Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, just Kaisha.

Chapter 1 Return

Sakura made her way to Naruto's apartment with some food her mom made. Knowing Itachi, the elder Uchiha would still be sleeping soundly having picked up Kaisha around one in the morning. He had arrived from a mission later than expected and Kaisha insisted on staying up to wait for him. Sakura felt kind of bad for them both. She did not have a child of her own but she could imagine the difficulty of raising on by ones self without the better half being there. Then again, Naruto raised Kaisha during his training with Jiraiya. At that time Itachi was with them so it was a lot easier but since Jiraiya insisted that Naruto finish the remainder of his training without distractions Itachi and Kaisha made their way to the village. That was a surprise and a shock within itself to hear that Naruto carried and gave birth to an Uchiha heir and was engaged to the eldest of the brother's. That was a tough week when all the truth behind the Uchiha clan's massacre was known and Sakura could not find it in herself to hate Itachi. Instead she offered to baby sit and take care of Kaisha when Itachi was away on missions or had to report to Lady Tsunade seeing as he was reinstated to his old position of head captain of the ANBU Black Ops. Kaisha was two now and she understands more than any two year old should, but considering her parents she guessed it was in her blood.

Sakura reached Naruto's apartment, well she should be thinking of it as Itachi and Naruto's, and rummaged through her pockets for the house key.

"Damn it, I can't believe I forgot the key! Ugh, I hope that Kaisha is at least awake." Sakura knocked on the door and heard small footsteps run up to it.

"HI!" Sakura could not help but laugh. Kaisha was still two years old, she was still far too cute.

"Kaisha, it's me Sakura. Can you open the door for me I forgot my key!" Sakura smiled as she heard the scrapping of a chair being pushed to the door and the soft clicks of the door locks being undone. She reached forward and opened the door only to have a flying black blur come at her and attach itself to her chest.

"ANTIE SA'URA!" Sakura looked down at the little ball of energy 'AH! SHE'S TOO ADORABLE!' Laughing, Sakura entered the apartment and moved the chair back to the small table Itachi got when he first returned to the village. Naruto barely furnished his apartment but thanks to Itachi it started to look and feel more like a home than a barren room.

"Where's your daddy Kaisha?" The little Uchiha had picked up her bowl of grapes that she, Sakura guessed, had been snacking before Sakura's arrival and popped a handful in her mouth before pointing to the sofa. Sakura walked over and looked over to see Itachi, splayed out and passed out on the sofa and still in his ANBU uniform. His mask sat on the side table.

"Daddy fergot to take off mask so I did but I can't reach blankie in the closet." Sakura smiled at Kaisha and looked the little girl over. She was a bit tall for a two year old but Sakura chalked that up to Itachi being a towering Uchiha. She remembered hearing Tsunade read over his medical information and it had stated at the age of thirteen Itachi was the same height as his father who was about 5'9" or 6'0". now Itachi towered about 6'2" or 6'3" maybe taller. Sakura wasn't there when Tsunade measured his height. Instead of having black eyes like her fathers, Kaisha had crystal clear blue eyes like her mother and her skin was a fine balance between Itachi's pale and Naruto's natural tan. Her hair was Itachi's jet black that matched the feather's of a raven but was softer than any down feather Sakura ever felt. Her hair was as straight as her father's and fell just a naturally down her back and ended at her waist. Her bangs were like Itachi's and to everyone's dismay held the Uchiha bloodline limit Sharingan. All in all she was a beautiful little girl that would grow to be an equally if not more beautiful ninja.

"It's ok Kaisha. Here let me get something else for you that doesn't just consist of grapes."

"Ok!"

Sakura set about making food for Kaisha. Every now and then she would glance over at the sofa where Itachi lay sleeping. She had never seen the older Uchiha so tired. No matter what, he was always up with Kaisha but this time he looked so exhausted. The mission must have took more out of him than Sakura initially thought and knowing Itachi he barely slept, if at all, probably more worried about Kaisha than the mission at hand. Sakura could not wait till Naruto got back from his training. Maybe then Itachi would get a full nights sleep without worrying about who was going to take care of Kaisha the next day or if he had to take her with him to ANBU headquarters which he had done on more than one occasion. Sakura put down a sandwich for Kaisha when she heard the door open and felt the familiar chakra signature. 'Naruto!' before Sakura could react Kaisha was at the door screaming at the top of her lungs.

"MOMMY!" the scream was enough to scare Itachi awake causing the Uchiha to fall off the sofa and scramble to his feet looking very tired and more than half asleep. Sakura wondered if the man even knew that he was awake.

"Oof, hahaha, hi Kaisha my baby girl have you been a good girl?" Kaisha had leapt at Naruto the same way she did with Sakura.

"Uh huh, but mommy I miss you lots" Kaisha's eyes began to water but Naruto was quick to wipe them before a single tear fell. Sakura marveled at Naruto's ability to care for such a young child with so much ease. She figured it was a mother instinct, something her mother often talked about. Naruto kissed the top of her head and put her down before turning his attention to his more than half asleep fiancé. Sakura watched as Naruto walked over to Itachi and kiss him softly before helping him lay back down. Once the Uchiha's head was down on the sofa cushion he fell right back to sleep.

"My poor love. Thank you for taking care of them while I was gone Sakura. I think I would have worried myself ragged if it were not for you."

"It's no problem Naruto. I was going to take Kaisha with me to go see Lady Tsunade about giving Itachi a few days off to get some rest." they both glanced at the sleeping man. He looked worse for wear and Sakura watched as Naruto pressed the back of his hand against Itachi's forehead. Getting a good look at the man, Sakura noticed he was a little more paler than usual, there were heavy bags under his eyes and even though Naruto seemed to not be very pleased with what he felt Sakura thought Itachi looked cold.

"He has a fever. A pretty high one. Sakura can you take Kaisha with you anyway and ask Lady Tsunade to give Itachi at least a week off and if she can come over and check him over? I think he might have gotten himself sick. Kaisha please go get dressed you're still in your pajamas." Sakura and Naruto laughed as they heard her little feet run down the hall.

"She can dress herself to an extent." Naruto glanced over at Sakura and smiled.

"I know. She's quite independent. I don't think Itachi was expecting her to be that way so young." Sakura giggled and looked at Naruto. Her friend had changed so much and had grown so much taller. He was a lot calmer than he used to be and carried himself with a little more grace than the last time she saw him.

"I think she gets it from her mother. I remember when Itachi first came to the village with Kaisha. My mom was talking about how difficult it would be for both you and Itachi when it came to Kaisha and your training. I never knew what she was talking about." Naruto glanced over at Sakura a second. She saw an emotion in his eyes that she could not quite place a name on before he turned his attention back at his sick fiancé.

"I know what she was talking about but it is something you will not understand no matter how much I explain it until you have a child of your own and experience what me and Itachi have experienced with her and together before she was conceived. But I will try. It is the separation that draws on our biggest fears. When it came to Kaisha and Itachi I had nightmares for weeks before I got his letter saying they had arrived at the village safely and that Kaisha had cried the entire way there because she was screaming for me. It broke my heart. And it broke Itachi's. Kaisha was not the only that needed me there." Naruto got up and walked into the kitchen and started pulling out ingredients for soup.

"What do you mean Naruto?" He paused in his preparations and stared off towards the couch before going back to work.

"He needed me just as much if not more than Kaisha did. She's a very strong girl Sakura. She is as stubborn as I am but has the heart of me and her father combined. She has her father's intellect and proficiency in everything she does. She has both mine and her father's strengths and it was her that brought me and Itachi together in the way we are now. So when it came time for them to leave to go to Konoha, Itachi was reluctant to go. You see, he was more afraid that he was not going to make it by himself without me. Kaisha is a handful if you do not keep her busy with anything, even her studies. I can think of anything for her to do without much difficulty but Itachi had a lot of difficulty thinking of anything for her to do while I was training and by the time I would get back he would be as he is now. Passed out on the couch and Kaisha would be eating a bowl of grapes or whatever fruit she could get her little hands on. No matter how much the villagers terrorized me when I was growing up, I never lost my sense of true self. Unfortunately, the Itachi from so long ago. The Itachi that was so good with children that some wondered if he was going to be a father at a young age, died with his family. He no longer exists. The real Itachi Uchiha is gone and was replaced with the shell of a ninja that once was. So when I had Kaisha, he was not sure at all if he would be a good father or not. But from what Lady Tsunade has told me through letters that he has come a long way from what he used to be." Sakura watched as Naruto stirred the soup. She listened the entire time. Finally understanding why Itachi reluctantly asked for assistance with Kaisha from the older females and her mom instead of her or Hinata or Ino who worked almost day in and day out at the hospital. He needed someone that knew from experience not someone who learned by just watching.

"He's been more than a good father and everyone has been really nice in offering to baby sit Kaisha while he went of missions but he made sure they were no longer than a day considering him being a father was more important than his position in ANBU." They both looked up at the sound of a groan. There was a loud thud that accompanied it, which meant Itachi had fallen off the couch. Another groan followed soon after. At that precise moment Kaisha came running out of her room wearing a black dress with little red roses decorating the dress from the waist down, a red ribbon wrapped around her waist and was tied in a bow at the back, and the top of the dress has ornate red lace all over. It was an old dress Itachi had saved from before the massacre. It was one of his mothers dresses she wore when she was little.

"DADDY!"

"Kaisha wait! Daddy is…"

"Oof!"

"Never mind." Naruto sighed heavily as he walked over after putting the soup on low heat and saw Kaisha sitting on Itachi's back pulling gently on his hair. He had cut it short a little after she was born. Kaisha liked pulling on long hair., but since then Itachi always kept it short. "Itachi, love, are you alright?"

"Mm?" Itachi looked over his shoulder to see Naruto staring down at him. In no less than a second Kaisha found herself sitting neatly on the couch cushion and Itachi had Naruto in hug. "I missed you." Sakura could not believe it. In the year that she had known Itachi the elder Uchiha never acted in such a way. Though she did notice Naruto tense slightly before relaxing and the look in Itachi's eyes that told of pain he might have caused Naruto and regretted more than anyone other than Naruto will ever know. Then it occurred to her. How Kaisha was conceived. Her heart stopped. The realization that Itachi might have raped Naruto hit her like a ton of bricks and as she watched her best friend relax fully in Itachi's embrace and even kiss him and fully grasping that yes he was home and yes Itachi was there waiting. She could not understand it. How could something that should have torn Naruto and Itachi apart cause them to be together like this? Then she remembered: "She has both mine and her father's strengths and it was her that brought me and Itachi together in the way we are now"

Kaisha. It was Kaisha that changed everything. The realization that Naruto was pregnant and the events that followed after brought them closer together instead of apart. It was Kaisha, long before she was out of Naruto's stomach, that stopped whatever was taking place and changed both her parents. Sakura watched both Itachi and Naruto for a bit. She did not understand now she knew that much but she did understand what was in front of her. Sakura caught Kaisha at the corner of her eye, peeking over the back of the couch smiling. There was a look in her as if to say she knew. She knew what had happened and she knew how she came to be but accepted it because Itachi and Naruto were together. Sakura began to feel very out of place before Itachi pulled away from Naruto far enough to sneeze.

"I think I should be heading off to get Lady Tsunade. I'll be right back, come on Kaisha let's go see grandma Tsunade." Kaisha hopped off the couch and ran up to her taking Sakura's hand in her smaller one. Naruto looked at Sakura for a minute before smiling.

"Thank you Sakura, I'll save you some soup for when you get back." Sakura smiled as she glanced at Itachi. He still looked tired and very much sick.

"Thanks Naruto, I'll you guys in a few minutes!" With that she left with Kaisha. Leaving Naruto with Itachi and not knowing if the day was going to be a good one of bad one. There was one thing for certain that she was going to do and that was to ask Naruto when he was away from Itachi about how exactly him and Itachi came to be together.