A/N: Yes, this is the end this time. I know I always SAY it's over, and then end up adding yet another chapter. But this time I promise it's over, and it ended pretty happy, huh? I'm glad I'm finally done with another chapter fiction, because I've got DOZENS of other stories I wanna add, but not all at once...I want to hurry up and finish Stockholm Syndrome and Everyday With You, both of them have only one chapter left.
BUT YOU PEOPLE STILL HAVEN'T ANSWERED ME!! I wrote two extra chapters to Everyday With You, one is a KakuSasu, and the other a KankuKiba. It has NO GaaNaru in it, so that's why I might not post it. It's just about their friends and enemies going on and finding their own soulmates, thanks to the held of GAARA!! LOL, and Naruto helped a little too. I might not add those chapters, but if you PEOPLE want them, then please tell me, and I will add them!
Thanks to all my faithful reviewers who have kept up with me for this long!! Free apple cinnamon muffins to everyone who reviews! (Because everyone gives away cookies, and my mom makes freaking AWESOME apple cinnamon muffins..I can't get through the day without one...SO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWS GETS ONE! Ah, what the hell, how bout everyone in the world? I Love you al!!)


THREE YEARS LATER

Sakura walked solemnly through the rain, ignoring the hard drops that pelted her skin and soaked her clothes. Her drenched hair stuck to her neck, and her eyes stung, but she didn't care. Nothing could keep her away on this day, this very important day.

They day Naruto killed himself. Just a few months after Sasuke was killed.

She cringed, the memory brings unwanted tears to her eyes. She knew crying wasn't going to bring them back, but it was hard to keep them in.

She padded through the damp grass, shivering, until she reached the twin graves, blackened by the rain;

Naruto Uzumaki

Sasuke Uchiha

She stood there for a moment, motionless, her arms crossed tightly at her chest, as if she would break if she didn't hold herself together. Sometimes, that's exactly what she felt like; one day, she would just snap in half, because of all the strain on her heart.

Despite the wet ground, she fell to her knees and bent her head down, silent sobs racking through her body.

It's all my fault, she thought miserably, repeating to herself the same thing she said everyday. If I had just tried harder to keep Naruto going, I'd still have him. I should have stayed around him more, helped him more, and maybe he would still be here. But he couldn't live without Sasuke…even though he had all his friends. I guess it just wasn't enough.

"I can't live anymore!" She cried aloud, pounding her fist into the dirt. "Not without both of you! It's all my fault!" She pressed her forehead into the grass and cried, cried until her throat burned and she could barely breathe. Nobody was around, they wouldn't come out on a day like this. But the rain just proved that Sakura was truly done. Done with going on, and she was going to admit defeat.

It was too hard, too painful to wake up everyday without a team. It wasn't the same. She didn't have Naruto to follow her with annoying questions about a date, she didn't have Sasuke to make her want to fight harder to be a better kunoichi.

When Naruto confessed to her that he was in love with Sasuke, Sakura was at first devastated. All she ever wanted was to have Sasuke like her, respect her, and she spent all her time and every fiber of her being working towards that goal. She wanted to be stronger, smarter, better, she wanted to show Sasuke she wasn't the weak girl he thought she was. She thought she loved Sasuke so much, but really, she didn't give it too much thought.

She had always been so selfish…Naruto gave everything to her, and was willing to give more, and she pushed him away. She treated him so badly, and he never ceased to love her. Finally, when Sasuke showed them all that the Leaf Village never meant anything to him, Sakura realized nothing would ever happen. Sasuke was gone, and he left with hatred for her and the rest of the village.

And there was Naruto with open arms, ready to take in a broken Sakura and do anything for her.

Maybe I should give him a shot, she had thought. Maybe Naruto isn't that bad. She knew she could never get over Sasuke, but Naruto made the hurt fade. He was always there, determined and optimistic, no matter how grim things looked.

However, as time went by, Naruto grew distant. He talked about Sasuke more and more, wondering where he was, what he was thinking, so on, and it was confusing for both of them. They had moved on from Sasuke, hadn't they?

And then…the illusions started. She figured she had lost Naruto to memories and sadness, and the future looked dark. Naruto wasn't getting well, and he refused to believe that Sasuke had just been a part of his imagination.

Then, Sakura understood. It all flooded into her mind, the hints, the illusions, Naruto being cold and isolated, the opposite of his personality.

Sasuke and Naruto were in love, and there was nothing she could do to get between them. And actually, she didn't want to. Sasuke would be happy with Naruto, and wasn't that what she wanted all along? She reluctantly accepted this, even though it took some time for her to be joyful for them. Naruto said he wasn't coming back, but Sakura had dismissed it as a weird moment Naruto was going through, that he just needed some time alone to think it over.

Well, Naruto did come back. With another dead body.

Right then and there, Sakura thought she would explode. Her obsession, her reason for pushing on, was gone forever.

But every time she felt like dying herself, she'd look at Naruto. She'd see his pale face, sullen eyes, thin body, almost ghost like appearance, and she'd remind herself it wasn't just her who was mourning Sasuke.

Her love for Sasuke had been foolish, young, one-sided, quick, unthought-of, and there were so many doubts and problems. But Naruto's love for the Uchiha was real and strong. And most importantly, it was returned.

Naruto must have been going through hell, and it showed. Day after day, he looked even worse. He stopped talking, stopped eating. It pained them all to see their favorite blonde tied to his bed with tears pouring down his cheeks, shouting, "it's not true!!"

When Naruto had especially bad days, the despair crept back up on Sakura. When he began cutting himself, claiming there was no more reason to live, Sakura knew she had try harder. She gave all her love to Naruto, just like he had done for her countless times, but it turned out that it wasn't enough.

Naruto had left her, his friends, his villages, his dreams. All for Sasuke. Was his devotion that powerful? Was he so willing to give everything up for one person?

Maybe she would never understand why Naruto had made his choice, and perhaps, she never would. But she did understand that she was done.

"I'm done with it!" She sobbed, disgusted with herself that she had been beaten. But at this point, it didn't matter what she thought of herself, it didn't matter what she was leaving behind, it didn't matter. All that mattered was escaping.

"Sakura…" A light voice said, and she snapped her head up to look around. Standing in front of her, was Naruto and Sasuke.

She blinked a few times, trying to clear her vision of the hallucinations. But they did not weaken.

"N-Naruto…?" She rasped. "S…S-Sasuke?"

"Sakura, don't cry," Naruto instructed, kneeling down to wipe away the tears streaming down Sakura's face. His fingers felt so real, so full and warm, but Sakura reminded herself that that couldn't be possible, so she did not reply.

"Sakura, please listen to me," Naruto said, more urgently. "It's not your fault."

"W-what…?"

"I wanted you to move on, something I obviously failed at. It would be better for you to get over me. Don't forget me, just think of all the good times we had together, huh?" He smiled hugely, looking at Sakura face to face. She noticed that even though he was inches from her, his hand was still clasped with Sasuke's, who just stared down at her with an unreadable expression.

"I shouldn't have left you behind," Naruto admitted sadly. "But I knew I couldn't live without Sasuke. I know you don't think you can live either, but you're stronger than that!"

"B-but…" Sakura tried to keep herself together, after all, her best friends weren't really there, she just thought they were. There was no reason to spill out her heart to two illusions.

But seeing them again was wonderful and agonizing at the same time, and she needed to do something.

"It's so hard!" Sakura broke down, letting her head fall on Naruto's fleshy shoulder. It felt slim but muscular, just like the real Naruto.

"I know, I know it's hard Sakura!" Naruto soothed, stroking her hair. "But you can do it! I'm positive that you can. Deep in your heart Sakura, believe that I'm still with you. Always." She sniffled until all the rest of her tears were gone, and then she gazed up to Sasuke, who grinned slyly at her.

"Even though you are annoying…" he said, and Sakura slightly smiled back. Sasuke was teasing her, she could tell with the caring tone of his voice. "Naruto is right. You're better than this. If you're so set on impressing me, I want you to move on. Continue your life."

"S-Sasuke…" She had never received such meaningful words from Sasuke, and suddenly, she thought she would be okay. Maybe, in time, she'd learn to move on, like they told her to.

"That's better," Naruto grinned at her, and she realized that he had stopped crying. And strangely, she didn't feel like starting again. "I think you're going to be fine. We've never far away, you know that. Whenever you feel lonely or sad, remember that you can talk to us whenever you want." Sakura nodded obediently and rose to her feet, brushing mud off her knees as she wiped her eyes, more confident than she had been in a long time.

Naruto smiled at her, and even Sasuke grinned lightly.

"Sasuke…?" She had one more question before she was ready to move on.

"Hmm?"

"W-why did you leave?" Sasuke visibly tensed and tightened his grip on Naruto's hand, which didn't bother Sakura in the least. She knew they were soul mates forever.

"I didn't leave the Leaf Village, and I didn't leave you or Naruto or my friends," Sasuke replied tightly. "I left for revenge, which turned out to be a pretty shitty reason." Sakura bit her lip, hearing the truth in Sasuke's voice. He regretted leaving, and instead of feeling satisfied, Sakura only felt sorrow for the raven. She thought she would be happy when Sasuke came crawling back to Konoha, apologizing and pleading forgiveness, because he knew what he had done was a bad decision.

But Sakura was a changed person now, after many obstacles, she knew the hardest rocks in her path were cleared.

"I understand," Sakura said, shaking her wet hair out of her face. "Thank you for telling me this, Naruto, Sasuke. I love you both." Naruto giggled, but Sasuke merely scoffed, a tint of happiness in his blank eyes.

And they disappeared, leaving nothing behind except the faint air of their presence and the very important message they gave her.

Her tears gone, Sakura turned back towards the Leaf Village, and she swore she could feel two hands on both of hers, guiding her back to her life.

Things were never better.