Song of the chapter:

youtube dot com then /watch?v=Mx4zgTvnVh8

or type in youtube:

"Never Alone" By: Lady Antebellum w/ Lyrics

Chapter 38: Epilogue

…or is it?

A month later…

Sasuke was elected the new Head of Anbu. The village of Konoha threw a huge celebration in his honor. He found it funny that anbu themselves were kept secret, their identity always hidden behind a mask, but the leader of the division was open for all to see. Was it the village's pride or a warning to the other shinobi villages?

Naruto ran up behind him and tried to grab him in a headlock. He dodged by folding the top half of his body backwards and then landed a kick to Naruto's stomach. Naruto blocked the kick and let out a laugh.

"I outrank you now," Sasuke told him as he straightened up.

"Just wait, I'll be Hokage before you know it!" A few heads turned in their direction at the loud tone of Naruto's voice. Sasuke idly wondered if he would ever learn the art of subtlety.

"Can't control a village if you can't even control your volume," Sasuke shot at him. Naruto shot him back a look.

"Sasuke, Naruto," Tsunade said as she came up to the two bickering men.

"Granny-chan!" A vein throbbed at Tsunade's temple but she tried her best to ignore it and the blond idiot.

"Sasuke, can I talk to you for a moment?" Sasuke nodded. Naruto didn't move. "Without you, Naruto."

"Yeesh," Naruto said, as he walked away. "Can't even talk in front of the future Hokage."

"I want to apologize for the whole ordeal a month ago," Tsunade spoke as soon as Naruto was out of hearing. "It was wrong of me to condemn you without proper evidence, even if what evidence I had did point to you. If Naruto trusts you with his life, then that's enough for me."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Sasuke spoke automatically. He had long forgiven the Hokage for her stupid decision of throwing him into a cell and planning on executing him, even if he still thought her stupid for it.

"The new generation of shinobi will do well. I know you will lead the hidden villages to peace."

"You are putting members of the old Konoha Nine in power. You're setting us all up for something," Sasuke spoke his previous thoughts aloud.

"Yes," she admitted. "In key places of power so that the wrong people can't have it. By being anbu leader, you are also responsible for the root unit."

Sasuke just gave her a look.

"It's your fault for killing Danzo, though I can't say it was a bad thing. Still, no good deed goes unpunished. Have a good day, Sasuke. I have a date with some sake over there," the Hokage nodded before walking off to the liquor table. If this was how much of an alcoholic she was as Hokage, he could imagine her after she retires.

"Sasuke?" Sakura walked up to him, looking in the direction he was looking. Tsunade arguing with Shizune about alcohol. "I wanted to congratulate you. I know this isn't where you planned your life going, but it's a good one. If you ever need a friend, I'm here for you." They both looked over to see Kiba matching shots with Tsunade.

"He's a good guy," was all Sasuke said. She nods.

"He is good to me." They sat that way in silence for a few moments before Sakura excused herself.

"I better stop him before he does something stupid," is all she says before rushing after Kiba.

Sasuke was left alone. It wasn't that others from the Rookie Nine didn't come to congratulate him or talk to him. It wasn't that there was no one around him. But he was still alone. He forced himself not to look for a head of dark hair and pale eyes.

Hanabi and Hideki were arguing over what type of structure they should use to govern the Hyuuga clan. Hanabi would remain head, but would they continue with a council? If so, how would they elect them? Would it be shaped similar to a democracy? Would it go back to its anarchy ways?

"Hee-deck-ee!" Maika called, running into the room with a handful of wildflowers. Both Hyuugas turned to the girl, one with a nicer expression than the other. "I got these for you and Hanabi-chan!"

She set them on the desk and Hanabi had to work to not push them off of their files and research. She had to work to school her features out of a grimace. She didn't like kids.

"Thank you, Maika," Hideki said with a smile, patting her head. She grinned up at them.

"When are you going to marry her, aniki?" Hanabi blushed and turned her face away from them. Hideki blushed and scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"We've got a little while before we start thinking about that."

"Why?" Maika pressed on. "Most people get married at thirteen! You're old!"

"It's different because Hanabi is head of clan and we would have a lot of politics to deal with.

"So?" Little Maika couldn't understand how two people that were so obviously meant to be together could just not get married.

"We've known each other for a month, Maika," Hanabi bit out.

"But you love each other!"

The two older Hyuuga blushed and looked away from her.

The big 'L' word. They were not even close to saying that to each other.

"Maika, why don't you ask Neji-san to teach you how to use magic?"

"Okay!" She said excitedly. "Bye aniki! Bye Hanabi-chan!" She ran out of the room at a million miles per hour. Hanabi and Hideki looked over at each other awkwardly.

"I hate kids," Hanabi sighed.

"She'll grow on you," Hideki defended.

"Doubt it."

And she did. Two years from now Maika would be the flower girl in the wedding. Hanabi and Hideki would lead the Hyuuga clan into prosperity. The house divide would end. Members of the clan would run to be elected on the council. Other members of the clan would vote for whomever they liked. Maika would grab both Hideki and Hanabi's hands and swing between them.

Hanabi wouldn't think of boogers or dirty hands.

She would care for Maika's wellbeing and happiness.

Hanabi would finally have a family—a real family.

Sasuke walked in his front door and plopped down at the table, eating his takeout. It wasn't as good as Hinata's cooking, but it would do. He noticed the brown journal out of the corner of his eye. He looked at it as he ate his rice.

The entire journal had been written to her mother.

A mother who would be executed in less than thirty days.

Sasuke finished his rice and kushiyaki. He grabbed the journal and headed to the Hokage Office. His new title granted him access to the prisoners, so no one would see his visiting an S-Ranked criminal as strange. He walked through Konoha at a relaxed pace. He missed Hinata. He wouldn't lie about it. But he was getting better at pretending he didn't. He was getting better at focusing on his work, at burying himself in it to forget.

Sometimes he would find himself wishing that she were with him. That she would have come out of the crowd of people at his ceremony and congratulate him. That she would say she was wrong. That she would have told him to come with her. He didn't care about the situation, the key facts were always the same.

He was with her.

He wondered what she was thinking about right now. He wondered if she missed him as much as he missed her. He hoped she was happy. He held no hard feelings, because loving someone, to Sasuke, meant wishing for their happiness more than his own.

He could live with the life he was given. He could grow to become happy, knowing that she was doing what she had wanted. He could learn to smile again. He didn't want to, but he could learn.

He would never stop missing her, but he could learn to live with the hole in his chest.

He could live with never restoring his clan.

A child in the park beside him darted out in front of him.

He could live without ever having children, even though he wished for a family desperately.

He would give that all away for Hinata.

For her happiness.

He arrived at the tower earlier than he thought he would. He walked down the many steps to the holding cells. It was dark, but it was better than her previous one. He had made sure of it. The mattress was not rotted. It did not smell like urine and death. There were no rats scuttling in the dark. He walked up to her cell. She looked up at him.

She wasn't malnourished. He made sure she was fed well and treated well. She deserved that and so much more. Sasuke didn't agree with her way of doing things, but what choice did they have? She had to die either way. She was a traitor. Konoha would not rest till she died.

He could give her one comfort before she died.

She stood and walked up to him. He handed he the little brown journal through the bars of the cell. There would be enough light to read it—he made sure. He didn't say anything as she took it. She opened it to the last page and a small paper fell out. On the front, it said, "Sasuke," in neat handwriting.

His heart stopped.

"I think this is for you," Haruka said with a smile, handing him the envelope.

He took the envelope before looking her in the eye. "Thank you."

"For what?" she said, with a mischievous look to her eyes and a laugh in her voice.

"For bringing Hinata into the world," was all he said before he left and ascended the many stairs again. Haruka nodded before sitting back down on her cot that smelled like soap.

She opened the journal to the latest entry.

Dear Mom,

I've spent most of my life dreaming of seeing you again. I even left the love of my life to find you. It's taken me a long time to finally accept it, to finally understand it. We're on different paths. There may have been a time when our paths could have overlapped, but that time has passed. It is time to begin living my life in a way that I know would make you proud. It is time for me to get out of my fantasy dream world, and live in the real world. I love you. I will never stop loving you. Hanabi is now the leader of the Hyuuga clan. She has a boyfriend who makes her blush and clan members that want to help her succeed. She is changing the clan, mom. Changing it in a way that no one else ever could. There's no more main house or branch house. There's only Hyuuga. That's beautiful, isn't it? There's no more cursed seal. The penalty for activating it is death. They're trying to find a way to remove it. Sasuke was just promoted to Head of Anbu. He seems to have found his ambitious side again. I hope he can find it in his heart to forgive me for the mistakes that I have made. I love you, mom. Like all journals, this one has to come to an end. This is the last entry I'll ever write. It's time for me to stop writing about my life, and start living it, wouldn't you say? I'll never forget all of the lessons you taught me. I hope you're proud of who I have become.

Your daughter, always,

Hinata

"I am proud of you, Hinata," Haruka said with tears in her eyes. "I'm proud of the beautiful, smart young woman you've become."

Sasuke made himself wait until he was outside of the Hokage building to open the letter. He sat down on the stairs outside of it and took a deep breath before opening it. His hands shook. Was this it? Was this the end? Or a beginning?

Sasuke,

I've done a lot of things I regret. I hope you can forgive me for the stupid mistakes I've made. I miss you. I love you. My whole life I've been chasing after some fairytale, while the whole time I've had something beautiful right in front of me. I've been chasing after a fantasy family, when I've had the perfect one. I have you. You're my family, Sasuke. I'll never forget my old one, but you're my forever one. Did you know that I was engaged to the Uchiha heir, and after your brother's death, that was you? I couldn't say anything, obviously, I would have been way too embarrassed. I may have turned so red that I fainted. If you could find in your heart to forgive me, I would like to be a part of your life. I'll be in the park—remember it? The place we first met and you completely ignored me to fight with Naruto. It's funny how things change, how priorities change. How people change.

Yours forever,

Hinata

Sasuke was sprinting to the park as soon as he finished the letter. It was starting to rain now, so only a few people were still out. The little boy that had almost run into him earlier was being ushered away by his mother. Sasuke ran and stopped at the bench he used to harass her at. The one where he asked if she was the girl of his dreams, and she said no. She had been wrong.

A dark haired girl sat there, with her eyes trained on a book, ignoring the droplets falling from the sky. He calmed his breathing and sat down beside her on the bench. She looked over at him over the top of her book. She smiled at him.

"You came," she said as she dropped her book and turned toward him.

"I always will," he said as he wrapped his arms around her.

I love you, their eyes sang as their lips brushed. The rain started pouring. The winds started blowing. They didn't notice. They were warm in each others arms.

Storms would rage.

Trees would fall.

But they would have each other through it all.

"Marry me?" Sasuke whispered before adding, "Be with me forever?"

"Yes," she said against his lips with a smile. "A million times: yes."

Sasuke and Hinata got married a month later. Hanabi was the maid of honor, like Hinata had promised all those months ago. Ten months later, a beautiful little boy was brought into the world. They named him Itachi. Fourteen months after that, little Haruka was born.

Hinata was incredibly pregnant at her sister's wedding. They had to adjust her maid of honor dress several times to accommodate her ever growing stomach. Tsunade retired from being Hokage, and Naruto was elected in her stead.

Konohagakure was lead to prosperity under the leadership of the old Rookie Nine, Naruto at the forefront. Maika became an aunt to a little girl that she would babble about anything and everything to for hours upon hours. Neji and Lidia got married.

The Caged Bird Seal was not removed from those who already had it. They couldn't find a counter curse. However, it served as a reminder to the whole Hyuuga clan of the error in their ways. They would not make the same mistakes that their predecessors did.

Haruka did get executed a month later, a day after her first born daughter's wedding. Sasuke pulled some strings and was able to sneak her out of her cell for it. She didn't tell Hinata who she was, but she was able to hold her in her arms and cry. She was able to tell her how proud she was of her. Hinata looked to Sasuke, thoroughly confused. He just shrugged and motioned for her to reciprocate the hug.

Hinata and Sasuke did stay together forever after. Even when they were old and grey, their children long grown and already on their own respective journeys, they would walk to the park together. They would hold hands and sit down on a worn wooden bench. They would recall days when they hated each other until their memories worsened to the point that they couldn't remember anymore. Then they would just sit there and hold each other, content in the happiness surrounding them.

Even in their nineties, they both liked the cool feeling of rain on their skin. Hinata couldn't remember why it meant so much to her, but she could remember it had to do with Sasuke beside her. They were old, their bodies failing, but their eyes remained young and expressive. They could still hold whole conversations without speaking a word.

The little brown journal was completely forgotten until Hinata found it on the day following Sasuke's death. With its familiar texture, Hinata remembered all of the good memories she shared with him. She buried Sasuke with it in his arms, and only months later left to join him.

On their tombstone, their children decided to write:

Here lies Sasuke and Hinata Uchiha,

Whose love prevailed through all things.

The REAL End

Author Note: First, I would like to thank all of the wonderful people who have helped me write this story with their reviews! This story would never have grown or thrived without your input and encouraging words! I never intended to leave the last chapter as the ending, I'm just a tad bit cruel and wanted to make you wait. I hate stories that leave the reader with a million questions...they drive me insane. This might be the last update I ever make to any of my stories. Remember when I said I had a good reason for taking so long to update and that I didn't want to say why yet? I was saving that for now. I joined the US Navy. I ship out two days from today. So this really might be goodbye. I had to finish this story before I left...it's my baby. It's my favorite story that I have ever written and one of the only ones I have ever finished. I also didn't think it would be fair if I stopped writing without giving you all a proper conclusion. Thank you all for your support! I hope that this is only a goodbye for now, for none of us knows what the future holds. Please keep me in your thoughts and your prayers as I go to do the most difficult thing I have ever done and probably will ever do. I will never forget all of the wonderful people I have had the privilege of meeting on this website. I feel so lucky to have been able to share something that I am passionate about with people that are so kind and considerate. Thank you.

Little Hidden (or not so hidden) Things: I used name meanings a lot in this story. Hideki means splendid opportunity. The first part-"Hi"-can also be translated to light. Hence, he is Hanabi's light when she is losing herself.

Iruka's files actually did have a purpose! Ha, don't think you expected that!

Hinata never did find out that the girl in Sasuke's dreams was her.

Naruto's mask was a cheetah. Cheetahs represent accomplishing our goals with speed and focus. Hence, Naruto always dreaming of being Hokage.

Sasuke had a crooked smirk for most of the beginning chapters but it became a smile toward the end.

I was originally going to kill of Hanabi, and have that be the fuel for Hinata's anger. But Hanabi's point of view became too important and her story became to beautiful for me to end writing it.

I regretted writing the last journal entry that Hinata wrote in the first chapter so many times because it kept messing up the endings I would come up with. If there was one thing I could change, I would have her write something else.

Sasuke is naive and judgmental at the beginning of the book, but at the end he always tries to look "underneath the underneath."

Sasuke doesn't swear like he used to. Hinata swears a little more.

I completely forgot to write about Hinata's teammates so I stuck them in for a little bit of a chapter.

My chapters at the beginning of this story averaged about 2.5 pages. The ones near the end averaged about 10-15.

For as much as I can find, Sasuke means "help" or "assistance", and Hinata means "sunny place" or "facing the sun."

Hinata had a crush on Sasuke when she was little.

Rain was usually associated with happiness in this story. Both Hinata and Sasuke hated the heat and sunny days.

Haruka's personality was mostly based off of mine, while Hinata's was a mix of the small bits of Hinata we get from the anime/manga and my little sister.

This story ended at exactly 175 pages and 70,849 words without author notes. That means I babbled for 3,066 words!