Chapter Twenty-Eight

Kohaku was relieved when he was finally allowed to leave the hospital. He felt that he'd been stuck there for entirely too long and had grown restless.

Hisayo had been roomed with him while they both recovered, and together they had hatched escape plans, which had led to one or both of their collapses each time. It had been those mischievous escape attempts that had extended their stays in the end, and each of them ended up staying in the hospital a week longer than they had originally been meant to stay because they clearly could not be trusted to rest.

Finally, they had been released, and Kohaku was happy to see that Kakashi was waiting outside for him, leaned against the building, book in hand. Nozomu laid sprawled next to his feet, tongue lolling out of her mouth as she snored peacefully.

Kohaku couldn't help but smile a little, an action that was becoming more natural to him as time went on. He made his way over to Kakashi, who was pretending not to notice his sudden appearance.

"Sorry I kept you waiting." He said, reaching down to pet Nozomu gently. "Niizuma-san wanted to make sure there was very little chance of having me end up back in the hospital…" He picked up the sleeping puppy and smiled at Kakashi again when he glanced up and saw that he'd put his book away.

"Glad to see you." Kakashi said casually, as if he hadn't been spending every spare moment he had in Kohaku's hospital room.

Kohaku smiled, grunting with the strain of lifting his oversized puppy, who had grown entirely too much while he'd been in the hospital. "Glad to see you, too, but...I have to ask...what have you been feeding my puppy?"

"I've been feeding her the normal amount for a dog her size." Kakashi replied, frowning beneath his mask as he took the large puppy from him. "Be careful. You just got discharged today...I don't want you getting sent back to the hospital because you tried to lift your monster dog and got crushed…"

"She's not that big yet." Kohaku said, though he sighed in relief when Kakashi took her from him. He smiled a bit and took a moment to collect his thoughts before speaking the words he had never thought he would say, "I'm ready to go home."

The following month, the council convened to decide what to do with Obito. He had surrendered shortly after Kohaku had collapsed, having realized the truth in his words. Ever since, he had been kept carefully contained.

The fact was, Obito had hurt a lot of people, and even though he had surrendered and turned himself in, he couldn't just be released back into the general public without heavy restrictions being set in place in the off chance that it was all an act.

It was Kohaku's word that convinced the council to let Obito at least try to redeem himself instead of just executing him for his traitorous actions. He had told the council of his own experience in dealing with Uchiha Madara and had explained the lengths he had gone to to manipulate himself, and that it had most likely been the same with Obito.

It was enough to buy Obito a chance. The road would be long and difficult for him, but Kohaku had promised that he would help, and Kakashi had silently agreed to support him as well. They were friends, after all.

For the time being, Obito was sentenced to house arrest for at least two years with chakra limiters. If he had good behavior, his future would be discussed at the end of the two year period. Only time would tell whether or not Obito could ever truly return as a shinobi of the leaf, but...there was hope.

Ichika was not so lucky. She had been taken in by force and hadn't stopped fighting the entire way. She had been deemed unfit and had, as such, been imprisoned. It was unlikely that she would ever be given a second chance.

Senga Matabei had been killed in his fight with Hisahito, but there had been sufficient evidence, namely the golden kunai that he alone wielded, to prove that he had been responsible for the Kanemaru clan massacre. His body had been burned, and not a trace of him was left behind.

At the discovery of Kohaku's newfound connection to the Kanemaru clan, the council had granted him the rights of the Kanemaru compound. As the sole remaining heir, it was up to him to decide what to do with it.

Kohaku had never had any attachment to the Kanemaru clan, not knowing who they were for the majority of his life. He decided to permanently close the compound, and instead make it a memorial to the fallen clan. It was all he could do for them now, but he often found himself wishing there was more he could do. After all, he was one of them, and his family had died to ensure his survival. Perhaps in another life, he would be able to tell them thank you in a more meaningful way.

Either way, that chapter of his life was over now. Kohaku had made peace with the injustices that he had suffered, and...he was ready to move on.

He knew things wouldn't be easy; they never were for shinobi, but he was ready to face whatever challenges faced him in the future.

Kohaku wasn't alone anymore. He was surrounded by people who loved him, and...that was all that he needed.

A/N: Thank you all for reading! This last chapter is a little short, but I do hope you all enjoyed it all the same! This fic was mostly started to get me writing again after major burnout, and it's not perfect, but it's been really enjoyable to write something like this again, and I really hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you all for your wonderful support, and I hope you'll continue to enjoy my fics!

wyattharto8: I'm super happy you enjoyed desiderium! It's been one of my favorite things to write! And I'm doing my best to take care of myself during all the craziness happening in the world, thank you! I hope you're also taking care of yourself! Stay safe!