Major Revision: July 24th, 2010. The one-shot still has the same concept, but the writing has been vastly improved. I also kept the 'rambling' structure. I really liked it and felt it worked with the piece:). Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

On an old training field where her team used to meet as a gennin, there was a stone to commemorate the names of those killed in action. One name in particular always stood out to her- it belonged to a ninja she really never took the opportunity to get to know and who had been dead for around twenty years now.

His name was a little faded and was somewhere in the middle in the pack of names. Ninja life and death had carried on without him. Despite this, Uzumaki Naruto had become one of the favourite figures in history for academy students. He was a shining light that could never quite be extinguished. They would stare wide-eyed at Iruka-sensei, sitting at the edge of their seats as they were told of a boy, not all that much older than them, who would change Konohagakure for the better in his few months as a gennin.

"This", Iruka-sensei would say as he finished the lesson, "is the reason that I believe all of you can achieve greatness no matter what your class ranking is."

Funnily enough, the one woman who stared at the weathered name the most was the one who had doubted Naruto's ability to achieve greatness the longest.

She never really realised his importance. She had never really believed in his nindo. But she was slapped back to reality when he died proving his words.

There was nothing to be said really… Sasuke was back in Konoha and people had long since moved on.

But for some reason she couldn't forget that bouncy boy and his words, promising to bring Sasuke back no matter what.

It was the first time she believed in him.

And he accomplished what he set out to do.

But she couldn't just put it behind her. Just say he was a hero like everyone else and then walk away.

She didn't know why, but every time she looked at his name engraved there, she had a strong feeling to take out a kunai and scratch it out. While she knew he had earned his spot, but it didn't feel right seeing his name there. He didn't deserve to die so young. He was only thirteen!

At first she thought she was taking Naruto's death so hard because it was the first time she had experienced losing a loved one.

It had taken her months to figure out the truth.

But she finally realized it. It was because of her that he was dead.

She had stolen his dream from him. In order to fulfill his promise to her he had to forfeit his promise to himself.

"IT'S MY DREAM TO BE HOKAGE."

It took her even longer to realize…

… That she had fallen in love with what was now just a name carved into a rock.

She had fallen in love with a dead boy.

Years later Uchiha Sasuke killed his brother. Soon after, he became the Seventh Hokage. The Nanadaime. Following in the path of Hashirama, Tobirama, Hiruzen, Minato, Tsunade and Kakashi.

After being rewarded the position of Hokage, Sasuke asked Sakura something she had dreamed of as a child:

"Will you marry me?"

As she stared at him and the ring in his hand… all she could see was Naruto. All she could hear was Naruto's voice promising to return with Sasuke.

She walked away from him. She rejected him in the same way that he had done to her as a child.

Because the kindest person she had ever met, died proving his words.

If not for her and Sasuke, Naruto would be Hokage.

But no matter who the official Hokage of the Village was: Uzumaki Naruto would always be the Nanadaime Hokage of Konohagakure in Haruno Sakura's heart.

THE END