TH-- Okay peeps. This is the ending. I wavered a lot between writing a happy ending or a sad one. At one point I considered doing both, but... I couldn't manage to get both situations. So this is the ending you'll get. It's a little open-ended, but I think you'll all get the general sense of it. Um. Thanks to those of you who stuck it out with me though the whole thing. I appreciate it. Thanks to those who reviewed, who faved, etc. Without readers, writers can't exist. So here's to you.

Sakura wavered on the brink of consciousness, her eyes slitted open and a few fragmented images managing to make it to her brain. Most of what she saw was fire; the flames of the explosion still burning. Dimly, a feeling of horror struggled in her chest, fighting the numbness of unconsciousness. Sakura fought it too, trying to wrench herself awake and aware. but her body refused to obey her. She drifted…

…And half-woke to the feeling of her damaged body being lifted gently. Voices murmured over her, and a hand was at her wrist, on her forehead, touching the twisted leg in which at least one bone was surely broken. Sakura couldn't even flinch at the pain, but a fresh wave of blackness washed her mind…

When next Sakura woke, she found herself in a very familiar setting. Just… she was seeing it from a different angle.

Sakura stared up at the ceiling of the hospital room with a perplexed look on her face. :What is…? Oh. I'm in a ward bed. I'm a patient. Got it.:

She lifted her head slightly, experimentally. It was a little stiff, but she managed to look around without much pain. The room was empty; it must be a private room because Sakura's bed was the only one. By the readouts on the monitors, she was completely healed of whatever injuries had landed her in the hospital in the first place.

:Physical injuries anyway,: she thought, as she remembered flashes of what had happened prior to her losing consciousness. Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes and dripped down into the hair at her temples. She turned her face into the pillow and wept as quietly as she could, because there was no way Itachi could have made it out of the chamber before the explosion. It was almost a certainty that he was dead, and even though that was what he wanted, Sakura could only feel pain at the thought.

:He deserved happiness, not in death, but happiness and fulfillment in life,: she thought. :Gods, let him be fortunate in his next life…:

She heard footsteps approaching the door to her room, and hurriedly scrubbed the tears from her face and composed herself. When the door opened, revealing Naruto, she was mostly presentable.

The sight of her old friend, wearing the traditional Hokage robes, nearly set her off again, though.

Naruto saw she was awake and his face lit up. He flashed to her bedside and grabbed her hand. "Sakura-chan! You're awake. I'm glad…"

"N-naruto… You look…" she trailed of helplessly, a little tied for words. She settled on squeezing his hand tightly and smiling, albeit tremulously. She swallowed a few tears and whispered: "Hokage-sama."

Naruto's grin turned into a crooked smirk. "It sounds weird, coming from you."

There was a moment of silence before Sakura pulled her mind together enough to ask: "Why am I still here? Aren't I supposed to be a missing-nin?"

Naruto's grin returned full-force. "Oh that. I managed to get the councilmembers to admit to conspiracy. As far as the village knows, you are perfectly loyal and were driven from Konoha and called a traitor because you found out about the conspiracy and the council wanted to silence you."

"You're kidding," Sakura sputtered after mouthing soundlessly for a beat. "When did you get so… so… uh…"

"Subtle?" Naruto asked innocently. "Maybe I was a little rowdy when I was younger, but really Sakura-chan, that hurts!"

"Oh shut up," she growled, seeing the teasing glint in the blond's eye. It was gratifying… it was more like the old Naruto… "And you weren't rowdy. You were a hell-raising little brat with no tact. You didn't even know the meaning of the word subtle."

"Things change," Naruto said, more seriously. Sakura sobered up.

"Yeah… I know."

Another moment of silence. Sakura whispered: "Naruto?"

She looked up, met his eyes. She saw fear in them, fear that she was going to ask a question that Naruto didn't want to answer because he knew it would hurt her. So she faltered, unsure if she could take yet another death, another blow. She'd suffered through so many already… this one might be the last her heart could take…

"Nevermind." She dropped her head, staring at her bedsheets. She felt Naruto's hand squeeze her shoulder.

"You know, now that you're no longer considered a missing-nin, you can stay here! In Konoha. You can be reinstated at the hospital. Or, you know, I hear that there are openings in the Council…" Naruto said, in fake cheer, but with real hopefulness. Sakura looked up at him and gave him a smile, albeit a weak one.

"Of course I'm staying, you idiot. Konoha is my home. But I'm not so sure about the Council position… I don't want to leave the hospital," she said.

"Maybe… maybe you won't have to," Naruto said hopefully. "You're the Chief Medic, you could represent the hospital and all that on the council."

"That would be fine," she conceded.

"Alright!" Naruto said. Sakura's expression softened.

"You know," she said quietly. "You're acting more like yourself now."

Naruto hesitated, his smile slipping a bit. He admitted softly: "It's been good to be back in Konoha. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed it."

Sakura reached up and squeezed Naruto's hand where it still rested on her shoulder.

Within the week, Sakura was healed and back to healing others. She felt… oddly light and empty, though. There was no longer a heavy weight hanging on her shoulders, the dark pall that the Council had drawn down over the village with their paranoia, fear-mongering, and bitterness had been relieved somewhat by the general brightness of Naruto's indomitable spirit and the cleansing of the council chamber of the corrupt members.

Speaking of… The Councilmembers were tried in trial before the village, and all had been found guilty of corruption and misuse of office. They were all sentenced to execution (Leaf was, after all, essentially a military state and in the middle of a war, acts against it were punishable by death), thought Naruto viewed this decision with distaste. He hadn't had much to do with the sentencing; the decision had been reached by an elected jury of villagers and ninja. He DID make the decision to allow the Councilmembers to take their own lives, should they wish to do so. He said: "They don't have any honor left, but some of them apparently think they do. Letting them have this illusion won't make a difference in their fates- they'll still be dead- but it'll spare the executioner's hands of some blood."

Sakura had marveled again at the changes time and experience had wrought in her heart's brother, that he had thought of that. Konoha had suffered so many losses over the last few years that the executioner would probably be a young, promoted-too-quickly-to-fill-ranks-depleted-by-war shinobi or kunoichi. The job of killing the former councilmembers would likely have a profound psychological effect on him or her. And Naruto had understood that without prompting or hinting.

It was fortunate that the executioner wasn't even needed, then. All the councilmembers elected to end their own lives. Naruto and a small group of select Leaf-nin (chosen for their predicted ability to weather the repeated experience of watching someone kill him/herself) presided over each ritual suicide. It probably wasn't the best inauguration into the Hokage seat, but he took it stoically, not breaking down. Sakura knew it was painful for him, though. Naruto had never liked to watch people die, or to allow others to kill themselves. He had always maintained that there was always 'another way.' But not this time. He knew the councilmembers would have to face the judgment meted out by the jury of villagers and ninja. He'd confided in Sakura before during and after the messy business, and she understood completely. There was nothing like war to make people into pacifists, and she was sure that she and Naruto had qualified for the title long ago. As much as it was apparent that these deaths were needed, they still made the two remnants of Team Seven cringe.

In any case, the corrupt old Council was gone, and Naruto was well on his way to building a new, balanced one. Konoha had fixed the damage caused by the coup, and things were settling back into a rhythm. Naruto was reestablishing contact with Suna (the Council had, because of their fear of the one-time jinchuuriki Kazekage Gaara, cut ties soon after they'd taken power). Chuunin, Jounin, and ANBU were being deployed and used in more prudent ways. Konoha was slowly improving under Naruto's watch.

:So why do I feel so empty?: Sakura wondered as she sat at her office desk with a cup of tea sending wisps of steam curling up under her chin.

She knew the answer, but she didn't want to acknowledge it. She had refused to acknowledge it from the instant she'd woken up after the coup.

Absently, Sakura sipped the tea. Setting the cup down, she sighed, and got up to do her rounds.

The next day, she was filling out supply order forms in her office when there was knock on her door. Before she could say 'it's open' whomever it was barged right on in. The sharp reprimand froze on her tongue when she saw it was Naruto. And his face was… Well, it held a very interesting expression, a conglomeration of numerous emotions. Sakura could pick out concern and wariness, but couldn't quite pinpoint the rest.

"Naruto, what…?" she said, half-rising from her seat as he strode up to her.

"I went out for ramen for lunch," he said, seemingly out of the blue. Sakura blinked and he continued, "and when I came back, this was sitting on my desk. In my locked office. My guarded, locked office."

He dropped a sheet of folded paper on her desk and Sakura looked at it. Written on the front in a firm hand was her name: Haruno Sakura. She looked at it. Looked at Naruto.

"What is it?"

"I don't know," Naruto said. "I couldn't open it."

"Oh. But… Why was it in your office?"

"I don't know. Just open it already!" he growled.

"Okay, okay," Sakura capitulated, picking it up. It had to have been sealed with a blood seal so that only she could open it. Sakura bit her thumb and quickly swiped the bleeding appendage so a thin line of red streaked through her name. With a whisper of sound, the paper shifted, unfolding slightly. She opened it fully and smoothed the creases. Her eyes scanned the message, stuttered to a halt, scanned again, went vague.

"Gods…" she whispered, sitting heavily. "Oh…"

"What?" Naruto demanded. "What is it?"

Sakura weakly lifted the paper slightly. Naruto snatched it.

Iwa has received news of the events in Konoha.

They expect the new leadership to be unstable after the coup, and

will be moving against the village soon.

Naruto waved the paper, his brow creasing in confusion. "We anticipated this. There're extra patrols on the border and we're ready to repel any Iwa attacks. Gaara has pledged help. Why are you so-"

"Naruto, don't you get it?" she asked, intensely. "Forget about what it says and think about what it means!"

Naruto squinted at the message and Sakura could almost see the gears turning in his head. Then his eyes snapped up to hers, wide.

"Yes," she whispered, taking the paper back gently. "He's alive."

Naruto was dead-set against her going. "You don't know where he is! We couldn't trace that letter, we couldn't even say for sure it is from him!"

"I know it was him, and I know he's there," Sakura returned, not stopping in her packing. There was small backpack on her bed, filled with a spare pair of clothes, a small container of soldier pills, a full med kit, and a waterproof cloak. She strapped it shut and turned to the weapons laid out on her duvet. She started tucking them into the random pouches and sheaths around her body as Naruto fumed beside her.

"Sakura," he said finally, warningly. "Don't make me order you to stay in the village."

She turned to him and met his eyes. "Don't order me Naruto."

Because if you do, I will have to disobey. It was unspoken, but it hung between them in her tone, in her eyes. Naruto deflated.

"Why do you care so much?" he asked. "You don't have to go look for him. He didn't say where he was, or even that he wanted us to look for him."

"He saved our lives," Sakura said. "No. He saved Konoha, more than once. I just… I don't know. I guess I just don't want him to be abandoned by us again."

Naruto didn't say anything for a long time, and Sakura bent to pull on her boots. Finally, the Rokudaime Hokage sighed. "Be careful, Sakura. Iwa's been stopped at the border, but they might slip through."

"Of course," she replied, smiling for him.

The little house looked the same as it had when she and Naruto had left it; unsurprising since it had only been about two weeks ago that they'd set out for Konoha filled with plans to depose the Council.

Sakura slowed as she approached it, nervous, unsure. Just as she hesitated, wondering whether she had been correct or if she would have to endure another of life's bitter disappointments, the door swung open noiselessly.

Her breath caught. It was him.

He stood in the doorway, staring at her in his cool, intent way, crimson eyes steady. Several yards away, she stared back, jade eyes flickering in surprise, relief, joy, pain.

"I thought-" she stopped, embarrassed, as her voice creaked under the strain of the emotion it carried. She tried again. "I thought you were dead."

A pause.

"No," he said quietly in his deep voice.

"How did you… how…"

"Substitution technique."

Sakura fumbled, looking for something to say, anything. Itachi's flat, steady gaze was heavy.

"We received you warning. We're holding Iwa at the border. Naruto's reformed the Konoha-Suna alliance, and we're utilizing our ninja better, so we're holding well against them," she said, stopping herself before she started babbling.

"Yes."

Sakura bit her lip. Why wasn't he saying anything more? Was he angry that she'd come? Did he not want to be found? What was he even doing here?

"Why haven't you returned to the Akatsuki?" she blurted, flushed, and dropped her eyes.

A long silence. After a while, Sakura glanced up, and jumped a little to find him standing closer to her, only a few steps away. He regarded her calmly.

"Akatsuki is finished," he told her, nonchalantly, as if just telling her the time. She gaped.

"Uh? What do you-?"

"Do you know how I was captured by Konoha?" he interrupted.

"I… You were found, injured, in the forest. Akatsuki is-?" Sakura replied.

"I was injured in my attempt to eliminate the orange-masked Akatsuki member you knew as Tobi. I succeeded in my goal, but was too severely injured to move after. As a result, I was captured by a Leaf patrol."

Sakura opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again. "You killed another Akatsuki member? But… why? You said you felt some loyalty to the group…"

"Tobi's real name was Uchiha Madara." The pronouncement made Sakura dizzy with the implications. "He was the real leader of the organization, using Pein as a figurehead. A pawn. Madara's true and only goal was to destroy Konoha utterly. I… did not agree with this plan. However, I was never in a position to eliminate the threat, eliminate Madara, until recently."

"So you attacked him, killed him, and saved Konoha again. And for your troubles, you were captured by Leafnin and imprisoned. Tortured," Sakura whispered, her heart aching for him once again. He took one step closer, calling back Sakura's attention.

"No," he said firmly. "Not tortured. Even from the start, thinking me one of Konoha's bitterest enemies, you were unable to bring harm to a bound prisoner."

"I…" Sakura said. "Not tortured physically, then. But… You have been… You have been so loyal, through everything, despite everything. And Konoha has… We have not…"

"I swore to protect my village. I swore to protect the citizens who could not protect themselves, I swore to protect the ninja from threats beyond their skill. I do not do this expecting acknowledgement, gratitude." One of those small not-smiling-yet-smiling expressions rose in his eyes. His hand rose and touched the wetness on her face. "But you are here, Konoha hitai-ate on your brow. Proud. Loyal. And weeping for me. That is enough. That is more than I deserve."

"It's not up to you to determine what you deserve others to do for you," Sakura said, letting her tears fall freely. "This is my choice. This is what I believe. You deserve tears, you deserve thanks, you deserve respect and I wish Konoha could give you acknowledgement."

"This is enough," he reiterated, hand still hovering over her cheek. Her hand rose hesitantly, and the tips of her fingers touched the back of his hand, before lowering slowly. His hand fell away as well, but his dimly focused eyes remained fixed on her.

He was alive. He was alive and he was here. She knew he could never go back to Konoha. The hatred, the fear, for him was too strong there. Too strong for them to overcome. But… in all those years he'd been here, Naruto had not been found. Not until Itachi, with his hypersensitivity to the Kyuubi jinchuuriki's chakra, had stumbled upon him. If Itachi stayed here, who would be able to sense the S-class missing-nin? Who would be looking for him? Who would he allow to find him? Naruto would probably stop sending Leaf Hunter-nins after him, or would somehow throw those missions so they were inevitable failures. Others looking to bring in the Bingo Book bounty attached to the Uchiha's head would probably meet with the same success as they had before- which is to say: none. And Akatsuki… Itachi said it was finished. And Sakura knew many of its members were dead…

"What about Pein and the other two Akatsuki members? Are they dead?"

Itachi shook his head. "Pein and Konan are no longer a problem to Konoha."

"I wasn't asking out of concern for Konoha," Sakura said. "I want to know if you are in danger because you killed Akatsuki's true leader."

"Those two are driven, but not vengeful. They will not come after me. Especially not while they have to deal with the problems with Iwa and Kumo they inherited from Madara. Zetsu…" Itachi paused. "Zetsu might attack me, though I would not expect him to. His sense of loyalty is… unique. It may be that with Madara dead, he will simply move on."

"Are you… safe?" Sakura asked very quietly.

"Safe…" repeated Itachi, as if wondering at the word. "I could never be safe. But I am… not in danger."

Sakura paused, lifted her eyes slowly to meet the Sharingan. "Will you stay?"

Itachi didn't respond right away. He held her eyes with his. And then: "This place is out of the way, hidden. Leaf patrols do not come out this far, and no major roads pass near. The area may be secured with a few well-placed wards. And it is close enough to Konoha that I may… keep my oaths."

"Is that a yes?" Sakura asked, a little wryly.

Itachi looked up at the trees as a wind stirred them. "I almost let myself die in the explosion. It would have been easy; just release the substitution jutsu a little too late…"

Sakura's heart pounded. She whispered: "But…"

"But I had the speed to make it in time. And… I thought… perhaps my answer is not death." Sakura wanted him to look at her again, she wanted to see the expression in his eyes, faint as it might be, as he spoke. She had learned to recognize some signs of emotion in his face, as she had years before with his brother. But he keep looking at the canopy of leaves above them, continuing to speak slowly. "And so…"

"And so you're alive," Sakura put in softly. And then, and then, he looked at her, and she held her breath.

"I am alive," he agreed. And then he smiled. "And I am beginning to accept that."

-End-