Sorry for the long wait. I had finals...cries And I'm afraid I still do...cries

It was over. So fast, it was over. Just like that, he'd been running towards the Snake Sannin, Rasengan whirring madly in his hand, and now, once the smoke had cleared, he could see the mortified expression that so contorted Orochimaru's pallid face. A sickening squelching sound resonated in his ears, and he looked down at his hand that was embedded in the Sannin's abdomen. Blood oozed through, glutinous and sluggish as it slid down the side of Orochimaru's ribs. Naruto braced and pulled his hand out with a small cry of horror, watching as Orochimaru's ropey guts dangled from between the snake-man's fingers.

He felt the pulse before he saw it. His arm exploded in red, and suddenly Kyuubi was flowing out of him, materializing in front of him, an angry snarl fixed on his canine features. The youkai wasn't nearly his full size, but yet it was enough to make Orochimaru cower, fear, actual fear evident in his eyes.

"Now, Orochimaru. I shall have my retribution."

And then he reared and plunged, teeth snapping together as his powerful jaws enclosed Orochimaru's head and bit clean through his neck.

The body slumped to the ground. A wispy violet smoke erupted from the stump of the Sannin's neck and flew, flew from the scene, but it was too late; with a snort of disgust, Kyuubi wrapped one of his tails around the mist and absorbed it completely. Naruto let out a sound of surprise as he looked down at Orochimaru's body; it was slowly crumbling into dust until it was nothing more than ashes.

The silence weighed heavily upon all of their chests.

"Kyuubi?" Naruto asked timidly. The fox turned and fixed him with a searing gaze.

"Yes?"

Naruto swallowed the bile that threatened to rise. "Is….is he really gone?"

The demon gave a sigh, and suddenly seemed so very old. "Yes, he's gone. I swallowed his soul."

It was as if an instantaneous change had taken place. Naruto let out a yelp of victory and barreled himself into the youkai stomach. "HE'S GONE, HE'S GONE, THE BASTARD'S REALLY GONE—"

"Not so fast, young one." Kyuubi twitched a tail. "You have to tend to him now."

The blonde looked around and nearly screamed in horror. Kimimaro was covered in blood, bleeding profusely from a deep wound the size of a fist in his chest. His breathing was heavily labored, and from the sound of it, blood and fluids had started to pour into a punctured lung. He cast Naruto a reassuring stare before he collapsed.

Quick as a sparrow Naruto was at his side, crying out as he saw the true damage. "How…Kimimaro…how did this happen?"

"You didn't notice how easy it was to plunge a Rasengan into Orochimaru?" Kyuubi's voice was grave. "Kimimaro held him from behind, and you, in your rage, plunged Rasengan too far."

Sapphire eyes were clouded with horror. "So…you mean I did this?"

"I'm afraid so. It was necessary, Naruto." Kyuubi said quickly. "Anything less and he wouldn't have died."

But the blonde had already buried his head into Kimimaro's shoulder, sobbing profusely as he wept over the Kaguya's lifeless body. Masouna felt a chord thrum in his heart; it was as if a veil of mourning had draped over them all, a funereal cloud that left them all with the empty feeling of bereavement.

"There is one way to save him."

Everyone turned. Kazuki had descended from the dais, his robe flowing like liquid silk behind him.

"You must give half of your lifespan to him, and you must do this by utilizing the Scroll of Silence which you have in your mind. Visualize a thread, Uzumaki Naruto, and visualize it breaking in two. Pour your life into him, and he will return."

The room was deathly silent as Naruto struggled with his answer. Nails left pale crescents in his palm as he clenched his fists tight, and as the first of the tremors began to rack his body, he doubled over with an expression not unlike pain. Slowly, so slowly, he reached for Kimimaro's body, clasped it to his chest and held it as he sobbed into the Kaguya's hair.

It started again, the glowing, only this time it was Naruto who shone with an eerie golden light that seemed to have its own volition. It pulsed around Kimimaro's body and seeped in through his skin, leaving naught but the last vestiges of light to mark its entrance. And then it dripped out of the Kaguya's body, bringing with it faint threads of fine silver, and like mercury and amber, the two lights intertwined, once brilliant, but now, not so much; they writhed lazily in the air, the amber roiling around the silver as it drew more and more out of Kimimaro's body.

The light died, and the tension escalated to an almost unbearable peak.

Kimimaro stirred. Naruto instantly tightened his grasp on the Kaguya's shoulders, not daring to hope, but wanting so much for it to be true. With a cough, Kimimaro spat out a glob of clotted blood and miraculously opened his eyes, his emerald, electric green eyes and stared straight into Naruto's cerulean orbs, and there was an earsplitting yelp as Naruto practically crushed the Kaguya to him, caring not for the bloodstains that slaked across his chest.

"I thought I'd lost you for good." He whispered, tears of relief leaking down his cheeks, and then he did something completely unexpected and pressed his mouth against Kimimaro's.

It was possibly the most awkward moment in the history of awkward moments, Naruto kissing Kimimaro in front of everyone in the room. Kimimaro himself had a stunned, almost comical expression on his face, but then he relaxed and turned his head, curving his lips to the contours of Naruto's own, and Naruto, feeling the change, opened his mouth and slid his tongue between the Kaguya's lips, tasting the sweetness, the tangy taste of Kimimaro, and it was bliss, pure and simple, not the least bit profound.

Masouna looked on, his smile more of a twist of his lips as he watched the lovers embrace. A note struck in his heart that was somewhat painful; he had to admit, Naruto had appealed immensely to him, and to see the blonde in the arms of another did have its detriments. But just as quickly as it was sounded, the note abruptly died, only to be replaced with a melody of relief and happiness at the sight of the blonde and the Kaguya, and he accepted it, did Masouna; knowing there was nothing to be done, he accepted it, and just as easily, let it go.

They parted after what seemed like an eternity, and turned to address the elder Kazuki. He smiled, or what looked like a smile behind his beard, and, to everyone's astonishment, gave them a short little bow.

"I am greatly indebted to you. Now I can rest, knowing that the Scroll will be in two of the best hands possible."

Suddenly the room lurched sideways and spun. Colors streamed from all directions and wrapped themselves around everyone in the room, and it was the most amazing thing they'd ever experienced, this sucking, sucking like as if they were being pooled down a drain—

And he woke, panting breathlessly, wrapped in the sheets of a bed. Kimimaro was next to him, the same amazed expression also apparent on his countenance, and they looked at each other with astonishment; they were in Naruto's apartment, sitting upright in Naruto's bed.

The blonde slowly touched the side of his head. "Was….was it all a dream, then? Everything?"

Just then, a gold flash caught at his eyes and he turned to lay a gaze upon the slip of paper lying on his bedspread. Nimble fingers snatched it up and read the inscription.

Thought you might want to come home, what with all the running around you've been doing.

--K.

There were some days when he couldn't get out of bed to save his life, Naruto thought.

Today wasn't one of them.

Owari? There's still an epilogue. 3