Eternal Spring

CMK TacTican:  I can never please you, can I?!  I'm going to strangle you!!  ^^;;  Haha, I'm just messing with you, as you do with me.  Last time you wanted more characters, so I added a few characters, now what?  Futei!!  Well, the reason that I had to introduce Cammy was because she was the only means of them escaping Bison's base.  Ryu and Sakura didn't know how to get out of the base by themselves.  Cammy knows her way around.  So, Ryu gets hurt, and Sakura is frightened and has no idea about how to get out.  If Cammy hadn't shown up, Sakura would have gotten lost and the building would have collapsed, and then she and Ryu would be... dead.  *shudders*  And about Hayato... well... It's a possibility...  ;)

DJ Rodriguez:  Yippee!  I'm so happy that you liked Eternal Spring.  It's not over yet!  Here's the epilouge.  Enjoy!

Squallwis04:  I thought it needed a little more at the end too.  After all, we wanna know what happened to Ryu and Sakura after the destruction of Bison's base.  Also, I'm glad that you almost cried at the end, not because I'm an evil person, (lol) but because I cried too!!  *sniffle*  Thank you for your compliments throughout this story! R/S to the end, baby!

Kikoken:  You like the way I portrayed Ryu!!  AHH!!  *cries gallons of water*  ^^;;  Anyway, I've come out of my hidey hole... *crawls out and stores the grenades and guns she had with her elsewhere* ...and am now posting the epilouge!  Have fun reading!

Tornado:  The romance!!  The drama!!  :)  Thank you for thinking so highly of me; I really appreciate it, Kristopher.  I can always count on getting a positive review from you that makes my day.

Nitro:  Thanks for informing me about those little things I messed up on.  The running through the fire, I didn't know that.  All I knew was that if you got close enough to fire, you were gonna burn.  About Cammy, I know that she was like that, but you see how much I put emphasis on how her eyes looked in the last chapter.  Bison is dead (presumably) now, so I think that their connection should be broken. Also, I had to use her character to lead Ryu and Sakura out of there, since they didn't know the way.  Plus, I couldn't go into detail about her in the last chapter since I didn't want CMK TacTican getting all over me about that. And Guile: I don't love him.  I couldn't care less about his status, lol.  Besides, he was only here to keep Chun Li company. ;P

Miguel Gama:  Yay!  I so happy you like it.  Ryu and Sakura are my favorite couple, and always will be!  *waves fist in air*  Whoo-hoo!  ES is done now!  Yay!! 

Edgar: It was so dramatic, wasn't it?  :)  And of course they will live happily every after; you couldn't expect less from the romantic Chan Yoruyamatiha, could you? ;P

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Okay folks, this epilouge wasn't meant to be long, be sure to review though! ^_^

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Epilouge

**Two months later**

"Kasugano, Sakura..." Mr. Kanasaki's voice boomed out over the crowd that consisted of thousands and thousands of people attending the Tamagawa Seniors' Graduation Ceremony.  The spring's gentle winds blustered around the city of Tokyo, and everyone seemed to be having a great day.

Sakura heard her name called and walked up onto the stage that had been carefully set up outside.  As she walked towards the principal of the school who was holding out her diploma, she felt the eyes of everyone in the audience upon her.  Her hair had grown out slightly, and the ends were curved out from underneath her graduation cap elegantly.  Sakura walked with gentle grace as she approached Mr. Kanasaki and accepted her diploma, smiling at a wink from him. 

After shaking hands graciously with him, Sakura walked offstage, the heels of her shoes making soft tapping noises as she walked.  Both she and her friends were brimming with rapture as they saw their peers walk one by one up, accepting their diplomas.  In the audience, people were whispering and giggling together as several graduation hats flew off of their owners' heads and were swept away in the breeze.

Several hours later, every student had recieved their diploma and were standing in lines of fifty-five.  On the count of three, every single student who was graduating Tamagawa threw their hats in the air, and most of the hats were swept away with the wind and soared into the audience, who were madly going after the hats.  Sakura giggled lightly as every student took off towards where their respective family and friends were in the audience. 

Luckily, Sakura was able to catch her hat as it came back down upon one of her friends' heads, so she grabbed it and ran off into the audience towards her mother and little brother.  Sure enough, her mother and aggravating little brother were there, awaiting her arrival. 

Sakura's mother ran forward to embrace her daughter, who gladly accepted it.  Tears of glee streamed down her mother's face as she laughed mirthfully.  After that, Sakura's little brother (poutingly) also congratulated Sakura, Sakura simply smiled.  What could be better than this?

Suddenly, Sakura felt a gentle tap on her shoulder.  Turning around, she found herself face to face with Ryu, who was smiling at her, his eyes gentle under his hazel-brown bangs.  He was wearing a white dress suit and black slacks, a very unusual attire for a man like him.

"Oh, Ryu!!"

Sakura threw her arms around Ryu and buried her face in the soft, silky fabric of his shirt.  Mrs. Kasugano smiled before grabbing Sakura's little brother by the arm, as he had begun to make childish remarks about his older sister and her boyfriend. 

Ryu smiled down at Sakura, who kissed his cheek softly and appreciatively. 

"I'm glad that you could make it here, Ryu..." Sakura whispered, resting her arms around his neck while gazing deeply into his brown orbs.

Ryu laughed.

"Nothing would come first over this," he replied without hesitation as he interlocked their hands lovingly. 

*******

Five hours later, Sakura accompanied Ryu to his house, and her mother took her younger brother to Harajuku Bridge with a couple of his friends.  Sakura and Ryu sat in the back yard behind the dojo, eating light snacks and watching the koi in the koi pond.  The high sun in the sky caused the water to glitter brightly as the remaining fish swan around lazily, expecting food from Ryu since he was paying attention to them for once.

Sakura dipped her toes in the cool water of the pond, involuntarily jerking them back when Futotta came swimming up to her to investigate the new presence in his pond.  Ryu smiled lightly as he refilled his cup with flavorful green tea, watching Sakura in silence; she looked so happy.

"Ryu..." Sakura's voice sounded softly, catching Ryu's attention.

"Yes?"

"I'm really happy now that I'm with you..." she whispered, turning her dark eyes up to his.  She took her toes out of the water, and inched towards Ryu who simply waited for her next speaking.  Sakura took her hand in Ryu's and smiled lightly up at him in a shy manner.

"I used to dream of this is, and now my dream has come true...  I thank you," Sakura said, casting her eyes downward into the water.  She wanted to say something else, but could not think of the right way to word it.

"There is no need to thank me.  It takes two to love, anyway," Ryu paused for a moment.  "And Sakura... thank you... for showing me what it is to love somebody."

Sakura immediately blushed upon hearing this comment, as she was not completely adjusted to hearing him say such things to her. 

Slowly, she turned her face up to look at him, her eyes meeting his passionate gaze.  It was the one he had in his eye when he was confronting something important to him, but this one was slightly different.  Ryu's gaze was more mild, and more caring and considerate.

"You... You're.... welcome..." stammered Sakura, melting under his strong stare. 

There was a long silence following that last comment, and Sakura meekly stole a glance at Ryu, who was drinking a long swig of green tea.  He placed the cup down, and wiped his mouth on the side of his arm carelessly, making Sakura smile.  Ryu turned to her, a smile playing upon his lips as well. 

Ryu wrapped his arms around Sakura and allowed her to lean into his chest as the sun bore down upon them and the koi pond.  The glittering of the koi pond seemed to hypnotize Sakura, and it left her feeling drowsy.  Since she was so comfortable in the arms of a trusted lover, Sakura closed her eyes and allowed the chirping of birds to be her lullaby.

SLASH!

A large splash of water hit Sakura and Ryu in the face, causing them to jump.  Sakura quickly jerked to the side, which sent herself toppling right into the koi pond. 

SPLASH!!!

It was a matter of seconds before Sakura came to the surface, gasping and panting for air.  The koi were scared out of their wits, each of them lurking down at the bottom of the pond near the edges.  Ryu burst out laughing, pointing at Sakura, who simply glared playfully. 

"AHAHAHAHA!!  That Futotta... always jumping out of the pond and...!" 

Ryu didn't exactly get a chance to finish his sentence.  Sakura grabbed Ryu by the waist and pulled him into the water with her.  With another loud SPASH!, Ryu also joined in on the "pool party" with Sakura and the disgruntled koi. 

Both Ryu and Sakura came to the surface of the water, both laughing hysterically while holding one another.  Ryu slicked back his hair with his hand, taking off his sodden headband and placing it on the edge of the lake.  Sakura did the same with her hair, before hoisting herself back up onto the stone side of the artificial lake.  She smiled down amusedly at Ryu, who she helped out of the water by pulling him upwards.

Ryu quickly pulled his knees out of the pond, and soon found himself lying on his back on the ground, Sakura hovering over him with a smile. 

"Who's laughing now?" she asked, laughing in spite of herself.  Water dipped off of the two of them, but neither seemed to mind or be aware of it.  Sakura plucked an artifiial lily pad off of her pale Sunday dress that was clinging to her legs.

Ryu simply smiled at her, imagining how long that this happiness would last.  His mind couldn't seem to comprehend an end to it, and he decided not to dwell on it.  As Sakura smiled down at him, he realized that this would last a long, long, time.  It was indeed the beginning of a romantic, eternal spring.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~ THE END ~^~^~^~^~^~^~

Author's notes:  And Bison was never heard of again, for he was at the mercy of certain people...  *coughNekocough*  Sorry so short, it wasn't meant to be long.  Just a little extra to keep certain people from killing me.  ^_^  Don't worry, I'm going to write another R/S story sometime.  I will also be working on The Reconciliation soon, it's at the climax right now, and I STILL have writer's block on it!  -___-  As of now, I would like to thank several people, first of all the reviewers.  Had it not been for you all, I would have never finished this story.  You all kept me motivated to write it, even when I didn't feel like it.  I appreciate it, Kikoken, especially you.  I could always count on you to review every single chapter with helpful comments.  :)  Thanks, CMK TacTican, for being aggravating;  Trutenor, for inspiring, helping, and being there for me;  Neko, for providing me with that essential boost, and also for making me smile every time I read your review.  Tornado, for helping me.  DeNice, for caring;  Squallwis, for loving R/S so much;  and Jacob, for not giving a hoot about this story but caring for the author.  Extra thanks to everyone else who has read, even if you haven't reviewed or contacted me.  THANKS!!!

~Chan Yoruyamatiha