:Thanks to all the reviews, alerts, and favorites that this story has ever recieved!!

:I don't own Naruto… and it would never be as amazing as it is today if I did.

:Okay, Chapter 19… get ready, this might be too...uhm...happy...

Chapter 19: The Aftermath of Revenge

"Sasuke!!" Naruto and Sakura screamed aloud, running through the hospital's halls, until suddenly they realized that they both had no idea where Sasuke was in the hospital.

"Hmph. You guys finally notice." A tired and out-of-breath Ino said, crossing her arms behind them.

"Ehe…uhm, where is Sasuke,exactly?" Naruto said, scratching his head.

"Come on, follow me." Ino said with a sigh. After training as a medic-nin for a short while, she's come to know the ins-and-outs of the hospital already. But, she only stayed in the training for a few months, realizing that it was not her calling, it was Sakura's.

The three soon find themselves in an emergency room, filled with medics, the Godaime, and Shizune.

"Sasuke-kun! Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said as she rushed to his bed looking horrified at his wounds, and began to heal him immediately.

"Sakura! We've got it under control! Don't waste your chakra, he'll live." Shizune said.

"He will?" Sakura said as she wiped the tears off her face. Tsunade was a real miracle worker.

Sasuke stirred and opened his eyes. "I'll be fine." He said weakly.

"Oh Sasuke-kun!" She exclaimed as she tightly hugged Sasuke on his hospital bed.

"Uhm…Sakura?" he said with a small cough.

"Hmmm?" she said, smiling, still hugging him tightly.

"Your…uhm." Sasuke said, she was wrapping her arms around him tightly –really tightly- and after all those wounds and burns, it hurt. But he really didn't want her to let go either.

"Let go of him, his wounds are bleeding." Ino said, rolling her eyes. Naruto was doing the same.

"Oh, sorry Sasuke-kun." Sakura said, blushing and began healing the wounds she made bleed.

"Now, get some rest, BOTH of you. You'll be fine in a few days." Tsunade said from behind them, with Shizune and the medics closing the door behind her. Though she did manage to tell Ino she would be leaving for her training mission tomorrow.

Ino just smiled at the sight of Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto. "They've got everything." She thought.

"Uhm, I gotta go check on Shikamaru and Temari." Ino said, smiling at the trio, and closing the door behind her.

"What happened to them?" Sakura said, confused.

"They brought me here. I have no clue what they were doing in an Akatsuki hideout though." Sasuke said, laying back down and closing his eyes to get some rest.

Meanwhile…

"What the heck were you doing there!?" Ino said to a tired Shikamaru, who a nurse was currently tying up bandages for.

"I had to get revenge for what they did to Asuma-sensei." He said plainly.

"He's my sensei too! And Chouji's!" Ino said angrily, mainly because she wanted a part in the revenge too. "Why did you have to bring Temari into this? She's got nothing to do with this! She could've gotten hurt or something? Do you have any idea what Gaara the Kazekage would do to you if you got his sister killed? You could've ended Konoha's alliance with suna in one fell swoop!"

"It was her choice troublesome woman! I wanted to go alone!" Shikamaru said, raising his voice. The nurse tying up his bandages was startled.

"Why? Didn't you even consider that me and Chouji would've loved to go kill that damn Akatsuki for killing Asuma-sensei?! Hm?" Ino said with a look of pure annoyance and anger on her face.

However, Shikamaru's face had a totally different emotion. One of pure confusion that just screamed the words: 'how troublesome'. "How the heck should I know you would like to get revenge too, I thought this would be a lecture on 'how revenge isn't worth it' and all that shit? And since when did she care about Konoha-Suna politics? There must be something wrong.Oh man this is so trouble some. What a drag." The Nara rolled his eyes and said. "Is there a problem Ino?"

"Oh, there's no problem! Everything's just fine!" sarcasm smothered every word. "I just didn't get back at the fucker who ruined my life, that's all."

"Ruined your life? How? I mean, Asuma-sensei was like a second father to us, sure. But him dying, it's hardly the end of the world. Everyone dies, eventually. It's the life of a shinobi, and there are risks you know?" Shikamaru said, confused. "So, this must be the reason why she's been acting all weird and depressed this moth."

"You don't know half of the story Shikamaru." Ino said, sighing. After Asuma died, she almost lost everything. No one to keep her company and give her advice. Shikamaru was there, but he's engaged to Temari, which took too much of his time. Chouji couldn't really say much since his mouth was filled with food all the time, her mother was too busy at the shop, and her dad was on yet another long mission, Sakura was in a coma, and she couldn't even look at Kiba after what happened. Now she would leave Konoha for god knows how long, and Sakura was living the life of her dreams! Sure, they were best 

friends and she was happy for her and all that, but she couldn't help but feel jealous how annoyingly perfect her pink-haired friend's life was going to be. "Maybe leaving Konoha and starting fresh doesn't sound too bad after all." Ino kept telling herself.

"You are so troublesome." He said, rolling his eyes.

Ino just closed the door behind her, heading home to pack.

Later that night…

"So has anyone figured out what Shikamaru and Temari were doing in the Akatsuki hideout?" Naruto asked.

"They were there for the same reason as Sasuke apparently." Kakashi suddenly appeared before his former pupils in a puff of smoke.

Naruto and Sakura nearly jumped in shock, but Sasuke only let out a "Hn." And a smug smile was on his face.

"Don't you ever use doors Kakashi-sensei? You nearly gave Sasuke here a heart attack!" Naruto said, with a cocky grin.

"It's more fun using a jutsu. Besides, you should've seen the look on YOUR face." Kakashi said, smiling through his mask. "Sasuke sensed my chakra signature even before I was at the door, it was your heart attack Naruto." He chuckled from behind another copy of the Icha-icha.

"Well, fine. Get to the point of what Nara and Temari were doing already." Naruto said, flushing with embarrassment.

"They were after my brother?" Sasuke asked. Well, he was in the Akatsuki, but what ever did he do to them?

"Not exactly." Kakashi replied.

"It's revenge then… for who?" Sasuke said.

"Asuma-sensei." Sakura remembered how sad Ino had been when she told her the news earlier.

"Exactly, we don't exactly know how he managed to kill Hidan though." Kakashi said.

"I see." Sasuke said. "Wait! Where's my brother's body? I asked them to bring it with them."

"In the morgue." Naruto said blankly. "Why'd you want it anyway?"

"Sharingan transplant?" Sakura said.

"No. I want him buried in the Uchiha compound." He replied plainly.

Everyone had a look of surprise on their face, well, except Kakashi, who did a good job of hiding it behind his mask. Why would Sasuke want his brother buried in the same place with the clan he killed?

"Huh? I though you-." Naruto said.

"I don't even feel half as happy as I thought I would." Sasuke said with a sigh. "I almost feel sorry for killing him, especially after I realized that he saved my life." It was hardly the sweet revenge he always dreamed of. He thought that killing Itachi would make him the happiest man alive, sadly, it didn't even make him the least bit happy.

"He-he saved your life?" Sakura said in disbelief, remembering the horrific visions she had in her coma.

"Yes." He replied. "He didn't kill me back then, even if he knew he could."

"I thought he only wanted your eyes for his own?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, but still, he let me live. It wasn't much of a life I have to admit, but a life nonetheless." He said sighing. "When I fought him again, it was like he let me win. I don't know why, it might be second thoughts, or maybe even pity. But I think he wants me to get him a revenge of his own. Maybe he thought he wouldn't be able to kill Madara, so he gave me his eyes and abilities, maybe hoping I could kill Madara for him someday."

Naruto and Sakura opened their mouths to speak, but no words came out.

"I never wanted too be like him. But it turns out I'm more like him than ever." Sasuke continued.

"And why is that?" Kakashi said from behind the Icha-icha book.

"I wiped out my clan. As of now, I'm the only Uchiha that's sure to be alive, I'm not really sure if Madara still is though." He said, disappointed at himself. "I almost ended the ENTIRE clan too, if it hadn't been for Nara and that Suna Kunoichi."

"No you didn't." Sakura said with a kind smile, holding her stomach.

"What do you mean? Itachi doesn't have kids, well, none that I know of but-." His eyes widened as he finally caught on. "Your-?" Sasuke said.

"Your clan's gonna be restored, and you're gonna be a father." Sakura said, with a cheery smile.

Sasuke's onyx eyes lit up and he 'hn-ed' as Sasuke-like as ever. A smug smile on his face as visions of 'the new Uchiha clan' made their way to his head. A little boy learning the family's signature fire jutsus, activating the sharingan for the first time, but then, he hit a road block. What if he had more kids that end up killing each other for the Sharingan? Oh well, he'd think of that as soon as the marriage contracts were signed.

:It isn't even close to how tragic it was gonna be when I started writing! I guess I didn't have it in me to turn this into a total tragedy... anyway, I'm happy with this almost-happy ending...

:PLEASE REVIEW! THANKS FOR READING! The last chapter is coming up!