The After Life


"Mooooom! Itatsuke's screaming again!" Kohana yelled running downstairs.

I sighed and jogged up the stairs and called over my shoulder, "Your lunch is in the brown paper bag on the counter Kohana, don't forget it! You know Pein-sama won't lend you any just because you're a girl!"

She snorted. "I'm thirteen! Even if he did offer me food, I wouldn't take it! I can find food on my own!"

I glanced at her. "Even if it means coming back home and stealing it outta the fridge?" Kohana laughed and grabbed her lunch.

"Not anymore!" She kissed me on the cheek and ran out the door yelling, "'Bye! See ya tomorrow!" I waved at her and made my way upstairs to Itatsuke's room. He was leaning on the edge of the crib, screaming his head off and waving his hand at a stuffed animal on the floor.

I picked it up and tossed it back in the crib. He followed it down and threw it out again. I frowned and picked up the toy and the baby boy and went to my room. I sat Itatsuke down on the bed and played with him until he fell asleep holding the stuffed animal on my bed.

I carried him back to his room and put him in the crib. I heard the door open downstairs and then Itachi's familiar footsteps. I flew eagerly to the kitchen and hugged him the minute I saw him.

"Jeez, what took ya so long?" I asked angrily. "Mission took longer that expected. Sunakagure called back up from Konohagakure." He muttered. I stopped and stepped back.

He was covered in blood from head to toe. I grinned. "See anyone we knew?"

He looked at me. "Why do you wanna know?" I narrowed my eyes. "Gee whiz, I don't know! Maybe cuz I haven't seen anyone in a hell of a long time, you dolt!" I screeched.

"Bad day huh?" He asked walking into the living room and dropping onto the couch. I sighed and fell on top of him. "Yeah. Kohana left for a mission and Itatsuke was crying cuz he dropped a toy. It took me three hours to get him to sleep!"

He pulled me closer and whispered in my ear, "It's alright. I'm here now," in that quiet voice that made me fall in love with him in the first place.

I relaxed and closed my eyes. I could tell he was doing the same and touched his arm. "I love you."

"I love you even more." I smiled faintly and then was sound asleep.

"Mmm..." I was still in Itachi's arms, and he was still sleeping. I opened my eyes and carefully lifted his arms off me. I got up, turned around and folded his arms on his lap.

I started to walk away when I heard him say, "There was a reason I held onto you you know." I turned around with a sly look on my face, a mirror image of my husband's.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"I think you know." He said with a twinkle in his eye. I giggled and climbed back onto his lap. "Close your eyes and hold out your hands" He murmured. I did and chewed on my lip anxiously.

Itachi pressed something dry and almost leathery into my hand. I opened my eyes and looked down. I gasped. "H-how'd you get these?!"

"I have connections." He chuckled. I got up and then glomped him. "I LOVE YOU! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LO-" He stuck his tounge in my mouth and then pulled away.

"You talk too much."

"But how'd you get tickets to the ball?!"

He raised an eyebrow. "Did you hear anything I said at all?" I squealed loudly as I looked at the tickets. It had 'Konoha Ball' in bold cursive letters at the top and then the information at the bottom. But what surprised me most, was the fact that it was made out to Itachi and me.

"Who sent you this?"

"I found it in the mail box. Didn't have a return address." He said nochalantly.

"...Oh." I got up. "I'm going shopping for a dress. Need anything?" Itachi glared at me. "What part of 'there's a reason why I held on to you' don't you get woman?!"

"The reason part." I said laughing. I walked to the front door and grabbed my purse.

"Positive you don't need anything?" I asked. No answer. I shrugged and walked out the door. I checked the mailbox in case Itachi had forgotten something. It was empty.

Whaddya know? Maybe he wasn't lying after all!

I teleported myself to town and went straight to my favorite store, Hot Topic. (A/N: Yea, even Konoha has one!! I myself am moving to an apartment near a Hot Topic for the schools, lmao.)

I walked in and went straight to the back, where the dresses were. I went straight to the display at the far end. I had been waiting for the perfect occasion to buy this dress, but it had never happened.

The dress was mainly black leather with a pleated skirt with red velvet. It was a strapless and had a built in bodice. I felt as if I was going to explode with joy and ran to the front, but stopped abruptly. A girl with bubblegum pink hair and emerald eyes wearing a Hot Topic employee badge was standing behind the counter.

Sakura Haruno.

I gulped and glided to the desk. She looked up and gave me a sweet smile. "May I help you?"

"Um, yes. Can you get a dress on display down for me?" I asked nervously. "Oh, yeah sure! Which one?" She asked perkily as she made her way to the back. I hurried after her.

"It's that black and red one." I said pointing at it.

She giggled. "I myself had an eye on that one." I turned bright red. "Oh, um, sorry."

"No worries. Customers always come first!" She said beaming at me. I gave her a tiny smile.

Looks like she can't even tell who I am! Sakura, have you forgotten already??

She unlocked the case and pulled down the dress. "Would you like that in a box?"

"Yes please."

We went back to the cash register and I bought my dress. Sakura carefully folded the dress and started rummaging around for a box. "There it is." She muttered. She was about to put it in when she stared at me.

"Is something wrong?" I asked cautiously. A sad grimace had replaced her normally perky smile. "No... You just...remind me of an old friend. I brightened.

She does remember!!

"Do you mind me asking who?" I asked with a sickly honey sweet smile.

"Oh, it was just an old friend. Her name was Kaida... But now, she's an S-Rank Missing Nin... The Hokage used to think she got kidnapped on a mission ten years ago, but on the last mission my boyfriend went on, he said he saw his brother, his name's Itachi Uchiha. And my boyfriend also said that he cornered him and then held him down until he had finished bragging about how he had two kids and that his wife was Kaida... I still can't believe she would do that though. She was so funny and unique!! We were best friends for life!" She sighed.

"I'm sorry for telling you all that..."

"...It's cool. For some reason most people feel that they can tell their problems to me..."

Sakura stared at me. "That's what Kaida used to say when I blurted out everything to her. But anyway, the Hokage sent my boyfriend back out to give Itachi a invitation for him and Kaida for the Konoha Ball. Thanks goodness it isn't a trap! I want to see her and her kids ASAP!"

I laughed, I felt really good. "How's you know it wasn't a trap?"

A devilish grin crossed her face and she finally put the dress into the box. "The Hokage is my sinsei, all I had to do was strap her to the lie detector in the torture chamber and make her tell me the truth."

I smirked. "Heh, well what if your friend does come to the ball? If you haven't seen her in ten years, then how'd you recognize her?"

That perky smile crossed her face. "Well she's one of my best friends! Of course I'd recognize her!"

A secretive smile was displayed on my lips. I had a little tricking to do when I got home. "Oh really?"

She nodded with a confident smile. "I just know I'll see her! She's always dreamed of going to the ball!"

"I know I have."

She stopped moving. "Excuse me?"

"Heh, you said you'd recognize your best friend. So much for that, huh Saku?" I sneered.

"N-nani? K-kaida-chan, is that y-you?!" Sakura asked dubiuosly.

I shook my head. "You lie too much Sakimaki. I was standing right in front of you the whole time and you didn't know who I was! I hope you can tell at the ball."

"Kaida!" She screamed and lunged forward. I stepped out of the way.

"Sayonara. See ya around Saki." I disappeared and then I was back at base with my boxy dress in my arms.

I opened the front door and tiptoed in. I shut the door behind me and walked in. Suddenly, a man with a scarred and deformed face jumped in front of me. I screamed and shot back to the door.

But it wouldn't open. "Somebody get me outta here!" I cried. I saw something move out the corner of my eye.

A zombie with a knife stuck in its head jumped onto me. I tried to run away but he held on. "NO! LEGGO! LEGGO OF ME YOU UNDEAD MOLESTER!"

The zombie started laughing. "Ngh, leggooooooooo!" He did and then he took off his mask. Deidara stood there laughing his ass off. "BAD CHOICE!" I roared and kicked him in the nuts.

His hiccups turned into sobs and his smile turned upside down. "YOU BASTARD! WHAT THE DAMN HELL WAS THAT FOR?! YOU SCARED THE GODDAMN CRAP OUTTA ME!"

The man with the deformed face took off his mask. Itachi.

"That was the whole point. You were supposed to be home a long time ago."

My eye twitched. "YOU BAKA! YOU THINK I WANTED TO GET HELD UP CUZ THE COPS CAME IN? DAMN YOU!"

I grabbed my dress off the floor and ran upstairs to my room. I pulled my dress out and hung it up fuming. I fell backwards onto my bed and stared at the ceiling. Tears started spilling out of my eyes and my body shook uncontrollably.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get those gruesome masks out of my head. I heard the door open an then close. Then a sigh. "We didn't mean to scare you that, yeah." I heard Deidara say.

"Get out." I muttered.

"You can't tell me or my 'guest' to get out of my room." Itachi snickered. I buried my head further into the pillow and blocked out the thing trying to get through to my mind. I could tell it was Itachi, he was the only other psychic in the vincity and he was always trying to fin out what I really thought of him and the Akatsuki.

A sharp pain shot through my head and then everything that I thought about Itachi and the Akatsuki flashed through my mind. "Itaaachiiiiiiiiiii!" I moaned and flipped onto my back.

He jumped on me and held me down. "No stop it! Please, please!" I begged squirming around underneath his weight.

A/N: Daaang! Four Pages and 1963 words! Well, it's a good way to start off a new story, lol. Review meh peeps! I'll update soon, ttyl.