Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters affiliated therewith. Neither do I own Riku, whom I am using with the permission of AzNcHiBi. I only own Katsuki.
A/N: It's taken me about four years to complete this story, two of which saw this epilogue sitting on my hard drive while AzNcHiBi would nudge me on and off about finishing it. I've got nothing more to say than I'm sorry it's taken this long, but I'm glad she finally made me finish it.
Update from 6/5/11, in which AzNcHiBi and I had a conversation on Facebook: "I'm wooden and I'm on fire. OHMAIGAWD."
Katsuki's funeral was an affair so grand in scale that it rivaled the Third Hokage's. Despite her lineage and the rumors that circulated round the village about her deceased mother, the entire army of shinobi as well as most of the civilians turned out to witness the event. Kakashi and Genma sat on either side of Riku, protecting her from anyone audacious enough to try and harm her; not everyone had been informed of her decision to become the second jinchuuriki in their midst. Naruto sat on Kakashi's other side, holding Sakura's hand, who wanted to protect him from the sadness; Katsuki was one of the few people in the village who had always been kind to Naruto, often sharing a bowl of ramen with the boy no matter what others in the village would say.
Riku thought the entire ceremony was horribly wrong; the speeches were too blasé, delivered by elder men in Tsunade's lower council who had absolutely no inflection in their parchment-dry voices. They regaled Katsuki's various exploits, the awards and honors she had received, the ultimate heroism and willingness of sacrifice she displayed even after having her memory stolen by the Akatsuki. But they didn't speak of Katsuki: the woman and kunoichi who she really had been; the girl Riku had grown up with; laughed and cried with; shared secrets about great loves and broken hearts; of fear and death and hatred. Riku could feel the Houkou rising in protest within her at the very thought of the injustice of it all.
"Riku… it's time," Gemna murmured softly. The kunoichi clenched her fist around a small glittering object in her hand before standing to pay her respects to Katsuki. She didn't want to look at Kakashi, didn't want to see the tears he wasn't trying to hide. They said love could break a man. Now Riku knew it could.
As she stood before the black-framed picture of Katsuki, Riku fingered the trinket in her hand, draping a silver necklace over the edge of the portrait. She smiled faintly upon seeing the crescent moon and star dangling there. She bowed deeply, obsidian tresses falling over her shoulders to hide her streaming eyes.
"No matter where you go, Katsuki, I'll always be there with you," she whispered. As Riku straightened, eyes overflowing with tears, she felt a drop of water hit her nose, and as it began to rain, she thought she could almost hear her best friend's voice.
I know, sensei. I know…
-.-.-.-
Genma couldn't remember ever having felt more helpless in his life, not even when he'd narrowly escaped death by setting Sasori on fire, effectively killing him. He watched and as the rain pelted the window, the incessant pattering numbing him. He gazed at the woman sleeping restlessly beside him, twin trails of tears running down her face as she wept in her sleep. The brunette lifted his head to gaze over at the second figure sitting mutely in the chair beside the window, watching the rain, clothes and silver hair in even worse disarray than usual. Genma felt another bout of morose frustration come over him.
"Kakashi…" When the jounin didn't reply, Genma sighed.
"Kakashi. Please," the brunette pleaded. "Tell me how to help you. Help you both." Only silence greeted his words. Genma looked down at Riku, whimpering almost inaudibly as she clutched the blankets.
"Death." The brunette started at the sudden unexpected sound of Kakashi's voice, raspy and coarse from days of disuse.
"What?"
"Death," Kakashi repeated, sounding as though he'd been through hell and back. "It's the risk we all take when we decide to become shinobi," His shoulders began to shake, and his voice seemed choked. "But I wasn't… I couldn't…" The brunette never thought he'd see the son of Konoha's White Fang break, so he looked away, wrapping his arm around Riku tightly.
"Don't blame yourself," Genma said softly. "You did everything you could. You know that—"
Suddenly, Riku bolted upright, eyes wide. Genma shot up beside her, grabbing her by the shoulders.
"Riku, what's wrong?" The kunoichi's eyes seemed to not see him for a moment, and it was then that Genma realized Kakashi had leapt up from his chair at the same time he felt an acute, piercing presence permeate the air in the room.
"What…"
"So soon already…" Kakashi trailed off, voice dangerously low. Genma felt vibrations issuing from Riku's body, and it was only when she opened her mouth that he realized she was growling. She lifted her face to him, eyes glowing, and she snarled.
"It's them."
-.-.-.-
Riku didn't know why two Akatsuki were standing in the clearing just outside the gennin training ground borders, ebony cloaks soaked from the rain. Both had conical straw hats on their heads, white streamers weighed down by the water, partially hiding their faces from view. Riku could feel murderous intent emanating from Kakashi, who was standing right behind her, and she herself could feel the Houkou bristling against its bonds. Genma had gone to call for back up, so it was only her and the silver-haired jounin left to face off against the Akatsuki.
"Well, well. This is quite the welcoming, Riku-san," said a deep, velvety-smooth voice. The kunoichi immediately recognized the voice, and her fingers itched to reach for a kunai.
"Uchiha Itachi. What do you two want?" She glanced at the other figure beside him, the tiniest sliver of an orange mask etched with a large swirl visible beneath the edge of the straw hat.
"We've no desire to fight you at this time," said Itachi. "We only came to deliver this." The two jounin watched warily as the masked figure stepped forward, withdrawing a bundle of cloth from his cloak and laying it gently down on the wet grass. Kakashi and Riku stepped back into a defensive position when the bundle moved, but the masked figure only shifted a flap of the fabric aside, revealing a pale little face surrounded by light brown curls. Both jounin stared in disbelief as the baby's eyes opened to reveal icy blue eyes. It gurgled in discomfort from the rain and reached up at Riku, revealing two mouths on his palms.
"Of course, you will report that you have seen us," Itachi murmured. "But—"
"We only came to deliver Deidara-sempai's and Katsuki-san's baby," said the masked man. Riku stared at the baby, both wanting to hug it tightly and also wanting to stay away from it. The two Akatsuki turned to leave, but Kakashi was indignant.
"What the hell are you playing at—?"
"If I were you, I would get him someplace warm quickly. He's been out in the rain for a while and might come down with something," said Itachi. A chilling smirk came over his lips. "Who knows… he might even die." That was the last straw for Kakashi, who lunged after the two criminals, hell-bent on killing them. It was only when the baby let out a shriek of terror that he stopped and stared at the infant. He watched as Riku hesitantly walked up to the babe, knelt down and scooped him into her arms, cradling him to her chest. It didn't immediately register to him that Genma had finally returned, or that bodies of jounin and ANBU were flying by him at breakneck speed, chasing after the fleeing criminals.
He only had eyes for the child.
The jounin stared down at the tiny squirming bundle in Riku's arms. There was a split second where nobody knew what to say, before the kunoichi spun on her heel, hunching over to shield the bundle from the rain as she retreated into the mist followed closely by Genma and Kakashi.
Once they'd returned to the apartment Genma and Riku shared, the baby was no longer wailing, instead opting to snuggle into Riku's warmth. Genma was hovering incessantly over her, insisting that she and Kakashi dry off before they caught their deaths, but both of them only ignored him, still in shock over the appearance of the baby. The little body wriggled and his mouth opened to let out a soft cooing yawn which broke the spell over the two adults.
"This… is Katsuki's child…" Riku breathed.
"Riku… I'll take the boy. I owe Katsuki this much at least…" Riku and Genma glanced at the silver-haired jounin.
"We have to let Tsunade-sama know…"
"I know," Kakashi said abruptly. "We'll tell her everything. But if you don't want to have him, I'll raise him." Riku gazed down at the infant, seeing so many of Katsuki's features in him despite that he was only a baby. She smiled slightly.
"Well, the decision rests with him," she said, holding the baby up at eye-level with the silver-haired jounin. Kakashi stared at the child with cold, calculating eyes; here was the
offspring of the one he loved the most and his hated rival. A small pair of blue eyes stared back at him, pure innocence examining the arrival of the silver-haired man. A small smile started at the corner of the baby's mouth as he giggled and reached for Kakashi. The copy-nin's eyes
softened as he saw the helpless child squirming in Riku's grasp. Kakashi gently reached out to stroke the baby's silky cheek. The infant let out a peal of laughter, smiling broadly as he reached up with one hand, the mouth embedded in that tiny palm engulfing the tip of Kakashi's finger playfully. He felt a smile begin as he took the boy and held him against his chest gently.
"Looks like he likes you, Kakashi," Riku said, arms resting limply in her lap. Genma laid his hand comfortingly on her shoulder.
"So… what're you going to call him?" asked Genma. Kakashi looked at the baby's hands grabbing at the scroll-pouches of his vest, small tongues poking out from the mouths on his palms. He was obviously happy, but the copy-nin sensed his happiness would soon be interrupted by a bout of crying from hunger.
"Katsuki once told me if she lived long enough to have children, she wanted to name her first-born son Daisuke. So," he gazed down at the baby boy gurgling happily in his arms, "his name will be Daisuke." Riku felt Genma's hand grab her own and she leaned against him, a weary smile on her face. She sighed, closing her eyes.
"Daisuke… I have a feeling he's going to become a lot like Katsuki."