A/N: I first wrote this story 10 years ago. The ending never really felt complete, because Sasuke had become the third main character and he was kind of left hanging after his atonement mission. I obviously enjoy multi-shipping Sakura, but I do absolutely adore Sasuke - I think he's a complex character that presents so much opportunity for story-telling. So without further ado, I hope you enjoy Sasuke's epilogue. 12/21/23

Chapter Twenty-Six:

Sasuke is Back Home


. . . Dinner at the Hyuga district had been surprisingly enjoyable. He didn't want to admit it, but having Naruto and Sakura's brood of children tugging on his sleeves and calling him Uncle Sasuke had truly warmed his heart. It made him long for children of his own some days. Other days, he didn't think he was capable of being a father mentally and emotionally. Physically, there was no issue.

He thought back on the letter from the Rokudaime, requesting he return home. It had been eight years and there was no evidence of further threat. He deserved a break and his friends missed him.

Sasuke had missed his friends too.

A few months back, he'd been summoned to the Daimyo's castle. The former Daimyo had retired and his son was now the ruler. Sasuke had been incredibly surprised to be greeted by his old Taka teammate Suigetsu in charge of the Daimyo's Samurai guard. He'd been even more surprised to learn that Karin had married the Daimyo's younger brother and Jugo the princess.

It seemed like all his friends were becoming important people in society.

"It's good that you're back," Hanabi said, drawing Sasuke's attention.

They sat together in the gazebo outside Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, and Neji's combined backyard. There was a koi pond at their feet and he'd been staring at the colorful bodies swimming between the lily pads.

"It's good to be back," Sasuke answered. "What are you up to these days? Sakura wrote to me that you'd been promoted to Jonin a few months back."

Hanabi nodded. "Konohamaru and I were both promoted at the same time," she acknowledged. "Lord Hatake wants me to be a Jonin sensei."

"Hm." Sasuke stared back at the fish. That was a position he didn't want. He wouldn't mind training the next generation on occasion, but he never wanted to deal with the adolescent drama he and his team had given to poor Kakashi — who was equally ill-equipped to deal with said drama given his own sob story of a background. "You'd be good at it." He looked over at her with a faint smirk. "You put up with me and Naruto back before our Chunin Exams."

Hanabi folded her arms over her chest and smirked back. "I certainly did. If I can survive you two, I can survive a bunch of kids." She looked back down at the koi pond herself. "I just have to wait for the next Academy graduation. But, my tentative team will be one of all girls, so I won't have to worry about them having any awkward love-triangles."

Sasuke chuckled. "I wouldn't count on that. People will love whomever."

"Where are you staying?" Hanabi asked.

"Oh. A friend for tonight. It's pre-arranged. Then Naruto invited me to stay in his guest room for a while. I'll probably need to look for more permanent arrangements. It just depends on what Kakashi wants with me. I meet him in the morning."

"Ah, well it will be good to see you around, Sasuke." Hanabi leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek, surprising Sasuke. "Let's get ramen together some day, okay?"

"Sure," Sasuke agreed, feeling slightly confused by the sweet gesture. "I guess that means you liked the kimono?"

"Loved it. Thank you, for thinking of me," Hanabi said. She rose gracefully from the arched bridge over the pond. "Good night, Sasuke."

"Good night, Hanabi." Sasuke stood as well and watched her walk away feeling oddly torn. Gone was the arrogant little annoying sister of Hinata and now Hanabi was a beautiful woman of twenty. It almost made him regret his plans for that evening.

He went back into the main house, grabbed his pack and slung it back over his shoulder when he found Sakura waiting for him in the kitchen. They smiled at each other, wounded hearts long since healed.

"Have fun tonight, Sasuke-kun," Sakura teased, smiling broadly.

He rolled his eyes. "Annoying," he retorted back. The air left his lungs when Sakura hugged him tight. He returned the embrace. "I can't have you and the Idiot having kids without me."

"Are you sure you want to do it this way?" Sakura asked, leaning back.

Sasuke shrugged. "We made a deal. If at twenty-five neither of us were committed we'd have a kid together."

Sakura nodded. "You're both good people. You might find you have more in common than you think."

Sasuke smirked at her and mused her hair, much like Kakashi used to do when they were kids. "What we have in common is that our old childhood crushes married each other and a love for target practice. Don't worry about me, Sakura."

"Impossible. I'll always worry for you. I'm glad you're home, Sasuke-kun. I'll see you later." She narrowed her eyes and wiped her thumb over Sasuke's cheek — the one Hanabi had kissed. "You can't go see one woman with the lipstick mark on your face of another."

"Hn. Good catch," Sasuke agreed. "See you for dinner tomorrow?"

"I will bring some food to the Hokage office. Kakashi-sensei asked if I'd bring dinner for us— Naruto and Shikamaru too," Sakura explained.

"Ah, okay." Sasuke applied lightning to his feet and flash-stepped away from the Hyuga side of town. He had a date with a certain brunette. . . .

.

.

.


OoO


.

.

.

The experience had been pleasant enough. It had certainly been different than he'd imagined it would be. He'd always imagined he would be in love with his lover, but they were at least friends.

"To be clear," Sasuke said, breaking the thick silence that had descended up on them. "You want to have a child. But you don't want to be married."

Tenten shook her head, long hair loose about her shoulders instead of in their usual double buns. "No. That life isn't for me." She traced idle circles over Sasuke's bare chest, the sensation mildly ticklish, but not unpleasant.

"So, do you want to split custody? I am hoping to one day have a family unit. I'm not just wanting to hook up to knock you up and revive my clan," Sasuke pointed out.

"I know that. We're friends, Sasuke. And you're gorgeous," Tenten murmured. "I'm a kunoichi with no family name, but if I could be part of history — be the mother of your child? Or even children? Not everyone is as lucky as Neji and Sakura having twins on their first try."

Sasuke threaded his fingers through her long hair, it was soft, but it wasn't silky. This was a woman who focused on her skills and not her appearance. He appreciated that about her. "So what do you want?"

"Ideally? We're successful. I get the nice stipend from the council for volunteering to help you revive the clan that the former council members were responsible for decimating." Tenten drew away from him and pulled her hair into a side ponytail before she started to collect her clothes from the floor. "And I have thought about moving to Cloud or Mist. Maybe meet a nice Samurai or something. There is something overly sexy about a man that handles a sword." She winked down at him.

"Are you going to shower now?" Sasuke asked. He knew a samurai, but Suigetsu certainly wasn't nice. And he was better at swordsmanship that Sasuke, though he wasn't sure if Tenten was speaking in innuendo or if she meant literal swords. Honestly, he didn't know her well enough to know better. Which was a shame. He really wanted to know the mother of his children better. But then again, in a perfect world, his clan wouldn't have been massacred, so what did it matter what he wanted?

Tenten nodded and met his eyes, her dark gaze mischievous. "Want to join me?"

Sasuke grinned, all his dark thoughts vanquished to the back of his mind. He thought about Kakashi's letter to him a few months back — telling him not to take everything so seriously. He needed to live a little and take joy where and whenever he could. "I need to help you earn that stipend, don't I?" he retorted.

Tenten laughed. "Weirdo. Come on. Let's have you try that thing with the lightning?"

.

.

.


OoO


.

.

.

The next morning, Sasuke arrived at the Hokage office on time and was greeted by Shikamaru. Naturally, Kakashi wouldn't arrive for a while yet. Some things never changed. To pass the time, Shikamaru pulled out a shogi board he and Kakashi kept in the office to help break the ice for certain visitors.

"Visitors like me?" Sasuke asked, pulling out the chair across from Shikamaru's desk.

"Nah, you're not a visitor. You're family, returning home long last," Kakashi said, strolling into the room from the stairs hidden in the back that led to the Hokage penthouse. His bodyguard Genma flickered to the shadowy corner of the office to stand watch.

"You're late," Sasuke complained.

"Hm. It took you eight years to find a whole lot of nothing," Kakashi answered, slipping on his Hokage robes and settling into his office chair.

"Eight years to be certain our planet was safe from further threat of an extraterrestrial force," Sasuke clarified. He turned his chair around that he'd been sitting in across from Shikamaru. "To what do I owe this pleasure, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi smiled through his ever-present mask. "Are you interested in becoming a Jonin sensei?"

"No," Sasuke answered immediately. "I wouldn't mind flunking a few Academy graduates like you did, but no way am I signing up to deal with hormonal adolescents."

"Maa, it's not that bad," Kakashi protested.

Sasuke scoffed. "How many prospective students did you send back to the Academy before you settled on us?"

"Hm, only four other prospective teams." Kakashi drummed his fingers over his desktop. "It's a rewarding experience, having a team of your own."

"I have a team. Team Seven for life. I could sign up for Anbu," Sasuke suggested.

"No. You've done enough. We want you back in the village." Kakashi leaned back. "Do you still want to become Hokage?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Over Naruto?"

"It's taking Naruto longer to learn the administrative duties than anticipated," Shikamaru explained. "He's getting better and he's great with diplomacy."

"And I suck at diplomacy. I'll end up starting a war. Pass," Sasuke turned his attention back to Kakashi.

"No sympathy for this old sensei of yours?" Kakashi complained, visibly pouting through his mask.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You're thirty-eight. Not eighty."

Kakashi's expression grew serious and he braced his elbows on the desk, his chin balanced on his steepled fingers. "I remember back when Itachi and I were on the same team in Anbu. He told me how much his little brother wanted to become Police Chief when he grew up."

"Yeah, when I was six and it still existed," Sasuke huffed.

"I'm re-establishing it. That's the reason I called you back," Kakashi explained.

Sasuke groaned. "Underneath the underneath? Why couldn't you have started with that? This was your goal all along."

"It makes you appreciate the offer better knowing your alternatives, don't you think?" Kakashi asked. "You'd be as bad a teacher as I was!" He sobered and rose from his desk for Sasuke. His hand landed heavily on his shoulder. "You're the last Uchiha, Sasuke. It's time you settled down and just enjoyed life. You've done enough. One of my goals as Hokage was to help make a reality of your dream of being Police Chief."

"Is this an effort to encourage me to marry and have children?" Sasuke asked suspicious. He already had a plan in action for children, but it wasn't like he and Tenten were announcing it to everyone. Honestly, only Sakura and Neji knew of it. Naruto wouldn't have understood such an arrangement.

"Well…." Kakashi smiled, squeezing Sasuke's shoulder. "I'm no longer the last Hatake. So, I can speak from experience, that it's a nice feeling."

Sasuke's mouth dropped. "What? You have children?"

Kakashi nodded. "Three kids and a stunner wife."

"Who?" Sasuke's eyes widened. "Dear Lord, do not say Anko."

Kakashi shook his head with a breathless laugh. "That woman is the wind, no one will ever tie her down. No, you may not remember, but her name is Yugao. She's the one that held you the night of your clan's demise. We were on the same team in Anbu after Itachi made captain."

Sasuke thought past the pain of that night of his youth. "Purple hair, falcon mask."

"That's her."

"So, do your kids have silver or purple hair?"

"Two of one, one of the other," Kakashi answered vaguely. "You'll be meeting them later this week at our monthly Team Seven picnic. You've spent the last eight years as The Leaf's Detective. Welcome home, Police Chief Sasuke Uchiha."

.

.

.


OoO


.

.

.

Sasuke had his backpack over his shoulder as he traveled over the village rooftops back to Naruto's place. His mind was overwhelmed by so much activity within the last twenty-four hours. It also felt strange to have so many people nearby, hence he traveled via rooftop.

He settled into the guest room Hinata had prepared for him and laid across the bed, fingers laced across his belly as he stared at the ceiling. He was the Police Chief. His actions were bringing pride back to the name of the Uchiha.

He didn't know how much time had passed when there was a familiar presence outside his door. A timid knock followed.

"Yeah?" Sasuke called out, surprised that Hanabi was there. She opened the door and smiled at him shyly. He sat up, feeling a little nervous in her presence. "Hi, Hanabi. Is everything okay?"

"I was wondering if you'd like to join me for some lunch?" Hanabi asked.

Sasuke smiled. "Sure. Icharaku?"

Hanabi laughed. "Is there anywhere else for Naruto's best friend?"

Sasuke's smile grew wider. "No, I guess not." As he followed Hanabi out of the Hyuga district, he felt a kinship to her. It was different than how he felt around Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi. But, he had a feeling that if it were properly nurtured, it could blossom into his own love story.

.

.

.

FIN