Hey, Hi, Hello.

Welcome to the very last chapter of TMK. It's been an adventure writing this, that's for sure. I hope you guys enjoy it 3 love you kiddies! Please comment and vote. Hasn't been edited much, 'cause I'm just too excited to post this ^/.\^ The song is 'River Flows In You' by Yiruma. It's just piano, one of my favorites by him.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto.
WARNINGS: Saaaaaaaaaaaaaadddddd! Or maybe more bittersweet? Eh, whatever. Sasuke is OOC. A little bit of cussing.

~TMK~

To think...it would end like this...

~TMK~

After everything, and seeing him makes my heart clench.

He turns, black-blue hair fluttering around his neck. He smiles, a smile so soft and endearing... it's been a while since I've seen him smile like that. Since I was eight. He seems so at peace and calm, here in the realm of my nightmare world. I wasn't sure exactly what was going on- this was definitely the strangest dream I've had since going through my training and induction into the Torture and Interrogation Force -but I could gather this form of his was of my mind's own creation, what I most wanted to see him as. The last time I saw him look really, genuinely happy.

"Imouto," he murmurs, his hand extending outwards until he cradled my cheek in his palm. "How's life going for you?"

I can't speak. My lips are frozen, hanging half open. I struggle to form words. Masao just smiles patiently, amiably. I feel something strange in my chest that's dangerously close to falling apart. My composure.

"Take your time," he whispers. My gaze drops from his eyes, traveling down to my feet. What a cruel dream this was. My gaze softens from shock into something softer, more sensitive. My heart felt cracked. And it had been put through so much lately, so much stupid, stressful, preventable shit that I was surprised it hadn't failed me already. Honestly, if it were even my choice, I just might have let it happen.

"I-I...Masao, you killed them all..." I can't easily find the words to express my feelings. What I would give for this to be real, to really be with the older brother I adored so much, and for him to just be like he used to... I smile bitterly, closing my eyes and leaning into his touch. I could let this last for a little bit longer, right? Before I tore myself up again.

~TMK~

I have changed a lot.

After learning of my brother's plot with the Akatsuki, how it was all planned, I came to the decision that I didn't want to be like Masao. Not emotionless, not so full of contempt and cynicism. That was his nindo, and why should I follow him? I was my own person, someone beyond the little puppet my nii-san controlled. Wasn't I? Being teamed up with Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi taught me that. Even if they didn't mean to do it. Seeing the way Sasuke dealt with his grief, the way Naruto could be so happy and carefree but still so dedicated and serious, and the way Kakashi-sensei cared and was much more thoughtful than he ever let on...that struck me with such power that I couldn't help but want to change.

~TMK~

"Wake the fuck up."

My eyes open. Familiar ceiling. The hospital again, how fucking lovely. I was so sick and tired of waking up in the hospital. At least I was getting a little bit of a change of pace, being woken up this time by someone else instead of it just happening like it had been. And, of all people, it was Uchiha Sasuke doing it.

"...hai, Sasuke-san?" I croak. My voice was still hoarse, due to all the screaming I had been doing during my 'test'.

He peers at me. He's sitting in a tense position at the side of my bed, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his fingers laced together beneath his chin. He looks like the very picture of teen angst, all moody and contemplative and like he hates the world. He probably does. "I have been considering something," he confesses. After I simply give him a look that reads 'explain yourself or leave' he continues by informing me, "Your family was murdered and you don't even care. Why?"

He was under the impression I didn't care? "I care," I answer simply.

"It sure as hell doesn't seem like it!" He exclaims, glaring even harder.

I shrug weakly. "You've been thinking about this for a long time, haven't you? I honestly don't see how the way I'm dealing with my grief is any of your business."

"Because I'm your team mate? Because l've been through the same thing?!" He snarls. I take this moment to observe him. His cheeks are flushed from anger. He wasn't his normal, composed self. This was him thinking too much.

"Well, Sasuke, the way I see it, we're polar opposites. We have dead clans, yes, but you...you've been dealing with this in all the wrong ways. Revenge is not the answer. You shouldn't let him have that sort of power over you. If you want him to suffer then have free will for once and do what you want to with your life. That would fuck with his head. And, on a further note, you just might end up being happy," I tell him.

He frowns. "This isn't about him, that bastard! This is about how you never seem affected by your dead family!"

I glare at him. "I was raised by my brutal older brother, oftentimes in violent ways, that showing no emotion was the best nindo. Now, after everything, I've come to believe it's better to forge my own path, come up with my own way. It...his training...still affects me, though, so I don't speak of it and I do my best not to think of it. But I am affected. I dream of them. Of falling into pools of their blood, staring into my mother's eyes, lifeless because her throat had been ripped out. The way my baby cousin, only three years old, looked with her intestines strewn about her. I have nightmares about them getting murdered in Tsukuyomi, with me being unable to do anything, simply paralyzed, just cry and pray to whoever is listening to make it end already. So don't even continue to operate under the assumption that I don't feel anything. I often think I feel too much."

He frowns down at his feet. "We're leaving," he states. I frown- who was leaving? Where were they going and for how long? "Kakashi, Naruto, Jiraiya and I. We're going to travel around all the five lands, training and all."

What? My chest stung. "I...for how long?"

"Kakashi insists just a year, but probably longer. But whatever, we leave in less than two weeks. And...bye," he informs me, this last part a mumble. He seems to be a lot calmer, like my words provided him with answers he needed.

I smile tightly. "Goodbye."

~TMK~

My whole body feels frighteningly numb, encased in an ice-fire that was tearing my senses apart. I thought I understood loss. And I did-but only to an extent. I know the loss of family, yes, but not the loss that's accompanied by a strange sense of dismay and alarm at wondering why they decided to do this. And for what? They wouldn't be gone forever, right? Just for an entire year, they assured. Well, Kakashi-sensei and Naruto-kun assured. Sasuke was sulking in the corner and Jiraiya was too busy trying to stare down Tsunade-sama's shirt to do any assuring, not that he was concerned about me, anyway.

Tsunade-sama didn't comment much about how long they would be gone. She just analyzed me with those honey-colored eyes, so much so it made me feel like squirming under her scrutiny. However, I was definitely not one for squirming and therefore did not. I allowed myself to shift my weight on my feet, a little bit. My ankle felt strange after being broken.

It was a mere week and a half ago that I awoke in a hospital bed after officially graduating from Ibiki-sama's rigorous final test. I hadn't been out for long, the nurse assured, just about a day. Her name was Rin and she had pretty eyes. I liked her. She was kind. I went through physical therapy with little difficulty, probably because since graduating from the Academy I had been there frequently. The nurses were familiar and knew how to work with me.

Those eyes again. I blink, banishing my negative thoughts and focusing on Naruto. He was babbling on and on about how much they would miss me and how we could always send letters back and forth. That causes a spring of hope to well up in my chest. Maybe not everything would be so bad.

Or maybe I'm wrong.

~TMK~

They look so happy.

Not Sasuke, of course- he's still the very picture of pre-teen angst. But Naruto and Kakashi-sensei and Jiraiya look happy, like they're excited about this. I hope they are; this would be a good experience for them. They would improve greatly.

"I'LL MISS YOU, KIMI-CHAN, 'TTEBAYO!" Naruto shouts, rushing forward and encasing me in a tight, rib-crushing hug. I smile, albeit a bit forced, and hug him back.

"We all will. Even Sasuke, though he probably won't admit it," Kakashi-sensei assures as Naruto lets me go.

"Wouldn't expect him to," I inform them. Kakashi-sensei gives me a closed eye smile, stepping forward. He hugs me, though it's brief.

"Hey, don't grow up to much without us, okay?" He jokes.

I have to keep myself from rolling my eyes. "No promises, Kakashi-sensei." He laughs again, bending down to kiss my forehead. I feel my cheeks flush instantly, the red stain persisting even after he straightens and ruffles my hair. Jiraiya glances over his shoulder at the gates. He was probably anxious to get going.

The sun was only just rising. It filters through my hair, casting a red halo about me. I smile warmly at them, feeling tears build up behind my eyes. They were really leaving, for a year or possibly more. I lift my gloved hand, waving slowly back at Naruto as he walked away with the others. This was it, this was goodbye.

When they came back, I would be someone to be proud of. I would get stronger, better, just like they would. I would change.

~TMK~

"There will come a day...when I'm not here anymore. When no one will be, not for you, and not for a long time. You'll have to rely upon yourself. It will be hard- you'll hurt. You'll break bones, kill others and feel nothing when you end their life, gain scars so deep they'll never heal. Everyone does. It's just part of life. And you have to keep going. Even if every Kami-damned bone in your body is shattered to dust and everything, from your heart to your chest to your head, feels like they've given up, you have to get back up and fight. Those wounds are your battle scars, proof to yourself and everyone else that yes, you can withstand it and no, you'll never give in."

~TMK~

TA-DA.

The end! :D but don't worry, there will definitely be a sequel. If you have any questions about this story, just ask and you'll get answers. Thank you for reading/voting/commenting (: it means a lot. Here in a couple of weeks/months I'll post a message or something with a title or mini-excerpt. Anyway, kiddies, I love you all 3 thank you for everything.