This is the REALISTIC ending chapter.

Cover and artwork by Cantrona on deviantART / Tumblr / Instagram. 

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"I still can't believe that just happened," I confessed quietly, the night sky high above us and the stars gleaming.

"You still can't believe Killer Bee and Naruto stood off against Tsunade and Ay and convinced them to let them pass... or that Naruto was faster than Ay?" Yagura asked.

"All of it."

"Eheheheh," Naruto snickered, "speechless, Nao?"

"A little, yeah."

Killer Bee and Naruto bumped fists and Yagura rolled his eyes. "Take this serious, you two jinchūriki. We're at war. Now let's just focus on – "

Yagura cut himself off, just as all of us leapt into a clearing. He had stopped talking when he realized who stood in the clearing. I didn't recognize either of the two, but Naruto apparently did, as well. The four of us landed in the clearing, as Naruto gasped.

Naruto stepped towards them. "N-Nagato? Konan? What's going on...?"

"Look at their eyes, Naruto," Yagura said lowly. "They're under the effects of Edo-Tensei. You know Nagato died when he invaded Konoha through Pein."

Through Pein...?

Glancing over at the red-haired man, I noticed that his eyes held the Rinnegan. Immediately, I felt torn for the two. On one hand, they invaded my home, but on the other they literally resurrected everyone who had died in the invasion. And... Naruto seemed to genuinely like them, so they couldn't be that bad, could they?

"Naruto," Nagato greeted, his voice barely above a whisper, "although it is good to see you, I wish it were under better circumstances."

"Yeah, no kidding," Naruto muttered. "But, wait, Konan, how did you die?"

"Tobi," the woman named Konan said simply. I felt a rush of shame burn through me at that, my hands curling into fists. "Naruto, listen to us: the caster of this jutsu is in a cave, roughly two kilometers north east of here."

"Wh-What are you – "

Konan shook her head, silencing the blond with a look. "When he realizes we have made contact with you, he will take control of our bodies. We realize this, and that is why you need to listen to us now. We do not know who is in control of us, but you need to stop him. With Nagato's eyes – "

"I get it," Naruto said quietly. "I will. Nao, you're a fūinjutsu master, aren't you? Can you seal them?"

"Not a master," I corrected, "but yes. I know the sealing arrays to seal them. They'll need to hold still long enough, though."

Nagato looked ready to say something, but then he stiffened. Without warning, Konan did, as well, and paper flew out of her arm. I leapt away to the left and Yagura growled, "They've lost their free will. Nao, begin drawing the sealing arrays – we'll cover you."

Trusting in my comrades, I dropped to the ground and pulled out two scrolls. I could hear the clash of battle erupt, but I had to focus on the sealing arrays. I unrolled the scrolls. In one scroll was the appropriate supplies, while the other scroll would act as the canvas to the arrays. I pulled out the ink and brush, steadying my hand.

There was an explosion above me, and I resisted the urge to flinch.

I had to trust in my comrades' ability to protect me. If I made an error in the array, it wouldn't work and the time would have been wasted. Given that we were in the middle of war and this just became a battlefield, I figured that time was something far too precious to waste.

All too soon, I finished the drawings and shouted, "Done!"

"Then let's end this," Naruto declared. His became wrapped in a golden fiery glow and charged towards Nagato. The woman, Konan, was being pinned by Yagura and Killer Bee and I wasted no time in sealing her.

By the time I was done, Naruto managed to force Nagato into a headlock. "Hurry, Nao!"

"On it," I said.

When Nagato was sealed away, Yagura cleared his throat. "We'll need to contact HQ about the whereabouts of the Edo-Tensei user."

"You're right," Naruto said, "but how?"

"We can use Shiori," I offered.

"She wouldn't be fast enough," Yagura dismissed. "We'll use my summons."

"You have a summon?" Naruto exclaimed, his eyes widening.

"I'm a Kage. Of course I do, idiot." Yagura shot Naruto an annoyed look, before he slammed his hand into the air. A puff of smoke erupted and a bird shot out from it. It darted around, a soft pale-yellow.

A hummingbird.

Recognizing the bird, I smiled and greeted him. "Hello, Nu-Nu."

Nu-Nu chirped, "Oh, hi, hi, Na-Na! What's up, what's up? Oh? Is it time for me to go? Do I need to fly somewhere? Oh, are we on an adventure? What's going on, Ya-Ya?"

"Go to HQ – the boss should have passed on the coordinates to you when I summoned him last –and tell them that the Edo Tensei user is..." Yagura rambled off the rough estimation of the coordinates. "Make it fast."

"Righty-o-o-o!" Nu-Nu darted, then zoomed off and away.

"Ya-Ya?" Naruto repeated blankly.

"I dare you to call me by that," Yagura threatened.

Naruto winced, unconsciously rubbing the back of his head—probably remembering the last time Yagura hit him over the head with his staff. "Yeah, no, thanks. Let's just get going."

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I sensed him before I saw him. I recognized that chakra anywhere, and the moment I sensed him, I felt my heart stop and a rush of emotions slammed into me: fear (for him, or them, I wasn't sure); betrayal; pain; grief.

I faltered in my leap, and as consequences the others raced passed me. Suddenly he was there, leaping into view and crashing his forehead against Naruto's. I stumbled and reached out my hand to grasp unsteadily at the tree. I stared at Obito, at loss of what to say or do. I had thought of so many plans and scenarios to when we would meet again (because we would, inevitably), but actually seeing him... all of it just went out into the wind.

Obito no longer wore his Akatsuki attire with the orange mask. Instead, he wore a white mask with a purple tint, that covered the entire upper-half of his head, consisting of a ripple-pattern with three-tomoe around the center; two of the tomoe acting as the mask's eye-holes. He wore a pair of black pants and gloves, as well as a purple high-collared, long sleeve mantle that split down the lower half and had the Uchiha crest on the back. It reminded me of the clothing shown in the pictures during the Warring States Period in the history textbooks back at the academy.

"I don't know who you are," Naruto declared, glaring at Obito, "and I don't care. We're going to take both of you Madaras down! You hear me?!"

"You don't know," Obito repeated slowly. "I see."

Obito dragged his eyes over me, and I flinched. Even through the dark holes of the mask, I could see his gaze. It ensnared me, bringing up all sorts of fresh pain with it.

"Nao," Yagura said, drawing my attention away from those damning eyes, "there are more under the effects of Edo-Tensei. Prepare the arrays. We'll protect you."

I didn't want to. I didn't want to essentially abandon this fight, but yet I couldn't bring myself to argue.

Part of me actually was glad to not have to fight Obito. It seemed too soon, almost. It seemed... wrong.

I dropped down to the forest floor, pulling out the appropriate scrolls and unrolling them. Above me, I could feel and hear the fight begin. My hands shook, as I fought the inner turmoil of emotions that raged inside of me. Mostly guilt ate away at me – guilt for not telling the others about Obito, and guilt for even thinking about betraying Obito in that manner. But, was this man before me – fighting my loved ones – really Obito?

Did Obito even exist?

As thoughts and emotions took control of me, my hands worked quickly to draw the arrays.

Unconsciously, my hand drifted up to the goggles that rested atop my head. His goggles.

I remembered my words and my promise back at the stone.

I couldn't abandon Obito. I couldn't. I knew he didn't deserve to be in this pain, but yet did he deserve to bring such pain on others? What made him better than the countless others that were suffering at this very moment because of him? What right did I have to choose him over them? My sister was fighting in this war. Fighting for her life – for our lives, yet here I was... unable to bring myself to tell them about this man.

How many times did I sit at his grave, pouring my heart out to him? Those eyes that I felt on me, that I dismissed so stupidly, they were him, weren't they?

He knew about my ability. He must have known I was a threat.

Yet...

Yet...

He chose to leave me in peace. He chose to listen to my stories. He chose to be at my side.

I took comfort at his grave and at the memorial stone. I drew strength from Kakashi's stories about him, and I felt a certain kinship with him. I had built this man up on a pedestal in my mind. He sacrificed everything for his comrades, and in the process brought Kakashi to us – to team seven. His actions saved Kakashi from his own darkness, and perhaps his death brought in a new kind of pain to the man, but it still ultimately saved him.

He loved a sweet girl named Rin, despite knowing she never loved him in the same way. I could understand that pain, in a certain sense. I could understand caring for something, or someone, so dearly, but unable to act upon that. Choosing their own happiness over your own.

He didn't even choose to wallow in his darkness, now. I knew that. I understood it so clearly – he was merely being used. He was lost in his pain and sorrow.

This man, who I idolized, was broken.

But, this man, who I idolized, was harming others.

What right did I have to fix him, and essentially abandon the others?

No right. No right whatsoever.

No matter how many times I told himself that, it didn't change how I felt, nor my actions. I loved Obito like a child would love their security blanket.

He was there for me, even if I didn't realize it. He was. When I was in pain, I went to the stone or to this grave and I talked to him – and he listened. He helped me, so shouldn't I help him?

A shallow excuse.

I wanted to help him. I wanted to fix him, and prop him back up on that pedestal. I wanted to excuse his reasoning for causing so much misery.

I wanted him to be Obito. Not Tobi.

I wanted the boy that saved Kakashi. The one who loved his comrades and sacrificed everything for him. I wanted the childish idealist who reminded me of Naruto.

But in order to bring that one back – to bring Obito back – what measures would I be forced to take? How much grief would he cause me – how many lives would he take away from me?

What would I be willing to sacrifice?

Did this man deserve my sacrifice?

A tremor shook through my body, a physical personification of the inner strife I was feeling. The goggles tipped over my head and fell down over my nose. They collided with the hitai-ate with a dull clang. His goggles.

I promised...

Biting down hard enough on my lips to draw blood, I thought, Those who break the rules, are scum, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum.

But which comrade did I abandon? If I believed in Obito, was I forsaking the rest of my loved ones? Or perhaps... perhaps... maybe... just maybe...

... I could believe in Obito without abandoning them?

Was that too much to hope for? Did I dare tempt fate and wish for that?

Could I?

Even if I did believe in Obito – what then? What could I do, or say, to save this broken man from his darkness? Darkness that he did not inflict on himself, but was forced upon him by a vile man.

What did it take?

What did I have to sacrifice?

Suddenly arms were wrapped around me, and I gasped as I was pulled up. Yagura held me close and we were soaring through the air. I could only stare with wide eyes as Killer Bee – in his Hachibi form – caught us in his hands and enclosed his hands around us. Darkness enveloped us.

"The supplies," I protested weakly.

"Leave them. It's going to take longer than we thought it would to detain these, and I do not think that Tobi will just allow us to seal them," Yagura said thinly. Suddenly, I got the vague motion that we were spinning and I stumbled. Yagura gripped my arms, keeping me close. "Killer Bee is leveling the field."

Disoriented and feeling a little motion sick, I only nodded into Yagura's chest. When we stopped moving, Killer Bee lifted his hands up and I stared in astonishment at the change in environment. What had once been a pride and tall forest, was now nothing more than a desolate wasteland.

And there, in front of us, stood the rest of the bijū. All of them, save the Ichibi. Yagura pulled me behind him and said, "This fight is going to be on a whole other scale, Nao. You and I will be focused on detaining the Nibi and Gobi. Don't worry about the others."

"H-Hai," I said. "Which plan?"

Yagura gave a short sigh. "Both of your kekkai genkais are useless in this fight, so we'll have to use a combination of your Tōketsu-Raiton and my Suiton ninjutsu, and some genjutsu."

"Genjutsu? But – "

"Isobu assures me that they are still susceptible, they just require more... familiar chakra," Yagura said simply. And suddenly red chakra erupted from him, cloaking him entirely. Three tails waved around as his figure slowly blurred out to a deep blood-red scarlet. "I'll have to use this chakra. I'll capture the Nibi in a genjutsu, and while they're preoccupied we'll take out the Gobi."

"But how will we take out the Gobi?"

"Follow my lead. We're out of time discussing this," Yagura responded. He gripped my hand, pulling me towards him and then his arms were underneath me. He leapt up, fast and hard, from the Hachibi's hands. Through the corner of my eye, I could see a dash of gold—Naruto—running towards the Nanabi.

We soared through the air, and thoughts and plans raced through my mind. How did one take down a bijū? Such a thing was usually accomplished by aKage. I was only a Jōnin. However, I would be working with an ex-Kage, so perhaps it would be enough. He said I would need to use my Tōketsu-Raiton, but in what manner?

Perhaps...?

Oh.

Oh.

"I get it," I said quietly, my eyes lighting up. It was good to focus on a fight. Draw my attention away from the problem that was Obito. One thing at a time. Detain the bijū, first. Then deal with the fallen man.

Yagura smirked at me. "I knew you would."

We crashed into the ground, digging a crater into it. Yagura dropped me, beginning to rapidly move his hands through seals to perform the genjutsu. I dropped down to my feet and ducked away from him. I began sprinting towards the Nibi – the one that Yagura was ensnaring in the genjutsu. The jutsu would last, possibly, a minute. So long as the other bijū and Obito stayed away from it (and thus did not break it out of the illusion), that was.

Plenty of time.

During my travels with Yagura, he not only helped me perfect my jutsu, he also improved my fūinjutsu. He told me that should he ever lose control of himself when drawing upon the bijū energy, I would need to know how to hold him.

How to seal him, so to speak.

My hands glowed white and behind me, I could hear Yagura engaging in the Gobi. The Nibi stood stock-still in front of me, unmoving and unseeing.

He taught me all the arrays and drawings to push the demonic energy back into the host.

However... he taught me how to do so... without the use of sealing ink and a brush.

My finger traced the first of the arrays in the ground, leaving behind a thick, solid, line of ice. The moment one of the arrays was done, I dashed away to the east, preparing to draw the next one. One array in each of the directions.

I couldn't perform this with any sealing, of course. Sealing required a perfect balance of chakra, anchor and intent. In most cases, the sealing ink and paper were the anchor. They were pure, not mixed materials. By using my chakra-created ice, I was adding an unnecessary balance to the equation. In order to compensate, I had to redirect that in balance by adding in my components to the seal.

The suppression sealing of a bijū was already a complex and long thing. In most cases, it required months of preparation.

Yagura realized that should he have lose control, it would be in a situation that probably meant those months of planning would be for naught. He knew this the moment he received the bijū, and from that moment he began to study with a frantic vigor on how to prevent him from losing control. And, should he ever lose control, on how to stop him.

Yagura could write the kanji and arrays with just his chakra scorching into the air. I was not so skilled, and had to use my chakra to literally write on the ground. Ever still, because of the unbalance of chakra, we had to adjust the seals accordingly.

Like I mentioned earlier, by adding new components to the seal. Most of these components were just added handseals in the technique. But, considering how it was already thirty-two handseals long, adding more was rather bothersome.

For me, I had to add seven. Yagura, due to the fact that he didn't need to convert his chakra into any one nature, only had to add three.

With the third seal drawn, I flickered over to the last corner.

An explosion erupted behind me and I slammed my finger to the ground, quickly drawing the last of the seal.

Then, I clapped my hands together and began to the ridiculously long sequence of handseals.

As I went through them, though, the Nibi seemed to have broken free of the genjutsu. The cat-like creature snarled at me, raising a paw. I leapt back from it, still continuing the handseals.

Suddenly Yagura punched the beast's muzzle, knocking it back. He landed beside me, his three tails waving about. "How many more?"

"Ten," I said. "Five. One."

I clapped my hands together and the seals lit up. A white light connected each of the kanji, creating a box around the Nibi. The Nibi howled, but the white light bloomed to life, flying up into the sky and leaving behind a sort of glass-like wall to box the Nibi in. The walls began to slowly enclose on the creature, and as it moved further, I could feel the immense chakra drain on me.

It was like all my strength and energy was being sucked out of me. My knees wobbled and Yagura wrapped an arm around my waist to keep me from hitting the ground. My hands fell apart, and I panted heavily. As the walls touched the Nibi, the creature yowled with pain. The walls began to forcibly push the demonic chakra back into the host.

"Wh-Where's the Gobi?" I asked, heaving. Yagura silently offered me a couple soldier pills and I took them gladly. Within seconds, I could feel my strength being returned.

"Already sealed," Yagura said. "Well, it was re-sealed back into the jinchūriki before Tobi brought it back into the damn statue."

Just as the Nibi was nearly done being sealed, I felt an immense pressure push down me. My head snapped around and there, shining with golden light, was Naruto.

In the form of the Kyūbi.

"Wh-What?"

"Good. He's done talking with him," Yagura said.

"What? Did I m-miss something...?"

"It's a jinchūriki thing," Yagura said simply. "When the war is over, I'll explain everything, but for now, focus on the battle."

Trusting his words, I merely nodded my head. The Nibi was forced back inside its jinchūriki. Before either of us could make another step towards it, purple chains erupted from the statue that Obito had summoned, and yanked the woman back inside.

"I suppose if you're able to just seal away my bijū like that, there's no point in them remaining like this," Obito muttered. Naruto growled.

"Hey! They have names, you know," Naruto shouted. "They aren't just tools."

And we couldn't just seal all of them, I thought. Yagura's technique only allows bijū up to the Gobi to be sealed. Then I pursed my lips. Wait, how does Naruto know they have names...? I was only distracted for two minutes. How could so much have happened for two minutes?

Okay, well, I guess I was technically distracted longer than two minutes if you count the time I was drawing the seals, but seriously.

At my doubled confused look, Yagura reiterated, "Jinchūriki thing. Don't worry about it."

Seeing how I was, apparently, the only non-jinchūriki in the group (not counting Obito), I could only sigh and nod my head.

"Perhaps I should just..." Obito trailed off thoughtfully, "send them all out at once."

The remaining bijū all formed a close circle and lifted their heads up. In the center of the circle, a black ball of heavy chakra was being formed. It condensed and hardened, and I felt a knot form in the pit of my stomach looking at it. Naruto, in his Kyūbi form just lifted his head back. "Oi! Yagura, Bee, we'll have to hit their Bijū-Bomb with one of our own to deflect it."

"I know," Yagura said, then he began to grow. In seconds, the form of Yagura was replaced with the Sanbi. Naruto, in the head of the golden Kyūbi, raised his arms. Killer Bee, still in the Hachibi form, also lifted his head. The three of them began to form their own heavy chakra sphere.

Obito's bijū launched theirs first, but our side wasn't far behind. The two power-house moves collided into each other, pushing against each other, before being launched into the air. I watched, my breath caught, as the sky exploded in a fiery light.

If that bomb had gone off... it would have been enough to destroy a mountain, I thought faintly, feeling completely overwhelmed. Can I really be in such an intense battle?

"Looks like we joined just when the party was getting started."

I whirled around, and found Kakashi and Gai behind us.

"'Bout time you showed up," Naruto called out. "But you're a bit too late, sensei! We'll handle these bijū."

"Oh?" Kakashi inquired, his tone holding a light amusement to it. "Well, if you insist..."

"No, my Eternal Rival! We must assist these youthful – "

"I think, perhaps, we should place some trust in our comrades," I said carefully, still a little dazed at the fact that a single one of those moves could flatten Konoha.

The second the explosion took to the sky, Naruto in his golden Kyūbi form, charged forward. Arms extended out of the form and he engaged himself in a struggle with the other bijū. From this distance, I could scarcely make anything out in the golden light. It wasn't long, though, that the golden chakra evaporated and he fell back to the ground. In the same instant, though, chains erupted from the statue and pulled the bijū back inside.

As Naruto fell to the ground, I could scarcely make out black rods falling to the ground with him.

"Naruto, something happened," Obito said, clear annoyance in his tone. "How did you know about the rods controlling them? How did you know where each of them were, and...?"

"They told me," Naruto said, grinning cheekily. "Now can you be quiet for a moment? I just learned a bunch of really hard names and I need a second to make sure I got 'em all."

Obito raised a single hand, forming part of the tiger seal. "No matter. It's over. Night has fallen and it's time to begin my plan."

The statue then let out a painful scream, dropping down to its knees and clutching its head. A sudden lightness enveloped the area, as gravity seemed to shift. Rocks and debris started to float up in the air, rising to the sky. Some hovered, completely still, in the air. I felt lighter.

Yagura shifted out of his beast form, picking up his discarded staff.

Naruto folded his arms across his chest. "That's not going to happen. I'm going to be Hokage, you see, so I can't let you take over the world!"

That golden, warm, chakra set Naruto ablaze and he leapt towards the statue. Obito gripped his gunbai and threw it up to intercept Naruto's charging Rasengan. The Rasengan slammed against the gunbai, causing it to explode in Naruto's hand. Naruto was sent flying back and I leapt up into the air to catch him.

My hands caught his own hand and I pulled him down to a nearby floating rock with me. The statue screamed again, and my brow furrowed. "What's that thing doing?"

"It's the Jūbi," Naruto explained to me. "The other bijū told me – we gotta stop it before it finishes the transformation."

"That statue absorbed the other bijū," I uttered, realization dawning on my face, "so it would make sense... Transformation, you say? Does it have stages?"

Naruto shrugged. "Dunno. We just gotta stop it – fast."

"Got it."

Naruto smirked. "But, it seems like we gotta crack this Tobi guy's mask first, huh? Not a problem."

I smiled weakly at that. "Yeah... Not a problem."

"You will not touch this statue," Obito declared, as the statue roared in pain again. Spikes started to grow out of it, and its eyes began to bleed.

Naruto summoned a clone, and Kakashi shouted up at us, "Nao, Naruto, you know his abilities, right? Your moment to strike is right before he tries to teleport – that's when he's solid. If you attack him normally, you'll just pass right through him."

Gai nodded his head. "Create an opportunity through continuous close combat – don't give in. Avoid using big moves."

"We know," Naruto shouted, and he and his clone jumped down. Another form of the Rasengan started to take shape in his right hand. "Nao – do you think you can use your kekkei genkai on him?"

No.

"I can try," I offered, "but my kekkai genkai needs to target something solid. If I overextend it and use it when he isn't solid, I'll just add an unnecessary strain. When he's teleporting, I'll see if I can target him."

"Aa! Thanks!"

Yagura started to dash forward, running alongside Naruto in the charge against Obito. I didn't see what Kakashi was doing (as he was in my blind spot), but my attention was entirely focused on Obito. If I engaged in close-combat, as well, then the odds of our attacks being properly coordinated dwindled. Gai was enough of a taijutsu master to adjust his close-combat to match Yagura and Naruto's styles.

Yagura was experienced enough to also adjust his style to compliment Naruto's. And while I was trained to work well with Naruto or Yagura, that was just it. Or. One or the other. If I joined in the close combat fray, then it would add unnecessary chaos into the equation.

It would be best if I remained focused on Obito and looked for opportunities to grab him and hold him still.

Which, knowing that he knew that was what I would be doing, would make things a bit harder.

Naruto was the first to reach him. His clone phased through him, and Obito swung his gunbai hard against that Naruto's stomach. It dispersed upon contact, and the real Naruto swung his right arm forward. His arm extended (or appeared to have extended, but in actuality it was just his golden chakra being thrown about in the form of an arm) and passed through Obito's middle region.

Obito, Naruto's arm still through his stomach, dashed towards Naruto. He leapt up at him, his arm extended as if to grab him, but in that instant Yagura swung his staff. Obito was forced to become intangible, again, and the staff phased through him. He continued to pass through Naruto and Gai propelled his nun chucks through Obito's head.

When Obito was completely through Naruto, he turned on his heel to face Yagura and Gai as the two worked tightly together in a fast fury of close-combat taijutsu. Between Yagura's staff and Gai's nun chucks, the two experienced shinobi gave Obito no opportunity to counter-attack. He was completely intangible throughout the bout, until he succesffully disengaged and threw several kunai with paper-bombs attached to them.

Naruto, Yagura and Gai lunged for him – as he was still in midair.

When Obito's head snapped, and I followed his gaze. The statue's head was being distorted – as if being sucked away into a different reality. I immediately recognized the technique as Kamui, Kakashi's Mangekyo Sharingan's technique.

Obito swung his gunbai in between two rocks and yanked him out of their path, his gaze still on the statue. Realizing this was my opportunity, my chakra lashed out and darted towards Obito.

The statue's head stopped being disoriented, snapping back into place the second my chakra wrapped around Obito. "I've got him!"

"How naïve," Obito said softly. "You should know better, Nao. Your technique bounds the physical – something I can bring in and out of this world at will. That won't work on me."

And suddenly, I couldn't feel part of him anymore. My chakra, which I had only moments ago felt around him, suddenly couldn't find him. He was gone, out of my control.

You should know better than to underestimate me, Obito-ue.

And in that instant, Obito was stock still.

My technique doesn't have to be limited to the physical. I can take hold of your chakra, too!

My head throbbed at the extra strain. Grabbing at chakra was undoubtedly the trickiest things I had used my technique for. However, if I kept his chakra still, he wouldn't be able to draw upon it.

On the downside, he could fight me easier. It wouldn't be any different than breaking out of a genjutsu – he merely had to disrupt his chakra to break my hold. Despite that, it wouldn't be so easy. In order to disrupt his chakra, he would have to break my will to control it.

The pain pierced through my brow, but I refused to budge.

"Nice!" Naruto crowded, kicking off from the ground and leaping towards Obito.

White hot needles seared my vision and I let out a gasp, dropping to my knees. He was fighting back, and each struggle and resistance he provide was translated as physical pain back to me. Gritting my teeth, I held on.

I had to. Yagura and Gai were close behind, flanking Naruto. Naruto's Rasengan came to life as he neared Obito. I was clutching my head at this point, my eyes closed, as I was unable to bring myself to focus on anything, but holding Obito.

"Now let's see what's behind that stupid mask of yours!"

Lava poured through my veins, and my chakra raged inside of me.

I could hear a ringing sound in the back of my head, but more importantly I heard the familiar explosion of the Rasengan, and...

... and the sound of a mask breaking.

My concentration was lost, and the rocks around us started to fall to the ground, including the one I was on. Yet, I was unable to move due to the heavy wave of pressure I felt in my head. Millions of tons of sand was being poured inside my head, kicking up sandstorms and grinding against my brain. I bit down too hard my bottom lip to keep from crying, causing it to bleed profusely, and I curled up on myself.

As the rock fell, I could do little else, but fall with it.

Then suddenly a hand gripped the back of collar and I was yanked up into the air. My eyes were still screwed shut in pain, but I could sense no malice or killer intent from whoever grabbed me. I could only vaguely tell they were familiar, and that they were annoyed.

"Get away from her!" I could year a familiar voice snarl—Yagura?

"It can't be..." Kakashi whispered, his voice carrying across the ringing silence of the field. "No... not you..."

"You're... you're the one she always visited....!"

The person who caught me, set me down on the ground, still grabbing the back of my collar. "I suppose it doesn't matter now. I got what I wanted—this war. It doesn't matter if they know..."

Evening out my breathing, I finally opened my eyes and looked up at my savior.

Obito stared down at me, a Rinnegan in his left eye, and a Sharingan in his right eye. "But I can't believe you didn't tell them, Nao."

"Get your hands off her!" Naruto growled.

Obito moved his hand to place it roughly on top of my head, his fingers pushing the goggles over my head. "Take another step closer to us, and I will snap her neck."

A thrill of adrenaline ran through me, momentarily replacing the pain I had felt in my head. I was on my knees, my fingers curling into the ground, and I stared up at Obito.

My voice was soft. "Obito-ue..."

"Shut up," Obito said plainly. "I don't want to hear from you. Just don't speak. Well, Naruto? Hand over your Kyūbi, and your friend will be returned to you. Unless you want her to die?"

Naruto's brow was furrowed and he was giving Obito a pained look. "I don't... I don't understand. I saw... I saw that picture of you, with Kakashi-sensei, and that Rin girl. Nao... Nao visited your grave so often, and those goggles... she really cares about you, and..."

"That doesn't matter," Obito snapped. "Your time is running out. And Nao, don't even think about teleporting. I will move faster than you."

I reached up a hand and placed it on top of Obito's. "You won't."

He tightened his grip. "Don't test me."

You could have killed me, so many times before. You could have taken me away. You could have eliminated the threat, but you chose not to.

And I'm betting you won't again.

"The one girl he can't kill," I muttered, recalling Kisame's words, and tightening my grip on Obito's hand.

"Obito... it can't be..." Kakashi trailed off, looking completely devastated and lost.

I lifted Obito's hand off my head, and I watched as Obito glowered darkly at me. I shakily stood up, still holding his hand and looking up at him. "Obito-ue, this isn't you..."

"You know that's not true," he growled. "Don't test me, Nao. I will kill you."

I didn't believe that.

I opened my mouth to respond, but then the ground beneath us erupted and arms were wrapped around me, pulling me away. Obito leapt back, his expression conveying dark fury as he glared at the person who pulled me away. I recognized the chakra to be Yagura's, and with ease, Yagura leapt back until we were reunited with Naruto, Kakashi, and Gai.

Swatting Yagura's arms away from me, I glowered at him. "What was that for? I was perfectly fine."

"You were not," Yagura snapped. "What the hell is going on?!"

"He's... he's..."

"It doesn't matter," Kakashi cut in, looking suddenly decades older. When he spoke again, his voice was quieter. "It doesn't matter. All that matters is that he is our enemy now, and we will treat him accordingly."

"I – "

"Do not protest," Yagura hissed. "We will be talking about this when the war is over."

"Then let me fight him," I said quickly. "He won't kill me – "

"Neither will he kill Naruto, or Bee. He wants to capture them, and I'm assuming he'll want to capture you. It doesn't matter, you're not fighting him alone," Kakashi snapped. "Don't argue. We need to work together now to eliminate him."

My heart ached (and my head, but it was easier to ignore this time), and again I felt those conflicting emotions. "I... you're... right. We... we have to stop him. We need to capture him."

Kakashi relaxed at my agreement. "... Yeah. Capture..."

"I still don't get it," Naruto admitted, "but I'm not about to let my best friend's idol let himself get killed (again), so..."

"You're wide open!" All eyes snapped up as Bee leapt forward towards the statue, swinging the Hachibi's fist towards it.

"Don't underestimate me," Obito snarled, slamming his palm into the ground. A wall of red fire surrounded the statue, just as Bee's fist slammed against it. The jinchūriki immediately howled in pain, swinging his fist around.

Gai tsked. "Now he's erected a barrier. We really will have to deal with him first, before we can take out that statue."

And then an explosion went off beside Obito. My only working eye widened in disbelief, as the dust settled down, to find that the Uchiha Madara was beside Obito. Naruto had told us what was transpiring on the other battlegrounds – he had sent out numerous clones to help our friends across the war, and when each clone popped he relayed the good news.

Uchiha Madara was supposed to have been fighting the five Kage.

The only reason he was here was if he had fled... or taken care of our Kage.

That thought was not the only reason my stomach dropped at seeing Madara. A sort of anger had settled over me at seeing him, and in the back of my head whispers of he's the one to blame / it's his fault Obito is like this chanted.

Obito glanced at Madara, unamused. "It's just like you to have defied the Edo-Tensei."

Madara folded his arms across his chest. "More importantly, what's taking so long?"

Naruto stepped forward, his golden chakra flaring up in anger. "Why? Why is that Madara over here? What's happened to everyone over there? What did you do to Obaa-chan?!"

Madara ignored Naruto in favor of muttering, "That one's a shadow clone. Where's the real one, Obito...?"

"I asked you what happened!" Naruto's chakra flared violently, the force enough to have us take several steps away from him. Madara just stared at him, his expression conveying nothing, but unimpressed apathy.

"I'm not sure," he drawled, "but I suspect... they aren't doing too good."

Obito unhooked his gunbai from its chain and tossed it to Madara. Madara gripped it with ease as Obito said, "I'll return this to you, now."

That statue howled again, drawing Madara's attention to it. A flicker of anger crossed his face, before it was smoothed out. "Obito, did you launch the plan hazardously, before you even collected the Kyūbi, Sanbi, and Hachibi? You were hasty, Obito. Is that why I was revived in this form? Well, knowing you... I'm sure you have something in mind." Madara turned away from us, dismissing us, to continue questioning Obito. "What have you been up to all this time? Where's Nagato? You were supposed to determine the appropriate time and bring me back with Rinne-Rebrith. That was the agreement."

Rinne-Rebirth... that was what Nagato had used to bring back Konoha...?

Naruto growled, "You tried to take advantage of Nagato?!"

"He betrayed us," Obito answered. "He used the jutsu to revive Konoha's villagers."

Madara turned away from Obito, chiding him, "I can't depend on any of you. Well, no matter. It's still not too late. I'll capture the Hachibi and Kyūbi."

"Dead men shouldn't go around messing things up," Naruto shouted, flickering towards Madara with a black Rasengan formed in his right hand. Madara raised his gunbai up and blocked the attack, but the two forces met with enough energy to cause a mini explosion. I raised my arms in front of me to shield my face from the flying debris and bright light that came with the impact.

However, the explosion was not like the Rasengan's explosion. It was merely the force of the two energies meeting, and when I lowered my arms, I could see Naruto's confused look at that. Madara leaned forward, pressing his gunbai against Naruto's outstretched hand. "Uchiha Reflection."

His gunbai glowed and Naruto was sent reeling backwards. Madara gripped his gunbai tightly. "I'll take care of the Hachibi, Sanbi and Kyūbi. Obito, you take care of those three. Madara leapt up into the air, disappearing from my vision as I focused on Obito.

Obito flickered towards me, and I scarcely had time to block his outstretched hand. His Sharingan's tomoe whirled and he said, "Don't fight this. It's pointless."

Kakashi was at our side in that instant, swinging down a kunai and forcing Obito to leap back. Kakashi stared at Obito, his brow furrowed. "Why... Why are you allying yourself with Madara, Obito?"

"I've got nothing to say to you," Obito muttered. "All that's left... is this final battle." He then swung his arm down and several shurikan came flying at us at high velocity. Kakashi quickly slammed his hand into the ground, summoning a rock wall between us and the shurikan.

My hands glowed white as I formed my Tōketsu-Raiton and morphed it into a katana, knowing Obito would soon be here. As predicted, Obito walked right through the wall and I charged at him, raising my katana. It passed through Obito and he deftly went around me, diving towards the fatigued Kakashi. I turned on my heel, but then a sharp spike of exhaustion had my head spinning and I lost my balance.

Damn – soldier pill – wearing off –

Stumbling, and seeing double, I shook my head to clear my vision. Obito gripped a massive shuriken and dug it into Kakashi's knee. Kakashi reached out a hand and grabbed Obito's oncoming fist. "Why?"

"How about shutting up already?" Obito asked. "You're only talk. You're nothing, but a piece of trash."

I faltered, but continued to run towards Obito. Obito threw Kakashi away, ripping out his shuriken and blocked my jutsu. The shuriken froze upon impact, and I forced more of my chakra inside the jutsu. It hummed and glowed more brightly, before the frozen part of the shuriken shattered into dust.

Obito's eyes narrowed. "Why are you wasting your breath for this piece of scum?"

"H-He's my comrade," I gritted out, doing my damndest to ignore the exhaustion that pressed on me. My head was still throbbing from holding Obito earlier, and everyone knew that after using a soldier pill (and said pill wearing off), it only magnified the fatigue. "I won't abandon him."

"You'd be doing him, and the world a favor," Obito hissed, before his hand snapped out. I barely had time to dodge beneath it. Then Obito let go of his shuriken and reached for me with his free hand. His tomoe spun in his right eye. "Just stay in my world... stay out of this fight... and just... submit."

I could feel myself being physically pulled into that eye, and my heart faltered. Then suddenly I was being shoved out of the way, and Kakashi was being sucked into Obito's eye. Within seconds, Kakashi was completely sucked in. "Sensei!"

Obito glowered at the sky. "... Fine. I'll deal with him first."

"No! Obito... Your fight is with me right now," I said, shakily standing up. "You... this isn't you, Obito."

Obito sneered. "Did your ability tell you that?"

"No," I said, shaking my head vehemently. "You did. You were there, watching me, all that time. You listened to me. You laughed with me. Obito, I know you're my friend—you're my comrade, and I'm yours. I-I know you're in pain—"

"What could you possibly understand about my pain?" Obito demanded. "You've never lost someone. Don't you dare try to sympathize with me, Ri-Nao. Don't you see? This world is lost. You say that this isn't me, but it is. This world created me, shaped me into what I am."

I shook my head again, more firmly this time. A cold stone dropped down into the pit of my stomach, and I felt the onslaught of emotions start to burn inside me. "This world can cause a lot of hurt, I know, but it c-can cause a lot of beauty. There's more to this world than just pain, you know that, Obito.I know you know that. Why did you give up? Why d-did you abandon us? Why did you choose to forsake this world before you really got to know it?"

"I know plenty about it! I know more than you could possibly know. This is the kind of world that sent brothers to fight each other. This is the kind of world were children are orphaned. This is the kind of world were promises can never be kept. What good could come out of a world like that?!"

"Love," I shouted, tears of frustration and hurt pricking at my eyes, but not daring to spill over. "I love my sister. I love my friends. I love my family. Even if we die today, even if our goodbyes are final I will never regret loving them. I will never regret our memories together. If the world is so bad, then why is there still love? If the world was as h-hopeless as you seem to think it is—then why didn't you kill me at your grave?"

Obito looked mutinous. "Love is what causes pain. Love isn't anything more than a knife—a tool—for this world to use to cut out someone's heart."

"You don't believe that," I argued. "Do you regret loving Rin, then? Do you wish you never had?!"

Obito met my demands with stony silence. My hands curled into fists and I took a shaky step towards him. "No. You don't. We both know that. You're in pain, I get that, but it's not too late. Obito, I... I believe in this world. I know it can cause hurt, and I know life isn't easy, but..."

I thought of that fake world it had brought me, and I closed my eyes for a second before re-opening them. I met his gaze firmly, but my stomach still heaved that cold stone around in it. "... but it's our life. An illusion is just that—an illusion. E-Even if your plan works, it'll never fix this world. It'll be nothing more than a dream. You might as well just lay down and sleep! You can't regret your love for Rin, so y-you can't regret your pain, either. You don't get to choose one or the other. To love someone, means you have to be prepared to face that pain that their love can bring. You won't stop loving her, and you won't regret that, s-so you have to be able to accept the grief that comes with it."

"Are you prepared to accept that?" Obito asked, his voice deadly soft.

"I am," I swore. "Obito... I.... You can't regret your actions now, it's too late for that. The past... the past is the past, you can't let it swallow you up. You can't let this darkness, and this pain, and misery warp you, anymore. That's not who you are! And, I... I can't... I can't bear to see you like this. Please, Obito – "

"I'm not caught in the past!" Obito denied. "I'm looking to the future, and all I see is a hopeless situation. It's pointless to stay in this world any longer."

My voice was cracking now. "It isn't. You're just too caught up in your pain to see that! Your vision is twisted and corrupt, but it doesn't have to be like that. This is our life, Obito. Our mistakes and our regrets define us. We can't be caught in the past, in the what ifs, or else they will consume us. I know, Obito. Oh, Kami, I know all too well. This is our life, and we have to keep moving forward. We have to keep looking to the future, and we have to keep believing."

"Why?!"

"Because that's the only way to be happy! That's the only way to get stronger and protect our precious people. It's the only way to help forge a better life for ourselves and our loved ones. Obito, please... please... don't do this. It's not too late, I believe in this world and I believe in you. You and I both know this plan won't bring her back, and won't undo the mistakes we've made. If you really loved her, then accept that she's gone and honor her sacrifice," I pleaded. "Please stop this, Obito. I can't... I can't..."

Obito shook his head. "Don't speak of things you know nothing about. When you have lost what you hold dearest, when you have held their corpses in your arms, then you can argue with me on this. Your words fall on deaf ears, R-Nao."

"Then why haven't you stopped me?"

He looked thunderstruck and took a step back from me. "... I was merely... curious..."

"Liar," I accused. "You want this to end. You want to be done with this pain and misery. My words aren't falling on deaf ears—they're falling on stubborn ones. So answer me this, Obito: why can't you kill me?!"

His hands clenched into fists and he pursed his lips.

"Well?" I demanded, my eyes stinging. I was raising my voice, a turmoil of emotions rocking inside of me. "I'm looking at you, Obito! So why won't you answer me?!"

At my words, Obito looked horrified and confused, staring at me. Yet, it seemed like his eyes weren't really seeing me—like he saw something, or someone else in my place. "Rin..."

Then he screwed his eyes shut and sucked himself into his other world.

I stared in dumfoundment at where he once was.

And suddenly, the high-strung emotions, coupled with the physical exhaustion was too much. I feel to my knees, my hands digging to the dirt and I slammed my fist into the ground. Tears of frustration and anger at that stubborn man pricked my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I still felt betrayed at him—at his refusal and the fact that he had essentially run away from me—but most I felt furious with myself.

Was I really going to kid myself? Could I really save him?

Should I even try?

I had been so torn about it earlier (still was, actually), but the second I was left alone with him, I couldn't stop myself. I had no control over my words or actions. Raw emotions debated my every move, then, and I couldn't prevent myself from trying.

He was my comrade.

I wasn't going to abandon him.

Even if I have to break every damn bone in his stupid, stubborn body, I was going to drag his ass home and outta that darkness.

A loud explosion reminded me that this was not the time, nor place, to drop my guard. I had idiotically ignore my surroundings when I was fighting with Obito, but now that he was gone (with Kakashi, I presumed), I couldn't ignore it any longer.

Tiredly, I dragged my eyes over to my other comrades. Golden fire took over my vision and then Naruto was kneeling in front of me, pulling me back up. "Nao, are you okay?"

"I'm just tired," I said quietly. "I just need to take another pill."

Wearily, I pulled out the last soldier pill I could take before I overdosed, and popped it in my mouth. Naruto continued to grip my shoulders. "Where's Kakashi-sensei."

"With Obito." My voice cracked again. Damn it.

He squeezed my shoulders.

I sensed them before I saw them. Kakashi appeared before us, panting and kneeling. He was clutching his eye and he looked a little worse for wear, and then Obito appeared beside Madara.

"How – " Naruto started, but Kakashi silenced him.

"We share the same eye, so we can teleport to and back from that world. Don't worry about our battle, Naruto—focus on Madara and taking out that statue—the barrier is almost gone."

A quick peek towards the barrier confirmed Kakashi's statements—it was starting to crack.

"Way ahead of you!" My eye snapped towards Yagura. He was on top of the Hachibi, cloaked in red with three tails waving about. Bee and him had their heads tilted back and they formed another one of those bombs. The real Naruto was beside them, taking the form of the golden Kyūbi and forming his own bomb. All three of them began to fuse together, and I winced at the sheer amount of pressure exerted from the attacks. "Well blast it to bits, before it gets a chance to attack."

The clone of Naruto that gripped my shoulders, pulled me over to Kakashi and grabbed both of us. "You might want to brace yourselves. This is going to be a big one."

Each bomb is enough to flatten a mountain. That's three of them. All forced together.

Thank God they're on our side.

The attack was launched at the barrier, as its cracks grew, and it landed with deadly accuracy. The explosion was loud and bright enough to have my ears ringing and eyes burning, and don't even get me started on the force of it.

When the debris had finally settled, and I dared to lower my arms, I could no longer sense the statue's chakra.

But, when the smoke cleared, the statue was gone... and replaced with a monster with ten waving tails. It possessed a grotesque bulb-like body with spiky protrusions growing out of its back, and a wide, cavernous mouth with too many rows of pointed teeth to count. It had long arms and clawed hands, but I could see no legs. Dark veins pulsed around it, similar to those of the Ichibi.

It looked like something out of a horror movie.

A true monster.

"N-No way," I whispered. "I can't... I can't sense that things chakra at all."

It let out a high-pitched scream that had me wincing. Naruto shook his head, "But I thought that thing's evil chakra had disappeared. Damn it. They got us." Then Naruto cocked his head, as if he was listening to something, before his golden fire disappeared and he sat down. "Got it! So you said he was all natural energy, then I should go Sage Mode to check him out."

When he opened his eyes again, Sage Mode activated, he grimaced. "You're not kidding... he's a monster..."

"What...?"

"Kurama was just telling me how this thing can't be sensed. It doesn't have emotions or things of that like," Naruto said, "it's all natural energy. But, when I went into Sage Mode... let's just say this thing is stupidly big in the chakra-reserves department."

My brow furrowed. "That's a lot, coming from you."

Without warning, the beast screamed and started crawling towards us. With each movement closer, it shook the earth beneath us. Naruto stood back up and said, "Yagura, cover these guys. Octopops, let's test this big guy out!"

"Don't order me around, brat," Yagura snapped, his bijū chakra dispersing as he landed beside Kakashi and me. Gai hopped down beside, as well. "But go ahead. I'll be able to get a better feel for him from watching you two engage him."

Naruto smirked at him.

"Don't be stupid," growled a new voice—it came from the golden Kyūbi, so I could only assume it was the Kyūbi... Kurama. "We need to keep our distance and then we'll counter attack. Nao, Kakashi, Gai... get inside this construct of me. You'll be safest there. Yagura, I know Isobu doesn't have as much chakra as we do, so you need to conserve both of your chakras. Get inside."

Feeling a little apprehensive about hopping inside anything, I nonetheless did as ordered. I leapt up into the golden chakra, my hand reaching out and grasping the real Naruto's. Kakashi and Gai entered not longer afterwards and I released Naruto's hand.

Yagura reluctantly entered the Kyūbi, his arms folded across his chest. "You're starting to act like a leader, Kurama."

"Got a problem with that?!"

Yagura smirked. "Nope. Saves me the headache. You're a lot more reasonable than the brat."

"Hey!" Naruto protested.

Kurama seemed to be smirking, as well. "That's not saying much."

"Come on, I thought you were on my side," Naruto whined.

"Shut up. Let's go."

Then Kurama and Bee charged towards the beast. With each move the beast made towards us, it kicked up so much dust and debris, it was like running through a sandstorm. Granted, from inside Kurama, everything was warm and golden, but still...

The Jūbi's hand lurched out from the cloud of debris, clawing at us. Kurama leapt back and away from it, and it screamed in annoyance. This had all transpired within a couple seconds, and then the beast started charging again. Kurama growled lowly before running towards it again. He jumped up, swinging his arms, but the Jūbi just knocked us aside. Before the Jūbi could completely knock him out, Naruto summoned a clone and he, and Kakashi leapt out of Kurama and into the air. In that instant, though, the Hachibi finished building up his bomb and swallowed it.

The Jūbi turned its single, massive, blood-red eye towards the bijū. Kurama built up a bomb, as well, then swallowed it.

Then the Hachibi and Kyūbi bellowed it out, "Bijū-Bomb Barrage!"

Dozens of red power-house bombs flew towards the beast. The Jūbi's mouth encaved on itself before re-opening and presenting a garish orange light. A high keening sound was heard before a giant laser beamed out of its mouth.

I couldn't sense any chakra from it, but it completely annihilated the Kyūbi and Hachibi's combined attacks, and re-made the horizon.

Goodbye, mountains.

Hello flatlands.

Even though the laser had only grazed us, Kurama's tails were still sliced in half and the Hachibi was nowhere to be found.

I could barely make out Kakashi and Naruto falling towards the Jūbi, before Kakashi used his Kamui to summon the Hachibi, and Yagura (beast-transformed) back into this world. They came out of his eye, a beast-bomb ready and dove straight for the Jūbi's eye.

The bombs were released, and just before they reached its eye, with a single finger it flicked the bombs back. I watched, horrified and worried, as each bomb slammed into each of the bijū. Yagura, as the Sanbi, was sent flying back and crashed hard into the ground, the Hachibi not far from him.

They laid motionless, but I could still sense their chakra. My heart twisted painfully with worry, but I didn't dare go to him. Kurama ran towards the falling Kakashi and caught him before running back to a safer distance, to Yagura and Bee. The Hachibi and Sanbi retreated back into Bee and Yagura, and Kurama did the same with Naruto.

When the Kyūbi had released us, I darted over to Yagura. He was panting heavily, and his front shirt was torn, but he was alive. He panted, "Relax, Nao. I just need to take a... pill."

Naruto made a tsking sound, and my attention was drawn back to him. He turned around and faced Madara and Obito (who stood atop the Jūbi), his hands forming the ram seal.

"Your favorite Clone Jutsu?" Madara called, his voice carrying across the battleground with ease. "It may be a forbidden high-level ninjutsu, but just increasing the number of losers won't—"

"I'm not a loser," Naruto shouted back.

"Stop, Naruto," Kakashi said, helping Gai back up to his feet, while I did the same with Yagura. "It's meaningless to create clones that will divide your chakra even more so. They might be useful as diversions, but not for decisive hits. And if you go down, we lose this war."

Madara told us, "You were always just a motley crew anyway."

"Huh? M-M-Motely crew?" Naruto repeated, his face screwed up in confusion at the odd word.

"Like I said," Madara said flatly, "you're incompetent."

"He's saying that it's pointless to merely increase the number of heads if they're all empty," Obito explained. "You and I are both powerless shinobi. You... no, I should say everyone... will eventually end up like me."

Naruto glowered. "I'll never end up like you. How many times do I have to tell you?! My dream is to become the Hokage."

"Don't worry," Obito said easily. "Everything will go as planned. There is no shinobi jutsu mightier than the Infinite Tsukuyomi. I'll make you Hokage inside this jutsu. So..."

The Jūbi started gathering up energy for another one of those attacks.

"... just disappear from this world."

The laser went off, but it beamed right by us, blinding us and causing our ears to ring, but otherwise infecting us.

And suddenly we weren't alone. Shinobi, kunoichi, platoons surrounded us. They slammed into the ground, and Ino was at my side in that instant. Her arms were thrown around me and she hugged me tightly. "Nao-chan!"

Tears of relief pricked at my eyes and I squeezed her tightly. "N-Nee-chan."

"Shh, hey now, it's okay," Ino whispered, kissing the top of my head. Not trusting my wobbly voice, I only nodded my head and buried my head in her chest. "Don't worry, Imouto. Your big sister's here and she'll take care of you, yeah?"

"M-Mn."

"Hello, Nao-chan," Sakura said, smiling warmly as she poked her head around from Ino. "May I heal you?"

"K-Kakashi-sensei, and Yagura need it more than I do," I said quickly. "Please see to him, immediately!"

"Maa, I'm fine, really," Kakashi chuckled, though it sounded strained. Sakura gave him an unamused look, ordering him to sit down so she could heal him. He complied with a sigh.

Yagura moved to stand beside us. "That last shot almost hit us, but missed. Was that your doing, Ino?"

Ino gave him a cheeky grin. "Yeah. Thanks to Hinata-chan, I was able to possess Obito and cause him to miss!"

"Hinata-chan?"

"I-I was able to use my Byakugan to guide Ino's shot," Hinata said quietly, shifting in sheepish embarrassment.

Naruto positively beamed at the girl. "Eh? That's so cool, Hinata-chan!"

"Hn. Good to see you're still alive, Dobe," Sasuke snorted, landing beside us. Itachi caught my eye (he stood close to Sasuke) and smiled at me. I immediately returned the smile with one of my own.

Relief gripped my heart, as I looked at the numerous familiar faces.

"Beetle-Jamming Jutsu!"

Swarms of beetles flew out of the platoons, diving up into the air. With it, the Kirigakure shinobi and kunoichi conjured a great mist to shield them.

Between the beetles and the chakra-heavy mist, we can't be sensed by the enemies.

Naruto grinned, looking up at Madara and Obito, brimming with confidence. "And we're not a motley crew anymore. Here is the Allied Shinobi Forces no Jutsu. The world's greatest, most invincible, super ninjutsu, you know! A jutsu that trumps the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Remember that!"

"Isn't that a bit of a stretch?" Madara asked, clearly amused.

"We're going to stop you two with this jutsu," Naruto said, and I could hear Shikaku relaying instructions to everyone. I knew Papa was connecting everyone's mind to Shikaku—Shikamaru's dad, and Ino and mine's self-appointed uncle—back at HQ. I listened to Shikaku's instructions, then felt a grin crawl on my face at them.

Obito shook his head. "You're right. Why won't you realize that it's meaningless for you to stop us here? After this war, even this jutsu will disintegrate. Then someone from your side will attempt to do exactly what we're doing. There is no victory, no matter how much you struggle. Get it through your head. There's no such thing as hope anywhere in this world. There's no good in this world."

"I don't care," Naruto said. "I'll make sure there is good, and there is hope."

"It's meaningless to argue whether there is or isn't something during a war," Madara sighed. "How about we settle this now?"

"When there's a difference of opinion, isn't the usual way majority rule?" Naruto asked. "So what do we do?"

"That's a good suggestion," Obito replied. "Then, we'll call it after we've erased all of you. And..."

"I knew you'd say that, but..."

"... this world will end!" / "... this world will not end!"

The shinobi alliance cheered and we scattered. I followed closely behind Naruto, Itachi and Sasuke at my side. The plan was simple enough. Kumogakure would blind the Jūbi, and the two men, with their lightning style attacks (while the beetles and mist, and wind continued to prevent them from sensing us). Then, Iwagakure would force the Jūbi into a pit, sinking it down far into the ground, followed by filling it with quicklime. Kirigakure would fill it with water, and Konohagakure would heat it up.

The second the beast was immobilized, the allied forces would leap into the pit and use every move possible to force Madara and Obito away from the beast (and thus preventing them from controlling it).

With this plan, without a second thought, I leapt into that pit.

As we leapt down into that pit, a sudden feeling of wrongness settled into the pit of my stomach, and then we were sent flying back. The Jūbi had freed itself in that instant and knocked us all out of that pit. I was sent careening away from the others and I crash landed into the ground, rolling and barely keeping myself from crying out at the sharp pain.

When I finally stopped rolling, I realized with a sinking feeling that I had, at the very least, fractured my hip from my improper landing.

I cringed, when realized that the soldier pill was wearing off, too.

Ino struggled to sit up, while I stared at the Jūbi. It was building up one of those deadly lasers, but this time, when it launched it, it took the shape of the bomb. It flew over our heads, off in the distance in an awkward manner.

Like it was uncoordinated.

Looking at it more closely, I could see it had undergone a sort of change. No longer was it bulb-like. Instead, it was too skinny for its proportions. It looked sickly and wrong. Like a cross between a stem from a plant and a human.

Unnatural.

It fired off another of those deadly bombs, and then a sudden hysteria gripped me. I groped out a hand and grabbed Ino's. My mind and chakra fluctuated as I immediately connected my mind to hers.

Ino! Contact Papa – get everyone out of HQ. Now. Hurry!

What? What's going on, Nao? Ino turned to face me, her brow furrowed.

They're targeting HQ! Hurry! We can't let them know we're on to them. My thoughts were bubbling over to panic. The memories were returning to me, resurfacing. I knew this battle would be the last time I ever remembered them, and I knew I had to make the most of what I could. Hurry!

I'm contacting them now.

Papa was there. Papa was there.

My hand shook and Ino squeezed it. They're leaving.

I let out a breath of relief.

Three more of those bombs went off, and on the fifth one, it met its mark. The building that once housed Papa and the others was gone.

"Th-That was where HQ was!" Naruto shouted. "Is anyone...?!"

"They got out alright. They scattered to better hide where they are, but Shikaku-ji is still with Chichi. He can relay instructions, still," Ino said quickly.

Shikamaru let out a sigh of relief, not too far from us.

The Iwagakure shinobi slammed their hands into the ground, and the beast was squashed between two half-spheres. It howled with annoyance, and then it wiggled one of its arms free. Its hand hardened into wood and then thousands of wooden spikes flew out of it at us.

Everything seemed to drop into a slow motion. I shoved Ino, and Naruto away from me, pushing them as hard as I could to get them behind Itachi's Susano'o. His Susano'o's hand stretched out towards us and he caught them with ease.

I knew they would be safe with him, and I knew that Itachi's Susano'o would not have made it in time for me, given my broken bone, and the distance between us. Ino would have stayed, she would have tried to protect me, but I couldn't dare. I knew Naruto would have to, but Kakashi was right. Without Naruto, this war would have been lost.

I turned my gaze up to the wooden spikes, fearful, worried, and feeling stupidly brave at that moment.

And then my vision of them was blocked.

My only visible eye widened and my breath caught in my throat.

No.

The scent of blood overwhelmed my nose, and the sight of the spike sticking out from his chest, had my stomach heaving.

No.

He grimaced in pain, and fell to his knees as the spikes stopped coming.

I caught him. "Yagura..."

"Idiot," Yagura gasped, gritting his teeth.

Hysteria and fear bubbled over inside of me. I screamed, "Medic! We need a medic!"

Then Naruto, Itachi, Sasuke, and Ino were at my side and I'm sure there others, but I didn't dare drag my eyes away from Yagura's face to see. My hands flew to his chest, and I didn't remove the spike, knowing better, and I pressed hard. "Stop... don't... don't you dare, don't you dare leave me."

My eyes were burning and Yagura's breathing was getting quieter. "... Don't... bother..."

"Shh, shh," I shushed, hating myself for allowing a couple tears to escape. "Don't be stupid. Don't be stupid. You aren't supposed to go... y-you aren't supposed to leave me like this. You promised. You promised me."

"Yagura," Naruto started, his eyes wide in disbelief. "You..."

"I'm an... idiot... too," he wheezed.

"Damn right," I whispered. "Now shut up, and... Medic! Where the hell is that damn medic?!"

"Nao," Itachi said softly, placing a hand on my shoulder. "... Nao... there's nothing..."

"Shut up!" I snarled. "You don't... you don't know..."

Yagura gave an exaggerated eye-roll and he weakly started to raise one of his hands. I grasped it immediately, squeezing it. It was covered in blood the moment I touched it. I brought it up to my face, pressing it against my cheek, and biting my bottom lip.

My vision was blurring at this point. "Please... don't... don't leave me..."

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, his eyes not straying from mine. "Little hato..."

His heart stopped beating below my right hand and I squeezed his hand with my left hand.

"Oh," was all I could say.

Yagura was dead.

I stared with blank eyes at him. The blood had stopped flowing, and his eyes held no life, staring up at the sky.

Itachi's hand fell away from my shoulder.

No.

Once Kame was settled in his new clothes, he gave me a warm smile as we exited the village. "Thank you, Nao-chan."

I blushed at the boy. "I'm glad to have been of help, Kame-kun. Have any of your memories returned?"

No.

"Do you see, Nao?" Obito was saying, his arms wide apart. His voice carried over the dead silence that had fallen across the battlefield. "Do you understand? Yagura died protecting you, protecting this world, and for what...?"

I reached for Kame, and gently brushed back the locks of hair from his eyes.

"Are you... okay?" I asked, my voice quiet.

Kame closed his eyes, letting out a long breath. "I will be...."

Not you.

"For you to ultimately fail," Obito continued. "This world is rotten and decaying away. He died for nothing – his sacrifice was for nothing. The only way you will ever see him again is if you stop this now. Stop fighting this. Stop resisting. Just submit to the Infinite Tsukuyomi. When you do, he'll be there, Nao. He's there and waiting for you.

Yagura eyed Ino for several moments before doing exactly that. She then deposited me in my sensei's lap, ignoring my horrified expression and Yagura's expression that was torn between indifference and annoyance. Ino giggled at us, and I felt the blood rush to my head, my heart hammering in my ears as I was torn between mortification and sheepish amusement.

"There. You two look very cute," Ino observed, smiling at us.

Yagura awarded her with a very dry look. "You're hilarious."

Please, not you.

"Don't you want that?" Obito said, his voice softening. Then he raised his voice, hardening it. "Don't all of you want that? Don't all of you have loved ones you want to see again? Family? Friends? Don't all of you have your regrets in this world... and don't you wish all of that could just... go... away?"

Yagura eyed me for a moment. "You're so shy. You're like a bird, like a little dove."

"A hato?" I echoed.

Yagura smiled at me. "Very much so, Hato."

My cheeks grew warmer.

My hands shook, my fingers stretching out as I reached out to him.

"Don't fight this," Obito declared. "This world is hell and I am providing a way into heaven."

"Please," I whispered. "Not you..."

Yagura placed a hand on top of my head. When I looked up, Yagura was awarding me with one of his rare, soft smiles.

I stopped listening.

It seemed wrong, somehow. That he would stop staring at me with thoseeyeswhyisn'theblinking? and he would glare at me and scold me for looking so dazed on the battlefield. My hands dipped underneath his head and I lifted him from the ground, placing his head in my lap.

I brushed back some strands of hair, still staring at him with quiet detachment.

I knew I should be moving away by now. In ten minutes, Yagura's seal would be dissolved and the Sanbi would be free. It was dangerous to be here. I needed to move. Away. I had to get away.

Yet I couldn't bring myself to.

Yagura was dead.

"Ah, but you know, it's almost a shame I'm not Kame. Because you see..."

And it hit me.

Yagura was dead.

My breathing hitched, and it felt like a sharp blade pierced through my chest, cold and cruel. It seared into me, and my head pounded. A dark haze overtook my vision and my bottom lip trembled.

Yagura was dead.

Kame was dead.

Everyone and everything seemed quiet all around me - but that wasn't right, no, no, that wasn't right at all. All around the shinobi were fighting and people were yelling and loved ones were dying.

Dying.

My head bowed, and I rested my forehead against Yagura's, unable to keep back a choked cry.

They would keep dying... wouldn't they?

The enemy can't be stopped like this

Yagura... he died for nothing, didn't he?

That can't be true; not for nothing

A spark started in the pit of my stomach, the grief and pain magnifying it. A cold fury washed over me, causing me to grind my teeth and curl my fingers into fists. I looked up, my gaze dark, as the next onslaught of tears fell.

I hated them.

The undeniable hatred I felt for them at that moment was so strong, it left me speechless.

But it did not leave me frozen.

They would continue to die.

So long as Madara lived.

My eyes closed and I set Yagura back on the ground, as gently as I could.

So long as Madara was here.

I stood up slowly, ignoring the horrible pain that crawled across my hip.

So long, so long, more would die and die.

I opened my eyes.

My chakra is gone. Spent and used up, I thought. I am at my limit. I can't go on, at least... at least not like this.

Tears continued to fall, and a sob was caught in my chest. "Obito... Uchiha Obito-ue."

Obito's eyes was on me, unflinching, uncaring (no, no, that wasn't right – he cared, he just didn't want to anymore), unforgiving. I met his gaze with a pain-filled one of my own. "Obito-ue, I placed flowers at your grave every week. I talked to you every day. And you listened. You could have hurt me. You could have taken me. You could have killed me, but you didn't. You say this world is hell, but you don't really believe that. You don't even want to believe that. I know that. I know you're in pain – I understand, so very clearly."

My hands clenched into fists, and I unsteadily took a step towards him. "Obito-ue, I believe in that, and I believe in this world, and I believe in you. Even if you don't believe in yourself, know that I do. This hasn't changed. I know you care – care too much, maybe – and I know this isn't you."

I raised a hand and pointed my finger at Madara. "This man has tricked you. This man has lied to you and twisted you. But, I believe... I believe... it's not too late."

With my other hand, I pulled off his goggles and held them up to him. My voice was cracking now. "They're broken. C-Cracked. I can't see straight out of them, but I'm going to keep hold of them 'til I die, because th-they're precious. Even if they don't work r-right anymore, th-they're still precious. Th-They're still loved. I still believe in them."

"No," Yagura answered, shaking his head slowly. "I can't put my finger on it, but... but I have a feeling you're more attuned to your soul than most. I almost feel like..."

When he fell silent, I whispered, "Please continue, Sensei."

"... I almost feel like you're more spirit than you are physical," Yagura finally answered.

Obito's brow was furrowed and his expression flickered between confusion and something else entirely.

Something a bit more Obito-like, and lot less Tobi-like.

Pain.

I held the goggles close to me, and wiped away at the tears in my eyes. "But I know... I know these goggles c-can't work right i-if someone k-keeps breaking them."

Confusion dawned on his face, and Naruto's eyes widened.

Naruto realized what I was getting at.

Naruto, my best and first friend, realized what was about to happen. His eyes widened and he shook his head frantically, moving towards me. His voice was cracking, "No... No, don't..."

They can handle the snake and the lost little boy

I stepped forward, and away from Naruto's outstretched hand.

The boy needs to learn and the snake needs to accept

I began to run.

And while the Leader could have learned, I am past forgiveness

I sucked in a sharp breath, feeling my heartbeat inside of me. But, it wasn't alone, because I was more there than here, and I always had been. So long ago I knew this, but I wanted to live a life here so I suppressed and repressed every part of me. I wanted to cling to this body, to live.

It fluttered inside of me, small and delicate, but by no means weak.

"... The spiritual energy inside of us... the energy we draw on is our very essence. Our very soul... When you call on life-chakra, you are destroying your physical form..."

And then I drew on it.

BurningburningbuRNINGOHITBURNSOMUCHWHYDOESITBU -

I held back a shriek, feeling the energy scream inside of me instead. It tore at me, feeling strong and wrong and cold and hot all at once. I dug my heels into the ground and my mind snapped and in front of me there was blackness because -

Rushrushrush of the waves rang in my ears and then -

Madara was in front of me, his eyes narrowing as I flew towards him. His blue armor came to life, but I didn't care, because the blackness was forming behind him, while I continued to fly.

I slammed into him, the force enough to knock him off his feet and into the blackness we flew.

We rolled for a while, before we stopped and he threw me off him, away.

"Idiot girl," Madara scolded, his eyes narrowed with unhidden disgust and annoyance. I shook, feeling the power slowly drain away from me. I struggled to stand up, looming above Madara. Madara, still kneeling, glanced around at the darkness. "What is this place?"

No, those goggles couldn't be fixed if they kept breaking.

And I believed in a future for them; for those I loved.

Even if I was not in that future.

The light from the otherworld slowly dimmed behind me as the portal began to close. I was teetering on the edge

I smiled at him, but it was by no means a happy smile.

"Your hell."

The portal closed.

I stopped breathing.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

Naruto heaved a sigh. The war was over. Obito was unconscious. After he had used the Rinne-Rebirth, he had passed out. However... However he was too weak from having the Jūbi extracted from him to bring back everyone, like Nagato had done with Konoha.

Naruto glanced around the battlefield with tired eyes.

After all... after all... Yagura was still lying still like a corpse and Nao...

Naruto didn't know where Nao was.

No.

He did.

He just didn't want to face it.

His hands clenched into fists and he stumbled forward. He was tired. Weary. His body had been pushed to its breaking point and he wasn't sure how much longer he could remain conscious.

"Naruto!"

Sasuke had flickered to his side, just as Naruto fell forward. Sasuke caught him, and Naruto ended up doing a sort of piggy-back on one of his two best friends back.

His breath hitched.

"Idiot. Don't overexert yourself anymore," Sasuke muttered.

Listen to your friend, brat, Kurama growled from deep inside of Naruto.

Sasuke looked away, staring over at a cluster of shinobi and kunoichi. It was their class, the Rookie 9. They were surrounding a young woman, who had fallen to her knees. She was shaking, her head bowed and crying out in incoherent curses. Naruto closed his eyes, not wanting to hear Ino sobbing.

"She'll come back, won't she?"

Naruto opened his eyes at Sasuke's quiet question.

"Everyone saw her tackle into him and they disappeared in that... in that place," Sasuke said. He said place with a tone of disgust. Naruto didn't blame him. He still remembered his brief trip in there. The panic... the fear... the pain...

It was a piece of hell.

"I'm saying I can only use it once... maybe two more times," Nao said quietly. "I just... I just thought I'd give you a warning."

Yagura eyed her for a couple moments before he shrugged. "Alright. Does anyone else know about this, Nao?"

"Yeah. I told Nee-chan and Papa before I left because I couldn't find Kakashi-sensei," She admitted. "So those three should know."

Naruto opened his mouth to reply, but found no words would come to him. Meanwhile, Sasuke continued to carry him to the group.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata greeted, her eyes round with worry. "It's Ino-chan... she seems to think that Nao-chan isn't returning. But that was her teleportation technique, right? She should just be able to leave Madara and return, right?"

Silence fell through the group, except Ino's sobbing.

"No."

All eyes widened and gasps were heard.

"No," Naruto whispered, his voice cracking, and he felt his eyes starting to burn and blur. "She's not... she's not coming back. That was her last time to being able to use it."

Ino's cries grew louder.

"She's dead."

Back in Konoha, a small bouquet of flowers rested at the stone. The last to be given to the stone by that girl again.

And the bluebells continued to decay away.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

Inoichi held a small, private funeral for his youngest daughter. What was left of his, Shikaku's and Chouza's clan attended, along with many others. Konoha wanted to hold a special funeral for her - acknowledging her sacrifice in eliminating the most dangerous target, but Inoichi persuaded Tsunade not to. He knew that wasn't what she would have wanted.

Instead, he kept it small, and intimate, but allowed a few more strangers in. There was no body to bury, but that wasn't an uncommon thing. Instead, her name was carved into a white stone grave and placed among the family graves. Her name was, also, carved on the Memorial Stone - the stone she visited so much. It seemed wrong, somehow, if her name wasn't carved there.

Inoichi respected how she would not have wanted a large ceremony for her, but he refused to ignore the fact that she did, indeed, die as a hero and deserved a place among those heroes.

When the funeral was over, the grieving family and friends gathered at the Yamanaka Clan residence. Foods, drinks and stories were passed around.

Inoichi was in the middle of a story with Shikaku about Nao and Ino's first training session, when it landed on his shoulder. It was small and delicate, petite and white. He recognized it instantly as one of Nao's summons - one of the butterflies.

His lifelong friend also recognized it, and his brow furrowed in confusion. Carefully, apathetically, Inoichi held out a finger to the butterfly. It moved to rest on his finger before it presented a small seal, written on a piece of paper to him.

He took it slowly and released the seal.

A letter presented itself to him.

Dear Papa,

Forgive me.

You've always been so kind and supportive. Thank you for being my Papa. Thank you for raising me and loving me. I love you, Papa. I know this may seem short, but I have very little time left before I'm supposed to leave with Yagura and Naruto. Um... please give my stuffed animals to any nieces or nephews Ino ends up having. :)

Love,

Nao

Inoichi stared at the letter for several seconds, not noticing that several more butterflies had entered the room and landed on different peoples' shoulders. His eyes were starting to burn, but he found he did not particularly care. There was a weight in his gut, and it tightened and lightened as he read.

They were her last words to him.

He would treasure them.

He could hear his other daughter bursting into sobs, clutching a piece of paper tightly to her chest, and he saw his wife moving to her - also holding her own paper.

Dear Ino,

Forgive me.

Thank you. I love you, Nee-chan. I really do. You've always been there for me and you've always comforted me and... please don't stop smiling. Please be happy. Please, please. I love your smile and I don't want you to ever stop smiling. I'm in a better place now, okay? So don't feel bad for me. Be strong and be happy... for both of us.

Love,

Nao

Ino covered her eyes and fell to her knees, silently shaking. It was not right, nor was it fair, for her baby sister to have died before her.

"You idiot," Ino whispered. Her mother fell beside her, pulling her last daughter close. Shikaku had moved to his son, as had Chouza, because both fathers noticed their sons were each holding a letter.

Dear Shikamaru,

I'm sorry.

You've always been so smart, and I've always admired that in you. You were an older brother to me for most of my childhood and continued to be there for me when I needed you. Thank you. I love you.

Love,

Nao

Shikamaru buried his hands in his pockets, knowing very well that he would be keeping that note close to him for the rest of his life. Part of him, some small part of him, was furious at himself - if he had been faster, stronger, then this wouldn't have happened. If he had come up with a plan, then maybe, just maybe, his friend would still be here.

Dear Chouji,

I'm sorry.

You were so supportive, and so kind. Because you were shy, too, like me, I didn't feel so lonely. Thank you for being there for me. Thank you.

Love,

Nao

Chouji gave a strangled, choked cry, as he crumpled the note in his hands. His father placed a firm hand on his shoulder and squeezed it tightly.

Dear Tenten,

I'm sorry.

You were one of my first friends and you've been by my side since. You helped me train and supported me when I lost my eye. You're such a wonderful friend, don't ever change. Thank you.

Love,

Nao

Tenten buried her face in her hands, rocking steadily and promising herself she would not lose her composure in front of all these people, but after another moment passed, she just didn't care anymore and let loose a sob.

Dear Hinata,

I'm sorry.

You're one of the nicest people I know, I really admire that about you, you know? So please don't put yourself down. You're strong. I know you are. Please watch over Naruto, for me, okay? Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. Thank you for everything you've done.

Love,

Nao

Hinata closed her eyes, silently crying and trembling minutely. "I promise, Nao-chan. I promise."

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

Naruto sat on the roof of the hideout that he, Sasuke and Nao had made. The place that he used to live in before the three of them had moved into Sasuke's home - well, Nao had technically lived with her family, but she spent so much time there it seemed like she had moved in with them. His arms were spread out on either side of him, and he clutched a picture.

Their picture.

Team Seven.

His heart thudded loudly in his chest, and Kurama wisely remained silent. Naruto wasn't sure what he felt. He just stared up at the sky, uncaring that his tears were not stopping. The stars were bright that night.

She would have liked that.

He rolled over onto his side, looking at the picture.

He remembered that day. It was a good day. Inoichi had promised to treat them to ramen if they behaved for their picture. Naruto had known it was just a bribe to make sure that he didn't do anything too crazy.

He still stuck his tongue out in the picture in defiance, but that had only made Nao get caught in a giggling fit. She couldn't stop laughing or hold still long enough for the picture, so Kakashi had to steady her. Her eyes were closed in the picture, and she was leaning heavily on Kakashi, clutching her stomach, with Naruto on her left side and Sasuke on her right. Sasuke was ignoring the cameraman, smirking at the scene instead, and Kakashi was just giving what looked to be a sheepish expression.

A small butterfly landed on Naruto's shoulder.

~Naruto.~

Naruto's eyes widened, and he jolted, immediately recognizing the voice. A wave of fierce grief hit him in the same instance, and he looked over at Shiori. She had fluttered off him in his movement, but then gracefully landed on his outstretched hand. She presented a seal to him. ~Nao-sama wished for me to give you this.~

"Nao?" Naruto whispered. With unnerving speed, Naruto had released the letter inside and read it.

Dear Naruto,

I'm sorry.

I'm glad you were my first friend - you're one of my best friends and I'm glad to have met you. You're funny and nice, and you have such a big heart. You've always been so confident, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't envious of that confidence. Don't ever change, Naruto. Go on and become Hokage, okay?

Please take care of team seven.

Love, Nao

Last words.

Those were her last words.

Naruto just stared at letter blankly, feeling extremely disappointed. What had he hoped for? Proof that maybe she was still alive? That maybe... maybe she wasn't dead?

Naruto stilled.

"Shiori..." Naruto whispered, his voice tight, "... how did you get these?"

~Nao-sama created them and informed me that when the contract was terminated, to give them to their owners,~ Shiori answered, her voice light.

"How do you know the contract is terminated?" Naruto demanded.

~Because she had not given us her weekly deposit of blood. We are created from her blood, without it, the kaleidoscope will die. I will lay my final egg and the new summoner will then create a new contract and new kaleidoscope.~
"You're going to die?" Naruto asked.

Shiori tilted her head. ~Yes. I will join Nao-sama, wherever she may be.~

"What if she's still alive, but just in a different world?"

~I will still follow her - our souls are intertwined.~
"Is there any way for you to know if she is alive?" Naruto asked.

Shiori seemed to realize what Naruto was getting at, because she stopped fluttering her wings. ~Naruto... do not give yourself false hope. If Nao was able to, she would not have terminated the contract.~

"All I know is that she went into a portal," Naruto mumbled. "That's it."

~With Madara.~

Naruto closed his eyes. "He's... he's supposed to be smart though, right? He wouldn't 'ave... wouldn't 'ave killed her. She woulda been his only way out, right?"

~And the fact that she is not out, and neither is he, means one of two things, Naruto. One, she died - either from the exertion, or from him. Or two, she is trapped in there with a madman, incapable of escape. Even if she was alive - you could not reach her. That realm is out of your reach.~
A stubborn glint went into Naruto's eyes when he opened them.

~Don't do this,~ Shiori warned. ~She wouldn't have wanted this. You know that. Cherish her final words to you, Naruto. Because if you loved her at all - if you respected her at all - you would not ruin her sacrifice like this. You would follow her words and keep them close to you.~
Naruto's gaze fell and he looked away. "... I just miss her so much."

~Then live a life that would make her proud, so when you two do meet again, you can look her in the eye.~

Shiori's wings fluttered again and she took off, leaving the small boy alone.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

Sasuke stared at the bag on his bed.

It was packed. He was ready to leave - ready to get out of here.

He lost another person. He lost his family because of their idiotic views, and now he lost one of his best friends because of her idiotic views. He couldn't stop his family, and he couldn't stop her.

He refused to go to her funeral, because he already been to more than enough in his lifetime. He had already buried more than enough loved ones and had already heard more than enough stories. The funeral was to comfort the living, but Sasuke saw no comfort in going to that grieving place.

He didn't want to be here anymore.

How many more people would he be forced to watch die? It didn't matter how strong he was now to then - it would never be enough, would it? They would all die.

Perhaps it was selfish, but Sasuke just could not stand the thought of losing another precious person. It sent him into shudders and opened up all sorts of raw wounds that time wouldn't heal. He barely managed to keep his sanity after his family's massacre - but it was just by a hairline. And the onlyreason that was the case was because of Naruto and Nao. They became his family, his support and backbone.

He lost half of his family.

He could not... would not... tolerate losing the other half so suddenly, so... stupidly because of their idiotic views.

So he would leave. He would leave before they got the chance to die, and he would stop caring. One way or another, he would stop caring because caring was just too painful.

He had his bag packed, but he did not move.

He just stood in front of his bed, staring at it.

Itachi had packed a bag, too, and was leaning on the doorframe. Sasuke knew he would follow him, regardless of what he wanted. Itachi would follow Sasuke, no questions asked, no persuasions given, and no objections offered, wherever he went.

Itachi stared at Sasuke's bag, too, silent and unreadable.

A cool breeze drifted into the room from the open window, and with it, was Shiori.

Sasuke dragged his eyes away from the bag and settled onto the butterfly. With delicate grace, she landed on his outstretched finger and presented a seal. Once Sasuke had taken it, she moved to Itachi, offering him a similar seal.

Sasuke opened the seal and read the letter.

Dear Sasuke,

I'm sorry.

You've always been a good friend, and to be entirely honest I always thought of you like an older brother, you know? Thank you for being my precious person. I know this is going to be hard for you - I know, even if you won't admit it, you care about Naruto and me. We're family, all of us. I'm so sorry it had to be this way, and I hope one day you might be able to forgive me. I understand if you don't want to right now, but please don't shut out. Please stay close and take care of team seven.

We're still family, even if I can't be with you.

Love,

Nao

Sasuke did not make any outward expressions. His body and face completely blank.

Itachi scanned over his own letter.

Dear Itachi,

I'm sorry.

I know now why I cried when we first met. I hope this time, though, you won't cry for me. You've been through too much, and for that, I'm sorry. You're a gentle shinobi, and I hope that doesn't change. Please take care of Sasuke for me, okay?

Love,

Nao

Itachi stared stoically at the note, but with great care, he folded it and put it away. He moved to stand closer to his little brother, and he put a hand on his shoulder.

I was not meant to outlive you. I never wanted to, Itachi thought softly, closing his eyes.

Sasuke then gave a great, shuddering sigh, his entire body losing form as he just slowly sunk to the floor. He turned his back, and pressed it against his bed, closing his eyes. His older brother sank to the floor beside, and the two sat shoulder-to-shoulder.

After several minutes passed of silence, Itachi stood and moved to unpack his own bag. He did not offer any words, nor any explanation, and Sasuke did not ask for one.

He knew, and Sasuke knew, that neither of them would be leaving.

You're an absolute idiot, Sasuke thought.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

Obito was confined to a hospital bed, quietly wondering how the hell he was still alive while she remained dead. The only reason he wasn't in a prison at the moment, was because he literally brought everyone (well, almost everyone) back to life in the war. The only sign that it still happened was the fact that the maps had to be re-drawn, and the tighter kinship between the allied nations.

He fingered the single stem of bluebells in his hands. They were from the last bouquet at his grave. She still visited him, despite knowing who he was. She still believed in him, despite knowing what he had done.

When she had taken out Madara, all he could was stare in disbelief. He couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that Madara was gone... that she was gone... just like that.

It was... unbelievable.

Obito laid back in the bed, staring up at the ceiling. He wasn't sure what he was going to do now. He didn't entirely believe that he would have survived the Rinne-Rebirth, but somehow he did.

He wasn't sure if he was glad for it... or hated it.

He supposed he wouldn't know for a while. It was still too fresh, the wounds were still open and he had yet to properly mourn.

~Obito?~

Obito slowly turned his head to the window to find a small white butterfly – Shiori – flying towards him. He would have wondered how she made it past the ANBU guards, but decided he didn't care. Maybe the guards didn't care, either.

Obito landed on his outstretched hand, and he took the note she held out with careful fingers.

Dear Obito-ue,

I'm not even sure if you'll get this letter, to be honest. I hope you don't, as I hope I'd be able to tell you this in person. But, this is war, and Kakashi was right. I should prepare for the worst, you know? Obito, I'm glad to have met you. I'm glad that it was you who I visited so often, and you who I idolized. You're a good person, Obito. I believe that. Promise me you won't give up on yourself, or this world. There are a lot of other good people in it, and I'm sure you'll make wonderful friends if you give them the chance. Be kind to Kakashi for me, okay? He missed you an awful lot.

And get yourself another pair of goggles.

Love,

Nao

No words could describe the feelings that churned in the pit of Obito's stomach, the inner turmoil and guilt the accompanied her words.

He wasn't sure if he was a good man, or not.

He wasn't sure if he wanted to be a good man or not – if he had the right to even try.

He wasn't even sure if he deserved this second chance that she sacrificed herself for.

But he did know that he would try. He would, because when he did finally die, he wanted to be the person she thought he was.

Obito swore to himself that when he did meet her again, he would be able to look her in the eye and tell her, with absolute certainly, that her sacrificedid not go in vain.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

Kakashi stared at her name.

His finger moved out to the stone and he traced it.

When he lost his father, he grew apathetic. When he lost his teammate, he grew irrational. When he lost his second teammate, he became apathetic again. When he lost his sensei, he lost his self-preservation.

It was said that time healed all wounds, and that was both true and a lie. The pain of losing his father had certainly lessened over the years, and he slowly began to forgive himself for killing his teammates and failing to protect his sensei. It helped, most certainly, that he had such persistent friends - especially in Gai.

It helped even more so, when he received his very own team. They became his new responsibility - his way of redeeming himself, almost. Naruto was Minato's precious son, and Sasuke was Obito's precious cousin. Nao became Kakashi's own precious first student and the three of them made up histeam seven.

They were his responsibility. His burden and his joy.

He loved them.

And today, he saw his first student's name be engraved into her own stone.

In his other hand, he clutched tightly the goggles he had given her. They had fallen off her in the final battle and he had selfishly hoarded them to himself. They had a crack in them from one of her fights, and there was a smear on the inside - her fingerprint.

They were her goggles.

Kakashi looked down at them, his gut heaving. It felt like a million icicles had rammed through his chest. Words could not even begin to describe the absolute torment that had gripped him when Naruto confessed she would not be returning. He had fallen to his knees then and there, unashamedly crying silently for his student.

Even now, he convulsed with grief, shuddering and trembling. Without warning, he snapped his hand back from the stone and buried both of them deeply in his pocket.

~Kakashi.~

Kakashi looked over to find Shiori landing gently atop the stone. She was presenting a small seal to him. He unclenched his hands and morphed his expression into that of apathy.

When he unsealed the letter inside, he tried not to balk at the familiar handwriting.

Dear Kakashi,

I'm sorry.

You were my first sensei and you've taught me so much. Thank you for supporting me and helping me through those times. Thank you for teaching me about the stone and thank you for being my teacher. Please don't visit my grave too often, okay? You can't do that anymore. You have to take care of yourself and team seven, and you have to take care of Obito. I know he's done so much and I understand that it's going to be hard - but I know you care a lot about him. Repair your friendship with him, as best as you can and don't dwell on my choices. I love you so much.

Love,

Nao

Kakashi took a shaky breath, looking up at the gray sky and rocking to the balls of his heels.

"I won't fail you," Kakashi swore. "Never again... I swear to you, Nao. I won't... "

A warm breeze blew through the clearing, picking up some blue petals that remained from the bouquet that continued to decay. The petals flew up in the wind, and Shiori joined them, flying higher and higher up into the sky before she and the petals were out of sight.

She had another note she was supposed to deliver, but it would have to remain undelivered.

Dear Yagura,

Forgive me.

Do you remember our conversation a year ago? I haven't forgotten it. It's a treasured memory to me. I hope it still is to you, and I hope when you look back on it, it won't hurt you. And I also hope, that you let me be a bit selfish in this letter.

Thank you for being my friend.

Thank you for being my sensei.

Thank you for being my Kame.

Thank you for letting me fall in love with you.

Love,

Nao

. . .

. .

.

Interlude – Nao's POV - 19

I stumbled, my hands reaching out and grasping at air. Two hands gripped my arms and pulled me close, preventing me from falling to the ground. My eyes widened and I looked up, my breath caught in my throat. My cheeks warmed and my tongue seemed to not be working.

Yagura was looking down at me, his eyes unreadable and his cheeks slowly starting to become a rosy red.

We stared at each other for several seconds, neither of us speaking.

Yagura abruptly released me, turning away and walking for a few steps.

He stopped at the edge of the cliff, overlooking the forest and sunset.

Silence fell between us, and my stomach fluttered, my tongue still tied.

"I..." Yagura started, seeming to struggle. "... I am... I am the type of person who prefers to confront things, rather than dance around the topic. For a while, I have... I mean... I'm not Kame. I'm Yagura. I'm older than Kakashi, you know, and Kame was just a brat. I'm not Kame."

Yagura sighed, glancing back at me briefly with a melancholy expression. "Ah, but you know, it's almost a shame I'm not Kame. Because you see..."

He turned away from me again.

"... Kame really liked you."

My breath hitched, and I moved towards him, unwillingly, until I stood at his side. My eyes steadily continued to look down, and I fidgeted nervously.

"... I really liked Kame, too," I mumbled, blushing. "... But, um... I still like Yagura because Yagura is still Kame."

Yagura did not look over at me, but he did move a bit closer. Neither of us looked at each other, just continued to watch the sun set.

"Right now, physically, you're too young," Yagura said softly, but firmly. "Right now I can only be Yagura... not Kame. But... but maybe... in a few years..."

"Will you wait for me?" I blurted out, then immediately felt mortified by my poor tact.

"Will you wait for me?"

"Yes," I promised.

And we stood shoulder to shoulder, just a bit closer than before.

For now, it would have to do.

End.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

*Braces for impact*

For those of you who want to know a bit about this ending, WHY I ended it like this and whatnot, allow me to explain.

For those of you that just need a happy ending, just go to the next chapter.

I planned for Nao to die from the very beginning. I foreshadowed it to the best of my ability (her connection with death, the title, her stupid tendency to jump in front of her precious people and losing something because of it - like the Curse Mark, her losing her eye, etc).

I wanted her to die for a couple reasons.

1.) I felt that was the most realistic ending someone could get in the Narutoverse. I feel like any type of happy ending would always be biased because that's what we want. We want a happy ending. I stated it from the beginning that this would be a realistic story, and I feel like in reality, Nao would have died. Maybe she should have died at the beginning from her illness, maybe from the Curse Mark, or something else.

2.) It seemed like a good way to end the story. Maybe not happy, but good. I started with her birth, and I ended with her death. It seemed complete.

3.) To see if I can. I know, poor excuse for you guys, but the point of FF (in my opinion) is to better the author / authoress. Each of my stories focus on a different aspect of writing I struggled in. Sakura was to see if I can finish a story, Chipped Mask was to work on relationship development, Shadowed Sun is for character development, and Decaying Bluebells was focused on sub-plots and foreshadowing. And to see if I could pull the trigger, so to speak, on one of my own babies.

It's a lot harder than it looks and I still couldn't do it right (I caved in and wrote a completely AU full-out happy ending for goodness sake).