"So, at least I wasn't the only one your mother lied to." Lily cocked her head to the side. The man laughed. "Do not look so confused child. Only a child of mine could control my hounds." He gestured to the dogs that stood docilely around him. "You used them to herd your human friend towards you and away from me." Lily blinked. Sakura tugged on Lily's shirt.

"Lily, your mother said not to speak-." Lily waved Sakura to silence. She knew the laws of death, but she wasn't a mortal either.

"I have no father, Gaia told me years ago. She broke one of the natural laws in creating us. That is why the insanity exists in Eden and me." The man rubbed the back of his neck, a guilty look on his face.

"That is partly true. Gaia and I are responsible for your and your brother's insanity, but not because you were created from one being. The insanity is because your mother and I are siblings and siblings should never share that kind of relationship."

"How do I know you speak the truth?" The man laughed.

"You have all the proof you need. You called my wolves to guide your friend to you." He nodded at Sakura. His face turned mournful. "Your curse is your mother and my punishment for breaking one of the natural laws." Lily stiffened and sniffed disdainfully

"Some punishment. It doesn't even affect you." The man bowed his head and the wolves beside him whined and licked at him as if trying to comfort him. The man laid a hand on the nearest dog and patted it lovingly.

"You're right. For what we have done, it is hardly a just punishment. What's worse is your conception was part of a bet." Lily growled baring her teeth at her father. He held his hands up in a supplication gesture. "Your mother and I are twins and opposites. She is Life and I am Death. We were very close until your mother began having children, animals, humans, Biju, and others. Then I had to claim them, each and every one. As we grew apart, I grew more despondent. Your mother was to me what you are to your brother. I cursed my fate and my life and was prepared to end my life and that was when your mother came to me. She made a bet with me. She believed that even Death could create beautiful life. Together we tried over and over to create life with our powers, but each was more twisted than the last. Finally I gave up. I made her swear we would never try again and she promised. I was still upset and your mother came to me and stayed a night with me then went back to her world. When you and your brother were born centuries ago I asked your mother if they were mine and she told me that she alone created you two, and I believed her. However I watched over you two in order to be sure. It wasn't until today I had proof she lied." Lily's elder daughter stirred in her sling. The small child looked around and when she saw the man she reached for him making happy gurgling noises. When he didn't come to her, the girl turned to her mother grabbing a lock of her mom's hair in her tiny fists and yanking on it. Then she pointed to the man when she had Lily's attention. Lily nodded smiling.

"Yes little one." The girl made a high pitched squeal of delight pulling on her mother's hair some more and pointing at the man more franticly. Lily raised her eyebrow at the little girl, but nodded thoughtfully. Turning back to face her father, "Your granddaughter would like to meet you." The little girl turned back and reached with both hands beckoning Death to her. Death seemed unsure of himself, until the infant got an impatient look on her face and made a squeak. He walked to her and bent over the twins. One was sleeping, peacefully oblivious to everything going on around her while the other was still demanding his attention. Death chuckled and took the little girls tiny hand in his own.

"Hello, little child." The girl's dark eyes seemed to glow with mischief before she squeaked,

"Grandpa!" Her little fingers grabbed at his face and tugged on his hair. Death blinked as if too stunned to say anything.

"Eden and I grew up without father. Would you make my daughters do the same?" Death stood up straight and eyed his daughter suddenly realizing where this conversation was going.

"You planned this from the get go." He guessed. A smile tugged at the corner of Lily's lips.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Death took a step back and dark amusement danced in his eyes. The air became oppressive to Sakura as the weight of Death's power seemed to bear down on her.

"Never has any being had the guts to try and cheat me and get away with it." Lily raised an eyebrow at her father. The weight was suddenly gone and the flower marked on Sakura and Lily flared brightly.

"That would imply I have cheated you of something. You and I both know I have done nothing of the sort. I am simply extending a curtsy to a family member by asking. If I have to, I will rip apart death and life to get my husband back." Lily bared her teeth threateningly at her father. The wolves beside Death bared their teeth and moved closer to Lily. One look from her and the wolves were stepping back to hide behind their master. Death laughed out loud now.

"I first suspected you were my daughter when the young Uchiha stepped into my domain. He was here and yet not. He was here, but his soul was not. Even when his soul was summoned back to life by others it was not here they summoned him from, was it?"

"No, but I do need the part of him that is here." Death nodded.

"You know that things like that come at a cost daughter." Lily nodded.

"There is one who cheated you; several times I might add, from the clan that I claimed. I have sent him to you permanently." Death nodded

"I noticed, and it almost cost you your soul." It was a warning from someone who cared.

"Yes, so you understand I will do anything to keep my family." Death sighed and rubbed his tired eyes.

"You understand without his original body it's a life for a life."

"Do not worry about that." Death snapped his fingers and the wolves dispersed into the trees. A figure stepped out from the trees looking dazed and lost.

"Lily?" Itachi stepped from the shadows and approached the path. He looked pale and there was blood on his clothes, but no wounds. "What are you doing here?" Then he saw the bundles slung across her chest. "No, you didn't die. They aren't." Lily held out her hand.

"Foolish human, I am not dead, but I am here for you." Itachi blinked but took her hand.

"This is not what I wanted love. I don't want someone to die for me."

"No one is dying. Now come meet your daughters." she beckoned. Itachi took Lily's hand and stepped onto the path. Instantly his skin gained in color and the blood disappeared from his clothes.

"How is this even possible?" he asked in wonder. Lily kissed Itachi and squeezed his hand.

"Trust me as I trust you." Lily turned to her father to find he had vanished. "Seems disappearing is a family trait." She turned to Sakura, "I'll lead the way home, but you will need to walk in front." Sakura walked down the path as Lily whispered directions in her ear. "I owe you an apology." she said finally.

"Hmm?"

"I committed a grave sin against you." Sakura chuckled.

"You drugged Sasuke, messed with my seabane, and all around manipulated it so I would get pregnant with Sasuke's child so you could get Itachi back and kill Madara." Lily blinked and stopped. Sakura turned back and smiled at her. "Sasuke holds his liquor pretty well, so do I; thanks to my lady. I'm not angry, I should be, but I'm not." The rest of the trip was done in silence except when Lily needed to direct Sakura.

Sasuke paced around Sakura's body. His sword in his hand and his senses seeking anything that would harm them. A few stragglers had come, but for the most part the enemy had fled. Nothing had happened for the last few minutes. He was starting to lose track of time when a crash like ice shattering split the silence. Sakura drew a ragged breath and sat straight up. She started coughing and waved Sasuke off when he bent down to help her. Her lips were blue and she shivered uncontrollably for a moment. Sasuke rubbed her arms to help get her blood flowing and warm her up.

"Lily and your brother, where are they?" Sasuke's hand froze on Sakura's back and they both turned as another earth shattering crash echoed behind them. A figure slowly solidified before their gaze. Lily, but her body was turned away from them and part of her right arm had yet to appear.

"Don't let go." Lily told someone who remained unseen. Then her whole body appeared and a dark shadow clasped her right hand. Lily turned to Sasuke, "Can you come take my daughters?" It was then that Sasuke noticed the bundles carefully secured to Lily's chest. Sasuke went to Lily and removed the two little girls. He almost dropped them when he looked down at their faces. Two beautiful blond girls stared up at him, each child had the Sharingan mirror wheel in their eyes. Then the Sharingan vanished and both girls were giggling at him. Sasuke turned to Lily. Lily was so focused on painting symbols in her own blood on the floor with her left hand that she didn't notice Sasuke's shock. Her other hand was still holding onto the shadow. Once she was done drawing she wove hand signs for a vast jutsu with just her left hand. Then she slammed her hand down and an explosion of smoke gave way to a stone gateway.

Inside the gateway was a small pond with a waterfall flowing into it. In the center of the pond was a body. Sasuke blinked, it was Itachi's body. Lily walked to the edge of the pond and began to wade towards Itachi's body. Slowly Lily began chanting, her words were soft and mournful as she stood beside Itachi. The water around her slowly turned pink from all the blood soaked in her clothes. She took the shadow and lifted it up to lay on top of Itachi's body. The shadow merged with flesh and bone and all damage done to the body began mending itself. Lily continued her chant even while she cut open her palm to draw new symbols on her arms. Once she was done Lily laid one hand over Itachi's heart and the other over his face. She took a deep breath then said,

"Itachi, I give back what I have held close." The ancient bloody symbols ran down Lily's arms and over Itachi's still form. "Awaken my love." Itachi's eyes opened, his eyes were a milky white and his skin was still pale. Lily put a hand under his back to keep him from sinking into the shallow water. "Easy love, it may take a moment to adjust." She helped him stand on his feet, pulling his arm over her shoulder. Itachi turned to look at his wife. His eyes were clearing of milky white film that covered his gray eyes.

"What a wickedly clever woman you are my dear." Lily chuckled and helped walk him out of the pond.

"How am I wicked?"

"I know very well you used Madara to bring you into death so you could retrieve me. You knew long before I did what was coming. You prepared for my death and you did it without allowing anyone to suspect what you were doing. All the way down to getting the nice young medic pregnant with my nephew, you planned it all." Lily smiled without mirth

"Next time you should trust me with your plans." Itachi chuckled,

"You seemed to have figured them out without me telling you." Lily groused.

"I didn't foresee you locking me in that box." Itachi smiled lovingly at the woman beside him kissing her on the cheek.

"Good." Together the young couple stumbled past the gate and it collapsed on itself leaving nothing behind. Lily waved for Sasuke to bring over the two girls. Only a moment later Itachi and Lily tripped over each other's feet and fell into a heap on the floor, both gasping breathlessly. Itachi turned to Lily who lay sprawled over him, "You're heavy." Lily looked absolutely horrified, and with one look from Itachi she was smothering her laughter.

"You outrageously horrible man! I just brought you back from the dead and you're calling me fat?" She pinched him viciously. Itachi swatted her hands away and turned to his brother.

"So now it looks like the family is all together." Sasuke handed off one of the girls to Itachi and the other to Lily. Sakura piped up from where she still sat,

"What are their names?" Itachi and Lily exchanged looks and then Itachi replied,

"The eldest is Hana and the youngest is Akira." Itachi looked to Lily "Now is all of your scheming done?" Lily was thoughtful for a moment then shook her head no.

"Not quite, we still have a few things left undone."