Suigetsu and Jugo stumbled upon Sasuke partially by chance. Luckily for them, the passageways inside the cave all led to the large open room that Kobuto had used as a base of operations all this time. Sakaria had split off from the two some time ago, but Suigetsu was sure she was still close by because every so often, he could hear the faint sounds of her shoes splashing in small puddles nearby as if she were pacing back and forth.

During this time, Suigetsu and Jugo listened as Sasuke told them what had happened to Kobuto and how Itachi had helped him dispel the reanimation jutsu that had been cast. I wonder if she's hearing all this... That her brothers have made amends and fought together against the same force... Suigetsu thought, his eyes scanning the area for some sort of sign that she was still close. He snapped back to the conversation as Jugo asked how Itachi had managed to pull off such a feat and Sasuke explained the Izanami to them. He then told them that Itachi had vanished when the reanimation jutsu was released, and he was now stuck with more questions than answers.

"He told me my sister is still alive..." Sasuke said, looking back toward Kobuto. "I wonder if that's true... and after everything Itachi told me... I have so many questions an-"

"Well, turns out, I can help answer one of your questions at least," Suigetsu announced, interrupting Sasuke who seemed annoyed by this.

"How?" Sasuke's voice was as flat and tepid as usual, not really believing Suigetsu had anything of importance to say.

"Well, we come baring gifts!" He enthused sarcastically. "First..." He reached into his robe and found the scroll they had happened upon at Orochimaru's hideout. "And next..." He held out his hand, half expecting Sakaria to appear behind him but she did not. This caused Sasuke to raise his eyebrow.

"What does this have to do with my sist-"

"Oy! Fireball! That's your cue!" He called out, annoyed. When she still didn't appear, Suigetsu pinched the bridge of his nose, "Don't tell me you've lost your nerve again!"

"Who is he talking to?" Sasuke asked, turning to Jugo.

"Sakaria was with us a few moments ago. She asked that we ease you into the news before she came out because she was afraid of what you might say... but, now I wonder if she's worried herself and run off."

"She was... here?" Sasuke asked, his lax expression cracking as shock covered his face and a lone tear appeared in his eye.

"Don't worry, Sasuke, I'll get her out here one way or another," Suigetsu called, pulling out his sword as a last resort. He didn't plan to actually hurt her, but he was definitely annoyed enough to swat her over to her brother. His patience was never a match for things like this, and he usually resorted to intimidation to get things to speed along. "Come on out, girlie. No need to build anymore suspense."

"Suigetsu, put that away." Sasuke barked, causing Suigetsu to lower his sword confused. "Sakaria..." Sasuke called out into the hollows of the cave, hoping she could hear him as his voice echoed off the walls. "I..." He tried to think for a moment, unsure of what to say. It had been so long, and he could admit he didn't even know the girl he was talking to now. "It's been a long time." That was all he could muster, but it worked. From the ceiling of the cave, the small Uchiha girl dropped and landed several feet away from him, raking her hair over her shoulder nervously.

"Sasuke..." She, like her brother, didn't have many words. Nothing seemed to fit right in this situation. Should she apologize? Explain herself? Or did Sasuke already know everything that had happened? If he had spoken with Itachi like he said, he shouldn't need anymore information but...

Her train of thought ceased suddenly as she was enveloped by his strong arms that pulled her close to him just as Itachi had in her dream. He was so much bigger now... and so much like their eldest brother that it caused Sakaria to cry again as she held him back. "I've missed you so, big brother."

"I've missed you, too..." Sasuke pulled away, holding her at arms length by her shoulders. For a moment, Suigetsu and Jugo witnessed a true smile form on their leader's face as he took in the sight of his sister. "You..." He stopped and his smile widened as he flicked her forehead, just as their eldest brother would have done. "You've grown into your forehead."

Sakaria, still bewildered, took a moment to comprehend his insult, but met it with glee rather than anger. She laughed so hard it echoed off the cave walls and Sasuke's joined it. For a moment, the sound seemed like it could heal even the deepest wound. When it died down, Sakaria breathed a sigh of relief and looked up into Sasuke's eyes.

"Hurry up, Sakaria! We're going to be late!" Sasuke yelled running ahead of his little sister. As Sakaria struggled to keep up, she closed her eyes almost praying that her mom and dad wouldn't be home before they got there.

"Dad's going to kill us," she whined, picking up her pace. They had been scolded so many times for staying out too late and interrogated by their parents about where they had been going off to play and why it was taking them so long to get home. Both of them had taken an oath of silence though, and always managed to lie to their mom and dad about going into the village.

As they busted through the door, thousands of excuses rolling through their minds, they were greeted, as expected, by their parents who stood with their arms crossed in front of them and a disapproving glare crossing their faces. "Hi mom and dad!" Both said in unison, taking off their shoes hurriedly.

"Sasuke..." their father growled.

"Sakaria..." their mother's voice joined.

"Where have you two been?" This was a question the two had been asking so often that their simultaneous voices almost sounded rehearsed.

"We were just out playing!" Sasuke said, shooting a warning glance over at his sister. "Right, Sakaria?"

"Yeah! And it took us a long time to get back because..." Her voice trailed off as all of her made up excuses rattled in her brain.

"Because we lost track of time!" Sasuke finished.

"You two seem to be doing an awful lot of that recently," their father said, eyeing him suspiciously. "This is the third time this week that you've been late coming home... and you seem awfully out of breath for only running from the training grounds."

"Well, that's because we weren't coming from the training grounds!" Sakaria said confidently. Sasuke looked over at her, furrowing his eyebrows cautiously, ready to interrupt his sister if she started to tell the truth. "We went to play at Shisui's house!"

"Why on earth would Shisui want you to play there?" Their mother asked impatiently. "I'm sure he's much too busy to have you two running around and bothering him!"

"No, it's true, mom!" Sasuke replied, smiling in an attempt to seem more genuine, "Shisui said we could play in his yard since it's flat enough to play kick the can... so we're just tired from that and running all the way back home since his house is closest to the gates!"

"Yeah! And he wanted us to be able to stay long enough to catch fireflies!" Sakaria continued, "That's why it took us so long to get home." The two looked at each other and nodded, impressed by their own teamwork.

Their father closed his eyes and gritted his teeth together, trying to suppress the anger boiling inside of him. "Even still, you two have been told over and over again when you are expected home. You're worrying your mother to death almost every night and disrespecting us by staying out passed your curfew."

"We're sorry, daddy! We just-" Sakaria was silenced as their father put his hand out, signaling that he'd had enough of her excuses.

"Sorry isn't enough. Go to your rooms."

Hearing this, their mother lowered her arms and turned to their father. "Oh but Fugaku, they've not had dinner yet..." She said in their defense. Mikoto was never the disciplinarian in their household and had a lot of trouble holding grudges against her children. Fugaku shook his head, and headed into the house.

"They should have thought about that before coming home late," he snarled. With that, the two Uchiha children headed to their rooms and slammed their doors, sitting against the wall angrily. The only benefit to having two rooms at the end of the hallway was that there was a wall in between the two that they shared, and though Sakaria and Sasuke argued quite often about hearing the other play too loudly while one was trying to enjoy their privacy, they enjoyed their shared wall because they had found a way to carve a small hole in it so they could still talk when they were both in trouble.

"We wouldn't be in trouble all the time if mom and dad would just let me go in the village," Sakaria said, hugging her knees tightly.

"Yeah, but we should really stop sneaking off so much. Someone might see you soon and start asking questions." Sasuke reminded, taking heed of his parents' warnings although he didn't completely understand them.

"I don't get why I have to be hidden from everybody. Why aren't mom and dad glad they have a daughter?"

Sasuke shrugged on the other side of the wall. "Maybe they just think you're too pretty and want to keep you away from all the other boys in the village." Sakaria snickered at this, causing Sasuke to smile. "You're kind of like a princess who's locked in a tower."

"Yeah, but..." Sakaria sighed and lowered her head again, "doesn't a prince have to save me or something in order for me to get out?"

"Nah," Sasuke said, still smiling on the other side of the wall, "that's only in story books. Real princesses can save themselves... and sometimes they have big brothers to help them!" Sakaria grinned but the two were interrupted by the sound of a door down the hall opening and shutting.

"Itachi's home," Sakaria said after a moment of silence, "I wish we could see him."

"Me too," Sasuke sighed. They were quiet again, listening to the consistent sound of locusts outside their windows. Recently, Itachi had been away from home more often than not, so even when Sakaria and Sasuke did make it home in time for dinner, Itachi was hardly ever there to join them. When he was, he was pensive and reserved, often lost in his own world. His two younger siblings often asked him to spend time with them, but were always brushed off or told "some other time," never knowing when that would be.

"Hey Sasuke..."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for taking me into the village," Sakaria moused from the other side of the wall.

Sasuke smiled a little, knowing how happy going out made his little sister, then griped, "Hey, not so loud. Mom and dad will hear." Sakaria leaned her head back against the wall smiling too.

When morning hit their windows, the two Uchiha got up and raced to the breakfast table where their mother greeted them with a smile. "Good morning you two. It's nice to see you on time this morning."

"Good morning, mama!" Sakaria said, sitting at the table and pushed Sasuke away from her seat next to Itachi. "Good morning, big brother!" Itachi looked down at her and forced a smile.

"Good morning, Sakaria," He said, placing his hand on her head.

"Hey, what about me!?" Sasuke complained, crossing his arms as he sat across from his siblings.

"Good morning, Sasuke," Itachi said, smiling in his direction as well. "What do you two plan on doing today?"

"We're going to play at Shisui's again today! Right, Sakaria?" Sasuke beamed as his sister nodded fervently beside him.

"Is that so?" Itachi's smile faded as he cut his eyes over to their mother to ensure she wasn't paying attention to their conversation while she continued to work in the kitchen. "You two are going to get caught if you keep wandering into the village," Itachi warned quietly, "Why don't you just wait until I can take the two of you out myse-"

"You never have time!" Sakaria whispered in protest, "Besides, me and Sasuke are careful!"

"Is that why you've been sent to your room for being late almost every night? Because you're careful?"

"Don't worry about us, Itachi." Sasuke interjected quietly, "I'll keep us safe." Itachi sighed and took a sip of his tea.

"Shisui said you two had a great time playing yesterday," Itachi said, loud enough for his mother to hear in order for her to lay her suspicions to rest. Sakaria and Sasuke looked at each other for a moment and smiled at their brother's confirmation of their story. "I hope he doesn't keep you late this time, though. You two be sure to come home on time tonight, alright?" Itachi said, a wary tone still heavy in his voice.

"We will, big brother!" The two confirmed, taking large bites of their breakfast. Once the two finished, Sakaria hugged Itachi and kissed his cheek and Sasuke hugged him too, then they both shouted goodbye to their mother as they ran out the door.

"Itachi..." Their mother said, watching out of the window as her two youngest children ran outside, "Tell me they aren't going into the village." Itachi looked up from his tea without taking the cup from his mouth. After a momentary pause, he set it on the table.

"They're just out playing, mother." Itachi said, neither confirming nor denying her suspicions. With that, he stood from the table and gathered his things, waving goodbye as he headed out for the day.

In the village, Sakaria chased Sasuke down the road, weaving in between the foot traffic as people walked to get their errands done. "Sasuke! Not so fast! I don't know this way yet!" Sakaria griped, not able to keep up with him in this unfamiliar territory.

"C'mon," Sasuke called, still running ahead, "We gotta make sure we get passed the building dad works in so he doesn't see!" Sakaria huffed and followed as closely as she could, but stopped when she was taken aback by something she saw in one of the store windows.

"Woah..." She whispered to herself as she walked toward the glass.

Sasuke noticed she wasn't following him, ran back to her quickly, and grabbed her by the arm, attempting to pull her away from the display case. "Come. On." He growled.

"Wait... Sasuke, what is this?" Sakaria said, her eyes bright as she stared inside the store window. Sasuke looked inside to see what she was staring at then tilted his head.

"You've never seen a sunflower before?" He asked, tilting his head as he looked into the window of the Yamanaka clan's flower shop. Before, he had been in a hurry to get passed their father's workplace... now he was in a hurry to get away from the shop before that annoying Yamanaka girl came out and tried to talk to him. She was always flipping her blonde hair around and making weird attempts to give him some kind of sultry stare and it freaked him out. "C'mon, I bet I can find a whole field of them. Let's go." He pulled her arm and they were off again just as the blonde came rushing out of the door to come talk to him. When she saw him hand in hand with some strange girl, she stamped her foot and walked back inside screaming.