Final chapter

Disclaimer : Don't own Naruto.

This is it, guys.

Excuse my errors. The chapter doesn't follow chronology and is scattered all over the place. Still I don't think its hard to make sense out of it.

A thick murk reigned the sky when Sasuke finally managed to untangle himself from the knot of limbs to walk out of his bedroom, even if the four extra sets pushed him out of his futon and he half-ended on the floor, the only thought it mustered was what exactly happened to the man that once hated clingy and emotional. The rain pattered outside, fat droplets tumbling down the rooftop, drip-dropping in small puddles below like seconds flitting away. His footfall echoed through the now barren house, wood creaking beneath him and the wind chime pealing disapprovingly from the window and he heard them griping about his inevitable betrayal. His thoughts were marred with guilt and he owed many plenty of apologies.

The air that stirred through the parted shoji doors smelled of petrichor and old wood. Summer breathed its last breaths in the golden grass ruffled by the strong winds whispering news of new days after a long, drying spell. He no longer heard the cicadas chirp at night, the hive in the backyard eucalyptus had gone silent and nights were stretching. It was conclusion to another chapter he thought, that ached inside his chest painfully. Like a book you love, like sunset. There was a mourning quiet the had settled over the house at their impending departure, somewhere far away the world had unbent to accommodate his family with out demanding their blood - a man, a benevolent leader to the people of Nishi, who'd make do with his sweat alone. It is a new world I'm creating, he told in the missives he still despatched through a messenger bird, with his service and strength because Sasuke would bargain his very soul for Hinata and Taiyou.

"This country has known war for far too long, this country where hope has been kept alive only in dreams and dreamers are dubbed eccentric. And when I face them I tell 'so be it' because I would rather they called me eccentric than a traitor. But the thing is, I have known pain too. I know what it is like being driven to the person you can't even look in the eye because of it. I can tell a traitor from misguided. That is why I open my doors to you. It is a beautiful thing to dream."

Kakashi asked, reluctantly of course because he thought he had let him down, if he was sure about this while his hand avoided his resignation like a paper bomb and his eyes refused to meet and it was the easiest affirmative he could give him.

"I am not my brother, Kakashi. I will never choose Konoha over my family."

He had plenty of reasons to hate Konoha, for all that it took from him and all the dreams it crushed, for the innocence he lost too soon and the childhood he was stripped off too early. For his clan and mother and father despite the years of servitude, for Itachi - a known villain and an unsung hero, for Naruto whom he was driven to wrong and Sakura who only met the ugliest side of him. For the days he awoke shivering by his wife's side who's strength could only last as long as a mother's credulity and she'd too end in his arms with another day without Taiyou dawning in their sobs. And Kami, he could level the entire village if it only meant he could have him back but what kind of world would he be returning him to when it was his sins being laid out before his child? So he endured, another day trailing behind faceless people and begging nameless individuals and he hated Konoha a little more.

Yet his heart broke when Hinata decided to no longer ground him to Konoha with the letter she discovered that established his acquaintance with the leader of Nishi, once left to collect dust in his drawers in his study/living room. When she cried before him to consider it he thought that it was a waste of good tears because all she had to do was say. When has he ever denied her anything? His heart? His pride? His soul?

"We almost lost him Sasuke and all because of my stubbornness. I can live without Konoha, I can live without Hyuuga and sensei and Kiba and Shino. But I can't live without him. I can't."

Sometimes, he felt as if he'd been drained of all the energy he once possessed in spades, his ears exhausted by the noise in his head and tongue worn out under the weight of the words be could and couldn't release. The sight of Taiyou halted him in his steps, tucked in his mother's lap watching the rain soak into yellowing cucumbers in his little garden left at the mercy of a not so merciful mother nature and he thought that he could spend the rest of his days just watching. It was a long life he had lived, far longer than any man his age and sometimes he just wished to sit down and breathe. And it didn't matter whether he'd been dragged through mud and muck to be here because he'd rather be nowhere than this little cottage of a house at the outskirts of the Village Hidden in The leaves.

Because you can't lose bad without losing some of the good too. And the thought was reinforced when Naruto pated his shoulder sending him away, the moisture in his eye hidden behind his outstretched, orange clad arm...

"See? I told you we'll rescue the little man. I can't believe you doubted me. Have I ever gone back on my word to warrant that kind of uncertainty?"

And Sakura's prayer engulfing him in its warm embrace...

"May Kami-sama watches over you."

And people he hadn't given two shits about...

"No need to cover extra distance, Ma. Call back the nin-dogs. There's much meat to hunt down at home."

People who stood by him in these trying times...

"Since when did a child's mistake become an offense? This is not the lesson I want my students, our children to learn : To withhold forgiveness."

People who fought alongside him to free Taiyou...

"Father disagrees but I'm with you in this, dear brother-in-law of mine. They do deserve a Juuken to the ass."

People whom he now owed his life...

"We demand that my grandson be released if you fail to comply or we discover that he's been injured in any way, you'll find an enemy in us. You stand against the Uchiha clan, you stand against the Hyuuga. And you won't like us against you."

And he realized that he could hate Konoha only as much as he hated himself and his self-loathing had never stood in the way of moving forward. So, when he left, he forgave.

Outside, the rain slowed down to a light drizzle, the sunlight teared through the thick clouds and shattered, painting the sky in many different hues. Despite the chill lingering in the air, warmth sank deep into his skin filling his bones. It was a rare bout of calm that conquered him, more than just the thought that the weather change would aid in their journey. Remotely, he registered Taiyou's voice calling for him from their carriage but in this moment where time was both ephemeral and eternal, he turned for the last time and reminisced. Darkness receded and dense white filtered in through the stained window panes bending and turning, moulding into three sets of shoes at the entrance. The breeze that flowed through the hallways was touched with the redolence of spring where he chased after Taiyou in his partly damp shorts from the water fight he had been engaged in and the little Uchiha's laughter ringing loud over the loud sizzling in kitchen and Hinata's humming. From the window in the living room, he smilingly watched them swimming through the rows of ripe tomatoes baking in the summer sun in their garden with straw baskets clutched in their hands and ice crumbling in abandoned mugs of lemonade in their veranda. A lump rose in his throat as he walked towards their bedroom, ridden with guilt, shame and regret for not making it to Taiyou's birth, for letting Hinata go through it all by herself. The heavens growled and cried, a tiny bundle pressed to a distressed Hinata's chest, shivering despite the electric heater warming their room, signs of birth prominent in the red wrinkles on his tiny body. But despite the tears in his eyes, his memory was generous enough to allow a glimpse of their trusted kotatsu that was a stop for many late-night cravings during her pregnancy and his failed attempts in the name of preparing her a decent snack. He lauged a breathy laugh that vaguely sounded like the hymn of freedom. Though replete with ups and downs, it was good life he had lived, he thought.

From where he stood behind her at the door, her white wedding kimono seemed almost luminescent. It was dark like the night reflecting in her eyes, staring off into the mountains and the only thing agreeing with the blackness around was her disheveled hair and dark lines smudging her cheeks.

"I may not be in a happy place right now, Sasuke. But I will not hold back on my love. I promise I will try. I'll try my best."

And she had, to this very day and he owed it to her - this fond trip down memory lane tucked in his heart where he'd keep it safe until his soul deserted his body. Years back, this was not the kind of life he had envisioned for himself when hate had consumed him but commitment imprisoned one in his eyes. He still had to acknowledge fully the error in his judgement but he had stopped fearing it for a while now. Sometimes, the things that bind you are the things that set you free.

The sun had sunk behind the horizon when he returned to her side, darkness and silence ruling again. Taiyou slept peacefully in his mother's arms exhausted by the buzz of the day and Sasuke easily slipped him out of her hold without rousing him. When he turned to her, he could swear that Hinata saw it too trough him. Gratitude came to him easy now though admission still didn't and he thought it was about damn time that it did so he tipped his head a little towards the ground to which she merely smiled before moving to their ride.

She got it, without him needing to voice it. She always did.

Honeysuckle has several meanings in floriography that more or less translates to love, passion, happiness and unity. It signifies sweet life without much squabbles between the two partners.

The plant windes itself to barks and trees and it is this "clinginess" that is often interpreted as unity in love. It is also believed to ward of evils and foretell an impending wedding.

I believe that the title has done much justice considering every aspect of this fiction. When I first wrote this story, I hadn't given this title much thought and I don't know how or from where this came up but it kept ringing over and over in my head to the point I couldn't think of another title to this story. Coincidence? A writer's intuition? Who knows...

It was an experiment at first, something I did to get rid of my writer's block. My biggest problem as a fanfic writer is that I keep editing my work, sometimes rewriting an already finished chapter from scratch. So I had started this story with the mind that I won't go back and edit it. The first chapter was written in one go. There was not much of a plot, just a simple outlay of only thousand words. I had wanted to know how it'd be received and was floored by the positive feedback I got. Truly it was mind blowing. I remember being the happiest girl ever.

I don't know what it is about this story but it just flows. Out of all my works, this comes to me easiest. There are bits and pieces I've inserted of my life in this, their feelings and emotions are a reflection of mine. Their characters and relationship are not perfect and this is intentional on my part. Many a times, readers have expressed their disapproval about the way either of the two characters conducted. For example, a few weren't happy about Hinata's insistence about staying or how Sasuke didn't use force to free Taiyou, the answers to which are hinted at in this chapter. Hinata still has no clue about Itachi's sacrifice. Thus she can't even guess the extent of Sasuke's misery. If you wish to know why, give chapter 4 another read.

Lastly, I'd like to thank everyone who read, reviewed, favoured and followed. This journey would not have been what it is without you all.

There will be a epilogue with a time jump of several years. It is halfway done so expect it soon.

Leave your thoughts about the story. What you liked, disliked, what should and shouldn't have been, how I can improve and all.

Until next time.

Tayyabalaraib.