Naruto was able to take one week off from work. Seven nights after 'the incident', he found himself making the familiar trek to Sakura's bench. As he rounded the last corner, he hoped against all reason that he would find her there; that she would still be a ghost; that he would be naïve and play games with her. But she wasn't there, and he was still disappointed. He sat on the bench and lay down. The minutes turned into hours, and Naruto fell asleep.
He had a lovely dream that night. When he woke up, he found himself a large grassy field, and, in the distance, he could see a large village. It was early morning; the sun's rays were just starting to hit the mountain on his right, highlighting the features on the giant faces carved into the stone. He gazed wonderingly at it for a few moments, until a gentle voice snapped him out of his reverie.
There she was - the figure who had haunted him for so long. This Sakura was not the same one he had known a few weeks ago. She looked so happy and free without all that guilt and sadness weighing her down. Her smile was true and bright, and her eyes shone in the early morning light. This Sakura was not his Sakura, but Naruto knew that she was still Sakura nonetheless.
"Sakura?" he asked wonderingly. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, Naruto. You see, this is my new life. In this world, I am Sakura Haruno, a kunoichi of unparalleled skill and strength. In this world, I will work hard and make new friends and fall in love and live my life. Naruto, in this world, I will be reborn."
Naruto was dumfounded. He wasn't religious, and he wasn't sure if he believed in an afterlife, or reincarnation. But Sakura was here, and this place was nothing like anything he had seen before.
"This is your new life? Sakura, you'll be happy here, right?" Naruto asked, already knowing the answer he would get.
"Yes." She smiled. "I know you're also going to ask me what you're doing here. To be fair, I was expecting you. You see, in my other life, I had to return as a ghost, and I met you then. The reason I was a ghost was because Neji was unable to let me go. Once he did, I was able to be reborn into this world. But…something is still holding me back."
Sakura paused for a moment. "Naruto, I need you to know that you were a wonderful friend. I know that I was a ghost, but you will have no idea of what you did; without you, I would've been doomed to wander the earth until the end of time. Without you, I would never have reached this place; I would never have the chance to be this Sakura Haruno."
Sakura reached out and took his hand. Her hand was small and callused, but it was also solid and warm, promising joy and life.
"Naruto, I'm showing you this so that you can know that I'm happy now. I know that you have been holding a lot of regrets in your heart about what happened between Neji and me. It was meant to be. You need to believe that I'm happy that I was able to meet Neji one last time, and that I've accepted what happened. Please, Naruto, believe this and let me go."
Naruto gaped at Sakura as he recognized the words from her previous conversation with Neji. Neji had loved her, and it was that bond that had trapped her on Earth. Now it was Naruto's regrets that held her back from her new life. If Sakura said she was happy, then who was he to stop her? He vowed that he would no longer keep thinking of their fateful meeting and the things he wanted to change. No, he would accept the past as she had, and leave Sakura to start her future.
Naruto voiced his thoughts to Sakura, and watched as her smile widened into a huge grinned. She shrieked with happiness and launched herself at the unsuspecting boy; knocking him back a few steps. Naruto laughed with her and held her close. She was Sakura, his precious friend, and he was giving her up so that she could go find her destiny.
Sakura finally let go and stepped back. She walked a few steps forward and turned to face Naruto. Recognizing that she was going to say goodbye, Naruto steeled himself against the sadness he felt. This was for the best.
"Naruto, thank you so much. In the end, it was you who helped me realize how precious life is – you are so amazing and kind and I know you will be great one day. Remember that I will always think of you, and I hope that you never forget me too. I have to go now, but we will meet again, when it's your turn. I hope to see you in a long, long time. Thank you."
"And finally," Sakura said, as she turned to go, "I'd like to give you something…" Then Sakura put her hands together and disappeared in a poof of smoke. In her place were two people, looking slightly confused. One was a tall blonde man with bright blue eyes; the other was a short redheaded woman with large green eyes. Both were wearing matching green and black clothing, and had a headband with a funny symbol on it.
Naruto's jaw dropped and his throat was dry with longing.
"Mom? Dad?"
A/N: Hopefully that ending was more to your liking. This is really it - this is the epilogue; I don't think there's anything more I can add to this story. I don't remember what inspired me to write this one, but it was something about dead people. Please review and let me know what you think...I'd really appreciate it.
