29 Wating of End part 1

It was warm. Nothing bad, if anything it was a comfort. Add the birds singing in a perfect melody, the smell of trees as they rustled in the breeze, and the feel of that same wind as it blew in through the open window, and he could say for certain that today was going to be beautiful. The sounds of the window curtains flapping brought Naruto further into consciousness, his eyes creaking open, only to wince back shut as fresh sunlight blared into them.

Shifting in his bed, he smiled as he felt the form next to him brush alongside him.

Only for his eyes to shoot open once again.

Jumping up out of bed in a flurry, Naruto's feet padded against the wooden floor as he hurriedly tried to get some distance from himself and the person with him.

The form within the bed lurched at Naruto's sudden movement, his flailing causing the blanket to go flying off the mattress. Lying in a daze, Hinata Hyuga blinked away her drowsiness as she tilted her head in confusion.

"N-Naruto?" She blurted out, right before delivering a slight yawn, "What are you doing?"

But Naruto couldn't answer, too busy taking her in. She was older than the last time he saw her, looking to be around his age. She seemed…mature, womanly. Her hair was longer than he remembered, and from what he could see from her light sleep wear her figure had filled out.

Finally, he stuttered, "Wha-what…what's happening? How are you here?"

Confusion marred Hinata's beautiful face, "Here? This is our bedroom, Naruto."

"Wha-"

The woman's face morphed into a slight deadpan, "If you're workshopping a new prank, it needs a little work."

"I don't-"

Getting up, she gracefully made around the bed, "And I thought we agreed to no pranks in the morning anymore?" She asked lightly, a serene smile on her face.

Now standing in front of him, her head directly under his chin, she brought herself up on her toes in an attempt to peck his cheek. She was halted as his hands gripped her shoulders, pushing her back.

"You're a dream." Naruto said firmly. Closing his eyes, he began to mutter to himself to wake up.

Hinata took a step back, concerned, "Okay Naruto, this isn't funny. Stop-"

"No, you stop!" Naruto shouted suddenly, his eyes frantic, "You're not real. I know you not!"

His eyes scanning the room, desperation painted on his face, Naruto spotted a weapons pouch on the nightstand. Pushing passed Hinata, he swiped it before pulling out a single kunai.

Determined, he gripped the blade in front of him. His eyes closing shut as he prepared to wake up, he prepped his other hand.

Hinata gasped as she realized what he was going to do, "Naruto, don't-"

But Naruto ignored her, driving the kunai into the palm of his free hand.

His clenched eyes slowly pried open, confused as he barely felt anything.

Looking down, his eyes widened in shock. Stuck in his right palm, the kunai shined in the morning light. But there was no blood, no flesh or bone. His hand wasn't his hand. It was white, stark white. It almost didn't look real. But as he pulled out the kunai and gripped the foreign appendage, he realized that it was. And it was his.

Dropping the kunai, he took several wary steps back as he tried to process what was going on. But the room wouldn't allow him to concentrate. It was too busy spinning. The floor beneath didn't seem to exist anymore, and he nearly fell over as he bumped into the nightstand. Pressing himself against the wall for balance, Naruto's breathing became rapid.

"Naruto? Naruto!"

Tears were spilling down his face, his brain seemingly unable to extract thought, as he slumped over against the wall. He felt a pair of cool hands touch his face, a voice in the background as darkness began to encroach on his vision.

The last thing he heard was a woman calling out his name.

-x-

The smell of a hospital wasn't new to Naruto. In his twenty-four years of life, he'd been stuck in a hospital more times than he'd like to admit. So, when that smell suddenly invaded his nose, and the sound of a woman's voice began to break through, he sprung up like a dead man rising.

Gasping, his eyes wide from his dilating pupils, he jerked forward to try and get out of the bed. But he was stopped dead by a firm hand on his chest, the small palm pressing down with surprising strength.

"Woah there. I'm not done fixing what you did to your hand, idiot."

Naruto's breath caught at the voice, blinking away any spots in his vision as he made eye contact with the woman in front of him.

Like Hinata, she looked older than the last time they'd seen each other. Her hair was at the same length, but her bangs now swept over her forehead rather than parting down the middle. She wore a casual red sun dress, the thin vail covering her matured curves.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Naruto croaked, "Sakura…"

Sakura didn't bother looking up from his hand, her free hand was sheathed in medical chakra as she ran it over his self-inflicted stab wound, "You know, just when I start to think you're not as stupid as you used to be, you go and do this to yourself. Didn't you learn your lesson the last time you did this?"

"Sakura." He breathed again.

"Lady Tsunade and I put our blood, sweat, and tears into making you and Sasuke these arms, and all the both of you ever do to thank us is break them." She huffed, "At least you have Hinata to keep it from getting too bad. I swear, Sasuke treats me like his mechanic sometimes."

"Sakura-"

"What?" She asked, exasperated as she looked up from his hand. She stopped her incoming tirade when her eyes landed on his face, "Naruto…why are you crying?"

Tears were spilling down Naruto's face, quietly choking out, "Is it really you?"

She gave a small laugh, "Of course it's me, you big idiot." Smiling, she scooted closer towards him, taking his other hand in hers.

"I-I thought…I think…I don't know what's going on." Naruto admitted, holding her hand up to his face, "You can't be real, you just can't."

"Why can't I be real?" Sakura asked slowly, concern on her face.

"Because you're dead." Naruto answered immediately. "You, everyone. You're not supposed to be here. I'm not supposed to be here."

Sakura's frown deepened, "Where are you supposed to be-"

The door suddenly flew open with a bang, as something small came running into the room. That something was a little boy, no older than five. His hair was a deep blonde, with a curved spike to it that reminded Naruto of a leaf. He was wearing a black track suit with red trimmings, his arms waving as he ran up to the bedside. As he did, Naruto saw the boy had a pair of deep blue eyes and matching whisker marks on his cheeks.

The boy's head barely peaked over the mattress, his hands pulling him up enough so his eyes could be seen as he began to say animatedly, "Dad, Dad, Dad! Mama said you got hurt while training, but…but I told her that you can't get hurt 'cause that's what Sarada told me! That, that you're the strongest, so you can't get hurt. So why did Mama say you got hurt? Huh Dad?"

It only took a second for Naruto to realize the boy was talking to him.

As he was about to find his voice, Hinata's cut him off as she walked into the room, "Boruto, what did I say about running off?" She asked gently.

Boruto's head dipped, "Sorry, Mama."

Shifting the bundle in her arms, Hinata's focus turned to Naruto, "Are you feeling better?" She asked, hopeful.

But Naruto was too busy noticing what the bundle in her arms was. It was a toddler, no older than two or three years old. From what he could see, it was a little girl. As the girl shifted in Hinata's arms, Naruto realized she and the boy had matching eyes and whisker marks on their cheeks. The only strikingly different thing between them was that her hair was the same shade as Hinata's.

When Naruto didn't respond, Boruto's smile faded, "Dad?"

Sakura, seeing Naruto's confused state, quickly walked around the bed. Picking Boruto up in her arms, she gave Hinata as even of a smile as she could, "Do you think we could talk outside?"

Boruto, in Sakura's arms, turned to face his father, frowning back at him.

Hinata nodded slowly, looking over Sakura's shoulder in concern. As they closed the door behind them, Naruto leaned forward as he gripped his head in his hands.

"This can't be real. This can't be real. This can't be real." He repeated in his head, rocking back and forth as he willed himself to wake up, "Everyone's gone, there's no way this is happening. Everyone…"

A sudden thought occurring to him, Naruto closed his eyes and allowed himself to fall into his mindscape.

Opening his eyes, he smiled at the sight before him.

"Hello partner. Quite the interesting day you're having, hmm?"

Naruto gave an exhausted laugh, rubbing his head as he said, "Yeah, yeah I'm gonna be honest this illusion or whatever the hell is happening was pretty convincing. It almost got me there for a-"

He stopped at seeing Kurama's concerned face.

The blonde smiled warily, "What?" He asked.

Kurama hesitated for a moment, his words measured, "You're not under an illusion, Naruto. This is real."

"Bullshit."

The Biju paused, "Naruto, I'm not-"

"Stop bullshitting me, Kurama! You, this Hinata, this Sakura, you all think this is a funny game, don't you? Well it's not! So stop, right now!" Naruto yelled harshly, "They're dead. Don't try and convince me otherwise. Not after everything we've been through in the last seven years."

"And what, exactly, have we been through in the past seven years?" Asked the beast, disturbed.

"Don't act like you don't know." Naruto answered, folding his arms over his chest as he said, "After everything that's happened on Earth and off, don't pretend like you've forgotten."

"Earth? Off?" Kurama muttered, confused.

"Yeah, off." Naruto said, desperate for Kurama to stop playing around, "Xandar, Berhert, Sovereign, Hala. We met the Ravagers, Quill and the Guardians. We were in space for like two years!"

Kurama remained silent as he observed the blonde. Lowering his head down, he moved in as close as he comfortably could as he looked Naruto in the eye. A few seconds later, he asked, "Are you feeling well? You seem…disturbed, right now."

Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat, "You're telling me you don't remember Earth? Natasha? The Avengers?" He paused, "Clint?"

"I don't know these names, Naruto."

Naruto looked up at Kurama in horror, feeling as though he were about to be sick.

Taking in a deep breath, he muttered, "I'm going to talk to Freyja. She wouldn't go along with this, she won't."

There was a pause. Naruto looked around, confused that he hadn't been taken to Freyja's corner of the seal.

"Who is Freyja, Naruto?"

After another pause, Naruto began to chuckle.

Kurama watched on as the chuckle grew into a full-on hysterical laugh.

-x-

Sakura's eyes were on Boruto, the little boy sitting down next to his mother. His legs were kicking enthusiastically between the chair's legs, his eyes wandering around the hall curiously looking at passersby.

Shifting her attention to Hinata, she asked, "You said he woke up like this?"

Hinata shifted Himawari in her arms, "I've never seen him act like this, ever. He had a panic attack. Him."

"The way he acted around me it was…odd. I honestly can't describe it." The pink haired woman spoke softly.

"He said…he said I should be a dream. He thought that I wasn't real, like I was a genjutsu." Hinata described, her eyes on Boruto as the boy innocently waved to a passing shinobi.

Sakura sighed to herself, "I'm going to call in Tsunade, I think. Let her give him a checkup. She's always been better at psychosis than I have."

"Psychosis?" Hinata demanded, her eyes wide, "You can't honestly think that-"

"He told me I was supposed to be dead, Hinata." Sakura interrupted, "No just me, he said everyone. Clearly, something has happened to make him lose his grip on reality."

The pale eyed woman withdrew into herself, nodding as her hold on Himawari got a little firmer, "I want to talk to him. Maybe…maybe seeing the children will snap him out of it."

"I don't think that's a good idea-"

"He wouldn't forget them, Sakura." Hinata cut her off, surprising Sakura with her harshness, "He…he just wouldn't."

"Okay." The medic conceded. Getting up, she led the way into the room. As she opened the door, the sound of the curtains flapping in the wind filled hall.

Swinging the door open, she was greeted to an empty room, the window wide open.

Placing a hand on her head, Sakura muttered, "Shit."

-x-

He couldn't stay in that room. The overwhelming sense of claustrophobia he'd felt had practically swallowed him whole. Nothing made sense. It had to be a dream. They were gone. His friends, everyone. He didn't have a family. A wife. Children. None of these things existed. He was alone. He was the last one alive. He had to be. Otherwise, what was the point of everything? Of Earth, the Avengers, Natasha, Illyana, the Guardians, the Ravagers, of Xandar. What was the point of these memories? Was that the dream?

Then why couldn't he remember anything? He'd passed the Hokage Monument in his escape from the hospital. Kakashi was the Hokage. He'd have remembered this happening. Sakura talked like Sasuke was in the village, or at least a part of their lives. He'd have remembered that. His family. He'd have never forgotten that.

But then why couldn't he wake up? If this were a dream or an illusion, he'd have been out of it by now, right? Maybe this was just Kaguya fucking with him. Maybe he'd been inside the Infinite Tsukuyomi all along, and the illusion had been changed just to mess with him. After all, it's supposed to be the ultimate dream. And things had not been going well, on Earth. Clint was dead, what little remained of him found and being prepared to bury. The Avengers were likely to break up, the world itself picking sides as to who was wrong and why. Maybe the illusion was taking a course correction?

Because, after all, this is what he'd always wanted.

"Naruto?"

A smile unknowingly spread along Naruto's face. He didn't bother to turn away from the memorial stone, its surface unvandalized with the names of Naruto's fallen comrades. Although, he spotted a few familiar names; Neji Hyuga, Shikaku Nara, and Inoichi Yamanaka. But, these were carved into the stone professionally. His carvings looked like chicken scratch in comparison.

Stepping up beside him, Kakashi Hatake gave Naruto a sideways look, "I didn't expect to see you here this morning. In your pajamas no less."

"Funny you should say that, 'cause I feel like I just woke up from a really long dream." With no more energy to do otherwise, Naruto decided to go with the flow, "Shouldn't you be at the office, Lord Hokage?"

This caused Kakashi to pause. Looking at him fully, the silver haired man quirked an eyebrow, "I'd heard word you took a visit to the hospital. Did you hit your head?"

"What makes you say that?"

"Because otherwise you'd have to be an imposter. The real Naruto would die before calling me the lord of anything." The Hokage quipped lightly, turning back to the headstone.

"Maybe I am an imposter."

If Kakashi wasn't as relaxed of an individual as he was, he'd have flat out done a double take. Instead, he merely turned to Naruto, studying him. Finally, he muttered, "Hm, well if you are you're doing a mighty fine good job of it. You've got the mannerisms down, and the size of your chakra is impressively similar to Naruto's to say the least, let alone the overall feel of it. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're the best impersonator I've ever seen."

It didn't take very long into Kakashi's analysis for Naruto to know he wasn't taking him seriously. Smiling, he muttered, "You ever wake up from a dream, and it seemed so real that when you woke up you forgot what was real? Does…does that make any sense to you?"

The Hokage pondered the question. Unable to come up with an answer, he tilted his head in curiosity, "What was this dream, if you mind me asking?" Kakashi wondered.

Naruto stepped up to the memorial stone, running his hand along the top, "Everyone was dead. I'd failed, Sensei. When Sasuke and I were fighting Kaguya, she'd almost killed me and Sasuke tried to save me with one of his portals. But, he'd accidently sent me to another planet. By the time I made my way back, everyone was dead, even Kaguya. The only one left was Zetsu. After he told me, I killed him. I was the only one left. I tried to move on. I really, really tried. But I was so tempted to bring you back, to reverse what that witch had done to you. But I knew that was wrong of me. You were gone, and I had to accept that. But now…now here you are. All of you. Acting like it never happened."

Naruto faced Kakashi, "What happened?"

Kakashi took all this in, shifting on his feet. Eventually, he answered, "Sasuke didn't send you away, Naruto. The two of you succeeded. You sealed her and Zetsu away. After that, the two of you had a battle at the Valley of the End. Sasuke was convinced that if he used the Biju to destroy the current shinobi system, the world would find peace. You managed to defeat him, but the both of you lost an arm in the final clash."

Naruto looked down at the arm that wasn't his. Sakura had healed the wound he'd inflicted upon it perfectly. The fresh skin was even less natural, reminding him of one of the White Zetsu clones.

"Lady Tsunade and Sakura managed to graft you and Sasuke new arms using the cells of the First Hokage." Kakashi continued, answering Naruto's unasked question, "Sasuke was pardoned of his crimes, mostly thanks to my and your advocacy. He works as an agent outside of the village, keeping a watchful eye on the goings on of the Elemental Nations. He comes back every once in a while, to visit his family."

"His family?" Naruto asked, floored by the revelation.

Kakashi nodded, his eyes closed to go along with his smile, "He and Sakura tied the knot a little over six years ago. They have a daughter now, named Sarada."

The blonde smiled gently at that, "That's good to hear."

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"Don't tell them I said this, but I think the only reason he asked her to marry him when he did was because you'd asked Hinata not long before. He always was competitive over stupid things." Kakashi quipped, "Is it any of that coming back to you?"

"No." Naruto answered, "I wish it was."

"Then why don't I tell you about the day you got married?"

"Okay." Naruto breathed out, his mood rising.

"Well, I'd like for you to know that I wasn't late for once." Kakashi told him, "And I'm more than willing to admit that I looked incredibly dapper. If the Hokage thing wasn't enough, then my looks alone made me irresistible that night. I'd tell you the kind of tail I got, but a man doesn't kiss and tell-" He stopped when he saw Naruto's twitching eyebrow. Coughing into his hand, he continued, "Anyway, you and Hinata got married on the same day, at the same place, as your parents had. But, unlike with them, your wedding was a crowded affair. All the people you'd created bonds with over the years came to show you their support. People from all across the country. They all put aside any business they had to come see the marriage of the most powerful man in the country."

"I expected Hinata to be well…Hinata. But, she was so confident. You could see it in her eyes that she knew where she needed to be. It was you that was nervous."

Naruto frowned at that. Seeing this, Kakashi nodded, "When a boy with no family is about to get everything he's ever wanted, he's bound to feel a little nervous."

"Naruto!"

The two men turned to see Sakura drop down into the field, a look of worry on her face. Kakashi gave her a lazy wave, "Hello, Sakura!" He called out cheerfully, masking the heavy tension in the air.

But Sakura ignored him, grabbing onto Naruto's collar. Pulling him down so they were nose to nose, she yelled, "What the hell were you thinking?! You can't just run off like that! Hinata's worried, your kids are worried, I'm worried!"

"I'm sure he didn't mean to worry anyone." Kakashi cut in from the side helpfully, "Isn't that right, Naruto?"

"I'm sorry, Sakura." Naruto wheezed out.

Sakura let go of him with a huff. Turning on her heel, she said, "Come on, we're going back to the hospital. Someone's waiting for you."

"Who?"