1 MONTH LATER

"And do you, Akira Saito, take Naruto Uzumaki to be your lawfully wedded husband? To love and to hold? To have and to cherish until the end of time?"

"I do," Akira said. She was crying, her eyes on the man in front of her. Tears of joy, and hope.

"Then you may now kiss the bride."

The fox leaned in and kissed Naruto gently, her lips caressing his. She pulled away, her eyes searching his bright blue ones. She smiled warmly, at his sheepish smile, and took his erupted throughout the audience as the couple started down the stairs and headed towards the crowd to mingle and commence the reception party. Kyuubi glared at the trail of her gown as it got caught on the chairs, and seriously considered ripping it off, but figured offending Tsunade would not be a good decision. Things had been hectic in the village for the past month. Echoes of the marriage of Naruto Uzumaki filled every corner, until people that even Naruto had never met, were coming to congratulate him. The Fifth had been very generous, offering to pay for the wedding herself. It had been under the condition that she, and Shizune get to pick out her dress, which she had readily agreed to.

She took another step closer to the crowd, before she was greeted by a quiet voice.

"Hey, Kyuu-chan," Yuki spoke from her left shoulder. The girl was dressed in a beautiful yellow kimono, with pink obi. Two black hoops hung from each ear.

That night, as she had laid in the hospital, Akira at her shoulder, sobbing endlessly, a voice had spoken to her.

"My dear, Kyuubi. All is not quite lost. Her will to live is stronger than you might think," a soft voice spoke. She glanced around, to see the hospital was alone, save her, Naruto and Yuki's pet. The voice hadn't been vocal so...telepathic?

The fox stared at the animal who was watching her. It shook it's fur once, before the voice was heard again.

"You really are slow for a demon..."

The jeer caused her to quiver in anger, before realization hit her.

"Nao?"

"Well...I have many names, but that one suits me best. Yes," the animal spoke, its intelligent eyes on her. It purred softly, and licked her hand before returning to the pocket in the corpse's body.

"What...why-"

The creature gave an annoyed sound, and then licked Yuki's hand. She didn't understand why, but she stared at the spot, before letting out an angry hiss. On the flesh was a bite mark, that though faint, was still very visible.

"Bastard!" she growled, quiet as to not wake up the entire hospital ward. "You marked her as yours? What gives you the right to claim her?"

"I care for her. Let's leave it as simple as that."

"You don't deserve her!"

"I saved her that day."

Akira's eyes went wide in shock, at the realization, of what he meant.

"You...you healed her? On the day that...I...was"

"Yes."

She let out a soft sigh, and stared at the girl, happy that she'd gotten one last good year with her.

"It's not over ya know?"

She stared at the creature who yawned, closing it's eyes.

"Well...get some rest. See ya in the morning."

"Oh..Okay..."

That morning Akira had awoken to a well rested, and starving lover, who was not only alive, but feeling better. With the Kitsune's chakra and guidance, the girl had recovered marvelously, though she'd lost her kekki genkai from the last fight. Tsunade had been saddened, and stated that the reason behind it, was that the part of the brain that controlled sleep and resting, had been cut off from the rest of the body. As a testament, Yuki never slept, and was always restless with massive amount of energy. Their last sexual romp was a testament to that.

Nao had made who he was clear, and though Yuki had politely declined to sleep with him, she was dating the demon animal with no reservations.

Akira kissed Yuki on the cheek and gave Nao, who lay in Yuki's arms, a quick ear scratching.

"Seems like everything is how it should be," the fox commented, watching as Naruto led Hinata to the dance floor. Kakashi and Anko were on the floor, next to each other. Sakura and Sasuke sat at a nearby table, calm and quiet. Akira smiled, as she realized what being married to Naruto meant truly. She was his until the day his heart stopped beating, and she wouldn't let that happen for a long long...LONG time to come.

"Not quite..." Yuki stated with a smirk. The girl was uncomfortable, and still a little weak, yet she seemed to be hyped up for one reason or another.

"Is that so?" Akira asked, her head tilted. She watched her lover place Nao on the ground, and extend a hand towards her. It only took a moment to realize what the girl was asking.

"May I have this dance?" Yuki asked, her brilliant smile, wide with happiness.

"Of course!" Kyuubi replied. She slipped a hand around the younger girl's waist, beaming. Nothing could make this day better.

As they made their way to the dancefloor, she heard the words that Yuki whispered, causing her a joy she had only known with Naruto and Yuki. Her heart surged with love...and she knew that she would give anything in the world for this feeling to never go away.

"I love you, Akira...Always will."