A/N: Thank you to SakuraakaMichelle for beta-ing this. Please visit her page and read her stories as well^^

It might be intresting to note that I came home today~~! I got back to Calgary from Vancouver and I was so so so happy. I missed my family so much. I missed everyone so much... Ooo...

Also I will post double chapters on Chirstmas Eve and Christmas Day. As a present = = ... Or should I make up (or turn one of my own brother and I) stories into Uchiha family history and post is as a bonus chapter?

Mhmm... Tell me what you guys want..

But at this point in the story, everything is pretty much very very serious. Sigh... You haven't seen nothing yet.


Chapter 28


Sasuke wrote a cheque to pay for their dinner and they left the restaurant.

Sakura suggested that they take a walk so he could continue his story. Sasuke looked at Sakura with exhaustion and sighed, "Ok."

And so the story continued.

"Konan and Nii-San broke apart after that. I can still remember the expression on her face. She pointed at my Nii-San and said, 'Uchiha Itachi. Remember this, one day I am going to come back with more money and power than you have and I will make you regret this decision for the rest of your life.'"

"I was peeking behind a door when she said that. As soon as she stomped out of the Manor I ran outside into Nii-san's arms and I asked him, 'What happened, why is Konan Nee-chan so mad?'

Nii-San just looked at me in a kind way and replied, 'From now on, she isn't your Konan Nee-chan anymore.'"

"I was even more confused, so I asked him, 'What did she mean when she said that you will regret this choice? What did you choose?'"

Sasuke stopped walking suddenly and looked up at the night sky. Sakura stopped with him, and listened very attentively.

"'Because I chose you over her, my foolish little brother...' Nii-san said to me and ruffled my hair."

At this point Sasuke had a sad look on his face, as if he was remembering something painful..

"I remember the look he gave to our Uchiha Gates, it's a door that bounds anyone inside and they cannot get out. So much sacrifice has been made inside the gates. So much happiness has been lost, so much dreams… Aniki gave it a long look; it was sort of like a desperation, and sorrowful sort of expression. I understood now what he meant. He chose to stay in this family to look after me, and he left her."

Sasuke looked down the ground and then started walking again. "I should be grateful that he chose me over her that day. I really don't know what I would do if I was the only one in that cold, house."

Sakura held onto her husband's hand. He didn't push her away.

"But, that wasn't the last we have seen of Konan... She appeared again four years ago, on my brother's 21st birthday party."

"The party was huge; everybody who is somebody came and celebrated the coming of age of an Uchiha heir. And unmistakably, there she was, standing in a red dress, facing him."

"But it was different this time. She was in the arms of another man-and his name is Pein."

Sakura gasped, "What? The leader of Akatsuki-!"

Sasuke nodded, "So you know him."

"Of course! I may not be into these kind of crap, but father gave me a list of families and organizations that I should always remember and never to be rude to. Uchiha was the first, of course." She rolled her eyes and continued, "Then its it is the Hyugas, Naras, Uzumakis, Sabakus... Etc. And Akatsuki was one of them."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "He gave you a list of the names, but he didn't gave you a list of photos?"

Sakura stuck out her tongue at him, "I guess he should probably do that too..."

Sasuke sighed.

"But go on! Continue with your story-Konan appeared, and she was with Pein, and then what happened?"

Sasuke glanced at his eager bride, and continued to tell her the piece of memory that he would rather lock away in his head forever. "She is married to Pein, who is 10 years her senior. And she came to Nii-san's birthday party, as if declaring out straight that she now has more power than Nii-San. Because she was married to the leader of Akatsuki Inc, therefore she was in control of half of that company. Whereas my brother-even though he was of age at that time, he has nothing under the eyes of Madara."

"So Konan declared that she won-she won a game that my brother didn't even agree to play in."

"But the moment they laid their eyes on each other, perhaps it jogged something in their memory, and perhaps it's an old flame? Anyway she slept with my Nii-San and had an affair with him behind Pein's back for almost two years."

Sakura's jaw almost dropped to the floor, "What? Itachi-Nii knows that she is married, right?"

"More than anyone," Sasuke smiled bitterly, "He also knew that she was probably using him, but he still jumped in that trap- so willingly that it frightened me. Did he want to die that soon?"

"What happened next? What happened next?" Sakura urged.

Sasuke had no choice but to continue, "They thought they were so clever, dodging and avoiding everyone they know. But the truth is that- the affair went on for two years, and Pein knew about this for a year and 364 days."

"Despite his discovery, he still let his wife out and sleeps with my Nii-San, because he wanted her to steal some legal documents in my brother's office."

"Was it important?" Sakura's curiosity piped up.

Sasuke gave her a point-blank look, "If it wasn't, why would he ask her to steal it?"

Sakura nudged him, "Go on, go on."

"But my Nii-San isn't stupid either. I think he suspected something was going on, but he waited for Konan to reveal herself... But it wasn't until later when I found out the truth..."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke gave her a dejected look, "Just let me finish first."

"Sorry, sorry."

" So Pein forced her to steal a document. I don't think she was threatened into doing this. I think she was more than happy to do some damage to our estate. But nevertheless, she went into his office one day and stole it, then in turn handed it to Pein."

"The next time she saw my brother, it was in one of the Akatsuki parties. Our family also attended."

"Konan approached our family, and said something about getting her revenge. My Nii-San did not say anything, but she laughed in his face and asked if he was foolish enough to actually think that she loved him during the past two years..."

"And soon in front of hundreds of rich and old people, Pein announced that the Uchihas is going to collapse, because Pein holds our company's cash flow projections, and as it turns out he plans to reveal to all our shareholders that our company did not have the capability of loan payment."

"Of course I was surprised. But Nii-San remained emotionless. We watched as Madara walked up the stage with a cane, and announced in a very clear voice that he was the largest shareholder of Akatsuki. So he fired Pein from his position in front of the public and the media."

Sakura gasped, "So Akatsuki..."

"Is a part of Uchihas now. Yes," Sasuke said. "But what's more shocking was when Madara credited it all to Itachi. He said, 'My grandson is the one who got hold of the shares and he did all the work. I am just an old fool who took all the glory.'"

Sakura stop walking and her eyes were wide open in surprise.

"We all looked at Nii-San, who remained perfectly emotionless, and suddenly that's when Konan went crazy. She screamed and yelled, and she pulled out a gun, pointing it right at Nii-San."

Sakura's jaw dropped so wide she forgot to close it.

"Didn't your father tell you all this? I am sure he was there," Sasuke asked, bemused.

"I didn't ask, so he doesn't tell me," Sakura coughed. "What happened? What happened?"

"Well, it was a big chaos back then. Everybody screamed and scrambled about, and Konan was about to shoot him. I attempt to push Nii-San away, but Nii-San pushed me towards the crowd deliberately so I would not get involved in this."

"Then I watched in shock as your grandfather, Sarutobi-san, pulled out a gun and shot Konan 4 times in the chest before she collapsed and dropped her gun."

Sakura maintained her silence.

"So you could say our family owes your family big. Because not only your grandfather saved Madara in the civil war years ago, he also saved my Nii-San."

Sakura did not know what to say.

"But Nii-San stood watching as the girl he grew up with-and perhaps loved- all his life collapsed in front of him, in a pool of her own blood, her eyes wide open."

"I ran from the crowd to Nii-San, trying to shake him back into reality. He just looked at me and ruffled my hair, then said as if nothing has happened just a few moments ago, 'Let's go home, Sasuke.'"

Sakura asked, "What happened after that?"

Sasuke gave her a look, "We went home, of course."