Chapter 10

Hello Darkness, my old friend

"So, what do you suggest we do?" The fox asked the female silhouette, upon her suggesting that they first had to rid of the person who currently inhabited Naruto's body. As much as it hurt his pride to admit it, the fox had indeed tried to come up with a few countermeasures to the current situation, but his mind had drawn a complete blank. For now he had to content himself with listening to any other suggestions from the people around him.

Naoki had her arms folded at her chest and there was a pensive look of sorts etched on her visage then, mixed with a dull tone of worry, but luckily neither Naruto nor the Nine Tails drew her attention to it. For a moment, a pin drop silence grasped the vicinity of Naruto's soul, no one daring to say anything as they awaited the female's answer.

Finally, after what seemed an eternity, she opened her eyes, a calm and reserved look in her eyes now, and her line of sight now on the fox before her.

"I need your help."

"Anything that ensures I'll still be in one piece at the end of all of this," The Nine Tails admitted, relieved that finally there was a silver lining that had presented itself in the dire situation they were in. His usual grin was placated on his face.

The large force of nature then proceeded to focus his gaze above him, before saying to himself more than anyone else, one eye closed in its usual confident demeanor, "I must admit, I had started to miss that bastard's company," Kurama said, surprising both Naruto and Naoki. Unfortunately or fortunately, he seemed to have forgotten that in this particular section of Naruto's soul, the walls themselves seemingly had ears.

The blonde male's eyes were widened in surprise as he took in what Kurama said in sheer disbelief, and the female's mouth was slightly agape.

That was the first time in his life that Naruto had ever heard the fox display even the slightest hint of sentimentality. It was also probably the strangest thing that the Nine Tails had ever said, and the expressions on both Naruto's and Naoki's faces at that moment did not say otherwise.

So he did have feelings like those after all.

It was a little shocking to say the least, but at the same time, amusing in its own small way.

"What never heard a fox get sentimental before?"

Actually, no, they never had. Talking foxes were already an oddity in itself as it was.

Naruto gulped, stifling the laughter that would otherwise break out of him, before responding to the fox. "I'll assume you never said that." He refocused his gaze on the female apparition. "So, what's the plan?"

Shaking her head, Naoki also allowed herself to place her full attention on what was really important at said moment.

"First things first, I'm going to forcefully rip Yami out of your body and drag him inside here."

"You can do something like that?" Naruto mused incredulously, finding a new found respect for the female.

She nodded. "I did it once to the Yamanaka girl in the Chuunin Exams. Although thinking about it now," she smiled a little as she kept her eyes focused on Naruto, " it probably only worked in the first place because a certain idiot couldn't stop shouting Sakura's name."

Naruto tipped his head to the side in confusion as he regarded the girl. He wasn't sure exactly what she was referring to, so he waited for her to continue with what she was referring to earlier.

A sliver of a memory crossed Naoki's mind as she remembered Naruto fervently shouting Sakura's name as Ino nearly got her to give up with her Mind Possession Jutsu, but she wasn't exactly at a luxury to dive into nostalgia currently. Right now what she needed to do was to focus, and pray that by some miracle, the same miracle was going to happen twice.

"Back then, I was forcefully pushing her out of Sakura's body, but this time, it's going to be different. That's where he comes in." She pointed with a thumb besides her to where Kurama was keenly listening in to the conversation, but her attention still focused on Naruto. From what she had picked up on the boy from her time inside Sakura, he wasn't entirely the sharpest tool in the shed, so in areas where detailed explanations needed to be made, one needed to make sure that they paid attention to him as well.

Once she saw a look of understanding dawn on his face, she continued, slightly relieved that she was spared the effort and energy that would be spent in explaining things a second time.

"This time, I'm going to pull the dark you from your body and into your soul, but since it's a highly unstable technique, that bears the added risk of him clawing his way back to the surface, I'll need Kurama here to temporarily cut off the chakra flow between your physical body and your soul."

Naoki said all this, bearing in mind that from what she had picked up of Yami so far, he was unusually strong for someone who was just the manifested negativity of someone else. That, coupled with the skills that she had seen him display so far which included establishing a Soul Link between Naruto and Sakura quite casually without using much effort, plus, although this was speculation more than anything on her part, the fact that Yami had managed to completely cut off the connection between him and Naruto earlier was certainly not something to be scoffed at.

But…despite all the precautions she had taken…there was still a fatal risk that she was taking.

"Wait, isn't that dangerous to the physical body?" Kurama stated, already having seen the risk that she was somewhat hoping wouldn't be too big a factor to be noticed.

Turned out there were merits with having age old foxes as allies after all.

Naoki duly noted the worry that had seeped into the tone in Kurama's voice just then and she felt a shiver crawl up her spine just then.

"If the body stays without chakra for an extended period of time, Naruto will…"

True enough, as the Nine Tails had already taken note of, if the body wasn't left with chakra for an extended amount of time, then the person was assured of death.

Then in that case, there was only one solution left.

Naoki only hoped that Naruto was up to the task that was set before him, since if he failed, and then an entire horde of people would be unhappy.

She shook her head, before proceeding to address the Nine Tails earlier sentiment," I'll explain later, for now time's a wasting. The longer we dilly dally here the harder it will become to sever the link between these two."

Turning away from the large fox and the red eyed male , she began gathering what seemed to be her version of chakra on her hands which were both clasped together as if in prayer, but for her, her work was cut out for her that day, as she would come to find out a fraction of a second later.

"What am I supposed to do?"

Surprising the female, this query had come from the blonde male, who had been oddly quiet for the past few minutes in the verbal exchange between the fox and Naoki. When Naoki released her hands to look at Naruto to call him off, her words caught in her throat the moment she realized that the young boy was being dead serious just then. Usually, whenever he would ask for clarification regarding something, he would have a slightly out of it look on his visage, but this time, it wasn't the case at all.

Perhaps that was what had made her call back her earlier intentions of chastising him for interrupting her when she was in the middle of saving his future.

He had been out of the loop the whole time, but he needed to know, even if he was painfully aware that he was interrupting, for what was the last time.

The silhouette smiled a soft, resigned smile. There was no point in trying to keep things from him at this point in time.

"You, honey, have the hardest work out of all of us."

A short pause followed, in which both Naruto and her stayed silent, as if bracing themselves for the impact of what was going to be said next.

"Staying alive."

Naruto gulped.

XOXOX

There was a dull splash and the surface of the water rippled as the impact of feet landing on water sounded.

The fourth guest had just showed up.

Standing in front of the cerulean eyed male, was his scarlet eyed counterpart who was responsible for putting them in this current situation.

It was a little ironic, now that Naruto allowed himself to muse over it a little. The first time that these two had met, a while back at the Waterfall of Truth, they were both standing on opposite sides of the spectrum as well, and after all that happened to them and between them from the moment they had left Turtle Island, they were still standing on opposite sides.

In the end, nothing had changed, after all.

Perhaps some things were supposed to stay the same after all, never changing in the light of any and everything that happened to them.

Yami arched his head backwards, his hands placed on his waist and a low grunt of disapproval escaping his palate, before it was replaced by a menacing grin as he stared down at Naruto.

"Yo, fancy meeting you here."

He didn't even seem the least bit remorseful for what he had done, although Naruto was not entirely sure why he had expected him to. At the time when they had made that bet between them on the island which involved Yami not placing Sakura in any sort of danger or hurt, Naruto had wanted to believe in the man, to trust him that he would stay true to his word.

Had he crossed the line and betrayed the trust that Naruto had placed in him, or was Naruto the one who was just jealous?

The cerulean eyed man smiled a little, finding the current situation a little nostalgic more than anything. Somehow, he couldn't find it in himself to even be mad at Yami.

"This could have been avoided you know. If you hadn't decided to take matters into your own hands, you know."

"Oh spare me the crap," Yami retorted almost immediately, a sneer flashing across his face, before it was replaced by the smug grin that always seemed to be placated on his face.

"Remember what we agreed, Naruto. We can only keep your body in suspended animation for a few minutes at best. In that span of time you should beat him and wrestle back control of your body from him."

The blonde boy steeled his nerves, before proceeding to tighten his hitai ate. "Osu!"

Yami's gaze idly travelled to the towering fox that was behind Naruto.

"I'm surprised. I didn't actually expect you to team up with the Nine Tails. Were you really that desperate to keep me away from Sakura?"

"Oi Naruto, the time-" Naoki started from where she was standing behind him, directly in front of the cage where the Nine Tails was inside, but Naruto held out his hand to silence the apparition and prevent her from saying anything else. He knew exactly what he had to do.

"I know, Naoki-chan," Naruto said, before turning back at her and flashing her one of his trademark smiles. "I'll be fine."

The girl flushed a little, but the rest of her words died down in her throat as she found reassurance in what Naruto had said just then. She would place her trust in him.

"And you," Yami didn't seem as if he was quite done with what he was saying earlier, this time his gaze veering to Naoki. There was a glazed look in his eyes as he stared at the apparition," So it wasn't just the fox who helped. You couldn't stay put in your master's conscience could you? Especially after I was the one who allowed you to experience all this," he stretched out his arms besides him, highlighting the vast expense of Naruto's soul.

The silhouette remained emotionless after that stab by the red eyed man, but then her eyes darkened and she said in a subdued tone.

"I owe you nothing."

That voice sent chills down Naruto's spine, but despite himself, he found himself smiling at the sheer fearlessness that was in Naoki then.

She didn't quite seem to be done yet, owing to the snicker that was on her face as she addressed Yami a second time. "Did you really think you were the only one with abilities? You still have a lot to learn about inner worlds, Yami."

So it was her after all, the one who had yanked on his consciousness earlier and pulled him into the abyss.

Naruto seemed to have other plans in mind, fully intending not to let the verbal exchange between Yami and Naoki to go on any longer than it already had.

Naruto stepped in the line of vision between his dark counterpart and Naoki, effectively preventing the man from addressing the female anymore.

"That's enough, Yami. Your beef is with me," Naruto declared with a tone of finality, the glare in his eyes displaying what exactly he thought about the red eyed man bad mouthing Naoki and the Nine Tails while he was there.

"Tch, how troublesome," the red eyed man remarked off handedly, as he rubbed the back of his head nonchalantly. It was probably a habit he had picked up from his counterpart, although Naruto wasn't going to draw his attention to it at said moment. Yami then refocused his attention to Naruto.

"Fine then, if you really want me to play with you that badly, I'll play."

Dark chakra began pooling all around his body.

"But I do warn you, I don't play nice."

"I never expected you to," Naruto said bluntly, already bringing out his hands before him in a stance that would allow him to switch rapidly between offense and defense.

And just like that….everything went to oblivion.

There was a flash, with both opponents out of sight for a split second…and suddenly…

Blows after blows and kicks after kicks were traded in quick succession between both Naruto and Yami.

The two opponents were in perfect sync with each other. Each and every attack by one of them was parried perfectly by the other, both their defenses impregnable and their attacks flawless.

At one particular moment whereby they were face to face with each other in a fierce deadlock, both of them staring into each other's orbs, Naruto had the funny feeling that even their breathing was in sync with each other.

It was to be expected of two sides of the same coin.

"Not half bad," Yami commented, a bead of perspiration already trickling down his forehead.

Naruto took the brief moment of reprieve to study his opponents, looking for any possible opening that presented himself in either the man's stance or in his movements.

There were none.

However, that didn't mean the fight was going to be at a stalemate forever.

"This is where the tide of the battle changes," the Nine Tails stated to himself more than anyone, although he was cock sure that the female just outside his cage had probably come to the same conclusion as well. The fox had his hands folded at his chest as he paid close attention to the battle between Naruto and his opponent keenly. Under normal circumstances, the fox would have already interfered in the battle by playing favorites between any of the two, but somehow, he didn't want to get in the middle of something like this. Not when his host's life was at stake and the end result would be the same despite who won.

In all his years of being a Tailed Beast, switching between one Jinchuuriki and the next, this was probably the first time that he had witnessed something else.

Perhaps Naruto was special after all.

So he contented himself with watching.

Surprisingly, he was no longer on all fours as he was usually whenever he was in the seal, instead seating on both his hind legs. He took up nearly all the space in the cage, casting a large shadow in the area before him.

True enough to his words earlier; Yami quickly released his hand from Naruto's grip and immediately switched to perform a shorthanded blow, something that Naruto managed to capture easily but with much more effort than the previous blows.

The attack didn't stop there, as the red eyed man, with incredible agility, flipped his body forward and landed a kick on Naruto, the bottom of his sandal making contact with Naruto's jaw.

There was a sickening crunch at the impact of what was possibly a broken bone, and Naoki flinched visibly. It was probably the first emotion that she had displayed from the moment that this entire bout had started.

Naruto himself also winced in pain as his body was flung into the air behind him, but seconds later, there was a poof sound.

It was a clone.

Naoki released a breath that she did not know she was holding until that point, glad that her earlier worries turned out to be unfounded in the end. That didn't entirely mean that she had the luxury of turning her eyes away from this fight, or that Naruto was safely out of the woods yet.

Yami's one eye widened in slight surprise, but he soon managed to recollect himself, seeing through Naruto's ploy.

"A shadow clone eh? How like you, Naruto," he remarked, while turning to his side, already aware of the already charging opponent there.

The Rasengan in Naruto's hand was inches away from Yami's face the moment he grasped his opponent's hand, this time managing to parry off Naruto's attack with slightly more effort than he had deemed necessary.

He grunted slightly under his breath, and the look he shot at Naruto then was definitely not that of a pleased man.

"You have everything to yourself! It's not fair!" The red eyed man started, in a voice riddled with anger and…..was that sadness?

Naruto was surprised by the sudden burst of what he deemed sentimentality, considering it was the second time that day he was subjected to such a feeling, although more than that he was surprised by Yami's impromptu decision to suddenly delve into conversation.

Debating in his mind for a split second whether or not to indulge the man, he proceeded to reply, seeing no harm in it.

"You're wrong. Everything in my life, all of my relationships and my skills, I had to work for them!"

This time, Naruto's counterpart made no effort to hide the malice that was bubbling in him from the moment he had been sucked into this realm, and that Naruto's answer just then had probably triggered even further.

Naruto got wind of this, but it was already too late for him at that point.

There was a kunai already protruding from his chest.

He didn't even know how or when the kunai was stuck in him, but one thing he did know was that Yami was incredibly fast, faster than Naruto had initially given him credit for.

Weakly, he looked up into the red eyed man's eyes, where he found a victorious glare looking down at him.

The shadow clone disappeared with another poof like the first one.

This time, there was visible surprise on Yami's face, and when a third Naruto emerged from the smoke, he couldn't block in time.

The real Naruto's punch landed square in his face, and for some odd reason it felt heavier than usual.

It took Yami a single glance to Naruto's eyes to finally understand what was happening.

Something cracked under Naruto's fist.

It took a while for Yami to regain his balance after he was sent veering off a good distance behind him, sending ripples of water in the air in his path of flight.

"Two clones huh? Plus you're already in Sage Mode."

True enough, Naruto's eyes had already changed in appearance, his pupils having already turned yellow and toad like, with an orange pigmentation around the eyes.

So the clones earlier were to buy time for him to gather natural energy and enter Sage Mode.

"I have to say, you're exceeding my expectations, Naruto," Yami commented while looking up at the man. Blood trickled freely from his nose, which was now dislocated. There was also a blotch of blood on his mouth, something that notified Naruto had perhaps he had put more force than necessary into his blow just then.

He wasn't going to be allowed to muse over his worry for much longer however.

There was a small fizzling on his face where Naruto had injured him, and the cerulean eyes boy watched for a few minutes in mild amazement as the ripped skin in that area began to repair and mend itself.

"It's going to take more than that to put me down, Naruto."

Of course, Naruto should have already realized it from the moment that he had activated it on his own. That healing pattern and the energy he felt welling around him…there was no mistaking it anywhere.

Yami had just used nature energy to restore his wounds.

It did seem to be slightly different from Naruto's however, as there was no visible change in the red eyed man's eyes, although the blonde man found himself curious what exactly his Sage Mode would look like with the pigmentation around his eyes.

"It doesn't have to be this way, you know," the cerulean eyed male said calmly.

Unfortunately, the two counterparts were fated to never share the same state of mind.

"Oh yes, it does. You also realized it from the moment we first met. This is the only way things were going to be settled between us."

There was a brief moment of silence as the weight of Yami's words stayed suspended in the air, and then something that shocked all the residents of the room except one of them happened.

A small fizzing sound was heard as Naruto undid his Sage Mode, his eyes going back to his normal hue of blue.

The young man proceeded to shake his head, a strangely calm and relaxed smile on his face.

"No, that's enough. As I thought, you're amazing. I can't beat you, at least like this."

Why had it taken him this long to figure it out?

This battle wasn't one that was going to have a winner.

Yami was practically seething at that point, his eyes having grown to the size of bulbs as he gritted his teeth continuously, while pointing accursedly at Naruto.

"That's what I bloody hate about you!"

Naruto said nothing to this, fully expecting a reaction like this from the moment he decided to forfeit the fight.

"Why do you always have to be like that? Saying that you worked for everything in your life, that self righteous nature of yours pisses the fuck out of me! "

He paused a little as he took in a whiff of air, seemingly having exhausted his lungs from his earlier outlash. The next time that the red eyed man talked, his voice was calm and collected, as if he was trying to make Naruto see his point of view.

"Listen, Naruto. Things don't have to be like this. With my skills and your body, we're practically unstoppable. We can get pretty much anything we want to. Anyone who stands in our way would be eliminated."

He paused once more, this time intending to let what he had just said sink into Naruto, before adding with a certain emphasis.

"You can even get the girl of your dreams."

Naruto looked at him for a few minutes pensively, an unreadable expression on his face, before responding in the calm voice that he had employed for a while now.

"You're right. When you were in control, I have to admit, I was jealous of you. Everyone liked you right away, and you could do anything you wanted to do without worrying about the consequences or what other people thought."

A flash of a memory crossed Naruto's mind, and he realized that he would probably never be as bold as Yami was when interacting with the villagers, or when he pulled that stunt with the girls who wanted to talk to him, even if it was only for a short while.

The red eyed man smiled, glad that Naruto was finally getting round to his way of thinking. Perhaps forfeiting the fight like he had done earlier wasn't entirely bad after all.

"But, all of that…it was me."

Yami's train of thought froze just then. He stared at Naruto as if he had just been slapped by those words.

Naruto continued, well aware of the disdain that he had caused in the red eyed man, but somehow, he felt as if this is what was supposed to happen all along.

Perhaps, there were other ways to winning battles than by mere violence.

"You and me….we're the same person. I guess I just hated the part of me that wasn't as courageous and bold as you. But!" He pressed his hand to his chest in a reassuring gesture, confidence literally oozing out of him at that point. "I'm going to also try my hardest to change from now on. Maybe becoming a little braver like you wouldn't be such a bad change after all."

"Shut up!" Yami swung his hand to the side in protest, before a seething rage took him over.

He was a fool to think that even for a moment, he and Naruto were on the same page.

Once an idiot, always an idiot.

"I'm nothing like you!"

But Naruto wasn't about to stop just yet.

His hands were spread wide beside him, all semblance of resistance disappeared from him. He still had that confident aura about him, and this time when he spoke up, the signature grin on his face was unmistakable.

It made Naoki and the Nine Tails smile as well, but they were not sure why exactly they were doing so.

Then again Naruto always had that weird effect on people, didn't he?

"About Sakura-chan, I want to win over her with my own ability. Kinda cheesy, right? But you know; that's kinda like the downside of being hopelessly in love with someone."

Yami had already broken into a charge towards the man, his fist clenched as he intended to beat the living crap out of the cerulean eyed male this time. A tinge of regret twisted in him as he realized that this was what he should have just done earlier.

The distance between the two closed steadily and steadily, and the red eyed male swung his fist forward with all his strength, but just then, a warm feeling coursed over his entire body.

He blinked once, twice….and before he realized it, Naruto was hugging him.

He wanted to wiggle out of the man's embrace, to stab his back with a kunai while he wasn't looking, but despite how much he wanted to feel angry, to flail about in despair and rage….the feeling never came to him.

What welled up from a point in his body that he did not know about till that point was instead warmth.

"Thank you…for everything," Naruto said in a slow voice that only he and the man could hear, the tone of voice mirroring what was currently enveloping the two.

And just like that, all of Yami's fighting spirit dwindled away like a candle flame that had just been exposed to the rain.

It was a feeling like nothing he had ever experienced before, awash over him and reaching out to every corner of his body. As much as it completely befuddled him to admit it, it was a greater feeling than what he had felt when he was with Sakura a few moments earlier.

"Am I just going to disappear like this?" He asked weakly, already feeling the energy sap out of his body. It was to be expected after all, at the end of the day, he was just the embodiment of negative emotions. Expecting him to have a physical form was stretching it by quite a margin.

Yami knew that…

He knew that completely…

But still…

He didn't want to disappear.

Naruto released a small incomprehensible sound from his mouth that seemed to express more joy than anything, before he proceeded to address his counterparts' worries.

"You idiot. You aren't going anywhere. You'll still be here with me."

That was enough to make the man more accepting of his fate. There was still a teensy weensy matter however…

"Hey, Naruto?"

"Hm?"

"Take care of her for me will you? If any harm ever comes to her, I'm going to claw my way back up there again, ya know."

Naruto's eyes widened in slight disbelief, and he chuckled a little. Now why did this scenario seem so familiar?

"Don't worry about her. She's in safe hands."

The last of Yami's remaining life force slipped out of Naruto's arms in the form of twinkles of light, which set the rather dingy area alight, albeit for only a few minutes.

The blonde man, who was now standing alone in the area, looked to the sky where the twinkles of light were soaring farther and farther away, and soaked in their momentary brilliance and iridescence.

He then turned to look at the Nine Tails and Naoki, who had nothing short of proud smiles etched on both their visages.

"Thanks guys." He held out a thumb up to both of them.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Naoki said, seemingly on the verge of rushing towards Naruto and enveloping him in a hug to celebrate his most recent achievement. Her arms were crossed over her chest in a triumphant posture.

As if on cue, the place began to darken, something that meant Naruto's body was beginning to die down.

"Shit, you're right!" The man cursed, while looking around him trying to assess just how much time had taken and how far his body was gone.

There was a sudden yank on his entire self, then he found himself going up…up…up. Naoki and the Nine Tails began to dim out slowly by slowly, but this didn't prevent Naruto from addressing them once more in a tone of finality.

"I'll come see you later!"

"I won't look forward to it, kit," the Nine Tails said, flapping one of its ears and closing its eyes as it prepared itself to go back to sleeping. Naoki had a funny feeling that the fox wasn't being entirely candid with itself, owing to the small smile she saw cross his lips for a split second, but she wasn't about to tease him for it so soon after Naruto had just recovered. Oh, there would be loads of time for that later.

XOXOX

Slowly, his eyes began opening, and his ears picked up on the sound of silent sobs that sounded like they were quite a good distance away. He thought he was still dreaming following what he had just come from, but the warmth that soaked a good portion of his torso was enough to tell him that he was definitely back in his body.

His gaze veered to the pink haired girl who had him in an embrace, as if trying to keep his body warm and cradling him close to her in an effort not to lose him.

He didn't realize just how much he had missed Sakura till he made an indiscernible sound from his throat and her green eyes immediately darted to look upon his face, and watching her eyes widen when she laid sight on his now blue orbs made his heart skip a beat.

"Was I out for too long?" Naruto asked innocently. He was sure that he must have been smiling like an idiot just then.

Yup, there was no one else who smiled that freely like her Naruto.

Normally, Sakura would be compelled to punch him to wipe off that idiotic look from his face, but in the light of all that had happened that day; she was too exhausted to follow through on her initial impulse. The funny thing was that she had already resolved to slap him when he came back to his senses, but worrying over his state had taken precedence over that.

So she resorted to hugging him.

Naruto was also surprised, remembering the exact same scenario that he had come from a few minutes back, but since his body couldn't exactly move as freely as he wanted to, at least not just yet, he chuckled mischievously before saying in a cool voice.

"Glad to be back."

The words that had just escaped his palate just then surprised him. Was he always that comfortable around Sakura whenever she openly displayed affection around him?

Smiling to him, he realized that maybe due to Yami's interference; his relationship with Sakura had already begun to change. The red eyed man must have rubbed off him more than he had initially thought.

Speaking of Yami, there was something that Naruto had yet to confirm from Sakura.

"Ne, Sakura-chan."

"Hm? " She still had her arms wrapped around him, not intending to let him go any moment soon.

"Earlier, what did Naoki mean when she said you've been thinking about something for quite a while now?"

Somewhere in the world, someone sneezed from that remark.

The pink haired girl's cheeks glowed for a moment, and she suddenly found it very hard to look at Naruto in the eye. She contented herself with punching him lightly on the arm, which was quite uncharacteristic even for her.

"That's something I'll show you later."

That was right, Naruto was back, and now, everything was back in place where it was meant to be. They had all the time of their lives now to do what they wanted with each other.

"And Sakura-chan?"

This time, she was able to find the courage to look him in the eye, her earlier embarrassment a distant memory now as she wanted to hear from her best friend after spending so long without him.

He didn't say anything this time.

Instead, his hand pointed sheepishly towards her body.

It only took Sakura a minute to figure out that she was still in her bra, and the resounding punch that landed atop Naruto's head was enough to be heard throughout the girl's house.

Lucky for them at that moment, they were the only two who were around in the house.

END

A/N: A few pointers in this chapter, I'd like for all of you to imagine Naoki, Sakura's inner conscience as Nora (from Noragami), since I just realized the two are strikingly similar to an extent.

-The Naruto vs Yami fight was slightly inspired by the canon fight, except the part about Sage Mode for both of them, but the ending was pretty much the same and the part where each of them matched each other technique for technique.

-This epilogue took me three days to write, I don't exactly remember why it was hard for me to write it all at a go, but as I write this up I realize that I am battling sleep and it is a losing battle for me so far.

-The last chapter of this story was shorter than the one for 'A Brave Kunoichi', primarily because in this chapter the focus was on two elements, while in the first story the focus was spread over a vast horde of characters, enemies included.

-I do hope there was enough characterization of Naoki in this chapter to balance out all the characterization Yami has been getting in all the prior chapters.

Finally, I'd like to thank all the readers who stayed with this story from the beginning to the end, thank you so much for your support. It means a lot to me, and looks forward to the next updated story from yours truly.

I do hope this was a satisfying ending for everyone.