A.N.: So... a couple of weeks ago I got a pair of reviews from the same person (I suppose - they were anonymous reviews) and, the last one, was one of those reviews that made my night and, that the same time, put an extraordinarily heavy pressure on me and I'm afraid this epilogue won't live up to it. The only reason this epilogue exists is because my plot betas almost ripped my head off when I told them the fic was supposed to end with the previous chapter. This is not an "omg, I'm gonna die!" kind of epilogue. This is just something to give the fic a more proper ending.

Please enjoy.

Epilogue

Shisui woke up to a cold and empty bed the next morning. For seconds he thought it had all be a dream, but Itachi's room and the intense smell of sex only made his reality worse. Cold and empty, that was exactly how he felt.

He married Hinata with dead eyes and a fake smile on his face. He was named "General of the Army" and watched his wife became Empress with no emotion, no feeling, nothing but extreme apathy. He mourned his loss for three days and three nights and, in the very next sunrise, he was once again the Shisui everyone knew. The bright, the smile, the enthusiasm, the vivid soul, everything that made Shisui himself was back. And Hinata smiled to him in response, relieved that her partner had finally returned.

Five years had passed since their wedding day. Five years since Hinata had became Empress. Five years of Shisui as the General of the Army, who was stronger than ever. And from those five years, four of them Itachi was considered missing. He had vanished after leaving Madara's place and never came back to the Palace. Questions were raised for more than a year, several searches conducted, but answers never came. Shisui felt a heavy feeling of sadness on his chest when he heard Itachi was missing. He knew that was his cousin's plan since the very beginning, but he had hoped, oh yes, he had hoped, that Itachi would return to the palace, to him. During those four years, Shisui always wondered where Itachi was. Maybe a small village near the palace so he could have an eye on the imperial family? Maybe in a quiet place where Itachi could practice and meditate in peace? Would he be happy? Would he think about Shisui? Would he have a lover? Shisui kept asking himself that. And he really wanted to believe that his cousin was living happily and peacefully somewhere in the fire empire.

By the beginning of her fifth year as Empress, Hinata was able to convince the samurai council that a peace treaty with the ninja was the best for their nation. The samurai choose a quiet village, in the countryside as the meeting place to sign the peace treaty with the ninja. All the preparations were done; all samurai were on their positions and Hinata was patiently waiting for the ninja to show up. Shisui was at her side, as her husband and bodyguard. Everything was ready to receive the ninja and Shisui could tell everyone was nervous. Even Hinata.

The sun was starting to descend and the light was getting weaker. A guard announced the presence of a silhouette in the closer horizon and the tension and anxiety of the moment rose among the samurai. With that silhouette, a few others appeared, but they were clearly no more than six or seven. And they all remained silhouettes, hidden in their own shadows, with the exception of one, who came closer to the meeting point.

Kurama showed a confident look on his face when he entered Shisui's view. He walked in a steady pace until he was about thirty feet of the Empress. He took a small bow in respect and introduced himself. The conversation that followed went smoothly and it didn't take them more than a few minutes to review the conditions and to sign the treaty. Kurama gave Hinata a truthful and caring smile when they shook hands and said "You were one of the best things that ever happen to this country." Hinata smiled back, honoured, and Kurama returned to the horizon, where his companions were waiting for him.

Shisui let his guard down as soon as Kurama was far enough from them. He looked at his wife and she was so happy he couldn't help but smile as well, holding her hand. But that smile didn't last long as he turned his head to the horizon and saw a little child running into Kurama's arms. The ninja picked the child up, kissing the dark haired boy's cheek and getting a warm smile and a hug in return. Kurama kept walking and, in no time, they were nothing more than a silhouette as well as the other ninja. A male silhouette approached them, taking the child from Kurama's arms and kissing the redhead next. And Shisui's felt the taste of the bile coming to his mouth, like he had just been kicked hard in the stomach.

It's not the Samurai that I'm leaving. It's you.

He had prayed every single night for Itachi to be okay. He had prayed to gods he never believed in, in hope that one of them would listen to his prays. He had asked for Itachi to be alive and happy. He really didn't care what kind of life his cousin was having as long as he was happy. That was what Shisui always believed in. That was what Shisui always prayed for.

But on that moment, with a glance of a small child and the shadow of a silhouette, Shisui knew that, even if he wished from the bottom of his heart, from the deeps of his soul, he couldn't be happy for a happiness that could have been his.

The End

A.N.: For all of you who were expecting a happy ending, I'm sorry, it was not possible. A happy ending after the last chapter would mean someone went completely OOC and I try my best to keep my characters faithful to themselves.
If you were expecting a mind-blowing epilogue, I'm sorry again, there was no way I could write something like that without writing another 25K+ fic about what happened after the wedding.

Overall, I hope you enjoyed it. I'm opened for ShiItaShi fic suggestions until the end of August. If you have an idea and want me to write it, send me a PM and I'll give it a thought.

Review!
Akira