A month after that, the town was securely locked in by snow and it was at its brink. It wouldn't be piling higher but it would last that way until spring came. The days were significantly shorter and mining had come to a halt.

Naruto kicked the snow off his boots. "I got the goats all milked and made the runs," he called out before walking up to the table where Sakura was standing, arranging a stack of papers. He put his hand in the small of her back and glanced over her shoulder.

"What's that?"

"Just some old medical documents. So are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be," said Naruto. He grinned at her and in the proximity Sakura found herself turning a little red and looking away. Naruto didn't even seem to notice. "Well come on."

They put their snowshoes on and made their way down to the church, standing on the small stage and waiting until everyone was gathered. Naruto grabbed Sakura's hand in a comforting manner and encouraged her forward.

"Thanks for coming out guys. I know it's hard with the weather. I just feel like this is something I need to talk to you all about. See if it's okay with…" she faltered and Naruto gave her another small squeeze of the hand for courage.

"If it is okay with everyone, Choji and I would like to Become real citizens of the town. We'd like to stay here with you, forever. We'd like to be buried with your dead. We'd like to raise children here. I believe we can contribute to the town-"

"You don't have to explain," Taka let out a small laugh. "Iva brought you here and I think you both are blessings. We owe the village to you for all that you've done."

Sakura clasped her free hand in front of her chest. "Taka…"

"Everyone is okay with this?" Naruto double checked.

"More than." Taka smiled. The crowd around them nodded eagerly. Sakura actually started to cry a little.

Naruto grinned at her, wiping away a tear with his thumb. "They accept you."

"They accept US," she corrected.

Something about her words made Naruto look content. She wondered if it was the 'us' part of the 'accepted' part.

Everyone filed out of the church but Taka asked Naruto and Sakura to stay behind.

"Choji, Lily," he sat down at a pew. Sakura and Naruto took a seat to the left of him. "I've waited asking you this for a while. Iva took precedence. But I think it's time you told me the truth."

They tensed up. Naruto's hand went instinctively to his left leg, where up until a year ago he would have kept his tool pouch. Sakura gave him a sharp look.

"The day Iva passed away you talked about Jutsu and seals and summoning. I may not be in tune with stuff but I think that's Ninja talk, isn't it?" He looked them firmly in the eyes.

They both stayed quiet.

"Lily, you called him Naruto. Choji, you called her Sakura."

Naruto redead his muscles to spring up at any moment. Sakura was too afraid to move.

"I thought it was odd, for you two to just be passing by here without much on your backs. I didn't understand how you arrived safely. I thought it was strange that someone with so much healing talent would just be traveling. And when you called out those names it made sense. I mean, your pink hair, and your lack of Naruto… not to mention the time of your appearance… Your… Uzumaki Naruto aren't you?"

Naruto and Sakura lept up. Naruto stood in front of Sakura with narrowed eyes and a hand on his leg, once more in habit and not even noticing his lack of a ninja pouch there. He narrowed his eyes. "If I was, what would you do?"

Taka raised his hands in defense. "Hey hey hey. Please don't get defensive. I'm not going to turn you guys in! Not after everything you've done for us. Believe me Naruto, Sakura, a dozen of my friends would be dead without you. I even understand why you've kept it a secret. I'm just curious is all. I want to hear your side of the story."

"Taka…" Sakura stepped out from behind Naruto. "Will you really keep it a secret?"

"Yes. I would never turn on my friends."

The two sat back down, weary. Naruto fiddled with his hands. "Well… You know I have something inside of me. A demon fox. His name is Kurama though. He's stubborn and dark and a little pain but he's really a nice guy. But in the past he wasn't so.. tame. And he wanted to destroy and kill. If I ever lost control of him back then he would have destroyed towns and killed thousands."

Taka nodded.

"Well I was thought of as a monster. Only after I gained power did I get recognition. I was finally accepted. I took control of Kurama and took away some of his darkness. I like to think I saved him," Naruto laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Well after the great war… you've probably heard the rumors. I fought and we won after a lot of strife. Our Hokage was injured badly and she retired. A man named Kato took over. I was a little bitter it wasn't me but Granny Tsunade said I needed a little more time before I took over. But then Kato changed everything. He sentenced me to death."

"We woke up to his apartment on fire. I was staying the night because, er, I had another fight with my parents. It happened a lot at that point."

"But surely a fire couldn't harm you!"

Sakura shook her head. "I don't think that the Anbu wanted to kill him. Everyone loved Naruto but they couldn't disobey an order. We escaped but were surrounded by Anbu. Our friends had gotten wind of the plan and joined us. They helped us fight off the Anbu. At this point Naruto was in too much shock to fight. He wanted to stay. He said he'd rather die and all but I… I kinda made him go. I told him if he stayed and died so would I."

"So I left," Naruto shrugged. "I want to go back when Kato dies…"

"But," Sakura sighed. "I think the moment the village turned on Naruto, they were no longer our village! How can I forgive them! He saved everyone yet the council turned on him!"

"Sakura-"

"No!" She cried. "No its not okay! It's always like this. They treated you like a monster. I- I can't say I was much better but what they did to you was horrible. And only when you were useful did they care about you! And It's not right. Not like here. Here everyone loves you! You deserve people who care. And people who care deserve you!"

"Sakura, that's enough," Naruto put his hands on her shoulders. "That's enough now. It's in the past. I'm here. I've got something to stay here for. Someone to stay here for."

Taka cleared his throat and stood. "Alright. I think this is where I should leave you. Thank you for telling me that. I'm not going to tell anyone. I'm glad you chose to stay with us. I don't care what you have inside of you Naruto. You're wanted by us. All of us. Thank you."

"No, Thank you Taka," Naruto gave a very rare, serious smile.