One-shot: A life that I dreamed of.
Shiori silently slid off the bed and she went in the bathroom. She came out wearing a pale green dress which ended slightly above her knees. She went back in the bedroom where Itachi was still sound asleep, slid open the door to the balcony and she stepped out into the cold. Since the room was on the top-floor of the Uchiha Estate's main building, Shiori had a beautiful view of a rising Konoha.
The war was over, Konoha was recovering, Naruto had successfully brought Sasuke back after defeating Madara, and Itachi had been brought back to life so that he could help his little brother and the container of the Kyuubi. When and how did all that happen? Shiori had no idea. During that time, she had been busy destroying the clones of Zetsu in a rather secluded and far area, and as she was all alone, she had no way of being updated on the situation. The war was well over when she came back to Konoha.
Flashback:
Shiori walked towards the Hokage's office. She was still in her ANBU uniform and she had shifted the fox mask over her head. Her clothes had several rips with dried blood here and there. She wanted to meet Tsunade immediately to know if her son had been brought back to Konoha and besides, she was in no hurry to go to the hospital since she had no major wound. She frowned lightly when she heard quite a lot of people talking in the Hokage's office but she smiled when she recognized Naruto's loud voice. Shiori knocked on the door before opening it.
"Kurosaki Shiori reporting", she announced and when her pale green eyes swept over the faces present, she nearly fainted from the shock. Her grip on the door's knob tightened and she had to lean against it when her legs almost gave out under her weight.
Tsunade was sitting at her desk with Shizune standing behind her. Kakashi was leaning against the large table and Yamato was standing next to him. On the left side of the room, Sakura looked as if she was about to punch Naruto who was frozen in a fleeing motion. Next to them though, were the three most important and beloved people in her life. Sasuke was standing there with a smirk and next to him was Itachi who had their son, Shinobu, in his arms. The little boy was a younger version of his father with the ponytail and all.
"What the... How-I... He..." Shiori stumbled over the words, her thoughts in a complete mess. The eyes locked on to Itachi's dark eyes but no words came out of her mouth.
"Welcome home, Shiori", Itachi greeted with a soft smile.
"Itachi", Shiori whispered as tears clouded her vision. Her head snapped towards Tsunade.
"Itachi was brought back to life by a council member so that Madara could be defeated", explained the blond Hokage. "He has been reinstated as a memberof the Uchiha Clan and also as a Shinobi of Konoha".
The last Kurosaki looked at Kakashi and Yamato who both nodded at her. Sasuke also gave her an encouraging nod, Naruto grinned and Sakura smiled.
Itachi placed Shinobu down and the little boy wrapped his arms around Sasuke's legs. The ex-avenger placed a hand on top of the child's mass of raven hair and Shinobu leant into the touch. The eldest Uchiha took a few steps forward and he waited for a response from the woman he loved. He forced himself to stay put when Shiori lowered her head and tears cascaded down her cheeks. He could not force her to return by his side and he could only wait for her decision.
"Itachi", she said between sobs.
The man smiled and he opened his arms. "Come here, Shiori".
In a flash, the younger woman was in his embrace and she wrapped her arms around his torso, holding him as close as she could. Shiori felt him wrapping his strong arms around her waist and shoulders protectively and Itachi kissed the top of her head.
Shiori broke down and she cried for all she was worth. Itachi rubbed her back comfortingly.
"I missed you so damn much!" she sobbed into his shoulder. "I was angry when you left to fight Sasuke. I wanted to hold you back and stop that fight. I couldn't bear watching you die! It was suffocating and I felt weak but I wanted tod to just destroy everything and do whatever I could to bring you back".
"I'm home now, Shiori", Itachi said soothingly. "I'm alive and all that happened doesn't matter now".
He was stunned when Shiori pushed him away and she gave him a powerful punch to the shoulder which he was sure was going to bruise. Everyone else was equally stunned and Kakashi observed the little scene carefully. It was the first time that Shiori was showing so much emotions at one go. Normally the blond woman was passive and kept a serious face no matter the situation. But it seemed like Itachi was the only one who could bring that wall down with merely his presence.
"It counts, you idiot! Every damn thing counts!" Shiori yelled through the tears. "The pain you went through, the feeling of being shunned by your village and that loneliness!"
"Shio-"
"And Sasuke! Yes, you love him and yes, you did everything for him. But can we forget his pain and his anger? Can we forget where has that led him?!"
"Shiori-nee, it's -"
"You left Konoha as a wanted Shinobi! Then, I joined the Akatsuki because I was supposed to capture Sasuke when he comes for you but instead I end up falling in love with you all over again. And you had the freaking guts to die in front of me! What was I supposed to tell Shinobu when he asked about you? How would he have felt when I told him that his father died at the hands of his younger brother? The bitterness between you and Sasuke would have been repeated between Sasuke and Shinobu!"
Itachi forcefully pulled the woman into his arms and he held her there as she uselessly tried to push him away.
"I've had enough of all that", she sobbed weakly. "I'm tired of all the fights. They're killing me on the inside and I can't bear watching the people I love getting hurt without breaking down into a pathetic state like now".
"Shiori", called the Copy Ninja. "We cannot forget what has happened but the war is over and we are back at peace. We cannot keep reminding ourselves of all the pain and sorrow that we went through or we will not really be at peace".
"Kakashi-sempai is right, Shiori-sempai", Yamato agreed. "It is best to let go of the past and make a grab for the future".
Shiori buried her face in Itachi's clothes and she calmed down her sobs. She then pulled away slightly, wiped the tears and tilted her head up to look at the Uchiha. The latter smiled down at her and he lowered his head to place his forehead against hers. He teasingly brushed his nose against hers and Shiori smiled softly.
"Kiss me, already", she said with a giggle and Itachi obliged with a chuckle.
"So cute!" squealed Sakura with her hands clasped in front of her in a dreamy state.
"Ew! Do that when you're alone!" yelled Naruto who had his eyes shut tightly, despite everything he encountered on his journey with Jiraiya.
"I so did not have to see that", mumbled Sasuke as he averted his gaze away from the couple.
Kakashi and Yamato chuckled, Tsunade smirked and Shizune smiled at them happily.
However, Shinobu pouted.
"Not fair!", he said as he let go of Sasuke. "Otou-san gets a kiss from Okaa-san and Shinobu gets nothing?"
Itachi and Shiori pulled away from each other and they gazed down at their son fondly. Itachi picked the five-years old up and Shiori placed a gentle kiss onto the boy's cheek while Itachi kissed his temple.
"There! Happy now?" Shiori asked with a bright smile.
Shinobu nodded and his green eyes twinkled. "Very happy", he answered.
Itachi then turned to Tsunade. "Hokage-sama, I would like to have Shinobu declared as my legitimate son and also to have Shiori declared as Uchiha Shiori, my wife".
Shiori's jaw dropped open.
"Wait what? But Shinobu's last name is Kurosaki", she told him.
Itachi turned back to her and he allowed his fingers to brush over her cheek lightly while still holding on to his little boy. "Unless we get married", he said. "Then both of you will be part of the Uchiha Clan".
An arm slung over the woman's shoulder and she traced it back to Naruto who flashed her a large grin. "Welcome to the Uchiha Clan, Shiori-san", he said.
"I'm the one who was supposed to say that, Dobe", Sasuke told him with a smirk.
Naruto frowned at him and he shook his fist at his best friend, "You weren't going to do it that's why I did, Teme!"
Tsunade nodded, ignoring the bickering boys. "Of course. I'll have everything ready by the time that Shiori is fully healed".
"Sakura", she called.
"Hai, Tsunade-sama", replied Sakura who turned to Shiori.
"Shiori-san, let's head to the hospital so that I can heal your wounds", she said.
"Wait", the green-eyed ANBU member said. "Itachi, you -"
"I know everything is a rush but I meant every word I said", the Sharingan user interrupted. "Now go to the hospital, we'll talk later".
"And I'll make sure that he proposes to you properly", added Sasuke with a small smile.
"It won't be cheesy like in Ero-Sennin's books", Naruto piped in with a large smile.
Kakashi visibly reddened at what his blond student said and he tried to cover it with a cough.
"Kakashi-sempai, get your mind out of the gutter", said Yamato with a laugh.
Shiori blushed furiously and she threw her mask at Kakashi's mask face but the man caught it before it could hit him.
"Kakashi, you incorrigible bastard!"
"What's going on?" asked Itachi with a confused look.
"You wouldn't want to know", replied Sasuke with a blush. He had a pretty clear idea of what the silver haired Ninja was thinking about and explaining that to his brother meant Tsukuyomi for all of them. His eyes widened suddenly when a kunai was aimed right at his face. He ducked to avoid the weapon.
"Shiori-nee!"
"Naruto forced you to read those damn books, didn't he?!" she growled and she threw another kunai at the blond Jinchuuriki who dodged it with a yell.
"What is happening?" a perplexed Itachi asked Shinobu.
"Shinobu does not know but it looks funny with Okaa-san chasing after everyone", replied the boy in third person.
End of flashback
Two arms snaked around her waist and Shiori broke out of her thoughts. She giggled when Itachi nuzzled her neck.
"Good morning", she greeted.
"Hn".
"Ah, Uchihas and their one syllable answer. Hn", she mocked playfully with her nose lifted with an air of arrogance.
She shrieked and then ended up laughing when Itachi swung her over his shoulder, heading back inside.
"I'll show you Uchihas and their one syllable answer", Itachi replied with a smirk.
Sasuke's head snapped to the staircase when he heard Shiori's shriek but he relaxed when her laughter soon followed.
"Sasuke-san?" called Shinobu who was sitting next to him at the table while eating breakfast.
Sasuke shook his head. "It's okay. Nii-san must be joking around with Shiori-nee".
He then stood up. "Anyway, are you still hungry?" he asked the mini Uchiha.
"Yes!"
Sasuke smiled to himself as he got some more pancakes.
'A life that I dreamt of'
Author's note: I love Itachi! 3 Anyway, review and tell me how you found this little story, my sweet readers! :D
~Icedlady~