When Sakura got up the next morning, she found Itachi gone and Sasuke caring for Shisui. For a moment, she just stood and watched him, surprised at how that much warmth could be found on his face. Then again, it was even more surprising that Itachi could be that warm, but he too found a way. Sadness filled her as she thought about her son and his father. If only she could remember what had happened in the last few years, especially the last year in specific. However, she had told herself that she would not dwell on it, but just let things come as they may.
"He's a sound sleeper," Sasuke's voice brought Sakura out of her thoughts. She turned to him, surprised to find him holding Shisui, bouncing a bit as he walked toward her.
"Yes he is. There have only been a couple times when he's kept me up all night. You seem comfortable with him now," she smiled softly, stroking her son's hair once Sasuke got close enough to her. Her smile faded as she decided to tell Sasuke about her memory coming back. Her eyes remained on Shisui as she tried to figure out how to tell him. He watched her closely, noticing her distress.
"What is it?" he asked, leaning his head down so he could see her eyes.
"I remember. All of my memories up until I was about sixteen. I remember all of it," she looked up into his eyes now, and saw the shock. Then he smiled.
"So you remember everyone?" he asked, voice lightening slightly as he looked at her eagerly. She tried to smile, but couldn't quite manage it.
"Yes. But…the only thing I remember about Itachi is…hating him…" her hand stopped on her son's head, but she took no notice; her mind was elsewhere.
"He went to take a walk," Sasuke's sudden remark had Sakura looked up, startled. Once she recovered, she nodded. "He's not really sure what to make of the whole situation, as I'm sure you're not,"
"No," Sakura gave a weak laugh, turning away. She passed a hand over her eyes, and then wrapped her arms around her torso, holding herself together. Sasuke came behind her, and put a hand on her shoulder after putting Shisui down in his crib. After a jolt, she relaxed, and put her hand over his, leaning into him. "When did you suddenly get so gentle? Especially towards me?" she asked the question softly, keeping her face turned away.
"When you find out that everything you've been living for is a lie, you change. I also figured that if Itachi could change that much, there was no reason I had to stay cold and detached. Besides, Naruto drove me crazy," Sakura laughed, imagining how pissed off Naruto would be at Sasuke's cold nature.
"Ok. Two questions, one; why aren't Naruto, Kakashi and Sai here? And two; why did you come here with Itachi?"
"Naruto, Kakashi and Sai are on their way. They got a little caught up with some rogue ninja. Itachi and I had left earlier because we had gotten a tip from one of our sources, and left right away,"
"Naruto's going to kill you when he gets here," Sakura turned to him, laughing. He shrugged.
"He's going to try," a wicked gleam leapt in his eyes. It faded quickly as he prepared to answer the next question. "I came here with Itachi because he and I have been working together to get you back for the past ten months,"
"What happened to me? Itachi told me how he had taken me captive, but what else happened? How did I lose my memory?" her voice took on a slightly desperate tone as she looked up into Sasuke's eyes pleading. He sighed, and nodded. After turning away from her, he told her everything he had learned from Itachi about how she had been kidnapped by Orochimaru and why, then what he was doing there. Since his back was turned, he couldn't see her reaction. Once he was done, he turned back to her, at stood stock-still. Tears were flooding her eyes, ready to fall down her cheeks. His hand seemed to twitch as he tried to reach for her, but then realized that he wouldn't know exactly what to do.
"Do you remember any of it?" he asked, keeping his eyes to the floor, trying to soften his voice as much as possible. She shook her head, also keeping her eyes to the floor. Bringing a hand up to her mouth, Sakura turned away from Sasuke and tried to compose herself. Sasuke remained where he was, completely lost as to what he should do. After a moment, Sakura turned back toward Sasuke, eyes still sparkling with tears, but her face calmer.
"I remember so much, but I can't remember anything from the time Itachi kidnapped me, up to when I arrived here," she saw Sasuke's mouth open as he prepared to talk. "Yes. I do remember more. Some of my other memories came back when you were explaining what happened. I just wish…" her voice broke, and she turned away again.
"I'm sorry. I can't even begin to imagine how hard this must be," Sasuke's voice sounded sincere but awkward. Sakura laughed.
"It must be hard for you to deal with me like this. Constantly breaking down, helpless as I try to remember everything that's happened to me," she sighed, turning to him with a smile. "I promise to try and remain normal from now on," she laughed again, and began to wipe away the tears. Throwing all thought and composure away, Sasuke rushed forward and took Sakura in his arms.
"You've changed so much, but you still cry," Sasuke's voice seemed to laugh as he spoke, but Sakura had no idea what to do. "You have no idea how it felt when I found out what had happened between you and my brother. I still do not like it, but have seen how it has changed him," he sighed again, then buried his face in her neck. For a moment, Sakura remained frozen, then wrapped her arms around him, happy to have something familiar there to hold on to.
"Well, well, well. Looks like they've found her," Sakura and Sasuke jumped apart and looked to the door to see Naruto, Kakashi, and Sai standing in the hall. Not even thinking about how the image a second ago must have seemed, Sakura ran towards them with a brilliant smile.
"Naruto!! Kakashi! Sai!" Nearly bowling them over, Sakura threw her arms around all of them. Sasuke stood behind her, face a bright red. Kakashi turned his eye to Sasuke, and gave him a reassuring wink over Sakura's shoulder.
"Looks like they found you in relative health. We were afraid that you would be in horrible shape since you didn't come back," Naruto looked at Sakura with a smile.
"Uh…well…I did lose my memory, which is why I didn't come back," Sakura replied sheepishly, looking at the three males in front of her cautiously. They stared back, blinking silently.
"Well…that would explain things. You seem to have your memories back though, so that's a good thing…" Naruto rubbed the back of his neck nervously, looking away from Sakura.
"I have all of my memories up until about a year ago," she said, all traces of a smile gone from her features. The others watched her, also somber. They all knew which memories she was missing; the most important ones.
"Oh well. I'm sure you'll get them back!" Sai gave his smile, and Sakura couldn't help but grin in response. After they all laughed and relaxed, they went back downstairs, Shisui now in Naruto's arms. None of them noticed Itachi slipping into his room, the door shutting silently.
The rest of the day went by happily, with Sakura spending as much time as she could with her comrades. She found it relaxing to spend time with them, not feeling the pressure of having to remember what had happened. Though she could feel their eyes on her in question, she ignored it, and went on conversing. They all seemed to adore Shisui, holding him in turn, each more awkward than the previous admirer. The only one who seemed fairly comfortable holding the little bundle was Sai, something quite surprising to all those who witnessed. Throughout the day, the only thought that bothered Sakura, was why Itachi had not shown his face. It was not that she knew the reason, but that the reason remained unknown to her.
No one else seemed too bothered by the fact that he had not shown up at all through the day. In contrast, they seemed content to just be by themselves. As darkness fell, the only one who seemed to even slightly notice Itachi's absence was Sasuke. He began to watch the doors, turning to stare if there was a noise outside. Sakura noticed, but kept her attention on those around her. A few hours after sundown, Kakashi stood up.
"Well. Seeing as how this house is too small to hold all of us, and we have already made reservations at an inn nearby, Naruto, Sai and I will go now and leave you to sleep. We would like to leave tomorrow," he looked at Sakura for a moment as if asking permission. Sakura merely smiled and nodded.
"Why wasn't Itachi here? He came with you didn't he?" Naruto looked to Sasuke, who shrugged.
"He came with me, but I do not know where he went. He has a habit of disappearing to go for walks," he glanced at Sakura for a moment, then turned back to Naruto. "When we leave tomorrow, he will be there with us," Naruto nodded, then looked to the other two, who also nodded. With a wave, they left, leaving Sasuke and Sakura alone.
There was a moment of silence before Sakura got up and began pacing. Sasuke watched her, his eyes following her every movement.
"Do you really think he went on a walk?" she asked, not taking her eyes away from the floor to look at him. Sasuke remained silent for a moment longer before sighing.
"Yes. He does have a habit of doing that, if only just to think," he stood up, and grabbed her shoulders to stop her pacing. She looked up at him now, eyes wide and anxious.
"I don't know him that well, at least…I don't remember knowing him that well…but I still worry," she turned away from him, trying to pace again. "It's like…all the feelings I had for him are still there…but…I can't remember how I got them, or why. It's maddening," Sasuke grabbed onto her shoulders again, holding her in place.
"Calm down. It will come back to you. You just have to be patient," he bent down to look in her eyes, but she turned her face away, refusing to look at him. "You stubborn…" he grabbed her chin and brought her face back so she had no choice but to look in his eyes. There was a moment of silence as they both stood, staring at each other, not knowing what to do, but both feeling something crackling in the air. Sasuke leaned closer, and Sakura quickly pushed away from him.
"Why are you doing this? I thought you had no interest in me," she kept her back to him, but he could hear the snap in her voice.
"That's not true. At first, I didn't. But then you grew. You grew to a point where I couldn't even recognize you anymore. I had decided that I wanted to be with you, to start my clan with," his voice got softer, but Sakura could feel him move closer to her.
"Itachi…" she breathed, finding his name the only word of protest and argument she could think of. She heard Sasuke let out a breath; it almost sounded like a laugh.
"He's the one who told me to try and convince you to come with me. He said that he didn't want you to be with him because he was too damaged. There was no way he would be able to take care of you. And…" he hesitated now, still drawing closer to her. "And…last night, he came to me, and said that he wanted me to take care of both you and Shisui. According to him, he's not fit to be a father, lover…husband. Any kind of family figure. Once we got you back to the Leaf Village, he would leave and go to another village. One where he could live peacefully,"
Sakura remained silent, digesting what Sasuke had told her. She didn't know what to make of it. All of her memories of him caused her brain to say yes. According to her memories, she still loved Sasuke, and her brain told her that this was the best situation. Ever since she was a little girl, she had dreamed of being with Sasuke, and here he was, offering her what she had always wanted. At the same time, something within her broke at the thought of Itachi leaving. Frustrating as Hell was the fact that she couldn't exactly pinpoint what hurt the most. The pain seemed to emanate from her heart, but spread through her entire body. Him leaving would cause her even more pain. Shisui too. She knew this, but couldn't explain how or why.
"I…I need to go outside and think for a little while," she took a step forward, but was suddenly spun around, and found herself in Sasuke's arms, his lips moving urgently on hers. Taken completely off-guard, Sakura's lips moved of their own accord, though she didn't really think about it. The kiss ended just as quickly as it had come. Sasuke looked intently into her eyes.
"Think about that," he said, and let her go, turning and walking to his room.
Still stunned, Sakura could only stare at the floor after he had gone. After a couple minutes, she finally moved, putting the sleeping Shisui in his crib, then going outside, all while in a trance. She went to her backyard, the one place that couldn't be seen by any of the town or its residences; something many people said was a pity, for Sakura had planted a large garden there. Now, she went to a small bench she had put out beneath the Sakura trees. The lavender, jasmine, and other scents calmed her as she took a deep breath. If only she could remember! Because of her amnesia, she was now forced to choose between the two brothers. Of course, if she was just going by what she remembered now, it would be Sasuke. Then there was the issue of her heart, and how she could feel it breaking at the very thought.
"You seem confused," Sakura started and looked up to see Itachi standing a little ways away, leaning on one of her trees. He looked so…right in the night. A beautiful enigma, seeming to shimmer in the cool moonlight. Her breath seemed to stop, and her heart skipped a beat. This was all proof to her that she did indeed have feelings for him. How could she possibly not choose him?
"I am. How could you do that? Send Sasuke to me, trying to get him to persuade me of what I want? You had no right! What happens when I remember! You know just as well as I do, if you know me at all, that it is not a matter of if!" she stood up, happy to be able to get out the frustrations that had been pent up for the past couple of days. He merely remained where he was, leaning against a tree, watching her. "Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to feel these intense emotions for you, when I have no idea how I got them, and then to have Sasuke, a man I used to love, come to me and tell me that he suddenly wants me, and that it was your idea? Can you possibly fathom what you are doing?" she strode up to him, pushing him backwards. He stumbled a bit, but easily caught his footing again.
"I know exactly what I am doing. If you remembered, you would understand," his voice was calm, and she easily missed the tension in his stance.
"Would I? Would I really understand? I obviously wouldn't if I was so keen to have sex with you. I know myself well enough to know that I would never do that without caring about the person deeply, and being prepared for both the long haul, and the possible up-coming end. That way I wouldn't be hurt. I'm guessing that I had figured it would end soon, but that doesn't mean that I wouldn't have wanted to be with you," her voice remained intense, but she no longer yelled at him. However, she did continue to push him back and hit him.
"You don't understand. Everything I've done…how can I possibly live a normal life now?" his voice was no longer calm, it took on a deep emotion that she couldn't comprehend, though it was plain in his eyes. What she did see though, was hurt.
"You could try," she said, glaring at him. "If you love me as much as you say you do, you could try for me. You could try for our son. Instead of just saying you love us, then leaving, you actually stand up like a man, and show everyone how wrong they were about you. Show them who you really are, that you too can live like any other man," she stopped hitting him, but she remained close, glowering up into his eyes.
"I can't live like any other man. I have murdered so many, including my own family," his voice turned just as cold as hers had. Her eyes narrowed even more.
"You seemed perfectly ready to try yesterday. What changed?"
"I saw you and Sasuke together, and I saw how well he worked with Shisui," the coldness disappeared as he spoke of his son.
"You work well with him too," Sakura said, still angry.
"No. I can see that you are going to be stubborn about this, but when we get back to the Leaf Village, I'm going to go find Hidan, and I will disappear," he didn't even have time to blink before Sakura suddenly slapped him, then began to hit other parts of him too.
"How dare you!! Your son has a right to get to know you! I have a right!! Don't you care about your son at all?! How can you just leave him? He needs you in his life!! You stupid, selfish, heartless bastard!!" Itachi grabbed her wrists and held her away from him, but she continued to fight. His brow furrowed as he noticed tears leaking out of her eyes. On an oath, he swept down and captured her lips with his. She responded with the same urgency as him, moaning as he crushed her body against his.
All power of thinking left both of them as Itachi spun her around and pinned her against a tree. Once his hands left her wrists to roam her body, her own flew down and buried themselves in his hair, taking the hair tie out and spilling his hair over his shoulders. He gave his own moan and pressed as closely as physically possible to her, slipping his hands up her shirt. She gave a sound of complaint as he parted from her long enough to slip her shirt over her head, then gasped as he brought his lips instead to her throat. Her heart stopped, and then took off like a frightened rabbit's. When Itachi picked her up, she wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him closer.
As she began to pull his own shirt over his head, Itachi's brain managed to gather some power to think, and he pulled his head away for a moment.
"This is too soon. You still don't even remember me. You need time," his voice was a mere whisper thanks on part to his heavy breathing.
"I don't care. Whatever memories I don't have, my feelings make up for. I may not remember falling in love with you, but I still feel it very strongly,"
"Still…we can't. I will still need to leave once we get back, and I don't want either of us to hurt more than we have to," he began to pull away from her completely, but Sakura tightened her legs around his waist.
"I'm not letting you go. I just found you, and I will not let you leave. Whatever problems you have, we can get through them together. Call me a hopeless romantic, but if someone like you could fall in love, especially with someone like me, then I believe that most anything is possible," she put her hands on his face, making him look into her eyes. He could see the determination in her darkened emerald eyes, and the fire. She was not going to let him go, no matter what he did.
"This is not right. We need to think-"
"Stop thinking then, damnit!" Sakura growled in frustration and pulled his face back to hers, cutting of any sound he made with her lips. "Don't think. Just feel," her voice became soft and desperate. "Just touch me," on a sob, she brought his hands to her breasts, and he was once again rendered helpless.
On an oath, Itachi lowered Sakura to the bench, then hovered above her as he discarded his shirt. His heart pumped faster as her hands roamed over his bare chest. He had forgotten what this woman could do to him. How she could turn him into a human candle. One moment he was burning brightly, the next, melting. More desperate than he had ever known himself to be, Itachi lowered himself down to her as she arched up to meet him. His lips captured hers, then traveled down her throat, and to her collar bone. As her back arched up again, he reached a hand back and undid her bra, leaving her breasts uncovered. She shivered, but he knew it was not from the chill.
Completely moving on instinct, Itachi continued pressing kisses on her skin, all the way down to her stomach. Her moans became softer, but only because they were strangled by her throat constricting. Since her memory was gone, Sakura couldn't remember feeling so blissfully unaware of everything. Everything, that is, except the man she was completely and utterly aware of, and in tune with. As he unclasped his pants and pulled them down, she felt the excitement rising. He very gracefully removed her pants, and sunk back down to her, capturing her lips again as he slipped himself into her. Her gasp was muted by his lips, but her moans were still audible as they took time with his thrusts. Never before had she been so completely in unison with one person. That was when the bright light flashed, and everything she had been missing came back.
Unable to really do much, Sakura just put more emotion into her kisses, more desperation and need into her caresses. By the time she came to her climax, it was like nothing she had ever felt before. Itachi seemed to notice something, but was obviously too aware of what they were doing to react. So, when they lay on the bench, both breathing heavily, he lifted his head slowly and looked into her eyes. Her smile and the way she softly brushed his cheek gave him the answer he needed. He smiled as well, picked her up, and carried her back into the house, neither one really thinking about what anyone else would think.
Sasuke stood by his window, not really sure how to react. He had seen his brother and Sakura, and could hear them now in her bedroom. After all his brother had said about letting her go and having Sasuke take care of her…then again, Sakura was incredibly persuasive, and Sasuke had warned Itachi that she would not be particularly thrilled with the idea of having Itachi leave without a word. There were some times when Sasuke wished with all his might that wasn't right. Though they were few and far between. This particular instance would remain the main time when he wished that he had been wrong. Upon returning to the Leaf Village, Sasuke had had every intention of going to Sakura and making a life with her. Well, his brother had gotten there first. At least their clan would be restored.
Sasuke nearly laughed. How ironic. The man who destroyed the Uchiha clan would be the one to bring it back. Bitter thoughts still heavy on his mind, Sasuke went to bed, focusing on blocking out any sound.
Sakura lay contently in her bed, snuggling up to Itachi's warm chest. Her eyelids were heavy with exhaustion, but she fought it off for a couple more minutes, remember a couple questions she had wanted to ask Itachi.
"How's Hidan?" she asked, her voice slurred. He chuckled slightly.
"He's fine. He's been the one helping Sasuke and I on our search to find you. I sent him a note this morning telling that we found you and what had happened. I'm sure he'll visit you when we get back to the village," he brushed her hair away from her face, and then kissed the top of her head. "Now, I know you have more questions, but they can wait until tomorrow. You need sleep now,"
"One more," Sakura's words very nearly did not make it out of her mouth. Itachi sighed, but remained silent so she could speak. "You won't leave me now, will you?"
Itachi was silent for a moment, then shook his head against the top of hers. "No. I have a feeling that if I left, I would only make things worse,"
"Good. And you're right," Sakura cuddled even closer into his side, and sighed, going to sleep almost instantly afterwards.
"Sleep well, Love,"
A.N. OMG!! I am so sorry it took me so long to finish this one! I have been absurdly busy, which has been making me absurdly tired. Anyway, this was a shorter chapter, so sorry. (along with the fact that it took me forever and a day.) Thank you for all of your reviews, they really lift my spirits, and I love reading them. I hope I get some for this chapter, even though most of you have probably forgotten I exist. Sorry!! bows repeatedly Even though I took a butt-load of time to finish this chapter, I still do not like fires, but reviews are always appreciated. This chapter was kinda hard for me to write, don't ask why, but it was. So, if it seemed off, I'm sorry, I just had a hard time with it, except at the end. Other than that, not much to tell here. I'm going to my prom, (which makes me incredibly happy), and I have two concerts coming up. Well…I'm going to bed now, considering it's fairly late, and I will definitely update sooner on the next chapter. More reviews please! –Slant Agat! --Kat