Dreams Unbroken
Epilogue
Eneko became conscious again after struggling in a black mist for longer than she cared to remember. She couldn't yet open her eyes and look around, but she knew that she wasn't dead because she could hear the god-forsaken heart monitor in the background. She was in the evil hospital again, great.
"Is she going to be all right?" She heard the worried voice of her daughter, Ijin, above the heart monitor's annoying tone. A frown marred Eneko's supposedly-sleeping face. She had worried her children again, through she had told them that she'd be all right no matter what happened to her. She sighed softly; her family never listens.
"It's Eneko, of course she'll be fine. She would have been much more fine if she had let me cure her of the poison in the first place," Sakura's voice trailed towards angry and Eneko held back a laugh. "But, again, it's Eneko, so what are you going to do? Though I'm not sure that we should let the rest of her family in quite yet. She needs her rest and your little brother is very loud. And very Eneko." The last part about Sachi made a giggle bubble in her throat.
"I'm already awake, little sister, so you may as well forget about the sleep." She opened her eyes and blinked, adjusting to the fluorescent lighting of the hospital room. "I think that I can handle seeing my family." Sakura let out a sigh, smiling and walking over. She checked Eneko's vitals before rolling her eyes. Ijin ran over to Eneko's bedside. The wind-user watched Sakura quiz her daughter on medical issues and Ijin answer without a second guess or any hesitations. Eneko smiled as she watched them look her over.
"Mom? Are you all right? Do you feel okay? Do I need to run and get you some more pain medication?" Eneko laughed while shaking her head, pushing Ijin's hair back behind her ear, out of her eyes.
"Yes, I'm fine. I feel perfectly all right. No, I need no pain medication. What I do need, however, is information!" She turned to Sakura. "How long have I been out? What happened after I blacked out? Where's the rest of my family? How many casualties or injuries were there? When can I go home? What happened to Payne? Did my plan work?" As she took a breath to continue quizzing her sister-in-law, Sakura put a hand on Eneko's mouth, effectively stopping the flow of questions.
"You've got to give me time to answer, Eneko. You've been out for three days and you'll find out later what happened. The rest of your family is in the waiting room, anxiously awaiting my report of what's going to happen to you. There weren't very many injuries that we can tell and there were only two casualties. You can go home anywhere from a week to three depending on how much you rest and allow your body time to heal. And I'm not kidding, you've got to rest or I'm not letting you go home. Itachi will agree with me, so don't go trying to get out of it. And you'll find out later what happened to Payne and if your plan worked because Itachi made me promise not to give you any information because that was his job." Eneko's bottom lip came out in a pout.
"Well then, tell my husband to get his husbandly butt in this room immediately. If I didn't die from whatever injury I sustained, I will die from not knowing what happened! Wait, what kind of injuries do I have? I'm so freaking numb that I can't figure out my own injuries!" Sakura laughed and motioned to her left wrist.
"Sasori snapped your wrist and it will take it a while to heal." Eneko glared at her wrist and Sakura got Ijin to toss her a mirror. Sakura held it up so that Eneko could see her own neck and the wind-user gasped. "You've got serious third degree burns on some parts of your body thanks to your own attack."
Tracing all the way down the right side of her neck was a plethora of burned skin, making that side of her neck a reddish-pink color. She grimaced and pulled the thin hospital covers away from her body. She saw the same markings on her legs and let out a shocked, horrified sigh. She looked up at Sakura, her eyes worried.
"Could…could you tell Itachi and my children to come in here please? I…I want to see them." Eneko's voice was subdued and Sakura gave her a nod and walked out of the room. Ijin covered her mother back over and made sure she was comfortable.
"You've got to be careful, all right, Mom? Sasori completely snapped your wrist and it's going to take you a while to get well again. And, guess what? We found out that I do have some chakra and Sakura-oba-chan said that I can be her apprentice and learn about healing people! And Dad's going to train Sachi because he used to be partners with Kisame and his sharingan copied a lot of Kisame's techniques. Oh, and Niji and Sachi both have the sharingan and I saw Niji's wings and they were very pretty." Eneko gave her a weak smile and pulled her daughter into a hug.
"I'm very glad that you're going to fit in well here, Ijin. I was worried about what was going to happen with you, but now that we know that you've got chakra, Sakura can help you train it so that you can control it better. And I'm sure that Niji's sensei will help her a lot. And Itachi will be perfect for training Sachi." Eneko let out a happy breath. Ijin then grinned.
"And, I saw Niji kissing Misuto!" Eneko's calm, happy face broke out into a panicked look of shock.
"What?" She demanded. "That's Deidara's son, isn't it? Niji's too young to be kissing boys! You're too young to be kissing boys! And he's three years older than her!" She paused and her facial expression hesitated. "Well, as long as he has no mouths where he shouldn't, I guess that's a completely okay boyfriend." Ijin let out a short giggle and then stopped when they heard heavy, running footsteps running through the halls towards them.
"Mom! Mom, are you all right? You're awake! Mom, you did so amazing! It was a great battle! We were watching the whole time!" Niji and Sachi were talking so fast at the same time that their sentences blurred together and she couldn't tell who was saying what. Itachi walked into the room with a large smile plastered forcefully on his face. The atmosphere in the room immediately changed to one of nervousness.
"Hello, Eneko. I'm glad you're awake. Are you feeling all right?" He asked with the same forced smile plastered on his face. His words came through clenched teeth and Eneko shrunk back against her pillows. She gave him a hesitant smile.
"You're really mad at me, aren't you?" She asked him, worried about the answer. Niji, Ijin, and Sachi giggled quietly at the smile plastered on their father's face.
"Very.I'm resister the urge to scream my lungs out right now And saying something that I would regret in front of your children. Let's drop this subject and move on, shall we?" Eneko closed her eyes and a few tears escaped through her closed lids. Itach's eyes widened and the forced smile disappeared and he gripped Eneko's shoulder.
"Eneko? Eneko, what's the matter?" Three other hands were placed on different places of her body. She used her good hand to pull Itachi toward her lightly. He understood immediately and wrapped his arms around her carefully to let her cry into his shirt.
"I'm sorry, Itachi, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to get hurt. I didn't mean to black out. I meant to let you handle it." She nearly sobbed.
"See what you've done, Father? I'd bet that this was all your fault!" Niji scolded her father, her hands on her hips and giving her crying mother worried looks.
"Dad, what she needed was rest and to be kept very calm and still and you walk in and two minutes later she starts crying! I'm seriously thinking about calling Sakura back in here to kick you out." Ijin threatened.
"Ijin, Niji hush. Sachi, don't you even start. Eneko I want you to listen to me and listen to me right now. I was only upset because you almost took yourself away from me again. Do you think that I could raise all these kids by myself? Now, do you want to know what happened?"
"Of course I do." She sniffed and moved away from him. Her green eyes still held unshed tears but she had a serious look on her frowning face.
"You killed the true Sasori, but Payne knew the blood clone technique and it was difficult to defeat someone like him."
"Sakura said that there were two casualties. Who was killed?" Itachi smiled at her interruption and shook his head.
"I think that I may have a talk with Sakura after this. There were two casualties, yes. One was Sasori and the other was Payne. But anyway, after you fell, I attacked who I thought was the true Payne and Niji and Sachi took you to the hospital. Every shinobi in the village fought against him, Eneko, it was amazing!" She smiled as he did.
"I'll bet. I wish that I could have seen it, but…" She glanced at her tightly bandaged wrist and sighed. "I put myself in danger too often. Maybe I should just stop being a kunoichi."
"Actually, Eneko-chan, I have a better idea." The hokage stood leaning against the door frame. Eneko ducked her head respectfully as he came in and he rolled eyes. "I'm offering you a full-time position as a teacher in the academy. If you feel the need to use your talents again, I will allow it." He could see the visible hesitations on her face and grinned. "I've spoken to both Tami and Tai and they've both missed you terribly. And I'd be really greatful if you would be ther to give my little girl some incentive to actually attend the academy. Unfortunately, her father's genes are a little more outspoken than her mother's." Eneko looked hesitantly up at Itachi, who smiled at her encouragingly.
"And I wouldn't be in any real danger, right?" Naruto nodded, the grin still on his face.
"Nope. Unless you consider the danger that's posed by an entire classroom full of six and seven year olds." He got an impish grin on his face. "I think that Sasuke's still recovering." Eneko's smile flash before she got a terrified expression on her face and looked up at Itachi.
"I can't do it, Itachi! My-my curse mark'll flare up again and I almost killed Tai and tami the last time. I can't risk the children's life!" Itachi frowned and touched the burned section of her neck. With a start, Eneko realized that he was touching exactly where her curse mark was.
"You defeated the curse mark, Eneko. You exhausted it's power by fighting to stay alive. The curse mark won't flare up again." Eneko smiled over at Naruto.
"Well, then I guess I'll give it a go. Well, that is, unless something goes horribly wrong." Niji scoffed.
"Something going wrong? In our family? Never." The sarcasm dripping off her voice made Eneko giggle. Naruto rolled his eyes.
"This family is insane. Anyway, kids, get into position. Itachi, bring your wife." Everyone but Itachi walked quickly from the room. Itachi began disconnecting his wife from the machines very gently.
"Itachi? Where are we going? He, Sakura said that I had to rest! Itachi!" She yelled. Itachi uncovered her legs and grimaced as he saw the burns. He quickly scooped her into his arms and she laid her bad wrist over her stomach to keep it from getting jostled.
"I'll be careful, all right? Sakura'll kill me if I'm not. But I've been ordered by the hokage to take you to his surprise, so let's go." Eneko nodded, her mind weary with everything going on. She closed her eyes and leaned against Itachi's chest as he carried her down the hallways of the hospital. They went to a higher floor and stepped out onto the roof.
"Get well soon, Eneko!" Came the cry of thousands. Eneko's eyes snapped open and she looked out at a sea of villagers holding up banners and signs. Her whole family was there, along with every friend she had made along the way. Even those that she didn't know came out to wish her well. Tears entered her eyes as she noticed her genin team from all of those years ago.
Anei and Fushi were standing close together with Retsu off to the side a little bit. On top of Anei's shoulders and trying to eat his hair was a cute little blond-headed baby. Tsunade and Jiraiya were also spotted in the crowd along with Kakashi and Gai and Lee and everyone else.
"All…all of this…for me? Oh, Naruto, tell them all that I said thank you. Make sure that they all know how grateful I am." Tears were falling from her face as she smiled at her hokage.
"Look at her. You've completely worn her out all ready, Itachi. Back to bed with her. Naruto, I told you that it was too much too fast." Sakura scolded as she walked up. Itachi nodded and took his love back inside. Naruto was addressing the villagers as they left.
"Good night, Eneko." He murmured as he laid her back in her bed. She gripped his shirt sleeve and looked up at him.
"You tell Sakura that she's to let anyone that wants to visit me can, all right? I can see them when I wake up?" Her husband smiled and nodded.
"Of course, Ene-chan, but rest first." She laid back against her pillows, her eyelids growing heavy.
"Rest first." She repeated before falling into a deep and peaceful sleep. Konoha had been awarded peace at last. It was finally time for a rest.