Well, this is the last chapter but there will be a short Sequel.

at Chewie Cookies: Thank you so much for your support. You really kept me going.

at chrysant: Thank you for reviewing my chapters. No, Gaara would not become a Leaf citizen. He would become the "director" of the United Nations Academy, so he'd be a Citizen of a Neutral Country like Iron, but not of one of the five shinobi nations. I would wirte you a Shikatema Story, given you have an idea for me.

at devilzxknight86: I know what you mean, but since the Bloodlines would then belong to all the countries, all of them would keep their secrets safe inside their limited family. It's not like they are now advertising their abilities, they keep them in the family, only said family can now extend over the borders. Thanks for your opinion.

at Ayrmed: Thank you so much for always leaving a comment. I will keep writing, but for now I have other fandoms that I'd love to post something about, but I do have more ideas for Naruto.

Thanks to all of you for reading so far and have fun with the ending.

-22-

"What?! We don't even get to see a kiss? After all the trouble we went through?" Naruto had his arms slung over Hinata's shoulder and his gaze shifted between the other two present parties in disappointment.

"Well, we are sorry that we don't feel the need to display our affection in the disgusting way you have to shove it in everyone's face," Hanabi said dignified.

Naruto's mouth fell open. "Hinata, your sister called us disgusting."

"No," Hanabi clarified. "I called your constant urge to feel up my sister disgusting."

"Hinata, I'm not disgusting am I?" he whined and tugged her closer.

In response she nuzzled her nose in his blond hair, "Of course not, Naruto."

He smiled brightly. "See! Hinata doesn't think I'm disgusting. She loves me."

"Whatever!" Hanabi rolled her eyes. Her silver eyes locked with Gaara's and she gave him a small but intense smile.

They had never been keen on showing their love in public, but one look at one another was all they needed to know how the other felt. Gaara's expression softened a fraction as he stared at the woman he loved and finally had back.

"We are leaving tomorrow, Hanabi. I assume you'd like to spend your last evening with your family?"

It was his silent permission for her to postpone their true reunion to a later more intimate setting. Not that she needed permission, but she was glad they were on the same page.

"Most definitely." She grabbed her sisters arm and proceeded to drag her out of the door. But not before making sure to brush past Gaara before leaving the room.

"Hey, give her back." Naruto protested. Hanabi turned around in the doorframe to face him and stuck her tongue out then she gave one last stunning smile to Gaara and then the sisters were out the door.

The blond smirked before he turned to one of his best friends and former fellow Kage. "So Gaara what are we going to do with our free time? – Exactly: guys night. You read my mind. We haven't done that in ages."

Gaara was left to wonder when exactly he had said that … or when they had ever had a guy's night. Nevertheless he was looking forward to spend the night with his first friend; it would be quite some time before they would be able to do that again.

Of course he had missed Hanabi like mad, but knowing he was to spent the rest of his life (because really that was what he was planning) with her, he could wait another day if it meant to be away from prying eyes. Hanabi was right, they were not Naruto and Hinata, they were not that kind of couple and he was pretty sure that if she wanted that kind of behavior from him, they would not have ended up in a relationship.

…

"You know…" Karui had trouble forming the words as she and Kiba stumbled through the house, trying to make it to the bedroom, and potentially failing, "we should… hmmm… maybe…" a moan, "look where we're going."

Kiba ignored her for the most part and instead did what he should have done from the start and lifted her up by the waist. She wrapped her legs around him and he growled at the contact.

In the end they really didn't make it to the bed, and it wouldn't even have been that bad, if they had accomplished what they so desperately wanted to do. Instead they tripped, halfway, on an overly excited Igi, who felt quite neglected and was demanding for Kiba to pat and praise him for a task well done. Karui was protected and safe from other men, the whole time through after all.

So in the end, Kiba did manage to get Karui under him but unfortunately it was the floor and the yelping dog didn't exactly add up to a romantic atmosphere.

He felt her laughter before he heard it. Her face was pressed into his chest and he felt the pearls of laughter resonate through his body. He pushed himself off of her and onto his upper arms, for a few seconds he simply stared down on her in wonder, glad to have her back. And then they laughed together with Igi happily running around, trying to get her head in between them and demand a stroke and Hanta joining in with loud bellowing.

Finally Kiba helped the red head up and wrapped his arms around her, "You have no idea how happy I am to have you back."

"Trust me I do," she breathed into his ear. She squeezed him closer and suddenly tears started to leak without her having any control over it.

"Karui, what's wrong?" Concerned Kiba angled his body away from her and brushed the tears from her cheek.

Unable to answer him, Karui clung to his shoulders and continued to sob. Carefully Kiba picked her up, shooed the dogs away and made his way to the bedroom. After ensuring that the door was closed properly and the dogs couldn't come in, Kiba lowered his girlfriend down on the mattress. Her grip on his was like steel and she refused to let go of him even in the slightest.

For the past year Karui had raged and fought and thrown around stuff, but she had never grieved, never cried (unless they were tears of anger) and now that she was safe in his arms again, she was finally able to let go of the pent up pain.

"It's fine, Karui," Kiba ran his hands over her back soothingly. "I'm right here. I'll never let anyone take you from me again."

He felt her nod against his chest and Kiba closed his eyes in a futile attempt to keep his own eyes dry. The stress that kept them tightly strung together fell from them and he felt it as much as she did. To have Karui back was a huge relief and his hot tears dripped down and mingled with her red tresses.

"I've missed you so much," her voice broke in between the sobs.

"Me too."

The whispered words in her hair made her tightened her hold on him.

Neither of them would have been able to recall how long they had simply laid there in one another's embrace and even when the tears ceased, no one made a move to move away and allow distance between them.

Then slowly they started talking, about everything that happened in the year they've been apart. Kiba grinned like a Cheshire cat when Karui told him about Igi's quest to attack any and all guys who tried to get near her. This caused him to wince at the hard stab Karui managed to land on his side.

There was a lot to talk about and before they knew it Karui yawned, exhausted from the journey and emotionally drained.

"Sorry," she looked up at him sheepishly.

"No reason to apologize, hot stuff," he grinned, "you've got plenty of time to make up for it tomorrow."

…

"Absolutely not!" Tenten insisted yet again.

"But Tenten, think about it!" Karin said exited, wildly wailing her arms. "Our two handsome devils waiting in front of the altar. And then you and I walk down the aisle together, side by side and…"

"I think what Tenten means to say is, that we wouldn't want you to share your very special day, your wedding should be all about you," Neji supported his fiancée. He was just as eager to have a double wedding with the Rocks as Tenten….hence the sarcasm.

"Don't be stupid, Neji!" Lee clapped him on the back. "Joy gets only greater when you share it!"

"That was beautiful, Lee-kun," Karin sniffled and her fiancé gave her the thumps up.

Tenten gave Neji a pained look, one he could only reciprocate. They had talked about this before; already having a feeling something like that was bound to happen. Together they had decided to build a united front against all attempts at something like that.

Neji rolled his eyes and Tenten averted her eyes to keep from laughing. She clapped his hands in her own and squeezed hard one time to keep him from saying anything that would upset the happy couple in front of them.

He gave her a withering look but sighed in agreement. Neji cleared his throat, "We are honoured that you'd like to share this most important day with us, however we must decline. The Hyuga Clan insists on a very formal traditional wedding… with only two involved parties."

Karin's face fell and Lee was at her side in a matter of seconds, "Do not fret my love. I assure you we will have the most beautiful of all weddings."

"Yes, and think about it. If you're the only ones getting married, you can do it exactly the way you'd like it. No compromises of anything like that." Tenten encouraged the red head.

All of the sudden Karin's ruby eyes sparkled with mirth, "Lee, that means we can have the green spandex bridesmaid dresses and groomsmen suits!"

Neji's breath stopped in shock. There was simply no way that he had managed to avoid "the green suit of horror" more than a decade only to fall into his traps now! And if he had hoped to find a partner in his future wife he was deadly mistaken. Oh, she would be willing to wear that horrible dress (especially considering that Karin pulled them off rather well) if it meant to get Neji in the green spandex.

The death glare that he sent her way after she expressed her delight at the idea, would have sent shivers of terror through man twice her size, his lovely fiancée instead was unfazed and dared to even send him an innocent smile.

…

He tried really hard not to let his impatience show but couldn't help his eyes flickering to the clock every other minute. The council was taking especially long this time, Kankuro decided while watching the second hand go for another round.

After another fifteen excruciating minutes the council was finally adjourned and Kankuro let out a breath in relief.

He had barely made it through the door when Matsuri appeared out of nowhere. His assistant gave him an apologetic smile, "There's someone waiting at your office."

At least Matsuri had the decency to look rueful, "After that I cleared the rest of your day." She added for good measure.

He sighed and made his way to the Kazekage's office. A look at the clock told him, that Sakura would probably arrive within the next half hour, so he was determined to get whoever this was out of his office as soon as possible.

Matsuri smirked after his retreating back. If that didn't get her the title "best-assistant-ever" she didn't know what would.

Kankuro swept into his office, "How may I hel…" He stopped dead in his tracks when he laid eyes on the pink tresses and the woman they were attached to.

"Sakura," her name left his lips almost breathless.

Shyly Sakura tucked a strand back and smiled hesitantly, "Kazekage-sama."

A guttural growl escaped him and she found herself backed against the desk. Before she could utter even a single sound of surprise his lips were on hers.

Her arms wound around his neck and she forced him closer. He lifted her up and stepped between her legs. He worked fast and Sakura couldn't comprehend when precisely his hand had found its way underneath her shirt.

It was too fast, way too fast and she pushed against his chest. Kankuro snarled but took a step back, although unwillingly.

"So, you're happy to see me then?" Sakura giggled nervously.

And Kankuro raised an eyebrow, "Whatever gave you that idea?"

Her hand went to her hair again and Kankuro watched with narrowed eyes as her soft hair got smoothed behind her ear.

"You didn't think I'd wait," he stated plainly.

She shuffled slightly before him, "I did! … Kind of – I mean, I wanted to, but…" she trailed off.

The tall man sighed, "Sakura, don't take this the wrong way, but could you get those ridiculous insecurities out of your system, so we can move this to a more comfortable place?"

Her green eyes narrowed and she stemmed her hands into the side, "You stupid, insensible jerk, you don't seriously think, you'll get to just lay me, right after I've come back!"

Kankuro groaned and his head fell back, "It's been a freaking year!"

Sakura couldn't help it; a bright smile found its way to her face and her heart fluttered in her chest like mad, "Well, at least buy me dinner first."

He was up and running before she even finished her sentence. Laughing she let him drag her by the hand behind him.

…

"We have to decide what to give Karin and Lee and also Neji and Tenten to their respective weddings."

Chouji opened one eye lazily and cast a look at the woman snuggled up to his side. It was still early and he would have liked to spend a few more minutes in blissful slumber. But then again, waking up next to Ino was worth losing a bit of sleep.

Her fingers drew circles on his shoulder and turned to face her, "Ino, I can be wrong, but don't we have, like loads of time for that. I mean we didn't even get an invitation or anything." His face showed a frown, unsure if he had missed the envelope or something.

Ino sat up and looked down at him, "I know that, but I want our gift to be the most thoughtful and most awesome. I won't let Sakura beat me at this!"

His frown deepened and he was afraid to ask if there was some kind of story there. Knowing how deep their rivalry ran apparently right over to ridiculous present giving.

"And you want us to…"

Instead of completing his sentence she kept looking at him expectantly.

"…to get out of this warm, incredibly soft and awesome bed and browse the stores for only an idea of what we might buy for a wedding for which we are not even yet invited to."

Judging from the exited look on her face she must have heard something along the lines of, "let's go and look for a present so that we may beat Sakura at this and while we're at it let's go and find you something pretty."

With a huge smile she jumped out of the bed leaving Chouji in her wake with a groan on his lips. A look on the clock told him that there was no chance in hell that a store would even be open.

Ino stormed back in, "Why aren't you getting up?" She went over to him and shook his shoulders. With surprisingly fast reflexes for his sleep induced state he pulled her down and rolled her over so that she was trapped underneath him, carefully not to crush her with his weight.

"Chouji," Ino shrieked in shock at the sudden movement. "Chouji get off me! We need to stand up now!"

The man half buried her under him, mindful of their large weight difference, "No we'll stay right here in bed and don't move until the shops open in the very last."

"But we could already be brainstorming because later on we'll have to go to Shikamaru and then we'll visit Kiba and say hello to Temari and Karui, one day should be enough for them to…"

He cut her off by tickling her side and Ino shrieked with attempts to get him off and laughter.

"Later, I promise." Chouji mumbled still tired.

A soft smile graced Ino's lips after she calmed from the laughter, she ran her fingers through his thick hair and sighed when his easy snoring reached her ears. Perhaps a few hours wouldn't be that bad.

…

Temari eyed the house suspiciously. When she arrived yesterday they had been very wrapped up in each other, so it was only this morning while they were fixing breakfast that she had the chance to inspect the state their house was in. And with every blank surface and every swept floor the unease in her grew.

Out of the corner of his eyes Shikamaru gulped at the intense scrutiny the house had to go through. He took another spoon full of cereal and tried desperately not to let his gaze wander to the door behind which the chaos reign. He had been smart enough to put a small cupboard in front of it and had draped some coats on the door so that they concealed the door handle.

"Is everything alright, Tema?" Shikamaru asked with feigned nonchalance.

"Of course… did you clean the house before I came?"

He smirked, "Why should I have? It's not as if I'd be unable to keep the house in order while you're gone? I only swept it roughly."

By the way her eyes narrowed he knew he had just made a crucial mistake. Slowly Temari rose from her seat while keeping her eyes on him. He knew he was doomed, yet Shikamaru could not help the pleasant shivers her hot gaze sent over his back. Hell, he was so glad to have her back. Now if only she wouldn't find that door.

"So, you had no trouble to keep the house tidy and clean without me?" Temari leaned over the table and closer to him.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he gulped and tried very hard not to glance at the door. With their gazes firmly locked he finally stood up as well, "That's exactly what I'm saying."

"You're telling me then, that I could go check every room in this house and they would all be tidy?"

Do not look at the door, do not look at the door…. Crap! His eyes had flickered, only for a second but enough to cause a triumphant smile to appear on her face.

Temari marched right over to that door and shoved all the stuff hindering her to open it to the side. Shikamaru closed his eyes as she pulled the door open.

Her mouth fell open at the chaos that awaited her inside, dirty socks and other clothes piled up together with half eaten cans of food she rather not know more about.

He expected the worst really, she'd freak out. Temari really liked it when thinks were neat and orderly. His eyes shot open when he was suddenly confronted with pearls of laughter. His brows furrowed in confusion.

"You did all of that for me?" She managed to say between breaths.

"By that you mean, pushing all the stuff in one closet instead of actually tidying up?" he asked.

Slowly her laughter died out and she gave him a dazzling smile instead, "By all that I mean. Running all around the house like a headless chicken, trying to impress me, by making it look like you could take care of yourself."

He huffed at the headless chicken, she couldn't possible know that!

She turned to him and stepped a bit closer to him. Her hands rested on his collar and she pulled him down in a searing kiss.

"You never cease to surprise me," he mumbled when they broke apart.

"I know…you'll still have to clean that up though."

"Mmhh" he agreed lazily, "later." And with that he picked her up and walked them to their much tidier bed room.

…

"I'm missing Konoha, but I must admit I quite enjoy it in Kiri." Shiho leaned back on the veranda and breathed in the humid air, that their insects loved so much.

Her boyfriend agreed silently next to her and put an arm around her shoulders.

"It's like nothing has changed, isn't it?" he said.

"Well, it probably hasn't. I don't think anyone lived in this apartment. It's very secluded and close to the water. Most people don't like living here," the blonde relaxed. "Don't you miss it? Konoha and all your friends?"

He stayed silent for a few minutes, "I do. Why? Because my friends are very important to me, however I do believe that we will be most useful to them ensuring the good relationships with the other countries."

Shiho couldn't help the smile at his words. She had always liked how Shino was able to put everything in words. He was someone who really and truly thought about what he wanted to convey. Most people didn't and they ended up saying the wrong things or hurtful things. Shiho should know that, she had failed the academy harshly and the insults had cut her deep. She had later found her true passion in science and encryption but before that it was hard. And she was so happy to know that Shino would never do that.

"You're right. Besides the bugs love it," she watched how a slow smile spread across his face.

He was so very passionate about his bugs and while many other might find it off-putting, Shiho could relate so very well to that.

She snuggled a little closer to him and his body warmth.

"We should get inside. It's getting chilly." Shino remarked and as always her heart fluttered at his consideration.

"Yes, yes we should."

…

"Finally!" Hanabi let out a breath as she let herself fall into the soft mattress.

After leaving Konoha they had reached Iwa only a few hours ago and then they were immediately brought in a meeting with the Tsuchikage.

They hadn't had a moment alone since their reunion – well that wasn't exactly true but none of them were too keen on exchanging caresses in the Hyuga household.

"It was nice of them to give us one room, don't you think?" Hanabi probed herself on her elbows.

Gaara stayed where he was in the middle of the room, his eyes darkened as his gaze narrowed in on her. Only her and Hanabi felt her heart flutter, she bit her lips and returned his gaze.

He stepped closer, one step after another until he was towering over her and she looked at him expectantly, the smile gone from her lips.

With their gazes locked Hanabi propped herself up higher until her body was barely brushing against Gaara's. His arms were next to her head trapping her as he leaned above her with one knee in between her legs.

They hadn't yet found the time, or rather the privacy to talk about the year that lay past them. And even now none of them had any desire to dwell on the matter too long. Right now other desires were overshadowing their need to talk. Neither of the two was able to look away or move. Gaara felt her breath on his face ever so faint and the breeze made him apprehend that she was truly there and he didn't think he'd ever find the words how very much that meant to him. Sometimes during the past year, in the very little time he had managed to find sleep he had dreamed of something like that, most of the time however he was plagued by nightmares. Nightmares about his past, about being alone once again, about never having meet Naruto, about still being the monster he was once more. Hanabi's presence reassured him that those days were in the past and for just a few more moments he wanted to look at her.

Very slowly Hanabi lifted one of her hands and ran it through his crimson hair. She started just above his ear and he leaned into her touch. His forehead rested against hers and he closed his eyes.

"I've missed you," she breathed and it was like her words broke all restrained.

Their lips clashed, his arm wound around her waist to bring her body closer to his and her fingers tugged at his hair. She broke free for only a few seconds, "I love you, too."

…

He stood at the window when she opened the door to his office silently. She smiled at the proud look on his face as he gazed down on the village.

"What are you thinking about?" Hinata asked and the Hokage turned to her and gestured for her to join him.

She stepped next to him but he pulled her in front of him and rested his head on top of hers and his arms locked her close to him.

"Naruto?"

"We did it," he answered simply.

"Yes," Hinata frowned, "haven't we already established that?"

"It's sinking in only now," Naruto's voice was rough. "We were so close to lose everything. It was really terrifying. If it had been you… I mean, if we had been separated like that, I don't know…." He shuddered at the thought. "I don't want to lose you."

"You won't. I'll stay for as long as you want to me too."

"Forever then?"

"I'd like that."

His arms tightened their hold, "I wish I had a ring."

Hinata's eyes went wide and she twirled around, "What?"

"Ah, I messed that up, didn't I? I wanted to do it really romantic and stuff, with a ring and all that and…"

She cut him off by throwing her arms around him and pulling him into a breath-taking kiss.

"This is perfect!" She reassured.

Naruto chuckled, "Good."

She turned around and leaned against him once again and they watched how the sun started to set.

"…So this is a yes, right?"

So this is it. Tell me what you think.