Back again. :) Thank you all for your patience. Epilogue is 85% done and will follow in about a week.


Instinct, Embraces and Truth


In the days leading up to the conference, Ami and Sasuke spent a lot of time together. The duo were working hard to keep their heads on straight, and Ami did all that she could to distract the boy from the pressure. They took on extra missions, met up on days off, and stayed at each others' houses, talking until late. Their dance sessions continued, with Sasuke becoming a little more used to dancing, and Ami beginning to figure out some of his common patterns. They still had yet to truly relax, let alone connect. It seemed that they would have a long way to go.


On the actual day, they had spent the previous night at Taka and Sasuke's house. Sasuke felt so nauseated that he skipped breakfast, and had just half a bowl of plain rice for lunch.

Ami made him tea to try to calm his nerves, but its impact was like a band-aid on heart surgery.

In the end, she could only try to keep him hydrated on their way to the conference.


The duo took their seats next to Tsunade at the table onstage, clearly able to see that a large crowd of reporters had gathered.

Ami could feel the heartbeat of the boy next to her hammering, and placed her hand in his beneath the table. He squeezed gently in response.


As soon as the reporters saw Sasuke there, they attempted to ask him questions themselves.

Tsunade put an immediate stop to that, stating that Uchiha Sasuke was there to confirm or deny any further information or queries that had not yet been covered in conversations between herself and Sasuke, and that any questions that reporters were to be directed to her.

One obnoxious reporter in particular demanded to know why Ami was there, and what her relationship was to Uchiha Sasuke and this conference.

Ami was simply described as "security", and all other gossip-related queries died in the reporter's mouths when Tsunade summarised what that day's conference would discuss.


Tsunade, to her credit, was very eloquent throughout the matter, and the care that had gone into her explanation was clearly evident. No aspect was altered, embellished or softened from either side, whether it involved the crimes of Sasuke, the Uchiha clan or Konoha's genocide, prejudice, subsequent cover-up or the most recent attempts by government to stifle the backlash that Sasuke wrought.


There were regular breaks for food, drink and bathroom use in the hours that followed the conference's beginnings, and Ami guarded the Uchiha especially ferociously during these periods of free roam. When one reporter made to approach Sasuke during a break, the Konno's eyes turned such a frightening look on him that he actually clutched his chest in fright before hurriedly scuttling away.


All questions were kept until the end, but once they began, they too, lasted for hours.

Once or twice, Sasuke was called upon to clarify certain points, such as details of his fight with Danzo, and what he had known during the time of the Uchiha clan's planning of the coup de tat, but for the most part, Tsunade answered questions.


When things began to turn particularly ugly at the severity of such revelations (which happened somewhat sooner than preferred (i.e. at all)), Tsunade and Ami met each other's eyes through a shared sideways glance. The Konno and Uchiha silently slipped away at Ami's beckoning, their exit hidden behind the additional security personnel called onstage and amongst the drama.


Outside was dark, cool and quiet, many hours having passed since the gathering's beginning.

A stark contrast to the bright chaos within the conference room.

Although they had only been eating small, dry things like sandwiches, biscuits, tea and so on, neither found that they were hungry.

The pair walked soundlessly in the dark, guided by streetlights as they moved through the village, and then by moonlight as they drew nearer to the woods.

"...That must have been tough." Ami said softly.

The raven looked exhausted. "...Hn."

"We knew that things would get worse before they got better." the Konno murmured. "And it's only the beginning. The entire village will learn what happened here before long... And then things will really kick off."

A brief silence passed as these words sunk in for both of them.

"...I don't want to go home." he said quietly, following the Konno's lead as they sneaked into the deep woods surrounding their old training grounds.

"You won't have to." the brunette replied. "Let's go for a walk. After that, you can come back to Keijousai."

"...Thank you."

The two travelled in silence for a while. This entire situation was a lot to process.

They strode under the stars, passed by their old training grounds and crossed the river that Ami had used to learn to walk on water with. They didn't seem to have a particular end goal for this journey, and simply walked wherever their feet were taking them. It was in this way that Sasuke and Ami made their way through the woods, uphill and to the side of a steep stretch of mountainside, half-exposed, and half-covered with moss, ferns, earth and small trees. It faced a clearing that was hidden beneath thick branches of foliage.

A small bench sat at the base of this slope, and Sasuke paused a moment, briefly examining it before taking a seat.

Ami sat down beside him, and they both looked up at the clear sky and its stars, a bright moon spilling its pale light across their faces. Neither one of them said anything for a long time.


Sasuke was the one to break this silence, though his words hurt his teammate's heart.

"Why do you insist on keeping me around?"

The Konno was so surprised that she actually stopped breathing for a moment.

His voice had been shockingly quiet and frightened.

"What on earth are you talking about...?" she replied sadly.

Tears were pricking at Sasuke's eyes. "Ami... everything is going to get so much worse... I don't want you to have to put up with that... Being with me... being my friend... it's all terrible for you... You'd be so much better off without me..."

Ami took his hand in hers. "That's not true." she said firmly.

Sasuke thought that he should pull away.

He didn't deserve her comfort.

He didn't deserve her friendship.

But he couldn't bring himself to move.

His tears were falling freely now. "Ami... you give me so much, but I can't offer you anything in return..." His voice cracked. "Why would you want someone as useless as me in your life?"

The Konno held his face with her other hand, gently turning him to look at her directly. "Sasuke. You are a wonderful person, and I am so grateful to have met you. You have done so much for me. When we were children, you helped me to rebuild my house and my life. You have always had my back on missions. When you left, I missed you so much that I was willing to face my innermost demons, just for the chance to bring you back. Since your return, you have opened up about the most painful things in your life, just so that I could understand you. And even after all that you've been through, you have still supported me. You helped to make my goal of giving people like me a chance to reclaim equal social standing a reality. You have saved my life on multiple occasions. You are willing to take the time to understand me. You give me someone to talk to who understands what it's like to lose those you love, and to try to do what's right even when it's ugly and painful and makes you look like the bad guy. You give me so much. You give me more than I know how to put into words."

With every word from the girl, Sasuke felt the pain in his chest ease a little more. Could he really be deserving of this sort of kindness? Could she really want someone as broken and traumatised as him in her life?

As if reading his mind, the Konno pulled him into an embrace.

He put up no fight against it, wrapping his arms around her back and crying into her shoulder. It felt far too good for him, but god, did he want it.

"Sasuke... everyone makes mistakes. Mistakes don't make you a bad person. They give you something to learn from. To grow with. I've done so many things that I regret, but being your friend has never been one of them."


He knew that Ami wasn't perfect.

She was vicious in battle and overworked herself in training. She was proud and tried to take on everything herself, often waiting until she was ready to fall apart before admitting that she needed help. She encouraged others to avoid bottling up their feelings, but still struggled to release them herself. She couldn't even boil an egg without something exploding.

But god, she still seemed too good to be true.

It didn't matter if she didn't love him like he loved her.

Being permitted in her life at all felt like so much more than he deserved.

Being held in her arms as he sobbed into her shoulder seemed like a blessing. To still be held there as his tears calmed to a drip felt like a gift from above. Still being there when his tears had eventually stopped altogether seemed as though it might just be the best thing that he could be granted in life.

And the smile she gave him when he finally sat up to look her in the face was like something straight from his dreams.


"...Are you sure that you want me beside you?" he asked, still wanting to make sure.

"Positive." she said, beaming confidently at him.

"...Even if the whole village hates me?"

"They won't, but even if they did; yes. And you'd also still have Naruto, Sakura, Sai, Kakashi and Taka, so you wouldn't be alone. Don't worry."

"...Are you honestly okay with having someone like me in your life?" he asked, for what he promised himself would be the final time that night.

Ami gave him a gentle smile, eyes shining with affection. She gave a soft chuckle at the question, as though it were the silliest thing on earth.

"Uchiha Sasuke, I love you. And I'll tell you that as many times as you need to hear it."

The boy stared at her, eyes widening suddenly.

Ami blinked.

Sasuke's mouth fell open.

The Konno's face flushed, eyes growing to the size of dinner plates as she suddenly realised what she had just said.

"You… love me?" he asked sheepishly, face ablaze.

Ami was as shocked as he was at her sudden confession. She hadn't even realised that she was doing it until she already had. It had just felt so natural.

"I..." she started, before falling silent. She was at a loss for words. The timing felt so inappropriate.

Sasuke gently took her face in his slightly shaky hands. "Ami... if you meant that, then please say it again." he pleaded, "Please say it again, so that I know it's true."

The Konno looked into his eyes. She was embarrassed, but he was so earnest that she could never let that stop her in front of him.

The girl swallowed, steeling her nerves. Never taking her eyes off him, she licked her lips with nerves and said quietly but clearly; "I love you, Sasuke."

His eyes filled at once, and a smile broke out on his face.

Ami's eyes lit up at his expression, dampening with tears of joy as they did.

"...I feel the same." he said, "I love you too."

Unable to restrain themselves at the realisation that their freshly-accepted feelings weren't unrequited, the pair embraced one another at once.

Sasuke breathed in the gentle aroma of coconuts from her hair and skin while Ami savoured the scents of wood smoke and something like spice.

Sasuke wound his arms around her waist, and she put hers about his neck. When he actually stood from the bench, picked her up and spun her around, she burst out laughing into his shoulder with surprise and delight.

The boy set her down.

Giggling, Ami looked up at Sasuke through dark eyelashes, cheeks flushed.

Sasuke was blinking back the joyful tears beading at the edges of his eyes, and though his face hurt from smiling, he beamed at her.

So much had happened that day.

"Dance with me." he said, pulling her to him and leading their turn.

Though taken aback, Ami was delighted at his initiative, and settled into the motions at once.

Ami began singing the tune of the song that they would practice to and Sasuke hummed it along with her, smiling. They moved about the clearing, shaded from the full moon beneath the leaves of the trees. They stepped, turned, and moved, then repeated.

Suddenly, Sasuke released Ami's waist, though still holding her hand, and he watched delightedly as the girl instinctively span out from him, shot him a dazzling smile, then twirled back into his arms. He took her waist again, then decided to pick her up and swing her around himself, both teenagers laughing like idiots. While setting her down, Sasuke stumbled slightly, and with both of them still grinning and laughing, Ami was backed up against a tree. The Uchiha managed to steady himself with an arm on either side of her, and when he straightened up again, Ami was looking up at him, her eyes shining with love and appreciation. He could feel himself reflecting her.

For a moment, they simply looked at one another.

Eyes full of affection, lips holding soft, loving smiles.

Ami pressed her lips to Sasuke's in a moment of absent-minded affection.


It was something done without forethought. It hadn't felt as though it warranted such a thing.

Like a smile or a nod. She had simply done what felt natural. What felt natural at that moment in time simply happened to be kissing.

Something overdue.


It wasn't until the momentarily frozen Sasuke finally kissed her back that she fully registered what she had done.

She pulled back immediately, feeling her cheeks burning up as mortification gripped her.

That made it twice now that she had acted on instinct around him that evening.

Sasuke stared straight at her, lips parted and cheeks dark, his pupils blown wide with a million questions swimming in their depths.

She fumbled for words, feeling herself coming apart at the seams under his gaze.

He gaped.

She stammered. "S-sorry! I should have asked first-"

Sasuke took her face in his hands. "Then hurry up and ask so that I can kiss you again." he said quietly.

Ami blinked, then got as far as a spluttered; "Can-can we kiss-?!" before with his mouth back on hers and a large hand on her waist, Sasuke shut her up at once.

She melted into him the moment he embraced her.

They had each waited so long to do this, spent so much time fearing what the other would think, burned for so long, so quietly, that even a chaste kiss felt scorching.

She laced her arms around his neck.

One strong palm held her slim waist and the other moved up to cup her cheek. Ami felt heat rising in her, and distractedly wondered how on earth she had ever doubted her feelings before.

She moved a hand into Sasuke's hair and his breath hitched, heart hammering in his chest. He couldn't believe that after all his time of fearing, all his time of dreaming, this was finally happening.


Both had thought that the embrace couldn't feel any more consuming, but then they both opened their mouths to breathe in unison, and a new sensation was introduced.

It was Sasuke who pulled back at that point, still holding the girl by her shoulders.

Ami looked up at him, her pretty face flushed dark, and he had to clear his throat before he could speak properly.

"I… um…" he mumbled, noticing that her lips were still wet from his mouth having been on her.

She licked them lightly, eyes still on him.

He forgot what he had wanted to say.

"…I like you a lot." Was what came out.

Dark hair framed the shy, handsome, longing face that looked down at her. His pale face was the brightest red. God, he looked gorgeous.

Ami smiled at the boy. "I like you a lot too."


They had waited so long for this, worked so hard to make it to this point, that it all felt overwhelming to finally be coming true.


They still held one another tight, faces red but happy, and Ami buried her face into Sasuke's chest to hide her embarrassment, along with wanting to take in his warm scent without being obvious. He placed his chin atop her head in response, relishing in the aroma of her hair and the feeling of the Konno finally in his arms.


They spent some time like that, working to gather themselves.

It was Sasuke who broke the minute of silence first.

"Remember that film you and I saw together when we were kids?" he asked, voice falsely casual.

Ami blinked. "The one with the fish?"

Sasuke nodded. "...there's a sequel out. It's been in the cinema for a couple of weeks now, so it wouldn't be crowded... It's getting great reviews."

Ami smiled up at the boy. "...Want to go see it, then?" she finished for him.

The Uchiha looked back at her, eyes slightly wide, and unmistakeably hopeful.

"Just the two of us?" she added, feeling sheepish herself now.

Sasuke's eyes lit up. He nodded, a familiar smirk sneaking onto his face.

Ami loved that expression.


On the walk back to Keijousai, Ami and Sasuke chatted back and forth, walking close together.

"Do you see what I meant before?" the Konno asked, "About the combination training? That when we got it right, we would know?"

The Uchiha smirked. "So a good dance session ends with kissing?" he teased.

Ami shoved him jokingly, and the Uchiha snickered in response.

"Very funny." she smirked. "But seriously, do you follow my point now?"

Sasuke considered the thought while Ami watched him think.

"…Since we both know what the other feels now…" he started hesitantly, "we don't have anything to hide… And we don't feel guarded... So it didn't even feel like practise. It just felt right."

"So…?" Ami asked, in a voice that urged him to continue.

"…the point isn't to dance like it's for show. The point is to be in harmony with each other."

"Exactly!" the brunette smiled.

"...I still think that we could practise more." he said quietly.

Ami rose an eyebrow slightly. She wasn't sure whether or not he was flirting.

The Uchiha met her questioning gaze, and a cheeky smirk graced his handsome features. "There are more moves that I want to try."

Ami blushed and laughed at the statement, and the Uchiha felt his own cheeks warming, though it did nothing to diminish his grin.

"Well, you are staying the night at mine tonight." the Konno reminded him, smiling coyly. "But maybe save those 'moves' for another day...?"

The Uchiha's face turned scarlet and flustered at that. "Sorry! I didn't mean-! I-I can sleep on the couch or-"

"No, Sasuke, I'm messing with you, it's okay. I trust you with my life. You're sleeping in my room."

The Uchiha cleared his throat and nodded in understanding, still a touch sheepish.

'God, he's cute.' she thought, biting her lip in delight. Bumping his hips with her own as they walked, the girl added; "Once we start combination training, I might show you some 'moves' you'll enjoy."

The Uchiha seemed to picture this a moment, then cleared his throat again, somewhat flustered. "I look forward to it."

Ami grinned cheekily at him. "Along with the cartoon fish?"

Sasuke thought a moment, then nodded. "Won't we be targeted?"

"So we go in disguise."

"Will you be Aoi?" he asked curiously.

"I can be." she replied, smiling, "Would you like that?"

"…I'm curious about your process." Sasuke murmured.

They both knew that it wasn't the whole truth.

Ami didn't mind, though.

"Consider it done."


Ami brought the boy back to her house, and surrounded Keijousai with a fully-enveloping, nearly invisible, paper-thin ice barrier, locking everyone both in and out. Her tenants had been clearly warned a week in advance, and so were all either at home or staying elsewhere with friends. The only exceptions to this lockdown had been Naruto, Sakura and Sai, and Taka's members, all of whom also came by with supplies to stay the night.


The other members of Team Seven and Taka had not been permitted at the conference, for fear of challenging personalities and hot heads accelerating the breakdown of order. Sasuke refused to say anything about the day to either group, so Ami filled them in in private. Overall, they simply tried to make the place as comfortable as possible for Sasuke.

Ami and Sasuke chose not to be more affectionate than usual, not wishing to bring extra stress upon themselves that day by being immediately found out by their friends.

It was an easy enough feat to accomplish, with so many people about.

While Ami's aim in inviting the others had been to remind Sasuke of those who loved him, even in trying times, she was also cautious about the possibility of so many people stressing the Uchiha out further. She was relieved that the others were compliant with her prior instructions, with loud characters like Naruto toning down the volume, and sass-mouths like Suigetsu mitigating their jabs.

At the mention of a movie, Sasuke seemed relieved. It was a way to spend time together without overstimulation. He was delighted to have Naruto on one side and Ami on the other. Baby was settled in his lap, usually sleeping, sometimes blinking up at him, and occasionally headbutting him in the face.

The movie was sweet. It was a beautifully animated musical, that had adventure, love and friendship, and even a trip to the underworld. What more could you want? Baby had run all over the house in search of snakes upon hearing one hiss on the film, but got bored eventually and returned to her favourite's lap. The dance scene near the ending between two of the main characters made him think of himself and Ami's experience earlier that evening. He found his gaze drifting towards her, only to find her already looking at him, smiling fondly, seemingly thinking about the same thing.

With so many close friends by his side, everything felt okay.

The following day, newspapers released the story, and Tsunade's office was swarmed, inside and out, with angry and disbelieving civilians. Naruto, Sakura, Sai and Taka had gone home by noon. Many shinobi had been dispatched to control the rising threats of riots, but Ami stayed at home with Sasuke. They had worked hard enough for now.

After seeing off the others, the pair had made breakfast, then stayed in Ami's room for most of the day, talking, watching films, curled up in warm blankets with Baby at their feet.


Things would be rough for a while, and get worse before they got better. Regardless, they would get through it together as teammates, sweethearts and friends.


Ami and Sasuke met with Tsunade a few days later to get the details on how it had gone, and what would be done next.

Hearteningly, while many villagers were stubbornly against the Uchiha and/or still trying to process the situation, there others who supported Sasuke's wish for the truth to be heard. There were calls for sacking of certain officials still employed, demands for arrest of those involved in the coup, petitions for a proper remembrance ceremony for Uchiha Itachi as a non-criminal and village hero, and even cries for things such as awarding and removal of medals and awards to various people. However, despite these happy surprises, the overall negativity surrounding the reveal could not be denied.

Everyone seemed to be sad or angry about something.


For now, the main instructions given were; Tight security on Keijousai and the residencies of Taka, Naruto, Sakura, Sai and Tsunade. Being polite and non-violent to angry members of the public. A brief paid vacation from work for Team Seven and Taka until further notice while things blew over.

Both teams were kept completely in the loop about happenings related to the reveal from then onwards.


Over the following weeks, Sasuke and Ami had regular dates. It was usually at night, in isolated places, at Keijousai, or in other easily-hidden-from-view places. Though sometimes they braved an area such as a restaurant or cinema, they would be well-disguised at all times.

Later, they branched out to daytime outings as the tension in the village began to subside. They would visit public places first transformed, then later simply disguised, Aoi coming in useful once again. At Sasuke's questioning the casual use of a secret identity, Ami explained that as a recurring alias, it was helpful for Aoi to not only appear in Konoha on missions, but also during more casual affairs. It made the character's existence more believable.


Meanwhile, the pair continuously worked on their combinations together. With their newfound level of connection, they found it surprisingly easy to make combination techniques together. The duo had put together multiple techniques for use in combat, and had no issues with performing in front of Team Seven's other members.


However, it was at one practise session that they were reminded of their need to be consistent in how careful they were around the others. They were so used to dancing alone and so comfortable with one another by now that when they finally started dancing in front of their teammates, it was very obviously intimate in nature.

It wasn't lewd by any measure… but there was an unmistakeable energy between them.

Eye contact, close quarters, perfect unity and transitions, motions that accentuated Sasuke's strength and stability alongside and Ami's flexibility and flow. Not to mention the knowing smiles and looks that they shared throughout.

Sai looked fascinated. He held his chin with one hand, eyebrows raised and eyes slightly wide.

Sakura's face had gone flush, and she had covered her mouth while she stared.

Naruto seemed to be debating whether or not to look at them at all.


The real question on the others' minds was whether or not the pair had yet admitted their obvious attraction to one another. In short, to their eyes it was Schrodinger's Relationship.


With a final turn, Ami span out from the Uchiha and he turned his back to her, facing the lake. In unison, his chest swelled with Chakra and she made a strong turn, jumped and span in mid-air like a plane in an aileron roll. In perfect harmony, Sasuke exhaled a massive ball of fire that spread across the lake's surface, close to a kilometre in length, width and height each, massively amplified from its usual size by the air current Ami channelled about it.

At the terrifying sight, Sai gasped and Sakura let out a yelp of surprise. Naruto squawked and fell backwards onto the grass, landing squarely on his ass.

Gravity caught up, and Ami's feet touched back down on the earth in exact unison with the end of Sasuke's exhale. The blaze had continued to spew forth for just as long as her own momentum had kept her up, and even when both ninja had ceased their efforts, the flames continued to push forth across the water for several seconds, still fuelled by the residual energy of the wind tunnel.

The Konno and Uchiha met each other's eyes, grinned and then turned to their teammates.

"So? What do you think?" the brunette asked.

"Umm…" Naruto began cautiously, "You guys have… improved since the last time we saw you."

Sasuke made a soft grunt of satisfaction.

"We've been practising a lot." Ami admitted.

"This is just the start, right?" Sasuke asked rhetorically, smiling fondly at the girl.

Ami beamed. "Absolutely! We've got so many more combinations to try!"

"I'm so damn confused." Naruto mumbled.

"Okay, but when will you practise with the rest of us again?" Sai asked. He immediately followed this up with a soft yelp when Sakura elbowed him in the ribs.

The duo seemed to catch themselves, sharing a quick look of 'Oh crap, we're being too obviously into each other!'.

Ami cleared her throat, mentally cursing herself with thoughts of; 'I can infiltrate a male prison at fifteen, but I can't avoid making goo-goo eyes at Sasuke for five minutes? Is he gorgeous? Duh. Is he sweet? Very. Is he a delight to work with? Absolutely. Did Kaede dress him very sexily? Yes, of course, he's stunning in that black and purple ensemble. His butt looks-stop. Stop it, Ami.' She turned her gaze on the artist, declaring in her best teacher's voice; "Sai, you are absolutely right. Would you care to dance?"

Sasuke's mouth jaw tightened slightly. He found that he didn't much like sharing Ami these days, but knew that the feeling was unreasonable.

"I'm curious about how to proceed with the water and ink combination we've been planning." Sai said, "I've been trying to improve minimising my brushstrokes while keeping quality, but I'm not used to this kind of art, and since it's a collaboration…"

"I understand completely." the Konno said, taking his hand and moving to the stereo to change the track. "Let's practise the steps for now."

Sasuke suppressed his jealousy, and stepped away to stand beside Sakura, rather than Naruto. He was worried that the Uzumaki would have too easy a time reading his mind.

The blond was eyeing them both curiously, but said nothing. He glanced at Sakura, who shrugged in response.

With that, dance practise resumed as per previous lessons, and each pair had a go at combining skills in their efforts regarding combination techniques.


It took Sai and Ami a minute or so to fall back into their previous level of synchronisation. The two made some progress, and while they practiced, Naruto and Sakura gossiped with Sasuke. Once that had concluded, Ami gave Sai some brief notes about their plans for the water and ink combination's execution, along with some dates for private lessons with him. It would still take more time before they could properly synchronise.


Naruto was up next, and he and Ami fell into step with each other much faster than she and Sai had managed. Their attempt at a combination was carried out at a greater distance than any other. In this attempt, Naruto and Ami each made a shadow clone. Naruto's clone entered Sage mode, cloaked Ami and made a Rasengan. Ami's clone flew them both up to the clouds, and then infused the Rasengan with Ice Chakra. The attempt went quite well, initially, but with Naruto's lack of experience with handling ice-based energy, the sphere destabilised. A large explosion followed, but the airborne duo were thankfully unharmed due to their cloaks, and the effects did not reach those below. Both clones dispelled upon realising their failure.

"What happened?" Sai asked.

"It destabilised and blew up." Ami said.

"Kurama's cloaks protected us, though." Naruto added.

Ami nodded, confirming this. "Yeah. I thought that jumping straight to ice might be too much."

"I thought that it might be easier since I already get wind and it's part wind." the blond muttered, kicking the dirt at his feet dejectedly.

"Don't worry about it, Naruto. This is literally our first attempt. Our protection plans worked perfectly, so at least we know how to practise safely."

The Uzumaki perked up. "Yeah, I guess that's true."

"Can we try water next time? At least that way there's less Chakra overall, and we'll possibly end up with ice anyway."

"What if we don't get ice?"

"Storm Rasengan?" she shrugged.

Naruto released a high-pitched; "Ooh~!" of excitement.

The duo made a few more attempts, thus time with the "Storm Rasengan".

It seemed much more doable, and they agreed on training times for further practise.


Sakura and Ami were tremendous as always. The pair synchronised at once, and when Ami generated a thin disc of ice and fired the medic across the lake, Sakura had no issues with holding on with just the Chakra on her feet and left palm, propelling herself off the disc for a smooth, rolling landing on the other side. Ami rocketed across the lake to meet up, and in the space of five minutes, the girls showed that any other combinations they had together worked as perfectly as always.


Later in the evening, Sasuke stopped by Keijousai to visit Ami, appearing on her balcony as he was wont to do.

The Konno let him in at once, having been expecting him.

The Uchiha thanked her, stepping around the girl.

"Walk with me?" she asked.

The boy could think of no better offer.

Ami lead him around a walkway, and looking down into the grounds, Sasuke could see two clones training a set of students each.

"They're making so much progress." the ice-user sighed happily, pointing out certain students as she continued, "Yuuya is learning to maintain a wind blade, and Sawako is finally getting the hand of making water lassos and whips at the same time."

"You've done brilliantly." the raven smiled.

Ami shook her head. "There's so much more to do. But I couldn't have done any of it without you. Well, you and some of my other favourite weirdoes."

"You think I'm a weirdo?" he teased, raising an eyebrow.

"Sasuke. You generate everlasting black fire with your eyes and jump through space."

"While you break the sound barrier and move people's blood."

"Touché. So we're both weirdoes."

"Wouldn't have it any other way." he smiled.

Sora sauntered over. "Hey guys~"

Sasuke stood up straight at once, suddenly feeling as though he had been caught doing something inappropriate. The master's eyes falling directly on him didn't help.

"Congrats on pulling the cover off on that one." Sora said, her voice unusually level.

The teenagers weren't sure whether or not she was being sarcastic.

"The village is in uproar. Tsunade wants to tear the hair out of her scalp. And there are currently no less than six ANBU agents around us. But good job. I'm sure that it was all worth it."

Nope, they still couldn't tell.

Sasuke looked to Ami, hoping for clarification, but an ex-ANBU agent like Sora was just too difficult to read.

"…We just did what we thought was best." the Konno said eventually.

"…That's fair." Sora nodded, then continued on her way past them, squeezing Ami's shoulder and ruffling Sasuke's hair.

Once she was out of earshot, Ami turned to Sasuke and whispered; "What do you think?"

"Maybe she has mixed feelings?" he suggested.

"…Yeah… that sounds likely. Proud of us for wanting to do the right thing but frustrated because the alternative is so much easier."

Sasuke leaned forward, and Ami caught a glint of silver slipping out past his shirt's zipper. Out of habit, she concentrated her divining on it, found text engraved on it, and deciphered the message. She felt her face colour at once.

Sasuke didn't miss it. "What's up?"

"…Now I get how you felt after seeing the pendant."

Sasuke scratched the back of his head, looking off in another direction. "…I just thought it would be nice… We're dating and stuff… so it's not weird, right?"

"It's not," Ami confirmed, "just… really flattering."

Sasuke held up the dog-tag pendant for her to see. She already knew what was on it, but to physically see her name and clan symbol on the metal caused a fresh wave of feelings.

She pulled out her own jet pendant, held it up, then hesitating for just a second beforehand, pushed the two pieces of jewellery together with a small 'mwah' sound.

The Uchiha blew air through his nose in laughter and Ami erupted into a fit of giggles.

A voice called to them from just over twenty metres away.

"Oh, that's disgustingly affectionate, you two are definitely dating."

The pair looked over to see Sora giving them a falsely disdainful look.

"You guys are gross."


With time, things eventually seemed to have calmed down enough that it was safe for Sasuke to go on missions again. The Uchiha had been approached multiple times by various citizens in regards to the revelation, but was always well-guarded by multiple ANBU in good time. Sometimes it was an angry citizen who harboured distaste for the Uchiha clan, or even just Sasuke himself in particular. Other times it was a nosy reporter looking to ask invasive questions. However, surprisingly often, they were concerned individuals with positive intentions, wishing him well, offering words of support, and in one case, a concerned old lady who had been fond of him since he was a little boy and wanted to give him food, as she was worried about whether or not he was eating enough with 'so much stress on his young shoulders'. He was glad to not have the food forcibly thrown out by any of the ANBU, and gratefully accepted it once no less than four ANBU, including a Hyuuga, an Inuzuka and two other sensory ninja had first insistently examined the package.

Unbeknownst to Sasuke, Naruto was frequently standing up for him upon the first signs of trash-talking by anyone, and had been central in making the view of the villagers more positive regarding Sasuke and the Uchiha clan and preventing a figurative witch-hunt. No way in hell would the future-Hokage Uzumaki stand for social injustice in general, let alone anyone crapping on his best friend.

Though not as effective as Naruto, Sai, Sakura, Ami, Karin and Suigetsu were all adamant in their defence of the boy as well, while Juugo, due to his anger issues and preference for pacifism, rather than argue with others, preferred to offer support to Sasuke directly through gestures such as home-cooked meals, kind words, and doing extra housework so that the raven had less to think about.


The team members continued to meet almost daily (be it work or play), make progress, and their combinations and teamwork only improved. Taka were often involved in these meetups, and the Uchiha was finally beginning to understand the concept of 'the more the merrier'.

Ami successfully made one new type of combination attack with Sai, and two with Naruto, while Sakura and Sasuke's cooperation with her also excelled.

Sasuke in particular found that his bonds with the others grew steadily stronger. He enjoyed getting to know and working with Sai, he got along much better with Sakura now that she wasn't flirting with him anymore, and he and Naruto were closer than ever.


For almost a month and a half, Ami and Sasuke managed to keep their relationship on the down low. Even Naruto, Sakura, Sai and Taka weren't sure. Sora was in the know, but had no intention of blabbing, even if Kakashi poked and prodded her for information.

The pair were delighted to be out of the spotlight. They had wanted space, and finally had it together.


Of course, such peace could not last forever.


"I'm heading out." Sasuke called to his housemates, looking forward to seeing Ami again.

"We know you're going to see your girlfriend, dude." Suigetsu said matter-of-factly.

The Uchiha whirled around at once. "Who told you?" he demanded, startled at this revelation.

Suigetsu's wide-eyed face dropped its jaw at the exact same time that Sasuke realised his mistake.

"I mean-"

"Oh my god, Sasuami is real!" shrieked the Hozuki, delight in his shark-toothed face.

Juugo ran down the stairs at once. Karin bowled down half-with and half-after him, more flying than running.

"Well done!" Juugo called.

"About damn time!" Karin cheered.

Sasuke's face was scarlet.

Suigetsu wrapped himself around Sasuke's still slightly paler arm. "Oh, he's growing up so fast!"

The Uchiha shook the swordsman off irritably, then glared around the room, still bright red in the face. "Fuck all of you." he spat, before turning and striding out the door, doing his best to ignore Suigetsu's ensuing cries of 'No, Sasuke! You must stay pure for her! Remain a delicate virgin!'

"Get fucked!" he retorted, before slamming the front door.

Suigetsu grinned, waggling his eyebrows at Karin.

"Not at the rate you're going." she deadpanned. "We could have gotten details."


Making his way down the street, the Uchiha clapped a hand to his forehead in dismay and annoyance. He had been so proud of how well he and Ami had been able to keep their privacy. But now it seemed that this peaceful time would be coming to an end.


Though he had avoided teleporting in an effort to calm his nerves during the walk, Sasuke was still flustered when he made it to Ami's dorm.

She opened the door before he could knock, and he wasn't even surprised. She seemed to enjoy the ability to do this.

"Hey~" she smiled, not missing his being ruffled. "You okay?"

"Ah… yeah…"

Baby ran to the door at the sound of Sasuke's voice and jumped onto his shoulder.

"Just my housemates being nosy." he said, rubbing the cat's head as she flopped about his neck.

"Ah, I see." Ami leaned in to whisper beside his ear. "Sora's been probing for days. She wants details, but I've given her nothing." She leaned back again, reaching out to scratch Baby's ear.

"I lied." the raven blurted out.

Ami wasn't surprised. "Okay."

"My housemates know about us." he went on.

Ami shrugged again. "It's still better than the fangirl days."

"You're not disappointed in me?" he asked confusedly.

Ami shook her head. "Not at all. It was bound to happen to one of us eventually. And honestly, if we delayed telling them any longer, it might have been weird when we finally did. Now we can relax a bit more."

Sasuke relaxed his shoulders so suddenly that the cat slipped and burbled at him.

"Anyway, come in. I want to talk to you about some of the combination ideas I have."


After that, it became clear that Ami and Sasuke knew that the rest of Team Seven knew that Ami and Sasuke knew that they knew that they were dating, even if no one would say it aloud.

But the obvious joy that the others had upon seeing the couple approach together (because honestly, what was the point of arriving separately when they weren't fooling anyone anymore?) was apparent.

Sakura at least made some effort to be subtle, calling a cheery; "Hi Ami, hi Sasuke-kun."

But Naruto had no such intentions, promptly squealing; "Let's go on a double date!"

Ami was silent, Sasuke was silent, then the pair looked at each other and shrugged.

"Sure." they answered in unison.

The blond positively wriggled with delight. He paused, looking thoughtful for a moment, before his face broke out into a naughty-looking grin. "...Hey."

Everyone looked at him, curiosity piqued.

"What do you say Aoi and Naruko hit a club tonight?"

Ami blinked once, then exhaled through her nose in a small laugh. "I say-" her voice dropped two octaves, "That I would be delighted."

"Can I borrow that navy blue rara skirt?" he asked excitedly.

"Sure, I'll give you a white top that it works well with too." the brunette replied.

The Jinchuuriki was now both wriggling and bouncing up and down in his excitement. "Thanks!"

"Do you want to transform, or will I do your make-up?" she asked.

Naruto leaned forward and batted his eyelashes in response.

"Convincing or drag queen?" the Konno smirked.

"Surprise me." he challenged.

The Konno grinned. "Challenge accepted."

Naruto threw his arms in the air. "Yes~!" He turned to Sasuke. "Care to join us, uh… Sasuko, Satsuki… I don't know what name you might pick?"

"I don't really want to dress in drag." Sasuke admitted.

"I figured, but you can't blame a guy for trying." the blond grinned, "No worries, Ami and I can be fabulous enough for us all, right?"

"Of course." the ice-user nodded smugly. "Sai, you coming?"

"…Should I dress in drag?" he asked, seeming curious, but a little unsure.

"You can if you want." Sakura shrugged.

"You can watch me and join in if you feel up to it?" Naruto suggested.

The boy smiled, relieved, "Thank you for the option."


Later on, once both couples had relaxed, double-dates with Sai tagging along became a thing.

The time that they went to a club would have been Sasuke's least favourite, due to all of the noise and people, if not for the facts that he was treated to the intriguing sight of Ami as Aoi for the night, and that Naruto had gone clubbing in a very convincing drag that the Uzumaki had far too much fun with. He also found his relationship with Sai to be improving.


This additional bonding helped the team's combinations to grow ever stronger. The news of Ami and Sasuke leaked around the village rather quickly as a result, but they weren't concerned. Despite the attention of articles in cheap magazines with quizzes like; "Are You And Your Man A Narusaku Or A Sasuami Couple?", and tabloids with downright slandering articles like; "Are Konoha's Newest Power-Couple Planning A Coup?" there were more important things than teenagers dating.

When Ami approached Sora and Kakashi about the topic of information spreading, she was convinced that the pair must have been talking, because they had very similar, very personalised bingo-charts for the outcomes of Sasuke and Ami dating again. Boxes like; "Cat gets jealous", "Ami tries to learn to cook again", "Aiko gets jealous", "Gai cries tears of joy on them", "Ami Threatens Someone For Flirting", "Sasuke Threatens Someone For Flirting", and so on.

With such frequent opportunities to reconfirm that Ami liked him, and solely him, Sasuke found his jealousy to subside. He didn't feel anxious when another person made her laugh. He didn't bristle at the occasional friendly shoulder pat she might receive. He quite enjoyed the way an unaware hopeful's face would freeze when he would confidently stride up behind Ami and place his arm around her shoulder. He stopped minding when he saw Ami dancing with Sai or Naruto. Neither of them could dance with her like he could, anyway.

For the sake of professionalism, the pair did refrain from PDA, especially during work hours. But behind closed doors, they were more affectionate than they had ever been. Initially, they had tried to restrain themselves, for fear of scaring the other off, but once the pair realised that their feelings were mutual, they became more and more honest over time, eventually giving in completely to the utter relief and delight that they had the opportunity to be together. Life was too short to be sheepish when your jobs, lifestyles and life choices all either directly or indirectly involved people trying to kill you.

With Team Seven finally being allowed to go on missions again, the group had lots of time for bonding. Their combinations together continued to improve and they became more and more unified as a team.

As had been the case so many years ago as well, romantic relationships between team members had no negative effects on teamwork, despite there now being twice as many.


Ami and Sasuke had spent the night together again.

Try as she might, the Konno couldn't ignore the sound of birds chirruping outside the window, or the sunlight spilling onto her face through the translucent paper doors that covered the window. She cracked open an eye.

The clock read 6am.

Lying in bed, Ami rolled over to see the Uchiha, sleeping soundly in the other futon and looking beyond peaceful. A soft smile playing on his lips, breathing slow, deep and steady. It made her heart swell to see him so peaceful and content. It struck her too, how at ease and comfortable she felt with this boy by her side.

Even with all that they had gone through, moments like this made it beyond worthwhile.


Opening up her bedside drawer, Ami quietly pulled out a small camera that she had received as a present from a tenant a few years prior. She checked that the flash light was completely covered by her thumb, and then, angling it just so, took a picture of them both. The camera was shockingly quiet, and printed off the photo at once. She took it and shook the image, then admired the end result.

"What's that?" the Uchiha asked sleepily, stirring.

"Sorry. Did I wake you?" Ami asked softly, putting down the camera so that she could stroke his hair gently.

The sleepy smile on his face grew wider at the ministrations. "I don't mind."

"Yeah?"

"Mmm… You're nice to wake up to."

Sasuke cracked an eye open and smirked, just in time to catch the Konno's flush.

Ami hid her face in her free hand and his smirk grew still wider.

"…What ever happened to that shy boy I dated all those years ago?" the ice-user murmured.

Sasuke reached up to hold the hand that stroked his head. "You chased him for over three years and he's never been more thankful."

"…I'm so glad that we have this chance." she murmured.

Sasuke smiled at her, then picked up the camera. Pointing it experimentally, he snapped a picture of his girlfriend. The device spat out the small square, and he pulled it out, confused.

"Shake it, shake it." Ami instructed quickly, and the boy did so.

A small snapshot of the girl came into view. He smiled at the image, fascinated. "Is that what I heard earlier? Did you take a picture?"

Grinning, Ami showed him.

He smirked at the sight. "We look good." A thought occurred. "Wait, we're both in it. You couldn't see what it would look like?"

"I guessed. C'mere, I'll show you how."

A few minutes and a few failed attempts later, the duo had produced multiple decent photos of themselves. Figuring out how to use the camera together, smiling, laughing, kissing, pulling faces. Soon enough they had a rather large collection.


A sudden thought occurring, Ami selected two photos from the bunch.

A large, black catfish popped up out of the river, waddling across the grass over to a snoozing young man with messy, sand-colored hair. It nudged his leg with a whisker, and dropped the envelope before the stirring boy, shuffling backwards out of arm's reach.

The young man pushed himself up, and looked from the familiar fish to the small, blue envelope before him. He opened it up, slid out the contents, and let loose a cry of delighted surprise.

"Kohaku!" Hideki shrieked, "They're back together!"

Beside the bouncing Kohaku, Kaede slapped her knee in satisfaction. "With my clothes on those asses, it was only a matter of time!"


Far off in a traveller's tent, jumping with joy and babbling excitedly, Akira brandished a freshly-printed photograph of Ami and Sasuke in front of his politely nodding, Fiancée.


"Just wait a minute." the boy muttered.

Baby screamed impatiently.

"MEEEAAAAAAAAAGGHHHHAAAAGGGGHHHAAAAAHAHAAAAAAA!"

She did not want to.

In his shock, Sasuke dropped half of the food onto her face and the other half onto the back of her neck. "Oh for the love of-" The cat was already eating. "...Whatever, you don't care. It'll help your weird neck hair stand up."

Ami leaned around the door frame. "Sasuke, are you almost ready to go?"

The boy straightened up, washing his hands quickly and then throwing on his rucksack. "Yeah, all set. You?"

"Good to go." the Konno smiled. She waved to the cat, who was neck-deep in food. "Bye, Baby. See you later."

Sasuke waved as well, and the duo set off for the village gates.


The rest of Team Seven was already waiting there.

Naruto, as always, was thrilled to see his best friend, and wrapped his arms around the Uchiha in delight upon sight.

"Ready to go help rebuild a small village?" Saauke asked.

"Fuck yeah we are!" Naruto shouted excitedly.

Sasuke's ears were ringing, but he didn't mind a whole lot.


After everything that the team had been through together, just standing here by each other's sides felt like a miracle.

Whatever the future may hold for them, this team of friends would face it together.