Naruto and Sakura meet in the Pure Land of Himawari's universe. A continuation of Omake #5.

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So... I'm here. I have to find Naruto and tell him. If I don't, then I never will. It's not going to get any easier, Sakura thought as she walked through the atmosphere of the Pure Land. Little points of light floated around her.

As she thought about Naruto, she could feel herself being guided by some incomprehensible force. She followed it at a steady pace. Eventually she saw the outline of a figure topped by yellow.

That has to be him...

"Naruto! NARUTO!" Sakura shouted.

The figure stopped moving. She ran towards him. She was close enough to make out his features. The youthful Naruto was something that made her feel a great nostalgia.

"Naruto!"

She caught up to him and stopped.

"Sakura-chan? You died...? What happened...?" asked the worried Naruto.

"I sacrificed myself to revive Sarada after she was killed by Boruto..." Sakura calmly explained.

"Oh... I'm so sorry, Sakura-chan. It's all my fault. I don't know what happened to make him like that... I guess I should've been a better father. Damn it! I can't believe you're dead... I... I mean, that's awful..."

"It's fine... It's my fault too, Naruto."

"How could it possibly be your fault...? That doesn't make any sense!"

Naruto looked at her seriously. He looked a little upset at the suggestion. Sakura swallowed nervously.

"Because... Naruto..." She looked very uncomfortable.

"Because... what? Just tell me... I won't get angry... I promise, Sakura-chan."

It's the promise of a lifetime... Sakura thought back to those days. Naruto never lies... Naruto never breaks a promise. I trust him so much...

"Because... I love you. I've loved you for a long time... and I should have told you..."

Sakura had done her best to maintain eye contact despite the nervousness she felt. Naruto stared blankly at her.

"Sakura-chan... We're dead. We're both in the afterlife... This isn't the place for-"

"NARUTO!" Sakura shrieked. "Don't finish that sentence. I'm serious... If you ever loved me, don't say what you were going to say. Please don't, Naruto... It will destroy me. You have no idea how much it will hurt me. I'll do anything you want me to... Just don't... I won't be able to handle it, Naruto..."

Sakura looked to be on the verge of tears. Naruto looked at her with concern.

"OK... Sakura-chan... I won't say it. But, Sasuke..."

"Don't even tell me about Sasuke-kun... You have no idea how little there was between Sasuke-kun and I. You would laugh if you knew. I'm really pathetic, Naruto..."

"Don't say that! Never say that, Sakura-chan... You were always so incredible compared to me. I'm just a fool... My own son killed me, and destroyed Konoha... Some Hokage I am..."

"Yeah... Everything has gone to hell for us. I wish we could go back to when we were just kids... I wouldn't have let you get away from me like I did..."

"But, why would you never tell me, Sakura-chan? We were so distant from each other... I loved you too... Sometimes it hurt so much to think about..."

"I realized too late... It was before I had gotten engaged to Sasuke-kun..."

It was a couple years after the Fourth War, and Sakura was eating lunch with Sasuke in a restaurant. Sakura was one of the only people in Konoha that Sasuke was close to, so he often spent time with her. They weren't in a relationship, but the two friends would often eat together.

"Hn... Sakura. Have you spoken with Naruto recently?" Sasuke asked.

"No... He's always with Hinata. That baka forgot about his friends... I should pound him." Sakura replied.

"He's been with her for some time now... Do you think they'll get married?"

Sakura started to feel sick to her stomach.

Strange... The food here is usually good, she thought.

"I don't know, Sasuke-kun. Probably..."

"Would you ever consider marrying me?"

The pinkette stared at Sasuke with wide eyes, blushing slightly. Sasuke remained stone-faced.

"Where did that come from...?"

"You don't have to answer me right now."

"I don't know, Sasuke-kun... It's been so long and I'm not sure about anything anymore. I don't know if I'm ready to get married... And I don't know if I still love you."

"It's fine if you don't."

Sakura's eye twitched.

"What do you mean, it's fine? Of course it isn't fine!"

"Hn. It's really fine. I wouldn't demand very much from you. I need a wife who can look after the Uchiha estate while I am away. You would have access to all the money and properties attached to it. You are the only woman in Konoha I trust and probably the only woman in Konoha I will ever trust, so you are the only choice."

Sakura felt somehow flattered and disappointed simultaneously. She decided to learn more about what the Uchiha had in mind.

"What about children? Didn't you want to restore your clan?"

"Hn. I have already restored my clan. The honor was restored to my clan when I killed Shimura Danzo. I may have a child in the future. It would not be with you."

Sakura looked rather irritated.

"Why wouldn't you want it to be with me? What's so bad about me?"

"Nothing that you have any control over... You're a civilian-born kunoichi with pink hair. Ideally, the mother of my child would have a bloodline. And the possibility of an Uchiha child with pink hair, however remote, is not something I am willing to accept."

"Oh... I see. Erm... What..." Sakura coughed nervously. She cleared her throat and started speaking again. "Sasuke-kun... What about... sex? Wouldn't you be interested in that...? This is so weird..."

"Hn. Again, not with you. For me, it's not worth the awkwardness it would create. If you feel differently, and won't agree to the marriage otherwise, we could-"

There was something Sakura simply had to ask. It was a question that had been constantly on her mind for a huge part of her teenage years. There was a strong likelihood that this would be her only chance to know the answer.

She lifted her hand from its resting position on the table in a 'stop' gesture, interrupting Sasuke.

"...Why not with me...? Sasuke-kun." Sakura asked.

"I've just never been very attracted to you. I have no idea why not. I would rather not discuss this anymore," Sasuke replied, slightly put out but remaining stoic.

"OK... I guess I understand... I'll think about it..."

"I'll need your answer in a week. I have to go back to hunting for information on Kaguya after that."

Sasuke stood up and moved to depart.

"See you later, Sakura."

"Bye, Sasuke-kun..."

Sakura remained sitting at the table for some time. She was in deep thought.

Would I really get married to Sasuke-kun...? Uchiha Sakura... I used to dream about having that name, she thought.

She retrieved a compact from her bag and examined her face in the mirror, thinking about how it could be the face of the future Uchiha matriarch.

Argh, I don't know what to do... Is it alright to spend the rest of my life attached to Sasuke-kun? What would it be like? It wouldn't be romantic at all, but it's not like I have other prospects... And Naruto is always with Hinata, she thought.

She thought about Naruto. He always used to make her smile. Always being such a goofball, doing little things to make her laugh.

"Sakura-chan!" His voice echoed in her mind.

Damn, I miss you, Naruto. Why is Hinata the lucky one...? I thought he loved me...?

"Sakura-chan!" She envisioned his smiling face, locks of blonde hair moving in the wind.

Oh God... After all this time... Why after all this time? I'm such an idiot... He definitely thinks that I'm already with Sasuke... and he's with Hinata...

She hopped out of her chair and walked quickly out of the restaurant.

There is no way he'll believe me... He'll probably laugh in my face. How can I possibly tell him?

"I was just so ashamed, Naruto. You were so good to me. You were such a wonderful person. And yet it took me so long... I thought I still wanted someone who was more likely to impale me on his arm than kiss me. I felt like such a fool thinking about it. I didn't deserve you at all..." Sakura explained.

"Oh... I've always loved you, Sakura-chan... I never thought about if you deserved it or not. But if I had to, I would say that you do... And you always will. You're amazing, Sakura-chan. I think I'll always love you... I realized several years ago that I would probably never be able to stop. And it hurt so much thinking that I would never be with you. Thinking that Sasuke was with you... When he would come back to Konoha, I would occasionally get angry with him for no reason... Heh, I'm pathetic, too..." Naruto chuckled.

"I just couldn't bear facing you and telling you that when you were with Hinata. I thought you would laugh at me. I thought you probably loved Hinata instead of me. I thought there was no way you would believe me... I couldn't bear to see the look on your face when you didn't," Sakura said with a sad smile on her face.

"And Sasuke-kun made it so easy for me. I accepted his offer... He wasn't going to ask me to betray the love I had for you... I'd be married so I'd have a reason not to be able to confess to you... It was a perfect situation for me to be a coward and run away from the way I felt about you. Pretend like I was being noble and letting you be happy with Hinata... When I knew on some level that the love you felt for me could still be hurting you... And thinking that I was with Sasuke-kun in that way probably hurt you even more... He was your rival... At the very least, I shouldn't have let you think that... I ran away from you for so many years... I made us both so miserable... I'm so sorry, Naruto!" Sakura finished. She looked extremely depressed.

"I don't know what to say... I wish you had told me. I really do, Sakura-chan..."

"I hope you can forgive me... I'll wait as long as it takes until you can."

"I forgive you, Sakura-chan. I love you."

Sakura suddenly glared at Naruto, raising her fist.

"NARUTO! This isn't something you can just forgive so easily! My actions caused our deaths! I didn't tell you I loved you! I pretended I was still in love with your best friend and ended up getting married to him! The marriage was a farce, but I still let you assume that it had been consummated! Then I avoided you for the next fifteen years, never telling you how I felt or the truth about any of this! The end result is that we're both dead on account of a sociopath who would never have been born if not for my cowardice and stupidity! And you forgive me right away?! Are you being serious right now?!"

The pinkette was breathing heavily, out of breath from her tirade. She continued to glare at Naruto with fist clenched.

"Of course, Sakura-chan. I'm just so happy that you love me. I would forgive anything for you. And I can't blame you for most of that... I was with Hinata... I had given up on you. It's my fault that I didn't keep trying. I'm really sorry too, Sakura-chan," Naruto explained with a nervous smile on his face.

"You stupid baka... You're just unbelievable... Let's get out of here..."

She grabbed Naruto's hand and started dragging him towards a new destination.

"Ow! Sakura-chan! I think you dislocated my arm..." Naruto whined.

"I'll heal it when we get there!"