"You've become so beautiful."

"No… Stop saying such things."

He touched her cheek with his fingers, pushing parts of her hair behind her cold ears. Her cheeks heated at the soft gesture.

"Why should I stop stating the truth?"

"Itachi…" She pushed her bottom lip out in a stubborn manner. "You really don't…"

"I do," He smiled, moving his face closer to hers.

Their lips met; a passionate lock was created. Their clothing shifted on their bodies, her hands held onto locks of hair and his tightly squeezed her tiny waist. Her heavy sighs increased as he kissed her neck. They joined once more in a fervent embrace. Once letting go, she gave another gaze of adoration towards her lover. Her eyes widened as she recognised the figure who grasped onto her.

"Sasuke?"

Nerine

My breath was caught in my throat, and I woke up immediately. I blushed as soon as I reminded myself of the sudden dream I had. Itachi and I were kissing… until I realised it was Sasuke… My heart pounded at the idea of being so full of lust with either of the Uchiha brothers. Then I remembered the day Sasuke and I lost control in Orochimaru's hideout. Certainly… It wasn't regrettable.

I took a deep breath as I woke myself up. It was still night, with the obvious lack of daylight. I shared a tent with my brother after the destruction of the Leaf. It was surprising to see how much Naruto had grown, because he'd saved the entire village by confronting Pain on his own… Even the number one knucklehead had raced past me. I could see where Sasuke was coming from when he had an issue of Naruto's strength.

The village had celebrated and crowned Naruto as the hero of the Leaf. I admired the greatness that he had become, and Sakura acknowledged that publicly as she hugged him in the crowd. Not many people realised I had returned as I didn't announce it widely. When I wanted to consult Tsunade about me coming back, she was in a coma. It was because she had sacrificed herself to save and heal every member of the village… Something I could never do.

A majority of my old friends have yet to see my face back in town, and I dreaded their reactions. My brother was fully healed in no time, but he was not very happy with me. If I could recall, he lectured me about leaving the village.

"Do you understand the circumstances that you not only put yourself in, but everyone else?"

"I do… and I'm sorry, Kakashi…"

"Sorry isn't going to cut you abandoning your home. Do you have any idea how pained I was over all this? It was a burden!"

"I know…"

"You're going to have to deal with the consequences of your actions, Nerine."

"Yes…"

"I can't believe you would simply leave everyone like that. It was incredibly selfish and reckless; you should know that well enough."

"Mm…"

"…But I'm really… happy you came back."

I smiled at the memory of him transitioning from angry to relief. It was a good feeling knowing that my brother wasn't too mad at me. It gave me a small feeling of hope that maybe… everyone else would be relieved too that I'd returned. A majority of my mind said that they would shun me for eternity, just like what happened with father.

I stood out of my bed and took a walk outside, keeping quiet for my sleeping brother. I walked down the main recovery area of the Leaf. A long train of tents were set up, along with resources of wood, tools and aid kits. Everyone in the village was well on their way to rebuild the place, as well as allies from other countries. During the day I quietly assisted in gathering items and building, avoiding many other familiar faces.

Many people were already asleep at this time of the night, only a few wandered out, either still working on rebuilding or simply bonding with comrades. I walked down the long arcade of tents and unfinished sites. It wasn't a shock to see that Ichiraku Ramen was rebuilt again in a matter of days. Naruto must've been the one to make a head start on it. I lifted the head curtain and smiled at the owner.

I wondered if he remembered me. I counted on it that he wouldn't, but…

"Oh… I haven't seen your face around here for a long time, girly," He mustered an old chuckle.

I felt touched that he did. "Y-Yes… It's been a while."

"Come and sit here! Have a bowl – It's on the house!" He immediately began to prepare a hot meal for me.

"You… You really don't have to, grandpa," I protested. As soon as he ignored my objections, I hesitantly took a seat down.

He passed the bowl in front of me, warning me kindly, "Be careful, it's still hot."

I took some chopsticks and stared down at the steaming soup of ramen. "Thank… you for this meal."

It was a slow and steady consumption as I felt the warmth of the food go through my body. It was more than just a meal. It was that familiarity of the Leaf returning to me. It was the symbolic happiness that the Leaf gave me. It was the welcoming arms of my home.

"Eh? What's wrong, dear?" The owner was startled at me.

"Huh?" I looked up, not realising I was crying. I sniffed up my runny nose and wiped my tears with the back of my hand. "Oh… This ramen is just really delicious." I gave a weak smile.

"Well," He gave me a smile of pride. "The ramen here is always here for you to have."

I gave a light chuckle, my smile growing widely. "Thank you, grandpa."

"Old man!" A loud voice boomed behind me. "I can't sleep! How about a round for the hero of the Leaf?"

It was Naruto. He took a seat and glanced at me. "Oh, I didn't realise there was another person here…"

I faced directly at my bowl, not making eye contact. I let what was left of my hair to hide my expression. "That's okay. I'm very small so not many people do notice my presence."

"I still think you can be noticed in a good way," Naruto grinned. "Old man! Beef ramen please!"

The owner nodded in a bored routine and began making his ramen.

"Say, do I know you from somewhere?" Naruto asked me.

The owner froze in his actions and turned around, confused. "But I thought you two…"

I sent him a quick look of silence and he took the message, turning around and continuing with his work.

"What was that, old man?" Naruto was confused.

I felt like I held my breath and turned to face my old friend. "It's been a long time."

Naruto's normally goofy face turned serious. He'd grown in maturity over the years and I never noticed. I must've overlooked his growth. "N-Nerine…" Naruto mumbled. "Why are you here?"

I shrugged, looking at my bowl of food. "When I saw Kakashi dying at the feet of my former leader… I realised that I'd been doing everything wrong."

Naruto's eyebrows furrowed as he glared at me. "You…"

I expected him to scold me for abandoning everyone, as my brother did.

"Why didn't you return quicker?" He asked.

"Eh?"

"I know… You left us because you wanted to get closer to Sasuke, didn't you?" Naruto looked sad as he said this.

Hesitantly, I nodded. "I was too selfish to think about my friends. I wanted to chase my own desires of capturing Sasuke… but my vision was tainted the longer I was gone."

He shook his head. "We all want to have Sasuke back. You chose a different path but we're after the same thing… I don't hate you for that, Nerine."

"You don't?"

He shook his head with a small smile. "Even with Sasuke… I haven't seen him in months and I still believe that he can return to the Leaf safely," Naruto turned towards me. "I never gave up hope in you, Nerine. I knew that you'd come back to us – not because you don't belong in the Akatsuki, but because you still have that Will of Fire in you."

His smile stayed as he began eating his fresh food.

"Naruto…" I began. He glanced at me with a mouth full of noodles. "I can see you becoming the Hokage…"

"Eh!" He choked on his food, coughing loudly after I said this. "Really?" He gazed, his eyes getting wider by the second.

I smiled. "You're really growing up, Naruto."

Naruto gave a cheeky smile and quickly finished off his food. He gave a sigh of satisfaction and told me, "Now that you're back, we have even better chances of having Sasuke return!"

I remembered Sasuke's newfound ordeal with the Leaf village. "Yeah…" I felt unsure.

I finished my meal at Ichiraku Ramen, and continued my way down the streets of the Leaf. Soon enough, I found myself standing at the edge of what used to be the village. It was a deep crater of vanquished homes, lost treasures and old monuments. I took a seat as I stared at the deepness of the basin, seeing how much damage Pain had caused.

I looked up.

"So many stars… Maybe I was too busy staring straight ahead to take a look at my surroundings." I thought.

I'd done so many sighs at this point that I was concerned if I was exhaling too much air. I felt like… I was missing something. I knew what it was, but I did not want to admit it. Wherever I went, I always had an empty void in me.

With the Akatsuki, my home village was missing. With the village… Someone was missing.

Itachi? Sasuke?

Which one, I wonder?

My hand found a small stone. Grabbing it, I threw it into the pit I sat on the edge of. A few seconds later, I heard a small thud, and saw a cloud of dust rise at the impact.

"Ugh," I groaned. "Why can't I just be at ease…?"

"Maybe it's because you're too attached to somebody."

"I'm not attached…"

"Be it Itachi or Sasuke, they're stopping you from having happiness… or they're what you need for happiness."

This was the ultimate truth, and I couldn't hide the fact from my own mind.

"Nerine," I could hear my brother's voice approach from behind me. "What are you doing out here?"

"I had a nightmare," I replied, giving him a reassuring glance.

"Nightmare, huh…" He sat down beside me. "Before you would want to sleep in the same bed as me if you had a nightmare."

"I guess I'm growing up," I murmured.

It was quiet for a long time, until my brother spoke up.

"I have something to ask you," Kakashi told me.

"What is it?"

"What happened when you were gone?"

My lips curved upwards at the many moments I'd encountered. "A lot of things."

"You came across Sasuke, didn't you?" Kakashi stated this as if it were an obvious thing.

"If you already knew, why bother asking?" I breathed.

"It's okay to just say what you're thinking, Nerine."

"It's stupid to."

"Hm… If we never spoke our minds, we would never make any progress, would we?"

"I'm fine, Kakashi."

He scoffed lightly. "It's like it is taboo for you to speak about love around me."

I flinched. "I…"

"You still love that Sasuke, don't you?"

I gulped. "Actually…"

"I don't think Sasuke would neglect you so easily, considering how he treated you when you were younger… But at the same time I don't think you should keep your hopes up for him."

"Kakashi… There was another person… but… I don't know…"

"Another person?" Kakashi sat up properly, growing his attention. His expression turned that into shock. "It's someone in the Akatsuki… Itachi Uchiha?"

"Is it bad…?"

"But we all heard Sasuke killed him…"

At that sentence I choked, and stifled a hard laugh. I covered my mouth with the back of my hand and allowed the tears to fall. I've been crying so much lately, it's painful.

"Nerine…" Kakashi realised what he'd said.

I continued to laugh off the pain, giving my brother a smile. "Kakashi," I sobbed. "I don't know what to do."

"What do you want the most right now?" He asked me simply.

I was silent, until I thought of an answer. "I want things to be back the way it should be."

"Nerine," Kakashi sighed. "Chances are things won't go the way we want. The best thing we can do is move on. I know you're not as stubborn as Naruto so I can trust you to do what you can, right?"

My mood lowered even more. "You're telling me to forget about them."

"Not… necessarily…" He continued. "I just don't think you'll be happy when you're not with the person you love."

"So… how on Earth can I stop thinking about them?"

Kakashi paused, perhaps not thinking of a motive to go through with during this conversation. "I know."

"What…?"

"To forget an old lover, you can find a new… maybe better person."

Ah I tried working quicker for a longer chapter this time, because I know the previous one wasn't very good. I also don't know if it was too dramatic because I was listening to the Shippuden OST so I kinda went all emtional haha. So please let me know how I went, writing longer chapters. If I get good feedback, I'll try making longer chapters! So please review.