A/N: Holy damn – I actually managed to scrabble together the final chapter THIS fast! HOORAY! (jumps up and down with excitement like a kid until tranquillisers fly)
BUT, before letting you go to see how the story ends… MAN – MONUMENTAL thank yous for those absolutely phenomenal reviews! Like I've said before, I would've never imagined that this fic could become THIS popular, so I'm utterly baffled here. (sniffs, and faints from shock for a while) THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart! You guys the best, you know? (HUGGLES)
Awkay, because I think the best 'thank you' –present I could give is to let you know how this all ends… Let's go! I truly hope you'll enjoy the final chappy.
DISCLAIMER: The song used this time is "Inori" ("Prayers"; You raise me up) from Lena Park – sadly enough, me STILL owes nothing. (has a very childish tantrum) (I hope the translated lyrics I found are correct.) PLEASE, if you've got the slightest chance, listen to the song while reading! I hope this isn't considered advertising, but it's unbelievable and works magnificently as a mood setter. (grins) Ah yes! And underneath the chappy is another piece of song lyrics that was a huge inpiration for both this fic and chapter. It's "Five seasons" ("Viisi vuodenaikaa") from Kaija Koo. Aww, man, now I have to say it again – me do not own. (sniffs) I hope I did decently with the translation.
/ In the depths of my teared-up eyes
Is your unchanging figure
"Where will the world continue to?"
Words from the days that have ceased
Even in freezing, stormy nights
I will continue to the yet unseen you
Please tell me, oh winds that sail across the ocean
That prayers will traverse time
At the far end of the horizon
Lies an episode of a sleeping planet
"There is no night without dawning" you said
Laughing at the sins of that day /
The Fifth Season – Pink
Kiyoto, 2025
Sixteen-years-old Naruto gasped loudly, hungrily, when his eyes finally flew open after a darkness that'd lasted for eternity, it seemed to him.
Sasuke…!
" I think he's coming to", a voice that sounded distinctly familiar announced. Very slowly his vision cleared, revealing an apparently worried brown haired boy hovering above him. " Hey, are you okay? You didn't hit your, did you?"
He swallowed thickly and blinked thrice. " Shik…amaru…" Talking was a frustratingly hard task, he discovered.
The brunette, however, seemed relieved. " Good, so you didn't fracture your thick skull." The boy then frowned again. " You passed out. What happened?"
He barely heard Shikamaru.
" You do know that you're staring, right – dobe?"
/ " Are you hurt, Scaredy Cat?" /
" Have I… met you before?"
/ " Squad 7: Naruto Uzumaki… Sakura Haruno… And Sasuke Uchiha."
" I'm doomed…" /
" Next time… I'll wait. I promise."
/ " Sasuke! I'm not letting Orochimaru take you away, do you understand me?! I'll break every single bone in your body if that's what it takes to stop you! You're not going anywhere!" /
" See? You're almost home."
He bolted into a sitting position far faster than his head would've approved. " I… need to go outside", he murmured, struggling himself up. " To clear my head."
Shikamaru seemed confused. " Okay. Just come back inside soon, okay? It's not safe out there."
He waved a hand although he hardly registered those words.
Outside the weather was as strange as it had been for a long time. Seasons hadn't existed for nine years, but to him it felt like all four of them had been fighting over power at the time. Rain didn't seem to be far, it was hot and cold at the same time. It was eerily quiet, as though nature itself had laid in wait. All he heard was the faintest of whispers in the back of his mind.
" Dobe."
He stood still for about a minute, then started to run all of a sudden, as fast as his unnaturally weak legs could carry him, eventually ending up to the city's highest cliff that opened a view to stormy waters and the breathtakingly beautiful setting sun. His heart sunk as he stood there, shivering in wind's cruel, cold embrace.
What, or whoever, he'd been looking for… wasn't there. He'd been mistaken.
A part of him would've wanted to break down, but instead he stood still, feeling numb and hollow, even betrayed.
" This is your reward."
" What's with the face, dobe?"
His heart made movements it shouldn't have been capable of, and an enormous grin spread to his face as he turned around slowly.
Sure enough Sasuke was stood right behind him, with an expression that seemed to hold so much he couldn't identify all. The young man looked exactly like back when they'd first been ripped apart in a village he could faintly remember as Konoha – even the raven's outfit was the same.
" I knew you'd be here", he declared, not bothering to hide a trace of everything he was feeling. Looking at the other's face, he just had to ask. " You… remember, don't you?"
Sasuke nodded, dark eyes flashing with what could've been identified as about a million things. " Everything."
He nodded as well, then – out of what felt like sheer terror – felt like adding. " You're… not running away again, are you? Because…" He swallowed, unable to get the last words out.
No, Sasuke didn't run away. Instead the raven walked closer, stood right beside him, and darted his gaze towards the horizon. " So it's really happening."
Looking to the same direction, he found a strange, pink cloud like formation approaching rapidly. Had he not known how deadly the cloud was, he would've called it beautiful.
Scientists had made a huge mistake, news had declared a week earlier. Five days earlier it was announced that almost half of the known world had been destroyed – only winds had kept east protected for a little while longer. As from two days earlier there had been no news, and everyone had started to prepare themselves for the inevitable.
It was all over – for the most.
" It's finally over, isn't it?" he murmured, feeling tired and incredibly happy at the same time, although he couldn't explain either one of those emotions. He didn't bother to clarify; he had a feeling that Sasuke knew exactly what he meant.
" Hn."
They watched how the ominous, deadly cloud kept approaching, neither of them moving to escape from it.
This wasn't a trick of fate that was supposed to keep them apart, they knew.
Trembling just a little his hand moved towards Sasuke's, then grabbed, holding on as tightly as humanly possible. Sasuke hesitated for just a second, but in the end returned the gesture, accepted what he was offering. Another huge grin spread to his face although destruction was coming.
It took several minutes before he found himself speaking. " Scared?" Because, to his stun, he realized he wasn't; his heart was thumping, yes, but he felt safe, at peace.
Sasuke's response didn't surprise him, but the hand tightening around his did. " No." No dobes, no sharp edges. The voice speaking was soft and calm, almost unfamiliar.
Holding on to Sasuke even more tightly he closed his eyes, unable to wipe away the smile on his face. Wind blew hard, making him feel even stronger than he had before, invincible. To him, the constantly loudening roars of mighty nature sounded like those of victory.
He didn't think he'd felt this happy in any of those lives he'd without a doubt had.
The journey was finally over. They'd made it through, found each other, passed whatever test fate had held for them.
One world was ending, but he and Sasuke would never part again.
To them, this ending gave a promise of eternity.
/ I embrace the quivering you
Looking up at the unreachable empty sky
A bell echoing through the darkness can be heard
The road leading to you is far
Even in freezing, stormy nights
I will continue to the yet unseen you
Please tell me, oh winds that sail across the ocean
That prayers will traverse time
Even in freezing, stormy nights
I will continue to the yet unseen you
Please tell me, oh winds that sail across the ocean
That prayers will traverse time /
Never lifetimes away again.
" I love you."
/ Prayers will traverse time /
In Konoha tears rimmed thirty-five years old Sakura's eyes while she stood by the graves of who'd once been her teammates.
" I'm… sorry it's taken me so long to visit", she all but whispered, brushing the flowers she'd brought along delicately with one hand. She tried to blink away the burning behind her eyes, but didn't succeed. " Things have just… been a bit hectic around here lately, even though the village is well recovered from Pein's attack by now." Not really noticing it, she brushed her slightly swollen stomach with a gentle hand. " And Sanaru's already being a handful – I have a very dark feeling that she's going to be just as boneheaded as you two." Her green eyes then changed when there was no reaction to her words, not even the slightest sign that she would've been heard. " Besides, it's… it's not easy to come here, you know? I miss you, damn it." She wiped away the two tears that slipped through her retrains. " I… I hope you're happy, wherever you are, and that you finally found each other. It's…" Just then she trailed off with a gasp as her eyes met something they weren't quite ready to believe.
Two days after the funeral of Naruto and Sasuke, she'd planted two white roses nearby their graves. Now those grown flowers, which had formerly been rather far apart, had wrapped around each other, embracing.
" Hokage-sama?" Moegi's voice startled her a bit. " Are you alright?"
Very slowly a thin smile rose to her face, although one tear escaped. For the first time in years her heart turned warm, knowing. " Yeah…", she murmured, caressing the joined roses gently with her fingers. " I am."
As they walked away, she noted something quite absently.
Birds had never chirped the way they did that day.
Her smile grew as she glanced towards the clouds setting sun had dyed pink.
/ Owari. /
A/N: (sniff, sniff) Man, I can't believe it's over already! But at least our beloved boneheads not only got a lifetime together, but an eternity. Awww! (wipes eyes, though still sniffing)
Once more thank you SO MUCH for reading, reviewing and listing this lil' piece of mine! I'm thrilled beyond any belief if you've had as good of a run with this one as I did. It's been true pleasure to share this with you guys, and I'll REALLY miss typing this one. (sniffles) Here's a box of treats for all of you!
Bye for now, and thank you!
Take care!
Kaija Koo: "Five seasons"
I remember the first moment of autumn
When summer passed away quietly
You said that you could make a small journey on your own
When there's so much to look at
One must dare
A jump to unknown
Can't be done one step at a time
Not at all
I wish you were here
When it's autumn
And my mind is slushy
It blocks these roads of mine
And not even in spring
Does this northern wind of mine seem to turn
But it travels through me
I remember the first moment of autumn
When summer passed away quietly
You said that you would make a journey of your own
And it might take time
One must leave
When they can't refuse from leaving at all
Those are small departures before the great one
I wish you were here
When it's autumn
And my mind is slushy
It blocks these roads of mine
And not even in spring
Does this northern wind of mine seem to turn
But it travels through me
I wish you were here
When it's summer
And I disappear from myself
And find again
Even though you're far
Perhaps you and winter will arrive gradually
And I move on to the fifth of seasons