PLEASE READ THIS A/N. IT CONCERNS THE EPILOGUE CHAPTERS.

A/N: FOR NEW READERS, PLEASE IGNORE THIS PARAGRAPH AND GO DOWN TO THE NEXT ONE. PREVIOUS READERS, PLEASE CONTINUE READING.

Anyways, hey guys. I know, I know, it's been MONTHS since I last uploaded a chapter related to the Epilogue. I'm so so sorry! When it came to this chapter (and the Epilogue in general) I kept hitting a brick wall that prevented any further progress. It may seem like I haven't been doing anything, but believe me, I have been. I deleted so many paragraphs and documents just because it was so bad and I just couldn't finish them. I honestly tried but I just can't. So, I'm sorry, but I won't be continuing the Epilogue as you guys know it. Please forgive me! I just have zero ideas/clues on how to finish it. I won't be keeping those two chapters up (and for those of you who are new, just ignore this.) Once again, I'm sorry.

However, with this chapter, Izumi and Tobirama's story will come to an end. It's not a long chapter and it's completely different and separate from the other Epilogue chapters. This is just complete and total AU (obviously) and I feel like this is a perfect ending. This story started with reincarnation and it will end in reincarnation.

I love all of you, you have made my life very happy. I went through some dark and heavy times that no one knows about with LIHE, yet this story and you readers always managed to help me smile. I loved writing for you guys and I loved reading the positive response that came with each chapter. I still love the reviews I get! It kinda saddens me that I have to say goodbye to Izumi and those I created for this story, but at the same time, it makes me proud that I managed to create characters that people enjoyed reading about.

I am writing a new story right now but I won't be posting it just yet. It's probably going to be another Tobirama/Oc story because I've realized that writing during the Warring States Period I can pretty much make up the people and the plot in between the Canon that happened.

Anyways, I love you and I hope that you enjoy this final chapter of LIHE!

Until next time!~


DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO AND ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS OR PLOTS. I ONLY OWN MY OC IZUMI AND ANY OTHER.


Days go on forever
But I have not left your side.
We can chase the dark together
If you go then so will I.

Anthem of the Angels by Breaking Benjamin


Final Epilogue

Time Period: Third Shinobi War
Location: Unknown town in the Land of Fire.


"Please help us!"

The young woman internally sighed before opening the door, revealing two flustered villagers. "How can I help you?" She asked. She knew the two in front of her, they were her neighbors. They were friendly enough but she never bothered introducing herself to them. So what did they want?

"W-We found a shinobi passed out in front of our house. T-There was b-blood everywhere!"

She scratched her head and leaned on the frame of the door. "And?" Nothing shocking about that. There were plenty of injured Shinobi nowadays, especially with the war going on.

"We heard you were a doctor." There it was. She knew that one of those kids would open their mouths about her.

"You want me to help him? This…man, that I have no idea who he is?"

"W-Well…"

She sighed. "Don't worry, I'll help him. Let me get my stuff." Keeping the door open, she left the couple to get her items. After a few seconds, she returned and motioned to them. "Let's see the patient."

The run to her neighbor's house only took about a minute and immediately, she could sense the powerful chakra that must have belonged to the shinobi they were talking about.

"W-We left him on the couch." She didn't bother taking off her shoes at the doorway and walked straight into the living room. However, she froze at the headband the man wore.

It was a Konoha hitai-ite.

"Crap."

"I-Is everything alright?" She turned around and nodded to the two.

"Oh! Yes, I'm sorry. Everything is fine."

She really didn't want to do this but if she walked away, right here, she would be abandoning her duties as a doctor, as an Iryo-nin. Her mentor would be disappointed in her. Making sure she still had her kunai resting right along her waistband, she walked over to the injured man.

At first glance, there seemed to be no blood on the man like she was told there was earlier. There was blood on his hair but that was about it. However, when she looked closer, she could see the blood that was coating the blue of his uniform.

There was no mask, so he wasn't ANBU. But the one thing that bothered her was the fact that he was missing the Chunin vest that was the standard uniform for Konoha during war-time.

"Hashimoto-san, can I use your table?" She asked, turning around to her elderly neighbors.

"Of course. Do you need help carrying him?"

"I'll be fine. Just make sure I can quickly place this man on the table." As carefully as she could, she lifted the man up and walked over to the next room, gently placing the man on the table.

"Can you hand me the scissors from my bag?" She asked, not bothering to turn her head around.

"H-Hai." The old lady returned with her scissors and the bag. "I wasn't sure if you would need anything else from the bag, so I brought it all."

"Thank you." She'd have to cut open the shirt. He had another one somewhere anyways.

The only sounds in the room were the quiet snipping of her scissors and the pained breaths that came from the man in front of her. Luckily for her, the blood hadn't dried to the point where it would have stuck onto the man's wounds like an adhesive. That would've been a pain to get pull off, both physically and mentally.

"I'd like you to fill a bowl with warm water for me. Also, if you have a towel to spare I'll need it." She knew that the they did exactly as she asked with the cluttering of the sink and the warmth that suddenly came from behind her.

However, she needed to concentrate. She let herself focus on her chakra and prepared the jutsu that she would need to use.

There were three stab wounds located around the abdomen. His arm was dislocated and his wrist broken. No neck or head injuries. Judging by the lack of puss around the wounds and no fever, the wounds were fresh. The possibility of infection would be high unless she healed him. His ankle was swollen, probably sprained. Without further diagnosis, she also wouldn't be sure if the wounds were poisoned or not. It mostly depended on the Hidden Village he had fought against, if it was Sunagakure, then the possibility of him being poisoned was high.

She took a deep breath and began.

Her hands moved quickly and with ease. She let herself get caught in the rhythm of healing, allowing full concentration on the patient. It took a while―and most of her chakra―but the critical wounds were stabilized. As much as she wanted to fully heal them, she didn't have the chakra to expend, especially since she still needed to fix his wrist.

"Will he be okay?"

"For now." She turned around and wiped the sweat off of her forehead. "I still need to fix his wrist and he'll need stiches." The old man handed her the warm bowl of water with the towel. "Thank you." She smiled at the man. The blood was a bother for them, she could tell. There was blood all over him, on his body and on his hair. Parts of it were white but most red from blood. She'd have to wipe all that blood away so she could focus on stitching the shinobi too. But before she could go through with her plans, she sensed the sudden change in chakra from behind her.

She pushed the two elderly couple away from her and whirled around. The metal bowl in her arms became her shield as the shinobi brought down a kunai onto her. Crap, she should've been paying attention. Why didn't she notice the man waking up and stealing her only weapon? She wanted to sigh but it didn't matter anymore, she needed to calm the man down.

"Sir! Please stop―"

"Who the hell are you?" He hissed out after she pushed him away.

She kept the metal bowl in-between them. "I'm a doctor. The elderly couple in the other room found you passed out."

He narrowed his eyes. "You're no doctor. You're a kunoichi." She remained silent and allowed him to assess her, as much as she wanted him not to. "You have more chakra than a civilian should have."

"Sir, just…please let me continue healing you. I'll tell you who I am later."

"You could be a spy."

She scoffed at his accusation. "I can assure you, I'm no spy. So please―" With a speed that amazed her, he threw the kunai towards her face. Out of pure instinct, her eyes flashed red and she avoided it by moving her head to the right.

She saw the change on his face and the only word that came to her mind were, well, shit.

"You're a…Uchiha?" She didn't answer. "What the hell are you doing here? Where's your headband, your uniform?"

"I don't have one." She scowled. "I'll tell you, so sit your sorry ass down so I can heal you. I know for sure that your right arm is feeling like a million needles stabbing you." She forced a smile on her face and placed the metal bowl on the table. "Okay?"

"I―" Before the man could reply, his eyes rolled white and he fainted.

Fuck.


Three Hours Later
Eleven P.M.


"I recommend staying at an inn for a few days. It would be too dangerous for you to stay here." She told the elderly couple. "If you would also allow me to stay here to watch over him, I would be grateful."

Hitomi, the old lady, smiled at her. "I hear what you do for the orphans in our town. You feed them, you give them clothes, you heal them." The surprise on her face made the Hitomi laugh. "Thank you."

"T-There's nothing for you to thank me for―"

"You can use whatever that is in the house. We'll stop by tomorrow around the afternoon to see how that young man is doing. It's the least we can do, especially for what you did."

"I…" She was speechless but it didn't stop her from bowing. "Thank you so much."

After saying goodbye to the two couples, she turned around to the unconscious man on the couch. His wounds were stitched―she had to stop his bleeding again after what he did earlier―and his arm was wrapped to prevent movement. There was wood wrapped with cloth to prevent movement on his ankle.

Coincidentally, the moment she sat in front of him, she sensed that he was awakening.

"Ugh…"

"Don't bother moving." She harshly said. "You'll move the bandages and hurt your arm again. Maybe even worsen it." She saw him glare at her but he remained silent. At least he was listening to her.

A minute passed before he broke the silence. "How do I know you didn't injure me even more?"

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, baffled by what he just accused her of doing. "You know, it's not like I just used up most of my chakra to heal your pasty ass." Crossing her arms across her chest, she lifted her legs up onto the coffee table in between her and the other couch. "Actually, forget it. I'm just here because I do what I have too as a doctor."

"…Earlier, your eyes." There was the million dollar question she was waiting for. "You're an Uchiha."

"No, I'm not. I'm half Uchiha. My dad is some dude who was my mom's one-night stand. Didn't even know his damn name and he sure doesn't know I exist. I like to keep it that way." She shrugged. "I do go by Uchiha though. It gains more respect for me."

"Why doesn't Konoha know about you?"

"I could care less about major villages. But you know what I'm interested in?" She asked. "I'm more interested in the fact that no one is trying to find you. I haven't seen or sensed any other shinobi in this area." Now the dude kept his mouth shut. Gah, what the hell was his problem? It was seriously pissing her off. "Nothing? You're not going to say anything?" He stayed quiet but was still looking at her. "Fine then. Can you at least tell me a name so I don't have to keep calling you that man?"

He seemed to think about what to say for a couple of seconds before telling her. "I'm Tobirama."

"Tobirama?" She almost laughed. "You're named after the Nidaime Hokage?"

"Yes." She could sense the sudden discomfort in his tone.

A small chuckle left her mouth. "You even look like the dude." She saw a scowl, which made her smile even more.

Tobirama, seeing this smile, felt his heart skip a beat. It seemed…so familiar. He couldn't recall ever meeting this woman but…the sense of nostalgia was almost overwhelming.

"You're not going to tell me your name?"

"Why? You can just call me Uchiha-sama." The black-haired woman smirked and saw the man look at her in annoyance. "Or Uchiha-san. Either one works."

"Yeah, I'll just go with the Uchiha-san."

"Fine then. Anyways, you need rest, okay? After our little bonding party we just had, you don't have to worry about me, alright. I'm not going to kill you."

"You call that bonding? I find that very pathetic if you think that it was. I still have no reason to trust you." Tobirama turned his head away from the Uchiha.

"You don't." She bluntly stated. "But, I'm the only reason why you're alive at this moment. If I wanted you dead, you wouldn't be here telling me your name. So, I'm going to sit here and watch you like your nonexistent stalker to make sure you're okay. It's up to you if you want to sleep or be pathetic and stay awake when you really have no need too." She smiled. "Either way, I'm going to be here."

She leaned a little more into the cushions and waited.

And waited.

And waited.


The Next Day
Eight A.M.


"Oi, Tobirama."

"What?"

"I need to go into town to get some supplies." The Uchiha walked over to him and glared at his handsome face.

What?

Why did she just say handsome?

…Whatever, she had more important things to do.

"Like you said last night, you have zero reasons to trust me. I know." She pointed to his arm and to his ankle. "However, while I'm gone, I don't suggest leaving this house. You won't make it to Konoha in…" She motioned to all of him. "This. Besides, even if you did you won't get far. You'll just sprain your ankle even more and probably rip open your stitches."

"I know."

"Good." She poked his shoulder and he winced.

"What the hell was that for?" He hissed out, rubbing his shoulder.

"You annoy me." She smiled and waved at him. "Bye!"

She walked out of the house and checked through her mental list of items she needed to get.

She'd need to get several herbs that would help greatly with preventing infection. She'd also need a mixture that helped relax the muscles around his ankle. She would need to get food―because she wouldn't use her neighbor's food because that was just overstaying her welcome―and she needed to get some cleaning supplies to get rid of the blood around the house.

She hoped she had enough money.

She silently hummed to herself as she walked along the path towards the center of town. She let her thoughts wander and immediately, Tobirama's face came to mind. She felt so much sadness…so much guilt and she didn't know why. She felt familiar to him as if she knew who he was too, but she had never seen him in her twenty years of life.

"Nee-san!" She turned around and smiled at the group of children in front of her.

"Hello." She tilted her head in curiosity. Why did they look so scared? "What's wrong?"

"There are a bunch of scary shinobi asking if they saw an injured man." Kiyomi, the smallest of the four, said.

She quickly stood up and turned her head towards the direction she just came in. "Tobirama." She looked down to the children. "You four go back to your home, alright? If they question you, tell them you don't know what they're talking about. Don't mention me too, alright?" She saw them all nod. "Good."

She started running back towards the house, worry pushing her to go faster. She wished she could use her chakra but after yesterday, she didn't have any to spare. Rushing up the stairs to the door, she rushed inside.

"Tobirama, you need to go upstairs now."

"What's wrong?" He sat up and winced. "What happened?"

She nervously gulped and shook her hands. "There is a group of shinobi looking for you. We're on the outskirts of the town but I can tell that they're going to be here soon." She ran to him and helped him stand up. "I need you to conceal your chakra as much as you can. You need to keep some revealed to make it seem like a civilian. Okay?"

"…Alright." She quickly led him to the bedroom upstairs.

"Here's a kunai. If something…happens to me, I don't know if you'll survive or not." She took a deep breath and pointed to the ring around his neck. "Give me that."

"What?" He shook his head. "This was my mother's, like hell am I going to give it to you―"

"Goddamn it Tobirama, we don't have time to be bickering about this like some old married couple!" She held out her hand. "Give it to me before I take it!"

She saw the anger in his eyes as he took off his necklace and handed it to her. "What do you plan on doing?"

"I'm going to be your wife for ten minutes." She rushed to the closet in the room and took off her shirt. She ignored the man behind her and threw on a shirt that belonged to the old man. "Stay here."

She took the ring off the chain and put the ring on as she rushed downstairs. She grabbed her katana and placed it along her waistband. She tried to hide all the bloody rags and that was when she heard a voice from the front of the house. "Hello, is someone here?"

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she walked to the front door and placed a large, fake smile on her face. "Hello, can I help you?" She asked.

The leader of the group turned around and smiled at her. "Yes. We're wondering if you have seen an injured man around. He's about…this tall, white hair and red eyes." The man asked. He had a Iwagakure hitai-ite on his waist and that worried her even more.

"No, I'm sorry."

He tiled his head and pointed to her hair. "I see blood. Is everything okay?"

"Y-Yes." She tried fixing her hair, making sure to show off the ring on her hand. "My husband was cutting wood yesterday and he hurt himself, so I had to stich him right up. He's so damn clumsy." She faked a laugh. The shinobi in front of her did the same.

"You're right. He is clumsy." He smiled again but this time, it was…different, and it scared her. "You see, we have a tracker on this team and we found his blood trail. It led us here."

She nervously gulped and as casually as she could, she placed her right hand behind her back, onto the hilt of her katana. "I'm sorry, I don't understand. I'm just a wife caring for her husband."

"Let's stop the lies. You won't get hurt if you just tell us where he is."

As tempting as his offer was, she didn't have it in her to do exactly that. That would mean in Tobirama's death and that was something she couldn't allow.

"I'm sorry. I want you to leave my property." She nervously smiled. "Thank you."

"You asked for it." The leader motioned for his group to follow him. "Move."

"No." She allowed adrenaline to rush through her body. "I can't." She shoved the leader away and slammed the door, locking it.

Rushing back upstairs, she knew that something as simple as that wouldn't stop them. She threw open the door to the bedroom and saw Tobirama standing up. "Why are you helping me?"

"Because it's the right thing to do." She unsheathed her katana and stood in front of him. "Iwa-nin's killed my mentor, I can't just let them take you. I don't like them, I guess you can say."

"Still―"

"No, it's fine. I'll stop them." She smiled at Tobirama. "Don't worry." There was a crash from the front of the house and she flinched, knowing what was going to happen in the next thirty seconds. "Deep breaths. You can do this." She gripped her katana even harder and walked into the hallway.

"We found you!" The leader of the Iwa-nin sadistically smiled at her. "You'll both die today."

She allowed herself to smile before rushing to the five enemy-nins. She knew they weren't expecting her to amount to much, thinking that she was some stupid civilian. She would show the how wrong they were.

With precision, she brought her katana down on the large enemy on the right. Not enough to kill him but enough to where he would be hurt and lose enough blood to render him useless. Then, she proceeded to activate her sharingan. Whirling around, she caught the two enemies by surprise and placed them under a genjutsu.

"What the hell? You're an Uchiha?"

"You could say that." She held her katana up and blocked the sword from the fourth enemy. He was avoiding her eyes yet managed to nearly overwhelm her. She was more on the defense than the offense and the enemy knew. He managed to nick her every few seconds and she knew it was only a matter of time before she would mess up, killing her. Only was it out of pure luck that she saw an opening and managed to kick the man away. Still, he threw a kunai and she didn't have time to avoid it. It lodged itself into her shoulder and she cried out in pain. However, she pushed it away and rushed to where the enemy fell. Grabbing the sides of his head, she held it up and met his eyes with her own, effectively placing him in a genjutsu like the other two.

However, she didn't have any time to waste because the leader of the group was behind her, fighting Tobirama. They were struggling and it was obvious that Tobirama was about to lose.

"No!" She widened her eyes and saw the enemy raise his weapon. Without even a second thought, she threw her sword and watched as it pierced through his armor and his body. She heard a sound of surprise before he turned to her. There was blood gurgling from his mouth before he collapsed onto the ground.

She stood still, her breathing irregular. Tobirama was splattered with blood but not his, thankfully. "Oh my god…" She looked at her hands. "I just…I just…I didn't mean to…"

"Hey, you alright?" He limped over to her.

"I just…I just…" She turned her head up to him and he was…speechless. He saw tears pooling in her eyes. "I just…killed him."

"Wait, have you never…?" She shook her head. "Is this your…first?"

"I didn't mean too…I didn't want…I…" She shook her head to clear her thoughts. "It doesn't matter. We need to leave, now. Konoha is at least two weeks' worth of travel, maybe more with your ankle." She wiped away the tears before they could fall. "I don't want to talk about what happened. I don't need to be reminded of what I did."


Two months later


"You're leaving?"

She turned to Tobirama and smiled. "Yup." She lifted her bag up and stuck her tongue out. "I don't like big villages. I like the small towns, keeps me unnoticed." She looked down and kicked a rock. "I've been here long enough."

"Will…I ever see you again?"

"I don't know, you tell me. Will you try to find me?"

Tobirama thought about her question. "Maybe."

She pursed her lips and tilted her head. "Why?"

"You…intrigue me for reasons I don't know."

She laughed. Her laughs always flustered him, made his heart beat faster than it should've. "Keep in touch, will you? I gave you my address."

"Don't worry, I will." She hugged Tobirama. "Besides, I don't think this is the last time I'll be seeing you." She felt him wrap his own arms around her. She pulled away after a few seconds and adjusted her straps on her bag.

"Can you tell me your name at least?" The white-haired man asked.

"I guess I forgot that I never told you my name." She pulled away and saluted. "I will tell you my name sir! I'm Uchiha Izumi." She clapped her hands together. "Call me Uchiha-sama."

"That is not happened."

"Aww, that's too bad." She turned around and saw that the group she was going to be travelling with was about to leave her behind. "I have to go. It was nice meeting you Tobirama."

"I…" He hung his head down before looking back up. "It was nice meeting you too Izumi."

He watched as she waved goodbye and ran towards the village gate.

Uchiha Izumi.

He smiled before placing his hand over his heart. Uchiha Izumi.

She was right, this wasn't the last time he would see her.


The End