Hours later Itachi lay still in his bed, staring at the ceiling. When his mother came back with the dumplings he asked for, he pretended to be asleep to avoid any more conversation until he could internalize what had happened and create a plan.

He realized that last night as one soul was ripped away in that battle, another- his- came screaming down to earth to fill the void, on fire and smoldering from the trip, cooling inside the pores and bones and cells until the body filled again with life. Boruto's life extinguished but Itachi's spirit lit the body again. Somehow, with no memory, he inhabited the son of a man he entrusted his will to and the student of his little- now bigger- brother. This couldn't be a coincidence. There was no way the universe would give him a second chance, especially in a fairy tale set up like the one he was living.

The question for Itachi now shifted: it was no longer the question of what had happened but why had it happened. He knew he was given another life in the village but why was he given the second chance? Was he here for something that only he could aid with? He felt the familiar sting of tears brimming over his eyes and made the promise that as long as he was here, he would answer this question. He could use his previous intelligence and wisdom and couple it with whatever this Boruto kid had to achieve something.

...And maybe, just maybe, he could even right some of the wrongs he made his first time around.

While sitting up in bed that evening, eating his dango and staring out at the brightly lit Leaf Village, he created a few self rules.

1. He knew he had to keep quiet so as to not give himself away or draw suspicion to himself: no mention of the past until someone clarifies for him.

2. Jumping off of number one, using this silence to learn as much about Boruto- or rather himself- as possible.

3. Spend as much time with Sasuke as he could; clearly whatever reason he was here for had to do with him, right?

4. Learn who this Uchiha woman was.

5. Or really learn about this new Leaf Village- it had really changed in the years since he left.

5a. Figure out how much time has passed since he died.

6. Get some more dangos.

Now it was past midnight and he couldn't sleep with the buzz of promises that tomorrow could bring. He had so much to do and figure out; so much life to live, puzzles to piece together, battles to fight. Wrapped in the warm covers of a daydream about walking the gleaming village again, he finally fell asleep.

"He may still be sleeping." The next morning Itachi woke again to hushed voices.

"I'll just leave the flowers then and come back later with Sarada."

Itachi's eyes snapped open. An unfamiliar boy and the Uchiha doctor from yesterday were standing at the end of the bed, eyeing him cautiously. The boy placed the flowers on the bedside table and smiled. "You gave us quite a fright!" he exclaimed.

Itachi smiled politely back and tried to think of something to say that didn't involve who they were. "Thank you for the flowers," he landed on.

"Mitsuki."

"Excuse me?"

"My name is Mitsuki," the boy repeated. "We were told you did not have the best memory yesterday, so if you don't remember me, which by the looks of your face you do not, my name is Mitsuki."

"Thanks...Mitsuki." No use hiding it that he didn't know he was.

Mitsuki sat down at the end of his bed and dug into his pocket. He pulled out a picture with four people in it; Itachi only immediately recognized Mitsuki. "Here's our team," he said pointing to each person. "This is Konohamaru sensei and that's Sarada."

"...And that's me," Itachi finished. Itachi realized he never actually looked at his new self in the mirror. It was uncanny to him how much he looked like Naruto.

Mitsuki placed the picture down next to the flowers. "I thought if you were going to be here a while, that maybe you'd want this to look at so you didn't get lonely," he said.

"Thank you." Itachi reached for the picture to look closer at it and instantly felt a ping of recognition. "Oh, wait!" he cried. "I know her! She was there the other night. Sarada." It was the girl- the girl with the sharingan!

"Yeah...she saved you. She and Shikadai." The Nara, whispered a voice in the back of Itachi's mind.

Itachi stared closer and ran a finger over the smiling girl.

"That's my daughter," the doctor piped in.

Itachi looked up. "What?"

"My daughter," she said again.

The gears in Itachi's mind wound quickly. He gaped up at her, confused. "Daughter?" he asked. How old is Sasuke?

"Yes."

This woman was an Uchiha. The girl with the sharingan was her daughter. That meant…

"Wait, are you married to Sasuke?"

The woman threw her head back and laughed. "You remember Sasuke and recognize the Uchiha crest, but you don't remember me or Sarada?" she said. "The mind is a strange thing. Yes, Sasuke and I are married."

Itachi could only stare now as his brain worked quicker to connect the pieces. This woman was married to his brother, which means… His teammate was his brother's child. The girl who saved him was...was his niece.

At once he could feel the familiar sting of tears brimming over his eyes.

He recognized the woman's furrowed expression as the same one she gave him yesterday when he became overwhelmed at realizing what happened to him. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"I...I'm just so happy," he sniffed.

"That we're married?" she asked, amused. No, that Sasuke found redemption.

"That you have each other. Family is really important." Both the doctor and Mitsuki raised an eyebrow at his response and Itachi quickly backtracked. Remember rule number one. Apparently what he said was not typical for Boruto. "I-I realized that because of what happened," he said. "I've been doing a lot of thinking the past two days."

Oh my GOD. He has a NIECE. Sasuke has a WIFE.

Suddenly a new idea popped into his head. He pushed himself on his arms to sit up; he felt a little pain, but bit his tongue to not show it. "Um, question," he began. "Speaking of family… When can I go home?"

Sakura sighed and sat down on the bed on the side opposite of Mitsuki "Well, honestly, it may be awhile. You know your memory may need some time returning and we don't want you re- injuring yourself if you leave too soon; you might overwhelm your mind and body."

Shit. Itachi knew the best way to learn about himself, the possibilities for why he was alive, and finagle his way back into his brother's life was to get out of this hospital. Think, Itachi.

"I'd really like to recover at home. I think my memory will work itself out if I'm able to be around people and not just the random visitor." He gestured to Mitsuki.

"I don't really think that's a possibility right now," she replied. "If you overexert yourself, you'll land yourself right back in the hospital."

"Shouldn't that mean I should go home to learn? Please. I'll refrain from training, I just want to get out of here."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "So impatient. More and more like your dad every day, aren't you."

But Itachi pressed harder; he needed out. "Please. Let me move around," he said. "I can prove to you I'm well enough to go home."

"How?"

An idea popped into his head. "Shuriken. I can show you my brain is well enough if I can hit targets. Please." Buy it...buy it…

Sakura stared at him hard for a few moments before softening her glare. "Okay," she said. "Only because you're so insistent, and only because I don't want to hear your incessant complaining. I'm only humoring you. But if I see any indication that you're not fit enough to leave-"

"-I won't ever ask again and you can keep me for as long as you like. No complaints." He crossed his heart.

Mitsuki snorted. "I'd like to see that." Itachi just grinned.

A few minutes later Itachi was being wheeled to the rooftop. He was sure he still had his old skills, but he also wanted to use this as a way to be sure. What abilities did he still possess and what skill did Boruto have?

As soon as Mitsuki stopped the wheelchair, Itachi tried to stand. Sakura stuck an arm out. "Maybe you should sit-"

"I'm fine," he said and pushed her arm away. In front of him he saw training logs stationed sporadically around the roof as a way to keep patients active if their rehabilitation called for it. Mitsuki dropped a bag of shuriken into his hand and Itachi fingered the sharp edges from the outside. It felt like coming home.

Slowly he took them out one by one. Even in his new body he still had muscle memory and could feel his hands unconsciously moving over them until they were in the right position. Ready. He closed his eyes, wound his arms back, the first time in twenty years, and released. He heard the sharp wizzing of the shuriken and eight thuds, one by one, all at the same moment. Opening his eyes, he saw all targets marked perfectly. Mitsuki and Sakura stood next to him wide eyed.

"I'm going to be honest, I wasn't expecting that," Mitsuki said. "You're good, but I haven't seen that yet from you."

You still got it. He knew he turned his head to stare hungrily up at Sakura for a response. "Soooo…"

"I-"

"Sakura Uchiha."

Before she had a chance to respond, a booming voice interrupted. All three turned their head to see two masked men standing at the roof's doorway. Sakura instantly hurried over without a glance back.

"I wonder what the Anbu is here for," Mitsuki whispered.

They watched as the men spoke in low tones to Sakura for a few seconds; she only nodded along silently.

She returned a moment later and the two men disappeared into the air behind her.

"Is everything okay?" Itachi couldn't stop himself from asking.

"You're free to go," she said.

"What?"

"You're released. You can go home."

Itachi knew he should've been grateful, but for some reason he didn't feel that at all; he had a creeping feeling that his release had less to do with the skills he just displayed and more about the visit from the Anbu.

Looking to dispel his theory, he stared into her face. All he saw mirrored back was worry.