A/n: And they all lived happily ever...well, no, happily-ever-after status will not be attained for some time.
As with the previous epilogue, time has passed. Except, last time, it was, like, a month and a half, but this time it's another three years. And there'll be only a few days in story-timeline between the end of this and the beginning of the third installment, rather than three years.
Now, before I begin making idle threats--SOMEONE MAKE A SUGGESTION! NaNoWriMo is seriously going to take THE WHOLE OF NOVEMBER! As in I can't post anything more than MAYBE disclaimers! And my conscious won't let me really settle until I know that you guys won't be dissapointed that I'm not posting.
I'm considering writing and posting the prologue of the next one, but that would get me started and thus thinking about it and thus NaNoWriMo would be really hard because I'm thinking about DRF when I want to be thinking about this other thing, and thus I'll probably fail NaNo and/or school. In other words, there's a reasonable chance that everyone will leap to tell me that I should write the prologue and I just totally doomed myself and shouldn't have said anything.
Argh...must...refrain...from...whining...about...Ren...being so...bleeding...Mary...Sue!!! DX(
To the Fans: Finding all the names may take a while... In no particular order, with a high chance of several repeats, spelling errors, and/or other human mistakes:
xXMonster ManiacXx, Lime Green Mondays, Lava Puppy, midday, Opera-Gypsy, IchigoCullen, Me And My God Complex, Kyoky13, Kimberly-SA, Primeval Eidolon Star, FaintMirage, Kawaii Chibi Shun, animelover123456, Icetor01, For Whom, Jager Nod, kittypurr714, Wyvren Wing, uchiha fan gurl, yuki takahashi, Thintellumaien, mooneasterbunny, Careless Whisperer, Errol the flying evil thing, Dukesamcules, cold hearted girl, Daemon-In-White, Insane lady of doom, Werewulf girl, LUIGAA, Shi.no.Tenshi.desu, darkmoonphase, Martial artist-Mariko, Lady-Lillie-chan, A Scythe-Wielding Horror, Okami-No-Rina, alchemist of the night, Andersonfanandadmirer, closedofHeart, doryishness, Eclipse Rose, Living On Lies, Masshiro-Inu, ninbunny alchemist, puppetfan, Purplewolfstar35, rollingfire, SaiW.D.leader, Shashuko the Paisley Maiden, Skullblade, Lava Puppy, The All Mighty Black Death, addictedtoinuyasha, daREALshikamaru, CriminallyInsaneForCHEESE, Deceived.Soul13, Antifishestablishmentarianist, aznpower, Google Pixie, Okami'sTot, animelover123456, Jadestone Aura, Lady Lilliana, narukirb, 064721616, Black-Rogue-Fairy, cardiac.arrest, Dirty Reid, HikariNira, Ih8Bart, Ikatsui Karite no Makai, KugaSasu443, kunahanipikachu, Lady of the Air, Opera-Gypsy, Ruby Jewelz, slimmmseike2, sorikarona, The Wandering Kunoichi, xX-Puu-Xx, fanXforever, amberuni151, IchigoCullen, Vincentre, OmniPhantom, Black Kitsune453, candyazngirl, chocoboluver829, Fairykins, Icetor01, leneypoo, lizuchiha, neverlife, Shyki, supX, uchiha fan gurl, YYonder.
Uwaaah...you people are multiplying! I swear it took me about half an hour to go through my emails and get all that!
Some of these people faved/alerted me in general, as in possibly for something else of mine. Also, I was really just running through emails, so some of you might not even care if I deleted this story tomorrow (I won't). Oh well--you like my other works and/or me in general, so that's definitely worth saying anyway.
I'm going to put a To the Fans at the top of my next story and say a few things about people who stood out in my memory. Because some of you guys were seriously awesome (I mean, all of you are awesome. I just mean some of you are especially awesome, at least toward me.)
Disclaimer: Should I drop the disclaimer when I start the next installment? You know--just put it on the first chapter and be lazy by not saying anything after that. Or are my disclaimers really half as interesting as I usually try to make them?
Anyway. In no particular order, Pein/Nagato-dude, Konan/Kai-lady, Itachi, Tobi/Obito/Madara-presumably-male-person-thing, Hidan, Kakuzu, Sasori, Deidara, Kisame, Zetsu, and the other living Uchiha-dude whom I meant to imply at the end, all belong to Masashi Kishimoto. I'm just borrowing them, occasionally playing with names and sexualities and, um...condom useage...
Haruka, Shikai, (Airi, Kanon, Kazuki, the other dude from Otogakure who is still unnamed and who kinda died,) Ren, and Sayuri are mine, even though I don't think all of them appear in this chepilogue.
A few years passed. A few things happened between then:
Haruka and Shikai were finally properly introduced to the members of Akatsuki. Haruka had a consistent tendency to prefer "playing" with Sasori and Deidara than anyone else, occasionally including Tobi and Ren. Her first few experiences taught her valuable lessons about the dangers of Itachi. Shikai spent most of his time learning something from someone, often Itachi, and became rather close with Kakuzu, Hidan, and Kisame as well.
Deidara and Sasori held a constant expression of exasperation; the first few times Haruka somehow talked her father into blackmailing them into dresses for "tea parties" weren't so bad, but it didn't take long before even Sasori tired of it. Pein, on the other hand, insisted that both of them could use the practice in patience, and they were slowly getting used to it, but neither of them seemed very pleased at the concept of tea sets full of tap water on a table surrounded by chairs occupied by stuffed animals.
About a year after Shikai first asked about Kisame being a dragon, Pein discovered Kisame in the back yard with Itachi, who evidently was trying, without success, to teach Kisame some kind of fireball technique. It wasn't until half a year after that that Itachi proposed fire techniques to Shikai, who declined, still believing Kisame to be the fire expert. Itachi showed him a technique anyway, and Shikai followed Itachi obediently almost everywhere ever since. Ren sent him glares whenever he followed her father into their room.
Between all these events, however, neither of the twins ever realized that they were living with Akatsuki; neither of them mentioned, either, their previous arrangements to defeat Akatsuki. Pein asked Zetsu what time tomatoes came in season, but they didn't know. Nonetheless, a bit of research showed him how to get it done, and the entire family had a field day…well, making a field. For tomatoes. About half of the crop was lost to Tobi throwing them at Hidan every time he was about to curse, every lethal-or-would-be-if-it-wasn't-a-tomato-hitting-Hidan hit timed perfectly with a scream of, "Small children!" This became a tradition; Kakuzu complained about the costs, but in the end, it meant a little less money for food and a great deal more when he sold them to restaurants.
About three years after Ren's first appearance, everyone had gathered around the table and held various side-conversations about Sayuri's kittens and Shikai's progress in training, all of which ended abruptly when Pein cleared his throat. All eyes turned to him.
"Family," he addressed, by now well used-to using that term rather than "Akatsuki." "I have made a decision about our organization."
Interest sparked in everyone's faces; even Kai hadn't been previously informed of this event.
"Uchiha Ren," he continued, causing Ren to stiffen expectantly. "You have exhibited unique skill and talent from a young age. You've only ever disappointed me in the rare cases when I wanted less. It is with the least reluctance yet that I declare a new member of our organization."
It took a moment for this to really sink in, but soon enough Tobi reached for his adopted daughter and embraced her, cooing, "Oh, Ren, look at this! You're a member—you're actually included—this is the happiest day of Tobi's life—Tobi thinks he's going to cry!" He turned his mask sideways and dabbed at his eyes with Itachi's napkin, which apparently had been closest to his hand at the time. Itachi's expression remained almost entirely neutral, but there definitely was some trace of a smile in his Sharingan-red eyes.
Ren grinned. "Do I get my own room then?"
Pein paused, having not thought of this. "…only if you want the closet," he answered, shrugging.
Ren grimaced. "Never mind."
"Haruka-chan, Shikai-kun," Pein redirected, and his children sat upright in their seats. "You are excused. The initiation ceremonies are for members only."
Both made unpleasant cries of surprise. "But, but!" Shikai protested, "I'm better than her—why aren't I being let in, too?" At the exact same moment, Haruka whined, "I wanna see Ren-chan in her new clothes!"
Pein shook his head. "Shikai-kun, I'm pushing the age limit for Ren—it's not anything about strength, it's about things in this world that you don't understand yet, and that you might never. Haruka-chan, that'll be her uniform. She'll be wearing it for the vast majority of her time. This won't be your only chance to see her new clothes. Furthermore, we can't exactly give her privacy in the kitchen with everyone here."
Haruka sulked and Shikai pouted, but both leaved the room, Kai escorting them out to ensure that they kept a safe distance.
Pein waited patiently for his girlfriend to return, a random speculation reminding him that he and Kai had never really married. He vaguely wondered if Hidan had the qualities that Jashin required of a person who could bond two people into marriage. If that religion even had anything resembling marriage in the first place.
Kai returned, explaining, "They're in our room, the door is locked, a chair is set under the handle, and the window is boarded such that if they were to escape through it, there would be a loud crash that would be plenty of warning."
Pein blinked. "Honey, they're just kids—it's not like they're S-ranked criminals…"
"You mean you want them to figure out that we are?" Kai asked nonchalantly, one eyebrow arcing gracefully. "And they are our children—Ren-chan should be more than enough proof that the children of Akatsuki have great potential."
Having no supportive argument to speak of, Pein allowed only a brief pause for subject transfer before he cleared his throat. "Members of…hey, are you sure they can't listen through the floor?"
Kai grinned knowingly. "Quite."
Pein nodded, about to continue before adding, "Even the bathroom? I don't remember, do we have a window in the bathroom?"
Kai paused. "If they're good enough to get out of that window and survive, they deserve to know."
"Yes, such a comfort…" Pein mumbled before clearing his throat once more and trying again, "Members of Akatsuki…well," he continued, frowning. It had been a while since there had been a new member, and thus he had absolutely forgotten the welcome speech. "We are gathered here today…" sounded like a wedding, a factor that Pein didn't realize until he'd spoken it. He cleared his throat and went on, "…to commemorate the assimilation of Uchiha Ren into our ranks." That sounded about right.
"And so," he went on, thinking he remembered this part. "I present to you"—no, he lost it—"these robes"—where'd they go, anyway?—"and this…ring"—why on earth was the initiation ceremony so much like a wedding? And where did he put the ring?—"and you are now bound to assist Akatsuki in its goals and the goals of its members"—the thing about the other members definitely was not in the original script—"and you shall be repaid when the time comes."
There. He said it. Chances were, everyone else forgot the thing too, and it wouldn't matter that he skewered it.
"…okay," Ren agreed. "Where's the robes and ring?"
It came back to Pein. "On your bed." He also remembered the restraints that had to be put on her for a number of reasons. "Keep in mind, for the time being, this is nothing more than a title. In the odd case you go on a mission, it will only be under the occasion that someone else is incapacitated, and you will take his position on the pairing chart. You will not have any assistance with the sealing of the Bijuu, and your ring is to be worn on a chain around your neck rather than on any finger."
At that, breakfast was officially dismissed, even if the decision hadn't been voiced. The kitchen emptied until only Ren, Itachi, and Tobi remained with Pein and Kai. Just as Zetsu left, Tobi began talking in a relatively quiet voice.
"Otou-sama?" he began. "Have you noticed—Tobi started the family, and then three years later, Ren-chan and Haruka-chan and Shikai-kun come and the family gets bigger. And it's been three years since then, so do you think the family's going to get any bigger soon?"
Pein chuckled. "No, Tobi-kun. Our family won't be growing any more."
Pein left the room, unaware that he was right and wrong—the family wouldn't grow, but as Ren proceeded up the stairs to let Haruka and Shikai out before she tried on her now uniform, a team of ANBU agents in Konahagakure was being briefed on a mission involving the letter that would remind him of members that he hadn't thought about since the day Itachi joined Akatsuki…
A/n conclusively: By the way, I'm sure it's quite clear by now to you that the third installment will include a letter at some point. And indeed it will. In the odd case that someone wants to guess and guesses it right...um...dunno what I'll do. You'll be mentioned on my list-of-fans-that-I-remember, I guess...and, if anyone guesses it close enough but with something different that I believe improves it, then I will likely include that difference and mention you frequently.
This is totally spontaneous, but--have I mentioned the origins of the title of this story? I probably have. But, I have a little time to kill and all, this won't take long and you can skip it.
I first titled it at some point long enough ago that I hadn't put two and two together (because I did have both twos, due to my bored browsing of a name listing site) and figured that "tsuki" is relevant to "moon," and thus not "dawn." I remember someone somewhere mentioning that Akatsuki meant "red dawn," and obviously did not check this. Dawn of the Red Family is, honestly, the only vaguely coherrent way I could think of to include the concepts of red, dawn, and family. I wasn't exactly satisfied with it, but it wound up with this Snakes on a Plane kinda thing--where it became popular enough under the work-in-progress title and it was the most fitting name that could be thought of at the time so it was just left as it was.
Now! I feel absolutely concieted and/or a dork in saying this, but!:
If you are unhappy with the concept of the end of this story, fear not! for, come December, I'll write and post the final installment of the trilogy! So, keep an eye out for it--this time I actually know what I'm going to call it, and it will be "Dawn of the Red Family: The Reunion".