~There Is Much More After Death~
"Thank you so very much."
Kushina Uzumaki spoke her last words as she drifted out of Naruto's subconscious and floated away to another realm. Naruto cried with a smile on his face, having learned the truth about his parents, having been able to meet them and know them.
Some people think that when Naruto's parents died, they were powerless. Even in death, Naruto's parents were filled with the greatest strength they had known, yet it was more than strength. Love. It was because of Kushina and Minato's love that Naruto managed to stay alive. It was their sacrifice, and the nine-tails' chakra was their parting gift.
His parents were in another world now. Naruto comforted himself knowing they were going to heaven. They would finally be able to see each other again, after sixteen long years.
A few minutes after Kushina faded away, Naruto closed his eyes. "Will you be watching over me?"
Kushina floated up to an unfamiliar place. She saw a little girl with bright red hair. The tomato-haired child drew nearer and smiled at Kushina.
"Who are you?" Kushina asked.
"You don't even recognize me? How unlike you. I was expecting a warmer greeting."
Kushina looked into the little girl's face. A wave of shock came over her, possessing her. In that pitiful face she noticed something all too familiar. Hatred.
"You'r—you're…"
"I'm the hatred in your heart. I am part of you. Don't you remember? When you were only a girl? They took you away and forced you to become a Jinchuuriki!" the girl yelled at Kushina.
"That is the past now."
"They caused our death."
"There is no "our." I'm a different person. You are the old me. You have no right!" Kushina would not give in to that darker side..she could not.
"Those boys- they used to bully us every day. Remember we were tormented? And Minato— he ignored us for the longest time!"
The doubt that this girl possessed was no longer a part of Kushina, so why did it seem to never go away? Why did it always seem like hatred surrounded her?
Kushina realized this and laughed at the girl. She was looking at the shell of who she used to be. The way she used to feel. For a moment Kushina drifted away into her memories, remembering the moment she fell in love with Minato. He saved her. He cared about her.
"Why are you laughing?" the girl grunted angrily.
"Because I just realized how far I've come since I was a little girl, ya know. It's funny seeing myself as I once was. I'd come to terms with all that long ago. Any memories of that hatred- it seems so surreal, ya know."
With that, the pitiful girl disappeared. She grew up and her eyes changed from a dark red back to their normal color. That little girl became Kushina.
Suddenly the environment changed and Kushina was standing by a golden gate, still unaware of her surroundings. The gate was opening; Kushina had passed the entry test to heaven. She had come to terms with her hate. She conquered it and in its place, love took over. Kushina sat there with her eyes closed, crying with a smile on her face.
Hearing the gate open, Kushina turned and opened her eyes, overflowing with joy at the sight before her.
"I've been waiting for you." Only a few seconds later, a blur of yellow flashed by.
It reappeared at her side and hugged her.
"Minato!" she shouted, squeezing him tight in her arms. She looked right into his blue eyes. They reminded her of Naruto's eyes.
"Our boy has grown up. I feel like there was so much more I needed to tell him."
Minato smiled. "We'll see him again." Rethinking his words, he started, "Hopefully not for awhile though." He grinned and rubbed the back of his neck.
"About that night sixteen years ago… I'm glad you sealed the nine-tails inside of him. I didn't understand at the time, but I know now that it was because you had faith in him. And there is something more."
"What is it?" asked the Yellow Flash.
Kushina smiled as she said, "He took control of the nine-tails' chakra."
"I knew this day would come. He makes me proud. The last time I saw him he was about ready to remove my seal on the nine-tails. I'm thankful for it, too. Because of that I got to see him grown up and could finally move on. I could finally see your face again."
With that, Minato pulled Kushina closer and leaned in to her kiss her.
"I'm sorry that I never had a chance to grow old with you," Minato said. "But now I'm ready to spend eternity with you."