a/n: Hello! Hello! This, my friends, is the epilogue of Love lost found? I hope that you guys will like it! By the way, thanks for the reviews. So, without further ado, this is the epilogue…
THE EPILOGUE: LOVE'S SECOND CHANCE
How many years have past since she last saw him? How many decades ago did she last waved goodbye to him? How long ago was it though it only seemed like yesterday? She remembered how heavy her heart felt when she let him go. She remembered it so well that she would always find herself crying a drop of tear or two. But sadly, time has passed her by. Her feelings for Shikamaru only became just mere admirations for a hero she almost spent her entire life with; she felt she had no more feelings for the deceased fiancé.
Though it took her a long time to get over that thought, she got over it; not like a bubble that popped instantly and disappeared into thin air all of a sudden but much like a tree that slowly loses its leaves and without realizing one day all the leaves have fallen. And sometimes, she would visit this dead tree in her dreams and reminiscing of her past. Funny though, the day she realized all the leaves have fallen was the same day when she saw another growing tree.
This growing tree came in the form of a fisherman named Dainino Ai. He wasn't a big time fisherman like some in the village. Nor was he nobody that can make a rock stand out. He was something, Kagenohi figured, a Shikamaru like person. He had raven hair like Shikamaru and probably the same age as him. But, Dainino was industrious, patient, and as Kagenohi would say, not that troublesome.
Kagenohi and Dainino's love blossomed two children having similar characteristics as the couple. Sora, the elder, was already ten years old and Aoi was three years younger than her brother. They would often spend there afternoons helping there mother weave the torn fishing nets or make sand castles near their shore. Sometimes, they would accompany their father to the market to buy bait for the following day.
Kagenohi was contented with her simple life. She had already forgotten her bitter past, her brothers, and the Sand village, but never the lazy konoha nin that stole her heart. She never told her husband or anyone about her gloomy past. Though her husband asked her so many times about it, she would always answer… "I was just an average ninja that lost in the fight during chounin exams." She felt that her husband interpreted that she never graduated to become a chounin. She did not reveal that she was Temari of the Sand. She did not reveal that she was the daughter of the late Kazekage. She did not mention being the fiancé of the greatest shadow controller, Shikamaru Nara.
One fine summer's afternoon, while the sea breeze gently blew on the warm shore and the sae gulls sat on the deck and daylight was hot, Kagenohi stood in front of the porch of their house and watched the waves hit the sandy beach. She has just given her two children a nap and she took glimpses on the tired bodies of her children. She combed her dull blonde hair with her calloused hands. Her haired didn't have the shine it had long ago because of the lack of time to manage it. Her hands that were once soft and silky became rough because of the washing of clothes and dishes. But, she didn't care. She was already contented with her simple life. She combed her hair a few more times and made a deep sigh.
She felt warmth hug her. It was her husband.
"Watcha doing?" he asked her.
"Looking that the beach and the sand…" She answered.
"It's pretty, isn't? Just like you, ne?"
"Where'd you get that idea?"
Dainino piffed. "Why would I tell you?"
Kagenohi smiled. "I don't like being flattered…"
Dainino directed his attention to the vast sand beach and said, "The sand sure is pretty, right?"
Kagenohi kept silent.
He continued talking. "When I was a kid, I always loved lying down on the sandy shore of the lake. I would often lie down there and let the sun dry my wet clothes. My friends would often come and play in the lake…it was fun back then…"
"The lake?" Kagenohi smirked. Her husband never told her that he didn't always lived here. She didn't bother confronting it to him. "I never did like the sand and the sun" She answered instead. "The sand is dry and coarse and it gets into your eyes when you're not careful. It ends up in between your nails and toes if you stand in the sand long enough. The sun is just plain hot. It can fry your skin like an egg on a frying pan. And worse, evaporates all the water and barely let rain fall to the ground."
"So, the sand and sun is troublesome?" her husband asked.
"Yup…The sand is nothing but trouble."
"Really?" the fisherman gazed at the clouds in a familiar way, Kagenohi realized.
Shikamaru looked her straight into the eyes. "I don't want you to live, I need you to! Do you have any idea how troublesome it is to say that! Now go! Go straight there and turn left. You'll reach the outskirts. GO!"
With that, Temari forced her steps into the dark alley. But before making the turn, the turn that will make her lose him forever, she looked over her shoulder on last time. She felt it was the last time she will see him the last time. She saw the smile she was captivated with, the smile that says 'how troublesome'. She saw standing there watching her disappear into the darkness of the alleys. She watched him. But before he disappeared from her sight, she read the words from Shikamaru's lips: "We'll see each other again, someday. I promise. But as for now, go find someone else…"
"Are you okay?" Dainino waved his right hand in front of Kagenohi. "Hello? Are still there?"
Kagenohi shook her head. "Yep…" She saw it again; the similar smile, the similar bored expression on his face, the familiar astonishment on the clouds. It was just him. Then, without her realizing it, a tear fell down her cheek. Dainino wiped it out.
"Don't cry. Nice girls don't cry." He smiled.
Kagenohi couldn't contain herself. Her fragile heart began crying. She realized why she married him. He reminded her of Shikamaru. She realized then that she has not completely gotten over the death of Shikamaru. She buried her face into her husband's chest. She wept.
Dainino, trying to comfort his wife, hugged her tight. He lifted her sobbing face by raising her chin. He smiled and kissed her on her forehead.
And he said, "Do you not remember the promise I made to you on the dark alley a long time ago?"
a/n: This is the last chapter of my fanfiction. I hope you guys liked it! Hope you guys enjoyed it! Well, I have to go now! Don't forget to R&R!
P.S. Dainino Ai directly translates Second Love… But I wanted it to mean "Love's second chance"…