Epilogue

Hinata stood in the middle of an open field surrounded by a thicket of trees from all sides. The snow had melted in this part of the valley. It turned the soil black in its leaving.

Looking down, Hinata admired the sleepy face in her arms. Mirai's mouth was slightly open in dreams. Thankfully, Hinata thought to herself, the child's dream was free of all jutsus.

Sensei, I succeeded in my mission.

Above in the western horizon, the sun was about to set. Suddenly, leaves rustled in the woods and a male figure landed in the open field.

A sweet smile stretched upon Hinata's face as the golden head came closer.

"I didn't know I would have to chase after friends all my life." Uzumaki Naruto gave her a wide grin. Despite his new position as the head of the village, he was dressed like the old days, his chakra warm enough to melt the mountains. And of course, Uchiha Sasuke.

But like Sasuke, Naruto too had changed. The spark of blue in his eyes had gone deeper, a more somber color. Only Hinata could have noticed that.

He came closer and studied Mirai's face with curious eyes.

"She takes after her mothe... " he stopped himself from finishing the sentence and gave Hinata a pained expression.

"It's alright," Hinata drew a deep breath.

"It was not your fault"

"I know..."

"Come back Hinata...Kiba, Akamaru and Shino miss you."

"Naruto-kun..."

"Yes?"

With a side-step of a ballerina, Hinata planted a graceful kiss on Naruto's cheek.

"Arigato Naruto-kun," a faint blush appeared on the Hokage's face, a very rare sight. But Hinata did not stutter as she would in her girlhood days, "Back when I was a genin, I felt hopeless about my skills...my future. I wanted to give up my life. I suppose you saw that...you called me all gloomy and weird," here she giggled a bit, "but you gave me hope. You were my dream."

Naruto's eyes widened and for the first time, he truly saw himself from Hinata's eyes. His heart filled with gratitude, he opened his mouth to say something, anything, but only managed a wordless gasp.

Under the crescent moon, behind the trees in Hinata's background, Sasuke cleared his throat. Naruto didn't need sage mode to sense his friend's presence.

Teme...you always manage to steal my crushes.

Naruto made a pretend-angry face and then burst out in laughter. He was truly happy for his friends.

"Even though dreams helped me survive, I wish to face my reality as it comes," Hinata lowered her eyes in characteristic humility. Naruto watched her with respect. She had touched the heart of both the friends.

"But now...I must trust Mirai to you. Her mother wanted her to grow up in Leaf."

"Hinata!" Naruto smiled a closed-eyed feline smile, "You don't need to worry about her! I promise to protect her with my life." Then, he took the child from her hands and watched over her gently.

"Come visit though? And bring that teme with you. We should have taken you on the very first Sasuke-finding mission. It would have been so easy. Hinata! I found a white hair yesterday. I can't believe it. Sasuke caused it no doubt. Being a Hokage is no joke either. There are so many papers..."

Here, Naruto rambled on as Hinata interrupted him with nothing but small giggles.

Behind the trees, Sasuke closed his eyes and sighed with a gentle smile.

As they bid their goodbyes, Hinata watched both the best friends from her Byakugan. One was under the setting sun and the other stood under the rising crescent moon. For a minute, she watched them both in their own unique domains. Sun and moon.

As the sun set and the night fell upon the horizon, Hinata turned her steps towards Uchiha.

He was waiting for her as the mountains wait for the snow every winter. And she knew, she belonged to the night as well as its crescent moon.

A/N: Hi guys! Thanks for putting up with my delays. I watched Naruto relatively recently and it pushed me into such deep imagination, that I was dreamwalking for about 3-4 months. It is not so much as the plot line but such rich concepts and ideas, that I am still reeling from it. It certainly felt like Infinite Tsukiyomi.

Hinata was definitely a favorite character. Kishi did her wrong, no doubt. I liked her because she is one of the few characters who changed, grew and defeated her fears. She was stubborn in the gentlest way possible. Strength doesn't have to mean old-school masculinity.

As for Sasuke, the amount of trauma he had, I am surprised he didn't go complete bonkers. Plus the whole concept of red eyes + pain. Can I fangirl any more?

Finally, I think we all would say yes to Madara's dream very readily. We rejoice in dreaming. Television. Films. Anime. These days, many of us, especially the ones with mental health struggles, would rather dream than live their lives. The success of fanfiction net is one example. But I also think it is important to return to brutal truths and painful possibilities in our real life. When I was writing Hinata, my purpose was just that. This is a character who grew up on dreams, followed her crush, suppressed her pain, and so Tsukiyomi should have been her top option. But against odds, learning from Sasuke, she manages to overcome her trauma by actually facing it. It's like that beautiful episode where Naruto hugs himself under that waterfall that shows you your inner self.

Anyway, that's all from my side. Mind you, this was my first fanfiction. I love dreaming and will continue to do so (Sasuke under the moon is a dream I can never give up on lol) but time to face my own world as well. Good luck you all. Much love. Hope you enjoyed this wicked little journey with me.