AN: I decided to add one more chapter due to the overwhelming response. I hope you all enjoy, but keep in mind that this is the last part. I don't want to have to hear people asking for more, so, please, don't ask.

Disclaimer: All rights reserved.

Warnings: Bits of kissing, cursing, and no plot, though that never bothered anyone last chapter.

Epilogue: Once Again

Years change a person. The years between people were irrelevant. The years between accquaintances was noted, but ignored. The years between friends held their relation together or fell apart, some too weak to stand time's strain. The years between kin was watched as everyone aged and grew old, noting the many memories that the elders left behind with their younger counterparts. The years between ninjas only made themselves and their village stronger, and Konoha flourished as if given birth to all over again.

However, the years between lovers was questionable, especially with two destined but never to be.

Hinata had grown up to assume no clan name, since her little sister, Hanabi, had taken on the position. Although she was saddened by the fact she couldn't carry her family, or save her sister from such a fate, she was silently relieved she'd never have to assume the title as her family's leader. The lines between the main family and branch were beginning to blur beneath her younger sister's care, who had deemed the split pointless. After much persuasion, the main house decided that, perhaps, it was best to give up the power that was held over their counterparts. With Neji's help, Hanabi had been able to convince the council and find a technique powerful enough to remove the jutsu, but weak enough to keep the branch members alive.

Neji-nii-san was free of his restraints, and Hinata had half-expected him to go and find his own place. However, he wisely stated that he belonged with his family and to train the future Hyuuga kin. He was their prodigy, after all, and the new generation would bring new challenges once they were born. Despite his ambition, it didn't rid the thought of him dealing with kids, a strange, almost comical, idea, which had left Hanabi and Hinata with spurts of giggles on their lips.

Yes, it had been years since Hinata was a teenager. On the edge of her twentieth birthday, she had few wishes left that had survived through her childhood. Some had been achieved, others dashed against the rocks of reality, while other simply had faded away because she no longer wanted them. It wasn't uncommon. She was only human after all.

But, even after all of these years, there was one emotion she just couldn't completely shake.

Humming to herself, Hinata smiled as she walked the grounds of her family's home. She was due to turn twenty in just a few hours time. It was almost evening as she strolled past a puddle on the estate. She took a moment to notice that, despite how much she'd deny it, she really had changed from her former teenaged face.

The light creme of her hands and face were the same as they had been when she was young and would probably remain so, even with her training. Her hair had grown to her shoulders, no longer the somewhat awkward looking cut of her youth. It was somewhat unruly, though she didn't mind. It matched her very casual robe, which protected her from the faded breeze of the night. Both blessed and cursed eyes stared back at her and she couldn't help but be fond of them. These were the eyes that tied her to her family and clan. Although she had not ascended to power, Hinata was undeniably a Hyuuga, if not by skill, then by heart, due to the pride she found in being one.

As the wind picked up a bit, she shivered in the thin yukata. It did nothing against big gusts of wind, but she did not complain. It was even a bit refreshing, since it had been so long since she could just walk without a kunai in her hand or the village protector around her neck. It had been far too long...

"And you still haven't changed much."

Taken aback, but not unprepared, Hinata turned to the voice as her body shifted into a fighting stance. It was not the most comfortable position, but it did allow her to remain on guard. If she needed to, then surely someone would hear her or at least wonder where she was.

"Who's there?" she asked, feeling and seeing the outline of her opponent. The outline was of tall man, draped in finery rather than in some kind of gear. Although she sensed no intent to harm her, it did not erase the overall presence of strength and animosity he held. He was far too powerful to just be wandering into her home, since this kind of power should have tripped someone else's more sensitive senses. And yet, no one seemed to even notice because no one had dared to come outside to check on anything. It was as if she was the only one who could feel him.

"Barely an adult, Hyuuga Hinata, and already senile," the voice taunted but there was no malice. It was even a bit playful, which had Hinata questioning his intentions. That deep voice did sound vaguely familiar, like an old dream she couldn't recall.

"Who are you?" Why did this seem so vaguely familiar?

A moment of tense silence did nothing to reassure her nerves, only made her raise her guard. A shift in a nearby tree caught Hinata's eyes, but it was merely a distraction because, in the blink of an eye, the larger form appeared before her. Startled, but not enough to forget herself, she jumped back and into a familiar stance. Her hands acted as a barrier, to provide more reassurance than defense.

"Now, now, Hinata. You wouldn't do something to put yourself in danger now, would you?"

And, immediately, Hinata knew who that voice belonged to.

The moonlight revealed the handsome face, similar to another Uchiha she knew. The aged face with framing, raven hair that blew almost haphazardly in the wind. The almost iconic cloak donned his shoulders and covered a familiar body. He had not changed. The look of pure arrogance, only equal to the over all power of his own strength. And, of course, the same dark eyes that had descended from her own.

"What are you doing here, Uchiha Itachi? You have no business being here," she said, standing straight. The authority came from somewhere deep inside, the place that belonged solely to the former Hyuuga clan leader, locked deep inside. She drew power from that, to overcome the speeding of her heart and the pounding of her blood.

"Quite the contrary," he said with a smile, his eyes narrowing with wicked glee. "I have every right to be here."

Without ceremony, he cleared the distance between them, as she met his lips halfway.

Hinata never did make it to her own celebration.

OFFICIAL END

AN: Read and review. No more requests for sequels. I'm too lazy to give you anymore. Just be happy and find other fics.

Well, till next time.

Much love.