Fiat justitia, ruatcaelum

Epilogue -- or Questions Without Answers.

{{A/N; This chapter is freehand, first draft and completely unfiltered. I hadn't intended to reveal this aspect of Sakura‘s power, (indeed, I actually kind of wrote it out, hehe) but here it is. And this is seriously the end-all chapter. No amount of begging will goad another out of me, ;) hehehe. Not on this line anyway. Enjoy! CD}}

*Was it a vision... or a waking dream...?* The pink haired kunoichi sighed, feeling the warmth of the body beside her. *Fled is that huanting music... Do I wake or sleep...?*
*Don't be so mopey. If you're dead, then we've gone to heaven!*
*And If I'm awake?*
The lewd chuckle of her Inner was reply enough.
Sakura hopped out of the nearly destroyed bed. Her blond lover still lay tangled in the sheets, the largest, goofiest grin he had ever worn still stuck on his face.
"Is that a special jutsu? 'Cause I still feel funny..."
She laughed, "No, Naruto-kun," She gave up trying to find her own clothes, then remembered she'd worn Choji's shirt, "I just had my way with you."
Naruto could only chuckle, lifting himself on shaky hands, "Even Jiriaya-sensei hasn't written stuff that wild..." He came up behind her, wrapping her in a tight embrace. Sakura looked up, *Man he's tall...* And she half expected to see his eyes slowly spinning. "You should grow your hair out." Sakura tugged at the arms, drawing him tighter to her.
"I suppose I should grow out a little goatee too, eh?" Naruto chuckled, "Actually..." His throat buzzed against her shoulder as he hummed to himself.
Towing Naruto along behind her, sakura waddled into the bathroom, letting a giggle spring from her as Naruto's erection pressed against her from behind.
She pushed back.
"Ahh... Nnn... Please don't..." Naruto backed away, "I'm so sore... After yesterday... and all night... and this morning..."
"You should have said something." Sakura knelt down, taking him in hand, "I'm only a mednin." Sakura reached into her chakra well, savoring for a moment the feel of her chakra as it rose at her call.
It was still thick. Thicker than when she had fallen asleep. But her well was only so deep. So incredibly finite... She might only get away with one Oriki no jutsu and a few substitutions.
Naruto moaned aloud as her chakra seeped into his manhood, healing quickly the bruising her pleasant abuse had caused.
And the front door rattled on the hinges.
"Shhh..." Sakura stood, putting one hand over Naruto's mouth, still holding his rod.
"Hide all you like!" A voice she recognized called out, "They don't call it the all seeing eye for nothing!"
"Damn you, Neji!!" Sakura shouted.
She sighed, falling against Naruto.
His chest shook as he chuckled, "I'll make it up to you later, Sakura-kun."
She kissed him, "You better."
"You're expected at the training grounds in half an hour!" Neji shouted, "Lady Tsunade has promised to blister your backside if you're later than Kakashi!"

"Aww... how cute..." Ino gushed, "Matching jumpsuits..."
Sakura rolled her shoulders, the plain black shirt and bright orange pants belonging to Naruto. She wore his old chunin vest, decorated to the ridiculous with orange.
Sakura just stuck her tongue out.
“No way!” Naruto pionted openly. “No! kakashi-sensei! You have to leave!! You can come back, but you cannot be here now! You’re on TIME!!!”
The one eye rolled, “Actually, I was early. I didn’t want to miss this.” He tucked the dirty book away. A wide smile flexing his everpresnt mask, “Especially not after Sakura gave Lee such a run for his money tearing through Konoha.”
People began to assemble. The all their friends, seveal other ninja, some Sakura could recall having fought beside on missions. Iruka and many of the teachers, and their students, many were still singing the feildtrip song.
A large handful of Konoha’s most powerful Jonin and a few hunter nin trailing along.
“All this… because I raced Lee?”
Smoke flashed and six anbu appeared, looking around. Then another blast, Tsunade pushing out of their protective ring.
“I can fight for myself, thanks.”
She came to Sakura’s side, whispering in her ear, “These people came expecting to see one hell of a show. Or that you haven’t changed a bit.”
Inner Sakura growled.
“Which do you expect?”
Tsunade smiled, backing away, “Me? Hell, I don’t know. And really, I’ve got other work to take care of. I’m only here because duty demands it.”
“Miss Hanuro? A hunter nin with a massive bright green leaf painted on his mask approached, “Your first challenger is ready.”
“Challenger?” Naruto stepped forward, “What sort of hubbub is this?”
Sakura pulled on his shoulder, pushing him back, “What the hell’s going on?”
“My Rival!!” Lee’s voice rang out, “I did not expect such a crowd!” He was leaping into the air to see over the heads of the crowd, “So many have come!! Let us dazzle their expexctations with the glory of our passion!!”
“Let your youth shine, my student!!”
“Thank you, Gai-sensei!!”
The crowd parted as the jonin moved bodies aside, clearing a path between Sakura and Lee.
*Just a couple of good bruises…* Sakura strode down te corridor of bodies, each step echoing with excitement that only grew. *Is this how Sasuke felt? Everyone always watching? Expecting so much?*
*That cold bastard never felt a damn thing and we both know it!*
Lee waited in a wide clearing, a pair of training posts and the flat grass waiting for them.
“Forget them…” Lee spoke quietly as sakura approached. “They don’t know what they expect, nor are they aware of the spectical they are about to witness.”
“Lee…” Sakura untied the jacket around her waist, tossing it over one of the posts, “You scare me when you aren’t shouting.”
He smiled and settled into his fighting stance, his fingers wiggling in invitation.
Sakura returned the smile and came at him.
His one hand parried her wide punches and open kicks easily, giving ground, but always circling.

Neji and Hinata stood side by side. Arms crossed as they both glared with blazing eyes.
Tsunade stepped up between them. “You see anything?”
Both Hyuuga shook their heads. “She is not, however using her chakra to boost her speed or strength…” Neji pursed his lips in a frown, “From experience… Lee is constantly ready for open combat. He simply never falls from the aerobic state. Sakura, however, is warming up.”

Lee was grinning playfully, defending as Sakura pummeled him. He ducked a high roundhouse and caught the low foot as it snapped up.
The blow was easily absorbed by his arms and Sakura kicked again, bounding off of his guard.
“Ahhh….!!!” Lee sighed, nearly giggling as the graceful arc let her lithe form land a short distance away.
Sakura grinned widely, sighing slowly. She mimicked his ‘kung-fu come hither’ stance, twitching her fingers. “It’s your turn, my excellent rival.”
Lee’s heart jumped, “Ahhh ha ha ha!!” He squealed as he charged, twisting up as the Konoha Hurricane came down.
He sighted, aiming for her shoulder, watching as her body waved, the left arm coming forward in a straight jab. Lee stunted back, pulling the kick around and dropping to sweep her legs.
Feet clearing the air as she vaulted back and sprung forward at him, her landing stance low to meet his next attack.
The rising uppercut slipped past her and his elbow came around his exposed back.
The short strike stopped hard against Sakura’s forearm, her wide smile a reflection of his own.
Each took a step away from the other.
“You’re holding back, Lee.”
Lee shrugged shifting her feet back and forth quickly dancing in place. His grin fell as she pouted at him, “Does our rivalry mean so little that you would let me win out of pity?”
“Never!” Lee cried out, “I was… I mean…”
Sakura pointed, “Show me the passion of your youth!! Do not veil the fires of spring that burn in your heart!! For I shall reveal to you the glorious blaze of my spirit!!”

“Kakashi…” Gai was holding his chin, “I do believe Lee is being manipulated…”
The silver haired shinobi nodded, his orange covered book forgotten at his side. “And it seems Lee is taking the bait.”
“Can she handle Lee?” Ino fidgeted beside the jonin, “Even if they are just sparring…”
Naruto chuckled.
“That’s what we’re here to find out.” Choji popped open a bag of chips, “Snack?”

“I will not hold back, Sakura-chan!!” Lee leapt and slid across the ground, one foot leading.
Sakura replied, one foot raising and crashing against his, levering him up and into her fist.
Gasps sucked a wave of air as Lee bounced, flipped, came down on his feet.
He was laughing as he rubbed the cheek that had taken the blow and came again.
They met halfway, the pound of flesh to flesh echoing as blocks were crashed down upon, strikes thrown, and blows landed.

Sasuke was openly staring, as was Jiriaya, though the older was scribbling with page tearing ferocity.
“This is an excellent sequence…” He mumbled, dropping his pen and pulling a fresh one from his vest, “…This is art… Her style is chaotic… untrained… But it looks kind of familiar…”
Sasuke’s teeth came together with a crack, “It is parented from an old Uchiha style…” He growled, “One only the heir is allowed to practice…”
“Well, she did train with you a lot, right?”
Jiriaya barely flicked his glance from the fight.
Teeth ground. “…no… She should have never seen it… I was not the heir it was taught to…”
Jiriaya spared the time to summon a clone, his doppelganger taking over his writing duties as the toad sage turned his attention to the Uchiha.
“So this is a lost fighting style and Sakura seems to have found it?”
The squeal of teeth answered.
Jiriaya shrugged, “Kakashi knows too, I imagine. He was teamed up with Obito.”
Sasuke’s teeth wailed in protest.

Sakura was panting as she adjusted her stance. Lee was sweating and grinning like Naruto. “This is a most excellent and truly gratifying test of our abilities!! I cannot recall the last sparring match against someone so youthful and inventive!!”
Sakura grinned, “I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself. But I was told that something was impossible. One last attack, Lee my rival.”
Lee nodded, “You realize how terribly injured you might be?”
Sakura laughed, “Tsunade is standing back watching! I wouldn’t worry about it!!”
Lee’s grin closed to a smirked and he came. Three steps and Sakura reached back.
His leg came up, his torso twisting as his waist came around.
The heel aimed straight for her.

Sasuke’s jaw dropped. Gai and Kakashi gasped. Every other ninja leaned forward as Hanuro’s fist tightened and came forward.
Neji tracked the pulse of chakra and winced as the gloved fist and the booted heel connected.

Lee opened his eyes. Gazing into Sakura’s.
Both stood still as trees.
The echo of a sharp snap of air coming back at them.
The Green Beast of Konoha dropped to one knee slowly, rubbing his leg as the pink haired kunoichi shook out her arm.
“I think we’re done today…” Sakura cradled her arm gently.
Lee nodded as he stood, clearly favoring his leg. “We have scorch one and other with the fires of our passion!! I greatly anticipate our next test, my far more than worthy rival!!”
One of the medic nurses met Lee at the edge of the crowd, many were murmuring. She knelt, taking hold of Lee’s leg, healing it quickly as the boy in tights sighed, running his fingers through her hair.
The Jiriaya clone turned, writing feverishly.
Tsunade pushed her way through the crowd roughly, tossing aside anyone who failed to move quickly enough. “That was one hell of a fight, Sakura.” The Hokage grabbed her arm, the warm flood of chakra soothing the ach in the bones from knuckle to elbow. “…Hairline fractures all the way up… He could have destroyed your arm, baka.”
“What’s wrong with you?!?! Your leg is broken and you’re walking on it!!?” All eyes turned to the nurse who was yelling at Lee, though she held fast to his leg. She tugged, throwing him to the ground and sitting on the small of his back, healing the leg and holding Lee down.
Sakura felt the itch of the bones mending as the flow of chakra ebbed. Tsunade glanced at her student’s arm, nodded, then walked over to Lee.
“Did you diagnose that as you were shouting?” She bore down on the girl.
The nurse paled, “I believe so…”
Tsunade reached down, passing her hand over Lee’s calf. Past his knee. Along his thigh. “Contained to the lower leg, but both bones are fractured… Shock damaged to the heel, knee… ankle is fine though. Carry on…” The slug sage backed off, Jiriaya leaving his pervert clone to jotting down whatever notes it saw fit to record. He bent down, staring at Lee from inches over his head. “Are you going to admit that one on one, you just got beat by a girl who’s shorter, skinnier, and weighs half as much as you do?”
Lee flushed, “I intend to train myself harshly for my defeat, Lord Jiriaya!! But the mighty Ms. Hanuro is indeed the student of our even mightier and beautiful Hokage!!”
“So you’re admitting that your carefully honed Konoha Hurricane came off less powerfully than a common punch by a girl who has no previous dedication to taijutsu?”
There was a long silence. “It’s TRUE!!!!!” Lee wailed, sobbing aloud and hiding his eyes in the crook of his arm, “True to my word, I gave everything I had into that strike!! A blow that had previously destroyed trees whole and split stone blocks!!” Lee drew another breath, “I am not worthy to be her rivahh-haaa-haaallll!!!”
The boy in tights broke down, sobbing uncontrollably, shoulder shaking as the nurse rode the waves of his body, trying to hang one without grabbing anything.
Tsunade pushed Jiriaya aside, kneeling beside Lee. “There, there…” She patted his shoulder, “Next time you may remove your weights. And with training and dedication, you may find that you are worthy of her rivalry.”
There was a great sniff, “…really…” Lee’s voice squeaked.
“Really.” The woman shot Sakura a heated look, flicking her gaze down at Lee.
“I look forward to your next challenge Lee. Next time, we shall draw an even larger crowd!” She raised her voice, “And they will cheer the sheer beauty of our passionate youth as we dance like flames of springtime!!”
“YES!!!!” Gai almost literally shone with his own backdrop. “That was beautiful, Hanuro!! I could not have said it better myself!!”
Naruto stood beside Sakura. “You made Lee cry…You kicked his ass and made him cry…” His deep blue eyes joined her own of green, “Did you wake up some sort of demon or something…?”
“Odds are one to one!!” Sasuke shouted, “I’ll match any bet! Me against her!!” He held out a coin purse, “Hundred on me.”
Jiriaya looked at the bag. To Tsunade. Back to the bag. Tsunade again. “No. no, no no… Tsunade…?” He stepped between her and the money, “She’s not a dog! You can’t let anyone bet against Sakura without her agreeing to the fight…”
“I’ll take that action!!” Sakura shouted.
Tsunade gleamed, “She’s in!!” A large bag appeared in the sannin’s hand, “How much are you betting, Jiriaya?”
The toad sannin looked around for help. He found too many ninja reaching for coin purses. “Money up front!!” He shouted, “No IOU’s!!” Sakura blanched.
*That was close…*
“I’ll front for Hanuro!” Neji called out, tossing a bag to the toad sannin, “And I’ll match that hundred.”
“Two fifty on Uchiha!”
“Hey!!” Jiriaya roared, his clone was flitting from ninja to ninja, collecting bets and scribbling them down.
“Odds are locked!” Tsunade shouted, “All bets are closed in at the first swing!”

*That was brilliant…And it wasn’t even my idea…* Inner Sakura was smirking.
*We are one people, you know.*
Inner Sakura laughed.
The sharingan burned at her from across the field.
“What’s got your nuts in a tweak?”
Sasuke closed on her, dropping the money to the ground. He stood inches from her before he spoke, “Where did he teach you that style?”
Sakura leaned forward, pressing her nose to his. “Who teach me what?”
“My brother…” he growled, crimson eyes picking up speed as his chakra rose.
Sakura smirked. “I read. I watch. I learn. Your clan were the original masters of mimic. Makes me wonder why Kakashi-sensei is the Copycat ninja.”
One hand fell over the hilt of his sword, “Enough.” The steel came free in his hand, “We both know what you’ve learned. And from who.”
A hunter nin stepped between them, pushing both back, “Proper distance, if you please.” Sakura sauntered back another few cycling her chakra, letting it mix through her.
*No way this asshole gets off as easy as Lee.*
*Ahem* her Inner spoke up, *Can I remind you Lee still had his weights on? And he folded his cards early.*
Sakura stretched her shoulders and tightened her headband. *Yeah, yeah… and if I was still as strong, I’d be sparring with Tsunade and Jiriaya instead of Lee and Naruto.*

Hinata shivered. “Her chakra… she’s drawn almost all of it into her body, but none of it is burning.”
Tsunade glared down, “Can you be a little more vague?”
“Hanuro has charged her body with chakra, but has yet to actually employ it to a purpose. If it were Naruto, I would suggest he was preparing himself for some sort of high consumption Jutsu. But Sakura’s control is better than that. And Hinata is correct; her well is nearly depleted. That her tenketsu are casually tolerating that much charka latent in her system is interesting…”

“Bets are closed!!” The hunter dropped his raised arms, “Begin!!” And he vanished.
Sasuke’s eyes burned as his blade led his charge, the tip aimed low and wide.
*Not this shit again…* Sakura slipped her arm alongside the blade, rolling it away.
Sasuke leaned back as the uppercut grazed his chin, whipping the tip of his blade back over Sakura’s head.
From crouched on the ground, Sakura twisted as the blade dove toward her.

Hinata covered her gasping mouth as the blade struck flesh. To the side, she could see Neji smirking. Chakra flashed from the kunoichi, a neatly sawn log wrapped around the blade and Sakura plus two stood behind Sasuke.
“She did not have that much chakra a moment ago…” Neji’s arms crossed tighter, his smirk becoming a scowl. “Unless she has revealed some sort of specialized technique…”
The three surrounded Sasuke, Leaning back as heels connected, tearing the blade from his hand and sending him skyward.
“Yes!! Yes!!” Naruto cheered, “That’s my move!!”
Lee shot him a grinning glance.
And the visions of Sakura scattered. One went after Sasuke, landing a brutal blow to his back, grabbing his arm and hurling him toward the second.
“How interesting…” Neji closed his eyes. “They are solid… I see now… Weak… but not shadow… or any element…”
“Sakura formed three doppelgangers from force of will, without signs, and without actually expending the chakra…” Hinata tipped her head to one side… “But if all those are false…”
Sasuke ripped through the air again, the third doppelganger catching him with a knee to his gut and two elbows to his back before she rotated in the air, a tight heel stomp rocketing him downward.
“…Where is Sakura?”
Kakashi chuckled. “She does indeed watch and learn.”
Three of Sakura stood around Sasuke as he rose to his feet. He let the blood run from his mouth, not bothering to spit.
He drew a windmill shuriken as each of Sakura drew a thin scroll. The papers wrapped over arms and the trio pulled the scrolls.
Several nin shouted and smoke flashed as logs teleported in, stray senbon pounding the jutsu substitutions mercilessly.

Sasuke dove out of the ring as the streams of senbon chased him. The windmill flashed from his hand, severing one of Sakura. He yanked on the wire, sending the wide blades through a second and bearing down on the third.
The delicate hand whipped out and Sasuke watched as she plucked the weapon from the air and wrapped the ninja wire around her hand, drawing the line taut between them.
Sasuke’s glare broke as he met her eyes. The blaze he found glowed like the Hyuuga, but the glitter in her pink hued eyes was something he had never imagined.
Then hands wrapped around his ankles, wrenching him beneath the surface of the grassy soil.
Buried to his neck, Sakura rose out of the ground before him, as if she’d been swimming through earth and rock. Her hand lanced out, pinning a talisman to his brow and the Uchiha felt his body go numb as sleep fogged his mind.
He fought the darkness as it closed around him, hearing the cheers and groans.
One voice seperated from the crowd, whispering in his ear… “Otosan… you should have married that one before she grew to loathe you.”

Sakura looked up. The man who knelt beside Sasuke had whispered something in his ear before standing. He kept the anbu mask he wore on. The black mask painted with two red chevrons crossing over his eye slits. “Most impressive, young lady. The bloodline technique of the Hanuro is not yet lost, it would seem.”
“The what?”
This anbu with the long ebony hair seemed familiar.
*As much time as you spent among them, why wouldn’t he?*
Sakura frowned internally, *not that sort of familiar…* She felt for his chakra, eyes widening as she sensed it.
“Your great grandfather was the last Hanuro to show the technique.” The anbu explained calmly as Tsunade approached, “The mark of it on your family has been off colored hair and eyes such as you show now. Whatever the catalyst was that stirred the dormant power, it must have been something very great.”
Sakura turned to Tsunade, “Why didn’t anyone bother to inform me of this?” Her hands on her hips as she glared at the Hokage.
Tsunade shrugged, “I never knew. Your great grandfather would have died before I was born.” The slug sannin smirked, “But the third must have known. Why else would he pair you with two like Naruto and Sasuke.”
Sakura sighed, pieces lining up unbidden, “He probably hoped trying to keep up with them would pull this to the surface… I guess it worked…” Sakura relaxed her chakra. There wasn’t much left and she didn’t need to be playing with what little remained.
Kakashi and Naruto came out of the crowd, the copycat ninja stowing a large purse of gold in his vest. “I’m glad I bet against the crowd.”
The nameless anbu nodded his painted mask. “So am I. But I have my shift coming up soon. Farewell.”
He turned, walking away through the crowd casually. The clone Jiriaya handed a bag of money to the anbu as he passed without a second glance.
“Naruto-kun?” Sakura patted his shoulder, “Could I beg you to pick up this mess for me?” She met his eyes quickly and nodded, “I’ve got… girl stuff to take care of.”
Naruto blanched and nodded, “Yeah, go for it…”
Sakura leapt over the crowd, tailing after the anbu as he entered the rows of buildings.
He paused at a fruit cart, looking over the selection carefully.
“Hey!” Sakura slid to a stop beside him, “I recognize you. Have we been on any missions together recently?”
The anbu didn’t turn to face her, but continued to scan the fruit, “I don’t believe so.”
Sakura nodded, “Oh. Sorry. It must have been your brother I’d been with… You two look so much alike…” She picked up a peach and henged it in her hand, the reddish orange paling to a light pink across the bottom of the fruit, a swatch growing redder across the top.
“Have you had one of these?” She paid the woman as she handed the fruit to the anbu, “I know you have. And they are quite good.”
The anbu looked at the fruit in his hand, the met Sakura’s glowing pink gaze.
“Stop by the Hokage’s office next time you’re in town…” Sakura took off her headband, handing it to the anbu, “She’ll probably be willing to overlook your past for your help in the future.”
“And the rest of the village?”
Sakura shrugged, “Who said they needed to know anything?” Her smile played across her lips, “I know how charming you can be if you try. I say this seeing them man. Not the tool.”
“What makes you think you have seen the man?”
Sakura’s smile grew wider, “Just get your head out of the clouds and come back to your roots.”
The anbu crossed his arms, “So I’m to trust you that I’m desired more than hated? What sort of proof is there to support that notion, kunoichi?”
“Hehehe, Is your brother married yet?”
The high set of the anbu’s shoulders sagged half an inch. “Hn…”
“Bye!” Sakura, looking over her shoulder as she walked away, “I’ll see you later, Itachi!”
The anbu regarded the fruit in his hand.
“Such a sweet girl.” The fruit vendor sighed, “You’re lucky to have a friend like her.”
“Hn.” And he teleported away.
The wisp of smoke dissipated quickly in the light afternoon breeze.


*********

Sorry. i can't just leave a story totally ended. It isn't how life is, after all. The end of one adventure is often the beginning of the next.
But use your imaginations!!

Of course, I may actually run the sequel now... And that was supposed to be an unrelated fic. I'll think about it, hehehe...

Thanks again, everyone. This epilogue/prologue is my personal gift to the people that begged for it.
C. Dashing.