Fire: (stares at the audience) O.O
Sasuke: Nani? (turns to look at the audience) Why are you doing that?
Fire: So many people came to the epilogue. O.O
Sasuke: (smug) That's because I told them to read it.
Fire: (smacks Sasuke in the head) Don't be such a baka! They just wanted to read it!
Kakashi: (bows) Arigatou to all who reviewed. Now… (looks desperately around) …get me out of here! I don't want to do this D-ranked mission anymore!
Fire: D-ranked?
Sakura: You're not acting like yourself, Kakashi-sensei.
Fire: This isn't a D-ranked mission! (pulls up Kisame) D-ranked missions don't have nukenin around!
Itachi: (hold up a hand) …
Kisame: Hey! Watch the cloak!
Fire: Why would I want to watch your cloak?
Kisame: (sighs heavily) …
Fire: Well, here's the epilogue. If it sounds like it ends on a cliff-hanger, don't flame me for it. It was completely unintentional. But if it does, this epilogue runs straight into the next book, so don't worry too much about it.
Sasuke: What happened to "stands on its own?"
Fire: It doesn't include epilogues! I already mentioned that. Besides, that's what they're supposed to be, remember? Epilogues contain afterthought that couldn't be included in the main storyline. So they can also contain slight peaks into the next book…like teasers in manga and anime. (looks up at the dialogue) Waah! You made me talk too much! We're not supposed to write so much for epilogues!
Sasuke: It was all your talking.
Fire: (turns to the audience) Gomen nasai! Read the epilogue now! (pulls up the epilogue)
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Disclaimer: Yay! I finally own Naruto! No. Actually, I don't. But I do own the phrase "my dobe." Don't use it! I'll send Sasuke after you! (watches Sasuke shake his head) Um…okay, I'll send Kisame after you! (watches Kisame shake his head) Uh…just don't do it.
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Epilogue: Broken Wings of a Blond Angel
It was late. The sky outside was dark and the dim moonlight was the only illumination in the room. There were shadows all around, clouding everything in black, but Sasuke could still see clearly. There was no mistaking the blond boy who slept there. Naruto.
He could easily order the summoned blond to wake and keep him company, but he wasn't going to do it. He liked watching him sleep, pretending that he wasn't a puppet under his control.
For many nights now, Sasuke has had nightmares, too many for him to sleep soundly. His body was too weary to protest anyway. The nightmares were too strong for him to fight, at least for now.
He dreamt of the days before, when he was still a mindless slave like Naruto. He could still remember it as clearly as he remembered the day he died, the severed arm, the feel of blood coating his body, the pain that burned his chest with every breath. But the nightmares offered pain of a different variety.
Being under the influence of Edo Tensei... Being someone's undead slave was unlike any living pain. It was like being frozen and numb, but at the same time, not being cold. It wasn't the feeling of pins and needles. It was the feeling of numbness, like frostbites throughout his body, but within his body...but it wasn't cold.
And within his mind, the fuda chased him. Wherever he ran, it was standing in front of him with unrelenting domination. There was no way to escape it. It held him down and forced him to listen to the words moving his body, Sakura's words.
It wasn't a wonder that he didn't like her.
'I wish I didn't have to do this to you, Naruto,' he thought as he ran his fingertips lightly down the side of the blond's face, bits of ash breaking off in the process. He didn't put a fuda in Naruto's head, but that just meant that he would keep decaying.
He didn't know if it was permanent. None of the scrolls or books said anything about it. Sasuke doubted if even Orochimaru knew. The Sannin had always summoned people when he needed them for a task or a fight. He always wanted their abilities, their techniques. Orochimaru never wanted the summoned people for them. They never stayed in the state of decay for long.
But Naruto... Naruto has been around for several days now, and Sasuke was beginning to see a pattern. The body decayed too slowly to be of consequence, to really matter. And even if the body fell apart, the ashes always came back. It refilled the holes in the body at the end of the day. But he still fell apart. Sooner or later, he had to summon him again through Edo Tensei, even if he didn't need another human sacrifice to do it.
And he would crumble again.
"Naruto..."
He couldn't even touch him. Naruto collapsed at his touch, not too easily, but he still fell apart. And Sasuke couldn't even describe what it was like, the coldness that spread through his chest at the sight of his beloved, crumbling before his eyes.
"...I promise..."
The sad loneliness that skewered his body shook his hands as he pulled them back. If he allowed himself to sleep, he would fall into that nightmare again. He would be alone again. Naruto would be dead again. And when he woke in the morning, the blond would be gone.
"...I'll bring you back."
'For real this time.' A real body that won't collapse under the wind. 'I promise.' A body that won't fade into the air like wisps of fog. 'Naruto.' A body that won't crumble beneath his touch.
But Sasuke had to admit that he was happy. He was finally content. After three years and for the first time since he had left for Oto no Sato, he was calm. He was where he wanted to be. The hatred that had grown inside him while he was still alive had vanished. And it was almost perfect.
'My dobe,' Sasuke thought before he drifted back to sleep, the nightmares at bay for the moment. Naruto belonged to him, and now, no one could take him away. No one.
End Epilogue
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Fire's babbling:
Fire: Waah! This is so sad!
Sasuke: It wasn't sad. I was just making a promise to Naruto. And you don't cry so stop doing that. It's creepy.
Fire: (pulls off the fake tears) Well, send me a review and tell me what you think. Flame me if you want. I don't care. I'll still send you a reply with a thank you and an explanation of what things were the way they were.
Sasuke: Flames are angry reviews.
Fire: I know, but I've only gotten two so far and they weren't signed. :( I really wanted to know who sent them so that I could reply.
Sasuke: You're scaring Naruto.
Naruto: I'm not scared!
Fire: Well, send me a review, even if you don't have flames. Constructive criticism is welcome, and since this is the last chapter, please sign your reviews so I can reply. I will definitely reply, even if your read this after the story is all over.
Sasuke: Yose!
Kisame: You should know that doesn't work. If it does, Fire would have stopped hugging me by now.
Fire: I don't want fangirls stealing you away.
Kisame: (hits Fire with Samehada) …
Fire: (evil laughter) I don't have chakra! (blood spurts from Fire's arm) Waah!
Sasuke: Blood drives sharks into feeding frenzies.
Fire: Well, ja ne! I'm going to get Kisame something to eat.
Kisame: I'm not your pet!
Naruto: I want to feed the shark too!
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