Kaerizaki
By The Ambitious Blank
Disclaimer- Naruto doesn't belong to me.
Comments- Thanks again for all the encouragement, everyone. n.n I love you guys. As for Itachi, umm.. well, I think the sudden change came about from sixteen years of having to live with what he's done, and then suddenly seeing Sasuke, and having the one person left who reminds him of who he used to be torn away from him would hurt. Again, your questions simply lead to a lot of maybes. n.n You'll find answers to 'em, don't worry. Lina-san, shakiya-san, I hope that takes care of your troubles from Itachi switching so quickly.
To everyone who might be getting sick of the endless fluff.. don't worry, the trauma will come soon. Yay! ;
Oh, and for those who wanted to see what Kazue and Takeshi look like, check my deviantart account. My username is "DarkenedWings". If you want a link to it, I'm sticking it in my profile. n.n; Mycom --Those are them in their twelve-year-old forms. Those were done completely in Photoshop, so.. ignore the crappiness, please. n.n;;; I know I suck.
I renamed the chapters, 'cause I got sick of trying to think of one-word titles for them. So they're named kinda like Naruto episodes.
---Chapter 4- Memories Resurfacing? Sasuke's Dream!
Sakura lifted Sasuke into her arms and carried him as she ran, towards the park where she could meet up with the four children. She pushed past Shikamaru, who was walking down the street. The poor Nara man almost fell over in surprise.
"Hey, hey, where's the fire..?" He asked, blinking and rubbing his head, watching Sakura run away.
"Man, haven't seen her run that fast in.. um.. ever." He muttered, glancing back to where she was running from, to see what was going on. He could hear crashes and shouts from the alleyway, and stood up to go investigate.
Sakura, meanwhile, had reached the park and found Naruto, who was playing with two other children she didn't recognized.
Kazue and Takeshi.. She mused, glancing to each of them as she set Sasuke down. Naruto turned, grinning.
"Wow, Sasuke, you sure are slow today--" He blinked, staring. "Ne, Sasuke.. what's wrong??"
Sasuke was quiet.. something about Itachi had jarred something in him, but he couldn't place what. He tugged on Sakura's clothing.
"Sakura.. I thought only the Uchiha clan had Sharingan." He said, his big eyes wide and confused. "How come he had them?" He glanced behind them. "..who is he..? He looked like me, too."
Sakura hesitated. She'd met Itachi, once, during a fight Sasuke had with him a long time ago. As far as she knew, Sasuke had lost every fight he'd had with his older brother, but with increasingly less humiliation as each fight happened. Itachi had beaten Sasuke to the point of where the younger Uchiha hadn't been able to move, and then he'd discovered Sakura's hiding place. Luckily, Naruto had gone off to do something, and when a few of the Jounins happened by, Itachi was forced to flee.
But now.. it didn't make any sense. He'd looked so startled, and Sakura hadn't seen the man's expression change when she'd last met him. He hadn't so much as twitched as he beat Sasuke into the dirt. She looked down at the little one still tugging on her clothes, staring into his wide, fearful eyes. She knelt down, patting his head.
"It'll be okay, Sasuke. You'll see." She said, as reassuringly as she could. Sasuke nodded, looking back toward the alleyway. A shout suddenly reached their ears, and all of them winced.
"What.. what was that..?!" Takeshi cried, staring. Shiromaru growled, and Kazue put a hand on his head.
"Shh, Shiromaru, I know. I can smell it too. There's some sort of fight.. but I think.. it's over now." She said, biting her lip. Naruto moved closer to Sasuke, slipping his hand into the dark-haired boy's. They waited, the tension stretched so tightly in the air, they could feel it ready to snap in a matter of moments. Suddenly, from around the corner, Shikamaru came, supporting a larger form on his shoulder.. Itachi. As they came close, Shikamaru carefully laid Itachi onto the grass. Itachi had a bad wound in his side, but he was still breathing. Sasuke yelped and broke away from Sakura and Naruto, dropping onto his knees in front of the man.
"What happened..?!" He cried, staring at the wound, then at Itachi's face. The Sharingan had vanished again. Itachi reached up and touched Sasuke's face, then glanced to Sakura.
"Kisame almost had me. I guess.. seeing Sasuke like this made me hesitate. Lucky for me.. this guy showed up." He gestured to Shikamaru. "Used his Kage Mane no Jutsu to trap him while I used my Sharingan and killed him." He slowly sat up, wincing.
"It's not safe for me to be here right now. No doubt Akatsuki will be after me for betraying them like this. Once Kisame and I don't return for a while, they'll start hunting me." He clutched his side, gritting his teeth. "I should go."
"Wait!" Sakura said, unable to control herself. Ever since she'd had Naruto, she'd had strange, protective instincts for him, as well as Sasuke. Sure, she had before, but this time, it was different. It was for a different reason than just being their friend, and somehow that made her instinct stronger. She reached out and gently pushed Itachi back into the grass.
"They won't know you're gone for a few weeks. You can stay with us and let that wound heal. At least for this week, alright? If you get yourself killed, then I'll regret it.. and Sasuke will be upset. I don't think that's what you want right now." She said.
It made no sense to her, why she was inviting Itachi of all people into her home. This could be a trick.. Kisame could have just been some pawn, right? But that same strange instinct of hers was telling her it was alright, that Itachi wouldn't try anything. That strange light in his eyes.. and he'd retracted his Sharingan, even! This couldn't be a trick. Itachi stared up at her for a few moments, watching all the emotions playing out on her face.
"..you think this might be a trap." He said. Sakura shook her head in furious denial.
"No. I did, but I don't anymore." She smiled, then turned to the group of children. "Naruto? Will you please take Kazue and Takeshi to our house and get the first aid kit? I can't leave you guys alone with Itachi, he's still wanted.. at least until I speak with Hokage."
"Uh, right!" Naruto said, nodding. He gestured to his two new friends and the four (if you count Shiromaru) dashed off in the direction of Sakura's apartment. Sasuke sat down in the grass next to Itachi, watching him silently. Itachi shifted a little to look at the small boy.
He's exactly the same.. exactly the same as he used to be. Except.. happier, I guess. Itachi smiled a bit. ..maybe it's 'cause Father isn't around to harry him anymore.
Itachi winced slightly of the thought of their father. Sighing to himself, he reached out and touched Sasuke's face again. Sasuke blinked.
"Don't look so sad, Sasuke. Doesn't do much for you." Itachi said, brushing a few strands of hair from Sasuke's face. Sasuke blinked and rubbed at his eyes furiously.
"What's your name, anyway..?" He asked, blinking down at the older man. Itachi shifted his gaze away.
"What's my name?" A few years ago, you wouldn't have ever forgotten my face.. let alone my name, Sasuke. He thought, almost bitterly. ..no, I think that even if you had managed to kill me back then, you would have suffered for the rest of your life. Because even with my dead body lying in front of you, you wouldn't have been able to forgive me.
Itachi struggled to sit up, earning a worried frown from Sakura and Sasuke, and a shove from Shikamaru.
"Lie down, idiot." Shikamaru said, angrily. "You'll hurt yourself even more. And as much as I'd like to see that after the things you've done to Sasuke, he doesn't rememb--"
Smack.
Sakura had struck him over the head, a fearful look in her eyes. Shikamaru growled in frustration but closed his mouth, and rubbed at the forming bruise irritatedly. Itachi's gaze widened slightly.
Why-- ..oh, I see.. they don't want Sasuke to remember.
His eyes shifted back to the confused little boy sitting near him. Sasuke, deciding to ignore the antics of the strange adults he didn't understand, moved closer to Itachi and gently pushed him back down to the ground.
"I dunno what Shikamaru was talking about, but you should lie down anyway." He said, frowning and chewing on his lip cutely. "You could hurt yourself more."
Itachi gave the smallest of smiles, the first in ages, and let the child push him back down into the grass.
Sasuke.. if you had killed me, I'd be afraid of what would happen to the people you called friends then.. maybe not even friends, so much as mere acquaintances. You.. might have hurt them.. purposefully.
The small smile disappeared, turning into a concerned frown.
..you might have become me.
Utterly oblivious of Itachi's troubled thoughts, Sasuke plopped back down in the grass and waited. Naruto and the others returned, and Sakura bandaged Itachi up, then helped him slowly back to his feet, supporting him carefully on her shoulder.
"Alright, I'll bring you back to my apartment, and then I'll have to go talk to Hokage-sama."
"Please, allow me to escort them, Sakura."
Everyone turned around.. Kakashi stood there, one hand on his hip, his book in the other. Itachi flinched, shifting and turning his gaze away.
I don't need a lecture from you, Kakashi..
"Oh, Kakashi-sensei! Didn't see you there." Sakura said, smiling. "If you wouldn't mind.. I should talk to Hokage-sama myself, since I'll be the one taking him in for a while." She reached up and handed him the key to the apartment, then stood and started away down the road.
"I'll go with her." Shikamaru said, standing up from the grass and following after.
Kakashi nodded, carefully supporting Itachi on his shoulder, slinging the Uchiha's arm around him. He scooped Naruto up in his free hand, earning a happy giggle from the blonde. Sasuke reached up and took Itachi's free hand, smiling a little. Kazue and Takeshi trotted after them as they began down the street, with Shiromaru on their heels. Itachi held his breath, waiting for when Kakashi would begin on whatever lecture he was sure the man was planning. But the silver-haired Jounin said nothing, only kept on. Sasuke's smaller hand gripped Itachi's tightly as they walked along.
"Whee! Kakashi-sensei, can't we go fasssttteeerrrr?" Naruto whined, oblivious to the seriousness of the situation as usual. Kakashi couldn't help but smile.
"Well, we would, but we have an injured person here.. wouldn't want him hurting himself more. Or dragging Sasuke along, either."
"Aww, but Sasuke's fast enough to keep up."
"Shh, Naruto!" Sasuke said, looking up at his friend with a frown, still clutching tightly to Itachi's hand. "Let's just go back, okay?"
"Um, okay.." Naruto said, blinking his large blue eyes in confusion. Kakashi smiled under his mask. Sasuke certainly was much less of an.. well.. ass.. when he was smaller. Of course, back then, none of them would have even fathomed Sasuke showing concern for his older brother. Things really had changed quite a bit, in some ways. Sure.. the blatant gap between Naruto and Sasuke's initial abilities was still there, but Kakashi was sure Naruto could close that gap.
Sakura had made sure to tell Naruto about the Kyuubi within him from the beginning. Told him again and again it wasn't a bad thing, and since most of the villagers had come to respect him in his previous life, it wasn't a problem anymore.
Kakashi himself had been training the two of them whenever he had free time (it wasn't often, but it was enough), and had been working on drawing out Sasuke's Sharingan ability early. The child almost had it, even at his age. As for Naruto, the boy hadn't quite learned how to rely on the Kyuubi's chakra just yet, but Kakashi wasn't worried. It would come out when it was needed. For now, he just worked on Naruto's control of his own chakra.
Kakashi's visible eye shifted to the man he had slung over his shoulder. Itachi had his gaze on the ground, avoiding everyone else's looks, even little Sasuke's. Kakashi gave a quiet sigh as he lead the small group up the stairs toward Sakura's apartment. Luckily, they hadn't met anyone on the way there, so there were no explainations that had to be made.. yet.
Itachi was laid carefully on the couch with help from Sasuke, who then moved to the kitchen. He pulled out a small stepstool from a cupboard and stood on it, pulling down several teacups from the cabinet and beginning to heat up some water for tea. Kakashi smiled.
Well, he certainly isn't any less capable, that's for sure..
Naruto, Kazue, Takeshi, and Shiromaru sat down on the floor. Shiromaru let them use him as a support to lean against, an offer which the exhausted children eagerly took. Sasuke kept working in the kitchen, ignoring how tired he was from the entire day. Kakashi watched the young Uchiha as he ran about.
"Sasuke, would you like some help?"
"No, I got it!" Sasuke said, shaking his head. Kakashi's smile reappeared.
..and he's still just as stubborn as he used to be, it seems.
Sasuke was sliding the stepstool around the kitchen, pulling out things he'd need.. teabags, some spoons, sugar. The teakettle whistled, and the small boy quickly moved to remove it from the stove, making sure to be as careful as he could. After he'd made a cup, he climbed back down off his small stepstool and began walking toward the living room where everyone was sitting.. and didn't remember to sidestep a tiny pool of water he'd spilt on the floor.. when he realized it was there, it was too late.. with a yelp of surprise, he slipped and started to fall.
It happened in less than a second. Itachi's eyes widened and he vanished from the couch, capturing the falling child with one arm and gripping the teacup in his other, ignoring the trickle of blood that escaped from his bandages from the quick movement. Kakashi had moved to save the child as well, but had only made it a step toward Sasuke in the time it had taken Itachi to reach him.
There was a long moment of dead silence. Naruto, Kazue, and Takeshi were all staring in shock. Naruto was slackjawed, having been unable to follow Itachi's lightning fast movement. Kakashi was surprised as well.. he knew Itachi moved fast, but normally he was able to follow the movement.. this time, he hadn't been able to at all.
"Are you alright, Sasuke..?" Itachi asked, finally. Sasuke hadn't so much as breathed in the time it had taken all that to happen. He took an abrupt gasp and slumped against Itachi's arm.
"Y.. yeah, I'm okay.." He said, standing. "I guess that cup's for you, then.. you want any sugar or anything?" He managed a small smile, but he was still shaky on his feet. Itachi shook his head.
"No thanks.. but thank you for this." He held up the cup a little, and Sasuke nodded and ran back to make more. Kakashi moved to help him this time, and Itachi slowly made his way back over to the couch, sitting down and trying to ignore the stabbing pain in his side.
Naruto noticed the blood and whispered hurriedly to his new friends, and they all scrambled to their feet, running to get the first aid kit, where it had been abandoned near the front door.
Itachi sipped his tea slowly, and then frowned, blinking.
"Sasuke..?"
"Yeah?" The boy looked up from the counter. He was standing on his tiptoes on the stepstool, pouring tea into a cup.
"..what did you put in the tea?"
"Umm.. just the teabag and.. umm.. two and a half spoonfuls of sugar." He answered, frowning. "Why?"
Itachi's eyes narrowed.
"How did you know?"
"Know what?"
"To put sugar into it.. and exactly what amount I liked..?"
Kakashi looked up suddenly. Sasuke blinked, putting a hand to his head and then looking at Itachi again.
"I.. I don't know.." He said. "I just.. did it without thinking.."
Naruto and the others were silent. Itachi exchanged glances with Kakashi, lips set in a grim line.
He remembers. Before I killed everyone.. when he and I were inseperable.. he used to make tea for the family sometimes, and I'd always ask for two and a half spoonfuls of sugar in mine.. he remembers that. He just doesn't know that he remembers. It's all unconsciously done..
Itachi stared at his younger brother, who was obviously thinking very hard about it. Kakashi spoke first, breaking the tense silence.
"Sasuke, why don't you help Naruto and the others put fresh bandages on Itachi, and I'll finish making the tea." He offered. Sasuke nodded and climbed down from the stepstool and put it away in the cupboard, hurrying over to where Naruto, Takeshi, and Kazue were kneeling on the floor, having opened the medical kit. Shiromaru had curled up near the couch where Itachi was sitting, keeping watch with bright blue eyes.
Sasuke picked up a roll of bandages and stepped toward Itachi, who shed off the cloud jacket. (Sakura had already stripped him of his shirt when she'd bandaged him up originally, it was lying on the ground near the door, forgotten.) The small Uchiha reached up with a shaking hand and carefully peeled away the stained and soaked bandages, frowning.
"This wound.. it's so bad.." He said, concerned. Itachi shrugged.
"This? It's nothing compared to things I've gotten before."
"But you don't get these kinds of wounds often, do you..?" Sasuke asked, looking up at Itachi. "I can feel it. You've got a lot more power than you look like you have."
Itachi stared for a moment, then sighed and patted Sasuke's head.
"Yeah, maybe."
With a slight amount of difficulty, and Takeshi and Naruto getting tangled in the bandages a few times, they managed to do a pretty good job of replacing Itachi's bandaging. The older Uchiha thanked them when they finished.
Naruto escorted Kazue (with Shiromaru) and Takeshi home (and said hello to Kiba, Hinata, and Neji at their respective homes), then ran back. When he returned, Sasuke was asleep, half on Itachi's lap. Naruto climbed up on the couch, stretched, and fell asleep with him.
Kakashi watched in silence, sitting down in a chair. Itachi sighed, running his fingers through Sasuke's soft hair. The young boy murmured incoherently under his breath as he slept, snuggling closer.
"It's so strange that he doesn't remember anything." Itachi said, as he glanced up to Kakashi. "I take it that took some getting used to."
Kakashi shrugged.
"I suppose." He smirked a bit. "You know, considering everything that's happened between you, myself, Sasuke, and this village.. I should just kill you now."
"..." Itachi stared at the ground. Kakashi chuckled a bit.
"However, since Sasuke seems to tolerate you, I guess I'll let it slide for now. Can't argue with an eight-year-old, after all." His gaze shifted to the sleeping child, and Itachi looked down, the smallest of smiles appearing on his face.
"No.. no, I suppose not."
----
"I'm home!" Sakura called out a soft greeting as she opened the door to her apartment, removing her shoes at the door. The two men glanced up. Itachi was careful not to move to quickly for fear of disturbing the sleeping pair. Sakura wandered over to the couch and looked down, smiling at the sight.
"So they finally wore themselves out, did they?" She asked, smiling. "Let me take them to Naruto's room to sleep, and then we'll talk." She carefully lifted them into her arms and carried them off down the hallway, tucking them in and placing a light kiss on each of their foreheads. Sasuke immediately snuggled against Naruto, shivering lightly. Sakura smiled and went back down the hall.
"So what did Hokage-sama say?" Kakashi asked. Sakura sighed and sat down.
"She said.. it's troublesome, but we can keep him here. However, you'll have to remain in the apartment until the public is alright with seeing you out and around here." She said, biting her lip. "I'm sorry.. but, you are allowed to stay, and you won't be considered an S-Rank criminal anymore. However, your repentance.. you are to give us all information you can about Akatsuki."
Itachi was silent for a long time.
"I shouldn't stay here. I could be endangering you all--" He began, but Sakura shushed him with a wave of her hand.
"I'll leave it up to you to protect us then. But Sasuke would be heartbroken to see you go, as strange as that seems." She said, her green eyes serious. "You have to give us the information, however.. it's a requirement for you being allowed to stay and no longer being a wanted criminal. Hokage-sama will slowly release the information of your whereabouts to the public, and you should be able to become a villager again in time. For now, Itachi-san, please stay."
Itachi.. san?
The man stared at her for a long time, and opened his mouth to answer.. when a strangled cry erupted from the other room. All three adults were on their feet in an instant.. Sasuke came running into the room, halting as soon as he caught sight of Itachi.. and he fell back, shrinking away.
"You.. you!!" He cried, pointing. "You killed everyone.. my family.. you killed everyone!! Why?!" He demanded, hysterical. Itachi stared, his eyes going wide, and he heard a gasp of shock from Sakura, and noticed Kakashi flinch in surprise.
Sakura moved to reach her child, holding Sasuke tightly.
"Shh, Sasuke.. shh, you don't know what you were talking about.. I'm right here. It was just a dream.." She whispered. Sasuke was shaking so badly..
"He.. I swear.. I felt like.. I knew him really well, and then.. then he killed everyone, and I came back from training and everyone was dead.. why?!" Sasuke sobbed, tears flowing freely from his eyes. Naruto had appeared in the hallway and was watching with wide blue eyes. Kakashi moved to talk to him.
Itachi could only watch in painful silence.
---To Be Continued...
Ahhh.. I'm so sorry about being SO damn slow about updating this. I have tons of excuses, but you probably don't care about any of them.. but I swear, I'll try my best to update sooner than this next time! Gomen nasai-!
--TAB