A lot of requests for the last chap were about the Hatake family. And one comment was too interesting I just have to use it in this chapter. Lol.

So here it is…

Thank you for supporting this story and thank you for loving KakaHina as much as I do.

-o-o-o-

Epilogue iii: The Hatake Family II

Kakashi sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the small wooden box that was resting peacefully on top of the small bookshelf. The Yondaime's journal was still in his keeping because he and Tsunade had decided that it was best if Naruto won't know any of the time traveling stuff Hinata did in the past.

It was a forbidden jutsu still and even though Naruto has the right to know—because he was the Hokage— it was still better if the time traveling stops on Hinata. It was useful of course, because some things could still be undone…

But the risk it would be on the time flow was unknown.

So it was better if some waters were left untested.

Hinata stopped brushing her hair when she noticed that Kakashi was silent. She was sitting in front of their small vanity mirror and was observing her husband of fifteen years through the glass reflection. "Kaka… what's wrong?"

Kakashi scratched his head. "Uh… nothing."

Hinata smiled. If Kakashi was not saying anything, she would let him. It was always like that between them for the respect for privacy was still there. He was going to tell her in the right time.

He always does.

Dropping the brush, she stood up and sat beside him. Instantly, his wrapped her in his strong arms. Even in forty-six, Kakashi was still very strong—stronger than most nins his age and under—which still earned him the title as one of Konoha's strongest.

The famous Copy Nin.

Kakashi also doesn't look his age. In fact, they actually just looked like they were in the same age. Genma loved to tease her about it, saying that Kakashi will find someone younger. She just smiled at the joke, knowing that Genma will always be a tease.

"You know… Hikari asked me last night about how we met and how we fell in love." She murmured.

"What did you say?"

"That we met in the most unexpected way."

"That won't satisfy her. Our little girl is a curious one."

"Strangely… it did."

"Really?"

"Yes. She said that mystery was nice."

Kakashi chuckled. "Oh. That's pretty strange."

Hinata leaned her head on Kakashi's chest. She could feel the strong beating of his heart against her cheek. "Why are you looking at the box?"

Kakashi shrugged. "The positioning is off…"

"W-what do you mean?"

"I have to keep it in another place. You know our children are a mischievous bunch… lovable and beautiful but still mischievous. I don't want them getting their hands on the journal."

Hinata grinned. "They are a lot like you Kaka."

"That's what I'm afraid of, because I for one will never stop if I am curious of something. Don't you think Hikari is a little curious for her own good?"

Hinata shrugged. "She's just asking…"

"She had been asking you about us for weeks now. She was not that interested before."

Hinata giggled and playfully bit Kakashi's shirt. He was still wearing his mask so she tugged it down until his face came into view. "Don't be worried Kaka. No one is going to time travel again… especially in our family. I know that we are lucky—lucky to defeat time. But the risks in history and lives are too much that even I would not allow it for the second time."

Kakashi signed and brushed Hinata's long hair away from her face. His wife was a perfect mother, loved by their children and of course, by him. She was also wise and kind and very, very understanding.

His Hime…

Thank Kami he was able to have her in his life.

Suddenly, the door of their room flew open and a grinning Kairo was seen standing just outside of it. His white hair was covering half of his face, craftily hiding the white Byakugan eye. In the Hyuga bloodline, Kairo was the strangest Byakugan user because he only has one Byakugan eye.

It was a unique case.

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "What's with the grin?"

Kairo's grin grew wider. "I know you two are cuddling." He raised a camera and suddenly snapped a picture, making his parents blink. He laughed and made a peace sign with his free hand. "Sorry. Hikari requested a picture of you two so… yeah."

"And you are using your Anbu training to sneak on your mother and I?" Kakashi asked and shook his head. He pretended to be not pleased. "What if you saw us kissing?"

"Kakashi!" Hinata said and pinched her husband at the side. "You—"

Kairo shrugged. "Too early. It's just nine oclock." He then winked at his father who winked back when his mother wasn't looking.

Hinata shook her head at her son. "Kairo..."

"Sorry Kaa-san. Just this once okay? I can't say no to my little sister."

"You are spoiling Hikari too much." Kakashi stated.

"You have Anbu duty today?" Hinata asked.

"Uhm… later."

"Please be careful."

"Kaa-san." Kairo pocketed his hands after putting the camera cord around his neck. "I'm always careful. I have to go out of the village tonight with old man Genma—"

"Okay." Kakashi interrupted. "Don't listen to whatever Genma says. If he teaches you anything weird… I am going to kill him. Tell him I said that."

Kairu laughed. "Genma-san's cool."

"Your father is cooler young man." Kakashi said proudly.

"I know that." Kairo knew it was best to humor his old man. It was true though, because everyone knew that his father was very cool.

Kairo left his parents who were still acting all lovey dovey. He was used to them to be always like that and it felt nice to see them that way. In his fifteen years, he never once remembered any serious fight between the two.

Sure they argue sometimes but at the end of the day, they always find a way to fix it. Someday, he was going to look for a girl like his mother and build a family as happy as they were now.

"He really looks like me." Kakashi muttered.

"Because you are the father." Hinata commented with a laugh.

Kakashi wiggled an eyebrow. "What do you say to another kid?"

"W-what?"

"Hikari would love it if she has a new sibling. The girl has been begging for a baby sister for years."

Hinata shook her head. "I think we have enough Kaka…I am thirty-three years old."

"I am thirty two when we got married. " Kakashi smiled and kissed her forehead. He then stopped to whisper on her ear. "Maybe you're right… but you know what I mean."

"Kaka…"

"I'm pouting."

Hinata giggled.

::

Kairo adjusted the Anbu mask on his face as he passed by young Hikari who was sitting on a couch. His sister was reading something in a book with a frown on her face. It was the usual expression she has every time she concentrates.

Hakuro was on the other couch, cleaning his katana with a small squared cloth. He still has his mask on—the one that was identical to their father's. He always teases him about it…

But jokes don't affect his twin. Hakuro was too serious.

"Here." Kairo dropped the camera on Hikari's lap and she looked up, smiling widely at him with her Byakugan eyes. Out of them three, she was the only Hatake child with a normal Byakugan. It has been a constant debate in the past if she was going to have the Caged Bird seal or not.

But their Otou-san banned the seal when he was seated as Rukodaime.

"Thanks Nii-san." Hikari excitedly checked the camera's film. "I'm going to add this on my collection."

"What are you reading about?" Kairo asked and peered to see the cover of the book. "The history of Uchiha's?"

"Uhm…it's interesting." Hikari's expression somewhat became…mysterious. Kairo was not sure of it but he knew his sister too well not to see the slightest change.

"It's bloody." Hakuro piped in his impassive tone. He was still looking at the blade on his hand but it seems that he was listening to the conversation. "You have to go Kairo?"

"Uh yeah…"

"Be careful."

"I will."

When Kairo left, Hikari transferred her gaze to her older brother. "Nii-san…"

"Hm?"

"Nii-san… can I go to my teammate's house? I'll be very fast. I promise."

Hakuro looked up from his katana and stared at the white haired girl who was looking a little nervous. Hikari had dropped the book and was now fidgeting with her fingers. It was a trait that she got from their mother—or that was what their father had told them. "It's late."

"It's just…uhm…nine-thirty. I have to get something…"

Hakuro nodded. "I'll go with you."

Hikari shook her head vigorously. "No… I can go by myself."

"No."

Hikari pouted. Hakuro was worse than Kairo when it comes to over protectiveness. She loves her brothers more than life itself but sometimes, she just wanted them to understand that she was a Kunoichi now.

She maybe not as strong and skilled as them but she was still a ninja of Konoha.

"Nii-san… I am a kunoichi now." She tried again. "Please."

"It's late."

"I'll be fast. I promise."

"Hikari…"

"Okay." Hikari raised her hands and splayed her fingers wide. "Ten minutes. If I can't go back by ten minutes you can go and look for me. I just have to go and get something. I'll be back before you know it."

Hakuro sighed and scratched the back of his neck. He doesn't like the idea of the little girl going alone in this time of night. She may be starting her first year as a genin but for him, she was still their little hime. Wasn't it just a few months ago that they celebrated her twelfth birthday?

In their family, he has the hardest time picturing Hikari getting wounded in battle or taking another person's life.

"Fine."

Hikari beamed and ran to him. She gave him a big fat kiss on the forehead. "Thanks Hakuro Nii-san! You are the best!"

"Ten minutes…"

"Ten minutes plus five." Hikari winked.

Hikari ran out of the house before her parents could leave their bedroom and before her brother could change his mind. When she was surely out of chakra range, she activated her Byakugan and checked if she was being followed and if Kairo was still around the area. She felt guilty for lying—because she did lie—but she could not let her mind be at ease if she could not see him tonight.

"Sorry… Nii-san." She whispered. "I just have… I just have to do it."

Not following the main street, she instead ran to the direction of the forest and weaved into the trees. It was very dark but she has good sensory skills. She could easily dodge in and out of the trees and bushes without using her bloodline limit.

Hikari used the forest as a shortcut. It was the most convenient way for her at the moment and it would surely protect her from unwanted eyes. Sure, watcher nins were roaming around these parts occasionally but she could always avoid them if she was careful enough.

"I told you not to go here." A cold voice said from somewhere behind her. "You are hardheaded like your father."

Hikari gasped and froze on her tracks.

Uchiha Sasuke dropped from a tree branch and sighed. The white haired girl was too visible even in the darkness that surrounds them like a blanket. Her hair was too white and her eyes too big. Even the faintest reflection from the moon above was enough to make her stand out.

"Uchiha-sensei."

"Don't call me sensei. I have only been a replacement for Kiba that day he got sick."

Hikari dropped her eyes to where her feet should be. She was not planning on talking to him… she was just planning on sneaking and see if he if he was fine. She heard from her father a lot of times that Sasuke was always tasked with the hardest of missions because he was that good.

That only means that his life was always on the line.

"Hatake." Sasuke crossed his arms.

"H-hai?" Hikari stepped back.

"Stop whatever you are doing. I do not know how you did it or where have you learned it but I want you to stop seeing me in the past. My twelve year old self is different compared to what I am today."

"But…"

"Yesterday when I woke up, I had this memory of you following me in the Akatsuki lair."

"S-sensei." Hikari bit her lip. "S-sorry."

"Do not play with time. If you keep doing it, you might change something that will affect the present."

"I'm… I'm trying not to… but—" Hikari fisted her hands. Was it possible that a twelve year old girl like her could tell a thirty something Shinobi that she…likes him? That she has a crush on him because they met in an era that was not supposed to happen in the first place?

Because they met when they were both twelve years old?

Hikari sighed in defeat. She guessed not.

Sasuke observed Hinata's daughter with his pitch black eyes. A few months back, he was suddenly struck with memories that were not supposed to be in his mind at all. It was about this young Hatake girl—which should be impossible because she was just twelve and the memories where from the years where he was still a rogue.

It was then that he realized that Hikari Hatake was time skipping.

"Sorry." The girl whispered. It reminded Sasuke of Hinata when she was still very shy and very young.

Sasuke closed his eyes for a few seconds. When he opened it, he looked above them. "Is Kakashi-sensei aware of your whereabouts?"

"N-no. Only my brother Hakuro."

Sasuke nodded. Hakuro had trained under him for a year. The young boy was the silent type and very, very skilled. Sasuke gave that boy a few more years and he was surely going to surpass the Copy Nin's name.

But maybe… this young Hatake girl was the real genius. After her time skips, Sasuke was impressed. The only thing he was worried about was the side effects of what she was doing. He wanted to tell the Hokage about it but also doesn't want to get Hikari into trouble.

So the best thing to do right now was to make her promise not to do it again.

"Come. I'll take you back to your house." He told her and offered a gloved hand for her to take. There were a few interesting memories in his mind about this young girl but that's it.

It was going to stay only inside his mind only.

Hikari took his hand but was still looking crestfallen. Her heart jumped though, when Sasuke's bigger hand wrapped around her smaller one. Even if it was the past Sasuke that she has been attracted to, she still can't deny that older Sasuke was…awesome.

"You will find someone better than… him." He said as they leaped together on the branches. "That twelve year old boy doesn't know anything besides revenge and blood."

"I know." Hikari murmured. "But…"

Sasuke shook his head. "No buts… You are just twelve. You will have a long way to go and more people to know."

Hikari sighed and mentally promised to never read her father's journal again.

-o-o-o-

Hakuro kissed his mother goodbye before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

When the smoke ebbed, Hinata continued washing the dishes. They just finished breakfast and sadly, Kairo wasn't able to join them. He was still on his mission and won't be returning after a few more days—and that if the mission went without trouble.

Kakashi adjusted his mask. "Hime… I have to go see Naruto today." He hugged her from behind and kissed her cheek. "Don't be sad. I'll be back shortly."

Hinata laughed. "You think I'll be sad?"

"Of course. Your husband is one hot guy."

"My husband is vain." Hinata corrected.

Kakashi chuckled and let his wife go. They still have plenty of years ahead of them and he was going to cherish their time together every freaking second. He was older by her for more than fifteen years and if nothing unexpected happens to both of them; he knew he was going to be the first one to go.

So every second with his family is a priceless treasure.

"Kaka?" Hinata tilted her head back.

"Hn?"

"I love you." Hinata murmured and her pale white eyes were serious.

Kakashi smiled. "I know. And you know what I feel right?"

Now it was Hinata's turn to smile. "I do."

::

Hikari watched as her parents vocalized their affections seriously. It was an everyday sight and one that makes everyone's day complete. Her father and mother were the pillars of their home and their love for each other was what keeps them all together.

She was young but she understands complicated things such as these.

Her father gave her mother a pat on the head before going out of the house. Hikari chose that moment to make herself known. She coughed and saw her mother smile. It was then that she realized that her Kaa-san already knew she was there.

Sometimes, she can't help forgetting that her mother was a Kunoichi.

"You should have said goodbye to your Otou-san." Hinata said softly, still smiling. Her little girl was acting strange these past days and she was just waiting for Hikari to tell her what was wrong.

"If I did… he is going to be late in his meeting with Uncle Naruto."

Hinata chuckled. The young girl was right. "You have a point."

Hikari sat on a chair near the counter. Secretly, she knew how her parents met and how they had fallen in love with each other. She was not going to tell anyone about it though, because if her parents were trying to hide it from them, then they have a good reason for doing so.

"Kaa-san?"

"Yes dear?"

"You and Otou-san really love each other."

Hinata stopped washing the dishes. She wiped her hands on the apron she was wearing. "Of course dear, I won't marry your father if I don't love him… or if he doesn't love me back."

"Kaa-san?"

"Yes?"

Hikari looked away as a blush appeared on her pale cheeks. "I think I like someone… I know I'm just twelve but…but..." Hikari suddenly looked scared. "Oh please do not tell my brothers! Or Otou-san…"

Hinata laughed at her daughter's embarrassment but she also felt her heart swell. She was deeply touched that Hikari was willing to share her secrets. "I… I have my first puppy love when I was your age. Don't worry, I won't tell."

Hikari looked up. "R-really?"

"Yes."

"Oh…"

"But that age is too young to determine your true feelings dear. But I understand how you feel…"

Hikari nodded but a sigh escaped her lips. "It's complicated." It was actually more that complicated because it was almost impossible.

But she could not tell her mother that.

Hinata shrugged. "You won't believe the many complications your father and I had to face when…"

"When…?"

Hinata shook her head. "Never mind dear. You will understand in the right time… But I assure you, everything will turn out better in the end as long as your intentions are true and good. Just… just be patient and be kind."

"I hope so." Hikari said but plastered a smile on her face. "Thank you Kaa-san. You made me feel better."

"I'm glad."

-o-o-o-

Here ends the chapter. Please review for the last time!

I know… I'm evil for stopping here. (Insert evil cackle*) But I just have to stop and let this story end truly.

And so my friends… I will leave the rest to your imagination. (*wink)

-crazychan12