A/N: I started this epilogue as soon as I finished the last chapter, so hopefully you guys are happy with it. Of course, that means that I'm writing this before any of you even responded to the last chapter, so thank you in advance for any reviews, for both the last chapter and this epilogue!
About the chapter title (Where Are They Now?), yes, I know that this isn't really "now", but the series isn't even over yet and I figured I might as well choose the beginning of Shippuden for this epilogue.
Sorry for also making this short.
Disclaimer: You know what I'm going to say/write, right (haha, homophones)? Good.

Two Sides of the Same Kunai
Epilogue

"Today's the day, don't you think, Naruto?" Jiraiya shook Naruto's shoulder to wake him up, but Naruto didn't even stir. He shook it more vigourously, until he ended up rolling Naruto over onto the cold floor. "Wake up!"

Naruto stuffed his head under his pillow. "I was awake the entire time, Pervy Sage! You don't have to do that!"

"Don't call me that!"

"But it's true!" Naruto protested.

"No it's not-" Jiraiya gave up. "Nevermind. Forget it. What I mean to say is, it's about time we headed back to Konoha."

Naruto became silent and thought for a bit. "Do you think I'm strong enough, Pervy Sage?"

"Of course! You've been training with the one and only Pervy Sage!" Jiraiya thought about what he just said and cursed. "Damn it, I mean Jiraiya, the Legendary Toad Sage!"

Incredibly, Naruto ignored Jiraiya and didn't laugh (for the moment, atleast. He would laugh about that later). "Do you think I'm strong enough to bring him back?"

"I can't teach you anything anymore, Naruto." Jiraiya replied after a little bit of thought. "You would get stronger if you went back to Konoha." Notice how he avoided the question.

Naruto perked up at the mention of getting stronger. "Say what? Get stronger? Then let's go right now!" He immediately started packing all their supplies.

During their journey to Konoha, Naruto wouldn't shut up. He kept up a stream of chitchat. Let me show you a small piece of the one-sided conversation (Jiraiya was listening to Naruto with a vacant expression on his face):

"Hey, Pervy Sage, how pretty do you think Sakura is now? I'm going to go to Ichiraku with Iruka! Then I'll eat BBQ pork with Choji and Shikamaru, maybe have one of Hinata's delicious rolls! I'm going to hunt down Konohamaru and give him a noogie! I'm going to spar with Bushy Brow, I haven't fought with him in a while! Then I'll do nothing but train for a week and then I'll try to find Sasu-" Naruto stopped his endless chatter and sulked. Which I guess was a good thing, because Jiraiya was pretty close to putting duct tape (the King/Chuck Norris of tape) over Naruto's mouth.

Naruto was silent for the rest of the journey. Almost 3 years since they had left Konoha. 3 years. Why was that so important? Naruto racked his brain to find the answer. Something about the Akatsuki... and Sasuke. What was it? Orochimaru had something to do with that too...

Naruto was still in this state when they saw the distinctive main gate to Konoha, with the leaf symbol at the top. Normally, Naruto would've burst into there and screamed that he was back home. Today, though, Naruto simply walked calmly through the gate, ignoring Kotetsu and Izumo. He just wanted to get to high up and take a good look at the village. Hopefully, that would finally convince him that he was finally back home, after all this time.

Gaara was tired. Well, he was always tired due to his insomnia, but today he was more tired than usual. Maybe it was all the paperwork that always streamed into his office. Being a Kage was hard work. Gather up all the Kages, ask them the one thing they dislike the most about being a Kage, and they'll probably answer "paperwork". Forever flipping through files and folders, stamping papers. But it definitely had it's good sides.

Respect was a good example. Every one in the village looked up to Gaara. Even that brown-haired girl who had called Gaara a "monster" such a long time ago. Actually, that particular girl was the president of his fanclub. You heard that right, the females in Suna had a Gaara fanclub. Most of the members were the same girls who shunned him when he was a child. Life is so weird. Gaara thought.

"Gaara." His siblings appeared in the doorway.

"Yes. What is it?" Gaara answered formally.

"You don't have to talk like that to us, you know? We're family!" Kankuro gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder.

"Fine, what the heck do you guys want?" Gaara smiled. They smiled back. Gaara felt so different now. He always had a dark prescence before. Now it was so light.

"We wanted to congratulate you."

Gaara looked puzzled. "On what?"

"Don't you know? You've been Kazekage for a full half-a-year! Surprise!" Temari whipped out a cake, decorated with blue and green. They were a nice splash of colour in the plain desert. Haha, desert, dessert. Gaara laughed internally. He still loved his words, though he'd always been more careful to hide it since his father caught him.

Would father be proud of me? Gaara wondered. Would he approve of my being Kazekage? Would he approve of me protecting this village?

"Of course! He was Kazekage too, you know!" Temari said, snapping Gaara out of his thoughts.

"Did I say that aloud?" Gaara asked. How strange. You would think I would know whether I spoke or not.

Kankuro raised an eyebrow at Gaara. "Do you really have to ask?"

Gaara laughed, and the others joined in. He didn't doubt what Temari said. Why wouldn't his father be proud of him being Kazekage? But there was also one more thing he was sure of. It made Gaara laugh more, though he wasn't sure why.

A demon that loves himself, and cares only for himself. Exactly the opposite of what a Kazekage is, and what I am now.

Mother would be so ashamed of me.