The Full Circle


Sakura once again awakened with a gasp. She reached out beside her, searching for Kakashi's body. Her hand slapped at the bed in quick succession. The room was still dark, and it took her entirely too long to reassure herself that he was still at her side. Her hand landed on his hip, and she let her hand travel up until it tangled in his hair.

That was her first indication that something was wrong. The texture wasn't right. It was silkier, and it let her know that it wasn't Kakashi's hair. The body near her shifted and closed the distance between the two of them. She started to pull away, but a low growl greeted her. She knew the timber of that voice. Her body relaxed, and her hand tightened in his hair as the answer to her unspoken question came to her.

"Itachi." He nipped at her neck, and Sakura smiled at the action. It was nice. "You're here. You're really here." He pulled away and turned on a nearby lamp flooding the room with its light. His hair was still the shocking white that it had been, indicating that half his soul had died with the merging of the worlds. She reached for his tresses and ran a finger through them, wondering why that hadn't changed when the worlds split again. Maybe it was because there was no way that he could ever be whole now. The thought made her sad.

"Where else would I be?"

Dead. In that other world, he had been killed—not by Sasuke. She hadn't the time to find out by whom before she had awakened here in this world with Itachi. But this couldn't be right. She shouldn't remember that she was in another world previously. She shouldn't remember what it felt like to lay in Kakashi's arms and the lazy smirk on his lips when he noticed her blush.

Sakura pulled out of Itachi's arms and studied his face, cataloging it in hopes of never forgetting it. She did know if she'd get this chance again. She reached out and touched his face, running her fingertips over his skin lightly.

"Sakura, you're looking at me as if you haven't seen me in years. Are you alright?" He was wrong. She was looking at him as if she'd never see him again. Sakura didn't bother to correct him.

"Can't I be happy to see you?"

"You can."

Sakura rolled on top of his chest and marveled that she could. She rained kisses on his face. Laughter made his chest rumbled, but he tried to hide it, which made Sakura laugh out loud.

"You haven't done that in a while."

Itachi said once she buried her face in his throat. "Well, if I stop again, you need to remind me to appreciate you more."

Itachi's hands wandered south and squeezed, "That I will do."

"Promise?"

Itachi yelped when Sakura bit hard at his neck when he didn't reply fast enough. "Sakura!"

"You didn't answer me fast enough."

"What has gotten into you?"

"Well, if I'm lucky…" Sakura began and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

:::

As the day progressed, she began to recall more of the life she lived with Kakashi. Which was odd because she couldn't remember a damn thing about the life she was currently living with Itachi.

The history of that world had changed. Sakura didn't understand why and she supposed she wouldn't until she found Sasuke. The Uchiha Massacre still occurred in that world. It hadn't been by Itachi, though. There, he had refused to do the deed, so Danzo had him killed and eliminated the rest of the Uchiha Clan via Root. Sasuke had escaped and hidden—oddly enough with Naruto. When they sent people to question him about why he wasn't at home, he had told them his parents said he could spend the night with a friend. Naruto had backed him up. Neither were sure that the operatives believed them, but they left Sasuke alive probably so they wouldn't eliminate an entire bloodline limit.

Sasuke had known all along what happened to his family, which had led to him abandoning the Village Hidden in the Leaves shortly after they tried for the Chunnin exams. Or at least that was what most people believed. Sakura had a feeling that more was going on. She also had a feeling that whatever it was, Naruto knew about it. In that world, Naruto no longer wanted to be Hokage, and it was enough to bring her to tears.

It didn't take long for Sakura to realize that she had followed through ruthlessly with her plans for the Uchiha Clan soon after she had married Itachi in her current world. She was the Clan Matriarch, and Fugaku had stepped down. From what she could see, it hadn't been something she had to fight him hard over. Mikoto's death had shaken him more than anyone truly realized.

The remaining females of the Clan held the remainder of the power.

:::

"You've been odd all day." Sakura looked up from the paperwork she had been pursuing. In her office at home, she was sitting behind a desk that she recalled Itachi getting for her once the Uchiha sealed her status within the Clan. Itachi's dark hair hung loose, and Sakura's finger itched to run her hand through it. "Are you worried about me?"

"I always worry about you. What kind of husband would it make me if I didn't?"

Sakura's brow raised. "A man confident in the abilities of his beloved wife."

Itachi snorted at the dig. He moved to sit down across from her, and Sakura paused, wondering what was on his mind.

"I had a dream about you." Sakura felt her lips stretch into a smile. "Not that type of dream, Sakura." He was serious, and Sakura let herself settle and wait for him to explain what was on his mind. "It was about you and Sasuke. The two of you were about to do something dangerous, and I was trying to stop you." Sakura felt herself still. "There was this look in your eye. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. Fear mixed with hope and longing. Maybe a little regret." Itachi paused as if waiting for her to say something, but Sakura didn't know what to say. She just looked at Itachi and hoped that he would let this go and laugh this off or that the words to say would appear from nowhere and help her settle his mind and steer him away from this truth that he had stumbled upon in his dreams.

"I've never had a dream that realistic before in my life. It felt like it was a mirror of the life that we live. A world of what could have been." His tongue darted out and moistened his lips. Sakura wanted to let herself be distracted by that small thing but couldn't. "Sakura, I need you to tell me it was just a dream because every instinct I have is telling me it was not." He shouldn't remember either. Something had gone very wrong.

Sakura stared at Itachi and wondered if Kakashi had felt this way too, if he had dreams of the truth but had not spoken of it. Had he embraced the chance they received and not looked back? Sakura cleared her throat and began, "Itachi," only to hear two knocks on her door and have her office door swing open. Her breath caught when Sasuke filled the door frame.

"Aniki," He began. "I need your help."