Death… It's inevitable… unavoidable. You can never escape it, no matter how hard you try. It's just like with your past - and your destiny. You can't run, but for quite sometime, you can hide. Because that's what life really is. And endless string of hiding from shit… You hide from responsibility, you hide from the truth, and you hide from death.

I could say that I've lived mine without any regrets, but then I would just be lying. I could say that I have nothing I wished I could change, but that wouldn't be true. There's three certainties in life, that everyone must heed by.

You are born - you live - you die.

It's harsh, and unreasonable, but it's by design.

Just as death, there's something else that you can't escape; mistakes. You take one wrong step out of place, and someone else suffers.

Reality is a cruel mistress, but she's just. This is the way Zombieland works. You can't know anything for certain, but death; it's a constant variable. Never fluctuating, never negotiable, and never changing. It's always there.

For as long as I could remember since my stepfather started drinking, I'd wished for him to drop dead. When that didn't happen, I'd given up that hope. In some fucked up way, completely unconsciously, I thought that he was indestructible. But as I'd found out, that fateful summer morning, no one can hide from it forever.

I wasn't even looking for him when I'd found the shell of him, lurking around the premise. I was about to greet him with an angry "good morning" when the fucker turned -

Revealing the blood, the guts, and the gore. He was dead.

"You didn't even have the guts to face me again, did you? You sick son of a bitch." The corpse gurgled, perhaps recognizing my voice. I couldn't stand watching him like this anymore. For all his faults and wrongdoings, he had still been a person once. Plus, one less walker in the world benefited everybody still alive.

With one last goodbye, I aimed the gun - and fired.

It fell to the ground. I looked upon him, remembering what he had been like before all of this. Before his son's death, before the alcohol, and before the apocalypse.

The day mom had told me that Ana and I would be getting a new daddy, was one of the happiest days of my childhood. The smile, the charm, the incredible personality, and the warmth. And now… none of that remained.

I'd gotten used to all of this by now. The death's, the killing and the mayhem. It was part of my life, not that I wanted it to be… not that I'd ever imagined it to be either. I wasn't a sociopath; I didn't find death intriguing, fascinating or sexy.

I fell to my knees and grabbed his cold, dead hand in mine. The smell of oranges became too dominant. My head whipped up -

And there he was…

I rose and started to sprint towards his shape. But instead of crashing into his chest, I went straight through. A ghost? A lie? A figment of my frickin imagination?

It was just smoke in funhouse mirrors. An illusion, made by my brain. I missed him so much that my mind had made up a way to cope with the pain… with the feelings.

I chuckled in exasperation. "You're not even here."

He just smirked. "You're so beautiful, you know that? So cute." His voice was like I remembered it. Smooth and silky, drawing me in. "I'm sorry, Princess… I wish I was. I really do…" I snorted in response.

"Yeah… but you're not. And it's all her fault. Tenten is the one who put me in this situation… and now there's no getting out. I'm stuck in this fucking nightmare, thanks to that bitch." He didn't speak, just listened. "Look, I don't even know why I'm talking to you. You're just something my mind made up, to cope with the stress."

Sasuke shrugged. "I might not be here in person, but you know that I'm always with you." I closed my eyes, to regain my sanity, but when I opened them again - he was gone. Just like the wind, he'd swept in, and moved on.

I cursed my luck, realizing that everything felt hopeless. What if he'd died? What if he really was a ghost? What if he'd moved on? What if they'd all forgotten about me? I had so many questions, but no more answers. I was so frustrated, void of any sort of solution. But I had a plan to find out. So I stood, tall, strong and fierce; determination oozing from every pore of my body.

I couldn't stand around and wait any longer. My brain went into auto-mode, my legs carrying me towards the main house. My hand instinctively reached for my gun, pulling it out of the holster. This time, I wasn't taking any chances. I still had a task to complete, but I wasn't going to let it kill me.

Outside the window, the sun had been clouded in a thick layer of fog. I cursed my luck as the entire house went dark.

I pressed the button on the wall, thinking it might be the light switch.

Close, but no cigar… actually, not even close at all.

There was just something about me and setting off every alarm in the place. They just hated me.

"Yeah, well I don't fucking like you either, you loud son of a bitch." Luckily, it was just an inhouse one, set to send out small bursts of noise to alert the owner of the house, and not the entire frickin neighborhood.

I scouted the area quickly, and found the real light switch.

"Let there be light." The house looked safe, thank the Gods. Though knowing Clint, I wasn't going to put all of my pennies into one pot. There might still be something I was missing; some blind spot in his security system.

I kept on looking, but to my genuine surprise, the place really was secure. I started thinking about what to do next. Ultimately, I opted against bringing the horse with me to Konoha. While fast, and a magnificent animal, caring for him would just be a bitch. Besides… there was enough hay here to last for a year or two. If I just let him walk freely in the yard, he'd be fine. And if I left the door to the garage open, there would be enough shelter for him to survive for a long time. That and the automatic water fountains for the horses would provide something to drink.

So in the end, the two horses could live here in harmony together, while I returned to my quest. They were pack animals anyway… and I didn't have the resources to bring a 750 pound beast with me on my travels.

Nope; that would go against rule 11.

Always travel light! And I don't mean just luggage. Anything living could just as easily get in your way… well… most of the time.

I walked around some more, noticing the faucet. I opened it up and cringed at the brown water. But eventually, it turned to its normal, clear state. I pulled a glass out of the cupboard and drank.

When I was done, I placed it in the sink. Then I went back to the task at hand. I started snooping around, not really sure what I was looking for. Up the stairs, there was a bathroom, three bedrooms and a storage room. On the ground level, a kitchen, a livingroom and a dining hall… and another bathroom.

In the mirror, I found medecine I could have great use for a little ways down the road; should anything happen. Antibiotics, penicillin, aspirin, you name it. I picked through the drawers, cupboards and the fridge in the kitchen, finding a lot of necessities. Dried food, beef jerky and a couple of bottles of whiskey. Probably all that the leach ever lived on. I grabbed some of the jerky and ate it.

I sat down - and waited for the fog to pass.

OoOoOoOoO

So… I've never liked basements. Even before walkers were chewing on people like Halloween candy, they always creeped me out. So with weary steps, I treaded down the stair carefully, trying to calculate every possible outcome.

The fog still hadn't let up, so going outside to engrave the stones still wasn't an option. However, snooping around the rest of the house was still a viable option. Though I was sincerely starting to regret it.

I opened the door - and quickly dashed to the side when something launched at me.

I lost my footing, and fell to the floor. When I looked up, my entire brain froze to ice. On the opposite side of the room was a naked walker, strapped to a chain. But not just any walker… no… it was my sister.

The fucker had lied to me.

He used her like a watchdog. Had he not already been so very dead, he would have met the same fate as my sister. I raised my gun, ready to put her out of her misery. But just as I was about to pull the trigger, I realized that I couldn't do it. This was still my sister, minus a few teeth and basic social skills. I started recalling the most trivial things about her. Her smile, the way her hair smelled and the motherly air around her. All those memories were replaced by this one. Instead of killing her, I pulled out the bag of remaining jerky and threw it her way. She caught it and tore it open, eating the contents in one quick gulp. In the meantime, I quickly slipped past her, deeper into the basement.

Nothing there but a few pieces of furniture. A small couch, some plants that had long since withered and a dirty mattress where she'd probably spent the last remaining months of her life; sleeping on.

But there was nothing else of use.

So what did he need her to guard? Why keep her in this state at all if there was nothing to keep safe? On the table in the corner; lay the answer.

"Our family photo's? You were guarding this?" I quickly skimmed through it, flipping page by page, smiling widely. While I was still in mourning, this gave me that little bit of sunshine that I had missed. A small glimmer of hope through the dark times ahead.

I grabbed one of the pictures from the album, and put it on a shelf.

Now came the hard part. I couldn't just let her stay here, in this state. I needed to do this. With a heavy heart, and heavier bones, I retreated back up the stairs. She was just eyeing me, staring back with her green orbs. I wanted to look away, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.

So I reached in, embraced her one last time and ended it with a kiss of my gun. She fell to the floor, together with my tears.

I didn't have time to grieve her loss, not again, so I flung her over my shoulder - and convinced myself that she was just another notch in my belt. It was too much for my tired brain to process, so I let it brew a little… until I could handle it again.

I exited the house, body thrown over my shoulder, and stepped into the warm summer sun. I found a spade, and started digging a hole next to a cross in the ground. Sweat was running down my forehead, but I didn't bother to wipe it off. It didn't matter now.

After forty minutes of digging, the hole was finally big enough for my sister to rest in. So I put her down. Finally - she was at peace.

I started my search for a stone big enough to be visible, but small enough for me to carry. When I'd found one that suited my needs, I started the tireless work of engraving. In the stalls, the horses were happily communicating with each other, oblivious to the workings of the human outside. I stopped, eyed my work, and smiled through the tears.

"I really don't know what to say, Ana. I suppose… if you're listening, I just wanted to say that I love you and that I'm sorry that I went away… that we were separated. I shouldn't have left you with Clint like that. I was just…" I paused. "When they sent me away, I was completely powerless. I couldn't do anything about it. I know that I should have returned home earlier, but what was the point? I wouldn't have found you there either way… I'm not going to do this anymore, Ana. Feel guilty. Because as much as I believe it, I know; somewhere deep inside of me, that this wasn't my fault. I'm going to mourn, but instead of being sad that you're gone, I'm going to remember the happy times. I'm going to remember our life together. And I'm going to honor your memory, not by sully it with tears, but to laugh when I think of you. I hope that I'll see you again some day… and that I finally get to meet my niece. Be at peace, dear sister."

I stood up and wiped some stubborn tears from my chin. I had been crying a lot lately, for someone who'd vowed to never do so again. But since the whole affair with Tenten, the pain had just been too great to process. So instead of vowing to not cry again, I made a promise to myself to do… to let it out, but only when I really needed it. I grabbed my bags, walked into the garage to let the horses roam free, closing no door behind me for once. Because it's not true what they say;

When one door opens - another closes.

No… because when one door opens, it welcomes you into a whole new universe filled with wonders.

So I left that day, a new sense of clarity fresh in my mind, heading for home…

Towards Konoha.

OoOoOoOoO

Dust. That was all that remained of the once great city. Houses were burnt, broken and uninhabitable, the pavement cracked underneath my tired feet.

I fell down to my knees, the pain of realization too great of a burden on my small shoulders. I was too late… my time and my luck had all but run dry. The first raindrops felt like ice against my skin, forcing me to see reality. It was as if though somebody was weeping for me in heaven. I hadn't seen the rain for quite some time, had all but forgotten the feeling of it against my skin. For awhile I sat, in the heavy rain, not sure of what to do.

I got up, admitting defeat.

"Sakura?" I know that voice. I had heard it so many times, in my dreams. I had heard it earlier, on the farm. I knew who it was. But I was sceptical. I turned around slowly, defeat clear in my eyes, not sure if he was real or not. His hands went up to his mouth and tears began falling from his eyes. I'd never seen him cry before. In my dreams, he always seemed so stoic, so unapproachable. This was real… he was really there.

"Sasuke?" I said in a voice, too raspy to be my own. He nodded through his tears, smiling widely. I stood, frozen to the ground. I started running towards him, crashing into his chest. His arms flew around me, shielding me from any danger out there. His hand reached into my hair, and tilted my head backwards.

When his lips met mine, it was as if the heaven's opened up. The taste of oranges brought back so many memories, it left me frozen in time - unsure of which universe I had stepped into. When I retold this story to anyone who listened over the years, I always recounted this as my real first kiss.

I never wanted it to end, but we were both soon in need of air. He was the first one to pull back. He laughed and cried at the same time.

"I thought you died… You left me behind." I said in a sad voice. Tears were now also streaming down my face. He shook his head and looked at me; as if though I was the only thing that mattered to him in this world.

"I tried going back for you, but… you were gone." I nodded.

"I tried going after you… I guess we must have run straight past each other." He chuckled.

"Yeah…" He took a deep breath, and chuckled again, deep in disbelief that I was actually standing right in front of him. "No more running, okay?"

"No more running." I replied.

In that moment, I felt truly at peace again. It was as if the apocalypse had never happened. But as you now know, it did happen. And it brought me the one good thing I could always depend on. Because without it, I would have never found Sasuke. And without him, I would have never found myself. I would have never have lived life to the fullest - never become whole again. Somewhere in the background, someone was shouting. Soon enough, I was buried in a mountain of people, embracing me in their arms. I choked up, crying my eyes out. Right now, that didn't matter. Nothing else mattered, because I was home. Home at last.

Author's note 2017: Gaah, I know what you're all thinking. "How could you remove the part where he says that he loves her?". Well… to be honest… whilst re watching the entire Naruto series [Plus all of the movies] I realized that Sasuke really isn't one to say "I love you" that easily. But just because he doesn't say it, doesn't mean he doesn't feel it. So that's it for my rambling this time ;) Make sure to leave a review and a drop a like; that would be the bee's knees XD Until next time, JA NE! XD