Epilogue

"My fellow graduates, as I stand before you all today, I want to congratulate you all on this huge accomplishment that we have rightfully earned at our last few years at Konoha High School." Neji spoke to his graduating class of over one hundred young adults.

The day had started off with Hinata rushing all over the house, trying to make sure that everything was perfect for her and her cousins big day. Neji was the valedictorian, while Hinata was the salutatorian, and they both had prepared for their speeches, only she was far more nervous than he was.

She had found out that she no longer shared the title with Sakura, because of her hospitalization, which knocked her GPA down by just a quarter of a point. Though she tried her best to get out of it, Hinata was given the task of delivering the seven minute speech by herself, and it was something far from easy.

"To the faculty, student body, friends, and family, all gathered here today..." She repeated to herself as she looked at herself in the mirror, while curling her long hair. The speech had been memorized front and back over three days ago, only now she knew that she had to recite it as much as possible, because of the nervous butterflies in her stomach.

A knock to her door interrupted her thoughts, and she groaned before seeing it open. "How are you, Sweetie? I heard you walking around all of last night. You got sleep, didn't you?" Hiashi asked with a smile on his face.

He was more than a proud father today, because not only had his eldest daughter received such a high-achieving accomplishment, but his nephew had done the same. Though he didn't say it enough, he was proud of his children, and nothing would ever stop that.

When a yawn was her only response to his question, he chuckled while placing his hand on her shoulder. "I'll go make you some coffee, okay? You'll be great today, try not to worry so much, Sweetheart." She smiled, "Thank you, Dad." He smiled at her, "No problem." With that, he closed her door and left her bedroom.

She fluffed out her curls to give them more volume, while starting her speech from where she had paused before. "Although I'm up here giving this lengthy speech, this day isn't about neither myself, or even my cousin; This day is about you all, because without every single one of you I wouldn't be the person I am today, and I want to thank you guys for that."

Taking a deep breath, as she applied sunscreen to her face, she continued her speech, while finishing her typical morning routine. "Everyone from my freshman lab partner, to friends I didn't make until this year, have formed me into the person standing here before you all today, and I'm sure that you guys can all say the same."

As she spoke, she had a smile while reminiscing on her high school career. Though it was far from what she envision, she wouldn't of traded for the world.  "As we embark on the next journey in our lives, I want us to all keep in mind that we are all human beings, meaning we are all capable of making mistakes, and facing hardship. With that being said, I want to reiterate that we are humans, meaning that when we face those hardships, we need someone, or people, because it's always easier to get through things with our people there to guide us in the right direction."

As she neared the end of her speech, she held the picture frame on her desk, and gazed at it lovingly. The picture was from TenTen's birthday party, and all of her friends were in her pool, with smiles on their faces. She didn't know what the future had in store for her, but she knew that no matter what happened, she'd continue loving her friends the way she always had.

"As I conclude my speech, I want to leave you all with a quote from somewhere very dear to my heart. "Wherever someone thinks of you, that's where home is." A year from now, we'll be returning from our separate journeys to a destination that we once called, "Home," and regardless of if that place still holds that title, I know that we are all capable of finding our home wherever we are, because of the new bonds we will have created."

She was interrupted again by another knock on her door, but this time she wasn't bothered, because she was finished getting ready, and confident in her speech. "Come in." She said while slipping her dangling earrings into her pierced lobes.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Neji asked her with a smile, making her smile as she saw him so dressed up. "I'm good, how are you? Ready for today?" He nodded, "So ready. How about you? You're about to walk across the stage as an Uzumaki."

A blush rushed to her face as he said that, "God, I completely forgot about that. Fuck." She groaned, "Shit, I'm sorry. You've probably been stressed about the speech, huh?" She nodded while slipping on her heels. "I am, how are you so calm?" He shrugged, "TenTen came over last night, and got rid of any last minute jitters I had."

Her face scrunched at him, making him laugh, "It was just a nice....pep talk." She gently punched his shoulder, while they walked out of her room. "I hate you.""Time for pictures, Guys!" Hanabi said with a smile, while she waited for her family at the bottom of the staircase, with her phone, and film camera in hand.

They laughed at her cuteness, before posing on the last step, with smiles on their faces. "Okay, now with gowns, and cords." Hiashi said with the things in his hands. They both laughed at how extra they were being, but abided by their wishes, until it was time for them to head over to their school. "Alright, we'll see you guys in an hour or so."

They both nodded, before hugging Hanabi and Hiashi, and heading towards Hinata's car. When she got into her car, and put her keys into the ignition, she let out a deep sigh to try and calm the butterflies in her stomach. "God, I'm fucked aren't I?" She asked her cousin, feeling her chest tighten at just the thought of her walking across the stage in front of Naruto, instead of Neji.

  "You've made it this far, Hinata. Just another hour and a half, and they'll be nothing else to hide, okay? Just cross that bridge when it comes." Hinata nodded in agreement, while buckling her seatbelt, and driving out of her driveway. "Okay, you're right. Thank you." She mumbled, still not feeling anymore secure.

When they got to the school, they were met with smiles and hugs from their classmates, before seeing their friends throughout the crowd. "Princess, you look amazing." Naruto said to his wife, making her smile before leaning up to kiss his lips. "Can we go somewhere private? I am seconds away from freaking out right now." He nodded, "Okay, let's go to my car."

As they walked away, they ran into Sasuke and his other group of friends. "Hey, Sasuke." Hinata said with a smile, "Hey, Hinata, congrats on salutatorian." He said with a smile, "Thank you."

"Are you ready to lead the rest of us Uzumaki's across the stage?" Karin asked with a smile, genuinely trying to be nice, although she brought tears to Hinata's eyes. "Oh, are you okay, Sweetie?" Her asking that, made her husband look down at her. "We are gonna see you guys later. Sasuke, remember to find Sakura before the ceremony, okay?"

With that they left, and Suigetsu asked, "Why do you need to find Sakura?" He shrugged his shoulders, "I guess I'll go find out. See you guys later." It wasn't hard to find her in a crowd, because of her beautiful hair.

Tapping her shoulder as she conversed with what appeared to be her family, Sakura turned around and smiled at him. "Sasuke, Hey, you remember my grandparents, right?" He nodded, and smiled at them, but Sakura pulled him away before he was roped into a conversation.

"I had a little surprise for you." She said with a bright smile on her face, while she practically dragged him through the crowd of people. Sasuke couldn't help but smile at her expression.

Just as he started to ask what the surprise was, they were standing in front of Izumi and her son. She looked thinner than before, and had dyed her hair, but as she hugged Sakura, Sasuke saw her smile.

He had always wondered how they were since his brother's passing, and he could see it in her face that she was far from being back to normal. "I kind of sprung this on him, so I'm sorry if things are a bit awkward at first." Sakura whispered to Izumi as they hugged.

Nodding, she pulled away from the beautiful young woman, and smiled at Sasuke. "Hey, Sasuke. I know it's been a while, but Sakura thought it would be a great idea for us to come support you on your big day. We are family after all."

Sasuke smiled as she said that, making Sakura internally fist bump herself. "Thank you, really. It means a lot." That made Izumi smile too, before grabbing her son, and holding him on her hip while asking him, "You remember what Mommy said, right, Meiko? This is your uncle, Sasuke, and auntie Sakura."

The young child remembered Sakura's bold emerald colored eyes, but didn't recall Sasuke. "Hi." Was all he said, making them smile. "How are you today, Buddy? I love your dinosaur shirt." Sakura said with her infectious smile on her face. A cute blush came to his already rosy cheeks, making all of them chuckle. "I think he likes you."

"Can I?" She asked, making Izumi nod before handing her Meiko. "I also have a gift for you." She mumbled while digging through her purse, "Oh, you don't have t-"

Cutting him off, she gave him the envelope with a smile. "I'm not exactly sure what it is, but Itachi included it in his will. I'm glad Sakura was able to find me honestly, because I've always wanted to get to know you, Sasuke. Itachi just adored you."

He chuckled, "It's hard to believe that." She laughed too, "No really, he would always rave about how smart you are, and about how you had such a bright future ahead of you. I never doubted that, but now, I'm certain how right he was."

Her kind words brought a smile to his face, as Sakura entertained the child on her hip, who talked constantly about her hair. "Yeah it's so pink, because my Dad had pink hair." He nodded in understanding, "My Daddy had black hair."

She smiled while nodding her head. "He did have black hair. So does your uncle, look." That made the child look at Sasuke, and back at Sakura. "Mommy?" The child called out, getting her attention, "Yes, Baby?" She asked with a smile on her pretty face. "Can I have pink hair?"

"Sakura's is really pretty, isn't it?" He nodded, "So pretty. We can change the color of mine, yes?" That made Sakura laugh, "Sure, Meiko. We'll get you pink hair." His mother said with a laugh leaving her lips.

The moment was interrupted by their principal, as he instructed for the students to gather in the auditorium. "Well we have to go, see you guys afterwards?" Sakura asked them, while putting Meiko down on the concrete.

"Will do, congrats you two." Izumi said with a smile, making Meiko smile brightly while giving the two young adults a thumbs up as they walked away. Sakura walked briskly in an attempt to keep up with the hoard of people who piled into the school, but she was stopped as she felt Sasuke grab her arm gently while saying, "Wait."

Looking over her shoulder, she asked, "Yes?" A blush came to his cheeks as she looked into his eyes, though he knew exactly what he wanted to say and do, as he stared at her, his mind went blank. "Sasuke? We have to go."

"I just wanted to say...thank you." He said, making her smile before taking his hand, and continuing their walk to the auditorium. Once they got in, and waited in the long line to find their seats, she nervously looked at the bracelet on her hand, while saying with a small smile. "You don't have to thank me. I thought you'd want your family here to celebrate with you."

That brought a smile to his face too, and made him cup her beautiful face in his hands. "No, but it means a lot to me to know that you even thought about it. This day is just as much yours as it is mine, and I'm proud of you, Sakura." He admitted honestly, having no care as his peers watched from around them.

"T-thank you." She said softly, making him chuckle lightly, and kiss her forehead softly. As they shared a moment, Naruto tried to console his wife as she recovered from an anxiety attack. Though just a few weeks ago she had been able to be less fearful of her father, as she was now about to stand in front of him, and respond to a different surname, she couldn't help but wonder if what she did was a mistake.

"Princess, he's your father before anything else, and we both know how much he loves you. Sure, he'll be mad, but I know that he'll get over it." She shook her head, "I-I don't know that though." Hinata muttered, while pulling the visor down, and looking at herself in it's mirror.

"I do, Hinata. I know how much he loves you, and he'd be an ignorant man to throw away a relationship with his daughter, over something that he can't change. So you go in there, deliver your speech, and walk across that stage as a proud Uzumaki, okay?"

That made her giggle cutely, as she wiped away the residue of her waterproof mascara. "Okay, I guess I can do that." With that, the happy couple rushed to their seats in the crowded auditorium, and listened to the few announcements, before being instructed to walk outside, where their families would be waiting for them in the stands.

As Sasuke sat next to Hinata, he couldn't help but stare at the back of Sakura's head, as his mind kept drifting to the night over a month ago, which was the last time he had really spoken to her until today. Hinata on the other hand, was tapping her foot anxiously on the fake grass, as she tried to keep her anxiety at bay.

Looking over at her, Sasuke said in a soft tone, "I know you're scared, but whatever happens now, Naruto will always keep you safe." Though his sudden niceness surprised her, she welcomed it with a smile, and gently placed her hand on his. "Thank you, Sasuke." He offered her a smile too, "Of course, Hinata."

Before they all knew it, they were walking across the stage as their names were called. "Shino Aburame." Their principal started, making his friends cheer for him, while Hinata sighed deeply, while watching her father from her seat. Though he was yards away, she could see that he was confused by the seating arrangement, as she sat next to Sasuke, instead of Neji.

Sasuke watched Sakura from his seat, as he saw the way her hair fell just above her slim shoulders. The back of her head was enough to put a smile on his face, as he remembered the people in the stands who would be cheering for him as he walked across the stage.

Naruto sat a little ways from his wife, and though he was excited to graduate, he tried to mentally prepare himself for everything bad that could follow after Hinata's name was called. Though he tried to reassure her, he didn't know how Hiashi would react, and he knew that he had to be able to handle it, because Hinata wouldn't be able to.

Before anyone knew it, Sasuke's name was being called, and as Hinata stood behind him in the line, and watched him walk across the stage, she tried to calm down her nerves. "Hinata Uzumaki."

People throughout the crowd cheered, but as she accepted the diploma, and smiled at the yearbook member who held the camera, she tried to relish in the fact that she was graduating high school. It was supposed to be a joyous occasion, but the minute she made it back to her seat, she looked back to where her father was sitting, and didn't see him.

The only person she saw was Hanabi and Konohamaru, and as her eyes scanned all over, she saw his back as he walked underneath the exit sign. She completely missed them calling her husband's name, as she felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach.

Sasuke noticed that she had began to cry, so as Naruto walked past him to get to his seat, he grabbed his forearm. "What?" He asked, before looking past him and seeing his wife with her head down.

Though he couldn't see her face, because her long hair covered her face, he knew she was crying by the way her right hand sat pressed against her beautiful face. Patting his back, Sasuke sat in his friends spot next to Karin, and Ino. "Is she okay?" Ino asked Sasuke, as she noticed that her friend had started crying. "She will be." He answered, making her nod.

Within an hour, the ceremony was over, and as the bunch of students gathered with their friends and family, who had come to celebrate with them, Sasuke talked to his newfound family. "We're actually heading out to see my parents for the summer, you're more than welcome to come. They'd be thrilled to meet you, really."

His sister-in-law said to him, with a bright smile on her face, as he held his nephew in his arms. "I wouldn't want to intrude, really." He started, only to be interrupted, "No, I insist, and I really want you to spend more time with my son before we move. We're gonna be leaving the country for a while, and I want you to know your family."

Though he wanted to decline her offer, simply out of fear of having to meet so many new people, he smiled at the woman. "O-okay, sure. When do we leave?" Just as she parted her lips to answer him, they were interrupted by Sakura.

"I'm so sorry if I'm interrupting, but I'm about to leave to head to my house for my grad party, and wanted to let you all know that you're invited. They'll be more little ones for Meiko to play with and everything."

Izumi smiled at her, "We'll meet you guys there. Just text me the address?" She nodded while pulling out her phone, "Will do. See you guys there." With that, Sakura walked away, and Izumi saw the way that Sasuke watched her walk away. It wasn't in a lustful way, rather loving, and she could see it in his onyx eyes.

"Just think about it, Sasuke. I know you probably have a lot planned for this summer." She said with a smile, before saying that she'd see him later, and walking away.

"Are you sure you don't want me there?" Naruto asked his wife, while leaning against her car as she sat in it. She shook her head, and tried to smile though she had eyes full of tears, alongside a stomach of butterflies as she was about to head home.

"Y-yeah, don't worry. Neji will be there, and we'll meet you and the kids over at Sakura's. I'll call you if I need anything, of course." She reassured him, making him nod, although he wanted to be there with her. "Okay, Princess. Please be safe, I love you." Smiling, she leaned forward, and kissing his awaiting lips. ~ "A summer in Tanigakure? That actually sounds like a lot of fun, Sasuke." His friends said to him, making him nod in agreement, as his eyes watched Sakura from across the room. The party was meant to celebrate the entire group of friends, but he couldn't help but focus on her as she lit up the room like she always did.

"Yeah, I just don't want to leave her for a whole summer, I feel like we're kind of getting back to normal." He admitted to the group of young men, making them all nod in agreement.

"Well she knows how important this is to you, what did she say when you told her?" Neji asked him, and he shook his head, "I haven't yet." Sai nodded, "Just start there then, the more time you spend worrying about it, the less time you'll be able to make a decision."

Sasuke sighed deeply, before setting his glass of water down on the table next to him, and walking to Sakura. "Hey." He started, getting her attention as she ended a conversation with her only aunt.

"Hey, everything okay?" She asked with a smile, "Yeah, everything's good, I just wanted to talk to you about something important." He said, just before she got distracted as she heard a crash, followed by a child crying.

"That's Meiko, isn't it?" She said more to herself than Sasuke, before going into her kitchen to see the young boy in the arms of her mother, bleeding from where he had bumped into a table, before scrapping his elbow.

"Oh no, Meiko, are you okay, Sweetie?" Sakura asked, while taking him from her mother, as he cried. "He's fine, the kids were just playing tag, and the little one wasn't paying attention."

Nodding, Sakura looked at Sasuke while saying, "I'm sorry, I know you were about to tell me something, but I have to help. Izumi wanted me to watch after him while she ran a quick errand." He nodded, and as she started to walk upstairs he followed after her while saying, "I'll help."

It brought a smile to her face, hearing him say that, "Make him stop crying." She said, while putting the crying kid down so he could stand on his feet, while going through her medicine cabinet.

"Hey, Buddy, Sakura is gonna make you feel better, okay?" He tried, as the child's red face only seemed to worsen. "Where does it hurt, Buddy?" He asked, "Right here, and here!" Meiko said, finally looking into his uncles eyes, as he pointed at his stomach, and slightly bleeding elbow.

"Well she's gonna stop the bleeding, and give you a fun bandaid, and I'll run out and get you some medicine. Did you have too much cake?" Sasuke asked, although he knew the answer to that as he saw the blue icing around his lips.

"Yes, Uncle." Meiko admitted, before he gently patted his back, "That's okay, Buddy. Your mom will be back from the store really soon." He said to the child, making Sakura smile while shaking her head, surprised at how good he was with his nephew.

When the kid nodded in understanding, he left the room to do as he said, while Sakura gave the child a smile. "You're really brave, Meiko, and I know it hurts now, but in two seconds it'll feel all okay, again." She reassured the child, while cleaning his small wound. "Promise?"

"I promise, Sweetie." She said, just as her bedroom door opened, and she glanced up to see Sasuke with a small bottle of cough syrup. "Okay, so your mom says that this helps with stomach aches apparently, but it's gonna make him drowsy."

  He explained to her, making her nod, before looking at the child. "Time to take some tummy medicine, and then how does a nice nap sound?" That made him cross his arms over his chest, "I'm not tired."

Once he took the medicine, his attitude changed, as the child drowsily laid his head against Sakura's shoulder, as he sat in her lap, while her and Sasuke talked about his plans for the summer. "If you want me to stay, I will." He said, making her shake her head, "No, you should be with your family. I-I'll be here when you come back. You're coming back, aren't you?"

"Of course, Sakura." He reassured her, as he saw tears come to her emerald eyes. "You leave so soon. How do I even say goodbye?" She asked, oddly feeling very saddened that she wouldn't be seeing her ex for a few months.

"Why don't you just come with me?" Sasuke asked Sakura impulsively, hating the way he felt as a tear fell from her left eye. Like he expected, he saw her beautiful emerald eyes as they filled with pure surprise. "W-what?"

Nervously running his fingers through his hair, she watched as he repeated his question with a blush rushing to his face. "C-come with me, Sakura. Even if it's just for a few weeks. I have to meet these new people...my family, and I want....no I need you there with me."

His confession brought a small smile to her face, before she kissed the child on his forehead, as he began to stir in his sleep. Her silence made him ramble, "You know me, and I don't want to do it alone, because I'll shut down, b-but if you're there you'll help me open up." She wasn't sure what to say initially, but as she looked at her opened closet, and saw her suitcase sitting up against the wall, she thought that maybe she should listen to what her heart wanted.

"Okay." She answered him, making him smile. "Okay. We leave in a few hours, here, I'll take him, you pack. Thank you so much, I know it's last minute, but this means so much to me, seriously."

Sakura laughed a little, "It's no problem, Sasuke. Now here, don't wake him." While taking the child from her arms, Sasuke gently kissed her forehead. "Thank you, Sakura."