A/N: If you don't like this ending, you can forget it ever happened and just ignore it. I just wanted to make everything come full-circle.

Thank you to all of my reviewers and readers! I loved getting all of your input, and I hope I didn't disappoint you too badly with my story.

Chapter Stats
Rating: PG
Pairings: Mentioned SasuSaku and NaruHina

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Epilogue: Eternal?

A meek wind lightly caressed the young woman's smooth skin as she walked soundlessly on the pathway to a very familiar place. A gentle smile graced her lips, and green eyes glistened with life, despite the dreary mood of the day, with blackened clouds casting a foreboding shadow onto the earth below them.

The memorial stone was the same as it had always been, with only a few notable names recently carved into its surface. The woman came to a gradual halt in front of it, and raised a soft hand to a few names in particular, tracing them lightly with an outstretched finger.

"Hey there, Sasuke-kun." Sakura's face shone even more brightly, even though raindrops had begun to fall. "How are you today?"

She took a seat at the base of the stone, leaning her head against its dark surface. "I'm pretty good myself. It's the first day off I've had in months." She closed her eyes. "Minato and Mikoto are on their first genin mission! Can you believe how quickly that time has passed? It seems like yesterday was their first day at the academy…"

A mild laugh passed through Sakura's lips. "And Naruto isn't here because… he's proposing to Hinata tonight. I think even you would be happy about that. He told me to tell you he's sorry for not coming."

The rain was intensifying by the second, and it was more than a drizzle now. "I had a bit of an argument with Mikoto again before she left this morning…" She shifted uncomfortably, as if the person she was speaking to was staring at her with his harsh onyx eyes. "I'm afraid that she's going to run off, Sasuke-kun. There's nothing I can tell her that satisfies her. She refuses to believe that you're…"

The wind picked up, and the rain was beginning to pelt, but Sakura was unaffected by the weather. She sat quietly, just enjoying her location. Even though he was not physically there, and she knew that quite well, just being near the memorial that bear his name in stone made her feel secure.

"Even though Kakashi has mentored her well, being the only adult with Sharingan, she thinks… no, she knows… that her eyes are so much more than we lead her to believe. But not only do we not know the whole truth… I'm afraid to tell her. It's not that I don't trust my daughter… our daughter… I just don't want her to suffer the same fate as you and your brother did, Sasuke-kun.

"Minato and Naruto have always gotten along, but ever since Mikoto was just a child, she's harbored a deep hatred for him. I think… even though she doesn't say it, that she believes he is the reason that you aren't here anymore… and she resents him for it." She smiled sadly and raised her face to the pouring sky, allowing the water to drench her. "I wish you were here to tell her she's wrong…

"Sometimes… it's the strangest thing… but sometimes, I feel like you're out there somewhere, just waiting for the opportune moment to come back into our lives once again. It's like the time that you left for Orochimaru…" She regarded the thought with a bitter face. "…only this time, my hope is stronger. Even when my mind tells my heart over and over again how silly the notion is…"

Lightning crashed brightly on the horizon, and Sakura jumped in surprise. It had been an abnormally bright flash, and she observed the site curiously from her distance away.

"I feel like you're trying to tell me something every time lightning strikes," she murmured absent-mindedly.

"I thought I'd find you here, Sakura."

The voice snapped Sakura out her thoughts, and she whirled around from her position on the ground, nearly toppling over in the process.

Kakashi stared mildly at her with a half-lidded eye. "You're going to catch a cold in the rain."

She smiled at the Hokage. "I'm not concerned." A smile was visible through the mask that still encased his face. "Hey, Kaka-sensei?"

"Yeah?"

Sakura kept her gaze distant. "Do you… believe Sasuke's dead?"

Kakashi was quiet for a moment, seemingly considering her question, and when he spoke, the tone in his voice was strange and unreadable. "You can never be too sure about people like him."

Sakura knew that this was his way of saying no.

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"S-shit, Mikoto! What was that?" Minato kept his body low to the ground as he concealed himself behind a bush, his voice harsh and struggling to beat out the sound of rain on leaves.

"I don't know! Stay quiet, idiot!" she fired back, her duel-tomoed Sharingan spinning angrily.

"Where's Shikamaru-sensei?!"

Mikoto only glared at her brother. I don't feel any chakra, but that kunai didn't spontaneously generate!

"We need to—mmph!" The boy's mouth was promptly covered by a hand, sharp nails digging into his cheek.

"Silence!" Mikoto snapped as her brother frantically grasped at her arm, trying to rip it from his face.

Without warning, a trio of ninja burst from brush behind the two siblings, catching both off guard. Mikoto tripped in her surprise and ended up face down in the mud, and her brother jumped back in shock. Their shrieks were muffled by the sound of the rain.

Minato's Sharingan activated, and he readied himself to use a shadow shuriken technique, but there was no need, as lightning struck the ground very near where they stood with a bright light and a monstrous boom, blinding and deafening the two preteens momentarily.

A minute passed, and time seemed frozen. Abruptly, Mikoto scrambled to her feet and shook off the paralysis. She grabbed her brother by the arm, who was staring dazedly at the sky.

"Do you know what that was?!"

He blinked rapidly as he came back to life. "W-what?"

His sister's eyes were never opened more widely. "Look!" She waved a hand in the direction of where the lightning had struck. "It hit those ninja dead on!"

Indeed, the spot where the three had been standing was now a smoldering crater in the earth.

"It was just… lightning…"

"No! It had a shape to it, Minato!" she said enthusiastically. "It was a Kirin! I saw it!"

"Kirin…?"

"Only an Uchiha could create such an amazing show of power!"

Minato sighed. "We're the only Uchiha left… we can't do that."

Her eyes gleamed menacingly. "But our father could!"

"He's dead, Mikoto…"

"He isn't! You just saw his technique! Kirin!"

"Mikoto…" Sharingan faded from his eyes as he put an arm around his sister, who was now staring past him. "He is…"

Her breathing halted and her body visibly stiffened. "Min…"

"…dead… I know it's hard… but…"

"…look…"

"…there's nothing we can do…"

A finger wavered in the air. "L-look…"

"What?" The black-haired boy turned to face the gestured direction, and his arms dropped to their sides. His mouth fell open and his eyes were painfully widened.

The two children of Uchiha had never seen their father. They didn't know his chakra, his attitude, his personality. They didn't know the sound of his voice, but when this tall man before them with spiky black hair and strikingly familiar (and very bored looking) onyx eyes spoke, the realization was unanimous.

"Shinobi need to be aware at all times. Don't be so careless."

"…you are…" Minato's normally loud voice was no more than a whisper.

"As heirs to Uchiha, I expect more from you." A black cloak that draped his strong frame rustled in the wind.

"…Uchiha Sasuke…" Mikoto's breath remained strangled in her lungs.

Black eyes narrowed, and a deep scar across them became more evident. "I am no-one."

As he turned around to leave them there, Mikoto regained her composure and tossed herself forward. "FATHER!"

He stopped and half regarded her over his shoulder, his eyes sending chills through her body and rooting her to the spot.

He's dangerous… Mikoto… get away from him… Minato remained deathly still for fear of this man. I don't care even if he really is Sasuke… my father… but he could very well be an impostor…

"P-please…" she stammered meekly. Her brother winced for her, just waiting for this man to send her flying across the forest.

"If you really are… Uchiha Sasuke… please show us…"

Don't do it sister… oh god…

"…Sharingan."

The dark figure turned his head away from them again, but did not move. "Forget about Sharingan."

"Show it to me." Her voice was suddenly stronger.

"Mikoto…" Minato murmured, though his sister did not hear him. Right now her focus was locked on the mystifying man before her.

"It's my right to know… they're my eyes too." On cue, the red bled into her irises.

Strangely enough, the figure remained there throughout the long silence that followed. The twins didn't dare move. The wind blew stronger, and thunder rumbled in the distance. The tension in the air was tangible.

"I've left my sword, Kusanagi, in Konoha. If you wish to seek me again, take it in hand and prove yourself."

His head snapped over his shoulder, and Sharingan spun like wheels in his eyes, glowing in the pseudo-darkness that shrouded the forest. "If you speak of my existence, you can forget about your eyes."

And with that, he disappeared, just as suddenly as he had appeared.

Rain continued to pound the twins as they gazed on.

Minato was sick to his stomach, and when he took a quick glance at his sister, who was completely awe-struck, it worsened exponentially.

Mother is right… they are too alike for comfort.

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A/N: No, I won't be writing a sequel to this. Like I said, I just wanted a full-circle ending. :)

Thanks again!

Tah tah for now!
- diabolicalrat