Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Bugger.

Ok, some of you complained about the story being empty, so here, an epilogue. Sorry if it's crappy, but you guys wanted one, so here you go. And sorry if it doesn't seem like an epilogue, I already told you guys that I was having huge troubles with it. ... shit, I'm in a bad mood :Grumble:

REMEMBER, send me oneshot plots and pairings so I can type them up and put them in my 100 oneshots fic!

God, I hate this epilogue SOOOO much.

EPILOGUE

"You didn't take away my life, I gave it to you." -- Uchiha Sasuke

Sasuke stared down at the sleeping figure of his lover, the blond's eyelashes damp with the tears he had shed just minutes before. He found himself smiling bitterly, his heart aching in his chest as Kyuubi smirked at him from the hallway. There would only be a few moments to spend with his love before he'd be bound... and it hurt because even though had those minutes, they were meaningless.

Kyuubi slid forward and wrapped his fingers around Sasuke's upper arm, pulling him back. He narrowed his eyes when the raven didn't budge, his eyes still transfixed on the sleeping blond. Shoving Sasuke against the wall, he pressed his chest against the male's back, pressing his face against the white paint.

Sasuke winced slightly, but didn't fight back. What good would it do? If he managed to get away, where would he go?

"Your time is up," the orange-haired angel whispered with a chuckle, "is there anything you want to say to Naruto-kun? Not that he can hear you," his smile widened.

Sasuke slowly shook his head, "Just get it over with," fear was bubbling in the pit of his stomach, but he tried to will it away.

Pressing a hand against Sasuke's back, Kyuubi shoved it in, tearing up his skin and breaking through bone.

Sasuke's eyes widened and he cried out in pain, blood dripping down his back and staining the hem of his pants. His knees buckled, but he didn't fall, Kyuubi's hand keeping him up. He shut his eyes and growled as it felt like he was being ripped in two.

"I'm tearing out your soul," Kyuubi said, his voice silky, "this body of yours is, after all, fake."

Sasuke groaned in pain and he coughed, blood plattering in specks on the wall.

"And don't worry, I'll make sure to erase your existance from everyone's mind," then he yanked his hand away and Sasuke blacked out.

xXxXx

The door to Naruto's apartment opened and Ino stepped in, her hair down and flowing to her waist. Looking around, she called, "Naruto! Hurry up, we have school!" when she didn't receive a reply, she waltzed in, school uniform snug on her thin frame, "Naruto! What's taking you so long? You're like a girl!" she crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently, blowing a stray strand of blonde hair out of her face.

A few seconds later, Naruto came in, adjusting his uniform. His eyes weren't as bright as usual and his smile wasn't as large. He grabbed his school bag from off of the counter in the kitchen and he said his apologies to Ino.

"Sorry, I had some trouble finding my shoes," he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and motioned for her to move so they could both leave. Stopping suddenly, he turned, thinking he heard someone.

"Naruto?"

"Coming, coming," he walked out of the small apartment and shut the door behind him, missing the black eyes that stared at his retreating form.

xXxXx

Kiba welcomed his friends as they entered the classroom, a bottle of water in his left hand. He leaned back in his chair and put his feet on the desk, sighing, "Guess what I found out this morning?" he mentioned once Naruto and Ino took their seats by him. All of the gang was around him; Naruto, Shikamaru, Ino, Temari, Hinata, and Sakura. They listened intently, have nothing better to do.

"I got some call from a restuarant and a guy asked me if I still wanted to reserve the party room there," the brunette said with a snort, "like I even eat at those types of places, sheesh," he continued, "so I asked him what he was talking about and he said I'd planned for some type of wedding. Can you believe that? A wedding!"

Sakura blinked emerald eyes and she leaned forward, "Did they call the wrong person?"

"Of course they did! But the strange thing is, he said that I did want to reserve a room and he repeated back all of my contact info. You know, phone number, address, cell-phone number... I don't know where the hell they got that shit from."

"How weird," Naruto commented.

"You know what's weirder? It was a wedding for you and some guy named Sasuke," he suddenly grinned and laughed at Naruto's flushed face.

"M-me? I don't even know a Sasuke!" the blond snapped.

Ino interrupted, "Actually, something weird happened to me, too. I wanted to take some money out of my bank account, so I could buy a new jacket... but all of the money in my account was gone! I asked the woman behind the counter and she said I came in yesterday and withdrew all of it! Now, that had to be a lie because I just got back from my parents' house yesterday," she huffed.

Sakura raised her hand to join in, "The same with me. All of my money's gone, too."

Naruto crossed his arms, "Hmmm, maybe it's some paranormal phenomena? Like, a ghost?"

Temari scowled, "Ghosts can't withdraw money from a bank account, dumbass."

"You don't know that!" Naruto leaned forward in his chair and looked around at all of his friends, "and I even think there might be a ghost in my apartment."

Hinata whimpered in her seat, her head down, "N-N-Naruto-kun..."

"It's true! At night, I always feel a cold chill go through me while I'm trying to sleep! And sometimes I'll feel like someone's watching me!"

Kiba scoffed and crossed his legs over the desk, "I doubt there's a ghost in your place, man. It's a brand new apartment, and it's not like it was built on top of a grave."

Naruto thought on that and sighed, "I guess you're right... Then why would all of these strange things be happening?"

"I dunno, but I want my damn money back!" Ino huffed.

Shikamaru just dozed off, bored with the conversation.

xXxXx

Kyuubi ran his hands over all of the picture frames, Sasuke's face disappearing from all of them. He then turned and gave Sasuke a small smirk. The raven was standing in the middle of the living room, his eyes dead. He stared down at the floor, ignoring everything Kyuubi had said to him the past few minutes as he rid the apartment of Sasuke's belongings. When he was finished, it was like he'd never been there.

"I hope you enjoy your eternal punishment," the fox chuckled, "and I deeply wish you the best," he lied smoothly and spread his wings, opening the balcony doors. Shukaku was standing outside, already waiting for Kyuubi to exit the apartment.

Sasuke watched them leave and the doors slammed shut on their own. He continued to stare at the carpeted floor, his body not moving an inch.

xXxXx

Weeks went by and spring rolled in, the snow melting almost instantly once the first warm morning hit Japan. Kids were happy to go outside without having to run around in thick coats and ugly snow caps, their hair free to flutter around in the nice breeze. It seemed like today would be the perfect day.

Except it wouldn't be for Naruto.

Sitting in the corner of his bed, Naruto had his knees up to his chest, his arms crossed over them, head buried in the nest they made. He remained still, even as the clock on his dresser went from 7:12 a.m. to 7:43 a.m. His cellphone rang multiple times, but he refused to answer.

In the corner of his room, Sasuke stood there, dull eyes watching, waiting for any sudden movement. He'd been watching this happen on and off for the past four days, his imaginary heart beating in his non-existant chest. It was strange... he didn't have a body, but he felt like he did. He felt like he could just run to the blond and wrap his arms around him. He wanted to whisper words of comfort into the ears of his lover, but he knew that if he tried, his arms would just go right through the warm body.

He hated it.

Watching Naruto's condition reverse, watching his boyfriend go from the happy blond he knew, to the depressed teen that he faintly remembered the moment they met a month ago... he just wanted the floor to swallow him up. He'd rather be in hell than in this bedroom watching Naruto's past eat him up alive.

He had helped Naruto heal when they'd met... but now that all the memories of him were gone from the blue-eyed male's mind, Naruto's state of being was rewinding. He didn't remember the love he was given, or the touches that soothed his mind away from thoughts of his mother... he even forgot the fact that he'd almost completely forgotten about her. Now his past was hitting him full force and he couldn't take it.

"I feel like I'm going to die..." the blond whispered to himself, his words only slightly muffled by his arms. But Sasuke heard him.

"You're not going to die, Dobe..." Sasuke whispered to no one but himself.

"I feel like shit..." Naruto sighed and lifted his head, bags under his eyes. He shifted and grabbed his cellphone from off of his dresser, the screen flashing, "nine missed calls..." he whispered to himself and dialed a familiar number.

Sasuke stepped out from his corner and sat on the edge of the bed. He watched his love talk to Ino, a slight smile on that tanned face. Of course, for some reason, his vision was only black and white. It was one of the strange things that came with being spirit.

Honestly, Sasuke thought being a spirit would be much worse than it was. He was still with Naruto, and even though he'd forgotten him, it still made him happy.

But the raven didn't know that things were going to become much worse.

xXxXx

Sasuke remembered glaring at the teenager at the door, cursing at him and telling him to go away, even though he knew the guy couldn't hear him. But he did it anyway.

Standing in the doorway was a handsome male. He had fair skin, his eyes holding contacts (the left eye was a pale blue and the right was a strange red that had golden swirls in it), and his hair was black and in a very visual kei style, long locks running down to his shoulder blades, red layers atop of it, mixed in. He had a cigarette between his fingers and he took a long drag, a folder under his right arm.

Naruto was standing in front of him, thanking him over and over again for bringing him his homework assignments. As they continued to converse (despite Naruto's sickly appearence and rough cough), Sasuke found out that the man's name was apparently Hide Zou (a/n- pronounced He-day Zo).

"You've been absent for a good bit, Kinpatsu(1)," Hide Zou took another long drag of his cigarette, then dropped it to the ground, crushing it under the heel of a black leather boot. He handed over the folder that was under his arm and he gave a handsome smile, well, smirk, "I'm a badass and I come to school more than you."

Naruto blushed a bit, but Sasuke couldn't tell if he was embarrassed or if it was just his fever, "Yeah, well... I've been a bit down in the dumps... then I got sick because I was running around like an idiot last night, looking for a job," he laughed nervously.

"You don't have a job?"

"N-no," Naruto coughed and covered his mouth.

Hide Zou raised a pierced brow and he shoved his hands in the pockets of his leather coat, "That must be a bitch. Hn, well, have fun hackin' up your brains, Kinpatsu."

Naruto pouted, "Oh, I'm sure I--" and then he stopped mid-sentence, his hand going up to grip his head. He mouthed something and stumbled back, hitting the arm of his sofa. Before he could hit the floor, Hide Zou caught him and steadied him, lying him back on the couch.

"Shit, you ok?"

Naruto didn't reply. His eyes were closed and he shakily pointed to the counter.

Looking over, Hide Zou saw a bottle and he went for it, popping the cap off and dropping two tablets onto his palm. Going over, he propped Naruto up and slipped the pills between his lips.

Swallowing them, Naruto could see the face of his mother behind closed eyelids and he snapped them open, his friend's face coming into view, "th-thanks..." he muttered, turning his head and coughing.

"What the fuck was that?" Hide Zou growled.

Naruto smiled nervously and he was about to reply, but something by the table caught his attention. He thought he saw someone, but when he blinked, the person was gone. He furrowed his brows.

"Well?"

"Huh? Oh... um, I sort of have issues with my past..." and he explained his past to Hide Zou, the other male taking it in. The man mentioned something about knowing what he was talking about, but by the table, Sasuke glared at him.

xXxXx

Months went by and Hide Zou continued to drop by every once and a while, the male sitting down with Naruto at the table and just chatting. Then they began going out to eat, doing homework at a local cafe... and that's when Sasuke realized how horrible being stuck in Naruto's apartment was. He'd been afraid before he was bound, then things seemed alright... but now he was just plain miserable. He was starting to feel empty and he just wished he was in hell instead of where he was. Now he knew what Kyuubi had meant with what he said before he started erasing Sasuke's face from Naruto's photos.

"You'll feel like your drying, even though you're already dead. It will take time, though..."

And he certainly felt like he was dying. He was left alone in the home, most of the time, Naruto always gone with his usual friends or Hide Zou. That strange man had taken a strong liking to the blond and now Sasuke hardly saw him. And he hated that.

But at the same time, it made his non-existant heart thump with bitter happiness.

Naruto had started healing again. The medication was forgotten and he was laughing and yelling and complaining like he used to do with Sasuke.

Curling up on the couch, he listened as the apartment door opened and both Naruto and Hide Zou came in, talking about some junior year graduation project. The blond was whining, saying something about how he hated projects, but then Hide Zou interrupted, telling Naruto he's help him.

There was a loud "Thank you!", but in Sasuke's mind, it said "be my new best friend and soon, we'll fall in love!"

He refused to look at them, instead focusing on the moon that was visible behind a leafless tree outside. He felt dead. He didn't want to move, didn't want to talk (who would he talk to?), didn't want to do anything. He had gotten used to just watching Naruto from afar, but now, it was tearing him up.

It was ok when Naruto had been around all the time, even though he was reverting back to his broken self. Now, he was all smiles and clinging onto his new friend like a blind child to his mother. Before, Sasuke had hoped that the blond would somehow be able to see him, hear his voice, and remember him. Then they could go back to being happy... Then, Hide Zou healed the blond before any of that could happen.

He'd healed up the wounds that had been re-opened, healed the wounds that Sasuke desperately wanted to fix. And now, Naruto's smiles were all for him. His laughter, the shine in his beautiful eyes, his cute pouts, his stupid whining... were all for the new male in his life.

xXxXx

"Wh-where's Kakashi?" Iruka asked as his back hit the wall. He looked frantically at both Kyuubi and Shukaku. The brunette saw Sasuke behind them, looking as if he were just a shell of his former self. His eyes were empty and he just stood there, unmoving.

"That's only his body. I've already bound his soul," Kyuubi stepped forward and gripped tightly onto Iruka's shoulder, making the man flinch away, "the same goes for Kakashi. I bound him to the tower."

Iruka's eyes widened and he unconsciously yanked himself away from Kyuubi's hand, "N-no... you--"

Kyuubi gave him a wide and feral smirk, "I can give you his body, if you want," he turned to his lover, "Shukaku."

The man stepped away from the shadows and swung his arm forward, a limp body being thrown at Iruka's feet. Kakashi's eyes were just as empty as Sasuke's, his skin torn, mask ripped away from his face to reveal pale lips that were iced over from the cold. His silver hair was wet and limp around his face and all the color was gone from his skin.

Iruka wanted to scream, but... but he knew this was going to happen. Kakashi had told him what would probably happen to him... He couldn't cry... Kakashi wouldn't have wanted him to. Instead, he bent down and touched the frozen cheek of his guardian angel. He wanted to hear "Dolphin-chan" come from those lips, just one last time...

"Such a reaction," Kyuubi laughed darkly, "I thought you would have screamed, like Naruto-kun," he smirked.

"I should've told you I loved you," Iruka whispered to the empty shell. He wanted to cradle the body in his arms, but a hand grabbing his neck and yanking him forward stopped him. He winced in pain and looked up as Shukaku placed a cold palm against his forehead.

"You will have no memories of him," was all he said, before he pulled his hand away.

Iruka, amazingly, seemed unfazed. It's not that he didn't care... it's just that was older and had seen many tragedies in his lifetime. The sadness he felt was no different than the sadness that plagued him many times before. Second by second, he felt bits and pieces of Kakashi's face disappearing from his mind. Looking up at Sasuke, he smiled sadly.

xXxXx

The memory curled itself around Sasuke's brain and he snapped back to reality, the silence of the apartment confusing him. He'd thought Naruto and his friend had come in earlier...

A moan broke through the quiet atmosphere and Sasuke stayed stark still. If he could've felt anger anymore, he would've stormed into the bedroom and cursed at Hide Zou for even touching his lover, even though he knew his words would go unheard. But he remained still, knowing that he...

That he was no longer a part of Naruto's life.

xXxXx

"College," Naruto breathed out the word like it was the best god damn flavor of icecream ever created. He looked around at his empty apartment and smiled a little sadly, "good-bye lovely apartment, good-bye Tokyo..."

Sasuke stood in the hallway, watching his lover look around one last time. Naruto would be gone forever and he'd be stuck in that god forsaken hell with only memories and thoughts of what Naruto would be doing while at college. Two years with Naruto in the arms of another guy, smiling for someone else, no longer sitting around his house so Sasuke could just watch him.

Naruto suddenly blinked when he noticed something sticking out from under the sofa. He bent down and reached under, intent on seeing what it was. He'd left some of the furniture in the apartment, knowing full well he could take it all to his college dorms. Pulling it out, he blinked.

An orange, glass fox.

"When did I get this...?" he looked at it and saw the label that read 'Beppu' on the bottom.

Sasuke stood still, his eyes widening a fair amount. All emotions swirled back inside of him and he felt hope. That fox, that one single item gave him a glitter of hope.

"Please," he begged to no one, "please let that bring something back."

"I haven't been to Beppu in a good two years, and I didn't buy this there..." Naruto stood and examined it, smiling, "maybe it's Hide Zou's?" he grabbed his duffle bag from off of the floor by the front door and he ran soft fingers over the figurine of the fox, "nah, I don't think he's into this sort of stuff... Then who...?"

"Let at least one memory come back to you..." Sasuke whispered, desperate. He'd been practically dead the past few months and now a glimmer of life was coming through in his voice, in his eyes.

Moving to leave, Naruto shrugged the strap of his duffle bag further up his shoulder and he grabbed the door knob, ready to close the door behind him as soon as he exited.

Sasuke moved forward, his arm going out, hand open. He wanted Naruto to stay. He gave up his wings, gave up everything for Naruto. The least the blond could do was stay.

"Naruto!.!" he yelled, desperate and angry.

Naruto snapped around, the duffle bag strap slipping down his shoulder and falling to the floor.

Blue eyes met black.

OWARI

Haha, I know, evil... but I plan on making a sequel, so... :Shrugs: But just so you know, it won't be out for quite a while. I have the oneshots to work on, "Just like Heroin", and "Kitty, Wants Some Candy?"