A Few Hours Later….
"Wow. So how exactly am I suppose to know you are telling the truth? How do I know this isn't just a big scam? How do I know you didn't kill your family, your parents for you own personal gain or reasons?"
"I have nothing but my word Sakura. However, think about your situation. The windows and doors are open. You have your chakra and are not bound. Don't you see? If everything you hear about me was true, that doesn't make a lot of sense, does it?"
"It could always be a trick."
"Alright, here is one you can't deny. Do you remember one member of any team that fought me that died? Hurt, yes. Maimed, perhaps. But to the point where they died?"
She sat there thinking for a minute. It was true. She could not recall one member of any team that had died fighting him. Or his partner for that matter. It was just all too confusing. All this time, she had been taught to hate him but here he was trying to tell her everything she had been told was a lie. She didn't know what to make of it.
"Are you starting to see Sakura? Did you never wonder why the counsel members disappeared and Sasuke suddenly reappeared? He found out the truth. Don't you see? Please?" He was practically begging for her to understand.
"Sasuke… How are you here? He said he killed you."
"He thought he did but Pein had other plans. He brought me back. Pein has always seen me like a brother or perhaps a son. I'm not sure which."
"I see. But what about Naruto? You have come after him numerous times."
"But have you seen me succeed in his capture? You know I could have gotten him long ago."
"Yes, I do. I always thought that was odd. But doesn't your partner, Kisame was it, get suspicious?"
"Kisame doesn't care. If he could give up everything and have a true family, he would. He is like me in that, it is all a facade. Same with Deidara. Akasuki is just a place to stay, to belong to. For me, a place to do some good for Konoha, to make sure it stays safe from them."
"Wait. The Mouthy Bomb Freak who tried to kidnap Gaara?"
"Deidara, yes. Wait, you are on a first name basis with the Kazekage?"
"Yes, I have been for sometime. Since the Chunnin Exams actually. He tried to kill me. Well, more like Sasuke then I got in the way to protect him then Naruto saved us both….. It's a long story but to make it short, Naruto and I are his closest friends. If anything happened to either of us, the offender would answer not only to Konoha but Suna as well. Temari is like a sister and best friend to me and Kankuro, well, I don't know how to describe him. I guess you could say annoying brother."
"Wow. Talk about friend in high places."
"Haha. Yeah, I guess you could say that. Back to Deidara."
"Right, well, he was forced into the Akasuki and would love out but has no where else to go. Truth is, I think Pein would let us leave at any point but where would we go? What would we do? At least, while we are considered criminals by some, we do some good. Did you know we have entire towns under our protection? We have cared for kids who have lost their parents in battle or on missions until we can find them homes? We have rebuild homes for people who have lost theirs? Or that we help hospitals stay in supplies? We are not all bad Sakura."
"I had no clue."
"Did you never wonder why we are so hard to find. Even as good as we are, someone should eventually find us, right? But we hide in the neighboring towns. The towns we help. The villagers care for us."
"I suppose when Kakashi said to look underneath the underneath, he knew what he was talking about. Oh my goodness! Kakashi! He is going to be horrified when he finds out that I am gone. Naruto and Sai too! And what about Sasuke?"
"Sasuke has a plan and I am willing to truth him on this. Kakashi has known the truth for a long time and knew what I was planning so he is fine with this. As for Naruto and Sai, Kakashi will take care of them."
"You really thought this out. Didn't you?"
"Yes, I did. I needed you to know, even if it meant you hated me forever for it."
"I don't hate you. But I don't trust you, yet."
He smiled for the first time in a long time. Yet, such a small word but so full of hope.
"But you will give me a chance to earn that trust back?"
"Yes. Could we start with some food perhaps? Personally, I am starving!"
"I think we could do that." Itachi replied smiling as he opened the door for her.
As he lead her downstairs she started to hear voices. All young and cheerful. When she walked in the kitchen, she realized why.
"Oto-san!" A little boy of no more than two yelled as he walked in the room. As Sakura looked around she saw a group of three kids. There were two boys and a girl. None of them looked related but they were obviously close.
"Sakura, I would like you to meet my children. This is Honoka, Yori and Kichirou. I just couldn't give them up when it was time so, they are in a way mine….."
Honoka, a young girl of 4 looked to be calm and quiet but not without personality. She had chin length dark red hair, jade eyes and a peacefulness about her. In a way, she reminded Sakura of Gaara, especially the red hair and eyes.
Yori was no more than 8 with onyx hair and hazel eyes. He had a very dutiful personality and seemed protective of the other 2 but more than willing to accept Sakura with a ready smile.
Kichirou was almost 2 with blond hair and blue eyes. He was so cute and full of life. It was no wonder Itachi couldn't give them away.
"It's not like we wanted to go. We love it here! And we love oto-san. He is so kind to us. Look what he got me!" Honoka replied as she pointed to the green ribbon in her hair.
"That's the truth. We have been through too much to want to move again. Oto-san has always been very kind to us. We have always had what we needed and he even teaches us our schooling." Yori said.
"Love Oto-san!" Kichirou replied as he kissed Itachi's cheek, who at this point was holding the little boy.
"It is nice to meet you all. How long have they been with you Itachi?"
"About a year and a half now. They all came from different towns and so on. Yori's town was attacked leaving few survivors, Honoka's parents were killed on a mission leaving her alone and Kichirou was given to me by a young woman who couldn't take care of him. They formed a close bond through everything and I became attached to them through the whole ordeal. A family was formed and I knew I couldn't let anyone take them from me so here we are, all this time later, happy and together."
"That's amazing. Where you glad to get a full night's rest when that one got old enough?" pointing to Kichirou.
"Oh yes. He did not like sleeping so he shared my bed. Technically, all the kids have their own room in the house but they rarely use them to sleep in. My bed seems to bed the favorite and I don't mind. So long as they feel safe and secure, that's all that matters to me."
The children just beamed at him as Sakura realized there was so much more to the man in front of her than she ever knew. Here he was, S-Class criminal, mass murder and missing-nin, holding a two year old and laughing with his other two children. He had created a family and loved them too much for words and they loved him back. Her whole world had just been turned upside down but she wasn't so sure that was a bad thing.
"Did you guys leave some food for our guest?"
"Of course!" they replied in unison.
"Sakura, would you like to join us?"
"I would love to Itachi. But may I hold Kichirou? I love kids."
"Of course."
As they sat down to eat, they smiled at each other. Sakura realized, while it was new and moving all too fast, it all felt so right. Like they were a true family. It would take him time to make her trust him again but she knew it wouldn't take as long as she thought. He was a different person than what she had come to know and she knew with time, he was a person she could easily grow to love.
