All you need is love (Love Triangle)

{° Epilogue °}

He kept a picture of her in his pocket every time he left on a mission. He'd collected a whole album of her and the rest of his previous teams, but she was his anchor these days. Although there was no more open fighting, no more mass deployments and no more obvious attempts between the nations to bring one another down, there was still a need for shinobi. Common criminals still attacked caravans. Murders still occurred and needed investigating; murderers tracked and captured. Public figures still needed guarding, and spying on.

Today he sat huddled under a tent made from a eight foot by six foot tarp and some wooden braces he'd grown with as little effort as possible. The person he was sent to rescue was a lot younger than he'd first imagined. Four-year-olds could be exhausting, he learned, and the child was sick, meaning he probably shouldn't be traveling in the cold rain pouring down at the moment.

While the child napped, he pulled out a picture of her, tracing her smile with his finger as his eyes re-aquatinted themselves with the reddish brown color of her hair and hazel of her eyes. This was a picture Sai had painted, and Yamato had made sure to laminate for days like this, days when he was so lonely feeling like the world had left him behind again, when the painful memories of days past closed in again. Looking at her image helped. It reminded him that there was someone who loved him that he would see again soon.

He wasn't as broken as he once thought.

"Is she your girlfriend?" the boy asked unexpectedly.

"She is my wife ," Yamato answered.

"She's pretty... like my mommy," the child said, crawling into his lap to look at the painting with him. "Whoever drew her is really good."

"He is," he agreed, holding the shaking boy closer. "You cold?"

"Yes sir," the red-head answered with a nod.

"When the rain lets up, we'll break camp and go back to my home. You can meet my wife. She'll make sure you're okay then."

"Then can I see my mommy?"

Yamato sighed. "I don't know. It all depends on if my friends have found her yet or not."

The child frowned, tears held back not-so-expertly. "What happens if they don't find her?"

"I said yet. They will find her. I promise, you'll be home with her before you know it."

"Will daddy be there?" he asked with a touch of fear.

"No," Yamato shook his head. "Remember all the blood? I'm sorry you had to see that, but it means that he can't hurt you anymore. You're safe."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Who are you?"

The red-haired boy sitting on Kaori's counter top looked up quickly, face dripping wet, holding a big chunk of watermelon that was dripping onto the floor... her freshly mopped tile floor.

"Relax, Kaori," Yamato appeared from the mud room, running his fingers through his hair and biting into his own piece of fruit. "I brought him here. He will be staying until Kakashi decides what will happen to him "

"She's even prettier in person," the little boy told Yamato with a toothy grin.

"Um , thank you " Kaori said , locking eyes with the boy uncertain. Yamato seemed to notice.

"Akio-kun," Yamato helped the sticky child down, "would you go play in the yard for a while? I need to speak with Kaori-san alone."

"I saw a cat in the yard. Can I play with her ?" the boy asked hopefully.