Here it is, folks, the long anticipated final chapter of Spectral Eyes! I don't know if anyone noticed, but sorta half by accident, half by design, this last chapter was published exactly one year after first chapter was uploaded. Poetic, huh?

And now for an IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTICE! (Please read it; I spent a lot of effort to write it):

I've decided that I didn't accomplish everything I wanted to with Spectral Eyes, so I will be writing a sequel! Yay! Except I've got some stuff to do, so the first chapter won't be posted until January (aw). So everyone make sure to follow me as an author to get notified if you want to read the sequel, and I know I left a lot of things untied (mostly on purpose), but if you have a specific question you want answered, feel free to ask it and I'll try to incorporate it into the sequel.

Also, I hope I didn't fake anyone out too bad who was counting on there being something a little more, let's say, rewarding for the M rating, but it just didn't feel right in the flow of the story. I've decided to keep the rating as is for several specific instances (Naruto's dirty jokes, cough cough) but the sequel will feature such gems of that sort.

And with that all said, happy reading everyone! Addi out!

Sasuke's Epilogue

Ten months later

Sakura wrapped her hands around the warm ceramic comfort of a hot mug of tea, letting the steam wash over her face and trying to ignore her silent phone as it sat with a conspicuous level of inactivity on the table next to her. It was already halfway through May, but a cold wind had blown in from the ocean, chilling the air to an abrupt frosty level and leading Sakura to enjoy her heated cup of tea almost as much as she wasn't enjoying the continued silence of her phone.

Closing her eyes in a sinful ecstasy, Sakura inhaled a long draft of steam, feeling the damp air soothe her throat made dry and scratchy from the dryness of the frozen air. She was taking a break in the kitchen after testing all the appliances for the coming summer season, the last of which had been the ancient stovetop teapot and coffee maker. Not many of the Hokage's knew, but in addition to making all the food served in the Inn by hand and the same general cleaning normal hotel workers did, she and the other workers were required to keep all the appliances - most of them almost as ancient as the building itself - in working order and compliant with safety regulations. It was a difficult, thankless job and nobody liked to do it. On more than one occasion, they'd all ganged up on Kakashi and tried to make him update the appliances, but he'd just told them that the old apparati - including the ancient plumbing and the heating system that had to be dealt with gingerly, otherwise it would quit in the middle of winter, leading to frozen and burst pipes - were imperative to the aura of the Inn. However, Sakura and the others believed it was because he was either too lazy or too cheap to purchase any newer models.

Taking another sip of her tea, Sakura tried and failed to avoid sending another pointed glance at the silence cell phone next to her. Sasuke was supposed to contact her; had been supposed to contact her days ago. At the end of his visit last summer, he'd given her his number and a promise: that he would help her, to the best of his ability, to get accepted into a good pre-med program and on a scholarship, and against all odds, he'd managed to do it, landing her a spot next to him the very same program his father had encouraged him to attend. Sakura hadn't believed it when the letter first arrived on her doorstep, but when she'd called him, he'd assured her it was real. Her parents hadn't been as thrilled as she had been, worried as they had been about distance and money, but she'd convinced them eventually, and throughout the whole process, Sasuke had been her rock, always a phone call away whenever she needed him, which only made his continued silence now more suspicious.

With a sigh, Sakura set the mug of tea down, reaching for her phone with the intent of trying to dial Sasuke up again, but stopped when the tea sloshed out of the mug after she let go of it, spreading out in a dark puddle across the wooden surface of the table. Letting out a subtle curse, Sakura grabbed up the hand towel from the dish rack and was about to wipe up the spill when small wet marks began to appear on the table next to the liquid, as if some small invisible hand was drawing with the water.

Still nothing?

Sighing again, Sakura sat back down. "No, nothing yet, Naruto. Have some patience. I'm sure he'll call eventually."

The cupboard doors across the kitchen rattled, a sign of the phantom's annoyance and displeasure.

"I know, I know, I'm worried too. But we all can do is wait, really."

Shortly after Sasuke had left, Naruto had started talking to Sakura through means like this. The first time it had happened, she'd freaked out substantially, but now they talked almost every day without issue. Occasionally, some of the other phantoms would try to contact her as well, or Naruto would talk to some of the other workers at the Hokage that he'd made contact with the summer before - luckily, Kabuto wasn't in that group, having convinced himself the whole episode with the Akatsuki was a bad dream he'd gotten after falling and hitting his head, a theory not contested by anyone else who'd been present - but the majority of the ghost-human interactions happened between Naruto and Sakura. After a while, Sakura found that she was quite enjoying these strange, one-sided chats she had with the ghost, more than she thought she would.

From outside the kitchen, Kakashi's voice rang through the hallways. "Sakura? Where are you? Finished the tests yet?"

Sakura quickly used the tea towel to wipe up the mess of Naruto's question- and to make herself appear buisier. "I'm in the kitchen," she called out as she stood up and moved to the sink.

A few seconds later, Kakashi strode into the kitchen, sending Sakura a disapproving look with his one visible eye when he saw the mug sitting on the table. "Tea?"

"I was making sure the kettle worked," Sakura protested, holding up the ancient, soapy teakettle as proof.

"The kettle didn't need to be tested; it's a cast iron behemoth. You were just taking a break."

"All cast iron cookware need to be washed and used once before we use them to cook for customers, otherwise we could have rust contamination." Sakura rinsed off the kettle and started toweling off the excess water. "With as many of the damn things as you own, I'm surprised you didn't know that."

But Kakashi only scoffed, picking up Sakura's mug of tea. "I don't cook- that's what I pay you to do." He took a sip of the tea and made a face. "Bleh. Don't you put any sugar in this stuff?"

Sakura dried her hands on the towel, threw it over her shoulder, and deftly plucked the mug out of Kakashi's grip. "You really should try to learn these things, you know," she admonished him while taking a gulp her now significantly cooled tea. "I'm not going to be around here forever."

The quip was meant as a joke, but guilt flooded Sakura when she noticed how quiet and still Kakashi had gone, the ever-present twinkle disappearing from his eye.

"What am I going to do without you kids around here to help me out? I'll be lost without you."

"You'll have your other employees," Sakura protested, trying to think of a way to delicately extricate herself from the uncomfortable situation she'd unwittingly dragged herself into.

Her answer only served to make Kakashi look more morose, if possible. Shaking his head, he responded, "Not like you guys, I won't."

Sakura allowed the hand holding the tea mug to settle down against the table. It was true; the team composed of herself, Ino, Choji, and Tenten practically ran the Hokage themselves. They'd been here for as far back as they'd been legally able to, and some of them even beyond that. They knew the ins and outs of the out building - and the business - better than even Kakashi did. Sakura called all the shots in the kitchen, even planning the menu and taking stock of inventory, while Tenten headed up the cleaning squad, assigning duties and checking what rooms needed what treatment. Choji, for as as often as he was behind the reception desk, practically ran the entire reservation process, and Ino, who didn't show it often but was actually quite good at math, even did most of the bookkeeping for the business's annual tax report. Of course, most of these positions should probably have been filled by people who had higher qualifications than a group of teeagers with limited food safety and CPR certifications, but Kakashi was perfectly happy to let them handle the work instead of a pricy new "certified expert" who didn't know how things were run in the Inn. Sure, they would all probably come back next spring to work the summers between the months they were away at college, but they wouldn't be able to do everything they'd done before, and Kakashi was definitely feeling the pressure to train a completely new group of workers to fill the high level positions Sakura and her friends now held and would soon abandon.

Sakura didn't want to think about this right now. She was going to go off to school; she owed it to Sasuke for all his help and to herself for getting that scholarship. She couldn't let Kakashi's depression weaken her resolve.

At that moment, the bell at the front door of the Hokage rang, signalling that someone was trying to get in. Sakura immediately jumped up in relief at the reprieve - for indeed, that's what it was - and announced that she was going to get it. Choji was scheduled to come in soon and test the inter-building phone system; it wa probably just him, stuck knocking because he'd forgotten his key again.

A disapproving frown already fixed to her face, Sakura stomped down the hallway and pulled open the door, ready to tell Choji off for forgetting his key again. "I hope you're proud of yourself. This is the third time this week-!"

She broke off abruptly as soon as she realized that it wasn't Choji she had opened the door to see. In fact, the person was so bundled up, wearing a patterned black and white winter hat with a navy pompom on top, a thick scarf of the same colors and pattern, and a light brown trench coat over numerous layers that hid his frame beneath bulky fabric, that she couldn't tell who it was at first. Then the stranger pulled the scarf away from his mouth and flashed her an apologetic smile.

"Hello, Sakura."

All her breath escaped Sakura as she looked at the boy in front of her. Those darting black eyes, the dark fringe of hair peeking out from under the ridiculous hat he was wearing, the slightly aloof yet endearing curl of his upper lip- he was unmistakable.

"S-Sasuke?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to say something, but before a sound could escape his lips, his eyes widened in shock and he collapsed into the last remaining snowbank as if he'd just been punched in the gut by a locomotive. Or, Sakura corrected herself as she watched a smile light up his face and his arms come up to embrace the air, by an overexcited ghost.

"Naruto!" Sasuke cried in a happy tone that ruined his angry words, confirming Sakura's suspicions. "Let me up! The ground's wet!"

A clear giggle cut through the crisp air, and standing between her and Sasuke, Sakura thought she saw the shadow of a boy silhouetted by a golden beam of light, but as soon as she blinked, the vision was gone, leaving behind the image of a young man struggling to get to his feet in a ray of sunlight.

"Here, let me help you up," Sakura said automatically, going into hostess mode as she extended a hand to Sasuke, which he gladly accepted.

"Thanks," he said, his gloved hand lingering in hers for perhaps a second longer than necessary before he coughed and withdrew it. "Sorry."

"Why didn't you answer my calls?" Sakura demanded as soon as her stunned mind started working at full capacity again. "I was worried about you!"

"Ah, about that…" Sasuke shuffled his feet in embarrassment. "I told my parents my phone was broken so they wouldn't try to contact me, and I shut it off so I wouldn't accidentally use it and make them suspicious. They were against me coming, see… Sorry if you were trying to contact me."

The explanation made sense, but Sakura was still angry. "You could have at least sent an email or something to tell us you were coming!" A sudden suspicion rose into her mind. "Why are you here, anyway? Shouldn't you be at school?"

Sakura's suspicion only intensified when Sasuke looked down at the threshold, refusing to meet her gaze. "All my finals are over," he mumbled, completely ignoring her first question. "...Is Kakashi here?"

His question was answered by the set of footsteps leading from the kitchen. "Sakura? What's taking so lo- Oh, for God's sake, Sakura, why are you standing there with the door open? Don't you know how much it costs me to heat this place?"

Without a word, Sakura stepped back from the door, exposing Sasuke to Kakashi's line of sight. The owner of the Inn froze when he recognized the boy, his eyebrows drawing together in confusion.

"Sasuke…?"

"Hey, Kakashi," Sasuke said with an apologetic smile, his hands tucked deep into his pockets and his back hunched at an awkward angle. "I'm here to cash in that favor."