Shikamaru stared at the shinobi around the round table and the guards at the door. It had been a couple of weeks since Sasuke's death and it had been an emotional rollercoaster. Naruto hadn't been his normal upbeat self and withdrew from everyone, including Kakashi. Sakura was refusing to speak to Kakashi, Naruto, and Shikamaru, blaming them for Sasuke's death. She was still convinced that there was something they could have done to bring him back to the village alive.

Sasuke's body had been burnt to hide the secrets of the Sharingan and of Konoha. His ashes had been placed in a sealed vase that Sakura refused to look at. It was to be brought back to Konoha and presented to Tsunade, who would get a full explanation.

"I believe Konoha is up next."

Shikamaru tuned into the discussion at the round table and stood, preparing to make his speech. The third task had just finished and the kages and their representatives were in the midst of discussing who was about to be promoted to chuunin, going through the options village by village. After an hour of discussions, it was finally Konoha's turn.

"Based on the performance in the exams, despite the fact that he didn't win, and on his actions in the village between exams, Konoha only has one genin we believe should be promoted at this time," Shikamaru said. "Uzumaki Naruto. Are there three more votes in the favor of him being promoted?"

Konoha's representative stared down the others at the table, wondering who would place the first vote. He knew the votes would come—after all, Naruto had made a lot of friends and inspired many from their villages—but he was curious to see who would speak up first.

"I, Mako, the Soshikage, am in agreement for promoting Uzumaki. He has proven worthy of being a shinobi of chuunin rank by not only showing his skills but also showing that he is willing to help make repairs for a village that is not his own."

Shikamaru nodded gratefully to the Soshikage.

"I, Gaara, the Kazekage, am in agreement for promoting Uzumaki Naruto," Gaara said in his eerily soft voice. "He should have been made chuunin long ago."

Two down. Now Shikamaru only needed one more vote.

"That's the blond brat?" The Raikage asked. "The foxlike one?"

Mako stiffened slightly as Shikamaru nodded. The Raikage grinned.

"Then I, the Raikage, am in agreement for his promotion," he said. "That kid has a lot of spunk and determination."

"Three votes, four including mine," Shikamaru said. "The majority has spoken. Uzumaki Naruto is now a chuunin. With that, Konoha is done with their suggestions. I believe that Suna was next?"

"By accepting these vests, you agree to serve your villages faithfully as chuunin. You have shown the skill to be chuunin and the ability to make the choices that they are sometimes faced to make. With these vests come additional responsibilities but we are confident in your abilities to carry them out. Wear these vests proudly."

As the chuunin vests were handed out, the stadium burst into claps and cheers. Naruto accepted his vest without a word or gesture of celebration, simply nodding his head. He shrugged it on, mentally cringing as he did so, knowing the price this vest carried.

He wasn't stupid. Naruto knew that the primary reason he had received this vest was because he had made the call to kill Sasuke. It would be his constant reminder of the decisions he had made, the ones that he would always regret.

As soon as he could, Naruto fled the stadium, not wanting to be congratulated at all. The blue-eyed shinobi wandered the village until he stood in front of the fox clan compound.

"I suppose you'll be going home soon."

Naruto raised his head and stared at Akahana, who was walking toward him slowly. An arm was wrapped around her abdomen, as if it still pained her.

"At dawn," he said. "Are you supposed to be out of the hospital yet?"

"I wasn't about to miss the ceremony," Akahana said. "I promised my students."

"They did well, even if one didn't get promoted," Naruto said. "So, what happens next?"

"Hotaru's still sulking and I won't be put onto active duty for another few weeks," Akahana said. "I'll probably get assigned another genin team so they can limit how much trouble I cause. What about you?"

"There's a few things I need to finish," Naruto said. "You've heard of the Akatsuki?"

Akahana gave a small nod. "Not much but enough to know they're a threat. I wish you luck."

The pair was silent for a few minutes.

"So many lives have been lost in this village," Naruto said. "How can you stand it?"

"By focusing on building the lives of the younger villagers and shinobi," Akahana replied. "By focusing on my goals for the future. And by focusing on the friends I still have. With each close person I lose, the remaining people I have become closer. Keep your special people close, Naruto, and keep focusing on your goals."

"I will," Naruto replied. "Atsuo cares about you; did you know?"

Akahana gave an awkward cough. "It's complicated," she replied. "Just like it's complicated with you."

The silence resumed.

"Akahana!"

Kotori's voice rang through the air, sharp and clear. Akahana sighed and she turned to Naruto.

"They won't let me out again," she said, glancing at Kotori. "So this is goodbye. I really hope to see you again, though if I don't…I understand."

"Yeah, goodbye," Naruto said. "The next time you see me, I'll be Hokage!"

Akahana rolled her eyes as she walked away. "All right then, future Hokage," she drawled. "And I'll be Soshikage and it'll be an alliance unlike any shinobi nation has ever seen before."

"I'll hold you to that," Naruto said. Akahana gave him a small grin.

"Same here. Don't let me down. We both have something to live for now."

For the first time in weeks, Naruto felt a smile creep onto his lips as he watched Akahana walk away, followed by Kotori who was looking at her fellow shinobi suspiciously. He had lost a lot but Akahana was right. He still had a lot to live for.

Well, that's it. I hope you enjoyed reading this story. I enjoyed writing it for the most part, especially those last few chapters. I can't say if there will be a sequel. I had started planning one but I've sort of fallen out of the Naruto fandom in the past few months and it's been a struggle to write anything at all. I hope I'll get around to writing the sequel eventually since there's a lot of aftermath to this story and Born on a Border that I want to develop further but right not there are no guarantees.

Anyways, once again I hope you enjoyed this story!

Cheyla