A/N: Well, it's been a long road to this chapter, and it'll be the last one. This'll be a longer one, and it'll wrap up this story. Let's get going. This is the end. Thank you all for this support :)

Time for chapter 34

Enjoy!

The library shook as Sasuke and Gaara clashed together forehead to forehead. The leap across the radius of the crater had provided great momentum for both combatants, and had resulted in a monstrous impact. Though they were able to stay airborne above the ground for a moment, they quickly pushed off of one another and rebounded off of the floor to engage once again. When they came together for the second time, Gaara swung for his head with her encased arm in an attempt to end the fight immediately. Unlike previous exchanges, though, the Uchiha was able to anticipate and counter her attempt to harm him. Just before her forearm could connect with his face, he ducked down underneath it and let her miss. A half-beat later, he popped back up with an uppercut that snapped Gaara's head up.

He then caught her unarmoured wrist as she attempted to punch him despite her own ruined posture as a result of Sasuke's counter. With her arm seized, the Uchiha yanked her forward into a knee to the gut. In a moment of narrow-mindedness, Sasuke had taken his eyes off of Gaara's right hand after it had whizzed over his head. For this reason, he was blindsided on one leg with his knee buried in the redhead's abdomen when the Jinchuuriki swung it back the other way and backhanded him across the jaw. Due to having been unaware that the strike was coming, Sasuke was stunned and knocked to his rear end by the crude blow.

Luckily for him, he was able to recover nearly instantly and return to his feet. Once he was upright again, he was forced to defend himself immediately. During his momentary slip, Gaara had closed him down once again and reared back her right arm to strike him again. It was then that Sasuke made his read. Instead of simply ducking down and countering her, he took the same risk he had earlier and intercepted her entry. As she fully committed to striking him, Sasuke planted his feet and threw a straight punch inside of her wide swing that speared her across the left side of her jaw. Much unlike the first time he had tried the tactic, it worked this time.

Gaara's knees turned to rubber while she missed wildly with her attempted follow-up. Try as she might, she couldn't regain her bearings and was unable to defend herself from the three punches Sasuke clattered her with directly after rocking her. After being lit up by strikes for a brief few moments, Gaara recreated space by leaping straight into the air. Predictably, Sasuke leapt after her to maintain his forward pressure. He attempted to strike her with a punch, but was knocked back down toward the ground by a stomping kick from the redhead. The strike had served two purposes for Gaara. It had both repelled Sasuke away from her, and sent her up onto the balcony above. She now held the high ground.

"Look who's running. Do I scare you that much?" Sasuke goaded from down below. The Jinchuuriki gave him no discernable reaction. Instead, she formed the same sequence of hand signs she had before launching the Uchiha into the floor minutes ago. Recognizing the motions easily, Sasuke began to form his own jutsu with hand seals. Within moments, their respective techniques were fully formed. They then reared their heads back.

"Wind Style: Great Breach!"

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

A great blast of wind then collided with a burning inferno of searing flames, both having been launched from the mouths of the foes. As was the elemental dynamic, Gaara's wind massively amplified the power of Sasuke's fire, but it also sent it into a chaotic storm of omnidirectional superheated energy. Both children were consumed by the flames along with the interior of the library. Through the burning fire, they both emerged in a charge towards one another, with Gaara leaping down from above and Sasuke launching himself off the ground to meet her.

When they collided, Sasuke landed first, but Gaara landed harder. The Uchiha connected with a left handed punch to her temple, but was immediately countered with a punch on the same side. Despite the difference in impact, they both fell to the ground and landed with a 'thud'. For a time, they both lay motionless among the burning stones and books. Eventually, however, Sasuke rose to his feet. Gaara took slightly longer, but eventually made her way to a stable stance.

"You're going to die here, Sasuke." the redhead said breathlessly, her fatigue extremely obvious in her voice and body language. The raven haired boy spat blood out of his mouth and cleared more from his eyes.

"Before we tear each other apart, tell me something, Gaara. Why Naruto? Aside from him being a Jinchuuriki, why are you so fixated? Why did you go to these lengths to try to keep him to yourself. Just tell me all of that." he asked raggedly. Much to his surprise, Gaara gave him a straight answer.

"Because he actually bothered to try to understand me. I terrified him, and I still do, but he did what he could to make me happy. Even if he hasn't fully succeeded yet, the fact that he's been willing to try at all means more to me than I could ever express. I didn't plan for things to go this way, but I'll take what I can get." she explained in a pained tone.

"You know, if you'd just kept quiet in that cell, things might have worked out for you. You would have been let out eventually, and Naruto would have helped you. Even if the escape was his idea, you encouraged him. This is on you, even if you didn't mean for things to fly off the rails." Sasuke replied, a hint of begrudging sympathy in his voice.

"I want no part of the Hidden Village system. The discrimination against Jinchuuriki is widespread and unfixable. If I was ever going to make a life with him, it would have been in isolation. There's no other way." the Jinchuuriki said firmly. Sasuke shook his head and drew a kunai.

"I still can't let that happen. I'll do what I have to to stop you. Even if that means maiming you." he said darkly. Gaara's eyes narrowed and her posture shifted to an aggressive crouch.

From there, they threw all caution to the wind.

Neji strained his legs to carry him faster as he ran across the ruins toward the library. A large flash of fire had lit the early morning darkness moments before, and it had brought the Hyuga great panic. Things were spiralling out of control, and time was short. There was little he could realistically do to assist Sasuke, but he would try regardless. From what he could feel, Sasuke had somehow managed to close the gap in strength rapidly. Gaara's chakra signature was still noticeably more potent, but the difference was virtually nonexistent compared to what it had been only minutes before.

The issue was that the power Sasuke had acquired felt incredibly unnatural. It was dark, cold, and parasitic. It was allowing him to compete and inflict damage, but it was also ripping his body apart. Though Gaara's power was also foreign, she had wielded it for the majority of her young life. The longer the fight dragged, the more the advantage would belong to the redhead. Unfortunately, the Hyuga found himself unable to run any faster than he already was. It would still take him nearly five minutes to reach his destination. As thoughts of what could go wrong swirled in his mind, something came into the view of his byakugan from behind. Neji quickly recognized the entity and felt some of his nerves settle.

Running at a speed the Hyuga could not even begin to muster was Naruto, and he too was headed toward the library. Apparently, he had made his decision. What it was was difficult to say for sure, but Neji had a somewhat confident theory. Within moments, the blonde tore past Neji at a blistering pace. At the sight, the leaf genin stopped running and sighed.

'It's probably best that I take my time, actually. My presence contributes nothing with Naruto involved. I figured we'd be waiting longer for him to make up his mind.' he thought to himself with pursed lips. At his current pace, Naruto would reach the library within two minutes, and hopefully, he would put a stop to the violence. There were still no guarantees, but it was a hope that Neji clung to.

'This has been a truly sobering experience. Perhaps I should write it all down when I return home. Just for posterity.' he mused dryly. He was exhausted mentally, and he hadn't even participated in any combat or long discussions. Just a single argument that had lasted less than ten minutes. Perhaps it was the struggle to understand that had drained him. He had entered the assignment completely uninvested in the task at hand. In truth, he had only agreed to collect a paycheck and some potential notoriety. Now, though, he cared. He cared about the outcome of the conflict between Sasuke, Naruto, and Gaara. He still hardly knew them, but their struggles felt personal.

'I wonder why that is. What changed?' Neji pondered. After a moment, he shook his head and resumed his journey to the library, but at a much slower pace.

Indeed, it had been a long day, but it was still far from over.

Gaara grimaced and clenched her jaw as she retreated away from Sasuke. Of the many exchanges she and the Uchiha had engaged in, the most recent collision had been one of the most painful. After having missed badly with a leading punch, Sasuke had slammed his forehead into her jaw in the form of a headbutt. His skull had bruised and injured her jaw. She was seeing double, and her face was in pain. Sasuke never let her rest. Not before, and not now. As such, he had increased his aggression at the sight of her discomfort. With great intensity, the raven haired boy dug a punch into the right side of her rib cage with his left hand before cracking her over the top of her shoulder with his right hand.

The combination buckled Gaara further and sent her to her back. Sasuke then crashed down on top of her to take advantage of her compromised state. As he did so, though, Gaara thrust out her armoured right arm and grinned. The sand encasing the limb then sharpened into a blade as it had once before and sliced open the right side of Sasuke's face. The laceration sent a spray of blood down onto the Jinchuuriki. Her retaliation had the desired effect and caused Sasuke to back off and take steps backward. Gaara took the opportunity to rise to her feet.

Sasuke's face was almost fully masked in blood. He had a large gash on his forehead that leaked down onto his nose and eyes alongside the massive cut Gaara had carved into his face only a few seconds ago. His skin was more red than white. At this sight, a smirk spread across the Jinchuuriki's lips.

"You look quite nice in red. Though, that blood loss probably can't be good for your health." she called to him. Sasuke replied by launching a pair of kunai her way, both of which she easily deflected with her encased arm. She was then sent stumbling by a punch to the temple from her right side. She was able to remain aware despite the unexpected blow, and she turned to face her foe.

"Surprised you fell for that, honestly." Sasuke said as he charged forward and swung a kunai at her neck. Gaara leaned back and narrowly evaded the blade and another punch from the Uchiha. When she tried to counter him, though, she missed three times consecutively. For all that their levels of strength were incredibly similar, Sasuke's heightened perception that he gleaned from his now-complete sharingan was a deadly weapon. He was incredibly difficult to hit when he was dictating pace and positioning.

As payment for her numerous misses, Sasuke punished her with a counter punch that landed squarely behind her left ear and ruined her equilibrium. Gaara took a knee in front of him and caught herself with her hands. She was then kicked across the face, a blow that caused her to tumble away. She quit sliding and rolling roughly twenty feet away from Sasuke, and when she was fully lucid again, the sound of chirping birds hit her ears.

"Unless you have enough left in you to stop this head-on, there's no way you're dodging me this time."

Gaara's eyes widened at the sight of a sparking purple mass of electricity emanating from Sasuke's right arm. He was in a familiar kneeling position, and his eyes were fixed on her chest. He was right. While both of them were exhausted and slower than usual, Chidori provided its user with a guaranteed level of speed. One that Gaara could hardly react to even while fresh. She was checkmated.

"This is over." Sasuke said with finality. He then charged forward and instantaneously crossed the distance between them with his spear of electricity. All the redhead could do was close her eyes. No stabbing sensation ever came. The sound of electrical birds never ceased, but Gaara herself never felt any pain or any impact. Slowly but sure, she allowed her eyes to open. What she saw brought her a storm of disorganized emotions.

"That's enough. Both of you, just stop." Naruto, who was somehow standing between them, said in a strained tone. He had stopped Sasuke's Chidori by seizing his wrist with both of his hands and pushing back against him. The jutsu was still active, but it was stalled.

"W-where did you…" Gaara began, losing her voice at the end as she trailed off. The blonde shoved Sasuke back a few feet and took a deep breath.

"Neji came and found me. He...made me think about some things. I came running when I finally got things sorted out. The door was open, so I didn't need to make a huge entrance." he explained to the two combatants.

"Why are you stopping me, Naruto?" Sasuke asked while he let his Chidori fizzle out into nothing. The blonde remained stoic and glanced back at Gaara, who averted her eyes from his.

"Because nobody has to die today. Not you, not her. I know why you're fighting, and I know why you want each other dead. You're fighting over me and where I'm going to go." he replied. The markings on Sasuke's body slowly retracted and shrunk as his expression changed from one of aggression to one of reserved unease.

"Yeah, we are, but don't you understand why? Am I supposed to sit back and let that freak take you off to the middle of god-knows-where? Not in a thousand years." he said with an angry glare at Gaara.

"I get why you're doing what you're doing, Sasuke. Believe me, I do. There are things you don't understand, though." Naruto said in response. Sasuke wiped some blood from his eyes.

"I know she didn't force you to run away, but there's no way you can convince me that she didn't at least encourage you to do it. Also, I just can't get behind the idea of letting her be alone with you. She's incredibly dangerous." he countered. Naruto shook his head.

"She's dangerous to everybody but me. First of all, she wouldn't hurt me. That much I'm sure of, and even if she tried, I'm a hell of a lot stronger than she is, and she knows it. It would never come to that anyway." he said firmly.

"Do you really expect me to buy that? She almost killed me two or three times, and she would've murdered Shino and Kiba if I hadn't stopped her. How can you be so sure she won't just turn you into a corpse." the raven haired ninja snapped back. The blonde once again looked to Gaara.

"I know that she's cruel and violent with most people, but I'm completely sure she wouldn't and won't hurt me. I know you haven't ever seen it, but she has feelings, and she can be gentle. You just...weren't ever going to be in any position to understand that. It isn't your fault at all, but still." he said a bit more quietly. Gaara, who had been silent since Naruto's sudden arrival at the scene, finally spoke.

"I love him dearly. I fought you to keep him from being taken from me, that's true, but not because I wanted to hurt him. I would never. I'd rather die." she said. Sasuke's eye twitched.

"That can still be arranged." he growled. Naruto immediately stepped forward and allowed his eyes to shift from blue to red.

"Unless you think you can take me down, don't try anything. I just want the fighting to end." he said dangerously. Well aware that his chances against the blonde were utterly nonexistent as he was now, Sasuke sobered somewhat.

"I still can't forgive her for what she's done. I also can't let go of the insanity I saw all three times I fought her. She isn't a good person. Not even close." he said. Naruto pursed his lips.

"Even if you can't forgive her, please don't make me fight against you. I'd hate having to hurt you to prove a point. I know that she isn't a good person in a lot of ways, but she's still human, and she deserves a chance to change. Also, over time, I've come to...love her too. She isn't perfect, and there are things I'll have a tough time getting over, but she isn't a monster." he said. Initially, Sasuke didn't react. Over time, his expression progressed through several stages before settling on one of exhaustion.

"How did it all come to this?" he asked, seemingly more to himself than Naruto or Gaara. His former teammate walked forward carefully and put a hand on his shoulder.

"It was out of our hands. Maybe neither one of us is right, but I still stand by what I said. I'm not leaving her alone. I get why you want me to, and who knows? You might be right. I know that you suffered for this, and you went to hell for me, and I appreciate that. I really do." he said softly. Sasuke met his eyes and did his best to stay calm.

"I can't put into words how much I hate this." he said stiffly. Naruto sighed and lowered his eyes to the floor, his hand dropping from the Uchiha's shoulder at the same time.

"I know you hate it, and honestly, I don't love it either. Even if I actually do like being around Gaara, I still don't like being all alone out here. It's a mixed bag, but this is where I'm gonna stay." he said. There was then a moment of silence.

"Can you accept that?" the blonde asked. Sasuke took a deep breath, held it in for a bit, and then released it. Just as he was about to speak, the sound of footsteps alerted all three ninja. A glance toward the door revealed Neji, who had just arrived. Choosing to ignore the Hyuga for the present, Sasuke turned back to Naruto. He then gave a reluctant nod.

"I don't have much of a choice, so yes." he muttered dejectedly. Before the blonde Jinchuuriki could respond, Sasuke reached forward and tapped him on the forehead with his index and middle fingers. He then promptly turned around and made his way over to a sympathetic-looking Neji.

"If you ever want to come back, my doors are open." he said before exiting the library with his head down. Naruto touched the spot on his forehead that had been poked and stared at where Sasuke once was.

"I'm...sorry, Neji." he said to the Hyuga, who simply shrugged his shoulders tiredly and turned to follow his companion back to Konoha.

"As I said, it's up to you. I'll extend the same offer Sasuke did. If you ever wish to return, just tell me. I'd make space for you in the branch house." he said before disappearing out the door. For a stretch, Naruto gazed out into the cold morning. Eventually, he turned back to Gaara. What he saw made him gasp. She was unconscious on the floor of the library, which was still on fire in some areas. Rushing to her side frantically, Naruto pressed his ear to her chest. He heaved a sigh of relief when he found a fairly strong heartbeat. She had reverted back to her human form, and she had likely passed out from exhaustion and attrition.

"He really did a number on you, huh?" he said to the unconscious girl. He then picked her up and cradled her against himself. The blonde carried her up to the second level of the library and found the correct bookcase, which he pushed to the side to reveal a ladder.

'Let's get you to bed.'

Naruto snapped out of his near-sleep at the sound of stirring sheets. Turning around in his chair to view the bed, he saw Gaara sitting up. She had been asleep for nearly four hours, and it was now nearly ten o'clock. Her awakening was a great relief to the former leaf genin, as the duration of her sleep had been greatly concerning. She still looked groggy, but she was very much conscious now.

"Hey, you alright?" Naruto asked the girl. Gaara turned to face him briefly, but quickly looked away and gripped the sheets tightly. Easily understanding the source of her struggle, Naruto stood up from his chair and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Look, I know today's been kinda awful, especially for you, but please. Talk to me, Gaara." he gently urged her. Though it took her a while, the redhead finally did look at him.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. I'm so sorry." she said brittly. Naruto didn't speak for a fair amount of time. There was much he needed to process. Much he needed to solve.

"Be honest with me. Will you ever let me have other relationships? I don't mean romantic ones. You're all I need for that. I mean friends and acquaintances." he asked. Gaara nodded her head and fiddled with her blankets.

"As long as they don't try to take me from you or drive a wedge between us, I don't care if you get to know other people. I'm not the only thing that should make you happy. If they do try, though, I'll kill them." she said with absolutely brutal honesty. Naruto winced.

"You really shouldn't, Gaara. Killing is wrong in every way. Especially if they didn't try to take your life first." he said. Gaara reached out and touched his cheek at his words.

"You're all I'll ever kill for now. I know how wrong it is, but losing you is something I'll do everything in my power to avoid. That includes murder. No questions asked. I'm sorry if that bothers you, but my heart is set." she said. The blonde laid his hand over hers and took hold of it.

"I'll accept that, but only on one condition. If you think somebody is trying to 'take me' from you, let me deal with them first. If I can't make things right, then...I guess you can go wild. If I do manage to solve things, then leave them alone. That sound reasonable?" he said diplomatically. Gaara thought about his proposal for a moment, eventually nodding.

"Yes, I can agree to that. I'll always leave things of that nature up to your discretion." she said, giving Naruto great relief. Once he was fully calm again, he extended his hand and brushed back Gaara's bangs.

"Man, you two really trashed each other. Too bad you don't heal as quickly as I do." he said as he gazed at her marked face. The redhead frowned.

"I don't know how he damaged me this much. I beat him senseless last time. He closed the gap so quickly. I just don't get it." she said frustratedly. Naruto recalled the odd tapping gesture Sasuke had performed on his forehead.

"Something about people is that they're at their strongest when fighting for something they believe in strongly. I don't really know how else to put it." he explained. Gaara studied him.

"Perhaps I was at my strongest then. Because, selfish as it was in some ways, I was fighting for you. You're all I believe in, and all I care about." she said. Her tone was flat and apathetic, but her words were sweet and warm. It was a simple statement of facts for her.

"I'll try to be worth believing in, then. And hey, I care about you a ton too. I'd have gone insane if I hadn't been able to stop Sasuke from skewering you." Naruto replied. Gaara smiled for the first time since her awakening.

"Thank you for saving me. That's the second time you've saved my life. I don't really know how to repay you. It's not as though I have anything to give you." she said gratefully. Her fellow Jinchuuriki laid down beside her over the covers.

"You can give me your word on something, actually. That'd be a way to repay me, even though I don't really need you to." he said. The redhead gestured for him to continue.

"Every once in a while, I wanna bring Sasuke and a few other people out here. Not to stay permanently or anything like that, but just to visit. If I do that, can I trust you to be calm and maybe even a little social?" he asked. Gaara's face contorted momentarily, but she soon mellowed.

"Give me two years entirely alone with you, and I'll agree." she said. Naruto leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead.

"Yeah, sure. It'll be a bit before it's even safe to bring them, so that's fine with me." he replied with a thumbs up. Naruto then sat up and stretched, prompting Gaara to kick her legs out over the side of the bed to sit beside him.

"Can we go outside? I need some fresh air." she asked. The blonde nodded and offered a hand as he stood up. She took the hand eagerly and allowed herself to be led up out of their underground dwelling and into the charred library. They quickly exited the building to escape the smoky air. Once there, they walked to the river at Gaara's request.

"I have a request, Naruto." she said when they reached the edge of the flowing body of water. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, okay. What do you need?" he asked skeptically. Gaara pointed to the cold stream and then back to herself.

"Can you teach me how to swim?" she asked innocently. The blonde chuckled and shook his head, much to her disappointment.

"It's November, Gaara. You'll freeze to death in there. Maybe in a few months." he said. The redhead sighed and latched onto his left arm.

"Can I make another request then? A different one?" she asked. The blonde Jinchuuriki kicked a stone at his feet into the water for his amusement.

"Sure, but I can't really make a whole lot of things come true for you right now. We're a little bit limited right now." he warned her casually. Gaara stepped in front of him and wrapped her arms around the back of his neck.

"This is something you definitely can make come true." she said vaguely. Seeing that Naruto was confused, the redhead gave him a warm smile.

"Can we have a family here in a few years?" she asked hopefully. Taken aback, Naruto reddened slightly and scratched the back of his head.

"It'd have to be in a few years, like you said. Let's grow up a little first. But once we're ready, yeah. We can do that." he said somewhat awkwardly. The redhead gave him a kiss on the lips and made more space between them.

"Fine with me. As long as I can have your children someday, I don't care when it is." she said sweetly, causing him to blush heavily again. After a few moments, he regained control of the heat in his cheeks.

"You could say that another way, you know." he grumbled. Gaara shrugged her shoulders and threaded her fingers through his. She then pulled him along to walk with her by the river. A few minutes into the walk, a voice chimed in from Naruto's mind.

'So, are you prepared to live this life? You have no way out now.' the fox asked, earning a calm response from the blonde.

'Yeah, I am. I made this choice, and I'm satisfied with it. She's flawed, but she's so damn lovable.' he replied. The demon shifted around in the far reaches of his consciousness.

'Lovable though she is, evil will always exist within that girl. Shukaku's mark has been made, and it cannot be erased. Not even by you.' he warned his container. Naruto looked to Gaara, who was happily leading him along with a tranquil smile upon her face.

'I know that. Today taught me that lesson. Sasuke was probably fighting against a demon before I showed up, but with me, she's just a cute, happy girl. As long as I can keep her positive, she'll be harmless.' he said. The fox laughed a bit at his optimism.

'Well, your life is my life, so I hope you're right, frankly. Regardless, you've accomplished something remarkable…' he began, pausing for dramatic effect.

'You've made her love somebody other than herself.'

A/N: By far the longest chapter of this fic, and I think that's fitting for the end. I know this ending may be a bit melancholy in some ways, but I think I'll leave it up to interpretation. Either way, this was the final chapter of She Who Loves Only Herself. There will be no epilogue, as I feel that would confuse things a little. What happens after this scene is up to the reader. For me, I'd like to think that Itachi's good side held out long enough for him to keep the Akatsuki away from them, but who knows.

I would like to thank you all for the support throughout. I know I made a variety of mistakes narratively and consistency-wise, and I'm not especially proud of this story as a whole, but I sincerely hope that you all enjoyed this fanfiction. I'll only be writing one more major story before retiring as a fanfic writer, so I figure that one will debut fairly soon.

If you've read this fic up to this ending, I implore you to leave a review on this chapter. Tell me what you thought of this story in its entirety, or even just the ending. But please, all feedback is welcome :)

Thank you for reading! See you in the next story!