THIS IS THE EPILOGUE. It was posted at the same time as the previous chapter! Please doublecheck with the previous chapter and make sure that you are not spoiling yourself by not reading the previous chapter!

She scrubbed the plain soap against the planes of her cheek, along her jawline in the mirror. It was an efficient, utilitarian process, rinsed in cold water that threatened to seize up her muscles.

When she finished, she pulled her fairy floss pink hair out of its tie and tousled some of the roots experimentally. The ends brushed her shoulders daintily, having grown nicely since the last time it had been cut. There was only so much that could be done without visiting a profession salon, and that had not happened in quite some time.

"Thinking about cutting it again?" Konan asked from the doorway. Sakura smiled at her and took a few steps forward. She shook her head as she joined the woman in the hallway.

"No, I think I'd like it to be long for a while." They walked together easily over the darkly stained wood. "Long is more my style."

"Nothing wrong with short, though," her friend teased dryly. Sakura grinned, having taken several months to grow used to her easy, dispassionate tone.

"You have a nice cut, but I'm ready for something long."

"Hmm, suit yourself."

They came to a stop at an outer pagoda of the smallish grounds, smaller than Sakura had been expecting anyway. She had known very little of Akatsuki before she had woken with Naruto and several unknown figures standing over her. It was an open structure with a tented roof and no walls.

Naruto was standing there, facing out into the yard as they approached. He extended a hand back to her as she stepped beside him, and she slipped hers into his fingers.

The trio's eyes glanced back into the yard where Itachi was standing with a small, dark-haired child. The pair was moving through a kata, focusing on balance as they shifted from foot to hand to foot. Itachi made no corrections, and Sakura watched the boy make the motions effortlessly despite his young age.

"How many times has he gone through it now?" she asked proudly.

"This is only the second," Naruto answered, and she smiled. "Looks like he's following in his dad's footsteps." She nodded.

"He'll need a haircut soon," she muttered absently, still watching his graceful motions.

The pair finished the kata. She watched the child bow to Itachi who tweaked his forehead with the smallest of smiles. The boy fell back comically, and she grinned, tucking a hand over her mouth. It was then that Itachi finally used a sterner tone, and his pupil responded immediately by rolling backwards and into his feet.

They approached the pagoda at an easy pace, the boy keeping up with Itachi's longer stride.

"Say 'good morning,'" Itachi commanded gently as they stood before the trio.

"Good morning, Konan-sensei, Naruto-san, Sakura-san." They each nodded in turn before Itachi and the boy moved back towards the inner compound.

"Ready for the meeting?" Konan asked.

"Ready," Sakura agreed, and together the three walked back inside.

THE END.

Thank you to everyone who has read this story, enjoyed it, cried over it, hated it at times, and taken the time to share all of your feelings about the story with me. Truly, this is the first time I've ever finished a story of this length and it would not have happened without your time and effort, too.

I'll be putting some notes in my LJ about the story in the next few hours, so if you're interested in more of an explanation or you have further questions, feel free to send me a message.

Please leave a review, too, of course :)

THANK YOU ALL!