Thank you all for your reviews. I really mean it. Now, with the final part of this story.
THE END
Saori was looking at herself in the mirror. A lot of time had passed since she was a little genin. She was twenty, now. And that ceremony dress she was wearing, she really liked it. With a small blush, she admitted to herself she looked quite pretty in it. On the other hand, she wasn't totally sure.
"What do you think, Sakura-sama? How do I look?" she asked.
Sakura was behind her, looking at her beautiful pupil. The woman was about fifty, now, but she looked as she was as young as Saori, thanks to a useful jutsu Tsunade had passed to her.
"My, you've grown into a wonderful woman, Saori. I'm… proud of you" she whispered.
Saori smiled contently.
"And… what about the dress?"
"Oh, I think that really suits you" a male voice said from behind the door of her room. Saori knew very well that voice.
"Naruto-sama!" she said, turning her head to look at the man she had learnt to respect like nobody else in the world, except for Sakura-sama, that is, "Are you sure about this? Wouldn't you reconsider thinking it back?".
Naruto smiled warmly at her. He was older, too. And, unlike his wife, he didn't know any jutsu that could make him look younger, and even if he did, he probably wouldn't have used it. He was proud of his white hair. He said it made him look like some sort of a sage. Like that Jiraiya-guy she never had the chance to meet.
"You'll be a great Hokage" he reassured her.
She sat on her bed. She wasn't as sure at that man was.
"I don't know. Will I able to make the right decisions? Will I be able to keep the village safe from danger? Will I be able to fight for it with all I've got, just like you did?"
--
"We three again, uh?" Sasuke said, as cool as always.
"Maybe it's destiny" Sakura said, with a mocking smile.
Naruto patted Sasuke on the shoulder.
"Hey, pal, I bet you're trying to look cool, but deep down you envy my white hair!"
"Hmpf. Uchiha's hair never change its colour. And I'm fine with it. At least, I don't look like an old geezer as you do" he mumled.
"Do you really have to fight over anything, even at a time like this?" Sakura exclaimed, bringing them back to reality, to that monstrous being with ten tails standing not too far from them.
Sasuke stared at it with no emotion.
"I thought we had finally gotten ride of that Madara-sucker" Naruto lamented, at that sight.
"That's not Madara" Sasuke reminded them, "it's just a little present he left us after his death".
"I just wonder why it didn't attack Konoha earlier" Sakura stated.
"Whatever. Let's just do this" Sasuke sentenced, grabbing his katana's handle.
--
"I chose you right because I think you can do all those things" Naruto answered Saori, "And even more".
Saori couldn't help but smile at his reassuring voice. He could always make her feel better. She understood perfectly why Sakura-sama loved him as much as she did. Still… Still, she wasn't THAT self-confident. She needed more good words.
"But Naruto-sama, Sakura-sama, will I ever be able to put my life on the line?".
"You'll be" Sakura intervened, caressing the girl's hair gently.
"Moreover" Naruto added, "the Hokage couldn't do anything more honourable than dieing to protect his village".
"But… Isn't that kind of sad?" Saori asked, doubtfully.
"Sad? Why?" Naruto replied with a puzzled face.
"Naruto, that's not so hard to understand" Sakura provoked him.
"But, Sakura-chan, when someone becomes Hokage, it's because he wants to protect everything he cherish, and everyone who is too weak to do it on his own".
Sakura hugged him, because she knew he really did mean that. That was the kind of man he was. Naruto hugged her back, and spoke again:
"And, Saori, I know you feel exactly that way. You were born to protect the others, I know you, isn't it true?"
Saori nodded, as her heart warmed up.
"Yes, Naruto-sama, sometimes I even think you know me better than myself".
Naruto laughed shyly.
"Well, how was the fight with the ten-tailed demon?" Saori asked, to change the subject.
"Like sleeping in a bed of roses"
--
That monster was so strong it looked like it really had come from hell itself. The three legendary next-generation sannins were hurt pretty badly after just a few minutes of fight.
Naruto could barely move, and Sakura was trying her best to heal him, but she was out of chakra, too. Sasuke could stand only by leaning on his katana, stuck in the ground.
"Eh… So what, now? Are we going to be defeated like three stupid apprentice ninjas?" Naruto grinned ironically.
"My ass" Sasuke panted.
"I'm not even considering losing, either" Sakura affirmed, looking at the scratch on Naruto's arm slowly disappearing as her jutsu began to affect it. The demon roared at them.
"Eheh…" Naruto giggled in pain, "… Then it's settled. We only have one chance to win. We have to use the forbidden jutsu".
Sakura froze. Sasuke looked at his friend with a cold expression.
"We… Can't we really try anything else?" Sakura murmured, as Naruto stood back up one more time.
"No. We're out of chakra. All we can do is concentrate our life forces in one last blast. We all know how to do. And that monster won't stand a chance against our combined attack".
Sakura stood up by his side and took his hand in hers.
"It's going to hurt us pretty much, though" he concluded. His grin never left his foxy-like face.
Sakura stared at their opponent without saying a word for a few instants, but then she spoke.
"I'm with you. I always will be", she said with decision. Naruto looked at her intensely: her eyes were so beautiful when they sparkled in determination, like gem stones in the dark.
Sasuke just shook his head.
"I'm not leaving all the fun to you two".
Both Naruto and Sakura looked back at him. Their friend and team mate.
The demon roared again. For some reason, it didn't move, like if it was afraid of them.
--
"Glad to hear it" Saori said sincerely, "But I know you're lying! It must have been one hell of a fight, am I right?"
Naruto laughed out aloud. Sakura punched him softly on the head.
"Sssst!" she said, "you're going to wake Somei up!"
The three of them looked at the cradle, in a corner of the room. The baby in it was still sleeping quietly, and Naruto sighed in relief.
"My bad" he apologized.
Sakura smiled softly to him. Then she looked at her young former apprentice.
"Saori… We have to leave now. Sasuke-kun is waiting for us" she informed her, "we entrust you our daughter".
"You can count on me" she said, with a warm smile.
"Hey, Saori!! Who the hell are you talking to?"
Ittori and Mikuzu had just arrived in the same room.
"Sssstt! You'll wake the baby up!" she said to them, "And by the way, what do you mean "who are you talking to"? Can't you see…"
She turned to point Naruto and Sakura… but they were nowhere to be found. She shuddered.
Of course she knew the truth, deep down in her heart. That was obvious. She sighed, as a sad smile appeared on her face.
"Nothing… I was just thinking out loud" she justified herself.
"Hurry up, or you'll be late for the ceremony!"
--
She had to give a speech to all the people gathered there, under that balcony where she stood, to greet the new Hokage. The seventh, in order.
What did they expect her to say? Whatever, she just had to do that. It was a Konoha's tradition. The new Hokage should introduce him/herself to the villagers. She sighed, and tried to think about something to say.
"Hermm… Hello, everyone. I'm Saori Furuoda. And I'm the Seventh Hokage".
The crowd applauded.
"I… I didn't really know what being a Hokage is, when I was younger. I learned it slowly, time after time, thanks to that very special person the Sixth was".
She took a long breath, before continuing.
"He taught me a lot. He taught me everything I know. And… I must say I'll be grateful to him for this, for the rest of my life.
He taught me that being a shinobi is not just about jutsu, but also about honour, will, and heart. He taught me, that when things get bad, the best way to face them is with a smile.
He was my teacher, my Hokage and, above all, he was my friend".
She gasped trying to restrain her tears. The crowd was silent, sharing that pain with her.
"I don't know… I don't know if I will ever be as great as he was… But… I made a promise to him. A promise of a lifetime. I promised that I will always take care of Konoha. That I'll do my best, and that I'll sacrifice my life to save that of this village, just… just… as he did"
She cried, but she had to finish her speech.
"I promised… sob… That I will never go back on my word!".
The sorrow was too heavy for her to carry. Mikuzu and Ittori, who had been by her side for all that time, came closer to her.
"Saori… maybe you could end it here…" Ittiro proposed.
She shook them of.
"Thank… Thank you, but I'm fine".
She recovered, and smiled to all that people looking at her.
"I will miss him. I will miss Sakura-sama, my sensei, too. They, along with Uchiha Sasuke, are to be considered models for us to stick to".
At the name of Sasuke, the crowd murmured. But Saori was not going to tolerate it.
"Yes, Sasuke too. He was an Uchiha, and attacked Konoha. But he admitted his mistakes, and his sacrifice is as noble as that of the other two. Until the very end, he tried to make up for all he had done. And he gave up his life, to save ours!"
Saori's peremptory tone of voice shut all the complains up.
"I…" she continued, "I will miss them all. BUT I won't be sad for them anymore. Because I know… I know…they died with a smile.
The smile of those who know they're dieing for a cause…"
--
"Naruto-sama!" she yelled at that big man who was the Hokage.
He looked back at her with a bright smile.
"What is that, Saori-chan?" he said.
"What's the most important thing for an Hokage?" she asked innocently.
Naruto was caught out of guard. That was a very difficult question, although for a girl of her age it might seem just as simple as it could.
"Hmm…" he thought about that, then he answered: "Of course! It's protecting the lives of all people".
"All people?" she echoed in surprise.
"Sure. You know, for an Hokage that's more important than anything".
"Even more important that your own life?" she asked, worried.
"Yeah! If giving up my life would mean saving those of a lot of innocent people, than I'd do it with a smile! Just like this!" he said, and smiled to her in a very silly way.
She laughed.
--
She laughed.
"That's what being the Hokage means" she concluded, "And I'm promising you I'll be that kind of Hokage, from the start until the end."
THE END.
Well, it's finished. I came up with this ending some time ago, when one of my friends told me a speech about the circle of life. Death is not that sad, if you were able to leave some good memories of you to those who will live on.
So, now I'd really like to know what you think about this story. I hope, from the deep of my heart, that you liked it.
By the way, if you din't like this ending, I still have another one in my mind, which would be a little bit less "bitter" than this. Just let me know.