Disclaimer – I wish I owned Naruto, but sadly I do not
A/N – Epilogue. *sniff*
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Fifteen years later...
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"Alright Team, take positions," a gruff male voice commanded.
"Byakugan!" another voice whispered, this one female. "Target has been spotted, thirty meters ahead, two o clock!"
"Itachi, in position," another voice spoke into his microphone.
"Yeah, me too," a fourth voice drawled.
"Kushina, here. I'm ready to attack!" the girl spoke again.
"On the count of three," the adult voice spoke. "One... two... three!"
There was a sudden movement, as three children leapt out of the trees.
"Firestyle, fireball no jutsu!" one of them shouted, forming hand seals.
There was a sudden blast of fire, followed by a loud, pained screech.
One of the children, a red-haired boy with purple eyes leapt forwards, extinguishing the fire with a water jutsu. The girl, Kushina, quickly darted towards the smoke, the veins around her eyes pulsing, and emerged a few seconds later, coughing slightly, a rather charred, trembling cat nestled in her arms.
"Mission complete!" the redhead crowed, grinning.
"Itachi-kun!" Kushina said reproachfully, deactivating her Byakugan, "You didn't have to roast her alive, you know!"
The dark-haired boy shrugged carelessly, running a hand through his spiky black locks. His Sharingan eye faded away to a startling green color.
"It was effective," he retorted, "And Mangetsu doused it anyway..."
"Still," Kushina said, frowning at him, as she petted the cat. "Poor Tora!"
The redhead, Mangetsu, snorted.
"Ah, who cares about the stupid cat? This mission is ridiculously easy! Why can't they give us a higher rank?" he grumbled.
Suddenly, a large white dog leapt out of the woods.
Sora gave another frightened hiss, her hairs standing on end.
"Heel, Akamaru!" their sensei, a brown-haired Jounin with red streaks on his cheeks ordered. "Good work guys, but next time, try not to burn the target, Itachi!"
Itachi just rolled his green eyes.
"I agree with Mangetsu, we deserve much better missions," the young Uchiha muttered. "Kakashi-nii-san's already doing A-ranks, and even Tsunade-onee-chan's team got a B-rank a week ago! It's not fair!"
"Yeah, Minato-nii-san told me about that mission, they had to go to Cloud, ne?" Kushina piped up. "But don't worry, Itachi-kun, we only made genin two weeks ago!"
"Kushina's right, Itachi," Kiba said, "You have to be patient. Your parents did the very same mission when they were made genin, I can assure you. All shinobi did at the time..."
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"Ah, so it's Team Kiba!" Naruto said, grinning at the genin team that stood before him.
They'd returned the traumatized Tora to her owner (the cat was most distressed when the Daimyo's wife had started smothering it) and were now waiting in the Hokage's office for their next mission.
Naruto lifted his triangular Hokage cap, his blue eyes twinkling as he surveyed the new team before him.
Kiba was their Jounin sensei, and the team of eleven year olds consisted of Itachi Fugaku Uchiha (known usually just as Itachi Uchiha), Kushina Uzumaki and Mangetsu Hozuki.
Itachi was Sasuke and Sakura's third child; a talented, ambitious ninja with bright green eyes and messy black hair. He was dressed in the usual Uchiha garb – white shorts and a dark blue, high-collared t shirt with the Uchiha emblem on the back.
Kushina was Naruto's own daughter, and his second child. She'd inherited the Hyuuga bloodline limit from Hinata, and her eyes were white, with a barely discernible blue tinge. She had long, sleek blonde hair, and was wearing blue capris, a black fishnet t-shirt, and a white and mauve jacket (with a blue swirl on the sleeve, in honor of Naruto's mother, her namesake). Her forehead protector was looped around her neck.
The third member of the squad was the son of Karin and Suigetsu Hozuki. Named after Suigetsu's deceased older brother, the boy had inherited his father's purple eyes. He had his mother's fiery red hair though, and her chakra-sensory abilities as well. He wore dark purple shorts and black t shirt, Momochi Zabuza's blade slung across his back.
"Hey daddy," Kushina said, smiling sweetly.
The Hokage beamed at her, before turning to Itachi, his godson. The Uchiha had his arms crossed, a supremely annoyed expression on his face, one that reminded the Hokage of his own, rather moody best friend.
"Why can't we get better missions?" Itachi demanded, "Our abilities surpass those required for a D-rank you know!"
"Yeah," Mangetsu spoke up rather insolently. "These missions suck! We're freakin' ninja's, not babysitters!"
Naruto smiled, thinking reminiscently of the time he'd been begging for a better mission as well. He sifted through the scrolls at his table, one of them catching his eyes.
"Look," Naruto said, waving the scroll at the genin. "A C-Rank escort mission to Sand... anyone interested?"
"We'll take it," Itachi said immediately. "Kakash-nii-san is in Sand now, anyways..."
"Yep, that sounds pretty good," Mangetsu said.
"And we'll get to meet Uncle Gaara, and Temari!" Kushina squealed excitedly, her eyes lighting up.
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"Chidori!" Kakashi shouted, electric blue chakra roaring to life in his hand. He sped through the enemy ninja, eliminating them with his jutsu, tossing a few poisoned senbon (his mother had given them to him, she'd made the poison herself) at the ones out of reach. A few minutes later, most of the ninja lay motionless on the ground, and the sixteen year old Jounin was leaning against a tree, his Sharingan eyes fading away to black.
He dusted off his dark green ninja vest, stowing away his giant shuriken, his dark eyes lazily following the movements of the girl who was a few feet away, dispatching her own enemies.
He could have helped her, though she'd probably resent it, which is why Kakashi decided to lean back against the tree and watch her fight instead.
Kakashi looked almost exactly like his father, except for his hair, which fell over his forehead protector in spikes. He wore a black shirt with the Uchiha symbol on the sleeve, black pants and boots, along with his vest and black fingerless gloves. He was certainly a handsome young shinobi, quite popular among the ladies in Konoha for his good looks, and cool, calm demeanour.
Of course, Kakashi cared nothing for them. His real interest was more – foreign – in particular the Sand kunoichi who was finishing off her enemies a few feet away from him.
Temari was fifteen, Gaara's only child and daughter. She had jade eyes and long, dark red hair. She wore a short black and red tunic, with a purple sash, and black fishnet leggings, and there was a small gourd containing sand strapped to her back, a large white fan with purple moons by her side. She'd inherited her deceased aunt's fan, and her father's sand controlling jutsus, and was currently combining the attacks to trap her enemy in a vicious sand cyclone.
The tempestuous cyclone soon cleared away, to reveal the incapacitated enemies, and Temari called back her sand, jumping up and floating towards Kakashi on her fan.
"That was too easy," she said, hopping off her fan, and closing it.
"Hn," Kakashi grunted, as they leapt up, heading towards the village.
"You know," Temari said conversationally, "Father told me your baby brother and his genin squad have been assigned an escort mission to the Sand – they'll be arriving tomorrow afternoon. It's their first C-rank."
"Itachi should be thrilled," Kakashi said, smiling slightly.
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"Nii-san!" the young Uchiha shouted, as his team ran into the older Uchiha the next day after their mission. "We finished our mission successfully!"
"That's good," Kakashi said, patting his little brother's head before turning to his blonde teammate.
"Hi, Kushina-chan," Kakashi greeted, smiling charmingly at the girl, who immediately blushed.
"Hello, Kakashi-san," she mumbled, smiling back shyly, twiddling her fingers in a habit similar to her mother's.
Itachi pulled a face.
"What're you acting so shy for? Just because he's Jounin?"
Kushina ignored him.
"No big deal! I bet I'll be Jounin pretty soon, once I'm older," Itachi vowed.
"Of course you will," Kakashi said, smiling indulgently at ruffling his hair. "I'm off to Leaf, little bro, take care of yourself!"
"But I just got here!" Itachi pouted, "And you said you'd train with me, aniki!"
"Later, Itachi, when you get back," Kakashi promised, poking him on the forehead. "See ya, Kushina-chan!"
He sped off, with Temari, who was accompanying him to the Leaf for a while.
"Bye Nii-san!" Itachi yelled after him.
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"OKAY TEAM! IT'S TIME FOR OUR YOUTHFUL MORNING EXERCISES!" the spandex-clad sensei hollered enthusiastically, as he made his dynamic entry into his team's training ground.
Team Lee, also known as Team Squirrel (a name resented by its three chuunin members) had taken over Team Gai's old training grounds. The state of the grounds was similar to what it had been before, except for the deep craters Neji had made over the years were being joined with newer, fresher ones, and the trees bore more scratches from newer weapon attacks. There was still a group of trees in one corner of the ground, with thirty or so kunai protruding from their barks, in a pattern, razor wire looped around the weapons; Lee, Neji and Tenten had refused to remove them from the places they had been lodged in over fifteen years ago, so they were still stuck there till date. When Lee's students had questioned him about them, he'd just smiled knowingly.
Rock Lee, of course, was a proud sensei. His students loved him, though they were often slightly exasperated at his antics, and they hated his 'youthful morning exercise' regime with all their hearts.
Hizashi Hyuuga, Tsunade Mikoto Uchiha, and Minato Uzumaki were the three thirteen-year old members of Rock Lee's squad. They were dedicated, fierce and talented shinobi; the three of them had made Chuunin on their first shot at the exams, something extremely praiseworthy, since the last team to have achieved this feat had been the Legendary Sannin team.
Of course, considering their parents, and their sensei, this shouldn't have been surprising.
Hizashi Hyuuga was the only child of Neji and Tenten Hyuuga. He was a tall, stoic boy, with white eyes and long brown hair, which he usually left loose, his brown bangs covering his forehead. He wore dark maroon shorts, and a white and maroon t-shirt, with bandages covering one arm and one leg. His attire was similar to what his father had worn in his genin days, though the color scheme mirrored his mother's. He had a few small scrolls strapped to his waist, and a larger one strapped to his back. He was an unrivalled shinobi at both short-range and long-range combat, since he could use the Kaiten and Jyuuken almost flawlessly, as well as handle various weapons ranging from double-edged katanas to nunchucks to exploding kunai. He could also summon up massive barrages of weapons, and aim them with perfect accuracy at his enemies, making him a formidable ninja.
Tsunade Uchiha was a cheerful, dark-haired girl, with bright green eyes, that often seeped over with red when she activated her kekkai genkai. She wore a dark blue, sleeveless, Chinese-collared shirt with the Uchiha crest, black tights, a short white skirt with slits running up the thighs, black boots, fingerless gloves and white and blue arm-bands. She wore her forehead protector as a headband, with a long red ribbon tying it in place. Tsunade excelled at medical ninjutsu, though she could use attacks like the chidori, and the Uchiha fireball techniques as well. Rather than creating large chidoris though, Tsunade preferred to concentrate hers in the form of chidori senbon or chidori spears, something which was quite easy for her with her amazing chakra control that she'd inherited from her mother. She'd also inherited Sakura's super strength, something which the third member of the squad often found himself victim of.
Minato Uzumaki was a loud, rambunctious and spirited shinobi, his blonde hair and daring attitude reminiscent of his father, the Rokudaime's. He wore dark orange pants and a black t shirt with an orange whirl insignia on it, and a black jacket. His preferred style of fighting included shadow clones, and the Rasengan. He had light blue eyes, and the Byakugan like his second cousin Hizashi, so he used Hyuuga techniques as well, though his version of the Jyuuken was slightly more energetic and less graceful than Hizashi's.
Team Lee was almost unbalanced, and considered overly skilled, since each of its members had superior dojutsu; this was slightly ironic, since they're sensei could only use taijutsu. With his vigorous training, the three soon became geniuses of ninjutsu and taijutsu, and in Tsunade's case, even medical jutsu. Minato, however, was the most reckless of the trio, and slightly more open to his sensei's mad training habits than Tsunade and Hizashi, the latter of which considered his sensei's training-related eccentricities rather exasperating, just like his parents had.
Of course for the Hyuugas, Lee was a close family friend, practically an uncle, (and Hizashi's godfather) and he'd insisted on being the Jounin-sensei for Hizashi's team. Neji and Tenten had immediately agreed, and even Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke and Sakura, who had kids in the same academy class, had used their influence so that the three landed together.
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"Come on, youthful students of mine!" Lee boomed, "300 laps around Konoha should make a good warm-up!"
Hizashi, Tsunade and Minato simultaneously groaned.
"Come on sensei," Tsunade deplored, "I'm practically drained of chakra, I was up all night helping mom at the hospital..."
"I understand completely, my flower," Lee said seriously, "So I'll let you off easy. 200 laps will suffice for you, though Hizashi and Minato still have 300!"
"How 'bout 250 each?" Minato suggested, "A compromise!"
"Are you retarded?" Hizashi hissed, "That's such a waste of time and energy! I'd rather do target practice or something..."
"For what, your aim's freaking perfect!"
"Come on Team!" Lee urged, "Let's begin!"
And with that he sped off, weights and all.
He'd offered his students weights and spandex as well; of course, all three of them had rejected this.
"Let's just go," Hizashi murmured, and dashed off after his sensei.
"Hey, wait for me!" Minato called, joining him. "C'mon, Tsunade-chan!"
Tsunade sighed, activating her Sharingan and racing after her team; it was a good thing it had matured, increasing her speed exponentially, otherwise it would have been quite difficult for her to keep up with Hizashi, the hyperactive Minato, and her super-fast sensei.
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"Okay, now we'll do some two-on-two sparring," Lee announced, as his students lay panting on the ground. They'd done 150 laps each, and this had left them quite exhausted.
"So since we're rotating, and Minato and Hizashi were together yesterday, today I shall spar with Hizashi, and Minato and Tsunade can spar together," Lee instructed them.
"But Lee-sensei," Minato bemoaned, "Tsunade always cheats by using her stupid Sharingan to copy all my jutsu! It's not fair!"
"I do not, you idiot!" Tsunade screeched indignantly, hitting Minato hard on his head. Apart from Sakura's strength, she'd also inherited her mother's short temper, particularly when it concerned loudmouthed blonde shinobi.
"Oww! Tsunade! Why d'you have to hit so hard!" Minato howled, clutching at his head.
"You deserved it! I don't cheat, usuratonkachi!" she growled, having picked up the expletive from her father, who'd used it on Minato's father quite often.
"...flat-chested bitch!"
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"
"N-nothing! Nothing at all!" Minato shrank back.
"...chidori senbon!"
"OW! Hey! Rasen-"
"STOP IT, RIGHT NOW!" Lee ordered, separating the two teens. "THIS IS MOST UNYOUTHFUL BEHAVIOR!"
Hizashi smirked slightly, watching them bicker.
"I'll spar with Tsunade," he volunteered, "Or Minato again, I don't mind."
Lee seemed to agree with him – every time Tsunade and Minato were made to spar together, they usually ended up fighting over something idiotic. In the end, Tsunade would be fuming quite scarily, and Minato would be rolling around in pain, clutching at his head, nether regions, or whichever part of his body Tsunade had unleashed her super-strength on. Usually this occurred after Minato deemed it appropriate to try his Sexy Jutsu on Tsunade, something the girl despised.
Hizashi and Tsunade were much calmer when they sparred - though the spars were intense, they stuck to proper jutsus and Tsunade was relatively calm around the Hyuuga boy. Lee suspected a crush, and Minato teased her endlessly about it.
Minato and Hizashi's spars got a bit redundant, since they both had the Byakugan, and both used the gentle fist technique. If Hizashi chose to use his weapons and heavier attacks instead, Minato would just spin into his Kaiten, and if Minato created clones or used the Rasengan, Hizashi would unleash his Twin Rising Dragons or Heavenly Chain of Destruction on the boy, something which ended up devastating the already battered training ground further.
Still, Team Lee was nearly invincible together, and trained regularly at the grounds on weekdays. On week-ends however, when Neji (who was now clan head of the Hyuuga) and Tenten were off ANBU duty, they usually shifted to Team Seven's old grounds, since the old Team Gai would meet up for occasional spars together with their sensei, leaving the three kids to themselves.
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Shino had taken a genin team as well. His team was in the same year as Team Kiba, and consisted of two Nara twins (sons of Ino and Shikamaru) – namely Inoichi Nara and Asuma Naru, as well as Chouji Akimichi's kid. They couldn't re-create the Ino-Shika-Cho trio perfectly, especially since the Ino-Shika part of it had gotten married; but since Inoichi and Asuma were skilled with the Yamanaka Mind techniques from their mother's side, as well as the Nara shadow jutsus from their father, they often alternated, leaving the Akimichi boy to use his size-enlarging jutsus. Their teamwork, after much practice, greatly resembled that of their parents and grandparents.
The remaining children – Kurenai Nara, Jiraiya Uzumaki and Hiruzen Sarutobi (son of Konohamaru Sarutobi and Hanabi Hyuuga) were still in the Academy, along with Suigetsu and Karin's younger daughter, and Udon and Moegi's kids.
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"How's your team doing, Lee?" Tenten asked one night. The Konoha 11, Sai and Sasuke had met up for one of their monthly dinners, and since many of their kids trained under one of the other ninja, they often spoke about their respective children or genin teams.
"Excellent," Lee said happily, "Hizashi really nailed our last mission with his Twin Rising Dragon jutsu. Tsunade was good too, she punched the ground and created this huge chasm and all the running ninja fell straight in – and Minato was confusing them with his clones... they're great kids, really they are..."
"Tsunade still beating up Minato?" Sakura asked, smiling slightly. "He came to me a few days back with a black eye and bleeding nose, I had to heal it before one of your missions."
"Yes, they fight as much as these two," Lee said, sighing as he pointed to Naruto and Sasuke, who looked inexplicably proud at this comment.
"My daughter is going to own your son one of these days, dobe," Sasuke joked.
"Are you crazy! My son will totally screw your kid's case, teme! I bet he'll make her fall in love with his charm!" Naruto retorted, firing up.
"Charm? You mean sexy jutsus," Sasuke scoffed. "Tsunade told me about those – please Naruto, why did you have to teach those to your kid?"
"Y-you taught th-that jutsu to Minato-chan?" Hinata asked, looking slightly worried at the fact that her little son was no longer innocent.
"Aw, chill out Hina-chan, that jutsu comes handy in missions, believe it! Sasuke's just being a bastard as usual..."
"Actually, I believe Tsunade may have romantic feelings for Hizashi, not Minato," Lee cut in.
"What?" Tenten and Sakura asked at the same time, before looking at each other.
"My daughter likes your son?" Sakura asked Tenten, raising a pink eyebrow.
Tenten shrugged.
"Evidently..."
"Hizashi does seem to hold her in high regard," Neji said thoughtfully. "He speaks about her a lot at home, and seems to enjoy training with her..."
"Which means he's probably in love with her, 'cause that's how you Hyuuga males show your affections, right?" Sakura teased.
"No," Tenten said, shaking her head, "That's just Neji. Though Hizashi is kind of similar."
"Excellent," Sakura said, clapping her hands. "We should totally hook our kids up! Imagine what the grandchildren would be like!"
Sasuke and Neji both made rather disdainful expressions at this.
"I don't think crossing the Sharingan with the – Byakugan is such a good idea," Sasuke said derisively.
"It would dilute the Byakugan's power," Neji added, his tone slightly condescending.
"Neji," Tenten began, as she and Sakura shared an exasperated look.
"No, the Byakugan would dilute the Sharingan's power," Sasuke corrected, dark eyes narrowing.
"Are you not aware of the fact that your dojutsu developed from mine?" Neji asked him.
"Shut up, both of you!" Tenten scolded. "They aren't even dating yet, Sakura's just being silly, and why are you fighting over who has the better kekkai genkai?"
"Sorry Sasuke, I'd have to side Neji on this," Naruto piped up, "Byakugan is so much cooler!"
"You're only saying that because your wife has it," Sasuke muttered.
"Of course!" Naruto said, beaming at Hinata, before placing a kiss on her cheek.
"Seriously, Naruto, stop," Sakura said, rolling her eyes and sliding her hand through Sasuke's.
"Wait!" Naruto cried suddenly, realizing something, "Why'd Tsunade choose Hizashi? Why not Minato?"
"Naruto!" Sakura scolded. "She's only thirteen! She hasn't chosen anyone yet, and even if she does, it's her choice!"
"But I wanted one of mine and Hina-chan's kids to marry yours and Sasuke's," Naruto said childishly. "That would've been awesome, believe it!"
"There's still Itachi and Kushina," Hinata pointed out.
"Wait, what?" Kiba exclaimed. "Itachi and Kushina are dating? Since when? How come I don't know about this, I'm their sensei!"
"They're not," Sasuke said firmly.
"Why are you people pairing up all of our children?" Neji asked. "It's ludicrous. Just wait for them to grow up."
"Hn," Sasuke grunted in agreement.
"What about my kids?" Ino cut in, "How are they doing, Shino?"
"Well enough," Shino answered evenly.
"They aren't being lazy, are they?" Ino pressed.
"Inoichi definitely isn't, though Asuma does have his – unenthusiastic moments," Shino said, as diplomatically as possible.
"I knew it!" Ino fumed, turning to glare at her husband.
"What?" Shikamaru asked defensively.
"This is all your fault, Shika," Ino scolded, "That boy's picking up your horrible habits, and I'm telling you he has your lazy genes!"
"He also has my intelligence," Shikamaru said. "So it kind of even things out, don't you think?"
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"We have to go," Neji said, standing up a few minutes later, when Naruto was wolfing down his fifth bowl of ramen. "Come on, Tenten."
"Why so soon?" Lee enquired.
"Clan meeting," he muttered, not at all looking happy. Though Neji was clan head, he did find those meetings excruciatingly boring.
"Oh, damn, I forgot about that," Tenten groaned. "Do I have to come, Neji? Can't I go spar – tell the Elders I'm in the hospital, I poisoned myself or something..."
"There's no way I'm sitting through that damn meeting without you Tenten," Neji said.
"Fine," Tenten grumbled, standing up reluctantly.
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"Let's try ending this quickly," Neji said, turning to his young wife. "We promised Hizashi we'd train with him in the evening."
"Okay," Tenten said, "But don't get all distracted like you did last time, Neji. I swear that meeting took an hour longer because you weren't paying proper attention..."
A wicked smirk crossed her face, her brown eyes twinkling.
"That was all your fault," Neji hissed, coloring slightly when he remembered why he'd been so distracted the last meeting. "You shouldn't have – you better not do that again!"
Tenten shrugged, playing with their entwined fingers.
"You looked like you were going to fall asleep, I had to keep you awake somehow," she said, smiling suggestively.
"As much as I appreciated it then, Tenten, wait till we're alone, and not in front of Hyuuga elders, who can see through tables, might I add," Neji told her.
"Oops," Tenten said, giggling. "Imagine what they'd think of you, Neji Hyuuga, prided head of clan, if they saw-"
"Shut up!" Neji snapped, flushing even more. "Don't think you're getting away with it, Tenten! I'll get you back for it, one of these nights..."
Tenten grinned mischievously, before placing her hands on his broad shoulders and leaning in to kiss him.
"I can't wait," she whispered, before pulling away and grabbing his hand. "C'mon, let's get this damn thing done with!"
"Wait," Neji said, pulling her back. He quickly reached up, deftly pulling off the ribbons in her hair.
"Nejiii," Tenten sighed, secretly flattered by this habit of his.
"I've told you, I just think it looks really pretty," he told her, combing his fingers through her long, loosened brown hair. He kissed her on the cheek, quickly, wishing that he could have cancelled the damn clan meeting so he could spend some time alone with his now blushing wife.
'I guess I'll have to wait till tonight...' Neji thought.
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"Kakashi's dating the Kazekage's daughter, you know," Sakura told her husband that night.
"So?"
"Nothing, really." Sakura shrugged. "I just think it'll be kind of cool when Itachi starts dating Kushina. Then we'll have our sons dating both the Kazekage and the Hokage's kids!"
Sasuke rolled his eyes, but then smiled at her fondly.
"You're crazy, Sakura," he said, wrapping an arm around her waist. Sakura leaned back into him, resting her head on his chest.
" I'm ho-ome!" a loud voice suddenly shouted, and there was a bang as the door slammed shut.
Squabbling voices could be heard, and a few moments later, Tsunade and Kakashi entered the room, Tsunade looking extremely annoyed, and Kakashi rather displeased.
"Hey, how was your training?" Sakura asked in greeting, as Tsunade slumped onto the couch, shooting daggers at her older brother. Kakashi just sighed.
"What happened?" Sasuke asked, noticing the sudden animosity between the two siblings.
Neither of them spoke for a minute, identical scowls on their faces, before Kakashi burst out, "Hizashi's misusing his Byakugan on Tsunade during sparring practice!"
"Why you little – " Tsunade growled, leaping up and lunging at her brother. Kakashi dodged her easily, grabbing her wrist.
"I saw it Tsunade," he told her flatly.
"Hizashi's a perfect gentleman!" Tsunade defended, eyes blazing. "He'd never do that!"
"He totally would," Kakashi, the over-protective brother, argued.
"No he wouldn't!" Tsunade shouted emphatically. "And for the tenth time, the Byakugan can only see chakra patterns and systems, it cannot see through clothes!"
Sasuke and Sakura both smirked at this, remembering how Lee and Gai used to tease Neji about misusing his Byakugan.
"Well he was still touching you – in wrong places," Kakashi said stubbornly. "I won't let some Hyuuga manhandle my little sister-"
"I can take care of myself, you know!" Tsunade glowered. "And the gentle fist requires that kind of touching; he was aiming at my chakra points, you idiot!"
"She probably has a point there," Sakura told her son.
" And if it was inappropriate, I could've stopped him myself by punching him, or chidori-ing him, you know!" Tsunade ranted on.
"Yeah right," Kakashi snorted, "You liked it. That's why you preferring sparring with Hizashi over Minato! You like the Hyuuga! You like it when he touches you!"
"I do not!" Tsunade denied, blushing. "How the hell would you know, anyway? And Hizashi is a perfect gentleman, just like his father!"
"Hn."
"Don't 'hn' me, nii-san! Kushina told me what you were doing with Temari last week in Sand! She saw you two-"
"Enough!" Sakura shouted, standing up. "Tsunade, your brother is just being an overprotective jerk because he cares about you, so stop yelling at him! And Kakashi, let her be. Hizashi's a perfectly honourable shinobi and-"
"But mother!" Kakashi protested, "Imagine the disaster that would occur if you crossed the Byakugan with the Sharingan!"
"WHAT?" Tsunade shrieked, blushing wildly. She turned to her father for support.
Sasuke just smirked, reaching over to ruffle her black hair.
"You're just like your father," Sakura muttered, rolling your eyes. "Will you let it rest, Kakashi, she's old enough to handle herself!"
"Whatever," Kakashi grumbled, rolling his eyes. Tsunade stuck her tongue out at him.
"Where's Itachi?" Kakashi asked, changing the topic.
"Next door," Sasuke replied. "Kushina invited him over."
At this piece of news, Kakashi and Tsunade exchanged identical grins, the previous spat between them forgotten.
"He's at Kushina's house again?" Tsunade asked gleefully, green eyes glinting.
"He does spend quite a lot of time there," Kakashi said suggestively.
"Don't torture your poor brother about it when he comes back, you two," Sakura scolded, knowing how embarrassed Itachi would get when his two older siblings teased him mercilessly about his female teammate. "The kid's only eleven!"
"Funny, you seemed to be saying something completely opposite to that a few minutes ago," Sasuke whispered into her ear.
"Oh, be quiet, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said, brushing him off.
"I'm back!" Itachi announced, making his reappearance at that minute.
"Hello, darling," Sakura cooed, kissing him on his head. Itachi, like Sasuke had been, was a total mother's boy.
"Itachi-chan!" Tsunade shrieked, smiling evilly as she caught sight of her rather happy-looking baby brother.
"Hi, onee-chan," Itachi greeted. "Will you and nii-san train with me for a while, please?"
"Of course we will," said Kakashi, sauntering over to where Itachi and Tsunade were standing. "But there's a little question we want to ask you first, otouto..."
Sakura and Sasuke both smiled, Sasuke shaking his head slightly, as the pair led their unsuspecting younger brother out of the room.
The house was peaceful for a few moments, and Sakura and Sasuke snuggled together on the couch. Sasuke was leaning in for a kiss when a loud yell suddenly erupted, shattering the tranquil atmosphere.
"WHAT? ARE YOU TWO CRAZY? I – I DO NOT LIKE HER LIKE THAT! NO WAY!"
Sakura smiled.
"They're all going to grow up and be as smitten as us, I can bet!"
"Kakashi already has a horde of fan girls," Sasuke sighed, shaking his head. "Even Temari doesn't seem to be able to scare them off..."
"Well, he is your son," Sakura reminded him, "And thus abnormally good-looking according to the female gender."
"Hn."
"... Sasuke-kun, are you happy?" Sakura suddenly asked, peering at him with her jade eyes.
"Of course I am, Sakura, why would you ask such a question?"
"Just," Sakura said, biting her lip for a moment. "I love you Sasuke-kun!"
Sasuke smiled, placing a hand under her chin, and pulling her face towards his.
"Love you too, Sakura..."
...
...
"Sasuke, do you smell something burning?" Sakura asked suddenly, pulling away from the kiss.
Sasuke sniffed the air for a moment and then nodded. He narrowed his eyes.
"Yes I can, Sakura. I can also hear the chirping of birds..." he observed.
"Oh, they're in for it," Sakura huffed, jumping up and stomping out of the living room.
"WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU KIDS ABOUT USING THAT JUTSU INDOORS?"
...
...
...
The End.
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Just in case you're confused, I'm listing the family names here, before my excessively long and gushy Author's note:
Sakura and Sasuke Uchiha : Kakashi Obito Uchiha (16); Tsunade Mikoto Uchiha(13); Itachi Fugaku Uchiha (11)
Hinata and Naruto Uzumaki : Minato Uzumaki (13); Kushina Uzumaki (11); Jiraiya Uzumaki (8)
Tenten and Neji Hyuuga : Hizashi Hyuuga (13)
Ino and Shikamaru Nara : Asuma Nara (11); Inoichi Nara (11); Kurenai Nara (8)
Karin and Suigetsu Hozuki : Mangetsu Hozuki (11)
Hanabi and Konohamaru Sarutobi : Hiruzen Sarutobi (8)
Matsuri and Gaara : Temari (15)
And the two kiddies in my profile pic are Tsunade and Hizashi (my two personal favourites)
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OMG! I can't believe it's actually over! I feel like – crying out of sadness and joy at the same time!
This fic really meant a lot to me, and it's almost difficult to let go =(
I will continue writing Naruto fics (probably one-shots) but this is probably my last (and first) chaptered fic.
Confrontation was a huge thing for me, and I enjoyed writing it every step of the way. Initially it was meant to be a one shot, but you people, with your wonderful reviews, inspired me so much, that it turned into this.
I'm actually really happy with the way things turned out. I know I owe a lot to my reviewers and readers. Thank you all SO much for all your kind words and encouragement throughout, it meant so much to me, kept me going.
I love you all, I really do! This entire fic is dedicated to you people, since you rocked!
Special thanks to Live Life To Extreme Insanity my very first reviewer, who actually suggested I make Confrontation into a multi-chaptered fic!
Also to four particular reviewers, ninjapirate -ThE PiNk PwInCeSs- flare-hugs candyfloss – who reviewed EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER! Thank you guys, I'm honoured, you have no idea how much that means to me! xxx
I'd also like to thank Bumble Beeee Twisted Musalih x l a z y p s y c h o pinay-of-series ScarletCamellia Sakura's Indecision Zyca for their multiple reviews, all of which had such nice comments and made me smile. I love nice, long, thoughtful reviews, so I owe you guys for that, thank so much! =)
Thanks also to some of my other multiple-review senders: Eriisu gaarasakuralovers Theary15 narutofan1091 izzybell117 LadyMartel4000 Mi-chann mistressinwaiting blue-pink cherryblossoms Kaelin The Black Swan cryingcherryblossom kioku7 Sam Moonwaterpetal Mermaid Caren sistersgrimmlover Inner Carolina nejiten Cora falalahlalala – I appreciate your kind words!
And finally, thank you to MawrisaLovesSasuSaku pink-strawberries genjutsuqueen tragedyneverends Lady Light EndearingTemptation Katsumi4Ever koishii23 sasnsak4evr Sweet&Bitterness SayNoToStrangers Wings-chan pillowwolfpup Yami-Tsukiyomi PeanutButterSam Sakura Crystals annie RoseThorn97 ness345 SammywithSwagger Pigwedgeon midnight shadow agent 416 popdiva24 XtraCrispy Kenzie hikari98 pharix Soaring Innocence SAb freak-4-God inoshika meeqhuanne009 max hollydove WhiteRose95 the dishy fishy PreferedAnonymous Fairy Struck Coco Mimi Fellatio snail cristian805 lightsweet Deluded Dreamer dattebayo4321 Angelwings228 kyahh-chan Someonewholovesyourstory WHY!=( m101 shadowclone ?Confused? dracos1485 3sasusaku Jadelover fcktherulesx3 BloodInTheNile qawashere Wow XODaikoXD Craziimonkey A Fan truestar22 Iorieth l JollyElfDance554 Rai Zuka Namikaze Bloomthefairyoflove red lips and cloudy eyes Wicked0813 Silver415 Kagome023 konnichiha yoshi-chan sasusakunejiten horrorfreak101 sam1388smiles - I love you all, thanks for giving me your time and reviewing.
I hope I haven't missed anyone out =( If I am, I'm very sorry – but overall, you people have been just fantastic! Thankyou so so so so SO much, I can gush on and on about how much I love you all, but I will stop.
oh and – IF YOU WANT TO READ THE SHIKAINO AND NARUHINA PROPOSAL SCENE, CHECK OUT CHAPTER SIX IN MY NEJITEN ONESHOT COLLECTION, IT HAS ALL THE PROPOSALS!
I hope I'll hear from you guys again, maybe when I write more fanfics. But for the time being, goodbye, aishiteru... keep reading the manga guys, he'd BOUND to introduce some romance sooner or later, believe it!
xxx
A very emotional, slightly deranged HighQueen