Last Disclaimer: Same as before

Sakura yawned tiredly. It had been a busy day finishing the mountain of paper work Tsunade had left for her while she went off celebrating Naruto's return with the villagers. After all, there's loads of arrangements to be done for the presumably dead ninja to be an official (not to mention hyperactive) Konoha citizen again. However instead of being grumpy with the unfair treatment she had received the girl couldn't feel more cheerful. Team 7 was whole again, with Sasuke exempted from execution as a gesture of appreciation for helping the Sand ninjas (who arrived just in time to clean up the aftermath) in capturing the public enemy number 1 (Sai felt a bit left out) and all of them were engaged (except Sai, and that made him feel more left out). Naruto didn't have much choice, though, as Hiashi couldn't bear another moment seeing his heiress as spinster and urged them to- well, you know- and Naruto decided that it would be wiser to follow as told.

The kunoichi stared out of the window while twiddling her brush absent-mindedly, feasting her eyes on the festive mood on the decorated streets. There he is. She smiled to herself. The young ninja's fair spiky hair and stark orange clothes stood out in contrast with Hinata's dark flowing hair that draped over his shoulders. Somehow he had managed to slip away from the crowd to spend some time alone with his wife-to-be, stroking her hair repeatedly while gazing at the magnificent sunset on the spine of a roof. Sakura heaved a sigh. She hoped his husband-to-be can be that romantic. All Sasuke could manage was to sit awkwardly beside the girl without touching any part of her.

"What's with all this sighing?" A booming voice nearly knocked Sakura out of her chair with fright and she did what she always does instinctively when she gets a shock – slapping. The towering figure cried out in pain.

Sakura fought her urge to give him the second slap when her vision settled and found out who the fortunate guy was. She stared daggers at him instead.

Naruto rubbed his cheek which now has an angry red hand mark on it. "I'm glad I'm not engaged to you – Sasuke'll have to endure much slapping for the rest of his life." His painful expression changed into a gloat at the thought.

Sakura knew that his first sentence was as false as Sai's smile, and it still pained her to know that he gave up his hope to marry her so that she could pursue her love without being in a dilemma. Of course she could simply dump him and carry on with Sasuke, but she knew it would hurt him and that's the last thing she wanted.

She shook her head free of the emotions welling up in her and did her best to keep a straight face.

"Sasuke never scares me out of my wits, and it seems that you can't go back to the celebration for a while. Hinata will be suspicious," Although the kunoichi pouted when Naruto offered his hand to help her up, she accepted it anyway.

"Don't you see, I'm a clone. You would have noticed it straight away if your slap is harder, which I'm glad it's not – you'll have to get to your feet yourself by then," he laughed "And Hinata's not the jealous type, her overprotective father is, though"

Sakura returned her gaze to the golden globe which is sinking fast below the horizon, which the blond followed suit and immediately lost himself in thoughts. She peered sideways to see his handsome face illuminated by the last rays of the setting sun, with a visible slap mark on it.

Naruto's relationship with her may not turn out as he hoped, but they will always be close friends. Always.

The End

Author note: Finally, the story completes!

Erhm apologies for those who feel wretched at the ending. As you can see, the storyline goes along with my imagination that might not suit everybody's taste. Note that this is a fanfiction, and there's no need to stick completely to reality. "Unleash your imagination!" the website says, and that's what I did. If I change the plot to satisfy my readers the story will never be settled with one ending. I believe that Harry/Hermione fans were equally upset when J.K. Rowling decided that Harry would end up with Ginny. sigh~

You see, closest relationship does not neccessarily have to happen only between husband and wife. Friendship and love are totally different matters, and there are those whose friends are more precious then their lover. The same concept applies between Bella and Jacob (if you read Twilight). Yeah it's a hasty ending, but honestly, if it wasn't for my sister's review the story wouldn't reach an end at all.

I don't mind if the hits go down, I wrote this story just to share my ideas, not for popularity or anything. It isn't as if google will put an advertisment in my story if so. But bear in mind that your support is what keeps me going, so thanks a lot, and again, sorry.

*frowns* since this ending caused quite an uproar I think I will consider rewriting it. Not now though.