Hi all!

I could not let January pass without trying to better my upload times! (Part of my resolutions and whatnot~)

My birthday is the 23rd so taking the time to write has been a bit of a present to myself. Keep an eye out for the next installment! I am going to post before February 14th, but I'd meet my goals if I get this storyline ended by the end of January!

I promise the story that follows will be a happy one. I'm finding myself enjoying writing these heavier things, but I understand the cliffhangers are a bit brutal :P Hang in there with me! There is a lot in store!

Also, because I feel fair warnings are kind, I am just giving the heads up that I am taking a lot of creative license with this story. I hope you forgive me for it!

as always, thank you for your continued support. Your follows/views/reviews keep me motivated! I am thankful everyone is willing to travel on this journey with me, and promise to make it worthwhile!

All my love,

-E

Kurama knew the very minute Naruko whispered goodbye. Her body folded around Kakashi's own as if she could tuck herself against him and stay until she, too, had passed. It unearthed a different kind of sadness in the center of his chest, one that came from the very marrow in his bones. It ached, splintered, and fractured everything within him. The very idea of Naruko's death instilled in him a desperation so deep and fierce to steal her away from this world and keep her from ever visiting it again. If he could but sequester her away, keep her in the light and surround her with her loved ones, perhaps she would survive this. Perhaps they could go home.

But something instinctual in him, something intrinsic to his senses born from years and years of experience, told him that such things would not come to pass. He extended his chakra, reached for the broken girl before him in a quiet plea to heal her, and was met with a wall of refute so tall and unyielding that it rioted his chakra away and remained immoveable. The girl before him, his most precious person, would not allow him the chance to heal her. And if he could not heal her, she would succumb to the injuries that plagued her. It engendered in him a panic so cold it made the snow seem forgiving, and in the haze of fear he wondered just how much longer he had with Naruko before she left. He tried again, desperate this time, and scoured the wall, begging for entry. But Naruko did not yield, and Karama was forced to sit back on his haunches and mourn in the silence that permeated the world around him.

How unforgiving this reality was, how cruel. Naruko, gold and glimmering even here, was being blanketed in white, as if the world could tuck her and Kakashi away from him forever. His claws twitched, frantic to reach for her, but he remained, still and stoic, drowning in the anguish that seemed to consume all else inside his heart.

And then, a shift, a quiet, imperceptible thing. Naruko rose, her face turned toward the man beneath her. Something in her changed, something Kurama could not comprehend. The look she gave to her teacher was filled with love, adoration, and resolve. A stubbornness settled around her form. Kurama watched as her shoulders set themselves in silent determination. And then, another shift, a sadness he could feel in the belly of his soul, a sadness rooted in his and Naruko's connection, permeated the despair that had reigned. He flinched, Naruko turned, and something in her face terrified him more than the silence did.

He had never seen such sad eyes, the blue darkened and swam with torment. Regret, misery, and pain pooled in the tears that caught at the corner of her lashes. She paled, something in her ignited, and an apology poured from her mouth, the heaviest words he had ever heard weighed the distance between them.

"I am sorry," she whispered, her voice melodic even when it was hoarse from her sorrow, "I can save him" she breathed, and Kurama felt the world give from beneath him.

"You musn't!" he growled, his agony rendered his words harsh and distraught, but Naruko's gaze did not waver. It grew more solemn, and Kurama wanted to grab her by her face and demand she change it.

"But I have to," she replied, the words branding Kurama's heart with more fear and anguish, "I can bring him back, Kura-chan" and the nickname made him shiver. Understanding brandished across his mind, he knew only one way to bring someone back from the dead. Only one, damning, self-sacrificial way. The only way that would come at the cost of his most beloved person.

"Please," he pleaded, "please do not do this Naruko," he insisted, his words alight with fresh agony, "you can't, you won't survive it," his voice rose in desperation, "It's impossible!"

But Naruko had already made her decision. Her head tilted, tears poured down her face, and the blue that bore no equal was lost to him as her eyes fell closed. Her hands, her small, delicate hands, the most precious pair of hands he had ever known, molded into the shapes necessary to cast the forbidden life-transfer jutsu. Her eyes opened, violet and resolute, and the air around them electrified itself, melting the snow that surrounded them.

She turned, a slow and reverent thing, and pressed a kiss to Kakashi's mouth. He glowed red and gold as her palms pressed against his chest. And Naruko, in a flurry of chakra, lifted herself from his form, unwound her coils, and bled her chakra into the body beneath her. Kurama roared, extended his claws to tear her away from Kakashi. He snarled when the wall of chakra repelled him, growled as he tried again, and Naruko turned her gaze to meet his own. A hand lifted, folded around her stomach, and Kurama howled. She could not, she would not, unbind him. He would not have it.

But her eyes bore that same sadness, the one that weighed heavier than all else and destroyed everything it touched. Her hand glowed black, the ink bled from her stomach, and Kurama bellowed in gut wrenching agony as his bond to his keeper was severed.

"I'm sorry, Kurama," echoed in his mind as the last of their connection dissipated. He could only watch in abject horror as the woman before him bled her lifeblood into the man beneath her. Her body swayed, she didn't have enough chakra, and she turned towards Kakashi. Her eyes rimmed in brilliant orange, he felt the connection to the Earth, a frayed tendril of energy, before Naruko dismissed the clone she left on the other planet to give her the last bit of chakra she needed to finish her jutsu.

Kurama placed his claws against the wall of chakra, withstood the burning, in order to plea with her one last time.

"Please," he begged, "Please do not do this to me, Naruko"

And her eyes, wet with tears, met his for the last time.

"I love him too much to lose him," he heard her whisper over the roar of energy between them, "and I love you too much to take you with me" she sighed, and the truth burdened itself on his heart.

Time fell to such stillness, then, a silence that was almost forgiving in its nature. Naruko and Kakashi, haloed in red and gold, the snow melted beneath them to reveal a hidden Spring. Flowers and grasses rose and settled around the two of them as if the world was cradling them. As if it, too, was aware of the sacrifice Naruko was making and wanted to honor her before she passed. Kurama, pressed tightly against the wall, frozen mid-howl, was forced to bear witness to the brevity of it all. He was helpless to change it and the futility of his efforts bled the strength from his assault.

Her voice rose to disturb the moment. It sounded too far away. She was already lost to him.

"I can see it, Kura-chan" she murmured, "I can see our future, what we might have had if..." and she paused and hiccupped, a watery thing, before continuing, "a girl, Kura-chan, with silver hair and blue eyes... She would have," she coughed, and blood pooled down her chin, "she would have loved you, and a boy, a beautiful boy, with dark eyes and light gold hair," she inhaled a rattling breath, Kurama could hear the fluid fill her lungs, "they're beautiful, Kurama, they are so beautiful..."

and Kurama wept, for he could see it too. The chakra resonated against his own and like dust particles caught in the light, images flickered once, briefly, to reveal what might have been had life been kind. They glimmered before they faded, leaving hollows in their wake. He witnessed Naruko and Kakashi's wedding, a small, intimate thing, which gave way to a reception that included the entirety of the village. The noise was heard for miles, the celebrations lasted for weeks. And then, a month later, Naruko, gilded gold and brilliant, deigned Hokage. Her smile was broad enough Kurama thought it would break her cheeks, but she turned, always and forever searching for Kakashi, and the smile softened to one of reverence and love. She was thanking him, owning her success and joy to the man who helped guide her to that very moment. Her hand subtly rested on her stomach, and Kurama held his breath, not ready for the scenes that followed.

A family, Naruko would have had a family at last to call her own. Her first born, a boy, with Minato's unruly hair and Kakashi's dark eyes. He was as witty and clever as his father, a handful, a pest, but Kurama knew he had the boundless energy of his mother and could feel the love he already harbored for the whelpling. And then, a beautiful girl with the softest hair he had ever felt, silver as if it was made of woven moonlight. She had her mother's eyes and oh, Kushina's smile. He left Naruko just to carry the small thing as she grew, determined to not let one harm reach her skin. The two of them lived and loved under Kurama's watch, and he never knew of a deeper belonging than that which he found in Naruko's family.

Tears poured down his face. Their lives would have been extensive, filled with highs and lows and all else in-between, rooted and anchored in love. Naruko's strength would grow to be immeasurable, her reign and reach as Hokage would have been expansive. The peace that followed would have been the longest the world would ever know. And at last, at long last, Naruko would have had everything she had ever wanted. Her dreams would have been actualized, her village would be kept safe, and she would have the family she had always longed for.

The images settled, at last, to Naruko's smile. Beatific and unworldly, the smile she reserved only for those she truly loved and revered. Her eyes pooled with the warmth he came to know as home. She glowed as if the sunlight poured out from within her, and for a brief, fleeting moment, Kurama almost believed it was real.

But it was a dream, a vision of what could have been, what might have been, had life not stolen it away from them. Naruko coughed again, the images faded away like expired flames. His most precious person, paler than ever before, was gaunt and unsteady. Her eyes left his to look down on Kakashi. The chakra invigorated him. The color returned to his skin, the hole in his chest closed, he remained untouched and whole.

Naruko wove a tender hand against his cheek as the jutsu stopped. A breath resounded in Kakashi's chest, a beat echoed against his ribs. His eyes fluttered once, twice, before opening. And something in Naruko gave, a happiness so blissful even Kurama could feel it poured from her body. She smiled a breathtaking smile, beautiful even for the blood that marred her chin. The violet stayed, and Kurama knew they only had seconds left.

Kakashi's eyes widened, his voice was a ghost when it spoke her name, as if haunted from the grave, "Naruko...?" he questioned, and she nodded her head.

For a moment, just a moment, the future seemed possible. Hope flickered briefly in Kurama's chest, a damning feeling, before fading into the abyss.

"I love you, Kakashi-sensei," Naruko breathed, eyes violet and orange as the last of her clones on Earth were dispersed, "I am sorry to leave you alone," she whispered as her body swayed unsteadily, her hands falling from his form to make one final seal, "please," she pleaded, "please take care of Kurama for me, okay?"

and Kakashi extended his arm to catch her, to pull her in, to save her. Kurama leapt to bridge the distance and stop her from her actions

But they both were too late. Her eyes met Kurama's, her hands met together in a prayer before they tore apart, and the world was ripped away from beneath him. He was left with her final words, her goodbye that resonated before the chaos engulfed him. They were a hollow comfort, a ghost of longing, an oath that would haunt him until the very end of his days -

"I love you, Kura-chan"

And the world went black.