A/N: Holy… damn! You guys, this is the epilogue. I seriously can't believe this story is already coming to an end! (wipes eyes)
BUT, before letting you make it to the 'owari'… Thank you from the very bottom of my heart for those absolutely baffling reviews, and for all those listings you've made! (gives tons of hugs and chocolate to you all) You can't even imagine what kind of a boost of inspiration you've managed to give me. THANK YOU! And one more time, special thank yous to Serenityofthematrix for the amazing job of proofreading! (hugs)
Okay, okay, because you're most likely anxious to get to the business… Here we go! I REALLY hope you'll enjoy the last piece to this ficcy!
/ Fourteen Years Later. /
Almost twelve years old Hyuuga Naomi's pale eyes were filled with triumph and determination while they observed the Hokage mountain bathing in the light of the rising sun.
For so many years she'd fought and practised to be worthy of defending what those people engraved in stone had planted to start, to be worthy of being called Konoha's soldier. Today, she'd finally become a real ninja.
The wind blew through her chocolate brown hair while she grinned brightly.
If this wasn't the best day of her life, she didn't know what was.
Those thoughts were chased away when a hand swatted the back of her head. " 'Mi, snap out of it", her best friend, Nara Keiko, all but snarled. " If you keep dreaming much longer we'll be late."
She blushed just a little, her gaze flying towards the direction where Yamanaka Kiyoshi – a boy at their age with dark hair and mesmerizing blue eyes – was standing, gaze darted somewhere far away. " Yeah… Sorry…"
" Keiko, stop teasing Naomi!" Kiyoshi's twin brother – Takeo – snarled, blue eyes flashing like they did far more often than she would've liked. (Had she been keeping count, she would've realized that this was exactly the thousandth time the boy defended her.)
Keiko blushed heavily. " Sorry", the girl muttered, though more to the boy than her. The girl then grinned excitedly, scooting close to Takeo. " Hey, I've got an idea. Would you like to come and have some dinner with me today, after the ceremony?"
Takeo snorted. " In your dreams."
Keiko pouted. " Bastard!"
The boy seemed nonchalant. " So they keep calling me."
Keiko's mouth opened, but before the girl could speak another word her leg hit a stone and she started falling – straight into Kiyoshi's arms. Quite skilfully, the boy caught his friend.
The girl gave a sheepish grin. " Thanks."
Naomi's heart clenched when she saw how Kiyoshi blushed, how tender the fingers touching Keiko were. " No problem."
Naomi felt infuriated by the fact that Keiko didn't even take a proper look at Kiyoshi's face while sneaking out of the Yamanaka's hold.
" You guys, I've got an idea", Takeo announced, pulling her out of those thoughts. " It isn't everyday we become real ninjas. What if we have a little party once we've gotten our headbands?"
They all cheered at the idea.
CHAPTER 19: Epilogue
Even after all the years with her as a ninja passed, Ino was still absolutely horrible when it came to waking up early. That's why she groaned loudly when a soft hand caressed her hair. " It's time to wake up." Even in her current state of mind, the sound of Sai's velvet like voice brought her shivers of pleasure. " Kiyoshi and Takeo will receive their headbands in an hour. You really should get up now."
Much faster than her head would've liked she bolted into a sitting position, her eyes flying wide. " Oh shit…"
She tried to get up, but Sai stopped her with placing a hand to her chest. " Breakfast is already made, and your clothes are hanging neatly in a closet."
Her eyes softened while she shook her head. " I'd be totally hopeless without you."
Sai grinned – which was something he'd only learned to do recently – and gave peck to the tip of her nose. " Yeah, you would."
Almost instinctively, her hand found its way to where Sai's other leg should've been, and despite the time passed she shivered a bit when meeting a mattress instead.
With just one leg Sai hadn't been able to be a ninja, of course, but he'd become a phenomenal teacher once he'd adjusted to his new life. Also, she'd been spared from a lot of grey hair with knowing that her husband was safely in Konoha.
Her muscles working as though on their own, she leaned upwards and caught Sai's lips into a fiery, demanding kiss.
The man looked at her with an arched eyebrow, knowing exactly what the gesture had been about. " We should get going", he pointed out. " We don't have much time."
She bit his ear playfully. " We better get started, then, don't you think?"
Breakfast was well forgotten.
Naruto knew it was rare that a Hokage would attend to something like a graduation ceremony. But this year, several kids of his friends were getting their headbands, and he found the idea of witnessing the occasion exciting. He was also the one who'd suggested arranging such a party, so it would've been weird if he hadn't been there. Besides, he was in a desperate need of something that'd distract him…
A deep, uncharacteristic frown appearing, he glanced out of his office window, towards the village's gates. There wasn't another trace of the one he'd been waiting for several days already.
What the heck is taking you so long…?
" Don't you think they would've showed up here if they'd arrived?" Kushina's somewhat amused voice startled him. Looking towards the office's doorway, he found his mother leaning against a wall with a tiny, slightly sad smile, eyes directed to his outfit. " Gosh, I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing you in those clothes."
His heart jolted a bit with sadness, and he had to look away to keep her from seeing emotions. Now that she'd regained her memory piece by piece, his mother most likely had a crystal clear image of his father in the very same outfit, even with all the time passed. He wished he'd had such picture saved into the back of his mind as well, but no such precious souvenirs had been granted to him.
" Naruto." Once more, it was Kushina's voice that stole him away from those thoughts. He met a pair of extremely soft, nearly moist eyes. " Minato… He'd be very, very proud of you. You do know that, right?"
He smiled despite all the stinging in his eyes. " Thanks."
Kushina's lips opened, but she became interrupted when there was a knock. Naruto's heart jumped, but all hope died when instead of the one he'd been expecting he met Konohamaru. " It's time", the brunette announced.
He grinned despite nagging worry and something else he couldn't name. " Then let's get going."
In a forest quite nearby Konoha, Shino stood on a high cliff, his rather unseeing eyes fixed to the breathtakingly beautiful lake landscape spreading below.
It was almost fourteen years from when he'd last seen his home village. Five weeks after Suzume's death – once Shizune had given him a small bottle carrying the girl's ashes – he'd left at dawn, saying goodbye to all he'd known.
Suzume had once told him she wanted to travel around and see the world. He'd decided to fulfill her request, even if it was only after her death. So he'd traveled through most of the known world, in each new location pouring out just a little bit more of her to ensure she'd leave her mark everywhere. It'd been a long journey, and at times he'd been sure he wouldn't make it through without losing what was left of his sanity. But he'd done it nonetheless, step by step, for he hadn't felt alone so long as Suzume had been making the journey with him.
Now, as he stood there ready to let go of the very last piece of her, he felt more terrified than ever in his life.
What would happen to him with her gone, when the journey was over and he'd have to truly attempt to live without her? Did he even want to try?
He shuddered when hearing a shrill sound that was unfamiliar to him, and observed with somewhat fuzzy eyes at how two tiny animals he couldn't recognize played around together in a tree. Young and full of life, their road still open and full of promise.
And it was at that moment he understood.
He didn't realize he was speaking out loud while taking a glance towards his hand that was crackling with electricity. " You gave me your gift, to make sure I'd live. You wanted me to stay here and carry on, didn't you?" His eyes stung hellishly, but after so many years he no longer found the strength and tears to cry. Very slowly, his hand trembling, he pulled out the bottle that locked in the last piece of her. " I've traveled around the world with you, but now… now, it's time to let go."
It took his all, but surprising even himself he managed to flip the bottle so that the little bit of ash there'd been left became poured out, then danced around him for a while before flying away, towards distant unknown.
He knew it was most likely his imagination, but he was almost sure he heard the faintest whisper. " Thank you. I love you."
It was the first time in fourteen years he smiled. " I love you, too."
Working on its own his right hand moved towards his left, and he blinked when it met something hard, metallic. Looking down he discovered that it was placed to a beautiful ring of promise – the exact duplicate to the one he'd given Suzume five days before her death. He moved his hand to remove it, but in the end changed his mind.
Some memories were meant to be kept and treasured.
Lifting his chin as bravely as he possibly could, he braced himself for the inevitable.
It was time to face the hardest part of his journey.
Celebrations were always flashy in Konoha. This graduation ceremony was no exception.
Even with worry and some distant, gnawing feeling of something being wrong, Naruto found himself relaxing while joining his friends to the very back of the audience part. " Did I miss anything?" he asked, trying to keep his voice down to avoid arousing attention.
Neji shook his head, eyes watching over his younger child, who was currently sneaking around absolutely everywhere. The child was an eight years old boy named Satoshi, who was a perfect replica of his father. " No. They'll get started in a couple of minutes."
Shikamaru grinned while glancing towards him. " For once you weren't late." The man's eyes flashed towards the door, holding mirth. " Unlike Ino and Sai. Wherever those two lovebirds are, they'll miss seeing the twins graduating soon."
Naruto chuckled and opened his mouth, but never got the chance to voice his indented words until Iruka appeared, and the huge hall became completely quiet. " We've gathered here to witness yet another generation of young ninjas following in the footsteps of their ancestors. When accepting their headbands, they also accept the road of the ninjas." Only those who knew the schoolteacher best were able to find sadness and reluctance in his gentle eyes. " Tomorrow, they'll be divided into teams of three. As from that day on, they'll start their paths towards becoming warriors of Konoha. Soon enough the future of our village is theirs to determine."
Naruto's feelings were mixed while he watched the excitement upon the teenagers' faces – who were still mere children, blissfully unaware of the path before them – and their parents, so proud that some of them cried – or perhaps those tears came from the realization that soon enough their children would be sent to missions that might lead to their deaths, that there was a chance they'd have to bury their own babies.
He lifted his gaze towards a huge window, and watched how the sun made its steady way up in the sky. And he sighed, so quietly that it couldn't be heard with the clapping and cheering.
As much as he would've wanted to right now – when everything was right and perfect – he didn't have to ability to stop time. Life went on, generations changed, children inherited the burden of their parents. Legends were born with tremendous sacrifices and forgotten. All he could do, really, was make sure he wouldn't repeat the bitter mistakes of those who'd ruled before him. After all, he still had the power to determine whether he was worthy of the expectations of those parents – some of which were his dearest friends – who trusted the lives of their children into his hands.
That realization made it possible from him to smile with his eyes as well while he clapped when the last young ninja got their headband.
High up on a rooftop, two figures stood on guard, eyes firmly fixed on the ceremony.
Suigetsu all but rolled his eyes at the cheering that carried even to where they were. " I don't understand what's supposed to be so exciting about this", he declared. " And I don't get why Sasuke didn't take me with him to the mission – he knows how much I hate parties."
Karin scoffed, fighting the urge to punch the man. " Maybe he wanted to take a break from listening to you complaining." She then gathered all her courage with a deep breath and spoke slowly. " Look… There's something… important I've been meaning to tell you."
Losing his focus on the people below, Suigetsu frowned and looked at her. " Why do I have a bad feeling about this…?"
Ignoring him, Karin went on. " Do you remember anything about that party a month ago?"
For a fleeting second that could've been her imagination, Karin thought she saw the faintest rosy hue on the man's cheeks. " Well, I remember waking up beside you, naked. Not exactly a pleasant experience. Why?" Then, very slowly, the other's eyes widened dramatically as truth started to sink in. " Uh-huh…"
" That's right, 'uh-huh'", she stated dryly. She held her breath for a moment before speaking out the rest. " I'm pregnant."
Karin had never seen anyone fall as pale as Suigetsu did then.
About an hour after the ceremony, Kakashi (who was sitting in his favorite chair, admiring the way sun sparkled on the tiny river running behind the house) shivered with pleasure when a familiar pair of warm arms wrapped around him from behind. A kiss was planted to his hair. " What were you thinking about?" a soft voice inquired.
He gave a small smile, which was now visible with his mask off for once. " Ma, I was just enjoying the day." He turned his head so that he could meet a pair of warm brown eyes. " I thought I should let you have a bit of rest – you never sleep well before graduation days."
Smiling, Iruka planted a kiss to his lips. ' Thank you.'
He didn't resist when the other sat into his lap. He sunk into his thoughts while stroking the teacher's surprisingly soft hair gently.
It'd taken twelve years, ten months and fifteen days before he'd finally believed that Rin was never going to wake up. That day – after he'd taken such an amount of sake that it was a pure miracle he was still alive – Iruka had been there and found him. Something had stirred into life between them that day. Exactly one year later, they made love for the very first time.
The progress of their changed relationship had been slow and they were still pretty wary around each other sometimes. But nonetheless, he felt happier than ever in his life. For once, he could actually see at least somewhat of a happy ending to his story. And therefore…
He had to swallow before words came. " 'Ruka, there's something I've been supposed to ask you…"
Unfortunately he never got the chance to voice what was on his mind. For just then there was a loud, frantic knock on the small house's door. After exchanging a frown they got up, he making his way towards the door and Iruka towards bathroom.
While putting his mask on properly, he was mildly surprised to find Shizune. " What's wrong?"
The woman could barely speak through pants. " Kakashi, Rin… She's awake. She's… finally awake."
It felt like all air had been sucked from his lungs, and he couldn't speak until after two full minutes. " I'll… be there soon." With that he closed the door on Shizune's face, too stunned to have a single coherent thought.
Turning around slowly, he found Iruka stood by the bathroom's doorway. The expression he found from the brunette's face shred his heart to pieces.
Unable to utter a word, he tried to message what he wanted to say desperately through his eyes.
I'm so sorry.
Without saying a word Iruka – who's face had turned terrifyingly blank – walked past him and left the house without making much of a sound.
-
About half an hour later, Kakashi's heart hammered in his throat while he slowly opened up a door he hadn't walked through in ages. His chest shuddered when he saw the familiar, very frail figure laying in a bed, eyes now open.
Quite slowly, responding to the sound of door opening, Rin turned her gaze and looked at him. Her reaction caused him to feel cold all over.
For she didn't smile or speak, instead frowned. Her eyes held only one question.
Who the hell are you?
For a very long time already Shikamaru had felt like he'd been waiting for something. Yes, he was married to Shiho and they had two adorable kids, and he loved them all. He was also convinced that he'd gotten over Temari years ago. But something was still amiss. Always had been, a part of him added. And not being able to grasp on what it was drove him insane.
" Dad." He wasn't sure if he was fortunate or not that Keiko's voice ripped him out of those thoughts. Even though he was her father, he was still baffled when looking at her and yet again discovering just how much like him she looked, apart from the eyes she'd gained from her mother. " Takeo's planning to have a party, to celebrate us becoming real ninjas. Can I go?"
He'd never been able to deny anything from those eyes. " Fine, but remember to behave. Trust me – you don't want to face Ino's wrath."
He was mildly surprised when Keiko kissed him on the cheek. " Thank you, daddy! This is my best birthday ever." With that, the teenager sped off.
Shiho chuckled, shaking her head. " I better go and make sure she remembers all the rules we've tried to teach her." His wife gave him a gentle kiss. " I'll see you later."
He licked his lips, taking in her taste. " Hn."
As soon as the woman was away, he sunk into his dark musings from before once more and groaned. So busy his head was, that he didn't notice the person approaching before they already collided.
He growled loudly. " Troublesome…" His mouth was opened and ready to form insults when he lifted his head, but all words got stuck into his throat when he recognized the person stood before him. He closed his eyes, then opened them again, but the image remained. " Temari?"
The woman had changed a lot during the years passed, and not only because her hair was now long and open. He couldn't even pinpoint everything that was different. Teal coloured eyes held what seemed like a trapped look. " Long time no see."
He swallowed thickly, desperately trying to figure out how to proceed. It was incredibly hard to concentrate with how his head was spinning all of a sudden and how his skin bristled. " So… When did you come back?" He shocked even himself. This was the first time they met in fourteen years and that was the best he could come up with, especially with how they'd said goodbye?
For just a moment Temari's face held what looked like pain. Then, the woman's jaw tightened. " Five days ago."
He frowned.
Five days? Why didn't Naruto…?
" I asked Naruto not to tell you", the woman explained in a somewhat tense voice, as though reading his mind.
He found it hard to not bite his lip. He'd deserved that for being a coward. " Well… I'm glad you're back."
Temari's eyes darkened until they became unfamiliar. " Shikamaru… Stop. Just stop, okay?" She outstretched a hand, revealing a ring that shone in sunlight so that it nearly blinded him. " You made your point clear fourteen years ago, and I've fought for all this time to get over it. Now I'm married, and based on what I've heard so are you." She gathered herself for a couple of breaths. " I came here because I was assigned to, and I'll leave as soon as I can. So let's just make this as painless as possible and stay out of each other's way, okay? For both our sakes." Her shoulders moved backwards before she started to walk away. " Now if you excuse me, I've gotta go and find my son."
Unable to stop himself, he peered over his shoulder and watched Temari's distancing back. At that moment, he finally realized what it was that he'd been missing, what the words that'd been trying to crawl out were.
Sadly enough, the realization came over a decade too late.
Nara Akemi – eight years old girl with her mother's hair and father's eyes – had always been a curious nature. That's why she started to approach the boy with dark brown hair and teal coloured eyes she'd never seen before without fear.
Her best friend – Hyuuga Satoishi, who'd inherited his father's eyes and mother's hair, everyone said – held her back by grabbing her sleeve. There was a frown upon the boy's face. " Are you sure we can trust him?"
She snorted. " He's a kid, just like us. He's not dangerous. So c'mon."
She never noticed the sour look upon Satoshi's face as they went.
In a matter of seconds they'd walked up to the boy, who glanced towards them with deep nervousness. She grinned brightly, offering her hand. " I've never seen you here before. I'm Akemi."
The boy hesitated for a while before accepting the hand. " Ruyako Yuichi." After thinking about it for a long time he went on. " I'm from Suna."
Her eyes widened with bafflement. " Suna?! Wow!"
The boy opened his mouth again, but became interrupted when a woman with blonde hair and teal coloured eyes appeared. " Yuichi, I've been looking all over for you!" The woman took the boy's hand and started pulling him along. " Let's go. It's almost dinner time."
Just before out of earshot, the boy looked towards her once more and smiled genuinely. " It was nice to meet you."
She smiled back, and felt something flutter in the pit of her stomach although she should've been much too young to feel such a thing.
-
During his eight years long life Hyuuga Satoshi had never been a jealous person. But at that moment something so dark that it terrified him whirled in his chest.
He grabbed Akemi's wrist so tightly that the girl shuddered. " Let's go home", he decided in a stiff voice. " I bet our parents are getting worried."
Two hours after the ceremony, Naruto wasn't only worried and infuriated. He was growing panicked.
The mission was supposed end a week ago! So where…?!
" Hey uncle Naruto!" Whirling around towards the sound, he felt his chest move abnormally. Even though he and Sasuke had practically raised Itachi's daughter Chieko, it still baffled him how much the teenager looked like her father with dark eyes and long, black hair on a ponytail. Had he been in a correct state of mind, he would've noted that her usually milky skin was even paler than normally.
He grinned and pulled her into a long hug. " Hey, kiddo! So you finally decided to come back." Once the embrace was over, he frowned upon realizing something. " Where's Sasuke?" His heart grew unnaturally cold. Please, don't you dare…!
Chieko's eyes were solemn. " He was taken to a hospital. Sakura said…"
He didn't listen, for he was already running as though there'd been a fire on his tails.
The hospital room door made an annoying screech when Naruto pushed it open and peered in. He wasn't all that sure if he wanted to punch, grin with relief or hug when seeing that instead of laying in a bed like medics had ordered, Sasuke was standing with his back to him, pulling on a tattered looking ANBU uniform. " You know, teme… Sakura-chan threatened she'd use sedatives if she catches you up and about. Do I have to go and tell her?"
Sasuke snorted, the sound carrying great amusement. " 'Hi' to you, too."
His expression softened while most of adrenaline faded from his system. Sasuke shuddered with surprise and pleasure when he wrapped his arms quite tightly around the man from behind. " Where did that come from?"
He swatted the back of Sasuke's head, although it was more of a caress, then kissed the Uchiha's hair. " Hmph." He waited for a while before his voice was even and strong enough to work. " Are you okay?"
" Of course I am, dobe." Rather gently distancing from him a bit, the raven turned so that they were face to face. Apart from one gash on a cheek, the man's face seemed all right. " You know, people will start talking if you're caught sneaking around here." Although Sasuke's voice held amusement, he could tell there was also something else. Even with all the years passed, they hadn't been able to announce their affair officially to anyone but their nearest and dearest – for the sake of their safety. It was eating them both up inside, but they'd long since came to a conclusion that so long as they had each other, it was well worth of all the difficulties.
He snorted, crushing his lips against the Uchiha's. " Do you honestly think I care right now?" He then buried his head into the crook of Sasuke's neck, his arms laced quite comfortably around the injured man's body. " Do you have any idea of how worried I was, teme?" he murmured after a long silence, inhaling the raven's scent he'd missed so damn much. " I thought…"
Most likely to silence him, Sasuke placed a pair of warm lips to his, claiming him into a kiss that made him feel dizzy. When the kiss ended he lifted his gaze to meet a pair of flaming orbs. " I promised to come back, didn't I? So here I am." The raven then distanced himself from him with apparent reluctance, finishing the process of putting on his clothes. " Now… I've already had a crappy day, so let's go before it gets even worse."
He frowned. " Sakura-chan said…"
Just one look from Sasuke was enough to silence him. " Unless you want to sleep on a couch for the next two weeks, let me leave this hellhole." To make the deal even more appealing, the man walked up to him and nibbled his ear gently before whispering. " Trust me, as soon as I can I'll reward you very, very well for doing the right thing."
He needed no further persuasion. Only the facts that people would've started to wonder and Sasuke would've killed him kept him from scooping the raven into his arms.
Anyone who saw Hyuuga Hinata that day would've had a lot of trouble recognizing her as the girl she'd been fourteen years ago.
Her appearance had changed, of course. She was much more feminine now even though she'd long ago cut her hair, which was now extremely short and spiky. But something had changed in her eyes as well. It'd taken years, but eventually she'd managed to mold the pain losing Kiba had left into burning determination. Now, she was a leader of an ANBU team as well as one of Konoha's most praised kunoichis. Only her closest knew about the pain she still struggled against every day.
Wind billowed through her shortcut hair and ANBU gear when she finally reached her destination and stopped, her legs trembling pitiably.
First time in a full year, tears rimmed her eyes when she planted two breathtakingly beautiful white lilies to a grave she still visited once a year, despite all the time passed. " Hey there", she all but whispered in a rather weak voice. She took her time before even attempting to speak again. " It's… It's been fourteen years, you know? And… I think I should stop coming, because…" She made choked sound, deciding that this was definitely the hardest thing she'd ever done. " No matter how much I've been trying to move on, I'm still stuck. And I've… I've gotta let go – for both our sakes." She didn't even realize that she sniffed when closing one hand tenderly around another one of the flowers she'd brought, sending all her affection to high up above. " I know it's too late, but… I love you, I hope you know that. Always will. And I miss you, more than you could ever imagine. But you know…" She gave a shuddering breath. " Maybe I'll see you again some day. Until then…" She smiled through tears she didn't realize were rolling while reluctantly letting go of the flower and straightening her form. " Bye, and thank you. Thank you so much."
She figured she'd been standing there for at least five minutes until she finally became aware of the sensation that someone was looking at her. Glancing over her shoulder, she couldn't help smiling despite still rolling tears when seeing Shino for the first time in fourteen years. The boy responded with a nod, then walked forth and placed his own flower – a red rose – to the grave.
Neither realized that their hands almost became lazed together while they stood there, both saying silent goodbyes.
While sitting by a river Izumi's son Hajime (who looked scarily lot like his mother) frowned, feeling more nervous than ever in his life.
She's been on missions before, he tried to reason with himself, yet immediately went on. But she's never been this badly late.
It was amusing, really. When he'd arrived in Konoha five years earlier – to become the best possible ninja – he'd expected many things. She wasn't one of them.
" You know, 'Jime, you still wrinkle your nose when you're worried", a female voice brought him back into present.
His eyes softened when finding Chieko leaning against a nearby tree. " 'Bout time for you to come back." He then frowned when seeing how pale she was, and just sensing injuries underneath her fresh clothes. " Rough mission?"
" You could say that." She rubbed her face with one hand, clearly exhausted. " There was no casualties, but a couple of us were injured. I dragged Sasuke into the hospital."
His heart jumped. He knew how important the raven was to Chieko – if… " Is he okay?"
" Yeah." The girl's expression turned sour. " I just went to see him and found out he checked himself out half an hour ago. I'll have to give him a hard lecture for that later."
He grinned, then pushed himself up. Even after the month they'd spent apart, his arms remembered with surprising ease how to hold her right. In a matter of seconds their lips met, heated by the separation.
There were no prying eyes. There was no need to hide how much they'd missed each other.
When they broke apart after time that felt much too short to them both, he found himself frowning again when his senses tingled. He tried to search for her eyes. " What wrong?"
For just a moment, he could see something that unnerved him in Chieko's eyes. Then, so fast it baffled him, her expression changed and she kissed him. " Nothing that can't wait until later." She started to walk off, her hand still in his. " Now, I really need a shower and some sleep. Are you going to walk me to the village or not?"
In the meantime in Suna a loud, ear piercing scream of tremendous pain ran through the hallways of the Kazekage's building, making everyone inside unnerved.
In a huge, well lightened room, Matsuri wiped sweat from her forehead. " Just one more push and the baby's out, okay? That's all it takes", she tried to reassure scowling Izumi.
Although his pride would've never allowed him to admit it out loud, in the corner he'd taken Kankuro was an inch from collapsing when his wife screamed at the top of her lungs again, the sound tearing his chest. He could already sense oblivion calling until there was suddenly a voice unlike anything he'd heard before.
A cry – frail and quiet, but still there.
His heart swelled, warming up his whole chest.
Matsuri grinned brightly while wrapping the tiny one into a blanket and handing the bungle into Izumi's expecting arms. " Congratulations, you two. You've got a gorgeous baby girl."
Unable to hold himself back even for the sake of his dignity, he all but flew to the bedside. Only Matsuri's presence kept him from gasping when he caught the first glimpse of his daughter.
It was probably a thought most new fathers shared, but he'd never seen anything that perfect in his entire life.
It took his all, but he managed to rip his gaze away enough to look at Matsuri. " Where's Gaara? I want to brag to him about my little princess."
In any other occasion, he would've found something weird from the expression that flashed by the woman's face. " He's… taking a walk." She then brushed her mightily swelled belly, clearly forcing a smile. " But as long as he comes back before the little one's born, I'm happy." She then pushed herself up, starting to leave. " I'll go and leave you alone." Neither of the new parents noticed the younger woman leaving.
He was caught up staring at his daughter until there was a sound of amusement coming from Izumi. " 'Kuro, are you… crying?"
He fought the urge to sniff. " No." Damn, how pathetically bad liar he was! It took a couple of moments before he found his voice. " Now are you letting me hold the princess, or are you taking her all to yourself?"
Chuckling, Izumi handed out the tiny bundle into his arms.
Ask anyone, Kankuro wasn't a softie. But when the baby girl stopped crying and made a sound he identified as that of contentment in his arms, the man grinned from ear to ear.
-
Even though she wasn't able to see, Izumi could picture the look that appeared to Kankuro's face. Something incredibly warm radiated from her husband. " Wow…", the man gasped, sounding out of breath.
She smiled warmly, leaning her head against the man's shoulder when he nearly slumped to her bedside. " 'Wow' indeed", she murmured in a slightly scratchy voice. Comfortable silence lingered for the longest time while they both marveled at their newborn baby in their own ways. " What do you think we should call her?"
She could feel Kankuro's smile. " How about Megumi?"
She just had to smile herself. 'Blessing'. She kissed the man's shoulder to express her opinion.
I couldn't have thought of anything better.
Apart from Megumi's tiny sounds it was completely silent, and she'd almost dozed of from utter exhaustion before Kankuro spoke all of a sudden. " You know… Tsunade gave me this letter, years ago. Long before she…" The man trailed off. " She told me to read it to you when time is right. I think the time's come now."
She nodded quite eagerly while her heart jumped, urging her husband to go on.
There were sounds she couldn't quite recognize before Kankuro started to read. " Dear Izumi, there are so many things I'd like to tell you, so many things I'd need to explain while I still can. But I can't seem to find the words." The man held a pause. " I know many things were stolen from you – including your family – and I'm terribly sorry. But I hope you understand that it was only because of your own safety, a sacrifice that had to be made to ensure you'd have the future I and your father never got the chance for." Seeing her expression, Kankuro paused again before going on once more. " Time is running out, but before finishing this letter there's something very important you need to know. I and your father, Jiraiya, loved you from the bottom of our hearts, more than anything else in this entire world. And I hope with my all that you're finally as happy as you'd deserve to be. Come what may, I'll always be there for you." It took a long time before her husband managed to sputter out the last words. " With love, your mother Tsunade."
For quite a while it was utterly silent, with Megumi already having fallen asleep, until Kankuro spoke uncharacteristically softly. " You okay?"
She gave a quivering smile, wiping away tears she hadn't felt spilling. " Yeah."
Yes, it hurt, badly. But still… As she moved her unseeing gaze towards where she suspected moon to be, she came to a conclusion that she'd never felt this okay and complete in her entire life.
Back in Konoha, Chouji managed to find TenTen in the village's highest guard tower. " Naomi told me you'd be here", he answered to the woman's questioning expression. It was silent for a very long time until he managed to braze himself enough to ask a question. " So… Neji left again, didn't he?"
The woman's eyes darkened before turning away from him. " Chou, please… Don't."
His eyes flashed fire, wrath starting to bubble like lava. " Why are you always defending him? Doesn't it…?"
TenTen's tiny, sad smile interrupted him effectively. " It's not his fault that we don't love each other enough despite all Hiashi's orders. Love can't be ordered around."
He lifted his gaze towards stars starting to light up high up in the sky, some of his anger melting away. " That still doesn't justify him sneaking around."
Incredibly sad aura spread from the woman to him, making him wish he hadn't said a thing. " It hurts, but it'd hurt much more if Hiashi would take our kids away. This is just… an arrangement we'll have to endure, for now." After some moments of silence, she gasped all of a sudden. Looking towards her, he was surprised to meet a faint, genuine grin. " How about that – a shooting star."
Smiling just a little himself, he gazed towards the same direction.
They failed to notice that their hands became joined while they kept observing the sky, looking for new little miracles.
To Gaara, it felt like a dream of some sort when he lay by Neji's side, their arms wrapped around each other and both radiating warmth their activities from not too long ago had left behind.
Emitting a deep sigh, he pulled the other even closer still, barely managing to fight the urge of burying his face into dark brown locks.
It was tragic, really, that dreams had the tendency of being too good to be true.
He was ripped away from those thoughts when Neji moved all of a sudden – to get away or to get closer, he didn't know. " I should go", the man murmured in a voice that wasn't quite like the one he'd grown used to. " It's already late, and I'm going on a mission tomorrow."
He felt a heavy twinge when watching the Hyuuga slowly rise into a sitting position. This was the one moment during their meetings he hated – the awkward goodbyes. Those that always reminded him of exactly what they were doing, dropped him back from dreamlands.
He had to wait for a while for his voice to settle before he dared to speak. " I'll see you soon, right?"
To his utter surprise Neji tensed up completely, not facing his way.
When there wasn't another word for several moments he couldn't hold himself back any longer. " Neji, what's going on?" he demanded in a voice that left no room for objections or getting away without an explanation.
After what felt like ages the Hyuuga looked at him and uttered words he would've never wanted to hear. " The thing is, that the mission…" There was a pause. " Gaara, I'm not coming back from it."
For a very long time Gaara remained absolutely still, staring into Neji's eyes as though searching for any sign of a lie whatsoever. His heart turned cold and painfully small when there was none. " How…?" he started out in a disbelieving gasp, nearly losing his voice. " How can Naruto let that happen?!"
" He doesn't know." Neji's voice wasn't bitter or accusing, only so sad that it tore his heart to thousands of pieces. " That advisor of yours, Genji… The last thing Danzou did before leaving Konoha was to ask him to take after him as the commander of Root. I'd joined the organization five days before I found out." The brunette gulped thickly. " This is a top secret mission Genji gave me and three other ninjas. There's nothing Naruto could do."
His head was spinning, and for a while he almost wished he would black out, become spared from facing this sickening reality.
Neji, he was going to…
Not knowing what else he could've possibly done, he forced his quivering body into a sitting position and held Neji with all his might, no longer resisting the temptation to bury his face into the other's silken locks. " So, there's… nothing you can do to stop it?" It was pointless to ask, really. Missions like this weren't such ninjas would've been allowed to refuse.
The Hyuuga responded nothing, only grabbed his hand with a desperate force.
No matter how hard he fought, a couple of tears escaped when he laid his hand to the brunette's shoulder, wanting more than anything to wake up from this nightmare. " Neji…" He trailed off.
" Let's… not talk, okay?" the Hyuuga murmured in a voice he didn't recognize.
He nodded a bit more eagerly than he'd indented, no words willing their way out. It was then reality started to crash down on him.
This… could be the last time they ever saw each other. And he was determined to make the best of it, no matter how badly he was hurting.
His moves were far softer and more cautious than usually when he turned Neji's head and pressed his lips against the man's, allowed his hand to wander around on the other's naked skin. Quite clearly having the same idea Neji followed his dance, pulling him close and claiming his all.
There was only one person who could make him shudder the way he did just then. And he was determined to make sure Neji knew that before the man would leave.
It wasn't until much later he learned that the warmth on his cheeks had been tears.
At first Naruto thought he was still dreaming when waking up from a nap by Sasuke's side. Then – as reality sunk in – a huge grin spread to his face.
The Uchiha groaned when awakening to his little kiss. " Dobe, I'm expecting you to have one hell of a good reason to distract me when I just fell asleep."
He grinned sheepishly, kissing the other's forehead. " Sorry. It's just a bit surreal to see you there. Besides, you've been asleep for five hours."
" Hn." Some time earlier, back when they'd been just teenagers, the raven might've shot a witty remark his way for the cheesy comment. (Actually, in a bit more coherent state, the man still might've.) But at the moment the Uchiha merely buried his head into the crook of his neck, settling with resting there in his warmth.
He just had to grin. It'd taken years to fix the damage Orachimaru, Madara, hatred and guilt because of Itachi had done. But at the moment, he couldn't help feeling satisfaction. Finally, Sasuke seemed relatively stable and even content. Or well, almost. There was still one milestone left for him to cross…
He allowed the Uchiha to rest for almost an hour and a half – while trying to figure out how to set his words so that they'd find their target – before he disturbed his lover with a kiss to raven locks.
Naruto smirked once more when meeting a somewhat sleepy frown alongside a wrinkled nose. He suspected nothing in the world could be more adorable than Sasuke when the man was just waking up, with no barriers up. (He felt a great deal of satisfaction from knowing that no one else had or would ever be allowed to meet the sight.) He poked Sasuke's nose gently, making the raven sneeze involuntarily. " Hey, sleepyhead. Don't you think it's time to wake up already?" He waited for a couple of seconds so that the raven would have the perfect amount of awareness. " If you feel up to walking, there's somewhere I've been planning to take you…"
-
It was almost night time, so they weren't worried about prying eyes while walking hand in hand, he trying his best to ensure Sasuke wouldn't run off once figuring out where they were going. Just as he'd expected, the Uchiha stiffened completely when noticing where they were stopping.
Onyx eyes were hard when slashing towards him. " You better have a good explanation for this."
After so many years of experience, he didn't fidget under the tone that would've made many run away. " I do", he pointed out, none of his stubbornness from teenage years forgotten. " You keep telling me that you've gotten past it, but I don't believe you."
The Uchiha folded his arms, arching an eyebrow. " And exactly what am I supposed to do about it, dobe?"
Without giving much of an explanation, he outstretched a hand, to which a flawlessly white rose had appeared. " Get a closure. You owe that much to yourself after all these years. Besides, clinging to past like that isn't healthy – you should know that much by now." Due to the huge amount of practice he had, he could easily find the fairly invisible spark of panic that appeared in the raven's eyes. A grin of sympathy spread across his face. " Don't be so horrified – I'll go there with you."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed, but in the end the raven snatched the flower from his hold. " You can be really infuriating sometimes."
He grinned and gave the raven a chaste kiss. " I know. But that's one of the things you love about me, right?" He then started to pull the man after him. " Now let's go – I'm not letting you get away with this."
The journey felt much longer than he'd anticipated, and most likely unbearable for Sasuke. But eventually they were stood before a rather plain tombstone that held nothing but a name.
Itachi Uchiha
-
Sasuke had already lost track of how many times he'd tried to come and visit Itachi's grave. Now he was finally there, albeit practically dragged by Naruto, preparing for his final farewells.
These words had been dangling on the tip of his tongue for so long, yet now that he finally had the chance to let them out…
" I'm sorry." It took a moment before he realized that the words actually came from him. He ignored the burning behind his eyes. " I'm so sorry I didn't see, before…" Words died out, his tongue becoming helplessly tied.
He swallowed thickly and took a deep breath before going on, finally managing to convince his voice into working. " I… I'll never be able to live up to the sacrifice you made for me, but… I'll try. And maybe… Maybe we'll meet again." For just a moment his hand trembled a bit while he laid the snow white rose to the grave. " Until next time, brother", he whispered so quietly and hoarsely that there was no way someone could've heard it.
At that moment, his head snapped up when there was a bird's screech. He blinked twice when seeing a raven sitting on a nearby tree branch, looking straight into his eyes. For the first time in more years than he could count, he felt tears wanting to make their way out, although he wasn't entirely sure why.
" I'm sorry, Sasuke. But there won't be a next time." He didn't know if the voice was real or not. " You'll never end up where I am – you're headed for something much better. I'll keep watching over you to make sure you will."
After that, the strange animal rose to its wings.
He shuddered – with pleasure or startle, he didn't know – when a very familiar hand was placed to his shoulder. Peering behind him, he met Naruto's sympathy filled eyes. " You okay?"
Not saying a word, he looked away once more, towards the raven that'd already almost disappeared. And suddenly, it was almost impossible to not smile when something he could only call peace filled his heart, along with a distant echo of longing. " Yeah", he breathed out the exact same moment the bird was out of his sight. " I think I will be."
" Sasuke-kun, Naruto!" Sakura's voice managed to catch them both off guard. Turning their heads they saw her standing a bit further, with her one year old daughter Takara (who had her pink hair and Lee's dark eyes) sleeping in her arms. " Are you two coming? We'll be late."
Naruto frowned. " Late for what?"
The pinkette rolled her eyes with exasperation. " You're supposed to be the Hokage, for crying out loud!" After finding no remembrance from his eyes in almost a full minute, she finally gave in and decided to spell it out. " The party to honour Tsunade-sama's memory, remember? Which you've been working on for almost a full year."
Naruto's face lost all colour, and blue eyes widened. " Oh crap…!" With those words the man started to sprint away.
Sakura chuckled, shaking her head. " He's still absolutely helpless, isn't he?"
Once more, he found it extremely hard not to smile. " Hn." Yeah, he is.
And as they started to walk away, he came to a very important decision.
He wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
Sarutobi Kazuki – who'd ended up inheriting Asuma's dark hair and Kurenai's expressive eyes – had always been praised for being one of the most promising young shinobis in Konoha. That fact considered, it was no surprise that he sensed a presence long before steps were heard.
Turning his head abruptly, he found a girl at about his age with shortcut, spiked orange hair and strange, pale shaded eyes. He frowned when finding no headband. " What are you doing here?"
The girl looked at him for a very long time before responding in a smooth voice that hid something dangerous behind it. " I'm on a mission."
His frown deepened still, one hand crept towards his weapons. " What kind of a mission?"
She chuckled. " I wouldn't be much of a ninja if I told you, now would I?"
Without wasting another moment he attacked, resulting in them spinning madly around each other, exchanging kicks and punches when neither had time for weapons or jutsus. " I'm not letting you harm my village, do you hear me?" he snarled, eyes flashing.
" I'm not harming anything – yet." Her eyes found his, pulling him into something he could only call enchantment. " And if I'd be on a mission to kill, don't you think I would've struck already?"
He swallowed, feeling hot and out of breath although they hadn't been fighting for longer than some minutes.
What the heck is it about this girl…?!
His thought was cut sharply by an unfamiliar boy's voice. " Eri!" Turning his head, he met a strangely familiar looking, about a year or so younger than they boy with short blonde hair and dark eyes. " Stop fooling around. We should go."
The girl – Eri – rolled her eyes. " Yeah, yeah. Hold your horses." She flashed a grin his way. " Until next time, Sarutobi." With that both of the strangers disappeared into a puff of smoke.
It took about a minute before he managed to gulp loudly and blink.
Who the hell had he just met? And why did she make him feel like this – as though he'd been set on fire?
" Kazuki." After jumping a bit at the sudden sound, he turned his gaze towards the female voice. Stood there was his best friend, Mitarashi Hikari – exactly one year younger than he girl with purple hair and sharp, deep mahogany eyes.
He frowned in an instant when seeing how tight her expression was. " What's wrong?"
The girl seemed to shudder. " You should come with me."
-
It took two hours before they started to slow down a little. " Exactly where are you taking me?"
" I got a message from Hanabi", Hikari explained in a tight voice. " Her team found something disturbing on their way to a mission."
His lips twitched, but never managed to open before the sight met him. He'd never wanted to throw up as badly as he did then.
There – held hanging from a tree with force he had no idea of – was a naked corpse of elderly man. There were several deep lazerations on the man's body, deepest of them on stomach (which had made most of the male's insides fall out) and throat (which, he figured, was the wound what'd killed the man). He could also see burn marks, some of them horrendously deep. Whoever had killed this man had been sure to make it the most painful way possible.
He took a deep breath to rid the desire to vomit. " Does Hokage-sama know?"
Hikari shook her head. " We haven't told him yet." The girl looked at him, eyes filled with something he couldn't recognize. " Kazuki, that… that's Danzou."
His eyes widened when he looked at the corpse once more and gasped. Pretty much everyone in their village knew the legend of Danzou, who'd caused a bitter, useless war and almost killed Naruto.
He was silent for a while, gathering his failing voice. " What… do you think this means?"
Hikari shook her head again, and he realized that it was the first time the girl didn't have an answer. " I don't know. And honestly… I'm not sure if I even want to."
A couple of blinks after they'd disappeared from Konoha, the two mysterious teens showed up in a rather huge, somewhat dark hall. Kabuto and the Student were there waiting for them. " Well?" the woman demanded.
" I managed to gather all the information I was supposed to." Eri glared towards the boy beside her. " You wouldn't have needed to send him to babysit me."
The boy snorted. " To me, it didn't seem like gathering information."
The Student's left eyebrow twitched. " About the information…?"
Knowing that there was no point in pushing the older further, she replied. " Everything looks fine. We can proceed exactly as planned."
" Good." The woman cast a somewhat annoyed look towards them. " Now go to train. If you still have enough energy to snap at each other, at least put it to good use."
-
Kabuto's eyes followed the teens until they'd disappeared. " So… It looks like the plan's working", he noted.
The Student's eyes flickered while she started throwing Senbons. " So it would seem."
He thought about approaching her, but then remembered that it wasn't exactly a smart idea when she was handling weapons. " How do we proceed?"
The woman admired one needle for a while before throwing it away. " We'll attack as soon as the training's done. Then, Naruto will either join me, or fight me. Either way…" She took yet another needle. " … it'll be interesting."
He nodded, knowing better than to speak further.
That seemingly frail woman had killed Madara, arranged the destruction of the Akatsuki and gained several deep scars when taking over the power those she'd destroyed had left behind. She'd killed those who'd opposed her, and he knew he was only alive because he'd been smart enough to stay quiet.
" Now…" She got up so abruptly that it almost startled him. " I've got an army of two thousand men out there waiting for my report. Make sure the brats don't do anything I wouldn't approve of in the meantime, will you?"
He nodded again. " Of course." Just then he came to think of something. " One more thing. Where were you earlier today."
The woman's back was to him, but he could still hear something chilling in her voice. " I… finally managed to take care of some filth." She waved a hand. " See you soon."
Once she was gone, he took a look at the wall, and arched an eyebrow at what the woman's needless had created.
Instead of the usual one crescent there were now two, moulding together and forming what looked like a sun.
As from that day, a new generation of Konohan ninjas started out their tireless fight against a new enemy.
New legends would soon be born, bright enough to challenge the old ones.
Owari.
A/N: And so it ends, where the next generation kicks in.
Before going, for I'm sure there are those of you who'd understandably desire a more closed ending… I've created a poll as to which of my NaruSasu ideas I should start working on next. 'Sequel to one of my former stories' is one option. So, if you'd like to see a sequel (oneshot or longer), please do vote, and also tell me exactly what kind of a sequel you'd desire, yeah? (grins)
But as for now…
THANK YOU, from the depths of my soul, for sticking around all this time and encouraging me forth! I couldn't imagine a greater audience than you guys, and I'll miss you even more than I'll miss this fic. (wipes eyes again)
So once more thank you, and please do leave a comment before you go, yeah?
All the very best, hugs and kisses!
To those who'd wish to read more from me later on…
As mentioned, there's a poll on my profile as to which NaruSasu fic I should start to work on next. Feel free to check it out and vote, yeah? (smirks)
realityfling18: First of all… GOSH! I don't have words to describe how happy I am to hear you liked all those lil' parts! (dances around with joy until some sedatives take affect) (Heh, I figured that Itachi couldn't have possibly left behind a better legacy than another Uchiha.)
You would've pleased to see Danzou suffer more, hmm? (smirks sadistically) Aa, we'll see what I can do…
My goodness, I can't believe this is coming to an end, either! (wipes moist eyes) You can't even imagine how much I've enjoyed the time I've spent with this one.
Colossal thank yous for the mind blowing review – it truly makes my heart swell to hear you've liked the chapter AND the story, let alone that you consider this one of your favorites! I really hope the epilogue will please you just as much.