Homecoming
(A/N: Thank you all so much for your support. It's good to know I can keep all of you entertained… at least, until the end of the chapter. Ok, in thins chapter, things slow down… or so you think! Enjoy the show.)
~xxx~
It wasn't until the following afternoon that Itachi woke up. He looked up at the ceiling and sighed softly. It was Mikoto's dark eyes that brought Itachi to reality. Her warm gaze held his clouded sight tenderly as she smiled down at him.
"Good afternoon, Ita-chan. How do you feel?" she asked, brushing his raven locks back and behind his ear. He blinked.
"Kaa-san…?" he questioned softly, not really believing he was home. Mikoto nodded once then glanced to her right and back to him. Itachi followed her gaze to find Sakura sleeping in the neighboring bed with the coves tucked tightly around her. "What happened?" Itachi asked while trying to sit up. A firm hand clapped over his shoulder and gently pressed him back down.
"Rest, nii-san." Sasuke said giving Itachi's shoulder a gentle squeeze.
"Sakura…" Mikoto started, eyes brimming with pride-filled tears. "She saved your life." Itachi stared at her, unblinking eyes searching for any sign of deception.
"It's true." A voice said from the doorway. Yamanaka Ino quietly stepped into the room. "She nearly killed Shisui to get to you. It was like she snapped when she found out that you were the one laying on the ground."
"I'll say, my arms still hurt." Shisui complained as he entered the room. Itachi returned his gaze to the other bed where Sakura slept.
"Is she well?" he asked as he stared at her, silently willing her to wake. Ino shifted her weight from foot to foot.
"Tsunade-sama says she suffering from the affects of remembering too much at once." That caught his attention. "She should wake up soon then we'll be able to tell what all she remembers…" she trailed off, unsure of what to say next. Itachi's gaze softened the longer the looked at Sakura but he still worried for her. He closed his eyes, nodding once to show he heard her. Mikoto's hand found his with a reassuring squeeze.
"She'll be fine Ita-chan, you'll see." Itachi merely nodded again and went back to sleep.
~xxx~
She shifted in her sleep, turning to her the right to lay on her side only to find she couldn't move her arm. Emerald eyes flickered to life. Slivery light filled her vision as the moon's rays swept across the room. Her gaze turned to her hand that was held in place by another. Her eyes trailed upwards to find a mop of dark hair pooling over the side of the bed. Slowly, her left hand swept the dark hair away to find Itachi sleeping soundly next to her.
'That can't be comfortable…' she thought. He was hunched over in a chair with his head cocked to the side at her shoulder. She leaned forward and rested her forehead against his. Sakura closed her eyes, this seemed so familiar to her… but she still couldn't place it. She sighed softly placing her hand on his cheek before going back to sleep, her mind was still too hazy to think of much else. His even breathing soothed her into a dreamless sleep from which she didn't wake until the sun rose over the horizon. That's what Tsunade found when she walked in at dawn.
If she had a camera, she would have taken a picture. She smiled fondly at the sleeping pair, it was how she remembered them. Always happy, loving, smiling… inseparable. Itachi stirred, flexing his fingers flexing around Sakura's hand, light frown lining his lips as his onyx eyes fluttered open.
"Sorry," she whispered, "I didn't mean to wake you." Itachi looked from her to Sakura, finally registering the warm palm against his cheek. A tiny smile found it's way to hips.
"It is fine." He whispered back, gently reaching up to brush Sakura's hair out of her face.
"I'll come back in a little while. You hungry?" she asked with a hand on the doorknob. Itachi inclined his head as if to say yes and she left. The only sound in the room was a soft click of the door closing. Sakura shifted, curling into a ball, pulling Itachi's hand close to her chest as she sighed.
"Thank you, saiai." He whispered and kissed her lips softly. Her eyes shifted behind her eyelids as Sakura sighed again and opened her eyes. Onyx met emerald and for a moment no one breathed.
"You're welcome, Itachi-kun." She breathed, a smile tugging at her lips at the sight of his wide eyes. "I remembered a couple of things."
~xxx~
Kakashi didn't know what to think when he, Naruto and Sasuke walked in with Mikoto hot on their heels. Itachi sat on the bed, full attention on the pink-haired girl who sat at the foot of his bed. On her end, Sakura talked softly about the things she remembered while they ate breakfast… still wearing bloodstained clothes, might I add. It's a good thing Mikoto always came prepared.
"Morning guys, Kaa-san." Sakura said merrily, turning her head to greet their wide-eyed faces. "I was just telling Itachi-kun some of the things that I remembered, come join us." She waved them over and put her chopsticks down, having wolfed down the meal Tsunade brought in for them.
Mikoto set a duffle bag down on the other bed and sat down next to it. "I've got some things here for you, when you're ready."
Sakura gave her a warm smile. "Thank you, Kaa-san." She turned her attention back to the boys who were waiting as patiently as possible to hare what she had to say. "Well, it's obvious that I remember being a medic." Sakura shrugged her shoulders at the statement, tilting her head to one side as her smile widened. "Things are still fuzzy but I remember you guys, all of you. I remember healing you before." She looked at Itachi when she said that. "I remember you had a nasty gash on your arm… and I remember the tingly feeling my chakra had when I was healing you."
He smile fondly at her. "Aa, we were on a mission in Kiri." Itachi sat up a little more, preparing to relate the events of that mission to her when Naruto cut in.
"Do you remember an of the missions we were on together? Like the one where we had to collect trash from the river and I slipped- OUCH!" Sasuke hit Naruto on the back of the head. "What the hell teme?!"
"You're too loud, dobe."
"Sorry Naruto, I don't remember that." Sakura said with a light frown. It did sound funny to her for some reason or another. "I better get cleaned up… I can smell myself." Her nose wrinkled to extenuate her point.
Naruto sniffed the air and clapped his hands over his nose. "Yeah, you definitely don't smell like roses right now."
BAM
"What the hell, Naruto?! You're not supposed to agree!" Sakura fumed as she cracked her knuckles. "Next time I'll add chakra!" She said as she slid off the bed and grabbed the bag Mikoto brought for her. Sakura disappeared into the bathroom while everyone glared at Naruto.
"Idiot." They said in unison minus Itachi, who stared intently at the bathroom door. She was definitely coming back to him. Slowly but surely, his Sakura was returning.
"Kaa-san, can you help me? The buttons on my vest are stuck." Sakura called as she poked her head out of the bathroom.
~xxx~
Tobi was an idiot, Diedara was gay (more than likely), Sasori… well, never mind about him and the Zombie Twins were just weird. Kisame sighed. Zetsu, Leader-sama and the chick were the only 'normal' ones, besides himself, it seemed. And now he was getting yelled at because Diedara fucked up his part of the mission… kill both Uchiha's, not put one in the hospital while the other got away scot-free.
"I'm very disappointed in you Kisame." Leader spoke in a calm voice. Ok, so, maybe he stretched the 'yelled at' part, but Leader-sama had a way of putting you in your place… with just a look. "As a senior member, I had expected you to carry out my orders to the fullest. Yet, the medic lived."
"It's not my fault they couldn't handle their part of the mission." Kisame all but spat as his beady eyes landed on the blond to his left, slightly happy that they were speaking to a holographic image of Leader-sama.
"Shut the hell up, fish face, un! You couldn't even take out the girl." Diedara hollered, shaking his holographic fist at the taller shinobi.
"Silence!" Leader commanded, glaring at the two of them. "Zetsu had informed me that Haruno Sakura has amnesia. That is not what I wanted but it is close enough." He said as he turned his head to Sasori. "Return to base. Hidan and Kakuzu are currently hunting down the Two-Tails as we speak." The members exchanged glances before nodding. "Zetsu will keep an eye on the medic for now. Kisame, you will go after Orochimaru's medic. For my plan to work, we must be rid of all higher ranking medics and shinobi. I will take care of the Hokage when the time comes."
And that was the end of the meeting. Leader-sama's image flickered and disappeared altogether along with his partner.
"Remind me to kill you when I get back." Kisame growled at Diedara.
"Catch me if you can, yeah." The blond hissed and vanished with Sasori.
"Good luck, Kisame-san. Tobi is a good boy." Cried the masked man as Kisame shimmered away, coming out of his trance in Wave Country. He had a ways to go to get to the Grass village. He knew the pet medic would be as slippery as the Sannin he served. Kisame stretched his neck and shouldered Samehada. This was going to be a long trip.
~xxx~
"You really suck at this Sakura." Shisui smiled as he moved a bishop across the board.
"Shut up… I just have to get used to this again." Sakura snapped, studying the pieces on the board with a determined eye. They had been at this since she got home… three hours ago. Sakura was clear to leave but Itachi had to stay over night for observation. He would be able to come home tomorrow.
"Mikoto-baa said that you remembered something and that you cracked Naruto for saying you smelled." He chuckled as she moved a pawn forward, taking his knight.
"Want me to blast you a new one too?" she inquired as she looked up at him. Shisui's hands moved to defend himself.
"No thanks, I'm fine just the way I am."
"I beg to differ." Sakura glared. The man was a helpless flirt and had been smacked more times than she could count on one hand… just today. She looked back down at the board and moved another piece just as Fugaku walked into the room. "Check mate." She said with a smile.
"What? No way." Shisui looked over the board and sighed. "Yeah, you win." He waved his hand and began to reset the board.
"Mind if I play you?" Fugaku asked Sakura as Shisui stood.
"By all means, please." She smiled up at him. Shisui was a good player, but Fugaku was the best next to Itachi.
"It's good to see you doing well." He commented, moving a piece forward.
Sakura shrugged her shoulders. "I'm just glad Itachi's fine." She moved a pawn forward. Mikoto brought in tea but stayed to see the match and soon Sasuke was watching with her. It was like a battle field, pieces were disappearing left, right and center but Sakura was winning. Some twenty minutes later, Fugaku laid his king down, defeated.
"Very good, Sakura." He said then stood and left the room. She had been the only person, besides Itachi, to defeat him in a game of chess. "I would like a rematch later." Fugaku grumbled before he turned the corner.
"Way to go Sakura!" Shisui threw his arms up in the air as if he were praising her.
"Are you sure you're an Uchiha?" she asked with a raised brow.
"I guess I'll start on dinner." Mikoto commented with a smile. And everyone went about their business. Shisui bugged Sakura for the rest of the day, Sakura tried not to murder him, Mikoto knitted in the den, Sasuke went out on a date… with some girl Sakura didn't know at all and Fugaku retired early.
~xxx~
Sakura sat on the bed with her knees pulled to her chest, happy to have remembered something. Smiling into her knees, Sakura hugged Itachi's shirt to her frame. He would be home tomorrow and she was excited. And for the first time in two weeks, the room didn't feel so empty, so cold. Sakura glanced at the bag by the door and sighed softly. The duffle was packed with a change of clothes and some toiletries for Itachi. Not wanting to scramble for things in the morning, Sakura packed the bag after dinner; lovingly placing the items in the bag as she hummed in happiness.
But now she couldn't sleep. Too excited to lie down and close her eyes to the world. A knock sounded at the door, braking Sakura's trance.
"Come in." She said as she fixed the blankets to cover her bare legs. Sasuke pocked his head in the door.
"You going to bed already?" he stepped into the room and closed the door.
"I can't sleep… I'm too excited." Sakura admitted with a sheepish grin. Sasuke padded softly over and sat down next to her.
"Get some rest, Itachi hates it when you suffer. Even if it is loosing a few hours sleep." He whispered.
Sakura huffed. "I'll try but I can't guarantee anything." She smiled and scooted under the comforter. "Good night, Sasuke." Sakura turned over, facing away from him.
"Night Sakura…" he stood from the bed and clicked off the light… and quietly turned off the alarm clock. Walking to the door, Sasuke picked up the bag and left the room.
"You got it, right?" Shisui asked when Sasuke walked down the hall. Sasuke held up said bag and smirked.
~xxx~
Shisui tossed the bag to Itachi who eyed him curiously.
"She's still sleeping… if you want to surprise her." You see, Sasuke told Shisui that Sakura had seemed a little disheartened when she had to leave the hospital last night. So, Shisui hatched at plan to make the pink-haired girl happy. Thus the bag she had painstakingly put together for Itachi… and his early discharge from the hospital. It seemed Tsunade was in on it too.
Not wasting any time, Itachi went into the bathroom. A quick shower and shave later, Itachi stood in casual clothes walking out the hospital room to sign his release forms. Sakura had packed a nice black dress shirt, a pair of blue jeans, underwear and his favorite cologne along with a fresh razor and his shampoo and conditioner. He felt better than he had in the last two weeks and now he was going home… to Sakura.
~xxx~
"I can't believe I overslept!" Sakura screeched as she flung the covers to the side and ran into the bathroom. Showering as quickly as possible, Sakura rushed through her morning routine as she carelessly tossed everything around. Thanking the heavens she had set out her clothes the night before, Sakura dressed quickly and decided to forgo blow-drying her hair. Instead, she pulled her hair back and rolled it up into a tight bun.
Sakura made a b-line down the hall and ate a quick breakfast before rushing to the door. Mikoto smiled fondly as Sakura scurried out the door after breakfast… completely forgetting the bag she knew was no longer there. Sakura jogged across the porch, taking the steps two at a time and stopped. Walking up the road to the main house was Itachi and Shisui.
"Tachi-kun?" she whispered bringing her hands up to her chest and clasping them together. Itachi had stopped walking when she did, setting the bag down on the ground.
He opened his arms wide to her, a small smile on his lips. "Tadaima, Sakura-chan."
"Itachi!" she cried as she ran toward him, crashing into his broad chest as her arms pulled him to her. "Okaerinasai, Tachi-kun." Members of the clan had come to see what the ruckus was all about and they clapped and whistled for them.
"Let's go inside, Sakura." Itachi said as he bent down to pick up his bag but Sakura beat him to it.
"Shisui," Sakura warned, glaring at the older Uchiha. "Remind me to thank you later."She said as she cracked a smile and took Itachi's hand and led him inside.
