This is it… the final chapter … O.o I just spent the last hour staring the computer screen and trying to figure this out. It's kinda scary. I just hope it ends out well. Oh yeah, and for those who don't want Keiko to die… too bad suckers! HA HA HA!!! Um… that didn't come out right.
To all my reviewers… thank you. I wish I could list you guys but I'm just too lazy, and if I list only the ones I remember… well. But a super special thanks to my lifelong reviewers Kaoru, Anbu Inu, TsunadeHokage, waveblader213, and ummm I forget how to write your sn but it's Nejiluver (just with some X's on the side) and a couple others. I forget.
Disclaimer: I only own Keiko and my one true love Kiba. I just decided that I'm in love with him. Along with the rest of the male cast of Naruto excluding Orochimaru, Konohamaru, Choji, Gai, Lee, Kisame, Zetsu, and Gamabunta.
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Uzumaki Naruto watched as his friend Sakura wearily walked out the door of her house. He sighed heavily before following her with dragging feet. For some strange reason she insisted on going out.
He jogged to catch up with his friend who was marching at a brisk pace through Konoha. She pushed her way through crowds of people much to Naruto's surprise. She would ordinarily apologize and slide through carefully, making sure not to harm anyone. This time her strides were determined as she made a path through the throngs.
"Sakura-chan? SAKURA-CHAN! Hey!" Naruto slid his way through until he caught up with his pink-haired friend. He found himself jogging in order to keep the pace. "Can't we slow down? Just a little?"
"No."
"Please?"
She turned to the blonde angrily "I said NO!"
He stopped to stare at her in surprise but she kept on marching. "I wonder what's with her?" he mumbled to himself before picking up the pace again.
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As dust settled, Uchiha Sasuke stopped mid-run to turn around and stare in surprise. Just a few moments ago he was running top-speed out of Orochimaru's base. There was a strange sound, almost like a loud hum followed by the sound of the entire base collapsing on itself.
The dust finally settled leaving a clear view of the remains of Orochimaru's hidden fortress. Sasuke clutched his sore ribcage as he stumbled towards the crumbled remains. His trained eyes scanned the wreckage as he got closer.
"Keiko?"
He jumped and landed gracefully on a large chunk of wall. Catching his breath he activated his sharingan. Almost instantly he felt pain in his eyes. 'I can't use it that long.'
He scanned for any signs of chakra and found none. "KEIKO!"
Sasuke began digging through the dirt and chunks of building. His eyes caught sight of a crushed leg sticking out from under the rubble. He removed the rubble only to see a dead sound ninja. Relieved and frustrated he began digging some more.
It was twenty minutes later that he found her. His eyes widened.
She lay with the paper clutched to her chest and a smirk on her lips. Her eyes slowly fluttered open. "Sa…suke."
She grinned slowly "So… what did you think of my… Kekkei Genkai?"
He stared down at the girl in amazement. After all that she was still able to talk? He was surprised that she was alive. He nodded mutely.
"It was… good." He mumbled begrudgingly.
Keiko mustered up a laugh. "Good. Now get going."
"What about you?"
She smiled up at him and turned her head to the side so that she was looking past the Uchiha. "I'm staying."
"You'll die."
She rolled her eyes "Thank you Captain Obvious, but I think I can handle myself. If I die, I die. It won't matter anyway. But you… you have something in Konoha. Go back, I'll be… well I don't know how I'll be." She admitted "but you have to take care of yourself."
Standing up slowly he nodded. Keiko smiled again as he straightened himself out "Goodbye Uchiha."
He turned his back to her and faced in the direction where Konoha was. His life, his dreams, his friends were all there. "Thank you."
Keiko smirked as he disappeared. She looked down at her legs which were still trapped under rubble. "Moron, the least he could've done was free my legs. Oh well…" she pulled out a smaller piece of paper before activating her jutsu. The chunk of rubble crumbled from the inside out. "I guess I can handle this one."
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Tsunade stared down at her pile of paperwork; it was the third pile she received that day. This one was addressed from Suna with information on a few shinobi who wished to transfer to the ninja academy and news on Orochimaru's base which disappeared from an inner explosion comprised of sound waves. She rubbed her temples. She swore she deserved a break.
She heard the sound of someone knocking and quickly shoved the paperwork aside. "Come in!"
In stepped a timid looking Hyuga Hinata. The Hokage sighed in relief. She thought it would be Shizune whining about the deadlines for the papers. She'd get them done, okay?
"Can I help you?"
Hinata tentatively stepped forward. After all these years she still found herself intimidated by the moody Hokage. "Um… I was wo-wondering about s-something… and I.. I" she poked her fingers together desperately "I wanted t-to kno-know if you c-could he-help me maybe?"
Tsunade smiled in spite of herself. "Sure, what is it?"
"It… it's about t-the m-marriage be-between S-sasuke-san and Sakura-chan." She said softly.
Amber eyes widened in surprise "Why?"
"I'll t-tell you o-once I c-confirm it… please?"
The Hokage fidgeted a little. "I'm sorry but the scroll isn't really out for the viewing public. I'm afraid that I can't lend these to yo-"
"I-I have p-permission from my otousan and a few other a-authorizing my v-viewing of 'clan only' p-property. A-after all, the Hokage isn't to mess with clan business anyway. Isn't that r-right?"
Tsunade bit her lip "You hide a sneaky soul behind those beautiful gray eyes of yours."
Smiling brightly the Hyuga waited patiently as the Hokage dug through her pile of scrolls. She grudgingly handed the scroll to Hinata. "A-arigato Tsunade-sama. I apologize if I w-were a bother in any way."
"No not at all." Tsunade smiled and waved until the young Hyuga exited the room. Then she slammed her forehead on the desk. "Not good. This is not good at all."
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The wind blew softly unsettling Sakura's long pink hair as she stood at the bridge. Her friend Naruto stood beside her with an indifferent look on his normally cheerful face. He watched as the pink-haired woman reached out and caught a leaf that floated gently on the breeze. She held it in her hand for a few moments before letting go.
He turned to look out at the water which trickled slowly underneath them. His blue eyes were serious as he looked out.
Tomorrow… he would begin his training with Tsunade. The training to become… Hokage. He could barely believe his ears when the woman told him that yesterday. Naruto could barely contain his excitement. Therefore, he let it all out by creating over a thousand shadow clones which shouted and danced around Konoha joyfully causing a riot.
Sakura turned to look at the young future Hokage his face was grim. "Naruto-kun… can you leave?"
He turned to his friend in surprise "What?"
"I need you to leave… I have to go somewhere…alone."
"But that old hag Tsunade said that you can't be left alo-" he protested.
Sakura cut her close friend off "Please, this is something I have to do by myself." Her tearful expression caused him to let out a slow breath and shake his head in submission.
"Alright…" he said finally "Just… take care of yourself. If anything happens you'd better send for me. Got it?"
Her smile caused his doubt to slowly fade away. "I got it!"
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Onyx eyes bled crimson as he sensed a nearby chakra presence. Hiding behind a bush Sasuke dared to peek out at the passing figure.
The person, whoever they were stopped and made their way slowly towards where the Uchiha hid. His eyes widened, who was this person? How did they sense his chakra? He slowly reached down to his pouch and drew a hand combat kunai.
Sasuke thought he recognized the chakra, although he didn't know from where. He bit his lip, a habit he picked up recently, as the person came closer. His eyes suddenly returned to its original color as his chakra level reached minimum. He swore under his breath. Of all times to run out of chakra! He could only hang onto the kunai and hope for the best.
Hope. Something he hadn't learned to do until he met a certain pink haired kunoichi and a blonde dobe. Sasuke wondered if they would miss him if he died right there. It wouldn't matter too much. He already finished his goals. He killed Itachi, and resurrected the clan to some extent… it was too bad that he never completed his final goal.
He smirked at the thought. The final goal was definitely very un-Sasuke-ish of him. It was so sappy. It sounded like one of those cheesy lines that Naruto would use during a near-death experience to inspire the people around him. Whether it was cheesy or not it always worked, he thought grimly.
The figure reached into the bush to push away a few stray branches. Acting on instinct, Sasuke lunged forward with all intent of impaling his foe on the kunai.
The person grabbed his arm with a strong grip. Looking upward Sasuke decided to at least behold the face of his attacker before dying.
His eyes widened as he gazed into emerald eyes. "W-what?"
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Hyuga Hinata stared at the scroll in shock. She dropped it on the floor alongside with everything else on her bedroom floor. Her moon-gray eyes were filled with amazement.
"I-I…"
She heard a knock on her door but chose to ignore it. The knocking persisted until the door swung open to reveal her cousin Neji. "Hinata-sama, what is the matter?" he asked as he instantly rushed to her side.
"It's… it's…" she pointed to the scroll lying on the floor.
Neji bent down to retrieve it. He stared at it blatantly "So?"
"Activate your byakugan."
He did so, once he did his jaw dropped. "Oh no she didn't!" he yelled, which sounded very uncharacteristic of him.
"Oh yes she did!"
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"G-Gaara!" Sasuke gasped in surprise. He didn't feel great about looking like a moron in front of his ex-rival but times change people.
"Uchiha." The Kazekage said behind a cold smirk. His green eyes analyzing the Uchiha critically.
Sasuke glared up at the red-haired man who returned the glare full force. He sighed, "What are you doing here?" he asked coldly.
"I could ask you the same thing." The red head returned with equal coldness.
The Uchiha almost slapped himself in the forehead. This coldness was getting them nowhere fast. He hated to stoop down to the Kazekage but desperate times called for desperate measures, and this counted as a desperate measure.
"Could you take me to the Leaf Village?" he grumbled through clenched teeth.
Gaara stared down at him blankly before slowly shrugging. "I was heading there."
Most people would ask for a direct answer, but after talking like that for years Sasuke was able to interpret it as a 'whatever'. Nodding the Uchiha took a step forward and stumbled. The Kazekage surprised him by catching his arm and helping him steady himself.
"You're out of chakra."
Sasuke would've rolled his eyes if he were someone else. Instead he nodded.
"I'll lend you some of mine. There's no way that I would carry you." Those were the most words that Gaara ever spoke without threatening his life. Sasuke was genuinely surprised but chose to mask his surprise with an 'hn.'
The feeling of fresh chakra pouring through him was a relief to the Uchiha. He gave a nod "Hn."
The Kazekage and Uchiha both leapt off through the trees towards Konoha.
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Standing in the outskirts of Konoha, Sakura wondered what unknown force brought her there. Once she sent her friend off she had run as fast as her legs could carry her. Time and direction meant nothing to her as she ran. After several minutes here she stood in a small forest in the outskirts of Konoha.
It was early evening now as the sun set, causing the Hokage monument to glow soft red. Her emerald eyes were fixated on the likeness of the fourth Hokage. He and Naruto looked so much alike it was almost unnatural.
Sighing to herself, Sakura found herself on another bridge similar to the one where her team met up. This bridge was larger and overlooked a far wider river. The view was lovely, surrounded by several Sakura blossom trees and water lilies. The setting sun added to the natural beauty of the location.
Smiling softly, Sakura plucked a water lily and finger it as she looked out at the river. She missed Sasuke… she missed him so bad… but she would not let this get in the way.
Just the other day she went shopping with her friends, hung out with Naruto, and even had lunch with Lee. She decided that no matter what, life would go on for her. She spent most of her time trying to keep her usually upbeat attitude. Sitting around moping did her no good; she remembered that from the first time that Sasuke was gone.
Sakura made a face. She was such a desperate little twelve year old. Now, whenever she thought of her pathetic confession she would feel woozy or laugh. It was stupid, thinking that Sasuke would take HER to the sound village with him. She really was an idiot back then hoping like that.
Hope. The only thing that sustained her even now. She closed her eyes and inhaled slowly, her long pink hair blowing softly in the breeze. She would hope even now.
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Sasuke's heart soared as he came within sight of the village's walls. He turned to Gaara who gave him another smirk. "Go."
If he were any other man, he would've hugged Gaara before running off. Instead he returned with a smirk of his own and ran ahead. If he turned back he would've seen Gaara standing there grinning.
He was almost to the gates when he recognized a familiar chakra. Excitement welled in his chest as he ran the guard over and headed towards where the chakra was coming from. Surprisingly it wasn't that far away.
Sasuke sped up as he came close to a small grove surrounded by Cherry blossom trees or whatever they were called. He was beyond caring by then. In the center of the grove was a wooden bridge which overlooked a large stream.
He stopped then and there as he caught sight of pink.
'Sakura.'
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So caught up in her own little world was she, that she didn't even pay any attention to the familiar chakra presence that grew nearer and nearer. Sakura figured that it was Naruto coming to annoy her. A small voice in the corner of her mind said otherwise but she chose to ignore it. She usually did anyway.
Her body stiffened as she felt warm breath on the back of her neck. Her emerald eyes shot open as she gasped softly. She was about to turn around and demand the identity of the person when…
"Sakura."
Sakura's knees nearly gave out at the sound of his voice. She turned around quickly, her eyes filled with joy.
"Sasuke!"
She couldn't believe her eyes, it was him. He was here he was finally here. He looked a little more careworn and his hair had grown an inch longer and a bit shaggier but it was Sasuke, her Sasuke.
His lips curved upward… if you kinda squint you'd recognize it as a smile. "Sakura."
He opened his mouth to say something else but she beat him to it. Wrapping her arms tightly around him in an embrace she buried her face in his chest.
Sasuke's eyes softened slightly as he gazed down on the head of the woman he had gone through all that mess to be with. His heart swelled, he had waited too long for this to let his pride get in the way. He slowly returned the embrace.
His eyes widened perceptibly as she began sobbing into his chest. He opened his mouth to say something but no words came out. Thankfully Sakura pulled away a little to look into his eyes, her emerald eyes filled with tears.
"I knew…" she gasped for breath "I knew that you weren't dead! Everyone told me that you were, they even had a funeral!"
"Funeral?" he smirked, he would have to check out the gravestone later.
Sakura noticed his smirk and couldn't help but return it with a smile of her own. Seeing her smile made Sasuke's stomach do a funny flip, he forgot how much he missed it.
She rested her cheek against his chest this time, inhaling his scent. "Then Tsunade gave me bodyguards because she was worried about the baby. It was so lonely in the house without you… I missed you so bad. For a while there I thought you we-"
Sasuke pressing his lips firmly against hers quickly cut her off. She blinked in surprise before slowly closing her eyes and leaning into the kiss. She gripped the front of his shirt weakly for support as her knees gave out on her.
Sasuke broke the kiss and smirked down at her. He had waited too long for THAT too. She gazed up at him, her eyes still clouded as she tried to break out of her daze.
He slowly leaned down towards her, his lips brushing against her ear. Sakura inadvertently shivered against his touch. Her heart was racing at a million beats per minute as his hand traced a small circle on her stomach.
"You've gotten bigger." He whispered.
She blinked in surprise "Huh?"
He looked down at her as though she were stupid. "I said 'you've gotten bigger'"
She stared up at him in amazement. Just like that he broke the moment. "What is your problem?" she demanded.
"What?"
"You ruined the moment!" she hit his chest with her palm indignantly, her eyes flashing with anger. "You know, no matter how much people say that Uchiha's a great at everything, you sure suck at romance!"
He raised an eyebrow down at the furious woman. He sighed, he didn't travel all the way from the Sound village just for this. "What was I supposed to say?" he challenged.
Sakura glared up at him in answer to his challenge. "You could tell me that you love me madly and passionately for starters!"
Sasuke smirked down at Sakura as she narrowed her stunning green eyes at him. Her lips pressed together in a cute pout as she continued to glare dangerously at him. Still smirking he leaned down and pressed his lips against her cheek before moving to her ear. "I love you madly and passionately." He whispered huskily. Sakura shivered once more before pushing him away from her and into perfect 'glare vision.'
She fought all urges to pounce him by rolling her eyes. "Yeah right… now stop kidding around and let's get you to the hospital." She grabbed his arm and began leading him off.
Following his wife obediently, Sasuke allowed himself to be led off. They walked in silence; Sasuke was deep in thought as Sakura beamed at everyone who looked at them in surprise. Once outside the hospital Sasuke pulled Sakura to him.
"Just so you know…" he whispered "I wasn't kidding."
He pushed past his surprised wife and hurried into the hospital. He did it for looks but mainly to hide the blush that invaded his cheeks.
Mission kill Itachi: Completed
Mission Revive Clan: Hell Yeah
Mission Confess to Sakura: Completed… to some extent.
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"COME ON SAKURA! PUSH! PUSH!"
"I'm trying… aaaahhh!!!"
"HARDER! HARDER!"
"Ah…AAAHHHH!!!!!"
Sasuke entered the room with wide eyes. "What. The. Hell. Are. Doing."
Tsunade looked up from where she stood hovering over Sakura's prone figure. Sakura was currently face first on the floor with a harness keeping her hovering a few inches above keeping her stomach from touching it.
The pink haired girl grinned. "Push ups."
He raised an eyebrow "Push ups." He said skeptically.
"Yeah, Tsunade-shishou said that I should get some exercise done otherwise I'll end up fat. She even set up this great harness so that I won't hit the floor and hurt the baby." She motioned towards her stomach which seemed to be getting bigger everyday.
She no longer wore her normal outfit. Instead she was now wearing casual black pants and a green maternity bell-sleeved blouse. To Sasuke she would always look amazing. He stared at her as her teacher helped her out of the harness. This was definitely different.
"Whatever."
He turned to exit and came face to face with Hyuga Neji. The Hyuga stared at him with the same cynical expression on his face but said nothing. Behind him stood his timid cousin, Hinata. Shrugging the Uchiha turned back to his wife. "I'll be waiting for you outside."
She pushed past her cousin and the exiting Uchiha in order to get to Tsunade. "YOU!" she yelled shaking the scroll in front of his face, surprising everyone in the room.
The fifth Hokage looked nervous "Yes?"
"YOU!" she yelled once more.
"Hinata-chan?" Sakura panted as she stood up straight, rubbing her sore back.
Hinata turned to her friend "She lied!"
Sakura turned back to her friend in surprise. She glanced towards Neji. The older Hyuga merely folded his arms in a 'manly' fashion.
The shy Hyuga stood firmly, her eyes fixated on the older blonde woman who was currently fidgeting like there was no tomorrow.
"Will you look at that!" the Hokage suddenly cried, "I have a meeting with… Ibiki! Sorry kids, I gotta run!"
Neji quickly barred the door.
Hinata headed towards the Hokage's desk where she turned to face her friends dramatically. "This scroll…" she dropped the said object on the ground "is fake!"
"WHAT?!?"
She nodded slowly "Excluding the fact that Sakura's mother had an affair with Sasuke's father, the rest of this is made up. There never was a prearranged marriage. Tsunade made this up."
Sakura, and Sasuke turned their shocked gazes to the nervous Hokage. "You lied?" Sakura asked in disbelief.
"Hey! Look, you guys needed a little motivation! Besides, everyone in Konoha could feel it coming! You guys were made for each other and this scroll helped you realize it!" she defended herself quickly.
Sakura's eyes darkened in rage. "You made me marry him?" he drew a kunai. "You made me go through all that just because you FELT LIKE IT!"
"Wait!" Tsunade backed up "Your parents did want you to get married! They were planning to write this scroll anyway!" This caused everyone to stall for a moment. She quickly continued "but before they could get it legalized Itachi… well you know the story. So technically I only lied about it being an official scroll."
Sakura slowly approached her teacher who was now hiding behind her desk. "So you did all this?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips, the kunai now discarded. Tsunade nodded and winced for the blow that never came.
Her hazel eyes were filled with surprise as her young pupil wrapped her arms around her in a warm embrace. "Thank you, Tsunade-shishou… for everything."
Sasuke smirked from behind the door where he was listening in. He would've hugged her too if he weren't so… well you know… He quietly left the hall before becoming too obvious. A few minutes later his smiling wife followed him.
"I can't believe it!" she said aloud in amazement.
"Hn." He said disinterestedly.
She glared up at him as they walked down a staircase and out onto the streets of Konoha. Sasuke continued to stalk forward as his wife dog trotted to keep up with him. She slowed down to keep the pace.
It was funny, she grinned, how only a few months ago she was ardent against the marriage. Sakura tilted her head upward to get a good view of her stoic husband. He glanced down at her and raised an eyebrow. She used to hate him for the same attitude which she had now learned to love.
Everything took time, she thought as Sasuke slowed a little and reached out, entwining her fingers with his. Besides that, no one would guess that they were romantically attached. She beamed up at her husband as they made their way through the streets of Konoha. Sakura put a hand to her stomach as the baby began kicking.
She had a feeling that everything was going to be alright.
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(Bonus segment. Why? Because I felt like it!)
Sakura beamed upward from where she stood surrounded by the rest of Konoha's population outside of the Hokage monument. Her stoic husband folded his arms and glared upward
"Stupid dobe."
She giggled as Tsunade finished her speech. Today was the day that Naruto had been waiting for all of his life. He was being presented as Konoha's Sixth Hokage. His grin was visible from where Sakura stood.
"And now I present to you…" the former Hokage called out to the crowd below them "The sixth Hokage! Uzumaki Naruto!"
The crowd of shinobi and civilians burst out into rapturous applause as the blonde stepped forward. They slowly silenced as they prepared for his speech.
"HELL YEAH!"
Sasuke slapped his forehead as the blonde began dancing like an idiot. "Oh my god." He and Sakura said in unison.
"CHECK IT OUT SASUKE-TEME!" Naruto crowed down to his rival "I'M THE HOKAGE! YEAH! HAHAHAHAHA! I'M THE COOLEST!"
Several of the shinobi began laughing; a few stared up at him as if he were insane. Kiba, Ino, Neji, Tenten, and Shikamaru all hung their heads and sighed. "It had to be Naruto." They mumbled.
Sakura's eyes widened as Naruto began doing a 'booty' dance in front of the population of Konoha. Tsunade tried stopping him but he was unstoppable now.
"CHECK OUT THE COOL OUTFIT!" he whirled around to show his robe which was similar to that of his father's. "Of course…" he spoke pensively "what this hot outfit needs…" he disappeared in a cloud of smoke and appeared beside a blushing Hinata. "… is an equally hot woman with it. Hinata-chan… will you marry me?"
The dancing, speech, and sudden proposal was too much for the young woman. She hit the ground. Sakura groaned before making her way over to her unconscious friend.
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That night as she lay in her bed curled up next to her husband, Sakura couldn't help but smile as she replayed the day's events. Life was definitely strange… but she wouldn't have it any other way.
"Sasuke?"
He turned his head towards her and opened his eyes. Even in the dark she found herself getting lost in his smoldering onyx eyes. "Hm?" he mumbled groggily as he ran a hand through his already messed up hair.
She giggled as she reached over and smoothed some of his hair down. "I'm glad that Tsunade found that scroll."
He looked at her in confusion. "Hm…"
"Aren't you?"
Sasuke sighed heavily. He could make her happy and say yes, which would be the truth. Or he could save his Uchiha pride and tell her to get back to sleep. Decisions, decisions. "Yeah."
She beamed up at him before snuggling even closer and burying her face in the crook of his neck. He smirked… works every time.
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End Story
AAAHHHHH!!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S OVER!!!! WAAAHHHH!!!!!! My heart is breaking. But there will be a epilogue followed by a oneshot sequelish thing or an actual sequel. But I think I favor the one shot, its gonna be good. So keep an eye out for those. The epilogue will come out between today and Thursday. Who knows, I'll probably write it tonight so keep an eye out.
I just want to say thanks to all my reviewers who were with me for these months. You guys are really what kept me going. Thank you so very much. Thank you again! I'm so glad I got a story finished. Keep an eye out for my next SasuSaku, and a possible SasuHina followed by a NaruHina or something like that. I love writing Sasuke though. He's so hot.
Naruto Shippuuden won! One person had a point; it's better because they have Deidara. Stay strong all you who voted for the original Naruto –sniffles- I feel your pain… curse you Shippuuden fans! CURSE YOU!
Thank you again! Thank you! YAY! I'm so happy!