Konnichi wa!

Woo – oh my Lordy ladies and gentlemen – the epilogue is here! –sniff-

Wow… this took such a long time!

I hope this epilogue is satisfying for you guys. If not, tough luck – I'm happy with it, so I ain't changing it. :P

We're near the borders of Yosemite now – there are so many HOT guys in this camp we're staying at! 8D

Hot guys that don't speak English! XP

They're speaking German. It seems like the entire camp has been taken over by sexy, six-pack-carrying, German-speaking hot guys. –rolls eyes- Tsk. Go figure.

There is a magnificent AU fanfic, Sasuke-centered. It's called Fire and Ice, and it is absolutely AMAZING! My writing PALES in comparison to this story – no joke! Please go read it and review. The writer said it was discontinued because she/he thought it was too out of proportion from the Naruto Canon. I read it, and reviewed for every chapter. I PMed her/him to ask if she/he could start up again, and he/she said they'd try.

You can find it in Kuyeng13's C2 – The Best AU Fanfics I Can Find – or something of that nature. You could also find it if you go to my profile and go under Author's Favorites.

Please read it you guys – it's simply AMAZING and her/his work is positively ASTOUNDING!

Enjoy!

Shackled in Chains

Epilogue

Unbound in Promise

"Sasuke!" He cried, glancing around the room. "Sasuke, where are you?"

"It's no use, Naruto."

He whirled to see Tsunade looking at him, eyes sad and regretful. Naruto's eyes widened, but before he could reply, the Hokage continued, shifting her gaze down to the ground.

"You shouldn't have done that Naruto – you shouldn't have tried to free Sasuke. It didn't work Naruto – he's dead. You killed him. As you did everyone else – including me, including yourself."

"What?" Naruto asked, unable to believe it. His limbs had frozen from shock. "No – there's no way! And even if we ARE all dead, why isn't he with us?"

"Don't you see, Naruto?" Tsunade asked him, her eyes suddenly burning with a fire Naruto could only describe as the devil's. "You failed – you'll never see Sasuke again – EVER! Your failure made you all alone Naruto – blame yourself!"

"No! Tsunade!" Naruto cried as the Hokage vanished in a burst of flame. He could feel tears streaming down his face. "TSUNADE!"

Only silence answered him.

His awakening was difficult – he was so tired, so sore – but there was something in the air around him that forced him to open eyes that never wanted to experience light again – eyes that never wanted to awaken and see the ugly truth that yes, everyone was dead, but when he DID awaken, those same eyes met worried cocoa brown ones.

"Oh – NARUTO!"

Powerful arms embraced him, and he blinked.

"Ts…Tsunade-baa-chan?" He murmured sleepily over her shoulder.

But… aren't you dead? Aren't I dead?

The Hokage released him, shaking her head with a thankful smile on her face.

"Oh – Naruto you fool! You had us worried sick! Your entire squad has been constantly biting their nails over you!" Her eyes regained that stern, disapproving look as she set her hands on her hips. "I can't believe you attempted to save that Uchiha! You may have the power of the Kyuubi but that's NO reason to try something so foolish –"

At the mention of that name Naruto's mind clicked into action. He leaped out of the bed.

"Tsunade! Where's Sasuke? The last thing I saw before I fainted was him standing right in front of me! Please tell me where he is!"

Please let him not be dead –

At the mention of Sasuke, Tsunade's eyes turned dark and she looked away, hands clenched at her sides. Naruto – for one, horrifying moment – thought she was going to say Sasuke was dead, that his Chakra had destroyed him from the inside out – that he and the Kyuubi had failed.

Please God let that not be true –

When the Hokage spoke again, her voice was bitter.

"Check the roof."

Naruto was gone in an instant.

Gasping, he ran to the roof and slammed open the door, eyes wide.

The fence had been removed after their battle on the roof years before, and all the blonde saw was a dark shape, outlined against the bright circle of the setting sun. Long black hair flew back like a long cape in the wind as the other stood on the very edge of the roof, arms at their sides.

Naruto couldn't believe it. When he spoke, his voice was quiet – as if one word spoken too loudly would crush everything he had worked so hard for ever since Sasuke had first left all those years ago.

"Sasuke…?"

There was silence, and Naruto – for an instant – thought that he had called the wrong name – that that WASN'T Sasuke, that Sasuke was lying dead in that dungeon and Tsunade didn't have the heart to tell him – the thought terrified him, sent cold waves of horror crashing through his system and he fought against the tears welling in his eyes.

Answer me dammit –

The figure turned around, and Naruto was looking into eyes of darkest night and most eternal power.

"Naruto?"

This time, the blonde couldn't stop the tears that fell. He leaped forward.

"SASUKE!"

His arms wrapped around a thin, pale frame that had experienced years without sun, effortlessly picking it up and spinning it around in joy, black hair getting into his eyes and the scent of rain and wildflowers washing over him.

Frail arms wrapped around his neck as well, returning the embrace as the other laughed.

He's real. Naruto thought numbly. He's not dead – he's alive – we did it, Kyuubi!

The demon-fox answered with a pleased purr, and Naruto – finally – set the other down, his skin tingling with elation.

Before the other could speak, Naruto's hands snapped up to grasp the other's face, pulling it to him.

"God I love you!"

Their lips connected, and Naruto felt a crackling of electricity shoot through his frame as the other shuddered against him, his lips soft and warm and so alive against Naruto's own. The blonde wrapped his arms around the other, pressing their bodies close together and thanking God that his nightmare had proven false.

The other relaxed against him, returning the frantic caresses with soft, reassuring ones of his own. Someone spoke to Naruto in his mind.

"Naruto, don't worry. I'm okay – all thanks to you. I owe you my life."

Definitely crying now, Naruto pulled away and put the other at arm's length, his hand now on the other's face once more.

The face was still young, but the years of imprisonment had etched a mark upon the younger man that Naruto sensed immediately – a mark of wisdom and a tiredness only people who have seen the horrors of the earth would ever possess.

Naruto let the tears fall unabashedly as he surveyed the other before him, laughing and smiling despite the tears.

The other smiled back at him, and a slender hand rose, brushing loose, unruly blonde bangs from Naruto's head with a feather soft touch.

"My dear savior…" the voice was like an angel's song in Naruto's mind. "…why are you crying?"

Naruto laughed.

"Because I'm happy, you idiot!" He exclaimed to the other, taking his hand and placing it over the pale one, holding the hand to his cheek and grinning. "I'm happy that you're alive – that you're free! I'm happy you're here with me!"

The other merely looked at him, and then he gave Naruto a small, warm smile.

"Yes. I'm happy to be here with you too. Thanks to you – I'm unbound from those hateful chains and free once more! I never even began to imagine you would actually save me, Naruto. But nonetheless…" He leaned into Naruto's offered embrace, burying his face into the crook of the blonde's throat. "I'm glad you did. Thank you."

"Sasuke…" Naruto breathed. "Why can't you talk normally?"

The other shifted slightly in his arms.

"Don't forget – I haven't used my mouth for years. I have forgotten how to. But that's okay."

Naruto could feel the smile that the other had on his flesh.

"I'm comfortable like this. Like this – with you."

Naruto smiled, the tears falling down his face and into Sasuke's hair.

"Yeah – I'm comfortable like this too."

There was silence for a moment as the two basked in the other's glow.

"Sasuke?"

"Yes?"

"Promise me you'll never vanish again."

The other raised his head, wrapping his arms around Naruto's neck and setting his lips on Naruto's, the touch gentle and reassuring. Immediately, Naruto responded, pressing his hands into the smaller back as warmth filled him from toe to head. At that moment, he knew they were free – free and unbound from the chains of worry and power that shackled them both and now they could be together forever – no matter how cheesy that sounded. Now, promises and love would be the only things that would ever hold them to anything or each other.

"I promise."

That was the one promise never broken.

End Epilogue – Unbound in Promise

End Shackled in Chains

Woo! –wipes off sweat- That took a lot of effort to finish, ya know?

But, yep – it's done! Makes me kinda sad, really…

Interesting Facts:

One chapter was ACTUALLY written on the roots of a Redwood tree in Orgeon – we had managed to snag a campsite kinda close to the trees. So while I was charging up my laptop near the bathrooms, I was actually SITTING on a root of a tree less than five feet away from the door:D The tree itself wasn't that tall – maybe like two hundred feet – but it was still an unbelievable experience!

Now for the Technical Interesting Facts That Don't Include A/N's:

Words: 6,945

Pages: 22

Lines: 1,071

Paragraphs: 377

End Technical Interesting Facts

Thank God for Word Count, yeah:D

Well, thank you so much everyone, for sticking with this story! It makes me so happy, and I can't thank you enough!

Samairi, PerfectInsanity, nellie330,

Sess-goddess, Dragon77, DracosQueen180,

palinana, Kakashis-First-Kiss, LeiseFlustern,

Nadramon, loneliness is killing me, dark galaxy,

'Shi.no.Tenshi.desu', marina-uzukami-potter, Kit.Koneko.Uchiha.Kagehisa,

Kuyeng13, FlyingShadow666, cip, Dark Soda,

naruandsasumine, Vimuku, mirrored-gaze,

Anonymous Sister of the Aut..., x-Deidara-x, sAyUrI-aNbU,

AngelSachiya, DevilGirl5, Wolfgirl21,

Simple-Minded-Idiot, Pic's-Pixie, zeppelin13,

Silver Sailor Ganymede, Luna-Lunak, Jaiden Lockheart,

DarkMiko13, Sober4aDay, JadeAnime,

Tazeredfrog, FullmetalPikachu, and darktenshi17!

Thank you so much for all of your reviews! And I thank the new reviewers that I haven't put on here that might send me reviews! All of you are so dear to me, and writing this has been a blast!

Take care!

Ja ne!

DDB