There's a song I'm putting into this that's in Japanese, but don't worry. The English translation will be after the first part of the story! There is a decent author's note at the end, so please please read it!

"Teru-teru bozu, teru bozu. Ashita tenki ni shite o-kure."

Eyes fluttered open slowly, the scent of sweet pancakes tickling a young boys nose awake. His body felt light and so calm. Was he truly awake he wondered? It was hard to say.

Slowly pushing away warm sheets, a cool breeze flitted through the tinny bedroom of a young boy. 'Home.' The word gave him an odd tightening feeling in his chest, but the sound of a woman signing within the home stopped him from wondering why he had such a reaction.

"Itsuka no yume no sora no yo ni. Haretara kin no suzu ageyo."

Warmth spreads through his tinny form, a smile so large his cheeks begin to hurt covering his face. Quickly pulling his feet out from under sheets, the boy flies from his bed.

He's not to run in the house, he knows this. "We have neighbors!" He hears the words echoing through his mind, so he slows himself to a walk as he enters the living room.

It's so much brighter today than it was yesterday. Their small living room was bathed in white light, the windows and curtains drawn open to let the breeze he felt earlier in, carrying their own song from the birds. But that wasn't what he wanted to hear, or to even see.

His heart beats quickly as his feet slowly move forward towards the opening of their kitchen, the scent of pancakes getting stronger. As the woman began to sing the next verse of Teru-teru bozu, the boy could hear small coos echoing her, almost like a small child was attempting to sign along despite the lack of words.

"Kaa-san…" His voice was soft, more so then it normally was since he had just woken, but she heard him as always.

He could see the smile on her face before he entered the kitchen, before she even turned. She was beautiful, hair as shinny as gold, skin pale and eyes as blue as the sea.

"Itachi! Good morning sweetie, did you sleep well?" He loved mornings like this, no school, no chores, just him, his mother, and his little brother who was now squealing excitedly from his high chair.

"Hai. Good morning Akio."

The tightening in his chest grew, but he was unable to focus on it. Lifting his hand, Itachi let his fingers be grabbed onto by Akio, smiling softly as the little boy flailed and hungerly chewed away gently on his older brother. Yes, these were the mornings he loved so dearly. Held so dearly in his heart, that all he wanted out of life was this.

"Akio, stop chewing on your nii-san! I have a pancake ready for you." He was still too young for it to be whole, so their mother had to careful tear it to pieces now that it had cooled for him.

Slowly pulling his hand away, Itachi watched as his brother gave a triumphant cry, his little hands grabbing for his food and munching away before their mother had finished setting everything down. The soft laugh from his mother had the older boy relaxing, his feet carrying him past the table.

"Can I help you?" He isn't old enough to cook, but his mother let him stir the batter for her.

Just as she always did, she gave him a warm smile. A simple "Of course!" giving Itachi permission to take the bowl from the counter. Akio only ate plain pancakes, he was still very picky with what he ate. But Itachi liked sweet pancakes with chocolate, something he only got on special occasions. But his mother was more then happy to spoil him today.

Retrieving a small bag of chocolate chips from an upper cabinet he couldn't yet reach, she helped him measure the necessary ingredients for the batter, telling him to only use a small amount of chocolate. "It is bad for your teeth!" She would always say, yet never say anything as he'd sneak a few chips into his mouth before setting the bag on the counter. As he began to stir the ingredients with a wooden spoon, Itachi could hear his mother's sweet voice starting the song again, only this time he joined her.

"Teru-teru bozu, teru bozu. Ashita tenki ni shite o-kure." It was the same song she always sang while she cooked in the mornings, even if it was just making some toast for him before school.

"Watashi no negai wo kiita nara. Amai o-sake wo tanto nomasho." It was the song that always calmed him. One that he would sing softly when he'd have a nightmare, or when there'd be a thunderstorm.

His mother's voice was always so light, he thought it was like the sun. His father never sang with her, he'd just hum a bit as he'd drink his coffee once he'd finally woke up. He liked the sound of her voice with his father's deep one. So, he'd always try and imitate a deep voice. Even now he was trying, the batter in the bowl becoming easier to mix. His eyes slide shut, attempting to stifle a small yawn.

"Teru-teru bozu, teru bozu. Ashite tenki ni shite o-kure." Letting out a happy, content sigh, Itachi's hands slid from the bowl and spoon, resting against the cool floor. He sat on the floor next to the stove, a place he always sat when his mother cooked or baked. It was always warm and smelled nice.

"Sore de mo kumotte naitetara." Slowly obsidian eyes opened.

No longer did he see the happy scene of his mother cooking breakfast, of his adorable baby brother eating away. Instead there was nothing. The bright home he lived in was dark now, dust covering the counters and table, cabinets left open, trash laying across the ground.

Finally, he understood what the tightening in his chest was for. He knew what was happening, and he couldn't stop himself as a light sob escaped him. Her voice still echoing through the empty house, slowly fading just as it always does.

"Sonata no kubi wo chon to kiru zo…"

A scream claws its way out of his throat, eyes wide but unseeing as his body convulses. Only to stop as his body jerks upright, a broken sob leaving him as Itachi's eyes snap open. There is no sunlight, only dim grey coming in through his windows despite the time.

Sheets are twisted about his legs, making it difficult for Itachi to move as he sits himself upright more, his breaths coming in short pants as he tries to calm himself. 'That same tight feeling…' A hand comes to his chest, his heart thundering away as he takes a slow breath. He's had this same dream for years, and no matter what he can't wake himself up from it, even though he knows what's going to happen.

Forcing his body to relax, Itachi leans himself back onto his headboard, legs kicking away sheets as he sighs. He misses it, those happy mornings back when he was about four. Everything was so complete, even though his parents didn't have a lot of money, it was all he wanted.

His lip twitched, a bitter chuckle leaving him as a tear slowly slid its way down his pale cheek. Here he was, twenty-eight years old, crying over some bad dream. All he wanted was to curl up into his mother's side like he used to, feel her arms hold him close as she spoke reassuringly to him, helping lull him back to sleep, helping to give him sweeter dreams.

Dreams where his beautiful kind mother never died. Where his cute little brother never went missing. Where his father didn't abandon him alone for months in the dark shell he had once called home.

Teru-teru Bozu, Teru Bozu.

Do make tomorrow a sunny day.

Like the sky in a dream sometime.

If it's sunny I'll give you a golden bell.

Teru-teru Bozu, Teru Bozu.

Do make tomorrow a sunny day.

If you make my wish come true.

We'll drink lots of sweet sake.

Teru-teru Bozu, Teru Bozu.

Do make tomorrow a sunny day.

But if it's cloudy and I find you crying.

Then I shall snip your head off.

Just as the blasted dream happened every night, Itachi took the same cold shower he always did to try and collect himself every morning. But just as always, it didn't help. Even as he turned the water to hot, begging his mind to focus on anything else but the damn dream, he couldn't. 'Damn it…' With an aggravated sigh, Itachi left the shower once he was clean.

He had places to be, there was no need in letting dark thoughts make him late. Wrapping a towel around his hips he made his way through his bedroom and into his spacious living room. He lived in a rather nice place, a cozy studio apartment with wood floors and brick walls. Even with how little he had filling the place, it was nice.

Pulling wet hair away from his face, Itachi opened the fridge and grabbed a small tub of butter. He no longer indulged in his love of sweets, especially in the morning. At most, he would have bacon and eggs. But more than not, like today, he was having toast.

Setting the tub down next to his toaster, Itachi's hand grabbed a small radio, flipping a switch and turning it on. He paid no mind to what song was on, all he knew is it had been left on some rock station. After grabbing a few slices of bread from an almost empty bag, Itachi popped them into the toaster, carefully watching as to not burn them.

He hated burned toast, almost as much as he hates bugs. A soft chime sounds from somewhere in his bedroom. That's right, he left his phone on the night stand when he went to shower. Quickly pressing a button on the front of his toaster, the freshly made breakfast jumps up, ready to be eaten.

Grabbing a knife from his knife block, because he wasn't picky when it came to applying butter to toast, he scooped the butter onto his toast. Biting onto the corner, Itachi made his way back into his bedroom, discarding his towel onto a half-filled clothing hamper to be washed later this week. Walking to his night stand, Itachi grabbed his phone, a smile tugging at his lips at the name on his screen.

Swiping his thumb across the surface, he was greeted with an open chat, the words "Good morning" thankfully helping to release some of the tension in his body. Itachi had been alone for a long time after his father left, even after he had been found and taken into a new and different home.

He didn't like interacting with new people, he'd prefer to stay in his apartment all day, binge watching whatever the hell was on TV. But when you find yourself in his predicament…Your usually kind of screwed.

Three years he's been in a relationship now, having met a quiet yet fierce young woman through his now new little brother. It was sudden, and totally not intentional on either of their parts, but it was welcomed.

'Good morning to you as well. Sleep well?'

Dropping the phone onto his bed, Itachi made his way to his dresser, pulling out a pair of boxers. Her reply was quick as his phone chimed again, his hands grabbing his usual work attire to slip into. He worked in a garage, fixing cars and trucks, something he enjoyed doing since he was fifteen. After buttoning his pants, he looked back to his phone for her reply.

'Very well…Up until I woke up from the stupid alarm. Wasn't college supposed to be better about that then high school?'

'Only if you take afternoon classes. Your dream?'

He enjoyed she didn't ask how he slept, it didn't take her long to find out about his dreams. Though he never mentioned them to her, he had even made sure to never fall asleep around her during their first year together. The last thing he had wanted was her seeing him wake from one of those dreams. He wondered if his new brother had ended up telling her.

'Wouldn't you like to know!'

Oh, he would. He grinned as he wrote just that, sending it to her and shaking his head. She was wild, how their relationship even happened was a miracle. He normally couldn't stand people like her, and yet…Here they were.

Walking to the bathroom, Itachi ran a brush through his hair, quickly tying it back as he ignored the chime of his phone a few moments later. Setting about brushing his teeth, Itachi looked to the chat, and promptly choked. Ah, yeah, this was why he was with her.

'Of course, you send me this when I need to leave for work…'

'Oh, come on! I thought you didn't have a shift this morning!'

He didn't, originally. But college was expensive, as were parts for his truck and bike, he needed the money…Right? Itachi gave a groan as he scrolled back up to the picture, seriously tempted to call in. His girlfriend was gorgeous. Pink with white tipped hair pulled over her shoulder, covering one of her bare breasts. Her hand placed against her stomach where he knew she was sliding it down towards her exposed-

'Parts for the bike are expensive.'

Even with the throbbing in his pants, he couldn't back down. He was an adult, he needed to do adult things. Work, get money, pay bills, buy food, things such as that.

'Another thing broke!? Jeez, talk about a cock block…' Oh didn't he know it. If it weren't for that damn bike, he'd be speeding his way through town right now.

'Well…I guess I'll take care of this then. Next time?'

'Do you really need to ask.'

'Mmm, I guess not. Be safe on your way there Itachi!'

He smiled at her response. She was always so worried about others, very rarely caring for herself. It's how she was raised, she always told him. That statement always intrigued him, she's never once spoken about her childhood. Only small blips here and there, and those she knew weren't any help. "In high school she just withdrew, but she acted the same."

With a sigh Itachi rinsed his mouth and tooth brush, exiting his bathroom. Even with how close they were, there was still so much about each other they didn't know. There were times it worried him, it felt like they were keeping dark secrets from the other.

'Have a good morning Sakura.'

He only needed to glance down to his phone to write the message, thankfully his predicted text fixing what he had messed up for him. Grabbing a bag, keys and the extra toast, Itachi placed his phone in his pocket, taking a moment to glance at his home.

"Ittekimasu…" It was habit, a sad little one he's had for a long time. To tell his mother, father, and little brother that he was leaving.

Traffic to work was horrible, more so with the rust bucket Itachi currently sat within. The damn thing would try and die from overheating if it sat to long. It was a gift when he turned twenty-one, a great gift too.

Itachi enjoyed fixing things, his bike, his truck, hell even appliances. It was just fun for him, and he was good at it. So, he had been obviously ecstatic when he landed his current job, working in a garage. It helped him get experience, though sadly he had to deal with the occasional customer who just swore they knew more about fixing cars then you.

Pulling into an employee's only parking space behind the building, Itachi took his keys from the ignition after the trucks engine went quiet. Grabbing his bag from the back, he left his truck and made his way into the garage, greeting coworkers on his way into the office.

He'd be working with the public today sadly, but he tolerated it. None of them liked handling customers, so they all decided to rotate shifts, and it went well for the most part. He had school to study for, so he supposed it wasn't all that bad.

"Did you bring me lunch today Itachi-chan?" A woman's voice sounded behind him, a smile on his face as he gave a sigh, dropping his bag next to the service counter.

"I never know if your kidding or not Temari…"

A scoff sounded from her as she walked forward, leaning against the cool surface of the counter. She was exhausted already, it was hot out, and inside the garage in their uniforms only made it worse. Her hair had even started to curl at the ends as it sat pinned in a ponytail.

"That's the fun of it isn't it?"

"To you, perhaps."

Sitting in a chair, Itachi pulled a book from within his bag, letting it thump down next to Temari's arm. The blonde woman removed her arm, huffing slightly when the man in front of her seemed unwilling to share her humor.

"Such a buzz kill! How can that girl stand you, huh?" 'Because she's usually not standing.' Itachi bit back his comment before it could leave him. Sakura would destroy him if he said anything like that.

"Hanami will be here by noon, don't forget."

With a grunt, Itachi opened his book. No way would he forget he had a short shift here today. Hearing a soft chime, Itachi pulled out his phone. Another picture from Sakura. Angling his phone carefully just in case, he was relived, if not slightly saddened, that all the picture was of was several different movies. She wanted a movie night.

'You pick, I'm fine with anything.'

"Ooh, is that her? What did she send!"

"Temari…"

Today had ended up feeling like a Monday. Not only had Itachi dealt with the worst customer at the end of his shift, she had refused to let anyone else handle the issue. Making Itachi very late for his second job.

He had made a very poor choice taking on a few extra hours at the garage today. But thankfully his boss was understanding this time around. Only giving him a stern look and an eye roll. The rest of his eight-hour shift went great though, as long as people were given food in a timely manner for a fast food joint, people hardly threw fits. And if they did, usually it was hysterical and ended up viral by the next morning.

Lifting the ear buds to his iPod, Itachi set about listening to a random playlist, leaning back as he sat on the curb next to his truck. He was waiting for a fellow coworker, Haru, to get off shift to take home. The poor guys' car died on the way into work, and Itachi had been given permission to pick him up. And his house was on the way to go pick up a pizza for dinner, so Itachi didn't mind helping.

At least it wasn't ungodly hot anymore, now that the sun had set a few hours ago. Letting out a small sigh, Itachi's hands dug through his right pocket, fishing out a carton of cigarettes and lighter. It was a bad habit, Itachi was more then willing to admit it. But it was habit none the less.

He had started when he was sixteen, a nice little break he'd take when working on his bike. Sakura hadn't liked it at first. More so, she hadn't liked the brand he smoked at first. Just from the smell she could name the exact brand, it always made her face scrunch up with displeasure. He was happy though she never asked him to quit, just encouraged him to switch brands. And he had, no more funny faces from his girlfriend.

"Sorry for the wait!" Haru's voice was muffled from the music, but Itachi still heard the man. Lifting his hand to remove a bud, Itachi gave him a smile.

"No worries."

Standing, Itachi silently offered a cigarette to the brunette as he lit his own. With quiet thanks, Haru removed one, and walked to the passenger side of the truck, waiting for Itachi to unlock it and let him in. Once both were seated and buckled, Itachi backed out of the parking space and drove out of the restaurant parking lot.

"How are your studies going?"

Itachi gave a small shrug of his shoulders at Haru's question as the man lit up. He wasn't very talkative to people, and Haru was aware of that. But they've been working together long enough now Itachi enjoyed a little small talk with the man.

"Well, I was able to pass all of my exams without any issues. Finally have a little free time."

"Free time?" Itachi smiled at Haru's chuckle. It wasn't free time if he was working constantly was it.

"How's your wife?"

"Moody. The baby isn't letting her sleep. But I guess that's normal in the last few weeks before delivery." Haru gave a small shrug. As soon as he and his girlfriend found out they were expecting, they got married. Neither were expecting it, but they were excited.

"You should bring Sakura over, we could hang out and have a beer."

"Aa…I'll bring it up to her tonight."

He couldn't help the nervous twist of his gut at Haru's invitation, it's something that always happened. He honestly hoped the man wasn't going to hold him to it. While hanging out wouldn't be bad, it just made him nervous.

Placing his lit cigarette between his lips, Itachi carefully separated from the rest of traffic, turning right down a small road. The rest of the drive was filled with comfortable silence, both men finishing their smoke as Itachi pulled into Haru's gravel driveway. With quick good-bye's, Itachi pulls back into the street as Haru makes his way inside, his pregnant wife waving to Itachi before he got too far.

Pulling his phone from his pocket, he made a quick call to a gas station near his place, ordering two pizzas for Sakura and himself. He'd have to wait a while for the food to finish, but he honestly didn't mind, and he was sure once he showed with food Sakura wouldn't care at all either.

And he was right. As soon as he had walked into his apartment, food and beer in hand, Sakura had happily ran down the steps to take the food.

"I got worried when you didn't come back sooner!"

"Aa, I had to drop Haru off at home. I forgot to order before I left work." With a quick kiss to her forehead, Itachi lead the way up the stairs, placing the beer onto his wooden coffee table.

"I can just order food next time, so you don't have to worry about it." There was a pout on her face as he turned, watching as she leaned forward to place their food on the table, her shirt moving to expose a small bit of her cleavage to him.

"Is that mine?"

"It is."

Sakura gave him a smile as she straightened, looking down to herself as she smoothed the fabric of the shirt over her stomach with a small blush. She was occasionally shy about her body, today must be one of those days. She seemed in such a good mood this morning too…

"I figured I'd just wear it over, seeing as you still have one of mine here. A fair trade!" Fair to her. He rather enjoyed seeing her prance around in his clothing, more so when there was no clothing involved.

Kicking his shoes off and settling himself onto the couch, Sakura hurriedly climbed up next to him, nestling herself against his side as she opened the boxes of pizza. Taking an offered slice, Itachi's arm wound its way around her waist, relaxing back as Sakura fiddled with the remotes, turning on a sci-fy movie she had brought over.

Just like how pancakes on a sunny morning with his mother and brother used to be his ideal life, this had begun to become Itachi's ideal picture of life. Simple, sweet, and relaxing. Lightly squeezing her hip Itachi pulled Sakura closer, nuzzling her pink hair as his chest tightened slightly.

All he could do is prey that things wouldn't turn out like before. He wouldn't be able to handle having her, hell anyone in his new family, being ripped away from him. He wouldn't survive this time.

AN:

Ok, so I was sick somewhat recently (Going on 4 months ago now), and while napping through my horrifying pain, this happened. I'm not totally sure where I want to go with this story, but I had to get it out of my head lol. So, if you can think of anything, feel free to let me know what you want to see! Its full of smuttiness and such. And to address the lack of updating in 4-5 years (SWEET JESUS WHAT!?), I've had a ton of shit happen…

My great grandfather passed away, which really hit my family hard, mostly my dad. My grandpa raised him. Then not even a full month later, my cousin whom I'm named after passed, which was an even harder hit since it was so sudden, and she was so young. Fast forward about 10 months or so later, my step-mother had a stroke. My dad was a mess, he was having trouble keeping it together after what happened to my step-mom. Thankfully though she was able to come home after a month and half of being in the hospital, and amazingly enough did great with physical therapy. She was able to go back to work a month later as a nurse. While my step-mom was healing my sister split from her husband, and moved with my niece to the town I lived in, to stay with my mom. I can't remember for sure how long she stayed with our mom, but I turned into a babysitter (For my sister) and bought food for them, all while NOT living there and having my own bills to pay at my dad's. It was horrible.

I had head aches constantly, I was horribly depressed over family members passing, my step-mom still healing from her stroke, and then not getting any sleep at all while staying at my mom's a few days a week. My sister would just call and beg me to come by, our mom worked, and my sis didn't want to be alone. So, I'd go over, watch her drink herself silly, help try to raise my niece, and clean my mother's house. Things just fell apart…But my sis finally moved out, my mom and I had a bit of a fight the day of, and I didn't go back to visit for a month. One, because I just wanted to be home and chill. And two, I was just hurt.

But that December I moved into my apartment! Talk about wanting to barf on your computer when getting that call…But I moved, and my boyfriend Doku moved to state and in with me that spring. I went through some tough patches of depression, more so when last year during the summer I had a HUGH fallout with my mom and sister. I went to dark places for a long time…But not I'm looking at 1 year in a house with Doku. Things got so damn bad, but they got so amazingly better.

But the reason I've had such a hard time this year with writing, besides the writer's block I have with DFSC, I found that on my right hand, I have 2 ruptured tendons. I can't extend my middle and ring finger, only curl them. Which means instead of using 3 fingers to type, I'm only using my index finger of my right hand, and let me tell you, this shit HURTS! But I've been working on typing more, and it's been helping big time. This story is a bit of a trial run to see how my hand handles things, and thankfully it doesn't really hurt too bad. Besides the fact it's winter lol.

And sweet Jesus this AN is taking up a whole page in WORD…So I shall stop here! Tell me what you think, if you want to see anything in this story, I'm totally open to ideas, especially with pairings! Please fave, follow and review! It helps me get the will to write. Ja ne!