A/N: Here it is, the finale. It's been a hell of a ride, especially considering that I, as the AUTHOR, never saw most of this coming. This story was only mildly outlined for the first couple chapters, after that, it was completely free form.

You'll notice that this chapter bears the same title as the prologue. This is done for several reasons, but one of the biggest is that the main theme of "Time Heals All Wounds" is the act of coming full circle. Just as Naruto looked at Sasuke as the man he could have become, Asumi looks at Naruto as what her life could have been like. Thus, both Naruto and Asumi, in the first and last chapters respectively, look through a mirror, darkly.

PLEASE READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END! IT IS IMPORTANT!

Once again, credit goes to Pharaoh-90 for his memory room idea. Thank you so much!

Personal Responses:

ANIME25FOREVER: Naruto specifically requested in his letters not to have a kid named after him. But I can do you one better.

Shinigami: The snow country stuff is filler, AKA not canon. I may include some of that stuff, though. Naruto, in my fic, sort of developed a Crazy Prepared persona.

Honoo no Ansatsu Sha: Thank you! I'm very flattered :)

questions: As I said, THIS chapter is the last one of this fic. HOWEVER, I'm going to write a sequel. You should make a account to keep up subscriptions of your favorite stories, it makes things much easier.

Aria Snow: Then please bear with me to the end, you won't regret it.

BKwriter: Thank you!

yarra: Really? The first, general letter was my least favorite one, lol. And to answer your question, yes, you may. Though I'd like to know more about your story, if you don't mind :)

bub23453: Asumi's seal is very similar to Naruto's. As for the "only a newborn can handle it being sealed into her/him," that's not true. Adults can have bijuu sealed into them. However, in my story, having a bijuu sealed into you when you're a baby has its benefits...like being able to develop your chakra system around the bijuu's/the seal, so you get more benefit from it.

Without further ado, enjoy the finale!

Chapter 20 (Epilogue): In A Mirror, Darkly

Ten years. Ten years of freedom, of free reign to destroy, terrorize, and rebuild the legends that preceded it. The Kyuubi, at first, was in ecstasy at being able to walk in the outside world, free to do whatever he wanted with no damn seals keeping him at bay. He could wipe a town off the map, launch a tsunami at a country, or create a wake of fire as it cut a swath of destruction.

At least, that was how it was supposed to be. After the first year, he was not satisfied with merely walking and running in the open air, so he took to rebuilding his reputation. But to his horror, it was no longer satisfying. It was…too easy. There was no challenge, no excitement, no meaning.

So he traveled across the continent, searching for something that he was missing, something that could fill the emptiness that he felt. Years passed, and while a few things captivated his interest for a time, eventually they too became empty.

Once again, he took to his search, but this time searched inward for the meaning he had lost. After a year of contemplation, the Kyuubi arrived at a simple, startling conclusion.

He was lonely.

Quite simply, he could do anything he wanted, destroy practically everything, but it would mean nothing in the end, because he would have no one to share those experiences with. No one to yell at him for being stupid, to beg him to stop, to cheer him on like a maniac, or to even talk with.

Looking back, he realized that his happiest day was the day he had gained his freedom. The day he had fought his former self and that bastard Madara, he felt alive like no other time in his life. It had been fun…and…meaningful. He had protected people, he had gotten revenge, and he had kept his word…but more than all of that…

He had had a friend. The word was still so strange to him, and he still hardly understood what it meant. But it was there; it meant something to him, even now. The more he thought about it, the more obvious it became. He missed his friend. That was the indescribable pain he felt that day; he lost his first and only friend; he had lost the only meaning his life held.

Understanding flooded his mind. There was only one way to fix that emptiness. He knew of a person who could help him…quite possibly the only person who could help him.

Fortunately, he knew just where to find him.

00.000.00

Asumi held her letter, reading it for the fifth time in a row that day. Her parents were concerned by her obsession with it, but she didn't expect them to understand.

Three weeks had passed since the day she first met her brother. In that time, she had become friends with Shino, and could smile whenever she read that part in Naruto's letter to her. But everything else…

She could almost try to imagine what Naruto had lived through. All she had to do was imagine all the smiles and expressions of gratitude she received from the villagers as the opposite; hatred, anger, and…

No, she really couldn't imagine it. She had never been hated in her life, and she hadn't seen much hatred period. As she read her brother's words, she couldn't imagine trying to be in his place.

But she had a plan. There was an empty bedroom in her house, which she was told not to ever go into. Obviously, she deduced, it must have been Nii-san's room. It was the same room Father had gone into to retrieve her letter. So it must have been the place where the memories he mentioned were kept.

Sneaking into the room was easy, so Father must not have thought anyone would try something like this. Entering it, however, brought a slew of emotions she didn't expect. She saw the bed, unmade, as if it had been left like that for the past ten years…and it looked like the same treatment had been given to everything else in the room. This was where her brother used to live. This was where she could have burst into with the intent of annoying her older sibling. This was where the brother she never knew spent his final days. She fought back the tears, remembering her mission.

She found a sturdy box on the desk in the middle of the room. Opening it, she saw several scrolls inside, including ones marked with a special white outlining and ribbon. Seeing that the top one was labeled with the number one, and said, "Academy Graduation," she took it and closed the box back up. Opening the scroll, she saw that it looked a lot like the same seals she had seen in the memory room at the Academy, and understood its purpose immediately. Father had taught her the basics of how seals worked and even a few designs, so she felt confident that she could figure out how to use it.

Today was a day off from the Academy, so she was able to sneak in without having to worry too much about being caught. Finding the memory room, she looked around for what to do. There were a lot of seals, but many of them were identical to the ones next to it. Finally, she spotted one that looked unique, near the center of the room. It was on a desk that had its own chair, and there was a big, empty circle in the middle of an intricate seal. Unrolling the scroll, she saw that its design seemed to match it, and placed it down.

Nothing happened. Confused, Asumi began running through what little she knew of seals. That's it! There was a small, hollow circle in the middle of the scroll. From what she remembered, seals like that meant that the user had to place some chakra into it to activate the seal. Doing just that, she suddenly found herself surrounded by a thick fog.

The scenery faded into what appeared to be paint on a stone wall…

Asumi laughed hysterically when she realized that her brother had painted the entire Hokage Monument, including Father's face! He really was a pranking legend, just like Mom had said.

Though there was one thing that confused her. 'Uzumaki' Naruto? I thought he was my brother…Namikaze Naruto? Why…? What happened next forced that thought aside. She once again laughed as Iruka-sensei yelled at Naruto to get down from there, and then dragged him back to the classroom, tying him up in front of everybody.

Very interestingly, she recognized some of the kids in the class. There was someone who looked very similar to Hanabi, and Shino…Shikamaru, Chouji, Ino…they were all there. Even a guy who looked a lot like Daisuke sat over to the side.

From Iruka-sensei's lecture, she learned that the Academy Graduation Exam was the next day, and that Naruto had failed it the past two times. That information surprised her, but she recalled his words…

I was looked upon as a dead last, an idiot with no skill or common sense whatsoever…

Iruka-sensei ordered a henge test, and people blamed Naruto for starting it. When it was his turn…

She blushed in embarrassment and gaped in surprise. Her brother really loved pranking people at every opportunity.

The memory skipped ahead to Naruto cleaning off the paint from the Hokage Monument, this time on a scaffold. Iruka-sensei scolded him, saying that he couldn't go home until he had finished cleaning everything up.

"Like I care! It's not like I have anyone to go home to!"

That statement brought a sharp pain to her heart and a tear to her eye. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to go home to find no one…alone…

A small smile returned to her face at Naruto's reaction to the promise of ramen, something she herself had done many times, to her parents' amusement.

Skipping ahead to them eating at the ramen shop, she realized that Naruto really had no idea who his parents were. He had no idea that his hero, his idol…was his own father. Try as she might, she couldn't imagine being ignorant like that, in his position…how could anyone deal with not knowing who their parents were?

Once again, the memory skipped ahead, this time to when Iruka-sensei announced the ninjutsu portion of the exam. One by one, the students walked into the side room, and came out wearing their hitai-ate with pride. Naruto was the last to go. His performance, however, was terrible. The only thing he could do correctly was a henge. His 'clone' was pathetic, and would be utterly useless. He failed…

Asumi tried to sort out the paradox. How could her brother, hailed as a hero and Konoha's strongest shinobi, have failed his Academy Graduation Exam so badly?

As she watched him sit on the swing, she struggled to grasp and identify her emotions. Parents and siblings of the graduates were praising them, promising their favorite dinners and special treats.

Naruto, however, sat alone on the sidelines. The only one who failed, left to futiley comfort himself in the wake of his failure. His dream, it seemed, had been crushed right there. But what set her aback the most was the two girls who not-so-subtly talked about him from a short distance away.

Two girls near the crowd glared at me. "Hey, that kid…" one said.

"Yeah, that's 'the kid' and he's also the only one who failed."

"Well, that's a good thing. He shouldn't become a shinobi, since he is—"

"Shh! We're not supposed to talk about that."

I pulled my goggles over my eyes to hide the tears.

Asumi had to deal with her own tears at that moment, barely able to keep herself from being lost in the grief. But she considered the words of those girls…they were obviously referring to him being the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, and believed that he shouldn't become a shinobi. Merely thinking about that hurt her… could she have been able to try her hardest to pass, alone and with everyone wanting you to fail?

No. She couldn't. She wouldn't even make it halfway. All the times she found strength in her family's warm smiles, or the cheers of her friends, or the encouragement and love from her parents…the assurance that they would help her whenever she needed it, and that she would definitely be a strong kunoichi one day…. She relied on that more than she ever realized before. For Naruto…it was all the opposite…

As she watched him walk away, Asumi gaped in shock as the blond put on a big smile as he walked away, no sign of his grief and turmoil showing. He walked past the villagers in the street, smiling at each of them, all of whom returned his gesture with a look of hatred and animosity. When he reached an empty side road, his smile instantly disappeared, and his gait turned slow and wobbly.

At first extremely confused by his smiles, she understood completely now. He was hiding it all, trying to act nice to the people he passed. Or perhaps he needed to think he was happy. But their looks…it was colder than anything she had ever felt.

His true sadness revealed itself as soon as he was out of their sight. But when someone he called 'Mizuki-sensei' approached him and offered another, secret chance at graduation, she held some hope for him.

When the memory skipped ahead to him panting in the middle of a forest, she wondered what was going on as Iruka-sensei approached him. The resulting conversation and betrayal surprised her, but what Mizuki said sent terrible chills down her spine.

"Naruto," said Mizuki, "there's no point in you having it. I'll tell you the truth."

"No! Don't!" yelled my sensei.

Mizuki continued anyway. "Twelve years ago…you know about the Kyuubi no Youko being defeated, right? Since that day…a special rule was created for this village."

"…a rule?" I asked.

"But…this rule could never be told to you."

"Not to me? What is this rule? Tell me!"

Mizuki chuckled. "The rule that nobody is allowed to talk about the fact that YOU are the Kyuubi no Youko!"

Everything froze. My knees buckled as my mind reeled. "Wha-what do you mean?" I shouted.

Iruka begged for him to stop, but the bastard was enjoying himself now. "It means that YOU are the Kyuubi no Youko! YOU killed Iruka's parents, YOU destroyed the village, and YOU killed your precious Yondaime Hokage! You were sealed up by the Hokage you admire and have been lied to by everyone! Didn't you find it odd how everyone hates you? Iruka is the same! He also hates you!" Mizuki grabbed one of the giant shuriken from his back and prepared to throw it. "Nobody will ever love you! That scroll was used to seal you up!"

My whole world had been turned upside down. Now everything made sense. The glares. The hate. I am the demon who destroyed the village…who killed all of those people…I deserve to die…

Asumi's entire body went numb. It was unbelievable. She couldn't process the words. Jumping out of the memory immediately, she curled up, hugging her knees as she cried.

An hour passed before she tried to sort out what that man had said. But that attempt utterly failed almost before it began as she clutched her head in mental agony, the yelling haunting her memory. Now that she had some idea of Naruto's treatment, she couldn't stop the mental images that flooded her mind, imagining herself in his position. It was too much to bear, but she couldn't bring herself to leave and find someone to help her through it.

00.000.00

Minato rarely ever felt the Hiraishin seal placed on Kushina act up, but when it did, he knew to instantly be by her side.

This time, however, there was no immediate emergency—or at least as it appeared in the first split second it took Minato to take stock of the situation. "Kushina-koi? What's wrong?"

She looked at him worriedly. "I haven't seen Asumi-chan since breakfast, and I checked the seal on Naruto's door…it was opened today, twice. Where could she be?"

He scratched his head in contemplation. "If she took a letter, she would still be here…or at least she would have been back by now…so…" He looked up fearfully. "She must have taken a memory!"

"You don't think she's figured out how to use it with the memory room, do you?" she asked, now more concerned than ever.

"I think…she's very smart and clever for her age, and she might know enough about seals…" He trailed off, but looked at her grimly. "I've found her…she's in the Academy memory room right now. I'll be right back."

In a flash, he was gone.

00.000.00

Appearing at his daughter's side instantly, he saw what nearly wrenched his gut. She sat curled up, clutching her head as tears flowed freely down her cheeks. Her whole body was shaking slightly.

They had been afraid of this very scenario, but didn't see it coming this early. It was undoubtedly far too much for her to handle at such a young age, if her appearance was any indication. Minato had agreed to show her Naruto's letter reluctantly, hoping that mere words wouldn't do any real damage, especially with her parents there to comfort and reassure her right away. But this…

The result was obvious. A quick glance at the scroll told him all he needed to know; the memory was the first of the series, that of how Naruto found out he was the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. The experience, however, was horrifying to watch as a parent, seeing the innocent kid tricked into believing he was a monster and demon of the worst kind—the murder of his hero and idol. Between the memory and the letter, the realizations would come like a flood. Oh no…

Minato quickly embraced his daughter, but she didn't react to his touch. That alone suggested the level of trauma she had sustained as the echo of Naruto's words played in his mind repeatedly…

You and I are one and the same…You are what I could have been. I'm what you could have been.

That was the heart of it, he realized. She was imagining herself in Naruto's position, now armed with the memories to make it possible. Her unique connection with him would solidify the possibility, and it would take a lot of help to break her free from it. Naruto had obviously not intended for her to see any of his memories for quite some time, and Minato knew he should have known better. She was just as clever as her brother, with an insane amount of curiosity to boot. He berated himself for not being prepared for such a contingency as they now paid the price of his carelessness.

00.000.00

It took nearly an hour of constant physical comforting and verbally taking her back into a lucid state for things to calm down slightly. Kushina was the first to give a genuine smile. "Minato-kun, I have a sudden craving for ramen. Why don't we take the kids out for some?"

Catching onto her idea immediately, Minato agreed. "Yeah! How about some tasty ramen at Ichiraku's, Asumi-chan?" Her gaze shifted towards him, but she did not look him in the eye. She did, however, nod, much to their relief. He knew that such a change was a significant improvement. "Great! Then let's go get some."

Minato knew that they had to get her in as high spirits as possible today, October 9th, because tomorrow she would undoubtedly fall back into a grieving state during the memorial service.

He wished a certain cheerful blond was around to work his magic.

00.000.00

Purple, black-ringed eyes stared at the memorial that sat just behind the stone heads of the Hokage Monument. The man sighed as he read the inscription for the hundredth time in his life.

Nagato owed Naruto his life, both figuratively and literally. He had saved him, twice, and his best friend. It was bitterly ironic that Naruto had died when he had lived, considering how the opposite had happened in his time, against all odds.

It had taken him ten years, but he had finally mastered the ability to resurrect those recently killed. But therein lied the problem: recently. His greatest regret welled up inside of him in full force. Ten years too late.

"Nagato."

He had been so engrossed in his musings that he hadn't sensed a visiter approaching. But the voice seemed…different from any other he had ever heard. Turning around, he saw what he could only describe as a dark red, miniature fox made entirely out of chakra. Recognizing the nine swinging tails behind the creature, he addressed the demon before him. "The Kyuubi, I presume?"

It nodded. "It appears that you and I each have what the other needs…" The fox looked at the memorial behind him. "...and a common goal."

Nagato stared at the beast intently. "I'm listening."

A/N: CLIFFHANGER DON'T KILL ME!

THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL! ADD ME TO AUTHOR ALERT OR WHATEVER TO RECEIVE UPDATES! The first chapter of the sequel might come out today. Stay tuned!

Now, PLEASE let me know what you think!

Questions, if you want to answer them.

1) How did you like this chapter? Likes? Dislikes? Favorite and least favorite parts?

2) How did you like the STORY as a whole? Likes? Dislikes? Favorite and least favorite parts?

3) Any advice for me in terms of writing and story telling?

4) How do you feel about OC's?

5) Did you see the ending twist coming? Be honest :)

I'm sorry in advance for repeating parts of Naruto's memory in this chapter, but I felt it was done uniquely enough to warrant it.

Now for some random tidbits I thought I'd share. In yet another example of free form writing, the only parts of this chapter I had planned out were the beginning and the end. I originally had the word "Asumi" typed in the second part, wondering what I was going to write. I had no clue.

Then I decided to do what I did, and went from there. No plan whatsoever.

As for Naruto's resurrection, I HAD planned that for a while. The whole idea was for Naruto's friends and family to reflect upon his death and his life, and for Naruto to do the same. Then, I wanted Asumi to learn about her brother and counterpart's life and death, as well as his significance to her. I also wanted a scene where Asumi meets Naruto much in the same way Naruto meets his parents. With all of those conditions satisfied, I wanted to have the ultimate fun of bringing a long-dead character back to life.

The whole "WTF" moments of his friends and family. For lulz.

In case you're wondering HOW Naruto is going to be brought to life:

1) It's fan fiction. I make the rules for my story, though I do try to stick to canon.

2) Nagato can resurrect the recently dead. The Kyuubi is a mass of physical and spiritual chakra and life energy. Combine the ability of the two, and they can somehow drag a not-so-recently-killed soul back to life.

3) Naruto's soul will have "aged" over time as well, making him 28 years old at this point. Remember, it's all about the soul. Now I sound like a hippy.

In truth, when I started out with this story, I had no idea whatsoever where it would end up. But I'm really, really satisfied with the result, and I'm looking forward to writing the sequel. A big thank you to everyone who reviewed this story: You're the reason I kept writing, and the reason I will continue to write. THANKS!

*FOREHEAD POKE* Sorry, everyone. This is the last time.