Epilogue: New Beginning

The sunlight hit the sleeping pink haired girl's face through the curtains, giving the white room a sort of angelic halo type of feel. A quiet grunt could be heard as the girl's eyes slowly flickered open, squinting to adjust her vision to the dim yet blinding light. Her first reaction as she realized she was awake was to scream the name of her friend. However, no sound came out of her throat. In a panic, the girl tried to sit up quickly, but was stopped short of doing so by a sharp pain in her back. She fell back on her pillow, wincing, and that's when she really took in her surroundings. A pillow, sheets, white walls, sunlight. No Ino…

It took her a while to register everything, her mind was still pretty dazed from, she guessed, meds and other blissful drugs that would keep the pain away for a bit. I survived… She slowly tried to sit up this time, the pain in her back still preventing her from getting anywhere, so she finally settled for fluffing her pillow a bit and began a staring contest with the ceiling. She knew someone would show up to check on her sooner or later, and didn't trust herself to try and scream for attention.

I wonder if Ike made it out alive… She started thinking, as she tested her right arm, remembering how it was almost torn away from her body… a few days ago, at least. It was painful, but not unmanageable, and she reached up to scratch her nose with it. And I hope Ino's fine… A feeling of dread settled into the pit of her stomach at the thought of Ino. The blonde had taken the power blow straight on, simply to protect her from it. Sakura shook her head at the memories. I should've been able to put up a chakra barrier of sorts to protect the both of us. And here I failed again. I just hope nobody died…

"Oh, Haruno-san, you're awake?" Sakura blinked when she heard the voice, not recognizing it. She turned her head toward the door and examined its owner. A tall girl with strawberry blond hair about shoulder length, wearing a bandana over her forehead and smiling sweetly. The girl waved at her. For a moment she wondered if Hanmaru wasn't pulling a sexy no jutsu on her, until he himself appeared in the door frame. "Whatcha doin' all this noise for Yuhi?" He asked before his gaze fell on the surprised pink haired girl in the bed. "Oh, Sakura! Glad to see yer back with us." He said, smiling. Realization then finally hit Sakura, and the expression she got made both siblings laugh. "Yea, this here's Yuhika, my lil' sister." Hanmaru confirmed, wrapping his arm around the girl's shoulders. Sakura tried to mouth a 'Nice to meet you', but her voice remained ragged and pretty much inexistent. Hanmaru frowned at that. "Err, I'll go an' get 'da Hokage for you." He finally decided, taking a running start before anyone could stop him. Yuhika smiled sheepishly at Sakura. "Um, do you need something Haruno-san?"

Sakura couldn't help but giggle at the difference between the two Dasane. One was rash and hyperactive, and the second was shy and, oh so polite. The laughter strained on the sore excuse for a voice she already had however, and she ended up coughing. Yuhika instantly reached to a glass on the bedside table and handed it to the Sakura. "The water should help…" She offered, apparently unsure of how she wanted to carry on the conversation. Sakura nodded and propped herself up on her good arm to take a few sips of the cold liquid. It did help. "Thank you, Yuhika-chan." She whispered softly as she gave the now half full glass back to the other girl, who smiled at her. "Do you need anything else?" Sakura shook her head, and Yuhika nodded to her before she went for the door. "Wait." Sakura said on an afterthought. Hanmaru's sister turned around and waited for the incoming request. "Do you know how Ino's doing?" The pink haired girl asked almost fearfully. Yuhika first frowned, she was probably trying to remember who Ino was, and then her expression turned to a sad one and Sakura's heart clenched. "Yamanaka-san, right?" Sakura nodded hesitantly. "She's under Tsunade-sama's care. I'm afraid this is all I know." Sakura sighed in relief: at least Ino wasn't dead…

"Sakura!" Tsunade was heard before she could even be seen, and when she entered the room the first thing Sakura noticed was the bags under her eyes. She looked really exhausted, and somehow it made her feel bad for not waking up sooner and causing her sensei to worry about her. "I'm glad you're awake." The woman said as she walked up to her apprentice. Hanmaru quietly dragged his sister away while Tsunade was checking up on Sakura. "How are you doing?" She asked as she tugged a bit at the girl's arm, causing her to wince. "I can barely speak…" Sakura whispered in answer, noting the gentle nod Tsunade gave in acknowledgment. "And I can't sit up." She added, causing Tsunade to look at her immediately. "Of course not! That guy popped two of your vertebras off! I'd be surprised to see you walk in less than a week or two! You're lucky you can even think you'll walk again!"

A little thrown off by Tsunade's outburst, Sakura sank further into the bed and kept silent while she finished examining her.

"Um, Tsunade-sama?" Sakura risked asking when her sensei seemed satisfied with her condition. The older woman looked at her student and smiled. "Yes?" It was obvious that the smile was fake by how it seemed to strain the woman's cheeks and how her eyes weren't reflecting any emotions at all. Sakura gulped. "How's Ino doing?"

Tsunade straightened up and sighed, the smile completely disappearing from her face. "She'll be alright." Sakura frowned. If Ino was going to be alright, what was the matter then? "Look, Sakura. Maybe you should forget about her…"

"Uh?"

"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about. This thing that's between you two. It's affecting your thinking on the battlefield. She took two hits that she didn't even need to take, just because of some… I shouldn't have let her come with you and Iketetsomaru…" The Fifth Hokage trailed off, waiting for what she said to sink in. And it did.

"What do you think you know about it?" It was Sakura's turn to get upset, and if she hadn't had these injuries, she would've stood up to talk back. Hearing that coming from Tsunade, the person she respected over everyone else, made her boil inside. "I know enough to understand this isn't good for leading a ninja life!" Tsunade shouted back, not holding anything back anymore.

"Once again, what do you think you know about this? Would you react the same if it had been Naruto?"

"Of course I would think the same way, especially since you're on the same team! You can't just… go and throw your life away just 'cause you love someone! Not when there's a mission at stake!"

"No you wouldn't! Otherwise you wouldn't have sent him risk his life for Sasuke!"

"Sasuke was worth the risk. If he…" Sakura didn't let her finish. "So Sasuke's worth the risk and I am NOT?!? He abandoned us, he betrayed us, but that some of us put their life on the line to try and save him is okay, but Ino protecting me, your student, is wrong?!?"

Tsunade stared at Sakura for a moment, realizing that her logic was, indeed, flawed. It was so easy to just pretend that it was wrong that she hadn't really looked a bit further into it, and had come up with the worse excuse ever, just to cover up her disgust – one she didn't really understand herself – over the matter. A few tears gathered at the corner of her tired eyes as she faced the truth, finally. "I'm sorry, Sakura. This is a bit hard for me to accept…" She admitted quietly. Almost instantly, the rage Sakura felt melted down and she sighed. It hadn't been easy to accept for herself, so it was a given some other people would have a hard time with it. But Tsunade of all of the 'other people'? That was a shock.

"Yeah, it's not like I was looking for it myself…" Sakura finally said, earning one of those motherly looks Tsunade would give her all the time. "I know Sakura. But I'm happy, if you're happy." Her mouth hung open as she was going to continue, but a knock on the door frame interrupted her. "Err, Tsunade-sama." Hanmaru's face was, contrary to his usual self, carrying a look of deep concern. "Ike needs ya." It didn't take more than that for Tsunade to sprint out of the room, almost running over the poor boy that was still standing in the door. Sakura was looking his way as if he was some guy from another planet right then. The young man reached behind his neck and scratched absently as he returned the girl a silly half smile. "Iketetsomaru is alive?"

Sakura felt bad for not even asking about him. He was the reason Ino and her were alive to begin with, he had just saved the village, and she had just assumed he was dead without giving it a second thought. "Well, sure he is!" Hanmaru answered with something akin to pride. But the tone in his voice was not reflected by the grin he tried to put on his face. "A little worse for the wear, but the guy'll pull through." He added, apparently not totally convinced by what he was saying. Sakura nodded sympathetically, unsure of what she could say to try and comfort Hanmaru.

"Oi, I have an idea." He said after a while, motioning to Sakura to wait for him as he raced towards some other place. The pink haired girl giggled at his attitude, wondering how he had managed being one of the main assassin under Fubuki's orders. That freak didn't deserve such a kind hearted ninja in his ranks, seriously. Nor did he ever should've had control over Iketetsomaru for so long. Sakura wondered how he had kept them under his command all this time, and somehow figured that it probably had something to do with threatening something precious to them – in Hanmaru's case, his little sister could've weighted a lot in the trade.

A wheelchair made it's way into the room, followed by a now genuinely smiling Hanmaru. "Ya get to visit yer friend, and the trip is a graciosity of yours truly, Dasane Transportations." He said enthusiastically, bowing as he did, and Sakura couldn't help but giggle. She debated accepting the offer for a bit though. "Does Tsunade know that?" Hanmaru looked thoughtful for a moment, scratching his chin with his left hand. "Naw, but if my sis can go and see her, why shouldn't you?" He offered. Sakura sighed. "I mean, moving me out of bed. Is that safe?" Hanamaru didn't answer, instead he made his way to the bed and smirked. Sakura pushed the sheets off of herself and he picked her up carefully, gently placing her in the wheelchair afterwards. "Did it hurt any?" Sakura blushed. She had just been carried bridal style – for a few seconds, but still – by a guy. One that was at least a little attractive. And a lot nicer than she had thought he could be. Oh god what am I thinking? I'm in love with Ino, right? I can't just go and… gah he is handsome…

Earth to Sakura, it's not because you fantasize about some hottie that you don't love Ino.

I know! But… I mean… That makes me…

Bisexual. So what's wrong? You obsessed over Sasuke for years. Did you think that was all just a fluke?

I hate how you make sense sometimes.

Who knows, maybe you could convince Ino to have a threesome with…

No no no noooo NO! Enough I don't wanna hear anymore!

Or maybe an foursome with Ike too… Yummy…

Shut up!

You know you want to.

By the time they had reached Ino's room, Sakura was bright red and shaking her head, trying to chase the images out of her mind. What was worse, was that they had actually turned her on, and that felt so wrong.

Hanmaru left her chair right beside the bed and smiled at her. "I'll leave ya two alone. If there's anything, me or Yuhi should be around, so just call." Sakura smiled at him. "Thank you." The boy smiled sheepishly and turned around. "It's no prob, really." As he walked away, the sun reflected on the forehead protector he wore over his shoulder, and Sakura noted that the Hawk village plate had been replaced by one of Konoha. Well that was good news.

"Geez forehead, if you keep looking at guys like this, I'll end up jealous you know?" Ino's faint voice shook Sakura out of her daze, and renewed the blush on her cheeks. "He's a pretty cool guy when you get to know him, and he is hot. Maybe a bit too Naruto-ish to my liking though." The blonde continued, giving Sakura a smirk, as if she had read in her thoughts or something. Sakura giggled. "You know there is only you though, right?" She said, seriously. This time Ino giggled. "Oh please, I'm not that blind. You were seriously blushing at the thought of him… doing things. Right?" Sakura shook her head and searched for Ino's hand, giving it a light squeeze when she found it. "I mean, I'll only ever truly love you." Ino squeezed her hand back. "You better, after what I did for you. Although if it worked that way, we'd have to be married to Ike for a couple lifetimes…" Sakura laughed again and tried to lean in to give Ino a kiss, her back protested however and she ended up wincing. Ino ended up being the one to move, albeit really slowly, and press her lips to Sakura for a soft, gentle kiss. She pulled back smiling brightly. "I'm the one who took the most risk, and somehow you're the one who stayed out of it the longest." Sakura gave her a playful glare. "Maybe that's 'cause I healed you before passing out, baka. And you probably would be out of that bed by now if you hadn't been stupid enough to take the blow instead of me setting up a barrier."

Ino's expression turned serious. "Idiot." Sakura frowned, not at all expecting that kind of answer. Ino dropped back into her pillow and sighed. "When someone saves your life, you say thank you." She continued, not daring to look at Sakura. Tears started to form at the corner of her eyes. "I've had enough of Tsunade telling me it was stupid already." She finally added, her body now shaken by quiet sobs as she tightened her grip on Sakura's hand. "I just… couldn't risk losing you. I didn't think, my body moved on it's own. I love you Sakura." This time Ino turned her head and looked her love straight in the eyes. Sakura wanted to hug her, real tight, and never let go. Their current position however, barely allowed them to move. "I love you too Ino. I really do." She answered, brushing her thumb against the back of Ino's hand.

"Tsunade's been trying to convince me that…" Ino started, but was interrupted.

"I know." Sakura said, her vision getting slightly blurry. "She said the same thing to me…" Ino nodded at that and closed her eyes.

"You're not going to…" She was cut off by Sakura once more.

"No. Never. I love you, and no matter what anyone else might think, that's not going to change." Her voice, although weak, held so much conviction that Ino couldn't help but break down, now clearly crying. "Sakura I… Don't let go of me, please." Sakura's eyes grew wide, why would she let go, anyway? Her urge to be right beside the blonde grew even more at that request, and she decided that calling on Hanmaru again, in this case, was the quickest way to make it work. "Hanmaru?" She shouted tentatively, noting that the mention of the name made Ino sob a little harder. The young man was in the door frame not much more than ten seconds later. "Ya called?" He offered, not quite wanting to walk in for nothing. "Yeah, I have a special request…" Sakura said, waiting for the boy to walk over to her before she continued, all the while still holding Ino's hand as if hanging onto life itself. "Something that might get me in trouble, aye?" He said quietly, watching the two girls with a hint of a smile at the corner of his lips. "Yes, but just tell Tsunade I forced you to…" Sakura said, pausing to look at Ino. "I just want you to put me in her bed."

Hanmaru blinked, but obliged anyway, making sure both girls had everything they needed before he left. Not like they needed much anyway – they had each other, and it was all that mattered.

--------------------------------------

"This year was, once again, a rough year for the chuunin exams. I have to say however, that I am proud of all of you. You all showed true determination and courage throughout all of the trials that have been laid on your path, and most of you have overcome great obstacles in order to make it where you are now. I am almost sad to say that only a few of you will earn the chuunin title this time around. But very proud to announce that one of you already has attained the rank of jounin." Tsunade made her small speech in front of the gathered finalists of the chuunin exam, and a few of the country's dirigeants. Most of them had completely recovered from the attack, although Sakura was still making use of a crutch to stand, in this instance her crutch being Ino, who she was leaning on as she smiled, knowing full well that she would be one of the new chuunin, since she had already been told so. "Dasane Hanmaru, Haruno Sakura, Inuzuka Kiba and Yamanaka Ino, you four showed your incredible skills as ninjas, and your wit in situations as intense as life and death matters. Therefore, you are now promoted to Chuunins." She paused as she looked each one of the ninjas she had named in the eyes and smiled at them. "Now concerning our newly named jounin, I'm afraid he couldn't make it to this makeshift ceremony, but I'd still like to mention him so we can pay our respects. Without his power and support, Konoha would probably be a memory to this day…"

Hanmaru, acting like his usual self, yawned to gather everyone's attention. "I wouldn't count my cookies before 'da birds hatch…" He said in what he probably wanted to look like a philosophical expression. Even Tsunade couldn't hold back a chuckle at how silly this had sounded, but the laughters subsided when they all saw who had showed up.

His body was covered in seals of different sizes and colors, some of them glowing, others fading. The next thing you'd realize was how he was panting, hard, his shoulders were slumped as if he had been carrying twice his weight on his back. His skin was burned badly – although apparently healing, and all he wore was a loosely fitting pair of gray pants. "Ematai Iketetsomaru, present." He said in a single breath, attempting a smile afterwards. Tsunade simled and motionned for him to join the group, which he gladly did, limping slightly on the way until he found his balance on Hanmaru.

"He's cute." Ino whispered to Sakura, causing the pink haired girl to blush. She couldn't deny it. Then the blonde placed a kiss on her girlfriend's cheek. "But I'm hotter than him, right?" Sakura decided to play the game too, and thought about it for a moment. "I'm not sure…" She finally said, earning a glare from Ino. She quietly answered the glare with a 'you fell for it' look and then they both returned their attention to Tsunade who had started talking again.

"I'd like to mention the courage and dedication this man has given Konoha despite everything that has happened to his family. And despite what he's had to do to put an end to this. We owe this man our lives, and hope that, by greeting him, Dasane Hanmaru and Yuhika inside the village, we'll be able to repay at least half the favor. Ike, congrats, you are now a jounin." Everyone cheered and applauded, And the young Ematai looked surprised. "I've only done what I thought was right…" He said timidly, being heard only by the ones closer to him – Hanmaru, Sakura and Ino. They all smiled at him gratefully. And that was pretty much how the ceremony ended, the ones that hadn't been promoted walking away a little discouraged, Kiba nearly jumping to the sky with Akamaru, Hanmaru wanting to stick with both girls, and Ike walked away.

"I'll go talk to him…" Sakura said, grabbing her crutch where she had left it at the entrance and going after him before Ino or Hanmaru could protest. She found him leaning over a railing and looking down at Konoha, and he would've looked peaceful save for the occasional coughing fits shaking his body, and the way his breathing was ragged. It looked almost painful for him to just be alive right then. "It's a nice view, isn't it?" Sakura said softly, taking the spot next to him and assuming a similar position. Iketetsomaru didn't even look at her. He just kept looking at some distant spot far, far away. Sakura tried to find something else to say after noting his lack of response, but she then resigned herself to just standing there next to him.

"This is going to be different." He eventually let out, and it felt like someone had dropped eggs on the ground. As if he had just splattered down and would never be the same. Sakura noticed the shift in his aura too. It still felt powerful, and untamed. But threatening – not anymore. She wasn't sure if it was because she had gotten used to it, or if it was because she now knew him and knew he would not hurt her. Or maybe he really had just changed. "You'll get used to it." She tried to say reassuringly, but he still wouldn't look at her.

Sakura sighed and resumed watching the sun sink down into the horizon by Ike's side. "Thank you Haruno." Surprised, Sakura whipped her head to the side, just in time to catch a sincere, yet goofy smile on Ike's usually serious face.

"Nani?" She asked, wondering what it was that she had done to earn thanks from him. She should've been the one on her knees showing her eternal gratitude.

"You showed me who I really was." Sakura still held her puzzled expression. The goofy smile reappeared on Ike's face. "I saw you striving to get stronger, fighting to protect the ones you love. It gave me that little bit of courage I was lacking."

Sakura smiled and nodded slowly, thinking this through. In the end, she had managed to hold on to her promise, after all… "So why didn't you do this earlier?" She asked on a whim, covering her mouth with both her hands immediately afterwards, regretting the words as she knew it wasn't her place to ask such a thing. Ike's expression drifted into sadness as he once again began to stare into emptiness, but he didn't seem mad at her for bringing it up.

"I couldn't kill my own brother, as much as I wanted to. I was raised, after my brothers were killed, as an assassin, and for a while Fubuki made me believe that it was all to get revenge on the one who had slaughtered my family." He sighed and slumped against the railing a bit, gripping it with both hands. Sakura put her hand in his back in what she wanted to be a comforting gesture, but it apparently hurt the young Ematai and he jerked away. "I'm sor…"

"Don't sweat it. I appreciate your intention, Sakura-chan." He cut her off before she could apologize, turning towards her again wearing a sheepish smile that wavered under a wince. "Then once I learned he had been the one behind the slaughter, I began to despise him." Iketetsomaru picked the story up, the last hint of his smile fading away. "But he was stronger than me, and whenever I'd disobey him, he'd show me illusions, things I could not stand." He paused, apparently reminiscing some of the images that had plagued his mind.

"Eventually, I was able to witness anything he could show me, and still stand my ground afterwards, so he started threatening the only thing I had close to a family left: Hanmaru and his sister. They were caught in this but had no reason to be, I couldn't let them suffer just because I couldn't deal with what my brother did. I never thought I could… " Ike sighed loudly and shook his head. "I ended up being too far gone to care and just did my brother's bidding without question. Han followed blindly – he knew too well that if he opposed anything, he'd end up hurting his sister. Izzy… well he was a case apart. I never knew how he felt. But he was a loyal friend, and I still can't… "

Iketetsomaru grabbed his face with both hands and took a deep breath as Sakura just kept watching and listening, unable to do anything other to help her new friend. He eventually looked up, not quite at her, but at some random points in the landscape behind her. "Thank you once again for showing me what I should've done a long time ago."

Sakura smiled at him, feeling proud of herself for some reason. Well, if I was able to change Ike, maybe I still have a chance to help Sasuke. Maybe, just maybe, I'll get him to come back to Konoha. With Naruto's help…

"Hey, Sakura! Ike!" Hanmaru's voice interrupted the two's train of thoughts as the man, in his usual unpredictable fashion, crashed on them from above – no idea where he could've jumped off of. This, of course, broke off the tension of the moment, but also gave Ike back his goofy smile. "Watch where you land Han-teme. I still haven't got all my reflexes back." Ike said playfully as he recovered his balance on the railing.

"Meh, even if you were blind an' chained up a mountain, ye'd still be quicker than me." Hanmaru joked back, earning himself a hair ruffling by his friend.

"I hope you got a good reason for interrupting our private moment!" Ike replied with a wink to Sakura, which caused Ino, who was now standing nearby, to roll her eyes and snort. "Like you have any chances with her in forever, Ematai-sennin!."

"Hey, I'm not that old!" Ike defended himself.

"Sure ya are Ike!" Hanmaru pushed on.

"Well that makes you some kind of an old creepy sage then, Han."

"Pfft, who cares anyway?" Sakura asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Ino walked up to her and put a kiss on her cheek.

"I sure don't. Sage or toddlers, none of them are getting any closer to MY Sakura-chan." She said, wrapping her arms around Sakura's waist from behind and leaning her chin on the pink haired girl's shoulders.

"When did I become your property Miss Yamanaka?" Sakura asked, giggling, as she leant back into her girlfriend, actually really enjoying this possessive side of Ino at the moment.

"Prolly since the day she gave ya that hickey." Hanmaru smirked pointing to a random spot on Sakura's neck, which Ino instantly covered with her mouth to suck on as Sakura's eyes grew wide. She tried to shake the blonde off of her but only managed to lose her footing and fall into Ino's arms instead, causing everyone to laugh a good shot.

"Are any of you coming or not?" This time it was Yuhika's voice resonating in the air of this late afternoon, her silhouette casting a shadow down on the four ninjas as she stood on top of a roof. Sakura and Ike gave her an inquiring look while Hanmaru shrugged and Ino nodded. "Apparently Asuma is offering us dinner at Ichiraku's tonight, to celebrate our promotion." The blonde said, shrugging. "He said we could drag the two handsome boys that weren't already invited along, so we came to drag you and Ike over there."

It only took a second before Sakura's face twisted into a really annoyed expression. And Hanmaru's as well, as both of them turned to Ino and nearly yelled in unison, pointing each other. "I'm not a guy/girl!!!"

Both Ike and Ino laughed heartily, and were soon joined by Yuhika who leaped off of her perch. "Well, shall we get going?" She asked shortly after the biggest fits of laughter subsided, receiving a nod from everyone. "To Ichiraku!" Sakura yelled, Naruto-style, and they all walked, limped and even skipped on the way to the restaurant, just like a bunch of kids ten years younger. Even Ike looked like his wounds weren't all that bad anymore.

It looked like, finally, things were back to normal around Konoha. And the peace, although most probably temporary, was a well deserved one.

AN: Well this is it, the last chapter of this story that I actually really enjoyed writing" And I finished! OMG! That's a first:P
I haven't proofread yet (because I know I've left something out, I always do), but its really late and I got work tomorrow lol. And I couldn't wait to post it since I'm so eager to have finally finished a story! Now the bad news (or good for you, readers who mightve enjoyed this) is that i got plenty of ideas for a sequel. So once I'm done with thatNaruSaku short story I'm also working on, I might actually pick up this storyline and build up from there lol.

I'd love to thank all my faithful readers, most notably DarkInu418 who's been great support and inspiration all along. And of course everyone else that's reviewed. All the comments you make are taken into account. I'll have a go at editing the whole story one day to make it more enjoyable to read (I am conscious of how squished up my writing seems to be since I don't usually cut when the person who's speaking switches. I do try to pay more attention to that now, but I may still fail. Nobody's perfect )

So, I hope you enjoyed! Leave a review if you did, leave one if you didn't too! See yowzers!