Chapter 28: Dead Memories

It was a full week before Gaara and Naruko felt ready to go back to what had been Sasuke and Naruto's apartment, in order to sort through their personal effects and clean house. They were both still haunted by the memory of Sasuke lying on the bed, with a face so peaceful he could have been asleep if not for the fact that he wasn't breathing. When they entered on the gloomy July morning, they avoided the bedroom except when they had to walk through it; the half-empty bottle of sleeping pills that Gaara had tripped over a week ago was still in the corner of the room, and little white pills still dotted the tatami mat flooring in the bedroom, a cruel reminder of the still-raw loss of their friend.

"Hey, where's Koko-chan?" asked Gaara after sweeping up the pills and the bottle and looking around the apartment twice.

"I don't know," said Naruko, grabbing a broom and a mop from the kitchenette. "I haven't seen her in three days. Do you think she ran away, or maybe died, or she's having her kittens?"

"I don't know, maybe…"

They worked in silence for the most part, and after two hours the easiest and most tedious part of their visit was over, and the emotionally charged part began.

"God I feel awkward going through their stuff," murmured Naruko as she grabbed a bunch of Naruto's clothes and put them on the bed. "It feels almost like desecrating a shrine."

"I don't know if I feel like that," said Gaara, helping her out when she dropped some things, "but it certainly does feel like we're invading their privacy. Maybe you should sit down, and I'll get the stuff and you sort through it." He patted the bed.

"Fuck no," said Naruko, paling. "I am not sitting on the end of the same bed that Sasuke died in. Besides," she added, "it just feels wrong. This bed is the place where they shared so many memories."

"That's not all they shared in this bed," muttered Gaara under his breath before returning to normal volume. "Fine, sit on the floor if you want," he said, "but you can still help me out and sort. Anything of sentimental value goes on one pile to be sorted through again later, and anything else goes on the burn pile."

"God that will be hard," said Naruko softly. "Like this cap," she said, holding up a black baseball cap. "Nii-san was wearing this when he hit a baseball through the neighbor's window when we were twelve. Mom grounded him for two months and made him pay the neighbors for the cost of the window out of his own allowance. It's quite funny to think about now, his face turning red with anger."

"I'd be pissed too, but I'd also be more careful," said Gaara, picking up a tube of lipstick. "Oh god, this is the lipstick tube Sasuke used on me when I lost a bet with him! I can't believe he kept it!"

"What was the bet?" asked Naruko curiously.

"That Itachi couldn't fool their father into thinking he was a girl," said Gaara. "I didn't believe he could, but Sasuke was positive he could, so we made a bet. Whoever lost had to do whatever the other one said for a week. I lost, so I was wearing hair extensions and a skirt to school for a week. The bastard took great pleasure in treating me like a doll. One day he made me go out in public wearing a loli dress. Now that was humiliating. I know for a fact that the pictures he took are still around."

Naruko laughed.

"Why is it that the majority of the stories I hear about Sasuke involve cross-dressing in one form or another?" she asked.

"Because he did it a lot more than he probably ever let on," said Gaara.

Before they knew it they found themselves sharing all sorts of stories about the couple before they became a couple.

"…And then Kyuu-nii walked in on Naruto, while he was getting off to his Playgirl magazine!"

"…The look on his face when he emerged from the water was priceless! Itachi almost died that day."

"…the idiot shot himself in the foot with a bow and arrow; how much more stupid can you get?!"

"…That just goes to show you how much Sasuke loved those stupid tomatoes…"

After a while they ran out of stories to tell. Naruko sighed as she wiped her eyes.

"God I miss them…"

"Well they're not gone," said Gaara, also wiping his eyes, "as long as we keep memories like the ones we shared in our hearts."

"True story, brah," said Naruko, giggling.

The redhead glowered.

"What the hell?"

"It's nothing, ignore me," she said. "I'm high from laughing too hard."

Gaara snorted.

"Yeah, okay," he said. "We've still got their papers to go through, so get your fat ass up and get moving."

"Just for that," said Naruko, glowering at the redhead as she stood up, "I'm never going to have sex with you."

"Well, fine," said Gaara, crossing his arms in mock hurt. "I see how it is."

Naruko stuck her tongue out at her boyfriend as she walked forward, but she tripped over an item of clothing and went sprawling.

"Naruko, are you all right?" asked Gaara frantically.

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Naruko, sitting up and wincing. "What the hell?"

What she had tripped over was the uchikake Sasuke had worn for his and Naruto's wedding. Sighing, she bent down and reluctantly put it back on the pile of clothes to be gotten rid of. She really wished she could wear it for her wedding, but she didn't know if she could get married in an outfit that her dead friend had worn to his wedding. Just then, a carefully folded sheet of paper fell out of one of the sleeves.

"What the hell…?" she muttered to herself as she unfolded it, revealing the meticulously formed, almost calligraphic characters that comprised Sasuke's handwriting. Gaara came over as she read aloud.

Naruko,

I have no use for this anymore, so I thought, why not give it to someone who can use it? Take care of it… At least until you and Gaara are married with a few kids and grandkids; then I don't give a flying fuck what you do with it. Suggestions: make it a tablecloth for special occasions, or completely undo it and make a new kimono out of it. Though I personally suggest the tablecloth; the white is a good accent color to offset the dark red in your apartment.

Oh, and before I go, you asked me how the maternity dress looked on you. Let me tell you honestly, sweetie, it makes your ass look HUGE!

Sasuke-chan

Below the note was a quick chibi drawing of her in her maternity dress. Sticking out to each side was a huge ass.

"I will never get what it is with gay men and interior design," said Gaara, shaking his head. "And I have to agree with him, your ass does look pretty big in that."

Naruko crumpled the note and threw it as hard as she could across the room.

"You, Uchiha Sasuke, are still a dick!" she yelled angrily. "And thank you for putting the idea that my ass looks big in Gaara's head! And you! Asshole! My ass does not look big in this, no matter what Duck Butt says!"

"I meant it as a compliment," snickered Gaara, going over to the note, picking it up, and uncrumpling it. He reread it, and when he came to the drawing, he burst out laughing.

"What the hell, Gaara!" snapped Naruko, turning beet red.

"That's a pretty accurate drawing," said Gaara, smirking evilly.

Naruko yelled incoherently and began to throw everything she could reach at him. He laughed and dodged. All the while both of them could hear faint laughter that no longer belonged to this world, but to the next. There was no one else there that they could see except for them, but it comforted them, to an extent.

Naruko couldn't explain it. One moment she was throwing stuff at Gaara; the next moment she felt an odd sensation at her back, and then warmth spread over and through her, and suddenly she knew where Koko-chan was and why. She told Gaara so and he got an odd look on his face, something between awe and suspicion.

"How do you know?" he asked.

"I don't know," said Naruko honestly, and she told him of the odd feeling and warmth that had spread throughout her body when she had the revelation.

"Is it still there?" he queried cautiously.

She nodded.

"Do you think it's…"

"Sasuke-chan? Yeah. Or it could be Nii-san."

Gaara stepped closer to her.

"Sasuke, or Naruto, if one of you is here please give us an identifying sign."

There was a moment of tense silence as they waited for something to happen. Then the light flickered and went out, and at the same time a voice spoke to them. It was faint, and sounded as if it were coming from underwater, but the words were understandable, the voice unmistakable.

"Remember the lists, Gaara," said Sasuke.

They looked at each other, stunned.

"Oh my god," Gaara murmured.

"What lists?" asked Naruko, confused.

"When we were in ninth grade the two of us made lists of the things we had to live for," explained Gaara. "We gave them to each other in case one of us felt suicidal. I forgot about the lists in the months after the zombie apocalypse, and was only reminded of them last week."

"It's a little late for remembering them, don't you think?" said Naruko wryly.

"Well, yes," he said. "I thought Sasuke forgot about them too. Apparently not."

They heard a faint snort, and the light in the study went out.

"Photographic memory, dipshit."

"Stop turning off lights, Sasuke-chan!" said Naruko irritably, her face pale. "This is creepy enough without lights turning on and off. Use our energy if you want to speak."

The lights in the bedroom and study turned back on, and an invisible hand brushed her in an apologetic manner.

"Thank you. Now where's Koko-chan?"

The warmth once again enveloped her and seeped into her, and she allowed it to direct her feet where they needed to go.

"Hey, where are you going?" asked Gaara.

"To wherever Koko-chan is," responded Naruko.

"That could be anywhere," her boyfriend responded nervously.

Naruko felt a twinge of irritation that she didn't own, and a thought that was also not hers popped into her head. She communicated it to Gaara.

"Sasuke wouldn't lead us on a wild goose chase. It's not far," she said, stepping down and setting off down the garden path toward the koi pond and toward Sasuke and Naruto's gravestones. Gaara looked hesitant, but followed her.

The willow had grown long throughout the spring and summer, and now the drooping branches with their feather-like leaves hid everything from view. Sasuke, Naruto, Gaara, and Naruko had talked about cutting the branches back and putting in a wooden bench back in March, long before Naruto's death, but they'd never gotten around to it, so now the branches formed a curtain that touched the earthen ground and that they had to push away to enter the area.

Koko-chan was there, by the trunk of the tree, yowling and putting up such a fuss that Naruko thought the only way they hadn't heard her was that the curtain of branches was so thick. As they got closer, they saw little bundles of fur coming out of her, each of them making a plaintive mewling sound.

Koko-chan was giving birth.

"Oh my god," said Gaara, his face turning a pale green. "If that's what you'll look like in a few months, Naruko, I am not going to be there."

"You are if you want to keep on being my boyfriend and become the adopted father of my twins, you bastard," said Naruko plainly. Sasuke's laughter echoed in her head, and the warmth that had led her to this spot faded away.

Except that it wasn't just warmth anymore; it was now a glowing ball of light, roughly the size of a basketball. And as it floated toward the tombstones another materialized and joined it, one that floated just a little bit higher. Gaara and Naruko watched as they illuminated Koko-chan and her newborn kittens, which were mewling pitifully. As they floated closer, Koko-chan hissed and batted at them, her claws out. The higher orb, which they assumed was Naruto, bobbed irritably. Naruko laughed.

"She's going to want to protect her kittens, Nii-san," she said, giggling.

"You're crying, koishii," said Gaara softly.

Naruko brought her hand up to her face in surprise; it came away wet.

"When did that start?" she wondered out loud, wiping the tears away. More came to replace them.

"Let it out, koishii," said the redhead quietly, and Naruko did. Burying her head in Gaara's chest she cried like she hadn't cried before. After Naruto's death she hadn't cried properly because she had to be strong for Sasuke. After Sasuke's death, she hadn't really cried because she'd been shocked, even though she supposed his suicide shouldn't have come as much of a surprise to her… He'd been going downhill ever since he had to shoot Naruto, weighed down by overwhelming guilt, grief, and post-traumatic stress.

Now, it felt like a dam had broken inside of her. Holding onto her boyfriend, she cried rivers. She cried for Naruto, for Sasuke, for Kiba, for herself and Gaara, for her parents, for Kyuubi, for Itachi, and for the loss of their normal lives almost a year ago in the face of this plague that had swept across the planet. Because the zombie plague was the real cause of all the loss and pain; the real reason why all of her family was dead; the real reason why Sasuke had been driven to suicide; the real reason why she was crying like a small child, here under the willow in Gaara's arms.

She and Gaara were suddenly encircled by glowing light. It flowed over them protectively, and Naruko smiled through her tears.

"Thanks, you guys," she said quietly, drying her eyes.

As they watched, the balls of light that had enveloped them moved back, elongating, stretching, and transforming until Sasuke and Naruto stood before them, transparent but clear as day. They were floating off the ground a little, and surrounded by a soft pulsating light, but it was unmistakably them. If not for the little touches of the paranormal, Naruko would have thought them still alive.

As she marveled at this, Naruto's lips parted and he began to speak.

"We'll watch over you," he said softly. "You may not be able to see us all the time, but we'll be here."

"How will we know?" asked Naruko, hating how she sounded like a scared child.

"You'll know," he murmured. "You'll see. We'll give signs to let you know it's us."

"Oh great," groaned Gaara. "As if my life needed a little more weirdness in it."

Sasuke snorted.

"It will get weirder," he promised, taking his husband's ethereal hand.

They began to fade, but Naruko wasn't done.

"Naru-nii! Sasuke-chan!" she cried.

Their forms became a little more solidified, and they looked at her questioningly.

"Do you know if there's an afterlife?" she asked, almost afraid of the answer.

The couple looked at each other, then at her, and then slowly nodded.

"Are you two in Heaven?"

They looked at each other again, and then back at her, again.

"You'll just have to find out when you get here, sweetie," laughed Sasuke. Naruto joined him.

And they faded away, leaving the living couple in a decidedly strange silence.

"Well, that was decidedly weird," said Gaara awkwardly. "I never really believed in ghosts until just then. Earlier I was still holding out, hoping that it was a hoax or something, but holy shit."

"Well it's a good thing you believe now," said Naruko warningly, "because they'll be around for a while from the looks of it."

Gaara laughed a little.

"It's good to know that they're not entirely gone," he said.

"Even if there were no afterlife, they'd be here, in our hearts and minds," said Naruko, kissing her boyfriend. He smiled and kissed her back, rubbing her burgeoning belly.

He'd been nervous about adopting Naruko's twins and marrying her, but after everything that had happened in the last ten months, he knew one thing…

Life is short, so you have to take the moments as they come. Gaara was ready for the challenge.

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Me: =3 All right children, one more chapter!

Sasuke, Naruto: -Groan- -_-

Me: #-_- Oh bite me!

Sasuke: -.- No thanks. What's the final chapter?

Me: The epilogue. Duh…

Sasuke: #-_- Oh shut up. Tell us!

Me: No. You get to find out for yourselves. Review, please! And I'm sorry if this chapter sucked… I stayed up all night finishing it.

Naruto: -_- No you didn't. You stayed up all night reading yaoi and working on another NaruSasu fanfic.

Me: D8 SHUT UP, PUNK! IWAS WORKING ON THIS ONE TOO!

Sasuke: -_- You're procrastinating.

Me: D8 I have every right to, just so long as I finish the story! I've been working on this story for almost a year, and I'm tired of it! This is the last zombie story I ever write! I apologize, dear readers, for any suckish qualities that these last two chapters may have! Please forgive me! –Bows deeply-

Naruto: '-_- This chapter sucks.

Me: #-_- Well, you suck too, Fishcake. You suck dick.

Naruto: D8 I don't just suck any dick! I'm not a manwhore!

Me: Oh right, I should have added Sasuke's name before I said dick. 8D

Sasuke: _ Yeah, whatever.

Me: The chapter sucks because I was fighting major writer's block, even as I get new ideas for my other NaruSasu fanfics! And because I wrote most of it at or after midnight! And it's short because I have writer's block! D8

Sasuke: '-_- Smart planning, idiot.

Me: D8 At least it's not during the school year anymore!

Sasuke: '-_- I was talking about the creative flow of ideas.

Me: _ Well, I don't care what you were talking about. You can kiss my asshole.

Sasuke: o.O Ew. I'd rather not if it's all the same to you.

Me: It is not all the same to me! Get down and kiss it! 8D

Sasuke: 0.0 …No.

Naruto: -Laughs- Shot down! =D

Me: 8D I will find great pleasure in torturing you two in future fanfics.

Sasuke, Naruto: '-_- Oh god.

Me: -Cackles evilly- Review, puny human toadies! Review! 8D