Disclaimer: Alright, here we go guys! Hope you re-read the past chapters and stories at some point because a LOT of old jokes are coming back! I don't own Naruto.

~The Engagement Party~

Naruto glanced around the room. A larger number guests decided to attend than he had anticipated.

Several of Kiba's relatives were on the dance floor, enjoying Bee-sensei's and Shin- DJ BeaTallz's music. Of course, Bee couldn't perform at an event like this without an entourage; if the Raikage sitting grumpily in the corner was any indication. Naruto had already spoken to him earlier. And the hardheaded leader was none too pleased. But he never was anyway, so who cares? The blond was pretty sure that Bee would talk him down from starting an all out war later.

It seemed that Karui also had a hand in bringing him to the party. But she appeared to be in the middle an important conversion with Choji right now...

"So, you can enlarge any part of your body at will?" the golden-eyed woman asked seductively, eyeing Choji like a piece of meat. "I'm intrigued. Please, tell me more."

Naruto failed to catch Choji's stuttered reply, and he had no desire to know! Instead, the blond continued trying to find where Hinata had wandered off to. At long last, he found her glancing up at the large ink portrait hanging over the refreshments table.

"It's a lovely piece Sai-san," Hinata innocently said to the man standing next to her. "What did you decide to call it?"

"Uh oh!" thought Naruto as he quickly made his way through the crowd.

"I'm pleased that you like it," Sai replied and took a deeply satisfied breath. "It's called-"

Fortunately, the blond made it just in time to slap a hand over Sai's dirty mouth.

"Don't you dare," hissed Naruto, before letting out a nervous laugh, turning to address Hinata.

"Oh, you know Sai. Sometimes it's hard for him to think up a name..." The blond then removed his hand and placed it on Sai's shoulder. His gripped tightened threateningly. "Right, Sai?"

"H-hai," the other man quickly agreed. "I'm sure I'll think of an appropriate title, eventually."

Hinata just blinked at the odd behave in confusion. "Oh, alright then..."

Naruto then dragged Sai off into the crowd to have a quick word with him, while Kiba came up to Hinata for a chat.

"Would you like a glass of punch Hinata? It's pretty good."

"Um, no thank you," she politely declined. "I'm not thirsty yet. Is it alcoholic?"

"What? No," Kiba said with a snort. "Naruto wouldn't let us, especially since we're in the new house."

Hinata let out a breathy laugh, her fox had already become quite protective of the place.

"Well, I believe that was wise. Especially with so many dignitaries here."

Kiba took another big swig of his drink as Naruto returned to Hinata's side. He gave the wolf man a frigid glared. He still hadn't forgotten what his friend had done after that hellish "Rite of Marriage Ritual"...

*We quick cut to Kiba untying Naruto from the pole. Before the exhausted blond hits the ground, Kiba suddenly knees him in the groin. "Te-me!" Naruto gasps, withering around in abject pain. As the wolf boy triumphantly declares, "And that's for letting me be the last to know!"*

"What do you want?" Naruto asked. Clearly, still pissed at him. But Kiba put on his most innocent face and replied, "Nothing more than to congratulate the happy couple."

For a moment, Hinata was then distracted by Kurenai and Anko coming over to say "hi."

Seizing the opportunity, Kiba wickedly whispered to the blond. "So, have you told Hinata yet that you remember seeing her naked?"

"KIBA-" he began to growl, but was interrupted by a very stern voice. "I beg your pardon, what was that about my daughter?"

Both men visibly gulped and sweatdropped. "Hiashi-sama! Hahaha! Hello, uh- Kiba was just joking."

"Yeah..." he replied nervously, not wanting the blond to get into this much trouble. "You know me and crude language!"

Luckily, Hinata's arrival saved them from further explanation. "Otosan!" she gasped in shock. Upon seeing her father, the dark-haired woman suddenly remembered an important fact that had slipped her mind.

"Oh, father! The council!" she exclaimed in horror. "Naruto-kun! We have to-"

But Hinata's father merely shook his head and placed a hand upon her shoulder.

"There is no need to worry my daughter," he said reassuringly. "Your 'fiance' already went through the proper channels in order to obtain the council's permission. Everything is as it should be."

Hinata turned and looked at Naruto in complete surprise. "He did all that?" she thought lovingly, as the blond blushed in embarrassment. "Well... I always knew the Hyuga had all sorts of rules for just about everything, so I wanted to make sure-"

The dark-haired woman let out a breathy laugh and gave Naruto a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Arigato, Naruto-kun. That was quite thoughtful."

A bashful grin split across the blond's face as he nervously scratched the back of his head. "Well, yah know. I'd do anything for you, Hinata-chan. I love you."

"Gahh! There they go, getting all lovely-dovey again!" interrupted Hanabi with a gagging motion causing Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon, Mirai and Nori to laugh.

Team Sarutobi then started singing as one, "Naruto and Hinata, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

Which made the two youngest fall to the floor and roll around in laughter.

Naruto's face immediately switched to being red with anger. "What are all you brats doing here?"

"Because they wanted to say congratulations before Hiashi-sama and I took them home," Iruka explained, with a light sigh. "Ayame and I are watching Mirai for the night while Kurenai stays for a while to celebrate."

Seeing Iruka-sensei, instantly calmed the blond back down. "Ahh... okay," he said with a quick nod before turning back to the kids. "Thanks for coming guys."

"Hai," Hinata agreed, and gave each of them a big hug. "It means a lot to us."

"You're welcome, Hinata-chan!"

"Love you, Nee-chan!"

"Yeah, we're so happy for you!"

"Congratulations, Hinata. I'm immensely happy for you both," Iruka added onto the children's chorus of well wishes.

Hiashi then let out a laboring sigh. "Alright everyone. I believe it is time to go." The stern man then turned to his daughter and gave her a small bow. "Congratulations my daughter, you have my most heartfelt blessing."

Hinata's wide eyes began welling with tears. When he straightened again, Hiashi reached out a shaking hand to gently brush them away. "You have grown into an incredible woman, my child. I couldn't be prouder."

"Otosan," she gasped, pulling her father into a loving embrace. For a moment, Hiashi's hands reflexively twitched, having not held her in such a way in years. Hesitantly, the man then slowly reached out and returned the gesture.

After a while, Hiashi finally straightened and Hinata relinquished her hold. The stern man gave her a final nod of approval and turned to the younger children. "Let's be off then."

As Iruka and the kids started walking toward the door, Hiashi briefly stopped beside Naruto's ear and whispered, "That had better been a joke, boy. Because if I find out it wasn't-"

The man ignited his byakugan for a second, and gave the blond a threatening glare, and then immediately left with a flourish.

Naruto placed a shaky hand to his forehead in relief. "Well, at least that's over," thought the blond and then went over to see if Hinata was ready to continue mingling with the other party guests...

Meanwhile, over by the refreshments table, Orochimaru was innocently standing beside the punch bowl.

This was not a good sign.

Immediately, Kabuto, Suigetsu, Jugo, and Karin give one another concerned glances and decided to confront the snake before whatever he was planning got out of hand.

Kabuto cleared his throat and began to address his former master, "Orochimaru-sama, what did you do to the punch?"

The pale man blinked for a moment and then smiled. "Whatever makes you think, I'd do something like that?"

"Because we know you!" growled Karin, lashing out and roughly grabbing him by the collar. "Now, what did you do?"

"Why my dear Karin, to wound your old master so-"

"Cut the crap," Suigetsu snarled. "Jugo, search him."

The other man simply nodded and did what he was told. After a pretty thorough search, the group reluctantly declared him clean.

"Alright then," Karin relented with a sigh. "But we're watching you..."

As Jugo, Karin, and Suigetsu walked off, Kabuto decided to stay behind. "How powerful is it?" he asked with a wicked grin. What could the man say? Old habits died hard.

"Oh, Kabuto. Scientific curiosity still burns brightly within you I see," the old snake replied. "Nothing too potent, I can assure you. But I simply couldn't pass up the opportunity to test the serum on a grouping of this size."

"So, sit back and observe the chaos?" he quipped in return.

"Precisely, my boy," Orochimaru practically purred. "And do take as many detailed notes as you can. This is serious research we're doing after all!"

"Indeed," the white-haired man agreed, as light sinisterly flared across his glasses.

At the other end of the large buffet table, the Mizukage was muttering under her breath, "Everyone's getting married, but me! Must kill. Must kill."

Chōjūrō then kindly brought over a plate of food. "Here you are Mizukage-sama. Are you doing well?"

"Oh!" she instantly exclaimed, snapping her out of murderous thoughts. "Thank you, my dear. That was very thoughtful."

She then violently shoved a whole pork bun into her mouth, and once again started mumbling, "Kill, kill, kill."

A few seats away, Kurenai and Anko were merrily chatting with one another.

"They really make a wonderful couple, don't they?" asked Kurenai as Anko reached out for her 8th stick of dango. The woman's girlish figure had begun filling out over the years, but it was quite apparent that she didn't care. "They sure do," the snake user agreed, tearing off another dumpling with her teeth. "Mmmmm..." she said, savoring its sweet, decadent flavor. "You should really think about getting back into the dating game."

"I really don't know," Kurenai sighed, trying to imagine herself with any other man besides Asuma.

"Well, it's up to you," Anko said pragmatically, before throwing away the empty wooden skewer and grabbing another. "But let me tell you, dating a member of the Akimichi clan was the best decision I ever made!"

The snake user took another ravenous bite. "The sauces they make are so rich and delicious! And best of all? All the dango I can eat! Couldn't be happier!"

"I'm happy for you, but honestly, I think I'm in a good place now. But you never know," she said with a shrug and went back to watching Naruto and Hinata simply enjoy being together.

Over on the dance floor, Gaara was finding himself in quite the predicament. Matsuri and her teammate Yukata were desperately trying to convince their shy leader to dance with them.

"Come on, Gaara-sama," Yukata pleaded, gently tugging on his arm. "It'll be fun!"

Matsuri clapped her hands together and bowed her head. "Please! You'll enjoy it if you just give it a try!"

A light blush spread across the pale man's cheeks, before forlornly glancing at his brother for assistance.

Unfortunately, Kankuro was having none of it. "Oh, no. You have two cute girls clamoring for your attention. Do you know what I'd give to be in that predicament? Sorry, but you're on your own little bro."

Gaara looked to the heavens for a moment and let out a reserved sigh. "It's just... I really don't know how to dance."

"WHAT?" Lee suddenly yelled, appearing out of nowhere, making all the others jump. "You don't know how to dance?!"

"L-Lee-kun!" Gaara exclaimed, as the green beast grabbed his arm and began leading him in a waltz.

"Don't worry," he said encouragingly. "I'll teach you!"

"Lee!" the Kazekage practically screeched as the other man spun him around the dance floor. "Let go of me!"

But the green beast ignored his pleads. "See!" he chirped merrily. "All you have to do is move to the music. Matsuri, want to take it from here?"

And before the young woman knew it, Lee had handed Gaara off and the pair were suddenly dancing together on their own.

The pair went red tomatoes, but they just kept right on moving, uncertain of what else to do.

Kankuro came over and placed a supportive hand on Lee's shoulder. "Nice going, man." The puppet user then spotted a couple of Kiba's hot cousins huddled around the refreshments table.

"Now, if you'll excuse me," he said, before downing the last of his punch. "I've got a girl of my own to find."

"No, problem!" replied Lee, waving the other good-bye. The green beast was completely unaware that he had just caught the attention of another person.

"That was amazing!" Yukata gushed, latching onto him. "My turn! My turn!" The ditzy girl then dragged the surprised man onto the rhythmic crowd.

"I- uh, sure! Why not!" Lee immediately agreed. The pair then performed a serious of wild and outlandish dance moves, drawing bizarre looks from several in the crowd. But they were having far too much fun to care.

A little ways off, Kakashi, Gai, and Yamato had witnessed this entire event.

"Gentlemen, it's official," said the Hokage to the other men standing beside him. "We need a plan to get laid."

"What?" laughed Gai, feeling rather proud of his oblivious pupil. "Is the great, Hokage-sama, jealous of my student now?"

"When he clearly has a carefree woman interested in him?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "Then 'yes,' at the moment, I am."

Yamato simply snorted at this. "Wow, it really has been a long time then!"

The silver-haired man gave the wood user a glare that quite clearly said, "Watch it, or I'll stick you on genin duty." But Yamato paid him no mind. "At least we're not doing as bad as him-"

Both Kakashi and Gai turned to see just who Yamato was referring to. Both men cringed at the sound of the resounding SLAP! That seemed to echo across the room. Poor Kankuro was getting rather violently shot down.

As the puppet user walked away, rubbing his sore cheek; Kiba came up from behind him and placed a supportive arm around his shoulders.

"Having trouble with the ladies, dude?" he asked with a wicked grin. "I can help you with that."

All three men sweatdropped and gave each other a worried glance. "Yeah, that's not going to end well..."

Elsewhere in the large house party, Temari and Shikamaru were watching Gaara and Matsuri continue their awkward dance.

"Aw!" Temari practically cooed. "Look at them! Freaking adorable, aren't they?"

But her boyfriend appeared to be preoccupied with something. "Yeah, uh-huh..."

This made Temari sober up immediately. "Okay, what's wrong. You've got that look on your face."

"I'm not... entirely sure," Shikamaru answered warily, glancing around at the party members. Several people he knew were acting out more than usual. There were also a bunch of scuffles that had broken out here and there, and some normally reserved girls seemed to be rather loose tonight. It was odd. So he voiced his concerns to Temari.

The other woman merely shrugged, not finding his observations that much of a concern. "People relax a bit when they have a few drinks in them, what's the big deal?"

"But that's just the thing," he said with a frown. "There's no alcohol here. We didn't want to cause too much trouble for Naruto and Hinata. Everyone knows we banded it. So no one should be drinking tonight."

Now this caught Temari's attention. "Then you're right. Something is going on. Because they are clearly under the influence of something."

"Okay, let's get going. We have to solve before it gets out of hand," said Shikamaru as he walked off determined. "Keep an eye out for anyone that might be out of place."

"Oh, a party and a mystery to solve," she said with a wicked grin. "You sure know how to show a girl a good time."

"Troublesome woman," Shikamaru shot back. "You know you love it."

Temari wrapped her arm lovingly around his. "Never said I didn't."

And with a flirtatious wink, the pair we off to save the party.

Outside of the newly refurbished home, Sakura stood on the back porch away from the noise of the party.

"I thought you would have been inside celebrating with the others," said Sasuke as he appeared next to her holding a plastic cup.

The pink-haired woman offered him a rueful smirk. "Been hanging around you for too long, I guess."

He just snorted at this. "Fair enough, but you have to admit it's nice out here."

A cool breeze then picked up and gently blew through their hair. The fireflies spun across the surface of the small pond.

"It is..." she replied thoughtfully, grabbing her cup of punch and taking a sip.

Sasuke stared at her for a few minutes. It was rare for Sakura to be at this level of peace. The two of them had been through so much together. And this visit more than any other, had shown him just how much he truly missed her.

"Sakura..." the man started before he was able to stop himself. "If you want to... you can come with me this time."

The woman's emerald eyes went wide as she nearly spat out the sip she had been taking. Her whole body shook with spasming coughs as she tried to recompose herself.

"Are you- serious?" she asked as Sasuke patted her back to help.

"Hai," he answered, staring her straight in the eyes. "I'm... tired of being alone."

"Sasuke..." she uttered almost breathlessly. How many times had she wanted him to ask her this question? It must have been at least a thousand. And now, when presented with it... she was no longer sure.

Konoha was her home and she was the most skilled medical doctor within the village. Could she just up and leave everyone? It had taken her a long time, but Sakura had come to the realization, that Sasuke wasn't the only one who needed her.

"I... see." Sasuke could already read the answer etched upon her face. He was rather surprise to find himself hurt by this. Deep down, the man had truly expected her to say, "yes."

"It's not that I don't want to," she whispered softly, pleading with him to understand. "But our life, my work... it's here. I need to be here to help Naruto protect the village. You understand, right?"

Sasuke thought about this for a moment. The village truly needed Sakura and her skills more than he did. It would be selfish to take her away from the place she belonged. Just as it would be selfish for him to stay, while an imminent threat still lurked out there.

After much deliberation, Sasuke slowly nodded his head. He did understand, and Sakura released a sigh of relief. "Good, you know that... I still love you, right?"

"As do I." Sasuke then reached out and pulled her into a one armed embrace. "The distance will be hard, but I suppose we've done it this long haven't we?"

"Yeah, guess so." Sakura then began to sway along with the song she could hear playing in the background. "Let's make the most of the night though, shall we?"

The pink-haired woman adjusted her hold, so that they were facing one another.

"And, what do you propose we should do?" Sasuke asked with an amused smirk.

"Just... follow my lead." And with that, the pair began to slow dance under the stars. Both content for the moment, to be safe in each others arms.

Meanwhile, back inside, Naruto was beginning to notice people acting out. Now, ninjas were never known of being the most civil of guests. But the blond could tell that the situation was quickly getting out of hand. Several people appeared to be pairing off, and were acting much... looser than usual. They even passed by Choji and Karui, who were totally makeout right there on the dance floor.

"Way to go Choji!" thought Naruto as he and Hinata continued walking past, not wanting to disturb them.

Over at DJ BeaTallz's stage, the rabid fan girls had begun gathering in mass. The poor oblivious bug user was drawing them in, like moths to a flame. Hinata bit her lip worriedly when she saw it. "I hope he's isn't too overwhelmed."

"Yeah," Naruto agreed, noticing the very much unwanted attention as well. "Shino told you, too?"

"Hai, Kurenai-sensei, Kiba, and I are the only ones who know," she admitted with a faint smile. "Shino is an amazingly talented person, but still has very introverted personality. We encouraged him take the job and create the persona so that he could be a bit removed from it."

The blond simply nodded his head. "Yeah, I thought it was something like that."

It was then that Naruto noticed Shikamaru and Temari taking animatedly with a few members of Sasuke's old team.

"Wonder what that's about," he muttered, before for politely excusing himself to Hinata.

But before the blond could make his way over to them, a very loud and boisterous Tsunade burst in through the front door.

"The fun has arrived!" she declared, strolling into the room.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune admonished, quickly following behind. "There are several Kages in attendance here!"

The old woman simply gave her student a wicked grin. "I know! And I'm gunna to rob-um all blind!"

As her brown eyes scanned the room, Tsunade caught sight of Naruto. "There's my boy! Congrats!"

She ran up and wrapped him in a tight bear hug.

"Yeah, tha-nks! Goo-d to see you, t-oo!" he gasped, trying to regain the air squeezed out of his lungs.

After a few seconds, the blonde finally released the boy. "I'm so proud of you, now where is- HA! Raikage-sama! You old rascal. How've you been?"

The old woman had already moved onto her next target, when Shizune came up and bowed in apology. "Gomen, Naruto-kun. She had quite a few drinks before we came here."

This made Naruto sweatdrop. It was very hard to rein in a drunken Tsunade. Poor Shizune was in for a rough night.

"HA! That old fart! Can't believe he decided to miss this because of his back," said the older woman, loudly. "So nobody from the Hidden Rock is here? Pity, oh well. So what do you say we make a wager or two? Between old friends of course."

"Uh-oh," thought Naruto as he tried to dissuade the determined woman. "Oi! Oba-chan, I don't know that's a good idea-"

"Oh, I don't know about that," she replied slyly, purposely dragging the Raikage past Kakashi. "It seems I left behind more than the Hokage seat when I left, didn't I?"

For some reason, Kakashi's right eye began to twitch with murderous intent as Tsunade politely asked if he would like to join in their little game, too.

The Sixth Hokage crushed the empty plastic cup he had been holding in his hand. "Ahh... no thank you, Tsunade-sama. I must, respectfully, decline."

"I see, what a shame," she replied and gave the green beast next to him a sly wink. "Nice seeing you again, Gai."

And with that, Tsunade dragged the Raikage off as Kakashi immediately spun around and stared accusingly at his friend.

"I- uh..." The green beast used substitution jutsu to make a speedy exit.

"Get back here, Gai!" Kakashi yelled and took off after the wheelchair bound ninja.

"Huh," said Naruto to himself. "That was odd."

But the blond didn't have much time to ponder it, because at just that moment, all hell decided to break loose. Back over at the DJ stage Tenten and Ino, along with several other fan girls were going wild for DJ BeaTallz.

"Marry me!" Tenten screamed, waving around a huge sign that she had made somehow. And Ino, being Ino, couldn't be shown up by this. "Hey, BeaTallz! Get a load of these!"

As the blonde-haired woman began to lift up her shirt, Sai immediately jumped in to put a stop to it. "Ino-chan! What's gotten into you? I know you're competitive but-"

Unfortunately, several of the other fan girls noticed what she'd been doing and tried to follow suit.

"Notice me sempai!" " No, me, BeaTallz-sempai!" they began to scream.

And then, suddenly, the female mob rushed the stage trying to grab Shino's mask.

The poor shinobi didn't the only thing he could think to do, RUN!

"BITTING SWARM!" he cried, hoping his insects would cause enough of a distraction so he could escape.

Meanwhile, back over by the punch bowl, Orochimaru and Kabuto were taking detailed notes of the "events."

"Individual subjects experienced a general lowering of inhibitions. With in a group setting, this sense of freedom and chaos was amplified through interaction between other similarly affected individuals, resulting in-"

Karin ripped the notepad out of Orochimaru's hands and punched him right in the face. "I knew you were up to something, you old snake!"

"Come now, Karin. It was just- Uh-oh!" Kabuto tried to explain as Temari whipped out her fan.

And with a mighty WHOOOSH! she sent both men flying through the roof and up into the sky. "AHHH! We're blasting off again!" they cried, before twinkling off into the distance.

"Whoops, that had been stronger than I thought," Temari admitted in embarrassment, looking warily up at the newly created hole.

Shikamaru simply smacked himself in the forehead as Suigetsu complimented, "Nice job!"

While this was going on, the swarm of insects continued to wreak havoc as panicked people fled the house in droves. At this point, Hinata's byakugan was finally able to locate Naruto.

"Naruto-kun! What is-"

"I've no idea! I think Shino's doing this, see if you can find him."

With Hinata's power, the pair were able to locate the bug user. As they attempted to calm him down, Kankuro and Kiba came up madly giggling and whispering to one another.

"Kiba-kun, can you please help us over here?" Hinata pleaded of her friend. The wolf man simply shook his head and stumbled over to try and help. Since Kiba had left, Kankuro decided to shuffle over to Hinata and loudly ask, "Hey, hey! Is it true?"

The dark-haired woman blinked in confusion. "Is 'what,' true?"

The man then stage whispered, "That while on a mission, Naruto caught you water dancing, naked!"

"EEEEEEPPP!" Hinata screeched, turning red as a tomato. There was no way Naruto-kun hadn't heard that!

And then the kunoichi did something, she hadn't done in years. To her utter and complete horror, the poor woman passed out in shock.

"Hinata-chan!" Naruto screamed, leaping forward. Luckily, the blond managed to catch her in time. After he safely laid her down, he turned vengeful eyes onto Kankuro. "TEME! YOU'RE GONNA-"

But Sakura beat him to the punch, literally.

"CHAAAAA!" she yelled, pulling back both her fists for the jerks who hurt Hinata.

"SAKURA-CHAN! DON'T!"

"DAMN IT, SAKURA! NOT IN THE-"

*BOOM! CRASH! BOOM!*

"House..." Sasuke sighed, knowing that his and Sakura's "tab" just grew all the larger.

When the dust and the insects finally cleared, the party was in total shambles. There were several holes in the ceiling and floor, but Sakura had been able to pull back most of the force before they hit. So the overall damage was minimal. Yamato let out a deep, laboring sigh. "Leave this to me."

And the wood user immediately started making the needed repairs. Most of the other guests had already left, leaving only Sasuke's old team, the Sand ninjas, Sai, Yamato, Karui, and the Konoha 12 remaining.

"Explain! Now!" Naruto demanded, Kurama's demon chakra raged around him like a fiery inferno. Shikamaru and Karin took it upon themselves to inform the blond what Orochimaru had been up to during the party.

Meanwhile, several of their other friends were starting to come down off of whatever they had been drugged with. Ino was lovingly nestled in Sai's lap, already sawing logs. Gaara and Lee were both passed out in a corner with their respective "dates" using them as pillows. Choji wrapped an arm around Karui and offered to walk her back to the hotel. Tenten and Shino gave each other an exhausted look and offered to help clean up. Kankuro and Kiba were still knocked out from Sakura's massive chakra punches. Temari was busy trying to comfort Sakura. "Don't worry, I already wrecked the roof. It'll be fine." And lastly, Sasuke was discussing with Suigetsu and Jugo about all the numerous, painful ways they could exact revenge on Orochimaru for this. Oh, yes. It was going to be glorious.

After all was said and done, it was really late. So Naruto suggested that everyone just stay the rest of the night. Hinata had long recovered from her fainting spell, and was now up handing out blankets.

When she was certain all their friends were comfortable, Hinata grabbed the last blanket and walked out to the back porch. She smiled seeing Naruto sitting there, staring at the horizon. The dark-haired woman walked up to him from behind and placed the blanket over his shoulders. The blond groggily blinked up at her. "Oh, hey, Hinata. You feeling better?"

"Hai," she whispered, before crouching down to sit next to him. "Gomen... I passed out again."

Naruto couldn't help but blush. "Oh, no! I understand," he replied. The blond then reached out an arm and wrapped it tightly around her. "Kiba... kinda let that little fact slip awhile ago anyway. Hope you're not too embarrassed."

"Of course he did," the dark-haired woman thought with a rueful shake of her head. "I was at first, but it's in the past. I suppose in time it will be nothing but a funny little memory."

"Well, not to me it won't," Naruto teased back with a foxy grin. "It was the first time I got to lay eyes on a goddess! I'm counting that as a crowning achievement!"

This made Hinata breathlessly laugh into her hand. "If you say so..."

"I do!" he insisted, before becoming serious. "Sorry that baka snake ruined everything though."

The dark-haired woman smiled at him warmly. "It was a wonderful night, Naruto. Nothing was spoiled. I'll cherish every moment of it."

"You really mean that?" the blond asked, glancing at her with forlorn eyes.

"Hai," she answered and lovingly snuggled deeper into his embrace. As the couple sat there, the sun slowly began to rise. Its bright rays creased the horizon and bathed the world in its enriching golden light. The warmth filled them both with renewed energy and determination.

It was the dawn of a new day. Their future and the future of Konoha, started now. And whatever life still held in store for them, through both the joy and the sorrow, they would face it together.

From now, until ever after...

To Be Continued...

Author's Notes: OMG! That took FOREVER! From the planning, to all the characters, the flow, and then the execution! GAHHH! Ultra complicated guys! But almost every Naruto character with relevance was involved or mentioned in some way! The epilogue chapter will be on it's way soon. But I'm going to be busy this coming week, so expect it not this coming weekend, but next. And just to warn you now, it will be kinda short. There's just a few little things to wrap up and that's the end! Thanks again to all my amazing reviewers and everyone who faved the story! Hope all of you enjoyed it! Oh and Happy Father's Day! XD And as always:

Please remember to read, fav, and review! Feedback helps fuel the muse! Feed the fanfic muse!

Japanese Word Key:

Dobe: Dead Last or Idiot

Teme: Bastard

Sempai: An older classmate that you look up to, Japanese girls usually use it for a guy they have a crush on as well.

Nii-chan: Brother

Nee-chan: Sister

Hai: Yes

Itadakimasu: It's a traditional Japanese phrase that means: "I thank you for the meal."

Otousan: Father (formal)

Tou-chan: Dad (informal)

Kaa-chan: Mother

Oba-chan: Granny

Ero-kage: Perverted (or Ero in japanese) Hokage

Arigato: Thank you

Kami: God or spirit

Chibi: Short, cute style of drawing

Baka: Idiot

Gomen'nasai: I'm sorry

Gomen: Sorry

Bento box: the Japanese term for a lunch box, or a boxed lunch of some kind.

Shogi: Japanese chess

Kunoichi: Female ninja

Shinobi: Ninja (not sure if it's just used for males though)

Sensei: Teacher

Dattebayo: Naruto's catchphrase in Japanese. It doesn't actually translate to "Believe it!" It's just an exclamation like: Yippee! or Huzzah!