I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. Spoilers for end of manga, The Last and Boruto movies.

Cover art by i-azu and posted with permission (link to awesome original on profile page).

The Final Flame

Prologue: The Way We Are Now

OoOoO

"You have got to be kidding me," she said flatly, right before Naruto crushed her against his chest.

"Yo, Sakura-chan! Wow, you're up early. Can we crash here tonight? Cool? Cool. See, teme—told you she'd be fine with it. Oh, do you have any leftovers? I'm starving."

Naruto was wrong. She wasn't waking up—she had been awake for nearly twenty hours, running on too much caffeine for no good reason. So by all means, a hallucination was perfectly normal. It had to be. Because Sakura specifically remembered bidding the boys goodbye at the end of her shift with her usual threat to rearrange their remaining limbs if they did anything stupid.

This definitely qualified.

"Uzumaki Naruto, I told you not to do anything stupid!" she hissed, grabbing his ear.

"Eh—ow, ow, ow! I didn't!"

"What else do you call showing up on my doorstep at four in the morning with only two arms between the two of you? Hmm?"

"Ahh, it'll be two arms and three ears at this rate," Naruto whined, flailing against Sakura's grip. "Come on, have mercy! The food sucks. They don't let us spar and the bed's too soft. And I missed you."

If Naruto thought the helpless urchin card would sway her motherly instincts… he would be absolutely correct. But even among mothers, Sakura was a hard-ass. "Hmph. They'll never put ramen on the menu, you're still recovering, and you've never complained about any type of flat surface before."

"So you don't miss me?"

"Try that on someone who doesn't see you every day."

Naruto made an arching gesture at his body, which he probably meant to look climatic but failed entirely thanks to Sakura's death grip. "I'm perfectly healthy! Look!"

"You lost an arm, Naruto."

"Just an arm."

As soon as it was out, Naruto grimaced. She caught the meek look he shot her, and it felt ridiculous because it wasn't her arm that was missing. She wasn't the one who had bled out on that broken ground for hours, waiting for someone to stitch together what was left. She shouldn't be the one upset.

But, somehow, she was.

Sakura pulled Naruto's ear one more time, then let him go. Naruto didn't wince. "There is no 'just' about that, baka," she muttered.

"Yeah," Naruto said quietly. "Sorry."

Sakura half-heartedly punched his shoulder for good measure. But if Naruto was still alive to apologise for stupid things, she could forgive him for leaving her with the phantom throb of his slowing heart in her hand at night. "You know, I was going to discharge you tomorrow anyway. But I think I've changed my mind."

"Whatever you say. Aw man, Sakura-chan, don't look like that. C'mere."

Naruto's hugs still felt the same: warm, secure and sincere. So much about Naruto's actions came straight from the heart that perhaps, to him, it really was just an arm. But to Sakura, that arm was half the hard work her best friend had put in over years. She should have been there.

She took in a breath, then sighed. "Don't just stand out there, Sasuke-kun. Come in."

Naruto released her with a grin. "Oops, forgot about you. Check this place out. Sai and I painted the walls."

And a sloppy job it was. Sakura didn't say anything because, deep down, she loved those walls. She liked tracking the uneven brush strokes on her ceiling every morning, picturing Sai chipping away with his tiny brush and Naruto's clones sloshing cans everywhere. She'd meant to ask who had painted which rooms and opened her mouth to do just that. Then Sasuke stepped into the light.

He looked more dishevelled than Naruto, which confirmed two things: that the Kyuubi was still looking out for Naruto, and that most of the nurses were still afraid to be in Sasuke's space. The last time Sakura had felt protective of Sasuke, she had just decided she must be the one to kill him. The thought had held as she stood outside his hospital room, clenching her fists, and when it came down to it, she didn't tell the nurses off. She just knocked, greeted him like any other patient, and changed his bandages herself. In turn, he treated her like any other medic on duty.

Except now, they weren't meeting in the hospital. This was her apartment, her home.

Sasuke stepped out of his hospital slippers and set them neatly beside Naruto's scattered pair, then straightened. He didn't seem interested in studying her apartment, which was a relief. Instead, he looked straight at Sakura and nodded. She smiled faintly back, suddenly grateful for Konoha's Best Distraction foraging through her pantry.

"Hey, Sakura, where's your ramen?"

"What makes you think you're allowed to eat anything instant under my roof?"

"Um, the fact that you love me?"

Sakura pulled open the fridge. "Nice try. Take your pick."

Naruto looked horrified. "You're feeding us fruit? We're pitiful patients here—how are we going to get our nutrients?"

"You're the last person to be talking about nutrients. If Jiraiya-sama hadn't shovelled proper food into you for three years, you probably wouldn't have grown at all."

"Whatcha talking about? All the geezer did was flirt high and low. I fed myself." Naruto leaned over and whispered to Sasuke, "Just to put it out there—Sakura can't cook."

"I heard that!"

"It's true though—remember those energy snacks you made me? I thought my tastebuds were paralysed for life…"

Fine, so she lacked in the domestic department. The moment Tsunade agreed to take her as an apprentice, Sakura had bid farewell to her girlhood dreams of becoming the perfect housewife. She still didn't regret it. Most of the time. "If they were that bad, why did you scoff them down like candy?"

"Because I'm a gentleman and I love you… and you would've snapped me in half if I spit it back out."

Sakura opened her mouth indignantly, but just then a cupboard clicked shut behind her. She and Naruto spun around to find Sasuke holding a frying pan. Sakura blinked several times, struggling to process the scene in front of her.

Uchiha Sasuke was in her kitchen. With a blunt instrument.

Sasuke set the pan on the stove, then opened a drawer and rummaged for a while. Naruto cleared his throat. "Uh, Sasuke? What are you doing?"

"I don't keep kunai in the kitchen," Sakura added warily.

"Truth. She hides them in summoning seals under the table. And she sticks shuriken behind the wall clock."

"I do not." She totally did.

Sasuke looked up. His eyes knifed straight into Sakura's, and he uttered one word: "Eggs?"

Her eyebrows shot up.

"Eggs," Naruto repeated, frowning. "You mean the yummy round stuff chooks poop out."

"You have something to say, dobe?"

"Well, no—actually, yes. Are you going to cook?"

Sasuke clicked his tongue and took a whisk—her whisk, Sakura realised—out of the drawer. His gaze flickered back to her, and he asked once more—"Eggs?"

A glimpse of the Rinnegan beneath his bangs snapped Sakura back to her senses. She still didn't know what the hell was going on, but gawking like a fish wasn't helping. She opened the fridge and took out three eggs. Sasuke held a bowl out to her. How the hell did Uchiha Sasuke know his way around her kitchen?

He grunted impatiently.

Shaking her head, Sakura cracked the eggs into the bowl. Sasuke set it on the counter and started whisking with one hand. Five seconds later, he stopped. "What?" he said flatly.

Sakura realised she had been hovering at his elbow, trying to peek over his shoulder. Embarrassed, she stepped back—and knocked into Naruto. He'd had the same idea and, now that he had gotten over his shock, he seemed to be getting other ideas. "How about omelette rice?" he suggested.

"Hn. Too long to make."

"Dude, you're a Katon user. Don't tell me you can't boil rice in three minutes."

"Do you have cup ramen for brains?"

"What? It's a good idea!"

She couldn't help it—she laughed.

Naruto and Sasuke turned to her. The expression on their faces—annoyance on Sasuke's, bemusement on Naruto's—made Sakura snort even harder. "Sorry," she gasped, raising a shaking hand. "Don't mind me."

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto cocked his head, and then his eyes widened. "Are you crying?"

She was. Crap. "It was a yawn! I'm okay."

"No, you're not," Naruto huffed. "Damn it, bastard. Stop making Sakura-chan cry."

"I didn't do a thing," Sasuke scowled, and it was such a nostalgic sight that Sakura accidentally sobbed.

"See? It's your fault!" Naruto howled. He pulled Sakura into his chest and tried to wipe her tears—except he forgot about his arm, and his empty jacket sleeve brushed her cheek.

Sakura started bawling.

"Oh, shit. S-Sakura-chan? Hey, it's okay—Sasuke, do something!"

A long pause. Then— "Katon: Gou—"

"I don't mean burn the kitchen down!"

They were a complete mess, but Sakura loved them so much it took her breath away.

When he opened his eyes that morning, Naruto thought they were back in the Valley of the End. Just for a moment. And for another moment, he had tried to lift his right arm to shield his eyes. Now, standing under the Hokage Monument with the sun in his eyes, he made the same mistake.

Sakura noticed, and shook her head amusedly. Just an arm? she mouthed. Drats. She wasn't going to let him live that down. He stuck his tongue out.

Between them, Sasuke was annoyingly silent as always. Trying to shield him from the village's cautious glances ended up having the opposite effect; with Naruto and Sakura's newfound fame, Sasuke would have drawn less attention if they had just left him to stand at the very edge of the crowd, alone.

But that wasn't the point, was it?

Up on the platform, Tsunade lowered a white hat on Kakashi's head. And when he looked down at the village, Naruto could've sworn those dark eyes landed on the three of them.

"My first act as the Sixth Hokage is to ask that the Hidden Leaf Village take a minute of silence to honour all the shinobi who fought in the Fourth Great Ninja War…"

Naruto hoped Kakashi was the last Kage to ever say those words. Inauguration Day was supposed to be filled with parades and fireworks. No one should be wearing black robes on such a day.

Sakura had bought the robes for him and Sasuke. After eating Sasuke's omelette rice in silence, she'd whipped out a tape measure and made them stand against a wall. "Did you grow again, Naruto?" she'd wondered aloud. "When did your shoulders get so wide?"

"Ichiraku's Super-Sized Naruto Special!"

The tape measure bounced off the back of his head.

Sakura was suspiciously quiet when she measured Sasuke. It took Naruto a while to realise it wasn't because she had nothing to say; she didn't know where to start. Hell, he wouldn't have known either. The only way to compare Sasuke was to recall what he'd been like three years ago, before it all went wrong—and to be honest Naruto didn't remember all that well.

He wished he could forget Neji dying in his arms just as easily.

The funeral was the one occasion where Naruto could not allow himself to take the backseat. As he made to move, Sakura tugged his arm and tucked a handkerchief into his hand. Then she gently pushed him forward. Naruto reached the front of the service without hassle; everyone parted for him. No jeers, no sneers, no glares of disapproval. That was going to take some getting used to, but he wasn't thinking about that right now.

Hinata looked up when he held the handkerchief out to her. Naruto gave her his best grin. She smiled back. He stayed at her shoulder throughout the proceedings, though they were far from alone. When it came time to say last words, Naruto looked around and found them surrounded by their classmates.

"Look at that," Kiba cracked half-heartedly, as Hinata's sister passed white flowers down the line. "You clean up pretty well, Naruto. So your skin isn't orange after all."

"And it turns out you don't always smell like wet dog," Naruto returned fondly.

"You've done something with your hair, Sakura," Ino observed, twirling her flower. "Could it be… you washed it?"

"Of course I did," Sakura replied dryly. "I couldn't just sit around when I thought about how much time you would spend covering up those eye bags. You did a terrible job, by the way."

"Aww, you're so sweet." Ino's voice became soft. "You know who had the best hair? Neji."

Lee nodded vigorously, flinging tears into the air like raindrops.

Tenten said, "He told me he sat under the fountain in his clan's courtyard every morning… must be something in the water."

Shikamaru shrugged. "It's always something in the water."

"Nee-sama…?" Hanabi asked.

Naruto turned around, just in time to see Hinata hold out a flower to Sasuke. And boy did Sasuke look confused. Had the two of them ever even spoken to each other before?

"Why?" Sasuke asked simply.

Hinata spoke slowly, but clearly. "The Neji-niisan I loved didn't hold grudges… I-I think he would be happy to see you together with us again."

"Don't be so sure about that," he warned.

Hinata smiled wanly. "If you don't mind, I'll take my chances. Will you join us, Sasuke-kun?"

And that was how the quietest person Naruto knew overpowered his strongest rival. Sasuke just took the flower and followed, silently squeezing in between him and Sakura. Holy crap. Hinata let out a little breath as she reclaimed her spot on Naruto's other side, and even though he knew Hiashi was watching just metres away, Naruto couldn't resist leaning over and whispering, "You are such a badass, Hinata!"

"P-Pardon me?"

Naruto opened his mouth to repeat, but Kiba spoke up. "This feels like the Chuunin Exams all over again, huh?"

Lee sniffled unintelligibly.

"Ah!" Ino stared down the line. "Come to think of it, don't we still have two genin here?"

Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other.

"J-Just wait till I'm Hokage! I'll jump ahead of all of you!"

"Can a genin even do that? Redo the exams like the rest of us did, you cheat!"

"I'm the most outstanding genin in the world, okay? I'll show you!" Naruto huffed as the others snickered. But already, the mood had changed. Naruto looked at Neji's name on the cold stone, and made another promise there and then. "I'm not doing the exams again. It wouldn't be the same. Three years ago, fighting in that arena with Neji… that was it for me. If we could go back and try for chuunin all together again—I'd still choose to fight Neji. And I'd kick his ass all over again. But I can't choose that anymore… so I won't."

There was a shuffle. Kiba had pressed Hinata's face into his shoulder; her knuckles were pale, clenched around the handkerchief. They'd been that colour when she had touched his cheek on the battlefield, Neji's body between them. She'd been crying then, too, hadn't she?

Naruto placed his flower on the grave and stepped back. "Rest easy, Neji. Next life, I'm going to make jounin before you. Believe it."

He had promised Neji he would change the Hyuuga clan—but now, after all this, it felt like they had changed him.

Hiding from his students required much more effort nowadays.

"There he is!" Naruto yelled as everyone filed out of the cemetery. "Oi, Kakashi-sensei, you made me lose a bet! You were supposed to take that silly mask off once you became Hokage."

Leaning against the cemetery gates, Kakashi lifted a hand. "My bad. I'm a shy soul."

"Not when it comes to ladies, you're not." Naruto grinned and slapped his palm. Kakashi wondered for a moment if his once-shortest student was actually close to outgrowing him. As if he didn't feel old enough already.

"Sensei, congratulations." Sakura beamed at him. "Wow, that hat looks huge on you. So I guess I shouldn't have to patch you up anymore, now that you're stuck in an office?"

Kakashi slumped. "Ever so cruel, Sakura. You used to be cute and obedient. Then Tsunade-sama came along and corrupted you."

"Don't be jealous. You know you'll always be my first mentor."

"That has a nice ring to it." Kakashi ruffled Sakura's hair. She'd never been quite as transparent as Naruto, or as impenetrable as Sasuke. That was what made her Kakashi's favourite—she was his constant. Nowadays, Sakura was everyone's constant; somewhere along the way, that frivolous young girl had become the team's true north. And on the other end of the spectrum… "Yo," Kakashi greeted.

Sasuke nodded back at him.

For all the years and differences in between, they could easily have been a jounin instructor and his genin. Instead, they were the Rokudaime Hokage and a missing-nin. How had that happened?

Kakashi tucked his hands into his pockets, closing his fingers around the bells he'd taken off his belt for the inauguration. Sasuke was the first genin to leave fingerprints on those bells. That made him, and everything he had done, Kakashi's responsibility.

Yeet it was Sasuke who spoke first. "I need to talk to you."

Kakashi arched an eyebrow. "So do I." From the corner of his eye, he saw Naruto and Sakura share a puzzled look. Once again, Sasuke was the only one on the same page as Kakashi. Some things did not change. Kakashi jerked his head. "Care for a walk? No black cats, I promise."

Sasuke's lips twitched.

Obito had it right all along; the road of life was incredibly easy to get lost on. And who could you really blame for that?

In the end, they reacted exactly as he predicted.

Naruto exploded. "He what?!"

Sasuke set his chopsticks down. Sakura had ordered takeout for dinner and somehow filled the table with his and Naruto's favourite foods. Before that, Sasuke didn't even think he had a preference anymore. "Stop overreacting. You're ruining my appetite."

"I am not overreacting! He can't do that. What is he thinking?" Naruto shook his head and stood. "I'm going to talk to him."

"Naruto, wait." Sakura gripped the back of his jacket.

"Don't try to stop me, Sakura-chan—"

"I'm coming with you."

Naruto's fierce scowl melted into a grin. "Okay. Race ya."

Sasuke sighed and let them go. In reality, he didn't let them go so much as watched them disappear before he could react. He admitted it—he was surprised. He used to be the quickest out of them.

He still was. Narrowly.

He waited for them at the stairs to Hokage Tower. Two breaths after he alighted, Sakura came into view, tucking windblown hair behind her ear. She noticed Sasuke immediately, and frowned. There was irritation there—a competitive streak. He did not expect that from her.

Naruto appeared next to her, rubbing his knee. "We're having a rematch, Sakura-chan."

"It's not my fault you jumped into a billboard."

"It's dark and I'm off balance!"

"Then compensate, dobe," Sasuke called.

Naruto whipped around and twitched. He jabbed a finger in shock. "You! How did you get here so fast?"

Sasuke looked down at them from the top of the stairs. Funny how their eyes stood out so stark in the night. With his back to the moonlight, Sasuke was sure Naruto and Sakura couldn't make out his own eyes. Good. "Don't try to change Kakashi's mind. Even if you do, you can't change mine."

He didn't miss their glance at each other. So they had done more than sprint on the way over. He had to admit; these two had surprised him a great deal in a short time. "Looks like you were right, Sakura-chan," Naruto grumbled. He thrust a hand into his hair, glaring up at Sasuke. "So you're really going to walk into a cell tomorrow and let ANBU lock you up? After everything?"

"It will only last until the council comes to a decision. They'll release me after that."

"What's the point? Kakashi-sensei and Baa-chan said they would wipe your slate clean, didn't they? The war's over. Everyone is united and they'll forgive—"

"Listen to yourself, Naruto," Sasuke cut in. "Are you still that naïve?"

Naruto gritted his teeth, scowling. "Fine. So some people look at you weird. I've had that for sixteen years. It gets better. You don't need to lock yourself up just to prove a point."

"I couldn't care less what the villagers think of me. The politics don't matter to me." Sasuke narrowed his eyes, shook his head. "Don't you get it? I need this."

Naruto's mouth hung open for several seconds. "You need to be locked in a cold cell," he clarified. "To what—make up for all the trouble you put everyone through? Because no offence, Sasuke, you're going to need to do a lot more than that."

"You think I don't know that?"

"I dunno," Naruto mumbled. "Do you?"

Now only Sakura was looking at him. Sasuke wasn't accustomed to how sharp her gaze was. She never used to look him so directly in the eye. Softly, she said, "You're planning to leave Konoha anyway. Aren't you, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke never considered himself predictable, but at that moment, he felt strangely exposed.

Naruto's head snapped up. "Seriously?"

A sigh hissed between his lips. "I can't stay here," Sasuke muttered.

"Why not?" Naruto demanded. Wide blue eyes searched his; there was such frustration in them Sasuke wondered how the idiot could still afford to care about him so much. Especially when Naruto made to cross his arms and flushed when he remembered he couldn't. "Konoha is your home. We're family."

He should've known the idiot would bring out that word. "The whole shinobi world is family to you, Naruto. I don't feel the same."

"Bastard—"

"I can't try to care about a world I haven't seen with my own two eyes."

Naruto's mouth snapped shut with a click. He frowned. "Is that what your goal is now? To care?"

"No." Sasuke paused. "To see."

Naruto threw up his hands and turned helplessly to Sakura. She had stood beside him with her hands behind her back, watching them with a curious expression. In the deep recess of his mind, Sasuke remembered a time when every day had passed in this manner: the two of them neck to neck, Sakura pushing them apart. She'd always taken his side, even when he was in the wrong. How the tables had turned.

Sakura looked between Naruto and Sasuke, and sighed. "Make sure you pack warm clothes. I have a feeling you don't plan to go somewhere sunny."

Sasuke blinked.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto protested.

"What? You know he won't take care of himself properly." She turned to Naruto—even though her words were simple, her gaze was not. Sasuke noticed how they were always watching each other, following leads with simple glances. "You—we kept our promise, Naruto. We brought Sasuke back, but I think we always knew we couldn't keep him." She paused. "Well, actually, I could break his legs in places that won't heal, but that goes completely against my medic code."

"It doesn't go against mine," Naruto grumbled.

"He came back," Sakura said softly. "Isn't that what matters most?"

Naruto wrung his arm like he wanted to punch something. Sakura offered an open palm. Naruto took one look at it, growled deep in his chest, and the frustration seemed to seep out of him. He sagged. "… Do whatever you want, teme. You always have."

Sasuke didn't think he ever needed anyone's permission. Yet, seeing those two smiling resignedly at him, something in his chest unknotted. "Hypocrite," he snorted, starting down the steps towards them.

Naruto tucked his arm behind his head as they fell into step. "I guess Kakashi-sensei needs to take responsibility for you somehow. The other countries aren't after your head anymore, but you sure as hell aren't their favourite customer. Not like they could really tie you up, the way things are. It's more the idea that you let ANBU take you in without a fight. Shows that you've really turned a new leaf? Or something. Maybe seeing you behind bars for a bit will give everyone an easier time."

A length of silence. Then Sakura laughed. "Wow."

"Hm," Sasuke agreed.

"What?"

"Konoha's biggest knucklehead has developed foresight." Sakura elbowed Naruto, making him yelp and stagger. "You are totally counting down the days until Kakashi-sensei retires."

"Why does it sound like you only just realised I've got brains?"

"Because they weren't there before?"

"That hurts, Sakura-chan!"

"What do you think, Sasuke-kun?" Now Sakura was looking at him. For once, it was with an unguarded expression. She grinned. "Konoha with Naruto as Hokage? What do you think of that?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. When he had arrived on the battlefield and announced he was after the same title, Sakura had frowned at him. He'd watched her surprise and hope fall into hostile disbelief, and he had realised then that Naruto already had people who would follow him anywhere. There they had stood, a jinchuuriki and the Uchiha survivor; so alike, yet so, so different.

In another world, another time, their roles might have been reversed. Another destiny, another person away, Sasuke might even have been happy.

He turned away. "It would turn out just like it was always meant to."

Naruto balked. "Ehh? What kind of fortune-telling mumbo is that? What do you mean? Oi, don't think you can run off! Sasuke!"

Strange. Right now, in this world with these two fools at his back, Sasuke did not feel unhappy.

A/N: Welcome to the bottom of the page! Kudos for making it all the way down here. A little about me and this story: I'm an old Naruto fanfic writer blindsided by throes of nostalgia when the series ended. While I enjoyed the movies and accept Kishimoto's canon, I didn't like how The Last filled in the years after the last manga chapter. Where were my emotional Team 7 fluffy moments?! What happened to everyone else? That's when this story started breeding plot bunnies. It's basically me trying to join the dots after chapter 700, writing over The Last. Which means, sadly, no epic fights on the moon's surface.

This story is a spot of fun, but also a lot of gratitude for an awesome cast of characters. Please drop me a note if you liked (or didn't, that's okay too!) what you read. Until the next chapter—tonkotsu shoyu, out!