Disclaimer: obviously I don't own the Naruto series.

Epilogue

My name is Caden. I'm now eight years old. My parents are Deidara and Sakura. I have a twin brother named Seth, and a little brother named Nyx (Mommy threw a fit over that name). Seth and I both have blonde hair and green eyes. Poor Nyx has a kind of pink-ish hair, like Mommy, and blue eyes. It clashes pretty badly.

Mommy told me a lot of what happened, and how we came to be a family. I thought it was kind of sad. But I'm glad she stayed with Daddy because we all love each other and have so much fun.

Anyway, it's tough to have two brothers. They're so competitive! I beat them at almost everything, though; healing, explosive making, weapons, etcetera. The only thing Seth beats me at is flying.

Did I mention I have mouths on my hands? Seth does too, but Nyx doesn't yet. Nyx is only four and Daddy said they usually don't show up until you're five or six. But he said that Nyx might now get them at all.

Mommy says that when she was pregnant with Seth and me, that her old Hokage had 'coincidentally' sent all of Sakura's old girl friends on missions at the same time. Mommy said it had been a lot of fun.

I know she loves Daddy, but she misses her old village and friends too. There's one person she never talks about, but who Daddy said is usually on her mind. He told us that she didn't want to talk about him. Daddy said that he'd been Mommy's best friend before she'd left her village. His name was Naruto. I don't remember what else he told us. You'll have to ask Seth. He remembers everything.

Mommy teaches us about the history of Ninja, and tactics, and maps, and all the boring book things. Daddy teaches us how to fight and stuff. But Mommy teaches us how to heal. She says it's super hard and takes years to even understand the teeniest bit. I'm okay at it, I guess. I can heal little cuts and bruises all by my self. Mommy says that I have a talent for it, since I've only been learning it for about a year. I don't think it's too good.

I've seen what Mommy can do from the few times rogue Ninja tried to attack us. I made her promise to teach me chakra control. She said she would and that she'd teach me Genjutsu too! I'm excited for that.

Daddy has taught me a lot of Kunai and Shuriken tricks. He says that I'm as good as any Leaf Ninja Chuunin. I can make up to C3 explosives too. They take me awhile though and Daddy has to take us far away to test them. I think it's the rogue territory between Sound and Waterfall…

Anyway, I'm pretty good at Ninja stuff.

Nyx has almost caught up to Seth and me in the book work and weapons. Mommy said she'd start teaching him healing when he turns five and Daddy is going to teach him explosives and flying if and when his palm-mouths show up. I hope they do soon so he can catch up to us.

Mommy said she wants us to be good Ninja and return to a village one day. She said she wants to return to Leaf, but she can't. I don't know why that could be.

Well, that's basically what happened in the last eight years.

It's October twenty-seventh today; almost Halloween. Halloween is my favorite holiday because everything gets spookier.

Mommy and Daddy usually set up a haunted house course for us to practice on. It's pretty scary sometimes. Nyx started crying last year, but I don't blame him. It ghosts and a zombie and lots of things that popped out at you.

So anyway, while I was in the yard this morning doing target practice with some kunai, (I didn't miss a single one!) I felt the little tinge of chakra heading towards us. I ran inside to tell Mommy and Daddy, but I think they noticed already.

Mommy straightened her clothes, took Daddy's hand, and went to stand in front of our house.

A weird girl with long, blonde hair and blue eyes came to stand in front of them. She looked a lot like Daddy. I got ready to throw a kunai at her, but Mommy looked at me and gave me a hard stare.

She motioned for me to round up my brothers and stand with her. I grabbed Nyx, who was deeply concentrated on a tactics book, and Seth who was playing with his explosive clay (I gave him a dirty look for that) and dragged them outside.

Mommy seemed to be talking to the other woman.

When I got to her side, she introduced us. "Ino, these are my children." She paused to smile. "Caden and Seth, the twins… and Nyx."

Ino raised an eyebrow. "Nyx sure is an… interesting name."

"Mmm." Mommy sighed. "Deidara chose that one."

"They sure do look a lot like you." Ino smiled.

Mommy chuckled. "Ino, you of all people should have known they would."

Ino laughed with her.

"So Ino," Daddy stated, "I'm assuming there's a reason behind this visit? I know Tsunade wouldn't risk sending someone if there wasn't an important reason."

"Actually, Tsunade didn't send me…" Ino said hesitantly. "She retired last year. Naruto is Hokage now." She bit her lip at the end.

Mommy let a smile cross her face. "Good for him." she murmured.

Daddy wrapped an arm around her waist. "Did someone send you, or did you just come to let us know?"

"Ah… Naruto sent me."

"What?!" Daddy sounded a little angry.

"Really?" Mommy said hopefully. "Why?"

Ino held out a sealed letter to her. "I don't know what's inside."

Mommy took it from her. Daddy took it before she broke the seal. "Let me," he murmured.

Ino nodded approvingly as Daddy opened the letter.

Nothing popped out and ate him, so I guess that was a good thing. He pulled a sheet of paper out. It was covered in messy, slanted writing.

He read through it before handing it to Mommy. Tears began to stream down her cheeks as she read it.

"Mommy! What's wrong?" I hugged her tightly. I read the letter sneakily from that position. I couldn't help my curiosity.

Sakura, it read;

I know that it has been years since I've talked to you. You have every excuse to hate me, but I've finally got an apology for you. How I reacted all those years ago was unacceptable. I'm sorry. I already had lost Sasuke, and the prospect of losing you too hurt me. I've grown up since then. I know now that I wouldn't have lost you at all. I would have just had to share you. The way I acted was what drove you away. Sakura, you're still my best friend, even if I'm not yours. I'm sure Ino has already told you that I'm the Hokage now. I think Tsunade knew that the responsibility of this job would mature me and lead to the apology I'm writing now. She's still in the village. She works at the hospital as Senior Advisor. She doesn't do a whole lot of healing now, unless it's an emergency. I know how much she misses you. You were like a daughter to her. What I'm trying to say, Sakura, is that I miss you. As Hokage, I grant you and Deidara permission to enter Konoha. I'm sorry that's all I can do. The Elders are as stingy as always and won't approve any more at the moment. Please come back. I know they'll restore your citizenship and grant Deidara the same. I know that you've had children by now, and the Elders will grab a hold of the chance to introduce a new bloodline limit to Konoha. You know how they drool over them. Please.

Love Always,

Uzumaki Naruto

That explained why Mommy was crying. It was because she was happy.

"What does it say?" asked Ino.

"He wants me to come back." Mommy sniffled. She looked up at Daddy.

He nodded gently. "If you want to, Sakura, you know that I'll come with you."

"Oh please, please, please, Sakura!" Ino exclaimed. "We've all missed you so much! Especially Lee." She winked.

Mommy rolled her eyes. "He seriously hasn't moved on?"

Ino shook her head. "He dated some girl for awhile, but he broke up with her 'because he still loved his sweet, sweet Sakura'."

Daddy cracked his knuckles. "He won't be feeling much of anything soon."

"Calm down," Mommy laughed.

"Please Sakura?" Ino begged. "Tsunade has been in wrecks and Kakashi's health has been heading downhill since you left."

Mommy bit her lip. "Really?" She seemed on the verge of tears.

"Do you really have to ask, Ino? Of course we'll go." Daddy answered promptly.

Mommy looked up at him in surprise. Ino nodded, waved in temporary separation, and left.

Daddy turned to me. "You and your brothers go start packing up your stuff. We'll leave in the morning. You're going to get to go to a real academy!"

I beamed before frowning. "Will I have to learn all the boring stuff again?"

Daddy sighed. "We'll see if we can work out a placement test for the three of you. How about that?"

I nodded. "Thank you Daddy!" I kissed his cheek, and dragged my brothers back inside. "Pack." I commanded.

They pouted; they didn't like it when I was in charge, and grudgingly went about their business.

A large grin spread across my face. I liked to be in command. I set about packing my own bag. I knew I supposed to keep it light and easy to carry, but I just had so many things and I couldn't possibly choose what to bring. I ended up with a large bag full of my favorite clothes, weapons, and toys. I knew my mom wouldn't be happy with me for my packing.

I dragged the bag downstairs and set it by the door. I was glad to see that my brothers had fairly large packs as well; that meant some of the heat would be taken off of me.

When my mom came back in, she glanced at our bags, looked at us, and just shook her head in frustration. She disappeared up the stairs. She returned in less than ten minutes with two small bags slung over her shoulder.

"You have two." I complained.

She sighed and brushed her hair behind her shoulders. "One is your father's." she told me.

"Those are really small." I squeaked. "How can you fit everything you need in there?"

My mom chuckled lightly. "It's something you learn as a ninja, Caden. Packing lightly saves you time and energy. Only bring essentials; only the weapons you need to carry on your person with the exception of scrolls and bring only as much clothing as you'll need. And toiletries." She added with a laugh. "If we need anything else, we can get it in Konoha."

I nodded. "That makes sense, but we're not going on a mission. We're moving, aren't we? I can't leave my stuff behind!"

Mommy sighed. "Well you're the only one who will be carrying it, so it's your own choice."

I grinned. "When do we leave?"

"Now." Daddy came in through the door. He took his own bag from mommy and turned to leave. "Let's go."

It was a long run to Konoha, and my bag was super heavy, like Mommy said it would be.

I did manage to make it all the way there by some miracle. The huge town in front of me put me in awe. All I'd even known was the little cottage back in the forest.

I noticed that Daddy seemed a little on edge, but Mommy seemed happy and at ease. At the entrance gate, she stopped to embrace the two guards and chat with them for several minutes. Actually, she stopped every few feet or so to repeat the same process. Everyone seemed happy so see my mom and she seemed happy to see them too. I asked Daddy, and he said she'd once lived here.

Well that explained it.

It took forever to get to the center of the town where the biggest building was. The Hokage's office, I'd been told.

I followed Mommy inside where she hesitated before a large door. After a few moments she knocked softly.

"Come in," A sturdy voice called. "Sakura." The last bit was delayed. My mom bit her lip.

With one last breath, she opened the door. "Naruto?"

The blonde man behind the desk stood up. "I'm sorry, Sakura."

My Mommy ran forward to embrace him. "It's okay. I know your temper. I honestly don't blame you." She was crying.

That made me angry. "Why are you making my mom cry?" I growled. I would've run forward to stomp on his foot if Daddy hadn't grabbed my shoulders.

"Oh," my Mommy said, pulling her face away from his chest. "This is my daughter, Caden, and my two boys, Seth and Nyx. And, uh, obviously you know Deidara." She shuffled her feet nervously.

"They look just like you two." Naruto smiled. He crouched down so he wouldn't be looking down on me. "I wasn't making your mom cry on purpose," he apologized with a small smile. "We just haven't seen each other in years. We grew up together."

"Oh." I frowned.

He chuckled. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki." He held out his hand for me to shake. I sighed and took it, knowing that I'd get a lecture if I didn't.

"I'm Caden. I might be little, but I'm a good fighter." I said fiercely.

"I bet. I'd like to see it… so I can place you in the Academy."

I beamed. "Really? You'll do that?"

"Well, we wouldn't want you to start off below your level, would we?"

Daddy took us to a little apartment complex after a short talk with Naruto. Mommy stayed behind. He settled us in and told us he'd be back soon because he was going to get some things. He warned us to get a good night's sleep because we'd be placed tomorrow and it "wouldn't do us any good to be tired". So we listened. We ate the last of the rations we'd brought and fell asleep.

I hoped I'd get into an advanced class. Even in my sleep, I went over everything I'd learned.

The next day, I placed at the class' top level. Seth and Nyx placed the same.

"I can't place you above Genin. That's for the teacher to decide." Naruto had apologized. "They hold the Chunnin exams." I smiled and thanked him. Mommy had been with us in the training grounds, but when I ran over to tell her how well I'd done, she was spacing out.

"We're finally home." She murmured absently.

A/N: Well, I guess this is it. A little sad, isn't it? I apologize for the annoying writing, but the point of view is from an eight year old. My cheesy, optimistic side won out over my morbid and depressed side with this story, though I'll admit I had several less happy endings planned out. I will probably be writing an ItaSaku oneshot next (Sakura is my lovely pairing whore, sadly) and most likely a Twilight fic. I'll be coming back to DeiSaku soon, in all likelihood!