Epilogue time! This is the last time you'll read my comments, for, like, everness unless you read my other stuff. Read my other stuff!
I hope you enjoyed my writing and I hope you enjoy my others, if you decide to read them. This is the end of "Naruto and the Mystery Boy"! Oh noez!
Also, I made reference to Mortal Kombat, but I might have gotten some of the facts wrong.
Bye-bye!
--
Naruto hurriedly raced down the main road of Konoha, his feet pounding briskly on the frost-coated street.
Yes! he thought. Finally! Finally!
His short but strong twelve-year-old body darted between houses, toward the old playground he used to always go to with Sasuke when he was younger. Those days had been the happiest he could remember. Before that...there was nothing.
Except Gaara. Gaara had been there.
Imapatiently, he bounced across rooftops, goggles wobbling uneasily on his forehead. The exams for ninja-hood were coming up in a few weeks, and he'd been training nonstop, which explained the bruises and scratches throughout his body.
The playground came into sight. The setting sun behind it set a glistening glow onto the nearby pond, awakening old memories within him. Tournaments...playing in the sand...haircuts...
He tried to shake away the memory of a certain few undeniably hideous haircuts as he skillfully plopped down onto a bench beside the jungle gym, immediately setting his head in his hands in an impatient posture.
He couldn't wait. After all these years, he was coming back.
Gaara.
Suddenly, a dark shadow fell upon him. At first it seemed like the sinister shadow of a looming enemy, but Naruto knew better.
"Gaara!" he cried, jumping from his seat and racing toward his old friend, who stood at the foot of the jungle gym, smiling at him. He'd grown some, obviously, in the several or so years since his departure. He wore his gourd on his back, which Naruto hadn't seen in ages, and his clothes were all different, but he had the same mop of unruly hair and the same, familiar "love" tattoo.
"Naruto," he answered shyly, and from the reply Naruto realized it was too early to embrace him fully, so he stopped short before his old, now unfamiliar friend.
But he couldn't help letting his enthusiasm show through with a nerdy, obnoxious smile and a rubbing of the back of his head. "It's been so long!"
"I know." Gaara answered, timidly nodding. "I haven't forgotten you, though," he quickly added.
Naruto nodded fiercely. "Me either! I mean, me either you! I mean, I haven't forgotten you either! Not a bit!"
Gaara chuckled. "So what's up?"
As the two swapped their life stories, a certain Uchiha boy was running as if for his life, deftly dodging ignorant civilians on his route to the old, rusted playground.
Teh Uchiha is me! Yeah, I said teh, Itachi thought obnoxiously.
Dammit, Sasuke thought angrily. All these years, and you still haven't left me the hell alone!
Hellz yeah, Jeff laughed. I'll leave when my hairstylist job takes off!
That translates to never, Itachi added for Sasuke's benefit.
Why are you hurrying so much? It's not like Gaara's going to go away for a while.
It's probably Naruto.
Ever since they became--
Shut up!
Naruto was about to answer Gaara's tale of throwing sand in his annoying brother's eyes with a tale of a fight in the schoolyard when he heard a distinct shuffling noise behind him.
With a grin, he swiveled around to be faced with an older, wiser, stronger Sasuke Uchiha standing behind him, smirking politely at the older Gaara.
"Sasuke," Gaara said with a small gasp. "You look...healthy."
Sasuke grinned knowingly. "Ditto. How are you?"
"I'm good. You?"
"Pretty."
"He feels pretty, oh so pretty..."
"Naruto!"
Sasuke bonked Naruto on the head, and Naruto clutched his throbbing head with a pout.
"Sasu-chan!" Naruto whined. "That hurt!"
"Don't call me Sasu-chan, Naru-chan," Sasuke answered angrily.
"You know you like it," Naruto said, smiling.
Sasuke blushed and turned away, folding his arms. "No," he said defiantly.
Gaara raised an eyebrow. "Did I miss something?" he asked suspiciously.
"We've been going out for a month," Naruto answered with a proud 's eyes widened impossibly far. "You know, Sasuke, when I teased you about being gay, I didn't mean it..."
Sasuke gave Gaara a look. "Oh, shut up, Sand Man. This has nothing to do with that."
"Only our love," Naruto teased, batting his eyelashes sarcastically.
"God, I should never have asked you out," Sasuke answered.
Are you kidding? I remember that night! All those thoughts that raced through your head...God, I got such a hard-on...
Dude! Ew!
He was thinking about baking cupcakes for Naruto, Jeffrey said unbelievingly.
I know.
Dude, that is so gross.
Naruto pouted, hurt.
"You're not seriously sad?" Sasuke asked dubiously.
"No," Naruto answered with a fake sniffle. "I just know you can't help yourself when I look sad."
Sasuke frowned. "Oh, shut up," he growled, throwing an arm around Naruto's shoulders, hugging him to himself.
Then he looked over at the staring Gaara. "Get over here," he said, gesturing with his open arm for a group hug.
"Uh, no thank you," Gaara answered hastily.
"What? Is it because I'm gay?"
"Uh, no, it's just that Sub Zero from Mortal Kombat said the exact same thing before ripping Johnny Kage's spine out..."
Sasuke stared him down until Gaara finally ducked under his waiting arm and they started to walk off toward the sunset, setting the perfect ending to the perfect tale.
Until Naruto tripped.
"You're such a dobe," Sasuke muttered, falling over Naruto from the force of the fall, and forcing Gaara onto Naruto's side.
"Dog pile!" Gaara laughed.
Naruto struggled until he forced Sasuke off him and he sat up on the ground. Sasuke and Gaara did the same opposite him, and he faced them with an open smile.
He's so cute, Sasuke sighed with admiration.
It's so infatuation.
He's fat?
I've liked Naruto for the longest time. How can it be infatuation?
No, I meant what Jeff said.
"I'm not fat, Itachi!" Sasuke muttered, staring up at the sky, as if to look into his mind
"How is he, I mean, in the mind?" Gaara whispered to Naruto."Oh, he hasn't tried anything yet on me," he answered, with a tinge of disappointment, before realizing he meant his voices. "Oh, the voices! Yeah, he's still got 'em. Won't talk about them, though. One time, while we were eating ramen, he cried, 'Excelsior!' Whatever that means."
Sasuke came back down to earth and stared at his two best buddies in the world. "So, how long are you staying, Gaara?"
"A few weeks," Gaara answered. "Same reason as before. My dad's a bitch and he wants to see if the Hokage still doesn't mind his PMSing."
After a good laugh, Naruto said, "Well, it's like the good old days, huh?"
"Except we're older, you and Sasuke are together, and Sasuke has voices in his head," Gaara pointed out.
"Nah, I've always had voices in my head," Sasuke muttered, before quickly covering his mouth with a hand.
"He admitted it," Naruto cried obnoxiously, and the other boys laughed.
They stayed like that for a long time, far into the night. They talked about nothing in particular, like school, friends, and dreams of the future, or talking about the old days, about Guy and the Tournament, and all that good stuff.
It was during this massively long conversation that each boy realized: I have friends. I have people who care about me. People who will remember me their entire lives, who will confide in me, and let me confide in them. Who will cherish me no matter what I do, or what I am. Who will cheer me when I'm down, and always encourage me.
This is what living feels like.