"So, what will you do now, avenger?" She asked him sternly. His head was down, it was hard to know what he was thinking. He remained silent.
"That's... a lot to take in." Sakura looked at Sasuke, she was worried about how he would take it.
"So." He finally spoke. "You're the one that killed them? My own sister?" His Sharingan was readied.
"Yes." As she said that, everyone thought he was going to attack him.
"But it's because of you two that I'm alive." They all relaxed slightly.
"Now that we've cleared that up, you can come back to the village, Sasuke!"
"Naruto, shut up!" Sakura hit him over the head. "You're such an idiot."
"No he's right." Sasuke looked it to face Saori. "I've wasted years of my life filled with hatred for my own brother, abandoning my friends and for what? For a reason that doesn't even exist."
"Not quite, I mean yes he did hell kill our clan but as I said, it was for good reasons. I won't lie, I would have done the same in his position." Itachi gave Saori a gentle 'shut up' whack to the back of her head. Sasuke moved towards her. To everyone's surprise, he hugged her.
"Thank you." He whispered softly.
"Okay... alright you mush, that's enough." She wriggled free and brushed off her clothes.
"Itachi, I'm sorry." Sasuke turned to his brother.
"Don't be. I was the one who told you it was all me and in order to make you stronger. That is partially true. I made you forget about Saori. I thought that if you could hate me enough, it would drive you to become strong enough to kill me, and so I could be punished for what I have done. I made you forget about her so that you wouldn't have any distractions, just one sole purpose; to end my life."
"Basically, Itachi is a drama queen." He narrowed his eyes at her as she said that. "And you're an asshole."
"How am I the asshole here, I was lied to most of my life!"
"And I'm a freak with a demon in me." She looked down in sadness, but when she looked back up she was smiling. "We're quite a bunch, aren't we!" She laughed. Everyone just nervously laughed along with her. "But before you can come back to the village, we need to find a way to have you pardoned for abandoning it in the first place. Same with you Itachi. I don't think I've fully got you off the hook just yet.
"I'm prepared to take whatever punishment lies ahead." Itachi said flatly.
"Told you guys he's a drama queen!" She laughed, he responded with another gentle whack to the back of the head.
"But why did you hide your identity this whole time?"
"Naruto! Haven't you been listening at all?" Sakura was getting annoyed at him.
"Partly because if the village knew who I was, they'd probably go back to treating me like they did as a child. Partly because I promised Itachi that I wouldn't make Sasuke remember before he was ready. Partly because... if people knew I was an Uchiha... everything would be different. I didn't want to live in the shadow of our family's name. Sasuke, you remember at the chunin exams three years ago, everyone came mostly to see your fight, because everyone wanted to see the 'Uchiha kid' fight. That's all it was. No one ever actually called you by your name... the way I saw it, you were just something for the village to show off, and I didn't want that to be me. Don't you see, if people had known I was an Uchiha, all my accomplishments wouldn't be as acknowledged or celebrated."
"Howcome?" Naruto asked.
"Okay, put it this way, an average ninja saves the village, they're a hero, an Uchiha saves the village and they're just doing what they were born to do. It's nothing special..."
"You're wrong."
"What?"
"You're wrong about it all. Yes, because you're an Uchiha people have higher expectations of you, but it doesn't mean that your accomplishments aren't acknowledged. Uchiha or not, you've done things no one our age would even think of pulling off. You're the only genin to have completed so many S class missions, especially at your age." Naruto assured her.
"Yeah, Uchiha or not, the things you've done, are amazing." Sakura added.
"It was all you, not your family name."
"People wanted to see your fight too." Sasuke butted in.
"Hey yeah, that's right!" Sakura said excitedly.
"Everyone was talking about how they were looking forward to Saori fighting before they even talked about me."
"But ... now they know I'm an Uchiha..."
"Nothings gonna change, believe it!" Naruto gave her a thumbs up and a big dumb smile.
"You guys... are the best!" She started crying happy tears. She poked Sasuke on the forehead. "And since when did you know how to be nice?"
"What do you mean?! I can be nice!" He frowned so much a couple of wrinkles appeared.
"Nah!" She was still crying happy tears, with a giggle thrown in between.
"Saori, stop winding him up." Itachi poked her forehead.
"I can defend myself, Itachi." He poked Itachi.
And thus the forehead poking war broke out between the three of them. Everyone burst out laughing and Saori started crying even more.
"Stop crying before you flood the village!" Sasuke teased. "So uncool."
"I'm sorry, I'm just so happy, you don't know how long I dreamed of this, the three of us... a family again..." Itachi and Sasuke looked at each other and smiled. Itachi pulled his younger siblings in for a hug.
"So, you going to tell Sasuke about your boyfriend, Saori?" Itachi asked her, his grip on her tightening slightly. Her face was like a deer in headlights. They all laughed again. "I'm just messing."
"Alright, Saori! What's the plan?"
"Well, we know what the Akatsuki want."
"And what do they want?"
"They want, the Jinchuriki. They already got Gaara... so they now possess Shukaku."
"It's got a name?" Naruto asked.
"All the tailed beasts have names, Naruto." Her tone was exasperated. "Jeez, don't you know anything?"
"What are they all called?"
"We'll get into that another time, because I have a plan."
"Which is?"
"They want the jinchuriki? Let's give them what they want."