Here is the second of three epilogues, it was originally going to be four but I combined one of them and the next one will be the last. Obviously Hinata and Naruto need to have a chat, and there will be an explanation of why he said "Sakura" in the first place whilst drunk and kissing Hinata. + Smut so thats always nice!

Epilogue 2: Dune Sister Inn

1 Month Later…

Hinata strolled down the street of a small village humming to herself, she and Naruto had arrived that morning and he had quickly left her to attend to some business but that was fine by her she had some business of her own to take care of.

It'd been a month since they had defeated Yori and the Dune Sisters that had chosen to take refuge within the Land of Fire had been relocated to this small village fifteen miles away from Konoha, Chiaka and a small group of the others had been allowed to purchase an old building and use it for their purposes.

Hinata rounded a corner and smiled at the wooden sign that swung in front of the building, it had a star carved into it and underneath it said the Dune Sisters Inn. As she neared the front doors they were thrown open and standing on the threshold was a tall dark skinned woman who promptly threw her arms around Hinata and lifted her from the ground swinging her around.

"Hinata!" Chiaka bellowed as she squeezed the smaller woman tightly.

"Hello Chiaka!" Hinata gasped and Chiaka quickly set her down as if she'd broken her "I'm fine Chiaka, I swear. No more weakness." Hinata wiggled her fingers up by her face as if it would convince the older woman of her health.

"Lets get inside anyways," Chiaka said tugging her further into the inn "How are things? How is Naruto? Did you work everything out with him? Tell me everything?" they were in a large room filled with tables, on one wall sat a long bar with a door that led to the kitchen, stairs led upstairs—presumably to bedrooms and another winding hall led off to somewhere else.

"Everything is fine; Naruto is fine—very busy—but fine." Hinata looked down at her hands as Chiaka poured her a glass of lemonade, Naruto had been so busy over the past month dealing with the other lands panicking over Yori's near terrorism that she'd barely seen him except for the occasional dinner or when he'd stumble into apartment half asleep and pass out on her couch. It wasn't very romantic, but then again they still hadn't talked about what sort of relationship they had yet and they still hadn't spoken about what had happened on that day before she left for the mission when he'd said Sakura's name.

Chiaka watched the Hyuuga's expression fall and she reached out and placed a hand over hers "Worry not, little flower, that boy is so smitten with you that he doesn't know what to do with himself."

Hinata shook off her gloomy thoughts and smiled brightly at Chiaka "You're right, I'm sorry." She took a sip of her lemonade and looked around.

"All the ladies are out running errands or around doing chores." Chiaka stated already predicting what Hinata would ask.

"And how is Rizu?" Hinata finally asked quietly, she'd been wondering about the former leader of the Dune Sisters for weeks—when they'd left over a month ago the girl had been practically insane due to the torture she'd been subjected to because of Hinata. Guilt stabbed in Hinata's chest and she placed a closed fist there rubbing the spot lightly.

Chiaka's face fell but only slightly "She's doing better, would you like to say hello?" Hinata nodded and the woman turned towards the winding hall motioning for the Hyuuga to follow her.

"The doctors have been working with her for a few weeks now—they've been trying different medicines that will sort of tamper down on the paranoia and make her more normal and they've worked wonders." Chiaka told her over her shoulder her as they walked down a winding hall and out a set of double doors that led to a large back garden, in the distance was a small building that had wind chimes hanging from every possible place. They clanked and tinkled in the wind and Hinata closed her eyes to listen for a moment before continuing on after Chiaka. "She's nearly normal again, though I do lose her at times…"

Chiaka walked up the steps of the small building and slid open one of the paper doors and allowed Hinata to pass her, the room was medium sized and square in a western style despite the appearance of the outside of the building. A large bed sat against one wall and was neatly made up, a crossed the room on another wall sat a tiny kitchenette and a tiny table with two chairs, one large window sat against the other wall and a woman sat in a rocking chair looking out.

Hinata stared at the woman for a moment before realizing with a shock that it was Rizu! She was wearing a long white sundress that made her peach colored skin seem creamier and her long green hair had been plaited into a thick braid that rested over her shoulder. She was staring off into space with her blank darkly colored eyes and Chiaka hurried forwards to place a hand on her shoulder before gently shaking her and whispering something into her ear. Suddenly the light seemed to come back into the woman's and she turned to smile brightly at Hinata.

"Hello!" the woman greeted her brightly before standing and waving away Chiaka's steadying hands, she moved forwards to give Hinata a hug and Hinata found herself being more gentle with the woman—it almost seemed as if the woman would break if she hugged her too hard.

It was a bit disconcerting that this was the same woman who she'd met only a month and a half ago, the woman she'd met had exerted a power and confidence that was nearly palpable. This woman was feminine and gentle—like a lily that was about to be carried away in the wind.

Hinata listened to the woman chatter about nothing and anything but her eyes were drawn to Chiaka who was standing behind Rizu and watching her, Chiaka still looked at the green haired woman with so much love that Hinata almost had to look away. But the love that had been so intense before that Chiaka had pined after the woman that she thought could never love her was gone. Replacing it was a quiet understanding and unconditional acceptance that the woman she loved might never be the same—and Chiaka was okay with that.

Hinata's heart squeezed for her friend as she left her quiet observations aside and chatted more idly with Rizu. After a few moments Rizu's voice began to get louder and louder as a panicked look began to shake, but Chiaka came to her rescue by placing a calming hang on her shoulder and turning her gently around to envelope the woman in her protective embrace.

The tender moment between the two made Hinata blush slightly before turning and leaving to give them some privacy, she explored the garden while they were inside amusing herself with smelling flowers until Chiaka appeared a few moments later sheepishly smiling. "Sorry about that, she panics sometimes."

"That's alright!" Hinata replied cheerfully "She seems much better than the last time I saw her. I'm happy for you Chiaka."

Chiaka's smile widened "Well come on then," she responded "Lets go say hi to the other girls who are upstairs cleaning I'm sure they'll be super glad to see you!"

Two hours later Naruto showed up and they ate dinner with the Dune Sisters, everyone teasing Naruto and making Hinata blush ferociously. Afterwards they got ready to head out, all of the women ranging from age eighty to age two filed out of the Inn and waved at them as they left. Chiaka and Rizu stood together on the front porch, Chiaka had a protective arm around the green haired woman's waist and Rizu was laughing as she waved at Naruto and Hinata.

Hinata slid her hand into Naruto's and he squeezed hers tightly "Are you glad you got to see them?" he asked as they rounded the corner.

Hinata beamed at him "Yes!"

Coming Soon!

Epilogue 3: Always