Naruto: Kakusei Heroism– The Hero Without A Name

A/N: The epilogue, as promised and four months late.

Thank you everyone for the reviews and follows!

Kakusei Heroism – The Hero Without A Name

Chapter 10: The Epilogue

Four Months Later

"It was reported today that all investigations against Shimura Danzō and his company Root, who attempted an uprising two month ago, have been concluded. Shimura, who was severely wounded during the altercation with Konoha Police, will go before the judicial system in the capital next week to hear the charges against him. Backers to Shimura will also go on trial, including two prominent judges from Konoha…"

"In wake of the gap left by Shimura Danzō, control of the military has been temporarily placed into the hands of Senju Tsunade who has been running the Konoha Police Force for five years. Working in collaboration with allies from the Land of Iron, the borders to the Fire Nation have been secured to prevent attacks and present a secure front against neighboring countries..."

"It has been three months since any information related to the vigilante Crow has been released by the Konoha Police. Known for bringing in members of known drug and crime syndicates, Crow was wanted by the police for violating several laws regarding civilian policing, among other charges. The police have been quiet regarding their investigation, though with the restructure of the military it is not surprising that there has been a temporary hold in the investigation. In other news…"

sSs

Gazing down at her parent's graves, Sakura let the quiet of the graveyard surround and soothe her. For the past month she had been temporarily living in the capital to be on hand for Danzō's trial as a key witness and was only back in Konoha for a few weeks before she had to return for the next court session. The break from the high-profile case was much needed and she felt her body start to unwind after a month of constant tension.

She had already stopped by to see Naruto and Kakashi at the station, who had been running the police while Tsunade was in the capital for the trial and trying to straighten out the military. Sasuke was no longer based at HQ, having finally made the jump over to Special Forces after the commotion with Root started to calm down. She hadn't heard much about it besides the fact that Shisui had approached him about it directly, and she couldn't help but wonder if Shisui had revealed Itachi's part in everything.

Itachi, she thought, finally pulling her gaze from her parent's grave to look at where Itachi's headstone was located several rows away. In the four months since they last spoke in the garden shed, she hadn't heard a word regarding what had happened to him and was stuck between hope and despair whenever she thought of him.

In the aftermath of brining down Danzō and Root, Sakura and Tsunade had never mentioned Crow's involvement in their rescue. Still, Sakura knew her mentor well enough to know that she had developed her own theories of who Crow was and was simply keeping quiet about it. Sakura also didn't put it past Tsunade to have a guess about Sakura's relationship with the masked man, despite Sakura never alluding to anything in the times when she went over her time spent with him.

Scowling as the clear autumn day gave way to a sudden shower and effectively pulled her from her musings, Sakura bid her parents a short farewell and headed home. She was looking forward to a night in at her own place and her own bed, to temporarily escape the endless preparations for Danzō's trials and court appearances.

At her apartment, she was tossing her keys on the door-side table when the hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stood up, signaling she wasn't alone. Pausing, Sakura slowly set the keys down as she ran through possibilities, her heart suddenly pounding in her chest.

"You need to stop breaking and entering into my apartment like this," she finally spoke, her voice nervous with apprehension. Stepping away from the door, she walked towards her living room slowly, finding the room already lit. Stopping at the entryway, Sakura stared at the figure sitting on her couch in a mix of hope and worry.

Lowering the book he had been reading, Itachi looked up at her from across the room. The first thing she noticed was the lack of his porcelain mask, but as she continued to watch him she also took in the fact he was dressed in civilian clothing, dark slacks and a button up black shirt, in place of the military fatigues he had normally worn. It wasn't hard to see the shadows of exhaustion lining his face and how pale his face was against the darkness of his clothing, but Sakura didn't care. He was here.

"My apologies, I didn't know when you were planning on arriving so I let myself in," he explained as he set down the book and rose from his spot on the couch. For several minutes they simply stood and watched each other across the span of her small living room until Sakura finally spoke.

"Where have you been?" she asked softly, curling her hands into loose fists. After they had separated and Sakura had returned to headquarters to help organize the Police Force's attack on Root, she had never been able to figure out what had happened to him. She had been haunted since then, thinking he had been wounded and ended up dying, alone. Even now the thought brought tears to her eyes which she quickly blinked away.

"Besides Danzō, there was some unfinished business I had to take care of," Itachi told her, "including his spy in the Police Force."

"That was you?" Sakura asked, surprised. Part of the reason Danzō's trial had taken so long to go to court was trying to track down all of Danzō's business partners, like his shifty accountant and his spies, including the one that had worked to pin Sakura for Tokuwa's murderer. Sakura had never heard who Tsunade had assigned the case to, assuming it to be IA, but this was unexpected. "That means Shishou…"

"Senju-sama and I met briefly, shortly after Danzō's capture," Itachi said, answering her unspoken question. Wincing at the thought of how that conversation must have gone over, Itachi's lip curled in a slight smile as he continued to watch her. "She was most vocal in her thoughts about my actions, but in the end she accepted my help. And, thanks to her, I'm free."

"Free?"

"Under her influence, my records have been expunged of all of Danzō's accusations brought against me," Itachi explained and Sakura couldn't stop the smile that grew as she realized what this meant. Watching as Itachi crossed the room until they stood only a few hand-widths apart, Sakura met his gaze as he reached up and gently trailed his fingers over her cheeks. "My death certificate was also rescinded so I can have my life back, whatever I choose to do with it."

Too overwhelmed to speak, Sakura threw her arms around his shoulder and pulled him down to kiss him, pouring all of her emotions into the act. Feeling his arms tighten around her in response until she was pressed against him tightly, she finally broke the kiss to rest her forehead against his shoulder.

"Thank you for coming back," she told him softly, smiling.

"Thank you for giving me a reason to," he replied, one hand stroking through her hair softly. "Thank you for saving me, Sakura."

Shaking her head, unsure how she had could done anything as significant as saving Itachi, Sakura pulled back to look up at Itachi to see him watching her with dark eyes. Smiling now that she could truly see the man behind the mask, she reached up to gently cup his cheek before asking, "Will you stay for dinner?"

"I will stay as long as you will have me," he stated, eyes serious, and Sakura warmed at the silent promise in his statement before she took his hand.

"Good. Welcome back, Itachi."

Fin.

Ending A/N: And that's the end! No, really, that's it. Sad day.

Also, as you noticed there was no giant declaration of "I love you's" in this story. I chose to not do that because I felt it was appropriate for this story; while there was obviously feelings between the two, I didn't find it realistic for them to fall in love in a such a tense situation when the outcomes were so unsure. Now that Itachi is free from Crow, obviously their relationship can now proceed in a fairly normal progression "off-screen".

Thank you again for all of my reviewers for this story and for those of you who continue to review now that this story is now complete. I'm glad so many of you enjoyed the plot and twists that came along. I'm a little sad this is ending, but now I can focus on another multi-chapter story for Itachi and Sakura!

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me.