"Alright, so you all know what happened in that clearing…Pein tried to kill Niji and Itachi couldn't get there in time, so I took it upon myself to save my daughter. Pein stabbed me in the heart but he, fortunately, didn't hurt anything vital. I, however, have better aim and killed him within a few seconds. But I wanted to make sure…after all that man had done to my family…I wanted him to pay…and I know that sounds selfish. But…I wasn't in my right mind then. I was nearly out of chakra and my life chakra was sparking up around me…I used Minato's technique…and I teleported myself as far away as I could think of…
"I ended up in a foreign land that I couldn't even understand their language…A kind lady took me in, and slowly taught me her language. I was in a land called…America…I think… She told me how to get home and so I began my journey. I turned into a bounty hunter, in sorts. I ran into a lot of people that seemed to know someone like me…
"Then, I didn't know where I was. All I knew was that I wanted to come home and I wanted to come home, now…I kept imagining what was happening here and I just wanted to come home…" She paused as a few tears fell down her face. Itachi held her closer and kissed her neck. She whimpered at his touch and Itachi looked at her neck and his eyes widened.
"What's this, Eneko?" He asked, suddenly seriously concerned. Sasuke looked over and suddenly, the curse mark placed on his shoulder started throbbing with pain. He winced and put a hand on it, causing Sakura to go over to him. Itachi pulled down the neckline of Eneko's hood and his eyes widened. On her neck was a marking that looked three little wings connecting at a center point.
"It's a curse mark…" Eneko whispered. Sasuke's eyes widened and he stood up. Akari immediately came over to her and looked.
"The curse seal of wings? That's a very rare and very powerful mark… It's more powerful than Sasuke's seal of heaven." She murmured. Eneko pulled her neckline up again and then pulled up the collar of her shirt to cover it.
"It only hurts every once in a while…I'm not inhibited by it or anything, okaa-chan." She smiled. Akari kissed her on the forehead.
"We're just glad to have you back, Eneko." Eneko smiled at her again and Itachi put his head on her shoulder and pulled her closer to him, every action telling everyone that she was his and his alone.
"Anyway…where was I? Right…so I'm there in America and I find out this…prophecy that seems to have to do with Pein…or a man like Pein anyway…and they forced me to tell them all about that sadist…and I did to the best of my abilities…I didn't know what else to do…those people weren't people you would want to hang around. They gave me something to drink and I tested it for poison and didn't find any…but afterwards I started to feel really dizzy. I tried to run away, but I didn't make it in time…
"I woke up…a few days later and this mark was on my neck…a note was lying beside me and I picked it up and I read it. It said something to the extent of 'Thank you for killing the pained one. This is something to remember us by.' I went to the police in America, or at least the first ones that I could find... I told them what all had happened but nobody seemed to believe me. They didn't seem to believe that I could use all my jutsu that I did and so, to prove myself, they made me enter some sort of fighting contest…" She paused and put a hand on her head, suddenly looking much paler than she had moments before. Itachi kept his grip on her, keeping her steady and she smiled slightly at him.
"I'm sorry, everyone…I've just…been on the road for so long…never stopping, always trying to get home…I'm so tired…" She whispered, closing her eyes and leaning against Itachi. Sakura stood and went over to the exhausted woman and waved a hand that was glowing a dull green over her.
"She's all right, everyone, just exhausted." She announced. Itachi picked her up gently and looked over at Niji.
"You, Niji, have a few meetings to go to. I heard that your sensei and teammates were going to be going on a mission for a few days, hm?" He looked at her. Her mouth dropped open and she stared at him.
"But, Daddy! Mom just came home! I don't want to go on some stupid easy B ranked mission! I want to learn more about my mother. You never told me anything about her, Daddy." She glared at him. He glared back.
"March, young lady. You made a commitment when you put on that headband and you're going to uphold it. Uchihas don't go back on promises." Niji's eyes sparked with flames, reminding everyone so much of Eneko when she was angry.
"Oh, really? Uchihas don't go back on promises, hm? What about your promise to always know where mom was? What happened to that one? What happen to never believing the other one would leave you? What happened to those promises, father?" She spat, glaring at him. Itachi glared at her.
"Get. Moving." He growled. She spun on her heel and walked out of the office. Itachi sighed and smiled down at Eneko. "You left me with a second you, Eneko." He murmured to her. Sakura's eyes suddenly widened and she grabbed Hinata's wrist, dragging her off.
"Hinata! The kids!" She called. Hinata's pale eyes then widened and both women teleported away, hurrying to make sure their children all got to school. Naruto and Sasuke both looked at each other with grins and Naruto started filing the papers that were on his desk.
"Itachi." He called to the dark-haired man. "I'll want a personal report on how Eneko is doing when she wakes up. Am I understood?" He asked, his voice serious, but he was smiling. Itachi looked over and nodded.
"Of course, Hokage-sama." Naruto grinned childishly and put his hands on the back of his head.
"You want to know something? I don't think that I ever get tired of hearing that…." He grinned, leaning back in his chair. Itachi and Sasuke both looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Deidara scoffed and Fugaku and Akari sighed. Deidara started moving toward the door.
"Well, that means that Misuto'll be wanting his morning art lessons and battle practice. See ya, yeah." He called, leaving. Fugaku groaned and popped his back.
"Akari, I think it's time that we'd best be getting back home. The hokage has better things to do than deal with a couple of old people like us." He chuckled. She smiled and nodded.
"I think you're right, honey. Bye boys! Itachi, make sure you tell us about Eneko when she wakes up, all right?" She asked. Itachi nodded and Sasuke looked over at her, an odd expression on his face.
"You guys aren't old…" He told them. Fugaku and Akari both just laughed and left the room. Sasuke looked over at Itachi and smiled.
"Guess you're stuck with me today. Naruto-dobe here gave me the day off." He thrust a thumb in Naruto's general direction. Suddenly, his face became serious and he looked at the sleeping woman in Itachi's arms. "What about that curse seal, Itachi? It caused mine to flare up in pain and Orochimaru's been dead for nearly eleven years now. What do you think that means?" Itachi looked down and Eneko's peaceful face and smiled softly.
"Whatever it means, Sasuke, I could care less. I'm just happy that she's home…" He whispered. Sasuke smiled at him and patted him on the shoulder.
"So are we all, Itachi. Your daughter has been the strongest one through all of this. Hey, maybe Eneko can get you to stop being such a lost idiot and get back to being a good father and husband." The younger man teased. Itachi glared at him and sighed.
"That hurts, little brother. Now come on; I've got to get Ene-koi home." He grinned at his younger brother, who grinned back and followed him out of the office. They then traveled in silence for the rest of the way, but unlike the awkward silences that some people shared, this one was comfortable and didn't leave either Uchihas uncomfortable. They soon got to the rebuilt house that the three Uchiha family had once shared. After the fire, it had been a long road to recovery for both Niji and Itachi, but they had survived. And now, Niji's efforts of getting everyone else to believe that Eneko was alive were finally paying off.
Itachi set his beloved down on the bed in his room, knowing that they would be sharing it soon enough anyway. He invited Sasuke to sit and have some tea or the like while Eneko slept. They laughed over some old memory and Sasuke kept teasing Itachi about Eneko when they heard a crash coming from their room. Itachi leapt to his feet and ran into the other room. Eneko was standing up, facing away from him, when he walked in. She turned when she heard him enter and he froze. She looked unconscious but she was standing up. His memory traced back to when she was under mind control from Pein and she looked dead on her feet.
"Get out of my sight." She called, but Itachi couldn't understand a word she was saying. She was speaking in some different language. "Did you not hear me? I said get away while you can. They're after me, always after me. Don't be caught up in their trap as I did. Don't let them catch you like they caught me. Don't let them make you fight." She was calling to him. Sasuke ran in and stared, hearing the foreign language. The glazed look was then gone from her eyes as she actually woke up. She yawned and looked over at the two Uchihas staring at her.
"What? What did I do?" She asked. Sasuke and Itachi both stared at her. She blinked, confused. "Hello? Itachi? Sasuke? Are you two all right? Do I need to get Sakura-chan?" She asked. Itachi hesitantly went over toward her and felt her forehead.
"All right…so you don't have a fever…Sasuke? You live with a medic, what type of sickness would cause spouting out things in unknown languages?" Itachi called back to his younger brother. Eneko smiled softly and pushed his hand away.
"It was English, Itachi. It wasn't just some random language. I have dreams about when I was in America and I've heard it causes adverse affects. In other words, talking in my sleep, walking in my sleep, and the occasional punch or five…" She smiled. Itachi sighed in relief, thinking that she was sick or something of the sort.
"When's Niji coming home?" She asked. Sasuke and Itachi both stared at her. They both shared the same thought. Wasn't Eneko unconscious when Niji was sent away on her mission? She smiled, knowing exactly what they were thinking. "I've learned a few tricks along the way home, boys. I can be unconscious but still be completely aware of what's going on outside of my body. I just can't force myself to wake up sometimes is the only thing…" She narrowed her eyes. Sasuke suddenly grasped his shoulder, grunting with pain.
"Sorry, Sasuke. This stupid thing apparently has affects on your mark as well…" She apologized. Itachi waved it off.
"He's fine. His cherry blossom will kiss it and make it all better later." Sasuke glared at him before the two boys burst into laughter. Eneko smiled.
It's good to be home…at last!