And here we are, friends - last chapter! The title is 'Resolve' both because of the resolution of the characters as well as the end of this story. I can't thank you enough for coming along on this whirlwind journey of twentysome days. I've never put out a story this fast, and certainly not with pretty much daily updates. Miracles do happen - and this one happened because of the response and encouragement. Thank you for reading, friends!

At Death's Door
20. Resolve

Sasuke stares at the strange child who dares to suggest Sakura will die, his eyes spinning to black and crimson, and demands

"Who are you?"

"Doesn't matter," the child shrugs. "I already poisoned the water. Nothing anyone can do."

Sasuke narrows his eyes at him.

"You're Sasori."

He nods.

"Why are you still here?"

"I'm hard to kill," he answers with the casual tone of one commenting on the prospect of rainfall. "You should go before you get hurt. Everyone always gets hurt." His eyes rest on Sakura her with something that might be pity. "And then they die."

"She's not going to die," Sasuke's eyes snap fire.

"You don't understand anything," the boy mutters, kicking a pebble in the dried grass. "That's the problem with the living."

"Oh, I don't know," a voice drawls behind them. "When it comes to death, I'd say Sasuke has a pretty good handle on things."

Sasuke looks up to find Naruto – the real Naruto – leaning lazily against the trunk of the giant willow as if he had been there the whole time.

"Don't want to put a damper on your fun, but we've got a friend waiting for us back at the Garden gate with a ton of weapons and not so much patience. She told me to hurry and bring your ass back so we could all get home."

"You won't leave here," exasperation finally seeps into Sasori's voice. "Not alive, at least."

"Well aren't you just a little ball of sunshine," Naruto pushes off of the tree, standing in front of Sasuke and Sakura.

"She okay?"

He never takes his eyes off of Sasori, speaking over his shoulder.

"She's alive."

Two or three Narutos kneel to take her from him, and he turns her over, giving them Neji's flask and Tenten's dagger.

"Keep her in the shelter of the tree," he murmurs, standing shoulder to shoulder with Naruto.

"Sakura is alive, Sasori, and she is going to stay that way."

Sasori looks them over, his composure cracking.

"Neither of you understand," electricity begins to crackle in the dry air and there is a distant rumbling. "There is nothing – only death – for anything and anyone you care about!"

"I feel slighted," Naruto tips his head and looks at Sasuke. "Why do they always remember you and not me? Is it the dark brooding thing? Am I too cute?"

Sasuke makes some dismissive noise.

"Who in their right mind ever called you cute?"

Sasori doubles over and clutches his head, choking out sobs.

"Enough!" he cries, his voice far too heavy and redolent with grief for any child. "ENOUGH!" He stands and reaches for the sky, thousands of tendrils of magic shooting from his fingers. The earth rumbles again and specs dance on the horizon. They swarm to hover and assemble above them, fragments linking disjointedly into the eerie puppets that had attacked Sasuke and Tenten earlier. Except now, there are more of them.

Naruto does a quick count and looks to Sasuke. "One hundred?"

He lifts one shoulder. "Give or take."

Nartuo cracks his knuckles. "Guess I'd better even up the fight."

"What?" Sasuke unseals a sword and it dances in his fingers. "You're going to fight on his side?"

"Only if it looks like we are winning too quickly. Race you to one hundred!"

And suddenly there are no less than one hundred and one Narutos (counting the original but not counting the three by Sakura) poised and ready for battle.

They move, summer lightning and winter wind, tearing through the puppets one by one and ten by ten, obliterating them into nothing as Sasori desperately tries to keep up.

And when his puppets lay broken all around him, he clenches his hands at his side and shakes his head. "You don't understand – I can do this again and again – as many times as it takes."

The shattered pieces begin to shimmy and tremor on the ground, pulling into an assembled state one by one.

Sasori's hands glow brightly as Naruto makes a tch of disapproval.

"Determined little bastard, isn't he?"

"He could give you a run for your money."

"I was gonna say the same thing to you."

Sasori rears back, and the puppets gather in the sky while Naruto and Sasuke prepare to fight.

They don't know what they noticed first, his small, strangled cry or the beginnings clatters of fragments of puppet falling from the sky. He drops to his knees and clenches his shirt in his hand, right above his heart.

"No…! I have no… why can I…?"

He stares wide-eyed behind them, and for a second anger and despair contort his face into something truly grotesque.

"You."

Sasuke turns sharply, his heart in his throat. Sakura is breathing heavily, both hands wrapped around the hilt of the Amphitrite dagger, which has been plunged into what he can only assume is what is left of Sasori's heart.

Sasori tries to stand but stumbles, his breath ragged, his cheeks damp with tears.

"How? Why?"

She lifts her head wearily, a curtain of pink hair sliding back to reveal eyes glistening with tears.

"I am so sorry," her voice is a croaked whisper. "But it was the only way to save you."

"Save me?" he clutches at his chest while Sasuke kneels at her side.

"Yes," she places a hand on the tree. "And the others."

"Others?" Naruto and Sasuke exchange a look. "What others?"

She closes her eyes, and listens.

"It's not just poison," she murmurs. She reaches for Sasuke's hand and places it on the rough of the bark before covering it with her own. "Feel."

Sasuke takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. At first there is nothing but the cool of the green glow under his palms, but soon, something else rings at the edge of his senses.

Pain.

Sorrow.

Anguish.

"Souls," he murmurs.

"I told you," Sasori gasps wearily. "The others… they all died. I…I saved what I could."

"The puppets," Sakura whispers. "They were actual people," Sakura's fingers flex against the grain of the tree. "You weren't releasing the souls that came to your island, were you, Sasori," she looks at him.

"No. No, they were too broken. I saved them. I collected them. So they wouldn't be lonely."

"Like you?"

"Mother and Father left," tears run freely down his face, even if his voice holds little emotion. "They left me behind. It was the only way to keep them from leaving me again."

And suddenly she understands.

"You never meant to poison the River," she pieces it together. "You were trying to help them heal – the ones too broken… but you couldn't contain their grief.. could you?"

"It ate away at my body," the tears splatter on two small hands fisted on his knees. "I…I had to replace parts of myself bit by bit..., until that," he looks to the core of living flesh under her palm, "was all that was left."

Naruto's eyes grow wide.

"So that right there,"

"Is all that is left of him," Sakura whispers.

"Finish what you started," Sasori grits out, and his form shifts. He is older now. Older and worn. "What I started," he raises his head wearily. "End it."

He is beyond saving – that is something none of them disputes.

Sakura senses the dull throb of metal calling her, and she turns to the dagger piercing his core.

Tentatively, she puts her hands back on it, and closes her eyes. Sasuke is kneeling next to her, his hand on her back. Naruto stands beside her, his hand on her shoulder.

She breathes and concentrates – focusing on the Garden and the River and the Willow.

The metal of the dagger glows brightly with her magic and she feels it melding its magic to hers. It melts into a shimmering puddle that gurgles and bubbles.

It calls forth the River.

Water spills forth and she stands, coaxing it into a ribbon to trail the path of her fingers. Sasuke and Naruto step back and watch the shimmering flow defy gravity in a series of twists and turns.

"Go," she points to the tree, the diamond on her forehead glowing brightly. The water dances and laces about the tree, winding around the trunk and branches and bark and leaves.

She places glowing green palms on the wide trunk of the Great Willow.

"I draw strength from you, and you draw from me," she whispers. "Together we heal."

The tree begins to hum and the diamond on her forehead glows brighter still. "More," she murmurs, and closes her eyes. Black tendrils shoot from the diamond on her forehead to wind and weave over her body and connect with the lifeforce of the Willow.

And suddenly she is rooted in the oldest and deepest and purest of magic. The dancing water surges around her and through her and races from the tips of her fingers to wind through the xylem and phloem and into the roots, healing and rebuilding.

Naruto nudges Sasuke and nods to exposed roots of the tree.

For a second he doubts his own eyes, but there is no mistaking the the lone snowdrop blossoming at her feet, or the thick grass surrounding it.

The growing border of green bleeds toward them as the tree heals and reconnects with the River at its deepest and oldest roots. Green weaves down the canopy, and the vines of leaves begin to sway, the wind becoming less arid and something more alive.

"What…" Sasori stares at the soft, green grass beneath his hands, sitting back on his heels.

With something that might have been a growl and a muttered "Shannaroo!" Sakura redoubles her efforts, and there is an explosion of color. Magic surges across the Garden as the Willow reaches out with the River to heal the desolation and despair.

Sakura turns and points and the dancing waters swarm along the polluted streams and riverbeds, instantly restoring them to their pristine state.

Everything is healing – everything is alive.

With the Willow restored and the River purified, the Garden quickly knits itself together complete with blue skies and drifting clouds.

She doesn't even feel the strength leave her body, or the beginning of her collapse, for she never makes it any farther than Sasuke's side. He holds her with one arm, the other ready to draw his sword, should Sasori have revived.

He meets her eyes, and in that instant there is nothing in the whole of creation but her.

"Are you alright?"

"Fine," the lines winding around her recede, and although the streaks of white hair are gone, exhaustion is painted in broad strokes along the angles of her face and the lines of her frame.

Something finer than morning mist begins to drift from between the ridges and the rough of the tree. She nods to it.

"Help them."

Understanding, he lets her rest in the crook of the tree and hands her the flask Naruto's clone left behind. Reassured by the several deep gulps she takes at his insistence, he stands and motions Naruto forward.

Winding the mist between their fingers, they gently remove the souls absorbed by the Great Willow – now healed – and carry them to the clear stream. They return them to the River.

When the last has been returned, they flank Sakura, who is returns Sasuke's dagger before turning to the small boy standing just behind them.

Healed by the Garden, this is no longer the projection of Sasori; this is his soul.

Stepping over the twisted, aching mass that had been the core of his mortal being, Sakura holds out her hand to him.

"It's time to go, Sasori."

"There isn't anyone left… is there?"

"They've all gone home," She assures him. "They aren't in pain anymore."

"Where do I go?" he blinks great, wide eyes.

"The River will take you. Your journey will start over."

"Alone?"

"No," her smile is gentle. "There will always be others. Find them and be good to them."

She takes his hand and leads him to the stream where she kneels in front of him. "Safe journey, Sasori."

"Safe journey, Sakura." He throws his small arms around his neck, and pretends he isn't crying. She holds him tightly until he can step back on his own. She kisses his forehead and lets him slip into the water.

Behind them, the remnants of his past life crumble and turn to dust to be scattered harmlessly on the wind.

A warm hand rests on her shoulder and she covers it with her own. Looking up at Sasuke she gives him a weary smile.

"You found me."

"I said I would."

Her eyes sparkle. "Yes, I suppose you did."

He holds his hands out to her and helps her to her feet.

"Good to have you back, Sakura," Naruto smiles at her warmly.

"Where is your friend?"

Naruto tips his head, puzzled.

"My friend? You mean other than him?" he flicks a glance at Sasuke.

"Didn't you say you had a friend waiting at the gate?" she furrows her brow, "Or was that just to trick Sasori…?"

Naruto jolts.

"Oh, shit! Tenten!" He looks between them with something close to panic. "That enchantment of yours was amazing, Sakura, but we have no idea of how long it will last, and by now Neji is probably having an aneurysm, and-"

"Go back," Sasuke interrupts him. "You're faster. Send a clone to let them know everything is alright. I'll prepare Sakura while the two of you secure our route home."

"Right!" he drops his palm in his fist. "I'm on it. Good to have you back, Sakura!" he says brightly before running off.

"He really is like that," she mumbles to herself. "I thought I made all of that up…"

"No one can make up Naruto," Sasuke snorts.

Her smile is slow.

"I don't think anyone could make you up either, Sasuke. Who would ever dream that Death could be so kind and so bad at Mario Kart."

Genuine laughter bubbles out of her, and he finds he can't hold his scowl.

"Let's see how you fare now that you don't have distortion magic giving you the edge of mortal knowledge."

"Yes, because clearly I had an unfair advantage in the whole thing."

"Hn."

He surprises her when he wraps his arms around her and holds her to himself – but she understands the need to be sure that she – that they – are real.

"You came for me," she murmurs against his throat.

He allows only enough space to cradle her face in his hands, eyes locked with hers.

"Always, Sakura."

His name doesn't have time to escape her lips, so she breathes it against his as they brush against her own. She tastes of light and honey and life and spring, and he drinks her in like salvation. Her small and deceptively strong fingers wind in his hair, and their hearts beat with the same hunger and hope.

Sasuke steps back with curse, the dagger at his waist glowing with an impatient energy.

"We have to return," he tries to curb his agitation. "The others are waiting."

And she knows he doesn't mean Naruto and whoever came with them – she knows he means everyone she inadvertently left behind.

"It will be good to see them," she allows. "But I'm really looking forward to going home. I missed my chair."

Sasuke arches his eyebrow and pretends his heart isn't pounding in his throat.

"I mean, after missions or time healing souls it will be nice to sit in front of the fire and relax. Don't you think? We can even make you a chair..or, well.. I can, seeing as I made the first one."

"Sakura," he interrupts her, his smirk really more of a smile.

She smiles up at him, understanding.

"Let's go home, Sasuke."

"Hn."

And she winds her fingers in his, taking her place by his side.

And together

they are home.

~Fin~

Thank you for reading 'At Death's Door.' Aside from a potential epilogue, this story is done, and I so appreciate you coming with me on this one!

With gratitude,
- Giada