As my soul was being taken away, I couldn't look away from Sasuke as he cried over my loss. I then looked at the shinigami and asked if I could say goodbye before leaving. He looked at me with a face and let me do so.

I appeared to Sasuke and smiled brightly at him.

"Why're you crying, you big baby? You look like an idiot, so smile more, okay?"

He looked at me in surprise as he saw me before him.

"Naruto? Is that really you?"

"Yeah, it is," I said lovingly as I touched his face.

He looked up at me with tears rolling down his face. He stared until he realized that in any moment, I would have to leave. He quickly hugged me and dug his face into my chest.

I caressed his head lovingly. I wish things would have ended differently. I wish I was still alive, and then maybe Sasuke and I could have lived happily together, but that wasn't fate's plan. I wish I could stay with you...I don't want to leave you...

I heard the calls of the reaper, and I had to go. I sighed as I felt a tear run down my face. "I can't stay here anymore, Sasuke," I whispered softly.

He began to cry harder as he held onto my fleeting spirit, "Please...don't go!"

As my body began to fade away, I mustered the strength to give him my last words.

"I love you, Sasuke..."

Then, I disappeared.

***

3 weeks later

Sasuke P.O.V

Three weeks have passed since Naruto's death. She was a hero to this village, and she saved me in more ways than one.

I looked up at the orange-tinted sky as I laid down on top of Naruto's apartment building. Hoping that one day she'll come back.

"I see you're still here," said a familiar voice.

I slowly brought myself up to see Sakura standing next to me. "Mind if I sit?" she asked.

I shrugged my shoulders as I went back to laying down.

"I still can't believe she's gone...Just the other day she was alive, and now...she's gone."

I grew irritated by her words. "Did you come here to remind me that she's dead?"

She sighed as she looked at me sadly. "Listen Sasuke, we're all sad that she's gone, but you have to face reality. She's dead and she's not coming back."

I clenched my fists in anger as I listened to those blunt words. "You're wrong..."

"Sasuke..."

"Naruto's coming back...I believe it!"

Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at the ground. "Naruto said that a lot..."

I sighed as I looked at the sunset. "That idiot sacrificed herself to save all of us. Tch. Set fate back to normal my ass."

Sakura looked down at the ground until she suddenly got an idea. "Wait! What if we use the stone that got us into this mess to maybe reverse everything!"

I looked at her excitedly: "You might be right. We might be able to bring her back."

We both stood up and looked at each other happily, but Sakura's face soon turned sour at a sudden thought, "How do we get the stone? The Hokage locked it up somewhere."

My small smile soon turned bitter when I thought about that. "You're right..."

I sat back down in disappointment. "Wait!" She exclaimed, "What if we got the others to help too?"

"Huh?"

"Hinata can use her byakugan to locate the box; Ino can use her mind control to take over one of the guards' minds, and we'll keep watch!"

I felt a small spark of hope light up within me again. "Let's do it."

***

That night, Ino, Hinata, Sakura, and I went to the third's home to locate the stone.

"I see the box. It's on the third shelf to the right of his bedroom door," Hinata stated while looking through the walls.

"Shit, so it's in his room?" asked Ino, "Who's brain am I suppose to take control of then?!"

Sakura placed a hand over her chin until she came up with a conclusion. "Wait! Doesn't Konohamaru live with him?"

"That's right! This'll be cake!" She exclaimed as she got ready to perform her jutsu. In moments, her body dropped down to the floor.

We waited outside for what felt like hours when suddenly the front door opened.

"I got it!" said Ino within Konohamaru. He gave us the box and Ino took him back to his bed.

I looked at the box in my hand and slowly removed the seal placed on it. This better work...

I opened the box and a sudden blue light flashed brightly. I don't care if Naruto comes back as a guy or girl, I just want her back! Please, bring Naruto back!

The light began to dim and then the stone began to crack. "What's going on?" I asked in a panic.

The stone continued to crack more and more until finally, it broke into millions of pieces.

As the dust of the stone flew into the air, I felt the tears in my eyes begin to overflow and drip down my cheeks. "No..."

I dropped to my knees in sorrow at the broken stone. "This can't be happening...the stone...how's Naruto suppose to come back now?!"

All the hope I had left shattered along with the stone. Naruto...

Sakura placed a hand on my shoulder and whispered, "We did all we could..."

I bit my lip to stop the sounds of my sobbing.

"Let's go Sasuke," she whispered.

I dropped the box on the floor and walked away with a broken heart.

***

The next morning, I decided to go over to Naruto's apartment one last time. I stood in front of the door and sighed as I reached for the door nob.

"What am I doing? She's not coming back..." I gave another sigh and turned around to walk back home. I stared at the ground, not watching where I was going when I saw a pair of blue sandals ahead of me. I slowly looked up to see who could be the person blocking my way when I saw a girl around my age with blonde hair tied up in pigtails.

"What're you doing in front of someone else's home? That's kinda weird, even for you," she said as she placed each arm on her hips.

"Who...Who are you?" I asked while looking at her.

Her clothes kind of remind me of Naruto's, but she looked older before...This girl can't be her...

"Don't tell me you already forgot who I am, Sasuke."

I stared at her, confused by this girl I've never seen before.

"It's me, idiot! Naruto Uzumaki, believe it!"

I looked at her in shock. "Naruto?"

"Duh! Who else?!" She looked at herself and shrugged. "I guess I do look different now. I mean, I no longer look like my sexy jutsu, but I guess this is how I would look like as a girl at this age."

She narrowed her eyes and pouted. "Don't tell me you don't want me anymore cuz I don't have huge boobs right now."

Without a second thought, I ran up to her, wrapping her in a loving embrace. "Naruto...I missed you..." I dug my face into the nape of her neck and began to cry. "I thought you were gone..."

She slowly brought her arms around me, petting my head gently. "Don't worry...I'm not going anywhere."

I slowly looked up at her, unable to believe she was in my arms again.

"What?" She asked with a chuckle.

I slowly leaned in and kissed her passionately. "I love you."

Her face flushed a light pink before she smiled, kissing me happily in return. "I love you too, Sasuke!"

I then grabbed her hand and intertwined my fingers with hers. "Let's go."

"Where?" She asked as I pulled her over to my side.

"On a date."

Her face burned red and she began to stutter. "Date?! B-but I just got back!"

"Exactly, Naruko."

"Huh? Naruko?"

I looked away, embarrassed about the name I came up with. "W-well since you're officially a girl now, I thought maybe your name should also be a little more feminine..."

She began to giggle, pecking my cheek lovingly. "You're an idiot, but I love it. Naruko Uzumaki...it sounds nice!"

I smiled happily to myself as she used the name.

"So what are we gonna do?" She asked as we walked down the village road.

I looked at her and did the brightest smile I could. "We're gonna spend the rest of our lives together. I love you, Naruko."

END

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Thank you for reading this story! I hope you enjoyed it and look forward to my future works.

If you want more SasuNaru, feel free to check out my other ones as well:

My Neighbor Naruko
(My 1st SasuNaru!)

Unfortunately Yours
(Naruko and Sasuke are paired together for their most difficult mission yet.)

Because I Love You
(A modern day time-travel love story)

Again, I hope you enjoyed this story, and that you'll continue to support me :)

Your author,

- Otaku-Chan (^w^)/