Responses to Non-Member Reviews
To Neko: Thank you so much! I'm so glad you liked it! :D
To Sam: Thank you! Wow! You read all that in one day? I feel so honoured! :3

Thanks for reviewing!

A/N: This is a continuation-ish-thingy-mijig from After Hour I (Prologue) or chapter one.

Standard Disclaimers Apply

After Hour II (Epilogue)

"Sakura," he murmured softly, fingers ghosting over her cheeks in a gentle caress. "You win."

"Hm?" she whispers just as quietly. "What did I win?"

"Your mission was a success, was it not?" Their conversation was quiet so as the two spectators, who were currently standing wide-eyed a distance away from them, would not hear.

"What mission? Finding the Akatsuki base? No, you stopped us, remember?" she giggled. Strangely, she was not even angry that she had failed that mission.

He was amused at how she was acting dumb. "Not that. Your real mission," he spoke in a voice so low and husky, she couldn't resist the urge to blush, but then she realized what he had just said.

"You knew?" She sunk into herself and looked up at him with guilty eyes. It was all so endearing that he couldn't help but nuzzle her cheek with his nose, an action that sent horrified gazes their way.

"Long ago."

"How?"

"It was not hard to guess what the Slug Princess had in mind for the both of us," he explained, setting her down onto the ground. He rearranged her hair so it rested behind her ear. He continued smoothly, "The two of you found out the truth behind the massacre and decided that I was not 'all that bad', so you wanted to bring me back. Then the Godaime sent little Sakura to come and seduce me so I would willingly come back with you."

"'Seduce' is a strong word," she winced.

"But it worked."

She was caught off guard. She knew he sort-of-maybe-kind-of-really liked her back, but to the point where he was seduced? Sakura knew her place. She knew she was not even a tad bit sexy. "It did?"

He knew what she was thinking, and he knew just what to say to remedy that. "What I fell in love with wasn't just your physical appearance. I have said this before. You are interesting."

"That's it?" She seemed disappointed.

To stop her from arguing, he caught her lips in one swift movement. Sakura didn't need a spoken explanation to her worries. The kiss had proven it all. Behind her, the two males dropped their jaws even lower (if possible) and panicked. Noticing their reactions, Itachi chuckled into the kiss.

When he let go, Sakura was crying. Again.

"What's wrong now?"

"I just realized how much I'm going to miss your kisses."

He smiled fondly at that. "I will make it up to you."

She glanced up, a spark in the midst of her tears. "With interest?"

He outright laughed to the surprise of the two bystanders. Sakura, on the other hand, was not fazed by it one bit.

"Yes. With interest." Wiping the tears off her cheeks, he kissed her gently one last time.

The next moment, he was gone.

Sakura was left staring at the spot he stood at only a second earlier, gathering her thoughts and reflecting over the past "seventy-two hours", when her teammates spoke up.

"Uh...Sakura-chan?"

"Mind explaining to us what just happened?"

She froze at that moment, completely having forgotten that Naruto and Kakashi were even there. Turning around rigidly, she forced a smile. "Uh..." She didn't even know where to begin. "You see...um..."

Seeing the strange expressions her teammates were giving her, she finally realized why Itachi had left in such a big hurry.

He had left her with...this mess to deal with.

...Damn it.

She had a lot of explaining to do.

A/N: And that's a wrap! Haha, this note is going to be longer than the epilogue but...

Let me first apologize for the late update: I've been busy with some things, so I'm super duper sorry! Thank you for your patience though!

Next, thank you so so so so so much for sticking with me through my laziness, my horrible grammar and vocabulary choice, and my crazy little ideas. I really appreciate all the wonderful feedback you guys have given me to help improve my writing! I really enjoyed writing this fic, and reading all those lovely reviews just made it that much more fun!

As you are reading this, the sequel to The First Seventy-Two Hours, The Last Seventy-Two Hours, is already posted. Before you guys head over to that story (if you plan on it at all that is), do read the information below. It gives you a little insight of what to expect.

Now information on the sequel...Warning! It's going to be sad.

Title: The Last Seventy-Two Hours
Summary: In her whole lifetime, Sakura has been caught in Itachi's Tsukuyomi twice. This is the second time: This was it. He was dying. And he was spending his last strands of chakra creating this illusion for her.
Genre: Angst, Romance, Tragedy
Warning/Note: Yep, it's gonna be a tragedy fic. It was unavoidable. I'm gonna make a complete 180 from the prequel. It's going to be sad, so get those tissues ready. But just because it's tragic doesn't mean it's not going to have a happy ending. :) That being said, I don't blame you guys if you don't want to read the sequel. You might wanna end the series here and just stick with this ending. Personally, I'm okay with that because it gives you more room to imagine (insert Spongebob 'imagination' gif), and I understand if you don't want to ruin this (horrible) ending.

I know what you guys might be thinking. "Why is she ruining it (even more)? D;" Answer is: I'm trying to complete the story. As it is right now, it's not complete. I want to write this out until the very end. So if you're one of those people who don't mind a semi-sad semi-happy ending, then I do recommend the sequel. It will include more interactions between Itachi and Sakura as they are once again "trapped" in the Tsukuyomi for seventy-two hours.

The choice is yours.

To those who think they are done: Thank you so much for your time! Thank you so much for choosing this fic to read! I hope to see you in another story! ^^

To those who would like to continue: Thank you so much for reading this story! See you in the sequel! ^^

If it's not too much trouble, do leave a review to tell me what you think of the story overall and if you are planning on continuing or not. Thank you so much! (Non-member review responses for this chapter will be posted in the first chapter of the sequel.)

(Kudos to those who read the whole author's note!)

Thank you once again.

And of course, have a nice day. :)