Epilogue: Shaping the Future

Ibiki's hand hit my chest, and I felt a powerful chakra enter my body. It forced its way into my heart, swelling that organ beyond all tolerance. I screamed in pain as it blew apart, and I dropped to the ground. My eyesight was fading out around the edges of my field of vision, and my breathing was labored. I've gotten pretty good at medical jutsu, but even my skill couldn't heal this injury—it was designed to be an instantly fatal wound.

"TOBI-SAN!" I could hear Akisane struggling, trying once more to free herself from the roots that bound her in place. "Tobi-san, don't die! Please! Dammit, if you die, I'll follow you to the afterlife and kick your ass! Tobi-san…please…"

This…this is it. No more missions with Deidara-san. No more quiet afternoons watching the clouds. No more getting drunk on sake with Kisame-san and Hidan-san. No more making fun of Akisane-san for her crush on Itachi-san…No more chances to tell her that she's the most beautiful kunoichi in the world…Damn. What the hell good is this stupid bloodline if I can't even prevent my own death?

"Tobi-san…" Dimly, I felt warm water dripping on me. It stung my wounds slightly, as though it was salty. Strangely enough, I wasn't in as much pain as I'd been just a few seconds ago. And the darkness around the edges of my peripheral vision was receding. And I could feel my heart beating again. What…?

Although she was still held in place by Ibiki's jutsu, Akisane had managed enough movement to lean over me. Her Akatsuki ring was glowing, indicating that the link between her and Suzaku was active. Tears were streaming down her face, falling onto my wounds.

Phoenix tears.

"How…how is this possible?" Ibiki sounded stunned. I almost felt sorry for the mental overload he must be experiencing. First, an Akatsuki member sacrifices himself to save another, something he never would have expected from one of us. Then another member demonstrates the ability to heal what should be a mortal wound just by crying. Definitely not the best day of his life.

Suddenly, I realized that the glow of chakra from Akisane's ring had spread to encompass her whole body. It flared outward from her back in two shapes that vaguely suggested wings, and flowed into a long tail that waved behind her. When she looked up at Ibiki, her eyes were as red as Itachi's. "You. Hurt. My. Friend." The raw killing intent of a demon, channeled through a human body, made Ibiki step back. The roots holding Akisane in place burst into flame, being instantly reduced to small piles of ash.

"Ibiki-san, meet Suzaku."

Ibiki's shocked expression changed to one of resolve. "You Akatsuki seek power at all costs, but you fail to realize that the purpose of power is to protect others, not to serve your own desires. People like you don't deserve to be called shinobi."

"Baka! We do use our power to protect others! We use it to protect the people who are precious to us, our comrades!" Akisane's words echoed, Suzaku's voice underlying her own.

I decided to explain further. "The other members of the Akatsuki are precious people to us. We fight for those people, work for those people, and seek to make their dreams come true. That is our dream. It is a dream we would die—or kill—to protect." My voice became sharper, and my fists clenched. "Of the eight other members of our organization, Akisane-san is the most precious to me. You made her cry, and that is something I cannot forgive."

To my great surprise, Ibiki smiled grimly. "I never would have thought any members of the Akatsuki would care about each other. Maybe you two really are worthy of being called ninjas…but I will still kill you."

"You can try." Akisane ran through a sequence of seals, and Ibiki's eyes widened as he realized what it was. "Fire Element: Grand Fireball Technique!" The Grand Fireball Technique is an Uchiha specialty. Few non-Uchihas can perform it as well as an Uchiha. Of course, being taught the jutsu by one of the two remaining Uchihas helps. So does being linked to a demon with power over fire.

The blast of flame shot towards Ibiki, scorching the grass and producing a wave of heat. I watched Ibiki shift his weight from one foot to the other, preparing to dodge. This told me what direction he was going to move in, and I intercepted him. As he darted out of the path of the fire, he ran directly into me. Using one of the many medical jutsu I had learned, I sent a small flow of chakra into his heart, disrupting its rhythm. Ibiki collapsed to the ground, clutching his left shoulder as though he was having a heart attack—which he was.

I looked back at Akisane and saw that Suzaku's chakra still flowed around her body. "Let's go," she said. "We don't want to let the four-tails get away."

I shook my head. "The chakra levels you're emitting have probably already attracted every shinobi in the area. They'll all be on alert; we can't take the four-tails now."

"And what can a few ANBU do against the power of a bijuu?" Looking at Akisane at that moment was like staring into the heart of a wildfire—a wild, untameable power, beautiful in its own way, but also deadly.

"Think about it!" I implored, mentally cursing the tendency of the bijuu to make the people linked to them more impulsive. "After we defeat the jinchuuriki, we have to get back to the hideout safely. If we use up all our chakra now, how will we outrun pursuing ninja? You can't keep up this level of power indefinitely, and I don't have nearly as big a chakra reserve as you do!"

Slowly, the glow of chakra around her faded, and when she next spoke, her voice had returned to normal. "Deidara-san has discovered the location of the three-tails. You can go with him and take that bijuu instead."

"Agreed. Now let's get out of here before Baldy's friends show up." We leapt into the trees and made our escape, leaving Ibiki unconscious on the ground behind us.

"Can you sense anyone following us?" Akisane asked as we sprinted through the forest.

"No." I had been deep in thought since our battle with Ibiki. Most of the Akatsuki express a philosophy of extreme individualism. They believe that reliance on others makes one weak. Yet, if this is truly what they think, why do they travel in pairs? Why is every member assigned a partner? This was a question that had puzzled me for some time, and I thought that my recent near-death experience had given me an answer.

When I first saw the vision of my own death, I wondered if there was anything I could do to prevent it. "Can I save myself?" I had asked. The answer to that question had turned out to be, "No." I hadn't been able to save myself. And Akisane hadn't been able to save herself either.

But the two of us had saved each other.

That is why the Akatsuki membership is divided into pairs. That is why we don't complete our missions alone. Because there are some things two people can do that one can't.

One person, working alone, can't change the future. But two, working together, can. And nine people united can do anything.

"Tobi-san?" Akisane was looking at me questioningly. "Before, when you told that guy that I was more precious to you than anyone else…did you really mean that?"

I reached up and pulled my mask off, exposing my face so that I could look Akisane in the eyes. "Yeah, I did."

Then she did something she'd never done before. She reached over and gently squeezed my hand.

My name is Sawada Tobi, and I can see the future. Just yesterday, I realized something that I think might change my life. I don't just have the ability to see the future. I also have the ability to change it.

A/N: Hooray, another story finished! I hope you all enjoyed it. Sorry this update took a while--I've been away for a week. Also, the document edit function seems to currently be having trouble with section breaks, so the epilogue is all one big section--sorry about that.

Many thanks to everyone who reviewed!