Ageless Love

Itachi's Return

[Third person]

Early in the morning, Sasuke received a phone call from his mother that his father suffered from a stroke. He immediately went over to the hospital that had hospitalized him and asked in which room Fugaku Uchiha, his father, was. When he arrived in the private ward, the assigned physician told him that he was in a severe coma. Mikoto, Sasuke's mother, was at his fathers side softly sniffing and sobbing. He hurriedly walked over to her and hugged her.

"Hey mom, how are you?" He asked with much sorrow in his voice.

"Sasuke… snif-snif." She cried softly in his shoulder.

He comforted her and told her that he wasn't going anywhere. They stayed by Fugaku's side until late at night and then went to rest in one of the family rooms on the same floor. Sasuke was kept awake from his sleep due to several company calls about his father's condition.

The cold water on his face made him feel more awake. It was 7 am and Sasuke was in the hospital restroom washing his face at the sink. His mother had already woken up and went out to buy some food to consume in the convenience store near the hospital building. After he was done freshening up, he went to his father's private ward. Fugaku was still silently sleeping as if he would never wake up again. All the machines around his bed supporting his body made Sasuke feel empty inside. The smell of sickness filled his nostrils and a nauseated feeling took over his body. He walked away from the bed towards the door and went outside in the hallway to see his mother coming from the other direction.

"Mom, I'm going to the rooftop to get some fresh air." He told her. She nodded her head and reached inside the bag she was holding and took out a canned coffee and a rice meal.

"Here, take this with you and eat some." She told me.

"Thank you mom." He said as he bowed towards her out of respect.

Mikoto smiled and walked over to Fugaku's ward. Sasuke sighed and went to the staircase and started slowly walking up to the rooftop, he wanted to avoid the busy elevator and the rooftop was only 3 more floors up. When he reached the top he sighed heavily and walked over to the railing and leaned on it. His view over Konoha was breathtaking since the building was 12-storeys high. He took out his cellphone and dialed Sakura's number.

"Hello?" A hoarse voice said.

"Hey Sakura…" He said while looking at the horizon in the east.

"Hey Sasuke, how are you? How's is your dad doing? Is he okay? I think that I will visit in the evening later today."

"Hmm, okay. He is in a coma and has still not woken up yet…" His voice trailed off.

"Oh… I see. Is your mom okay? She must be really worried, huh?"

"Yeah, she is worried. I will go to the company in the afternoon to hold a shareholders meeting. Dad's accident created a big chaos in the company and the shareholders are already discussing the next CEO." He said with a sigh.

"Oh, really! What a hassle!" She said surprised and irritated at the same time.

"Yeah, I will talk to you later, okay?" He said as he was rocking back and forth on his feet.

"Ok Sasuke, bye bye!"

"Hmm, Bye." He shoved his phone in his pocket and opened his coffee and rice meal.

After a while when he was finished eating, he went back to his father's room. When he entered the room he saw his mother talking to someone, whose back was turned towards Sasuke. As he walked over to them the person turned around and Sasuke froze in one place. 'Itachi?' he thought to himself as his eyes widened in surprise.

"Hello Sasuke." The man before him was dressed in a nice black outfit with his long hair up in a neat bun.

"Hi Itachi." Sasuke said while slowly recovering from his shock.

Itachi walked over to Sasuke and gave him hug while whispering something in his ear. Sasuke's eyes filled up with anger and he unnoticeably pushed him away. He gave Itachi a cold look, who in return only smirked at him. He averted his eyes to his mother and replaced the look on his face with a smile.

"Mom, I will be going now. I will be back later in the evening with Sakura." He said while bowing down.

"Ok, goodbye darling." Mikoto said with a smile.

Sasuke tightened his grip on the steer wheel and let out a frustrated sigh. He was too surprised by Itachi's visit. 'Now that dad had an accident, Itachi decided to show up? What is he thinking! He has never shown any concern about us, so why did he come back!?'

"Argh."

Sasuke's cellphone ringed and he picked up the call.

"Hello." He said with an impolite tone.

"Hello Mr. Uchiha, the shareholders meeting has been advanced to 11 am. That is 2 hours from now."

"Couldn't you prevent that from happening? What happened at the company?"

"There has been a rumor going around that Mr. Itachi Uchiha came back to Konoha to take over the company." The voice said in a worried tone.

"Sigh… Okay, I'll be there on time." Sasuke said frustrated and ended the call.

He increased the force on the pedal and he drove as fast he could to his home. When he arrived home, he noticed that Sakura wasn't home and was probably in college. He went up to take a bath and get ready for the shareholders meeting. After he was finished he immediately went to his father's company and arrived 20 minutes before time. When he stepped inside the meeting room, he was met with nothing but a big chaos. It was slowly getting quiet and everyone's attention was on Sasuke. He politely greeted everyone and took his seat. The door opened behind him and Itachi came inside and also sat down next to Sasuke. People began to shatter again and Sasuke avoided Itachi.

After a while the meeting began and Sasuke led the discussion. Sasuke was the potential successor of his father's company but not everyone's approval was given now that Itachi had returned. Most people preferred Itachi over Sasuke, because Itachi was more experienced and has a booming business overseas. The meeting resulted in Itachi becoming the temporary substitute until their father woke up from his coma. The final decision really frustrated Sasuke and after the meeting he left as fast as he could to his home.

It was raining and his wipers were on maximum speed. His thoughts wandered off and the honking of a car brought him back to reality. He quickly pulled of the road and turned off he car engine. He looked around to see if he had caused a problem, but the road was quiet and empty. He slowly gathered his thoughts together and got back on the road.

When Sasuke arrived home he saw that Sakura was busy in the kitchen. She had made a lot of delicious dishes, more than usual.

"Hey Sakura, are we expecting company?" She looked up surprised and hurried over to him. Her arms locked him in a hug and she snuggled her face into his chest.

"How are you doing? I'm making some food for you and your mom. I don't think that you guys had a proper meal since your dads accident." She said with a small pout on her face.

"That's nice, my mom will love it." Sasuke said with a smile and sat down at the kitchen table. She giggled back and started to pack up the food in small boxes.

"How did the meeting go Sasuke?"

"Well, Itachi came back to Konoha… And since he is the first son, they want him to take the lead until dad comes back." Sasuke said with a dramatic sigh.

"Aww, is that a bad thing? And when did he came back?" She asked while cleaning the kitchenware.

"Yes it is a bad thing. His return leaves me with no possible position in the company." Sasuke said with a frown on his face.

"How come? He's your family so he could fix a job for you." Sakura said without knowing the relationship between him and Itachi.

"No Sakura. He and I aren't at good terms with each other. It's complicated." Sakura walked over to him and stroked his back.

"You two are grown ups now, so why don't you try to work it out?" She asked. Sasuke looked at her strangely and then moved her hand away from him.

"This problem didn't start when we were little. We started growing apart when we both went to college and my dad told us that he would make me his successor. And of course, Itachi didn't like it. But right now I'm not capable of handling the company. That is why Itachi came back; this is his best chance to take over the company." Sasuke said with an angry glare on his face. Sakura was shocked by his sudden change of behavior.

"Oh, ok. I get it." She said while stepping back to off her apron. She folded it and placed it on an empty chair beside him. With one last glance at Sasuke she disappeared upstairs in the bathroom.

Sasuke huffed and stood up to taste some of the dishes Sakura didn't pack. He poured some wine for himself and ate every last piece of the food. After he was finished, he walked over to the living room and sat down the sofa and placed his legs on the footstool. He turned on the TV and skipped through the channels. Boredom filled his mind and he turned it off and switched the radio on to classic FM, one of his favorite channels. Sasuke lay back on the sofa and closed his eyes. He was thinking about all the things that happened the last days and was feeling sad again. He let out a frustrated growl and started massaging his temples.

Sakura was ready to leave for the hospital and went downstairs. Sasuke was on the sofa resting and she walked up to him. She kneeled beside him and started moving her hands through his silky hair trying to wake him up. His eyes slowly opened and he stared back at her.

"We must leave in a few minutes." She said softly and tried to stand up, but Sasuke pulled her back into his arms, which caught her by surprise.

"We can go any time we want to, because my dad is in a private room." He said in a placid tone.

"I see." Sakura said as she was trying to find a comfortable position next to him.

Sasuke pulled her up to his head level and stared back at her sea-green eyes. His fingers were playing with a lost strand of her hair and he then licked his lips. There was a serene look on his face. Sakura couldn't stop the rosy blush that was crawling up her face and neck, so she closed her eyes to avoid looking back at his gaze. A few seconds past by as she was quietly laying on her side and then she suddenly felt two warm wet lips press against hers. Sasuke pulled her closer to him and cupped her face with both hands as his thumbs softly stroke her cheeks. Pressing a little bit harder against her lips. He kissed her with much tenderness and she was completely losing herself in the kiss. The ringing of Sasuke's cellphone interrupted the passionate kiss. He hesitantly parted away from Sakura and answered the call.

"Hello?" He said annoyed.

"Sasuke, the doctor said that dad has entered the critical stage of his coma." An anxious voice said on the other line.

"What? I will be there as fast as I can." He said and ended the call. He quickly stood up and carefully grabbed Sakura by her hand.

"Come, let's go. Dad isn't doing well."

Author's Note

Dear readers,

I also updated this chapter and I hope you will like it.

Lots of love,

Camilla Chrysanta