Epilogue

The wind was refreshing and it felt nice to be out of his classroom. There was a lot of work to do, and juggling between so many student groups and tests was much more work than he had thought at first. Holding one of his knees against his chest, he tried to relax, concentrating on chirping birds and moving clouds in the sky.

"Sorry that I'm late." Iruka looked up at the hokage standing in front of him, taking his hat off to rub his forehead with a hand. "There was way much more work than anticipated today. The council wouldn't let me go either."

He smiled, rising from his sitting position. "Your robes seem hot. Wouldn't you have prefer to change first?"

The taller man took the basket from Iruka's hand, noting the apples filling it. "You've already been waiting for a while. I didn't want you to think I wouldn't show up once more."

"No worry, I understand! You are Hokage, 'Kashi. It's a lot of responsibilities. Anyway, I've started without you. You still have yours to fill." He grinned as he saw his lover frowned as he showed him the second basket.

Following the teacher to the next apple tree, he had to ask. "Is this truly an activity for students?"

Iruka laughed. "Yeah! I wanted to check out first what it was like, but apple picking is something they do around this time of the year. Something like to congratulate them for their hard work." He grinned and shook his head at the bored look his boyfriend shot him, definitely not trying to hide it. "What! I'm not the one who decided! I would rather have taken them on a camping trip, or something outside on the field."

Picking up apple was not the kind of activity Kakashi had thought about doing ever in his life. Still, he played the game, but it was not too long before he had enough apple for himself, not even filling half of his compared to his lover's basket. But seeing Iruka smiling and chatting through the hours they spent in the orchard made him glad.

Brown eyes narrowed just enough to show slight suspicion from the long gray look they were given. "What are you smiling for, Hokage-sama?"

The jounin chuckled at the playful tone, wondering how the man he loved could know through his mask that he was indeed smiling. Maybe his ever growing wrinkles gave him away. "Nothing. You just seem happy... Are you?"

"I..." There were fleeting seconds where the sparkles disappeared, and Hatake was afraid for a moment to have ask the question. A rough smile took place on the chiseled lips. "I am, 'Kashi. I work hard everyday for it. It's not always easy, but I think I'm getting good at it." He took one apple from the tree they were standing under, putting it in Kakashi's basket. "How... I'm living right now is certainly not what I had expected. I always thought that being a shinobi was all that I would ever be.

"I never thought of the day where I would have to see pass this point. But... my life is not defined by it – I can have this Will of Fire and help people. I can be more than just a good soldier for this village." He looked around him, before tracing his way back into his lover's eyes. "Even if sometimes I do feel it would be easier to just be a tool."

There were day where he would not understand why it had to be like this, why putting so much effort did still stand. Yet, seeing how much effort his boyfriend would put in everyday to keep war at bay and negotiate conflicts showed him he could not let any depression or anxiety take a hold of him permanently. He juggled with his illness as much as he could, even if some days would seem impossible compared to others.

He was still a shinobi on the inside, even if he was not working directly as one. It went farther than his formation, his skills and the missions he would do. Somehow, he felt that it encompassed many things this village was built on. It was a shinobi village, after all.

He took Kakashi's hand. "Do you still have things to take care of at the Tower?"

"Not today. The council is driving me crazy; I think I need a day off." He grinned as he heard Umino's light chuckle.

"Well, if you're heading home with me, let me show you my great cooking skills as I'll try to do my first apple sauce!"

Gray eyebrows rose. "Pakkun will taste it first. You wouldn't kill your Hokage, would you?" Kakashi barked a laugh as he felt Iruka trying to push him on the side with his shoulder.

Here, it is now officially done. I wanted to end this on an hopeful note. This story went into deeper grounds, and I wish I have been able to show you aspects that I think are not seen enough, nor discussed enough. I know that the story format is quite different from the prequel, Broken Souls, and it might have been harder to follow sometimes, but now that you have every parts of it, I hope you see the grand picture!

It was a long ride, but I'm glad if you liked it as much as I did. I don't know when I'll be writing next on this fandom. It's been two years that I put so much effort on those works, yet I have to focus on my own novel now. Thank you for sticking with me until the end and for anyone who followed, reviewed and kept it in their favorite.

Thank you to my friend Yotsuba who beta'd it, even if it was later onto the story! You helped me a lot, and gave me a lot of support! Lots of love.