, already ready to heal the wound.
Sakura closes her eyes and smiles, a truly sane smile, as beneath her finger tips cuts and scrapes and hearts are healed. At last she finds it- the fuzzy barrier around his mind, the jutsu clouding his eyes.
With a fierce shove, it is gone.
Naruto
The darkness, so thick and forbearing, does not disappear. Nor does the cold- for the cold has gone far enough to soak the marrow of his bones
But something else is gone, and suddenly the memories are flooding him, choking him.
It hurts, oh it hurts so much, but there is someone in front of him, no two people… and he knows them… he knows…
"Sasuke!"
"Sakura!"
Together
"Naruto!" They both say it at once, and as he grips them both in a hug that really is too weak, they raise him up, cutting his chains and gazing into his clear, pained blue eyes.
In the streets above, a villager who laughed once is frowning, because a fox has crossed his path.
Please review. I want to know what you think of the [last chapter!