Disclaimer: I don't own, kthxbai. I do own a nice made of red hair that makes me feel sexy. xD
A/N: Alright, people, this one is the last one! I hope you've enjoyed the story and the lemon, as promised, has been posted in its entirety, hoho! For those who don't want to read the mature scene, you can skip it over the pagebreak marks. Thank you so much for your support, guys, I've never thought that dreaming the main plot during one drunken night could be so endearing for so many people! XD

-X-

Epilogue: Soaring

-X-

Sakura,

The document attached to this letter is a copy of my will. I have left everything in order for you, Naruto and Kakashi to do whatever you want with the Uchiha District. I would rather have the three of you living there, but somehow I feel that won't be a wise idea. There is too much hate and darkness within those walls.

I have tried to write the things you wanted to hear for a long time, Sakura. But I cannot even think on how to phrase them. I intended to watch after you and Naruto after I fulfilled my goal, but when I saw you at the Sound base you made me realize something I never did before. You grew up, you got stronger, and you did it for yourselves.

Any man that lays his eyes on you would become aware your inner strength. And it is up to you, Sakura, to follow your own path. Do not try to follow mine, because you will only find grief, hate and despair. Do not do that to yourself.

There is something I need you to do for me. There is a hidden room inside the Uchiha Dojo, under the third tatami. Burn everything inside that room. On second thought, burn that entire building down. The curse of my lineage and my Kekkei Genkai will die with me. I will be at peace if you do that.

I am sorry, Sakura. It is all I can say.

Uchiha Sasuke.

-X-

Emerald eyes lifted from the well-read parchment, noting absently the date of the letter, written after they had encountered the dark-haired man after two and a half years of his defection. She knew that Sasuke wouldn't proclaim eternal love for her, but she felt that underneath those lines, and recalling how he had tried to reassure her in his last moments, Sasuke had indeed cared for her as much as he cared for Naruto and Kakashi. Sasuke had cared for them as his family.

Sighing deeply, feeling a bit sad but finally calm, her eyes surveyed her handiwork. Flames that soared towards the sky in a raging fire that enveloped an entire building, as if they were cleansing the sins of a clan that was bent on power and betrayal of their own peers.

The new Law of Heritage granted Team Seven to do whatever they pleased with the deserted property, therefore no one was there to protest or witness how she lowered her hands after she threw the scroll into the fire – the words imprinted in her memory – leaning later into Naruto's embrace. The three of them were watching the end of the nightmare, the end of a powerful line, but also the rebirth of that part of the village. Some blocks down, the Uchiha main house was on fire as well: Naruto's doing.

They had talked about selling the properties and rebuilding part of the District as if to pay homage to their lost friend, but Kakashi came up with a better idea. Therefore, a bunch of Inuzuka and Akimichi clansmen, thanks to Kiba and Chouji, would be making a stellar appearance first thing in the morning to tear the entire Uchiha neighborhood apart. A new training ground would be created, and the darkness of the Uchiha buildings would be forgotten.

"Say, Sakura-chan... do you think he would approve?"

"Hai, Naruto," she responded with a little, fond smile in response to his. "Sasuke would approve."

"The Uchiha Training Grounds," Kakashi mused pensively. "I think it's fitting, seeing how our friends liked to hone their skills to become the best."

The blond and the rosette nodded. It was indeed a good homage.

-X-

Pacing around her living room, the pink-haired medic was about to let out a scream of frustration and make a desperate dash for Sunagakure, only to regain her sanity and the sensation she was missing and craving by now.

Two weeks had passed since Hyuuga Neji had left after kissing her stupid, flooding her senses with his feelings and the utter longing that was raging within his body before disappearing from her clouded sight with a glint in his eyes and a sexy smile, closing her door softly behind him. Safe inside her apartment, she recalled how she had seen how the workings for the new training grounds were going – surprisingly, even Shikamaru had helped – all the remaining members of the Rookie Nine working together to grow and set a field full of trees, flowers and natural traps, perfect for genin training.

But the day after the silver-eyed man left Konoha with his team, she started to feel uneasy. Convinced that it was her sadness about the whole ordeal, she busied herself with her shifts at the hospital and preparing a lot of treats for her friends that were helping with the Uchiha grounds setting.

The feeling was not an unpleasant one, though, only mildly unsettling. Longing.

She longed to be enclosed within Neji's arms again. She longed to bicker with him and watch how his eyes seemed to light up with a spark of mischief and cynicism when she shot back some statement about the topic they were arguing about. She longed to feel that onyx-colored mane, burying her fingers between the strands as she kissed him back with all the passion she could muster.

Sakura shook her head, trying to clear it. Damn hormones and damn Neji!

A week later, the Uchiha grounds had been opened to the public and all the shinobi clapped to the new Uchiha Heirs for this gift offered to their beloved village. Sakura and Kakashi had been preparing Naruto's induction to the Clan Council, seeing as he took it upon himself to fulfill the Uchiha's place among the Clan Leaders. The first meeting went smoothly until the blond's stomach rumbled indignantly in hunger. This seemed to break the uptight atmosphere, making almost all of the Clan representatives laugh at his expense.

A sheepish smile and two bowls of ramen later, he had admitted to his two friends and his fiancée that maybe being a Clan Elder wasn't that bad.

Sakura had thrown a knowing smirk at Kakashi's crinkled eye. It was only a matter of time before they heard Naruto's frustrated whines about Konoha's economical and political issues and asking for their help once more. But this was good for him, she thought. This would make Naruto establish friendships among the Clan Elders.

Smiling absently into her tea cup, Sakura reached for the box that an old Hyuuga female had brought her recently. Freshly made plum jam. She only needed to make some pancakes or maybe buy some crackers to enjoy the sweet flavor that she related now to her absent lover.

Sighing again, she opened the jar and dipped her fingertip in it, coating it with the sugary substance. Bringing the jam to her mouth, she mentally prepared herself to tackle her patients' reports, already classifying the scrolls and folders in her mind. But when she reached for the jar again, it was nowhere to be seen.

Blinking in surprise, she looked around, only to find a tall male sitting on her windowsill, the jam jar in his hand.

Sakura's heart started to beat frantically against her ribcage at the sight.

"Neji..." she whispered.

"You need to pay more attention to your surroundings," he said by way of greeting. "Someone might surprise you one of these days."

She kept silent for a moment, drinking in his sitting form, freshly showered. She just couldn't believe he was there; stretching his legs like a cat would do before pouncing on its prey.

"I didn't..." she finally began. "I didn't feel you coming..."

"I'm out of chakra," he said lightly. "Tenten and Lee agreed that we needed to return to Konoha as soon as possible, so we raced back here with all our energies."

Sakura had to let out a snort at that statement. She just couldn't see Neji humoring his green-clad teammate on his youthful challenges. But then again, she mused as she felt that sensation of longing disappear with his presence, his voice and his brilliant snowy gaze, it was perfectly believable if he felt the same when he was away from her.

Blushing prettily when she noticed that his eyes were trailing down her body, Sakura tilted her head to a side, shooting him a doubtful look.

"What are you looking at?"

He merely allowed his lips to curve into a sexy little smile. "What do you think?"

Glancing briefly at herself, she realized belatedly that she was wearing her light pink yukata, the very same that showcased her legs in a tantalizing way.

Covering her lap demurely with the scroll she was reading, she sent a mock-glare to her silver-eyed visitor, earning a smile that only grew slightly.

"You are a hentai, Neji," she chastised, but her halfhearted remark fell from her lips when he unfolded himself from the windowsill slowly, showing her his full, tall form as he stood over her, arms crossed over his chest and hair tied up in his usual style.

"And by the feeling of it, you are a hentai as well, my dear," he drawled, amused, as he leaned in on her and planted a soft kiss on her lips. "I can feel you, remember?"

"That's cheating," she protested weakly, staring back at his glinting snow-colored orbs. "I can't feel you."

"On the contrary, Sakura," he replied in a husky whisper. "You are the one that is cheating. I expected you to be in my room when I came back."

"You never told me to do so," she replied easily, placing the scroll on the table and trying to have some space to breathe by leaning back on the sofa a little bit.

"I thought I had implied it," he retorted mildly, his eyes shining with amusement. "What is all this?" he asked, his hand waving at the mountain of scrolls and folders.

"Er... a bunch of my patients' results and reports and stuff—eek!"

Her squeak made him grin inwardly when his deft hands took her slim waist and hauled her effortlessly to stand on her feet, close to his body. Standing next to him, he could feel that very sentiment of longing that almost drove him insane while he was in the desert.

Especially when he remembered traveling those very same sandy dunes with the pink-haired medic, watching her from the corner of his eyes as they sighed at the dynamic duo's antics.

His mission to Sunagakure went smoothly, allowing them to see Gaara's little smile when they delivered the message about Naruto's impending formal future appointment as Hokage. All of them were proud of the blond's success. But watching the green in the Kazekage's eyes the Hyuuga ANBU Captain couldn't help but remember the deep emerald orbs that were waiting for him at home.

Therefore, he could no nothing but accept Lee's challenge to race back home, to Gai's and Tenten's surprise.

Sakura's presence made his senses tingle as soon as he set foot on her street. Her seal made him know that she was relaxed, safe, but somewhat disgruntled and anxious.

And he had known the reason of her distress as soon as he leapt to her window and watched her introducing her jam-coated finger into her mouth.

He had to thank Hikari-sama for her good will towards his lover somehow; he pondered absently as his blood started to boil at such tempting sight.

Placing the jam jar back on the low table, his arms went to wrap around her waist, pulling her body to his.

"Tell me, Sakura," he whispered. "How have you been?"

She blushed furiously, while her Inner persona stomped her foot and yelled at the smirking Hyuuga. This really isn'tthe moment to be making polite chitchat, you dumb man!!

"I... I've been... fine," she stammered. "The Uchiha Training Grounds are already open to the public, and shishou proposed for me to take over the direction of the hospital--"

"I did not ask about that, Sakura," he interrupted her by tracing one finger across her back, making her shiver in anticipation. "I asked about how you have been."

His deep murmur, combined with his touch was nearly driving her to the point of no return.

"I... I have been... expecting you," she breathed, gasping as his face leaned down towards hers, lips almost touching.

"So did you miss me, Haruno?" he asked, feeling his chest rumble under her hands as he spoke. She mentally groaned. A lesser woman would be lying on the floor in a puddle of goo, but there was so much teasing a kunoichi like Sakura could take. The tension in the room was almost unbearable, but she couldn't help but make another ambiguous answer.

"As much as you missed me, Hyuuga," she replied, throwing the ball back in his court.

"Then we both are at our wits' end, are we not?" he shot back, closing the distance and claiming her lips in a hard, almost bruising kiss. She moaned loudly, kissing him back with equal force and throwing her arms around his neck. He tasted like plum jam, discovering that he had sneaked the jar from her in order to try some himself.

In that moment, she realized that this was a much better way to eat jam.

It was only when she felt his hands cupping her butt that she broke out gasping for air and tried to get a grip on her overloaded senses. "Neji...! I have work to do!"

"Yes," he growled against her neck, spreading his fingers on her back, reveling in the pleasant sensation that her mark brought to his touch. "We need to work on some issues, you and me. Those reports can be done later."

Hauling her on him and forcing her legs to wrap around his waist, he kept kissing her as he made his way towards her bedroom, feeling her hands slipping under his white haori and evidencing how very eager she was to feel him.

And of course, he was as eager as she was.

Sitting on her bed with her body straddling his lap, he brought one of his hands to the tie of her garment, pulling it while his other hand was already busy with one of her breasts. She arched under his touch with a moan, her flushed face telling him how much she was enjoying his caresses.

"You have no idea how much I wanted to do this," he murmured to her chest as he rubbed his cheek on her other breast. She gasped again and let out a breathless laugh, as his hands pulled the fabric off her shoulders from their perch at her back, uncovering her seal.

She let out another moan as his fingertips grazed the design, reconnecting their senses and finally making her feel how much he desired, wanted, craved to be with her.

His hands were everywhere; his mere breath was wreaking havoc on Sakura's skin. His lips never stayed on one place, playing tag with his hands as they covered the bare expanse of the pink-haired kunoichi's chest. Growling his approval at her completely exposed breasts, he snarled against her skin when his fingers found the fabric of her panties covering the skin he was desperate to reach.

"I thought I told you to stop using these at home," he muttered as he licked one pebbled nipple, making the woman in his lap arch and squirm as she moaned and tangled her fingers in his hair.

"You never... ah!... told... oh Kami... told me... unnn... to do so..."

"I'm telling you now," he growled as his fingers slid under the cloth, pulling it aside and rubbed her core, feeling her unconsciously pull on his hair as the pleasure took her by surprise.

He wasn't that impassive either. Wrapping an arm around her form and placing his hand over her shoulder, he pressed her down to his lap, letting her feel how aroused he was because of her. Sakura gasped, one of her hands gripping his shoulder and the other pulling his hair again.

Making a quick work of his own pants, Neji grasped her hand and brought it to his length, kissing her mouth feverishly. She called his name in heated surprise, but soon she knew what to do thanks to their connection. No words were needed as she started to stroke him and buck her hips against his.

Sakura threw her head back when his fingers slipped into her. "Neji...!"

"Yes?" he asked in a growl as she clenched her hold on him.

"...Now!"

"Now?"

"Yes...!"

Their broken words were more than enough. Sakura's impassioned demand was promptly heeded and she sighed sobbingly when he finally lifted her hips and connected their bodies slowly.

"I was going insane without you," he confessed, as she started to wiggle her body, opening herself to him. His statement made a smile bloom on the pink-haired medic's swollen lips, kissing the Hyuuga prodigy with all the passion she had.

"I missed you so much, Neji," she admitted in a husky whisper, groaning when he shifted her and allowed his back to lay on her bed, pulling her yukata off, his eyes glinting with desire and need.

"You are beautiful," he murmured with a wicked smile as she moved of her own volition, demonstrating how impatient she was, how empowered she felt to have one of the most powerful shinobi in the world under her, at her mercy.

Her hands unbuttoned the white haori, opening it just enough for him to show his chest and rippling abs with their joined exertion. Sakura's eyes darkened when she trailed his skin, drinking in his form, reveling in the fact that this was Hyuuga Neji, strong ANBU Captain--

And he was making love to her in that very instant.

"You're not so bad either, Hyuuga," she teased him as she arched her back under his snap of hips, impaling himself inside her.

Retaliating at her words, the silver-eyed man grabbed her hip with one hand while the other found her hidden point and stroked her, intent on making her lose control.

She was on fire, she could feel it. She could feel the tidal wave approaching under Neji's masterful fingers. She could feel every inch of his hardness within her, tensing more and more with every thrust. She could feel her eyes closing under the passion they were sharing.

He was trying very hard not to groan out loud. She was exquisite, as exquisite as she felt the last time they were together. She was lithe and feminine and responsive to every of his needs, creating the hazy heat they needed to reach that elusive but delicious release they both craved. It certainly had been too long, too much time apart and away from this woman who all but stole his priorities, his senses, his desires and his heart.

Yanking her upper body to him and gathering what was left of his chakra, he pressed her chest to his as his hand covered her mark. The sensation was too much for both of them, making them climax at the same time, he with her name in a choked hiss, she with his in a suffocated scream.

She fell on his body, feeling like if she were boneless. The usage of chakra was not what she had in mind when she demanded for him to bring her to her release. But it was welcomed nonetheless, as she felt his exerted breathing, signaling how intense the experience was for him as well.

Lifting her trembling hand to his hitai-ate while Inner Sakura snickered inwardly about their hastiness in getting in on that they'd hardly taken their clothes off, she slipped the headband off his bandaged forehead.

"What are you doing?" he asked softly, eyes half open. She smiled lazily and kissed him while her hand uncovered his own seal.

"What do you think?" she shot back, raising her body enough to reach the marked skin, placing a loving kiss on it.

A relaxed silence stretched after her blatant display of affection, resting together in a heap of clothes and limbs, until a little rumble from Sakura's stomach made them laugh, him in amusement, and she in embarrassment.

"Hungry?" he asked, stating the obvious. She nodded against his chest.

"I was thinking of fixing myself some dinner when you sneaked in," she replied, letting out a soft laugh.

"Allow me," he said softly, rolling her to her side smoothly and standing up, leaving his white haori rumpled on her bed as he walked out of her room. Curious, she pulled his garment on and followed him, watching him uncapping the jam jar.

Flushing suddenly at the sight of a very shirtless Hyuuga Neji sucking his own jam coated finger, he smirked.

"Want some?"

She laughed at the ludicrousness of the situation. "Hey, that is my jam."

"And that is my haori you're wearing," he said, eyes glittering with hidden laughter.

"What about a compromise?" Sakura asked, watching him start to walk towards her, licking his own lips as his eyes roved over her half clothed body.

"That might be agreeable, indeed."

-X-

- Tenna' ento lye omenta -

-X-

And it's over, people! OVER! 8D
I can go back to my other stories, now that I fulfilled my urge for a NejiSaku fix, heheh!
Much love to Celtic Oak for her awesome beta work and support! Also for Sometime.Usagi for her awesome NejiSaku oneshots!