Warning: FEELS. All the feels. Many much feels… you've been warned.
Chapter Twenty-FourThe next month passed uneventfully. Missions were assigned and completed, relationships were tested and continued to grow. Some relationships were newly established and blooming. The whole village was in a graceful peace that no one could ever seem to remember it being in before.
Choji had requested a trip to the cloud from Tsunade and after a few conversations as to if he would be going alone or taking a friend, he decided he would take Shikamaru with him. Together they made the long journey to the cloud and Choji found Karui so he could ask her on another date. They didn't become official, but Karui promised she would try to come back to the leaf soon as she was saying goodbye to the two friends.
On the way back from the cloud, the two ran into a couple sand ninja. Not any sand ninja, but Temari and Kankuro, doing business in the land of lightning. As any good wingman would, Choji suggested Shikamaru and Temari should go for a walk together and he hung out with Kankuro while they did.
Shikamaru nervously stuck his hands in the pockets on his Chunin vest. He didn't really know what to say to Temari, which he realized seemed ridiculous since he had no problem coming on to Avery. Temari was just so much more of a mystery to him; he wasn't sure how to approach the situation.
"How have things been since the war?"
"Good… actually they've been really great. We have gotten so many missions done that we hadn't really had a chance to get done before," Temari responded.
"Yeah, we have had a similar pattern. A lot of pushed back scouting missions," Shikamaru said. He looked up at her at the same time she looked up at him and she looked away blushing.
"I hope you're not too upset with Avery," Shikamaru said after a few silent moments.
"No, we actually made up just before she went to heal everyone after the war," Temari replied. Then she looked over at him with a skeptical look, "How did you know I was upset with her at all?"
"When I saw her the day after you and Kankuro left, she basically told me to go away. I figured it had something to do with your friendship. I know she values you as a friend," Shikamaru said.
"I value her too. She's really special," Temari said with a soft smile.
They walked in another comfortable silence, making a loop around the nearby town. They talked some more about how they had been including how Shikamaru had been adjusting without his dad and Temari trying to figure out why Gaara didn't want to come back to the leaf.
"It's very strange, every time I ask him if he wants to go, he avoids the question," Temari said.
"Is he upset with us?"
"Not at all, and I know he misses Avery, but he doesn't want to actually go to the village. He's going to have to, Avery and Tsunade invited the three of us to come out there in a few weeks."
"Well, he'll have to get over it because Avery will go drag him to the leaf," he said.
"I know, and I think he does too," she laughed.
Once they finished their walk, they said goodbye with a promise to see each other soon. Shikamaru and Choji laughed together about the fact that they had been each other's wingman for the trip and finished the trip home uneventfully.
Also within the last month, Sai had been spending more time with Ino. Each encounter had been just as friends, as the artist had been too nervous about her having just recently been dumped. He wanted to give her time, but he also knew he wanted to tell her how he felt. He realized his feelings were way too contradicting. But he continued anyway.
Tenten and Neji grew closer every day. They went on dates, met each other's families, and even took a trip together out of the village. Lee and Gai were so happy for them that people stopped bringing them up around either one of them, because the reaction they would give was so over the top that people avoided it at all costs.
Neji's entire family really liked Tenten, and they all seemed to agree that the two would go far as a couple. The approval of the Hyuuga was something Neji had been a little concerned about, but at the same time, he had also told Tenten what they thought wouldn't deter him from her, which had been true. He loved her too much for his family's opinion to matter to him.
As for Naruto and Sasuke, they were going around in circles it seemed. They had slept together a few more times in the month, each time they would fall asleep and Naruto would leave in the morning. Once Sasuke had woken before Naruto and made breakfast and convinced him to stay and eat with him, but he hadn't stayed long after.
The third time they had gotten together Sasuke had decided he was curious enough to ask Naruto about being the bottom. Naruto expressed an equal interest in the top position.
"I mean, you've topped for me twice now, and while I like it, I want to know what the top is like too," Naruto said.
"Hn… we probably could switch," Sasuke said as he ran his hands up Naruto's bare chest.
"If that's the case," Naruto said before he surged forward and flipped the Uchiha onto his back.
Afterwards, they had both decided they liked both positions, and would switch off. And even though they had spent time talking and laughing together before and after the sex that night, Naruto still left in the morning.
Sasuke was starting to worry Naruto was ashamed of what they were doing. That he was only doing it because it felt good, or that he liked the attention he was getting from the raven. Sasuke wanted more from Naruto, but he wasn't sure they would ever get there anymore.
Naruto's side of it was that he was nervous about the Uchiha. He had every right and reason to be. Sasuke ran from the village once. He had also claimed he would destroy the village before, and while he had been pardoned of his crimes, and Naruto couldn't be happier about it, Naruto was nervous about where his childhood rival was with commitment.
Avery constantly told him he was being ridiculous, but he just shrugged it off. He just needed more time to decide how he felt about it.
The month had proven to be a month of growth and slight conflict in Avery's friends. But she had a plan she had been planning with Tsunade that she was carrying out today. She sat on her bed with her book and ran her fingers over the cover. The spell she had needed for what she was doing was already copied onto a piece of paper and folded in her pocket. She was wearing her favorite pair of converse with jeans and a black t-shirt with a Konoha green jacket that was zipped halfway up. She sighed a little and smiled as she thought of her parents. She loved them, but she wasn't sure she was ready to try and see them again, so she would skip herself today. But the others deserved a little reunion.
A knock sounded on her door and she slid off her bed. She placed her book back in its hiding place under a loose floorboard under her bed. After the floorboard was replaced without looking like it had ever been moved, she went to answer the door.
"You ready to go?" Kakashi asked. He had told her he would walk with her to Tsunade's office for the meeting. No one except Avery and Tsunade knew why they were gathering. It was all a big surprise.
"Yes, I'm ready," she said stepping out and pulling the door closed. She locked the door and then turned back to Kakashi, "Where's Tenzou?"
"He's going to meet us down the road a bit," he said. He was wearing his Jounin uniform complete with his usual facemask and bored look firmly in place.
Together they walked toward the Hokage building in silence. About two paths away Tenzou met up with them and quietly took Kakashi's hand. Avery smiled to herself as they walked. It warmed her heart that the two of them were finally being honest about their feelings.
"So what are we meeting for anyway?" Tenzou asked as they walked up the last set of stairs toward Tsunade's office.
"You'll find out soon enough," Avery said. She opened the door and the three of them walked into Tsunade's office. They were not the first ones there (of course since Kakashi oversaw when they left, though Avery was sure Tenzou kept him from being too late). The three sand siblings had been invited over for whatever was happening and had arrived in the village early that morning. Shizune and Sakura were also there already, obviously; as well as Sasuke and then Obito, who probably also tried to keep Kakashi on time.
"Wow, I guess some people do grow out of being late to everything," Kakashi said when he saw Obito.
Or not…
"Well I can't be late to everything forever," he said.
"Wait, you two live together didn't you keep each other on time?"
"No, I was at Tenzou's last night," Kakashi said.
"So wait…" Avery said as she looked back and forth between Kakashi and Obito. "Are you always late because of him?"
"Yes," Tenzou said.
"Yes," Kakashi confirmed. "Tenzou already knew that."
"Who are we still waiting for?" Tsunade interrupted eyeing the recent couple.
Tenzou clearly kept Kakashi from being so late she wanted to smack him. However Kakashi also seemed to have influence over the usually overly punctual Tenzou. She looked around at the rest of the group, but she couldn't seem to remember who else was supposed to be there.
"Naruto," Avery said thinking. "Maybe we should start without him though. I think he told me he was training with Konohamaru this morning."
When Tsunade nodded, Avery looked around the room. They had pushed Tsunade's desk out of the way and were standing around a circle of lit candles that Sakura had been nice enough to lay out for her. She took the piece of paper in her pocket out and opened it to read it. She didn't need to say it out loud; she knew she would just need to say it to herself once, then one at a time…
"Where should we start?" she asked Tsunade.
Tsunade looked around at everyone in the room before she answered, "Sasuke."
Avery nodded and looked toward the raven. "Sasuke, would you come over here?" she asked from the front of the room.
Sasuke didn't move at first. He glanced at Tsunade, who just nodded encouragingly. Finally he moved hesitantly over to stand next to the blue haired girl.
"Close your eyes."
The raven looked at her like he was going to ask why. He decided she probably wouldn't tell him even if he did ask though, so he just did as he was told and closed his eyes.
After waving her hand in front of his face to make sure his eyes were actually closed, Avery stood behind him. She said the spell to herself as she focused on Sasuke, putting forward the thoughts she would need to summon who she wanted to appear in front of him.
Seconds later, two people appeared in the circle of candles; a man and a woman. They were both showing as spirits. The woman looked very much like Sasuke. She had long black with warm charcoal eyes and pale skin. She was wearing a dark purple shirt with a tan dress. The man was tall and brunette with stern eyes and an almost mean expression on his face. His arms were folded across his chest in his teal shirt and black pants.
The woman put her hand over her mouth in surprise of seeing Sasuke in front of her. She stepped forward, materializing as soon as she passed the line the candles made. She approached Sasuke as silent as a whisper, reaching her hand out to him.
Sasuke's entire body stiffened when he felt gentle fingers brush the hair back from his face. He didn't open his eyes, but he could tell who it was in front of him. He could smell her familiar scent, could feel the comfort she gave him. How was it possible?
"Sasuke," the woman breathed.
Sasuke didn't open his eyes, didn't speak. He immediately broke down into tears, both his hands flying up to cover his mouth. The woman threw her arms around him and cradled him to her chest. She was holding him firmly, like she was afraid he would vanish if she let go.
After many minutes of the woman clutching him and Sasuke sobbing into her shoulder, she held him out at arm length. "You've grown up so much," she whispered looking over him. "Oh Sasuke… Sasuke I love you so, so much."
"Mom," he breathed and reached for her. She accepted his embrace warmly. Tears were springing up into her eyes as well as she ran her hand over his hair, holding him tight. Even though she knew she was dead, she was gone, she was still so capable of any emotion a living person would have right now.
"Sasuke," the man's deep voice said as he approached them from the side.
Sasuke immediately snapped to attention hearing his father's voice. "Yes sir," he said bowing his head as an automatic response to his father. Even after all these years, he was still bound by the respect that was ground into him as a child. He turned away from his mother toward him, nervous about what he might say.
His father stood there looking at his younger son. Sasuke had subconsciously become dutifully respectful of him, like it was almost fear driven. Emotion clung to him, and in one motion he gripped the boy's shoulders and pulled him into one of the only hugs Fugaku Uchiha had ever given him.
Sasuke was shocked by the sudden unusual behavior of his father. He stood there in his embrace for a few minutes without moving. Eventually he lifted his arms to wrap around his father as he cried into his chest. He couldn't help it; he was too overwhelmed by seeing them again.
"We're so proud of you," Fugaku whispered.
"Really we are," his mother, Mikoto, said in agreement as she placed her hands on his shoulders.
Sasuke pulled away from his father, staring back and forth at both of them in total disbelief. "How could you be? I have strayed so much."
"Straying is easy. Coming back after you've been so astray, that is harder," Fugaku said. His strong, powerful voice almost sounded stern as he spoke.
"Everyone strays a little sometimes," Mikoto added softly. "True strength shines the brightest when you manage to return to the light."
"Something we were too blinded to do in our lifetime," Fugaku said almost sadly.
"We know you know the truth about what happened with Itachi," Mikoto said. When Sasuke nodded, she smiled tenderly, "I hope you can bring yourself to forgive him as we have."
Sasuke nodded, tears stinging his eyes. He hadn't even thought about him in this instance, but he immediately wanted to see him again too.
"Almost perfect," she sighed as Fugaku touched her shoulder from the other side of Sasuke.
Sasuke smiled almost sadly and looked back at Avery, with a pleading look in his eyes. He wanted to see his brother again on good terms. He was over being angry with him.
Itachi had already been a part of Avery's plan for this. So when her eyes met Sasuke's, she just smiled. She closed her eyes for a moment like she had when Sasuke's parents had appeared. Only this time when she opened her eyes, it was Itachi in the circle.
"No," Itachi groaned as soon as he saw who was in front of him. He backed away from where he was standing. He stepped out of the circle of candles without paying attention and backed into Tsunade's desk. Tsunade had moved when she saw that he was backing up and was standing to the side of the desk now.
"No, no, no, no, no," he moaned and turned and walked to the left, trying to get away from the last people his heart could ever handle seeing. He crouched down as pain took over and he held his head.
Sasuke immediately tried to go to him, but Mikoto held her arm out in front of him and Fugaku placed his hands on his shoulders. "Stay," Mikoto said.
Slowly, Mikoto made her way over to her eldest son. She walked right up to him before dropping into a crouch in front of him. She reached out to him and touched his shoulder. He didn't move when her hand landed on his shoulder, he just went rigid and stopped breathing.
"Itachi," she said quietly. He still refused to move, "Itachi, look at me."
He stayed still a little longer, but he knew he couldn't ignore a direct order from his mother. Itachi eventually looked up, meeting his mother's gaze. He was immediately overcome with so much sorrow, he began to cry. He allowed himself to be pulled into her embrace as he sobbed silently.
"Shh, it's okay," she crooned over and over, trying to comfort her first child. She stroked his hair and held him close to her, just repeating those words. Eventually, once Itachi's shoulders had stopped shaking, she stood and pulled him to his feet. Then she led him back over to where Fugaku and Sasuke were waiting for them.
Once they came back over, Fugaku released Sasuke and laid a hand on Itachi's shoulder. "I'm proud of both of you," he said quietly.
Itachi's heart squeezed uncomfortably at his father's words. He tried to shake his head but his mother just squeezed his arm.
"You are noble, Itachi. Don't discount your father's words," she scolded lightly.
"Yes mother," he said quietly. He knew how his parents felt about him. They told him they were proud of him as he cried before he killed them. The memory had haunted him for the rest of his life. In the end, he had been happy Sasuke had been the one to kill him. He had never intended for Sasuke to find out the truth, but after what happened while he had been reanimated, he was alright with it.
Oh the reanimation… he thought suddenly. I wonder if that Avery girl is still around.
Even full of strong, heartbreaking emotions that made tears sting in her eyes, Avery found Itachi's voice irresistible. She was trying to wrap her mind around the fact that she was hearing it again. It was so much better than her dreams; her subconscious didn't do it justice.
"Now it's perfect," Mikoto said smiling at her sons and husband.
"Not quite."
Everyone in the room looked around, startled, trying to find the voice they had all heard. In a flash of white, golden light, a woman with dark skin in white robes appeared before them all.
Panic flooded Avery when she saw the woman. Even though she didn't look like one of the elders of her world, she figured there could have been only one reason for her visit. She didn't understand though, "I have permission to be doing this!" she shouted while she tried to shield the reunited Uchihas with her body.
The woman just held up her hand to Avery, telling her to stop. "I am not here to take them away, Miss Moran. Exactly the opposite actually," she said in a smooth calm voice.
"What do you mean?" Avery asked cautiously.
"I'm here for Itachi," the woman replied calmly.
"You just said-" Sasuke started.
"I am not here to take him away," she interrupted him. She turned toward Itachi and smiled warmly. "I have been in contact with those that watch over your land. We know of the endless sacrifices you had to make in your short life. You lived and died not only for your village, but also for your brother."
Everyone was totally silence while she was talking. Itachi was staring at her like she was going to say she was just kidding at any second and take him away. When nothing happened, he finally spoke, "Who are you?"
"My identity is not important. Although if you need an answer, then I would tell you I am an Angel of Destiny," she replied simply.
"I've heard of you," Avery said then. "You work with the elders."
"Not necessarily, though they are the ones that decided to send me," she said. She focused her attention back on Itachi while everyone looked to Avery for answers.
"Who is she?" Sasuke asked the witch.
"She's a being of the world I came from. She helps to keep the universe in balance and in special circumstances, she comes and offers ultimatums or helps to solve conflicts that keep the world in balance," she said.
"It was my interference that kept the elders from sending the cleaners after you when you outed your powers to your new friends," she said then. "The elders were weary of them and whether they should know of you, but after consideration, they changed their minds."
Avery's heart clenched as she considered that. She hadn't even thought about showing her powers here, she had just done it. She hadn't questioned it or anything, it had just happened.
"What do the cleaners do?" Temari asked.
"They wipe away any trace of magical signature when magic is exposed," Avery explained. "Where I come from, anyone non magical doesn't know about the existence of magic. We hide our powers and abilities as much as possible. The only people that have ever seen my powers are people I saved from demons. A few of my family members were non magical, they were aware of the family secret as well."
"We knew you all were different, however. You would be able to handle the secret of magic and its existence without it being toxic. And with Avery having just lost her entire family, we deemed it best to leave you," the angel continued.
"Thank you," Avery said respectfully.
"You're welcome. Now for what I actually came for," she said and turned her attention, once again, to Itachi.
"What is it you need of me?" he asked hesitantly.
"Nothing, just an answer… we have decided to offer you your life."
Sasuke gasped from his place between Itachi and his father. His mother on the other side covered her mouth as she held onto Itachi's shoulder. The woman continued.
"You would be truly alive again. This would be another chance to get to have a life in the village you've done so much to protect; a chance to be happy and free, and a chance to really know Sasuke."
Itachi was totally frozen in place. His breaths were coming so fast from the shock he was practically panting. He would have given anything to be able to know Sasuke in his life. Could he really let it happen now? Was it too late? Not to mention he would be part of the very village he loved as much as his own brother.
He looked away from the stranger toward Lady Tsunade. He knew she was Hokage and if she had any reservations against him being alive in her village that it wasn't worth it to do it. "Lady Tsunade?" he asked weakly.
"We would be happy to have you back in the village, Itachi," Tsunade answered his unspoken question. "This is totally up to you."
"You knew about this!" Avery shouted at Tsunade.
"Yes, she came and confronted me about it weeks ago when we started planning this," Tsunade admitted.
Itachi's eyes had frozen on Avery. She was still here, and even more beautiful than he remembered from the reanimation. He didn't even know if she remembered him. He tore his eyes away and took a settling breath before he looked at Sasuke. "What do you think?" he asked.
After just barely resisting the temptation to just simply say "please?" Sasuke actually thought about what he wanted to say. "I spent the first years of my life chasing after you, wishing I could keep up. Then I proceeded to spend the next decade hating you and striving to kill you. I never got the chance to know my big brother. Maybe this is our chance, Itachi."
A sort of sadness washed over Itachi at his brother's words. They squeezed at his heart and knotted in his stomach. He knew Sasuke was right, and he felt the same way. He wanted to know his brother; he was the only family the crow had left in the world. And, at the same time, he himself would also be the only family the raven had in return.
He took a deep breath as he tried to decide what he was going to do. It seemed that Tsunade was on board, and Sasuke clearly wanted it… but what of the rest of the village? No one ever knew the truth of what Itachi had done before. Tsunade must have been told by the woman in front of them, and no one else in the room was looking at him maliciously… did that really mean he could come home?
He already knew his answer.
The strange woman held her hand out, palm up, where a small ball of light appeared in it. It sent a strange feeling of electricity running through Itachi and he knew it was his life source. He took a slow step toward her, walking around Sasuke and his mother, walking around the circle of candles, to meet her on the left side of the room. Only once he was standing directly in front of her did he show his hesitation.
"What do I do?" He asked.
"Just touch the light," she said simply.
Itachi raised his hand and reached for the ball, stopping just short of touching it. Here he was, inches from the possibility of a new chance at life, and he was hesitating. He was thinking more about what life in the village could be like. On one hand, he knew he would get to know Sasuke, and that made him itchy to touch the ball. It was what made him walk over here. On the other hand, Avery lived in this village. The thought that he could really meet her, get to know her…. and that thought terrified him.
Get a grip, Itachi, he thought to himself. Don't be a chicken shit.
He let out the deep breath he didn't realize he had been holding and extended his hand the last few inches to the small glowing ball. He immediately was overwhelmed by an excruciatingly warm sensation, like flames, that ran through his veins all over his body. He gasped and fell to his knees in front of her as he struggled to inhale and breathe deeply; breathe very real breath.
He was alive again.
The flame sensation dissipated and he was able to breathe more evenly. He stayed where he was, unable to will himself to get up just yet. He wondered if it would take long to get used to being alive again.
"Your abilities, along with your life, have all been completely restored. That includes your eyes," she said. When his eyes snapped up to hers, she continued. "It didn't feel right to bring you back half blind, though it will be a few weeks before you can use any of your abilities. You need to build chakra up. And while we couldn't give you eternal eyes like Sasuke has, but this should definitely buy you some time, especially if you ease up on how much you use the mangekyo."
Itachi glanced back at Sasuke, who just raised his eyebrow at him.
"Also, we reserve the right to reverse this, should you ever stray off the right path," she warned.
"Like going against the village?" he asked wearily. That would never happen.
"Yes," she replied. "Not that we have any reason to believe you would."
"No ma'am," Itachi said bowing his head. If there was anything Itachi had always been, it was respectful.
"Raise your head, dear," she said. When he did look up she smiled warmly at him and touched his cheek. "Have a good life," she said.
"Yes ma'am."
With that, she vanished from the room the same way she had come. Itachi stayed where he was, knelt down on the floor. He was having a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that he was alive. He felt a hand on his shoulder and when he looked to see who it belonged to, he found himself looking into the eyes of his beloved younger brother. He couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face.
He would finally get to know his brother.
Sasuke held a hand out to Itachi to help him to his feet. Itachi took it willingly and turned to his brother as soon as he was standing. They were both so filled with emotion that they were unwilling to let too much of show, but Itachi couldn't resist pulling the younger Uchiha into a tight embrace. The hug only lasted a few seconds before they parted and Sasuke stood smiling, actually smiling, at his older brother.
So Itachi poked Sasuke lightly on the forehead.
"Seriously? Come on man!" Sasuke complained as he swatted Itachi's hand away from his face. Itachi just laughed at his younger brother. So much joy and happiness seeped into the sound that Sasuke couldn't help but begin to laugh as well.
"Aww you used to do that all the time," Mikoto said as she and Fugaku joined the reunited brothers. "It would always piss Sasuke off."
"Oh it still does," Sasuke grumbled light heartedly. He was having a hard time sounding like he was irritated with the smile on his face.
The four Uchiha all smiled and hugged each other. Mikoto was taking in the bliss of the moment and she sighed happily. "Now it's perfect," she whispered as she held her boys.
Avery wiped a tear off her cheek that had fallen from her eye during the emotional reunion and moment for the Uchiha family. She took a settling breath and turned toward the circle of candles, somewhere in the back of her mind wondering if Itachi had his reanimation memories. Did he remember her?
She couldn't worry about that right now though; she had more to her plan to fulfill.
She glanced over at the sand siblings. Temari and Kankuro were both smiling at the happiness of the reunited Uchiha family, while Gaara stood watching curiously. Avery recalled talking to Gaara about his past and childhood, months ago when she was living in the sand. Their mother had died at birth, and his father had made the entire village fear him for the sand demon sealed inside him. She had a more accurate understanding of what the sand demon was like for him after meeting Naruto, as by the time she had met Gaara, he no longer had the demon.
She had considered what she was going to do for the siblings carefully. It seemed none of them had the best relationship with their father, and they had just seen him as a reanimation during the war. On the other hand, Gaara didn't even know their mother, but Avery knew Temari and Kankuro did. One night while she was in the sand, Temari had told her about their mother and how much they missed her.
All that made Avery's decision fairly easy to make, and she closed her eyes.
A small-framed brunette woman appeared in the circle. She had short tawny brown hair and bright, wide indigo eyes. She looked around the room in extreme confusion as she realized she wasn't in her village. It wasn't until a gasp could be heard toward the right side of the room that her attention snapped to one spot in particular: the sand trio.
"Mom!" Temari cried.
"My babies!" The woman wailed as she ran the few steps toward her children. She became solid as soon as she crossed the line the candles made and Temari and Kankuro wrapped their arms around her the second she was within reach. She had to reach up to kiss Kankuro's cheek before she just turned her head to kiss Temari's. She held them both as tight as she could as the two young shinobi were crying onto her shoulders. Both of them were holding on so tightly; unwilling to let go or she might vanish.
It wasn't until deep indigo eyes landed on aqua that she released her older two children. Gaara hadn't moved a muscle, hadn't flinched or hardly blinked seeing Karura there. He stood frozen, still as a statue, as she walked past his elder siblings toward him. She didn't say anything as she approached him. But, once she had stopped in front of him, her arms flew around his neck and she crushed him to her chest as tightly as she could, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.
Gaara stayed motionless as Karura held him. His arms stayed at his sides, completely immobile, as she cried onto his shoulder. She finally stepped back after a long moment and sniffed lightly, "You don't know me… do you?"
At first, it didn't look like Gaara was going to say anything. Finally he found his tongue, "You're my mother," he breathed.
"We wouldn't have let him not know who you are," Temari said. "I could never dishonor you that way."
Karura smiled and nodded once at Temari before she turned back to Gaara. She watched him carefully, wondering what he could possibly be thinking. He looked lost, like he wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words. She watched as he closed his eyes and held his breath.
"What is it, honey?" she asked him almost pleadingly.
"Can… can I ask you something?" he asked in a voice barely louder than a whisper.
"Yes, anything."
Gaara took a deep, shaky breath before he opened his eyes. They were shimmering with unshed tears as he looked right at her.
"Do you love me?"
That question caught Karura off guard and she could feel her heart breaking. The genuine uncertainty swirling in his bright eyes made a fresh wave of tears flow onto her cheeks.
"Gaara… Of course I do… my baby," she breathed. "I love you so much," she said as she reached for him again, wrapping her arms around him and holding him tightly.
Gaara didn't stand still this time. He brought his arms up and returned the hug. He held onto her tightly as he began to cry onto her shoulder. His hands were linked behind her and he buried his face into her shoulder, unable to hold back any longer. Karura's response was to just stroke his hair soothingly and continue to tell him how much she loved him.
Temari and Kankuro came over to join the hug after a moment. Karura smiled, gripping onto all three of her children and smiling through her tears. She never imagined getting to hold her children as adults. That was when she realized she had no idea how she had gotten to wherever she was.
She released her children and turned to look around again. She didn't totally recognize the room. It looked familiar, but like it had changed.
"It this…?" she asked absently.
"The Hidden Leaf," Temari said.
"But how?"
"Essentially, you're a ghost," Avery said, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. "This spell I'm using has been in my family for generations. It can summon dead spirits," she explained. Although there were some limitations she hadn't gotten to, but she would get to them soon.
"How? How is any of this even possible? How can you do that?"
"She's not like us," Gaara said. "She's special."
Karura looked at her son and saw the amount of trust and affection there for the blue haired woman. She nodded once at him before she looked back at Avery.
"So… I'm visiting then?"
"Yes… something like that," Avery said with a warm smile.
Karura's eyes softened at Avery and tears flowed freely onto her cheeks again. She walked toward the girl and hugged her tightly. "Thank you," she whispered before releasing her and going back to her children.
Avery wiped her own tears away again and took a settling breath to center herself again. She looked around the room as she thought about the next step. Naruto still wasn't here, so she needed to wait for him, but that didn't mean…
She closed her eyes and concentrated on the next person she was going to call for. It didn't take as long to connect with this person, and after just a few seconds, another person appeared in the circle.
"What am I doing-?"
"Jiraiya," Tsunade said with an almost sad smile on her face.
The toad sage turned to see Tsunade behind him and smiled warmly before walking over to her. He was going in for a hug, but it seemed Tsunade had a different idea and punched him in the arm hard enough for him to reel backwards.
"Ow! What the hell?"
"You idiot! You were supposed to come back alive!" Tsunade shouted at him.
"Hey! Look at it this way, you finally won a bet… woah now," he said holding his hands up in surrender at the murderous look on her face. "Just calm down," he said trying not to laugh.
Tsunade sighed and just shook her head, "we weren't ready to lose you."
"No one ever is, Tsunade," Jiraiya replied with a grin. He looked around then, saying hello to everyone and noticed his apprentice was absent. "Where's Naruto?"
"He'll be along in a bit, hopefully," Avery said. She avoided Jiraiya's eyes for a moment but then met them and forced a smile. "Good to see you again, Master Jiraiya."
"Avery, you know it wasn't your fault right?"
Avery's eyes widened, "you knew I was there?"
"I remember seeing you just before I killed the one," Jiraiya said nodding. "I was glad you didn't get involved. We wouldn't have been able to take them down just the two of us. It was over by the time you got there. I was just trying to take as many down as I could."
Avery nodded a little, "You knew Lord Fukusaku would get any clues back to us." After he nodded at her, she just sighed and smiled a little less forced. "Alright, for now, I'd like to continue."
Tsunade nodded, "Yes, let's continue," she said. Tsunade figured she would skip to the last person she had planned, because the other two were for Naruto. She didn't think Avery would summon Jiraiya without Naruto but it made sense in some way.
"Alright. I just have to warn, the next person can't stay as long as everyone else can," Avery said. When everyone nodded in understanding, no one knowing who to expect the next person to be, she closed her eyes and called the next person.
A young boy appeared in the circle. He had bright eyes and blushing cheeks with light brown hair and what seemed like a permanent smile etched on his face. He blinked a few times as he cocked his head in confusion, but as soon as he heard the loud gasp from behind him, he turned around.
"Tunnie!" He shouted and ran at his sister. Tsunade immediately bent down and snatched the boy into a massive hug.
"Nawaki, Nawaki," Tsunade chanted as tears flowed freely down both cheeks and onto her brother's shoulder.
"Tunnie… I can't breathe," he choked as she hugged him. She released him immediately, but realizing he was dead she just cried harder and hugged him again.
"Tsunade don't crush the boy," another voice from Tsunade's past said. Her eyes lifted from Nawaki to the man that was now standing in the circle. He had long white hair and green eyes that were full of emotion as he gazed at the woman he loved. Tsunade stood slowly, staring at him as he walked closer.
"Shizune," he said to his niece, reaching out to her after he materialized passing the circle of candles.
"Uncle Dan," Shizune smiled with tears running down her cheeks as she rushed forward to hug him. He held her firmly for a few minutes before he released her and looked her up and down.
"You've grown up," he commented with a smile. "And you're just as beautiful as I always knew you would be."
"That tends to happen with time," Shizune said with a small laugh. "And thank you."
"I see you've been keeping a close eye on Tsunade for me," he said with a teasing lilt to his voice. But right as Tsunade was about to protest, he looked at her again and all the words died on her tongue.
"Nawaki, come here," Jiraiya called the young boy away so he wouldn't be between the long lost lovers. Nawaki ran to Jiraiya happily, jumping up into his arms and climbing until he reached his shoulders. Jiraiya chuckled under the weight of the boy that was really too old to be acting this way, but he knew he was excited.
Dan slowly walked closer to Tsunade, coming to a stop directly in front of her. He stared into her eyes, making her breath hitch. "You're just as beautiful as you've always been," he whispered.
"Oh, shut up liar," she whimpered.
"Come now Tsunade is that any way to take a heartfelt compliment?" Dan asked coyly before he leaned down and kissed her gently.
"Yuck," Nawaki teased from Jiraiya's shoulders. "Tunnie, you're kissing a dead guy."
"Nawaki, let her have this," Jiraiya laughed as he patted the boy on the leg.
Tsunade smiled fondly at her brother before looking back up into Dan's green eyes. "You have been watching of him right?" Tsunade asked.
"Of course," Dan smiled, holding Tsunade close to him.
Tsunade sighed happily and watched Nawaki launch himself off Jiraiya's shoulders into Shizune. Shizune laughed and hugged the boy tightly as they both giggled at the boy's frivolity. Watching the boy, all she could see was blonde hair and whiskered cheeks.
"It's so crazy… I used to see Nawaki all the time in Naruto…" Tsunade said.
"Now you're seeing Naruto in Nawaki," Shizune said. "I was just thinking the same thing.
"Who's Naruto?" Nawaki asked.
"He's the man that became the Fourth Hokage's son. He wants to become Hokage too," Tsunade said. "And he was a rambunctious rascal like you," she said tousling his hair lightly.
Nawaki swatted at his older sister's hands. "Well he sounds awesome then," Nawaki said. "I'll become Hokage through him!" he declared.
Dan smiled at the boy before he turned back to Tsunade. "We have to go," he said softly.
"You're going with him?"
"I can't stay without him. It wouldn't seem right," he said and reached out to stroke Shizune's cheek affectionately. "You really have grown," he commented.
"Of course," she said, but something was bothering her. "Why can't he stay?" Shizune asked.
"Something about the age he died," Avery said. "The elders I needed to meet with in order to get permission to do this said it is harder for children to stay and not get so attached they want to refuse to leave," she explained. "Refusal to leave can turn bad very quickly, so they said we had to keep visitation of anyone under eighteen to a minimum."
Shizune nodded in understanding and looked back at Tsunade with sadness in her eyes. She knew how much her mentor loved both Dan and her brother. This would be much harder for Tsunade than it was for herself.
"Keep watching over Tsunade for me, okay," he said with another coy smile and peeked at Tsunade.
"I am an adult," she said defensively. "I have been watching out for her, too!"
Dan laughed loudly, "I know you have. You would never let me down." He touched Tsunade's cheek gently and pressed a light kiss to her forehead before he turned back to Nawaki. "Come say goodbye to your sister."
Nawaki smiled and left Shizune's side to cling onto his sister's waist. "I love you, sister."
Tsunade smiled as silent tears rolled down her cheeks. "I love you too, Nawaki," she said and hugged him back.
"And I love you," Dan said lovingly.
"And I'll always love you, Dan."
Dan and Nawaki walked back to the circle of candles, phasing back to a transparent state as soon as they crossed into it. They both turned to face Tsunade and Shizune, who had gone to stand next to Tsunade and laid her head on the older woman's shoulder. The boys both waved, and Dan blew a kiss, before they vanished.
Shizune turned her face into Tsunade's shoulder and hugged her. Tsunade responded by wrapping her arm around Shizune and smiled at Avery. "Thank you."
Avery smiled at them and then felt someone approaching the office. "Naruto," she said and whirled around to crack the door open before he could get to it. "You can't come in until you close your eyes."
"What? Why?"
"Don't ask questions! Just do it!"
Naruto narrowed his eyes at her a moment before he did as he was told.
She smiled mischievously before she led him inside the room and placed him next to where she was standing. She closed her eyes a moment to summon the next set of people. A man and a woman appeared in the circle standing together just like Sasuke and Itachi's parents. The woman was about as tall as Avery with fair skin and long fiery red hair. She was wearing a white shirt under a green dress.
The man looked almost exactly like Naruto, or it would have been fairer to say Naruto looked like him. He had messy blonde hair and was wearing a Jounin uniform with a white coat with red patterns on it. His calves were bandaged above his ninja sandals. Avery remembered seeing Minato during the war, but the only reason she knew Naruto would know the woman is because he told her. She had come to him when he was fighting Kurama, before he came to help with the war.
Kushina got so excited as soon as she laid eyes on Naruto that she almost squealed. Avery motioned for her to stay quiet and beckoned her forward toward her son.
"Naruto, someone is here to see you," Avery sang as Kushina danced closer to him.
"Who is it?" he asked without opening his eyes.
"It's me, ya know!" Kushina squeaked excitedly. She purposefully repeated the same words she knew her son always said when he was excited.
"Mom!" Naruto's eyes flew open as he said the word and he beamed as soon as he saw her. Kushina threw her arms around her only son and she crushed him to her. Naruto hugged her back with happy tears running down his cheeks.
Minato walked toward his wife and son. "Do I get to say hello to him?" he asked.
"You just spent all that time with him when you were reanimated!" Kushina wailed. "I don't wanna hear it," she took one arm away from Naruto, waving him away quickly before replacing it around her child. Minato just sighed and backed away with a smile on his face.
"Wait, you have your memories from being reanimated?" Naruto asked.
Without listening to Minato's answer, Avery whirled to look at Itachi. They made a brief eye contact before he smirked and winked one eye, effectively making her heart skip a beat. Yeah… he remembers.
After another few minutes of Kushina crushing Naruto to her and telling Minato to back off, Sasuke finally let his confusion get the better of him. "How did you know your mom?"
"Dad put her chakra in my seal so she could help me gain favor with Kurama," Naruto explained.
Kushina smiled as she petted Naruto's untidy blonde hair. "I was so happy to get the chance to meet him then. And now I'm getting to see him again. And you're all grown up!" she said with tears creating a glassy look to her eyes. "I never thought I would get the chance."
Naruto blushed and hugged his mother happily. He then realized there was someone else in the room he hadn't noticed. Someone he wasn't expecting. "Pervy sage!"
"What?" Kushina asked while Minato just laughed.
"That's what I call him," Naruto shrugged as Jiraiya started to laugh with Minato.
"You finally noticed!" he said in faux offense. "Some apprentice you are."
Naruto simply rolled his eyes before he walked over to hug his teacher.
"Wait hang on… you call him what now?" Kushina asked incredulously. She couldn't have possibly heard that correctly.
"Pervy Sage," Naruto repeated with a smile. "It's only too fitting for him."
"It really is though!" Minato gasped through fits of laughter.
"I change my mind, Tsunade. He's like his father… just this side of him," Jiraiya was saying while giving Minato a playfully hurt look.
"You know you can't act offended and put upon when you know it's totally true," Minato said.
"You really should show more respect to the man that practically named you, Naruto," Kushina reprimanded her son.
"Hey, I didn't give him the name, I just came up with it," Jiraiya said as he smiled at Naruto. "Got anything new to show me?"
"Oh yeah! A lot has happened since you died, old man," Naruto said with a huge grin.
"Well I can plainly see that in the room," Jiraiya said looking over at the Uchihas.
"Yeah," Naruto said following his eyes. "Sasuke is back," he commented. Naruto's eyes met Sasuke's and lingered for a moment. The amount of emotion he had started to feel for the raven in the last month scared him a little. He didn't know how anyone would take it, how they would react. Sakura and Avery were all for the relationship, but they had managed to keep it quiet enough that only the two girls knew.
Sasuke bowed his head slightly at the mention of his name. Jiraiya smiled warily at the boy, "as long as everything is good between you two, then it's all going to be okay."
"Yeah, we're good," Naruto said with a snort. Jiraiya didn't miss the wink Sasuke sent Naruto in that moment.
"Alright, I am fairly certain Avery has one more person to get through," Tsunade said.
Avery nodded once and Naruto walked back to stand with his parents. Avery smiled a little as she prepared for the empathy hit she knew she was going to get as soon as she summoned this last person.
"This person also can't stay, like Nawaki," Avery said. She waved off Naruto's confused expression and focused on the last summon. Inside the circle, appeared a girl that couldn't have been much older than twelve or thirteen. She had short brunette hair and purple markings on her cheeks.
Gasps were heard from both Obito and Kakashi as soon as the girl appeared. Their eyes grew wide and Kakashi immediately backed up to the wall, while Obito fell to his knees from the wave of painful emotion that raced through him. The girl turned around to see where the sound came from and she let out an excited gasp of her own.
"Obito! Kakashi!" she shouted and ran over to Obito. As soon as she was in reach she threw her arms around his shoulders and hugged him tightly. His arms went around her as soon as she was within reach and he held her with a look of shock pasted to his face. He couldn't believe it, even after he had watched all the others appear, that he was really holding Rin.
The embrace only lasted a few moments before Rin backed up and pouted at the Uchiha, "Obito… I looked for you…" she said. "Why didn't you tell us you were alive?"
"I'm so sorry, Rin," he said sadly. "I hadn't gotten the chance to tell you I was alive."
"Don't get me wrong, I'm so happy you're alive… I had just been so looking forward to finding you again."
"I'm sorry," Obito repeated.
The girl just smiled hugely at him before she threw her arms around his neck again. She couldn't help it; he was one of her boys. Her boys were both alive and they were together. That reminded her… she still hadn't said hello to Kakashi.
She stepped away from Obito then to turn toward Kakashi. He was standing back against the wall with his eyes closed and his eyebrows knitted together in obvious mental pain. Watching him this way made Rin ache to comfort him. Pain clouded her hazel eyes as she slowly approached him.
"Kakashi," she said softly. When he didn't respond at all she moved closer. "Kakashi," she said again in a sing-song tone. When he still didn't answer, she became impatient and stamped her foot as she shouted.
"Kakashi Hatake! You look at me right now!" she demanded.
It wasn't until his small, passive former teammate raised her voice at him that Kakashi finally allowed himself to look at her. Pain and grief shone brightly in his dark grey eyes as he looked at his long-lost friend.
"You listen to me Kakashi," she said as sternly as a thirteen year old could. "What happened to me was not your fault."
"Rin," Kakashi breathed.
"Come here," she demanded, reaching for a hug. Kakashi was so much taller than her now; he had to bend to hug her and ended up kneeling as Obito had. She held him tightly and was running her fingers through his hair when she spoke again. "I don't want you feeling guilty anymore," she whispered as she clung to him.
"I couldn't protect you. I'll always feel-"
"I said no! You listen!" Rin insisted as she stepped back and stomped her foot again for good measure. It was the same move she used to make whenever Kakashi and Obito used to fight when they were younger. "You're not allowed to feel guilty about what happened to me."
Kakashi shook his head and gave up. He knew part of him would always feel guilty about her, but even just her demands and hearing that she didn't blame him; he could feel his heart was lighter in a way.
"Maybe a picture would be good?" Avery suggested.
"That's a great idea," Minato agreed as he stepped over toward his broken team. He motioned for the two men to stand and he thought about how would be the best way to get a picture of the three of them. Kakashi and Obito were so much taller than Rin now; he needed a way to bring her to their level.
"Kakashi, grip arms with Obito," he said. When Kakashi turned to Obito and they clasped hands, he shook his head. "No, grip each other's forearms," he said adjusting them. The position created a flat space between them where their arms were. "Rin, come here," Minato said and lifted her up and sat her on Kakashi and Obito's linked arms.
"Minato sensei, you need to be in the picture too," Rin said when the team's former sensei made to move back toward his family. He smiled and stepped behind her, he wasn't tall enough to see over her head so he peeked between Obito and Rin.
"Smile everyone," Avery said as she held the small camera Tsunade handed her in her hand. She was kicking herself for not thinking to take one of Tsunade and Nawaki, but Tsunade seemed not to mind. She snapped the picture of the former team in front of her; Rin smiling brightest of them all.
"I'm sorry Rin, but it's time to go," Avery said.
She nodded once and hopped down from her perch on Obito and Kakashi's arms. She turned back toward them and they both knelt down in front of her. None of them said anything for many moments, they just sat there; taking in the last few minutes they had together again.
"Be good to each other," Rin said finally breaking the silence.
"We'll try, but you know Kakashi," Obito teased.
"You also know Obito," Kakashi said dully.
"Ugh you two are hopeless," Rin said and shook her head. She gave each of them one more hug and watched as they stood up straight. "Be nice," she said.
"Not a chance," they said together and both chuckled.
Rin shook her head with a laugh and had been about to turn away when she remembered. She had been watching over them, she needed to meet the man Kakashi was with.
"Wait! Who is this Tenzou person you're seeing?" she demanded suddenly.
Kakashi was surprised she knew about that, but he gestured toward the man anyway. "He's right here," he said and Tenzou dipped his head slightly.
Rin lurched forward and gripped his hand and pulled him down so he was eye level with her. She searched his face and eyes, looking for any hint he might not be good enough for one of her boys. When she didn't see any obvious malice in the man, she put on her most stern expression she could. "You treat him well," she commanded. "Don't hurt him."
Tenzou had to hold back the laugh he could feel trying to come out as a smile itched at his lips. "I wouldn't dream of it," he said softly. He gave her a warm smile and squeezed her hand gently.
Rin tried to continue to look stern, but after a moment she ended up returning the warm smile. She looked back at Kakashi smiling, "he's alright. Take care of him too, okay?"
"Of course," he said placing a gentle hand on Tenzou's shoulder. The brunette stood up straight and leaned against Kakashi slightly.
They were happy together, Rin could see it, and she knew they would be good to each other. She turned away from them toward the circle and walked into it. She faded back into transparency as soon as she crossed the line of the candles. She turned to look at the boys again and waved before she blew them a kiss, then she disappeared.
"Thank you," Obito whispered.
Kakashi just nodded in agreement. He felt as though a wave of pain and numbness ran through him at the same time. He couldn't understand the emotions running through him. All he knew was seeing her again… it was exactly what he never knew he needed. A weight had been lifted from Kakashi's shoulders, and he reached for Tenzou's hand and gripped it firmly; rejoicing internally when Tenzou gave his hand a return squeeze.
Avery waited for her own heart to slow after watching Obito, Kakashi, and Rin. She saw everyone in the room watching her and she took a breath before she addressed them.
"Everyone else has twenty four hours before you have to return," she said. She barely suppressed a smile when she heard Kushina squeal as she clutched her son, and Mikoto and Karura both gasp as they held their children. She turned on her heel then and walked out of the room.
Once she walked out of the building, she paused. She didn't know what her next move was now, and in all honesty she had her own thoughts and emotions racing through her now that she was away from all the emotions in that room.
Itachi was alive again. He was really, truly alive. The very man Avery had dream, after dream, after dream about ever since she had met him. The man that was dead when she met him, but still managed to make her feel fire through her veins with his voice alone. She could swear she could still, even months later, feel the very spot on her head where his lips met her skin. And now he was back.
And she had no idea what to make of that.
A/N
Thanks for bearing with me everyone, I know this chapter was realy long and I'm sorry for it being so late. Because this chapter was so long though, it is going to be the post for last week and this week. I wanted to split it into two chapters initially, but I couldn't find a good place to do it. I will be back to posting Wednesdays as of October 3rd. The next few chapters will be shorter than normal as well. Thank you to everyone for the support and views. Please please pleaseeeeeeee leave me a review or two. Let me know what you guys think, where you guys are excited for it to go. what you're looking forward to. I would really love to hear from you all!