Mikoto sits in the hospital bed with the new baby in her arms. "Look Itachi," she says, smiling and showing Itachi the baby. "This is your little sister." The baby is crying unhappily and waving her arms in the air.
Fugaku steps forward and takes the baby out of his wife's arms and rocks her. She settles down and closes her eyes.
"So what are we going to call her?" asks Mikoto. "The girl's name I picked doesn't fit."
"Sasuke," says Fugaku, smiling. "We're going to call her Sasuke."
"But that's a boy's name!" protests Mikoto. "Not to mention it's Lord Third's Father's name!"
"It's alright," smiles Fugaku. "I already asked Lord Third's permission, and the name fits, even if it is technically a boy's name."
Itachi stares up at her little sister, her eyes wide and her mouth in a little 'o'."
Fugaku can't stop smiling.
Iruka is just finished beating up the invaders with every weapon in his arsenal when Might Gai's student, Tenten, runs up to him and demands, "Teach me all your secrets! Please!"
Iruka regards the girl, wondering if he has time for an apprentice. "What right have you to demand to know the secrets of the Umino clan?" Iruka asks.
"Um...I dunno…" Tenten stammers.
"Do you have any Whirlpool ancestry?" asks Iruka.
"Um...I don't know…"
"Do you know anything about your ancestry?" Iruka is not sure if he should persist, but the kid has talent.
"Um…" Tenten thinks about this. Then her face lights up. "I'm the Second Hokage's great granddaughter!"
Iruka smiles. "Then you are of Whirlpool decent. The First Hokage married an Uzumaki, and the Second married an Umino. Very well, I shall accept you as my apprentice."
"Thank you! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Tenten jumps up and down in excitement.
Iruka turns to check that Arashi and Kazama are alright. They are. Tenzou and Kakashi's baby is securely tucked into Kazama's arms. "Release!" Iruka releases the genjutsu over his adoptive parents and the baby.
Arashi straightens up and cracks his neck, wincing. "What was that?" he asks.
"Genjutsu," says Iruka. "Turns out the village was under attack."
"Of course it was," says Kazama, who is pleased to find a baby in her arms. "This is a ninja village, after all."
Lord Fugaku, Lord Hokage, Deputy Kinoko, Rain, and a woman Iruka has never seen before leap up onto the stands followed by two people who look a lot like the first two Hokages. The one who looks like the First is holding a sobbing Naruto in his arms. Fugaku has the Kazekage by the collar and is dragging the unfortunate Kage along the ground behind him. The group heads up to Iruka, led by Lord Third.
"Iruka," says Lord Third. "Before you ask, yes, these two are the first and second Hokages. Orochimaru reanimated them."
"Shoulda stuck the Reanimation jutsu instructions in the Temple of Joe," says Iruka.
"I realize that," says The Second Hokage, unimpressed.
Kazama hands Minoru back to Tenzou, who returns at that moment, and goes to Naruto. She takes him off the First Hokage and hugs him. Naruto's sobs die down and he turns to look at the two reanimated Hokages. He keeps a tight hold of Kazama's hand though. "So you're the First Hokage, and you're the Second Hokage," says Naruto. "I thought you'd be old."
"Naruto, that's not polite," says Kazama.
"Yes, Grandma."
Shisui appears with a passed out Itachi on his back. "Chief Sir," he says. "Itachi can now put people in comas in three seconds. But she passed out from doing it too much."
"You better look after her," says Lord Fugaku severely.
"Yes Sir, Lord Fugaku, Sir!" Says Shisui, straightening up and standing at attention. "No harm shall come to your daughter on my watch, Sir!"
Mikoto drifts over, covered in blood, with a kunai in each hand, one in her mouth and the Mangekyou sharingan blazing in her eyes.
"Oh my goodness, Mikoto!" Fugaku runs over to his wife and starts checking her over for injuries. "Are you alright?"
"None of this blood is mine," says Mikoto, in a monotone.
"Oh thank goodness," Fugaku sighs in relief.
"Is everyone alright?" asks Kakashi, shunshinning into their midst with Gai and Madoka. Kakashi turns his attention to Tenzou after noting that everyone seems to be in one piece. "Tenzou, are you hurt anywhere? Is Minoru alright? You didn't exert yourself too much, did you?"
"We're fine, senpai," says Tenzou.
Mikoto is walking around with Sasuke in her arms. It is a nice day out, and Sasuke seems to like being outside. She sees Kushina and Lord Third's wife, Biwako, coming towards her. It must be time for Kushina to have her baby, Mikoto thinks.
Biwako walks right past, but Kushina stops and grins at Sasuke. "Oo! Did you have a girl?" She asks.
"Yes," says Mikoto.
"Aw, so cute," coos Kushina. "What's your name?"
"Her name is Sasuke," says Mikoto.
Biwako slides up beside Kushina and peers at the baby. "Oh, so you named your daughter after Lord Third's father?"
"Yes," says Mikoto. Sasuke wakes up and cries a little, disturbed by all the talking. "So you must be due soon too," Mikoto says to Kushina. "You should pick a name in advance."
"I have," says Kushina. "His name will be Naruto," she tells Sasuke, patting her head. "You'll be classmates, so make sure you get along." Kushina gently pokes Sasuke's cheek. Then Kushina whispers, "By the way, does it really hurt?" to Mikoto, a look of fear on her face.
Mikoto smiles. "So there is something that scares you. I'm surprised."
Months later, Mikoto remembers this day. Mikoto is cooking dinner, and Sasuke crawls up to her and pulls on her skirt. "Mama! Mama!" says Sasuke holding her arms in the air.
Mikoto picks up her baby and smiles at her sadly, thinking of Kushina, who will never hear her baby call her 'Mama'."
Everyone seems to have said all they need to say and checked on all the people they need to check on. So Iruka decides to say what he knows no one else will. "So are you going to see Sasuke before they take her away?"
"Oh, that's right," says Shisui sadly. "We won't be able to see her once they take her to the mortuary, will we?"
"Let's go," says Fugaku, heading to the place where they keep the genin who die in the Chunin Exam finals. Everyone else follows, even the reanimated Hokages. But Sasuke is not there.
"They didn't take her already, did they?" asks Mikoto, a hand over her mouth.
"This is just too sad," says Rain, shaking his head. "I had better find Wind and go. There is somewhere else we both need to be."
Kiba, Shino and Hinata poke their heads around the door. "Aw, Sasuke's gone," says Kiba. "Ah well. Akamaru!"
Akamaru barks, jumps out of Kiba's hoodie and sniffs around the room. Then he barks again and runs out of the room. They all follow as Akamaru leads them across the village.
Shino looks around at all the other kids. It is his first day at the academy, and he wants to try and make a friend. All the other kids have friends already, and Shino feels too shy to approach more than one kid at once. Shino droops and heads over to the tree in the schoolyard. As he rounds the tree, Shino sees Sasuke, the shy girl with the big bow in her hair, sitting in the grass. She is in his class. They already talked in the icebreaker game.
"Hi," says Shino.
Sasuke looks up at him, her mouth open in surprise. "Um...hi…"
"Can I sit here?" asks Shino, pointing to the grass beside Sasuke.
Sasuke nods and Shino sits down. The pair sits quietly and eats their lunch. Shino sees some winter melon in Sasuke's lunchbox. Shino loves winter melon. Maybe Sasuke will swap him for his rice balls. "Um…" says Shino nervously. "Do you wanna swap that melon for my rice balls?"
Sasuke peers into Shino's lunchbox, then smiles. "Yeah, I love rice balls."
From that moment on, Sasuke and Shino are friends.
Iruka is confused as to why Akamaru is taking them to the hospital. Maybe Sasuke had her name down as an organ donor? Akamaru leads them to the intensive care ward and into a room where five medics are gathered around a bed.
One medic is Kabuto Yakushi.
One is Wind.
One is an ANBU black op.
One is Karin Uzumaki.
One is Okami Uzumaki.
Lying on the bed is Sasuke, her crushed right side being splinted and bandaged. Okami's arm is in Sasuke's mouth and Okami is emitting a lot of chakra. She is glowing, and her hair is floating around her head. Karin is preparing the life support machines.
"Ready?" asks Okami.
"Ready," the other four chorus.
"Switching to life support in three...two...one...now!" Okami takes her arm out of Sasuke's mouth and Karin claps on a breathing mask. The other medics hook Sasuke up to the other machines and gently wrap her in a hospital gown, the kind that crosses over at the front. The medics step back and pause for a few seconds.
There is a profound hush in which the only sound is the sound of the machines beeping.
They are beeping.
Sasuke is alive.