AN: Hello there friends!

So, here's the deal. It is almost August. Here is a glimpse into my life during August: Eat, work, eat, sleep, eat, work, eat, sleep, eat, work, eat, sleep. Do you get it? I work in retail, and it is time for hell month, meaning you shouldn't expect too much out of me for the next month or so. I'm hoping to maybe to a one-shot or two, but honestly, I don't even expect that much out of me. By the time I drag myself home, shower, and have a proper meal, I'm so tired I don't even turn on my television.

So thank you for being patient and understanding, and thank you for reading.

Please review. They make the words melt onto the page. They fuel me, my friends.

Nothing but the Truth

Chapter 19: Finally Home

"For the two of us, home isn't a place. It is a person. And we are finally home."

― Stephanie Perkins, Anna and the French Kiss

They arrived in Konoha, via the hidden route of the training grounds that Sakura had used to sneak in and out of the village, just in time to see Uchiha Sasuke jump on one Haruno Sakura, straddling her waist on the ground and plunging a kunai to her neck.

Well, that was one hell of a welcome.

The duo didn't seem to notice their arrival, though, because they were so persistently wrapped up in their spar. A fury of movements, harsh yet almost majestically graceful, ensued, resulting in Sakura's lithe form launching herself from under Sasuke and throwing a chakra-laden punch towards the jaw of the youngest Uchiha. His stiff, broad shoulders twisted quicker than one would think possible for someone so well built to dodge the hit that could have easily dislocated his jaw. Red, Sharingan eyes emblazoned with silent concentration traced the fluid movements of the woman in front of him. Her fierce sea foam eyes were on him and only him as her petite form launched towards him once again.

Itachi quietly watched the duel unfold and silently appreciated the agile form of his lover and ferocious champion. If it were possible, her body was even more toned and muscled from her months of travelling to and from Suna as well as her ANBU training, causing a bout of appreciation to wash over Itachi for the ANBU Black-Ops program in Konoha. Her shorter-than-usual black shorts accentuated her long, toned legs. The mesh tank top that she wore was riding up, teasing him with a small stretch of her washed stomach. He had to forcibly tear his eyes away from her in order to keep his cold, bland composure, and focus on the small clash going on in front of him.

From what Itachi could tell, it seemed to be a spar judging by the way that none of the other ANBU who were around them was attempting to stop them. Sakura was now dodging, from foot to foot, from Sasuke's katana now. Her short pony tail, holding back her cotton candy tresses, bounced wildly from side to side as she jumped back, avoiding each jab from Sasuke's deadly sword. The battle was vividly intense. Itachi found it impossible to take his eyes away from the vaguely familiar, intense movements of Sakura's thin form, and by contrast, Sasuke's broad, muscled physique.

It had to be a spar, Itachi decided, when he spied the Soutaichou of Konoha's ANBU standing at the edge of the field, his dark eyes watching the two fighting carefully and calling out any flaws in their form.

Fujioka Takeo had been the head captain of the ANBU forces since he was a young man, having been groomed by his father, the former Soutaichou, to take over when he either passed away or retired – the former being the cause in his case. It was in his blood completely since he was bred and raised for the job, which Itachi understood from his own personal experience, and the many years of fighting alongside his comrades had rendered the older male scarred worse than Morino Ibiki, who happened to be one of his closest friends since they had graduated the academy together. Takeo had been the one who had enlisted Itachi into Konoha's elite more than ten years prior, and he had seemed old back then, even though he was no older than 24 at the time.

Now the man seemed even more aged with everything that had happened in the village since Itachi's defection. His grey eyes never held any real light to them, but they seemed even colder, deadened from the horrors of war, fighting, and the loss of his precious comrades. His pale blond hair, so blond it was almost white if Itachi's memory served, was shaved closer to his head so that the color was difficult to discern. His entire continence exuded an air of arrogant, prideful, and powerful ninja warrior. Overall, the man was more physically unapproachable than Itachi remembered, and it took a very intimidating man to render subservience from the elder Uchiha.

Even though they were hidden in the trees, Itachi knew that Takeo had sensed their presence the moment they had approached the training grounds. His cool grey eyes wove through the trees on the edge of training ground, and the slight tilt of his lips upwards in their general direction gave Itachi the confidence to dart out of the trees and land next to his former captain in the blink of an eye. His companions stayed back, waiting in the forest for his signal to come out.

"Uchiha Itachi, never thought I would see you around here again," Takeo greeted quietly, in a gruff, aged tone; his eyes had turned back to the spar going on between Sasuke and Sakura, who had not taken notice to the slight interruption due to their utter concentration on the battle at hand. Sakura had pulled out her tantou, which she didn't use often, and was attacking Sasuke with all the fervor she could muster. The amused lilt to Takeo's explanation was something Itachi didn't expect; it was almost fond, "They won't realize you're here unless you try to attack one of them. Quite a pair, those two."

"Indeed." Itachi agreed quietly.

"It's good to have you back," his former superior commented quietly. "I found out several years ago, just before the Third passed away, but it wasn't my place to tell. He told me that you wanted it kept quiet so I obliged."

Itachi merely inclined his head. Takeo offered no apologies, nor would he, but Itachi didn't need them. They had all been too sorry for too long.

"Now, let's get your little brother and girlfriend to stop rolling around on the ground long enough to notice you're here. I swear those two are worse than Kakashi-san and Gai-san," Takeo muttered, his voice betraying the small amount of indignation and irritation for his two (and although he'd never admit it, favorite) subordinates. Itachi's bland eyes widened momentarily at the comment, his muscles tensing slightly at the remark – how did he know about him and Sakura?

His eyes wandered about the group of ANBU who were training with their captain. Their tense posture told Itachi that they were not comfortable with him being there, which wasn't very surprising, and their masks were now over their faces when they hadn't been previously. However, their ears were precariously tilted in the direction of their head captain as they tried to figure out the soft conversation that was going on between their highest ranking official and a former nukenin.

To answer his unspoken question, Takeo chuckled hoarsely, as if the sound hadn't left his throat for a long time.

"No one puts in as much effort as that little girl for someone who's no one to her. It was just a guess, but you're reaction clinched it for me. Plus, I was surprised when those two had suddenly started spending all of their time together, but there was obviously no romantic connection between them. When the truth came out, it wasn't all that hard to figure out."

Itachi stayed silent, internally contemplating if Sakura had been that obvious about her affections for him, but he silently disregarded the idea. The head of the ANBU forces was just incredibly observant; it was his job, after all.

The Soutachiou's face lifted a bit, contorting the scars he sported over his face, as he watched the last moments of the battle going on between his two subordinates. His next course of unprecedented action was to whistle shrilly, a sharp, practiced, and forceful sound piercing the air, bringing the intense spar to a stop almost immediately. Sasuke's chidori, singing loudly in a bell of chirping birds, dissipated from his launching fist immediately. Sakura, on the other hand, had to completely coagulate her chakra flow from her hands, lest she completely destroy the ground beneath her for no reason, possibly harming her, Sasuke, and their comrades who were in the clearing with them.

"Exercise failed."

Sakura's eyes widened at the domineering words that cut through the air like a knife. Sasuke's face turned form intense to indignant in a mere moment, shooting his red eyes towards his captain. Widening from the sudden appearance of his brother, his formerly penetrating expression softened in a confused tilt of the head.

"If you are in the middle of a battle, no matter how intense," the ANBU captain began explaining. Sakura was now looking at Itachi now, her jade orbs sparkling in a knowing, lovely excitement at the sight of her ever-stoic lover. Her open body language was quickly quelled, though, when Sasuke gave her a not-so-subtle jab to the ribs with his elbow, telling her to sober up before their superior was angered any further. Their captain continued his chastising in his normal, sand-paper scratchy voice, "You need to have your wits about you, or did you not notice the three nukenin waltz into our training session?"

Itachi watched, veiling his amusement at her blatant reaction, as a pink eyebrow rose in shock ande whirled her head around to the forest where Kisame and Deidara had begun to walk with tentative footsteps to the groups of ANBU standing about the secluded training ground. Her face lit up immediately, shining with a cheerful passion that only spoke of pure joy at the current situation, completely forgetting the previous reprimanding she had just received from her rather gruff superior. The guilty look that she had previously been sporting was quickly replaced with a wide, guileless smile that spread across her soft face, brightening it like a mega-watt bulb. If it wouldn't be horribly inappropriate and unprofessional to run up and hug her two good friends and boyfriend, she would, but due to their current company, the young woman refrained.

"We will not make the same mistake twice," Sasuke confirmed. Once again, he was forced to dig his elbow into Sakura, prompting a response out of his distracted friend and teammate.

"Right, won't happen again Soutaichou!" she promised informally. The excitement radiated off her in waves, distracting her from her training session, and forcing her to focus solely on the three recent additions to their ANBU training ground. "May we be dismissed so I can take my charges to the Hokage? Her orders were-"

"I know her orders, Sakura," Takeo replied blandly. Sakura looked ready to apologize for her inadvertent insult, her hands flying up in a submissive, apologetic fashion when the Soutaichou of Konoha's ANBU stopped her. "You and Sasuke need to take them to the Hokage now."

"Yes, Soutaichou," they responded in an awkward harmony of impatient, disgruntled baritone, and a lighthearted, delighted chirp of enthusiasm. Sakura's small, petite arm sheathed her tantou, and in quick, purposeful steps, she began to walk towards town, two stoic Uchiha brothers and two confused nukenin in tow.

Their stroll through the Konoha training grounds was quiet and a bit awkward. Of course, everybody in the village had been told about the massacre. The dark truth of their past was shocking and had rocked the bones and citizens and shinobi alike, making them doubt their government, ideals, and purpose of being in their hidden village in the first place.

Every hidden village had dirty secrets, a dirty history, but nobody wanted to dwell or admit the mistakes that their past generations had made.

So in order to atone for the egregious errors their former leaders had made in judgment, the shinobi of Konoha had arrested, or at least tried to arrest, the perpetrators of this tragic event. The only one who had escaped was Danzou, and he had taken a good amount of his Root forces with him into hiding. Knowing that he was still a threat to Konoha riled Sakura into bouts of, to put it bluntly, volatile temper tantrums that were both slightly amusing, yet completely dangerous at the same time.

However, despite the fact that the people of Konoha now knew that Uchiha Itachi was not completely at fault of the Uchiha massacre, did not mean that the people and shinobi of the hidden village were going to be welcoming. In fact, they were still very wary of the shinobi who had killed of his entire clan over ten years prior. The shinobi of the village had been more understanding than the civilians, of course, because they understood the deep-seated duty and loyalty that being a ninja required.

As the rag-tag, odd looking group of nukenin and Leaf ninjas walked down the path that winded down the forests and clearings that were Konoha's training areas, they were watched closely with a wary resistance by some and an awe of reverence and silent appreciation by others. Since there were so many training grounds in Konoha, and they were purposely taking the walk slow, not wanting to incite any backlash from the shinobi population, it took almost half an hour to reach the town.

By the time they stepped out the fenced in area that was Konoha's training grounds, word had spread that the last, long-lost Uchiha, and his Akatsuki counterparts, had come to the village seeking refuge. Luckily this meant that the Godaime Hokage was waiting for them, arms crossed over her bosom, with an arrogant and slightly pleased smile spreading over her round face.

"Uchiha Itachi," she stated purposefully, "Welcome back."

Sakura beamed harder, if possible, as Itachi bowed slightly to the Godaime Hokage.

"There are things we need to discuss," Itachi stated impassively, his cobalt orbs running over the streets carefully, looking out for any hidden dangers to him or his companions. "Konoha is in danger."

Tsunade nodded her head briefly, understanding flitting across her amber eyes at Itachi's wary look. The things they needed to discuss would need to be private.

"Very well," she replied evenly. "You three come with me. Sakura, Sasuke, go find something else to do."

Sakura tried to interject, protesting being sent away, "But-"

"No."

"Hokage-sama-" Sasuke tried.

"No. I'm sure there is something you two can find to entertain yourselves with while I debrief and assess the situation at hand. Do you understand?" Tsunade asked. Her commanding voice left little room for arguments, so the rosette medic and her ever faithful guard-dog slunk off dejectedly, glancing back every few moments to lock eye contact with Itachi, silently hoping he would interfere on their behalf. He didn't.

The Hokage, along with a slew of ANBU guards, some of which Itachi recognized, others he didn't, walked purposefully down the crowded streets of Konoha's main hub, garnering unabashed stairs from young children to the elderly alike. This would be the scandal of the decade, Itachi's return to Konoha, and the previous scandal involved the legendary Uchiha as well. There was a lingering amount of tension and distrust that came from the stares of the civilians, especially the older ones – the ones that had been told that day, that horrid day ten years ago, that a young, thirteen year old shinobi had been strong enough to completely wipe out one of the most powerful clans in Konoha and his family.

Subconsciously, and not unnoticed by the Hokage, the Uchiha quickened his steps a bit, wishing to be out of the direct line of sight of the public. It would be better to let the news of his return settle in, he decided, before running around freely, eating Ichiraku ramen and going to the market. They needed time. After believing something for so long, it is difficult to dissuade the feelings of contempt and hatred for a person when the truth of their innocence is revealed.

After what felt like eternity, but was really a few minutes, the two nukenin, who had been uncertainly quiet in their stroll in a ninja village, and Itachi, arrived with the Hokage and her guards at the Hokage tower. The building, which was the same as he'd remembered, seemed more foreign to him now than ever. The last time he had been in this building, he had been bowing towards the Third Hokage, begging him to protect his precious little brother from Danzou. The memory brought a horrid feeling of contempt to his stomach, which he pushed down with a bit of effort.

All of the memories that he had here would be within him forever. And, although it would be horribly difficult, he would have to live with them for the rest of his life since he would never allow them to fade – he deserved this fate, at least, if he was now getting a second chance at life here. This was something he was prepared for, but the wave of quiet nausea that washed over him suddenly made him miss a step. Taking in a deep, inaudible breath, he steeled himself mentally. He couldn't become weak now; he had to show everyone that he did belong here, with her, and that he would to everything he could to atone for what he had done, even if it would never be enough.

A quiet squeak brought his attention out of his reverie and to the area around him. Impassive onyx eyes carefully scanned the surroundings, and it was only went he caught a brief flash of pink that had ducked behind a window in the Hokage tower that he realized that Sakura and Sasuke had been following them from the moment they had pretended to slip away. A small smile tugged at his lips for a moment before he carefully blanked his face to his normal impassivity once again.

Perhaps, if he had her, this wouldn't be so bad.

X

He is here.

The happy mantra repeated in her head, over and over, as she rushed through the shadows, Sasuke hot on her trail, across Konoha. From the moment that she had spied her quiet, stoic lover, a flutter of butterflies, manifesting in adrenaline, had spread throughout her body, numbing her to everything that wasn't him.

He is here! He is HERE. HE IS HERE!

They had to reach the Hokage tower before Tsunade and the new visitors reached the building. If they could, then they would be able to find a suitable hiding spot in order to spy on the meeting that they had, admittedly, had no business checking in on.

But in many other ways, it was their business. They had been the two that had started all of this, and they were going to see it through to the end. The silent promise that they had made to each other, all of those months ago, would hold true. Their bond was stronger now, stronger than it had ever been, and Sakura was confident that Sasuke would help her with whatever she asked if it meant brining his brother home, permanently.

They glided effortlessly under the shadows on the rooftops, down the alleyways, and through the less crowded streets of Konoha, keeping their wards in their line of sight the entire time. Finally, they made the last sprint from the smallest shadow, up a drain pipe of the Hokage Tower, so they didn't have to use their chakra and bring attention to themselves, and found an open window. Sakura looked down, viridian eyes shining with curiosity and mischief as she slipped through the window and promptly let out a loud-enough-to-hear-from-the-ground squeal when she lost her balance and fell face first into the small closet that she and Sasuke had been slipping into silently.

She was such a klutz.

Sasuke's slightly aloof, slightly amused gaze said as much when he crossed his broad arms over his muscled chest and raised a questioning brow, but the ends of his thin lips tugged up, telling Sakura he had found the entire scene slightly entertaining. She, in a childish display of annoyance and embarrassment, stuck her small pink tongue out, clenching her eyes shut for a mere moment. When she opened them again, Sasuke was standing a little closer to her than before. A large finger was pressed significantly over his lips, silently ordering the kunoichi in front of him to stay silent.

Sakura strained her ears to listen for signs that the group had entered the building, and she found it. They were walking up the stairs now, if her senses guided her right, and would be in the Hokage's secure office in a matter of moments. Thinking quickly, she pulled Sasuke out of the closet and down a usually private hallway.

In a silent run that only ninja of their caliber could accomplish, they made their way down the hall, around a corner, down a flight of stairs, and into another closet. With Sasuke pressed rather precariously against her in the small broom closet that Sakura had dragged him into, Sakura began to shuffle around, looking for the covered slot that lead to the air duct units that would allow them to sneak within hearing distance of the Hokage's meeting.

Finally, she thought to herself lightly as she unscrewed the small screws with her hands carefully and pulling the large ventilation unit off of the ceiling, hiding the offending piece of metal behind a bucket.

Sasuke raised a perfectly shaped black eyebrow at the woman in front of him. She wanted him to climb up and through that tiny hole? Sakura's impish, knowing smile answered that rather rhetorical question that he had asked himself. Of course she did. Sighing silently in exasperation, Sasuke rolled his eyes rather blatantly, and childishly, at his recently made best friend, but lifted himself easily into the tight space. It was a close call and an uncomfortably snug fit, but he would make it. The genuine amusement radiating off of Sakura at his current predicament was enough to make Sasuke sigh again in annoyance.

Sakura pointed the way through the rather complicated ventilation system, bringing them closer and closer to the secret meeting that was being held behind closed doors. After several twists and corners, and much to Sasuke's chagrin, some wrong turns, they arrived at the large ventilation duct that was sitting underneath the Hokage's office.

The meeting had already begun, and Itachi was already, in his impassive tenor, reciting what had happened after Sakura had destroyed the demonic statue. He was sure, from what Sakura could tell by his unwavering tone, that Pein and Madara would be attacking Konoha in order to seek redemption for their sudden lack of world domination plan. Even Deidara and Kisame, who had been incredibly silent in their discomfort at being back within the walls of a hidden village, had assured the Hokage that there would be an attack. They didn't know when or how, but Pein would seek to destroy the village that had suddenly taken his organization away from him. Madara would be much quieter, they said determinedly, in his revenge, but he would also have a hand in destroying their beautiful village.

Sasuke and Sakura were silent the entire time, quietly exchanging looks at certain times, during certain pieces of conversation. Sasuke's cobalt eyes were emotionless as ever, but Sakura observed the quiet tension in his thick shoulders that spoke miles of his discomfort in having his brother suddenly appear, even if he did know that it would be happening sometime soon.

Clear, emerald eyes softened, capturing Sasuke's attention and both annoying him and subduing his subconscious inner turmoil easily.

Although he would never show it, Sasuke was deeply and profoundly affected by everything that was going on in his life. He wouldn't tell her about it outright, but he trusted Sakura to understand him even when he could not verbalize it completely. She was good like that – studying his body language, his movements, and his usually devoid facial expression – and was always able to seemingly read his mind, putting his inner qualms to rest with a simple gesture or look.

The meeting seemed to be winding to a close when Sakura focused her undivided attention onto the group. Tsunade was barking orders at Shizune, telling her to find Kakashi and Morino Ibiki so she could consult with them before making any decisions and giving them a specific time to be in her office in the morning.

"And tell that Hatake that if he is more than five minutes late, I'm demoting him to chunin and burning that damned porn of his!"

Sakura, through the cracks in the grates that lead to the meeting chambers, could see how tense Itachi seemed to be. He was obviously still fairly uncomfortable being back. All of the memories from the past, flooding him in a matter of hours, was affecting him much more than he was letting on. Sakura could tell. The way the lines that ran down his face were dragged down a little further from the small frown that creased his aristocratic, stoic features. His shoulders held a tenseness that was unmistakable to those who were well versed in his body language. And she couldn't even see his whole face – only his profile from her vantage point. Her heart went out to him, mourning in subtle guilt; she was the reason why he was here, after all. It was her fault he was undergoing so much emotional and mental distress.

Sakura sighed lightly, cradling her face in her hands the best she could manage in the tight space her and Sasuke were still lodged into. After a moment of pitying herself and her lover, she took a look at the other two friends that had accompanied Itachi to Konoha in search for clemency.

Even Deidara and Kisame were relaxing a little, she realized; their shoulders falling a bit, their fingers not as tensed, ready to strike if need be. The Godaime seemed to have done a wonderful job in pacifying the two paranoid missing-nins. That was until she addressed them.

"Alright, as for you two," she barked rather unceremoniously. Instantly, Deidara's hands flexed and Kisame's shoulders straightened and tensed. "I've spoken with the two Kages of your individual villages, and both of them have agreed to let you stay here without repercussion, meaning them hunting you down within our walls, given that you do not step foot within your respective countries ever again. Additionally, you will have to sign blood oaths, which will kill you if you break them, stating you will never purposefully or intentionally bring harm to Konoha or Fire Country. A treaty of this type between nations has never been attempted before, and to be honest, I'm surprised it worked. If I found out one of my missing-nin was in Earth Country or Water Country, I'd be going after them with everything I had."

Her speech ended rather abruptly as she began to shuffle through a drawer, pulling out two large scrolls as she did so. Sakura's vision was blurred from the grate, but she gathered that her shishou was pulling out the scrolls for the loyalty jutsu. Straining her viridian eyes a bit, Sakura was able to discern the swirling kanji of a sealing scroll; it would seal their blood and tie them to the oath that they pledged here forever.

"Now, Sharky and Pyro, do you agree to these terms?" Tsunade finally asked amusedly. Both Kisame and Deidara had their backs facing Sakura, so she could only imagine what their faces were like at the nick-names that her shishou had so formally bestowed upon them. Kisame would undoubtedly scowl for a minute, bearing his sharp teeth, but then he would lighten his face into a pointy-toothed grin at the good, but not so original, joke. Deidara, on the other hand, would yell at her and call her some sort of fowl name.

However, they were in a very contentious situation as it was, and to their eternal credit, the two nukenin stayed quiet, but they agreed to the terms. The blood sealing ritual was quick and quite boring to listen to. Judging by the tension that was slowly creeping into Sasuke's shoulders, as he pressed against her side in the air duct, he was beginning to become restless and impatient with the entire meeting. Sakura shifted a bit, catching his attention, and planted him with a silent plea for patience that would hopefully pacify her brooding friend.

He just rolled his eyes and shifted again, making himself more comfortable and pushing Sakura further to the side in the process, squishing her worse than before.

Jerk.

"Now, Deidara-san, would you please do me a favor?" Tsunade suddenly asked once the oath ceremony was completed; however, her tone was too sickly-sweet – there was something off about it that caught Sakura's attention, tearing her attention away from pinching Sasuke, her current plan of attack to get her more space, and back to the meeting.

"Hokage-sama," Deidara replied evenly, but Sakura didn't miss the slight undertone of sarcasm that he spewed with the honored phrase.

"The tower has been having some pest control problems. They like to hang out in the air vents. Could you create some small explosive bugs and send them into the vents? I think it would take care of the problem," Tsunade asked nicely, folding her fingers in front of her face with a glowing look of malicious amusement in her honey colored depths.

"Uh," Deidara replied dumbly even though he was already molding the chakra to do so, "Sure."

Sakura and Sasuke stared in horror as hundreds of tiny insect sized pieces of clay began to fall from Deidara's hands and scuttled their way towards the air vents. Sakura began to push herself back to get out the vents while Sasuke was turning himself so he could escape.

"Deidara," Itachi finally intervened sternly. "That is hardly necessary, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade smirked at the man in front of her. His onyx eyes were watching her carefully, calculating her reaction to his interference. However, Deidara's bugs stopped, a puzzled look plastered on the blonde's face.

"Well," Tsunade finally conceded, "I'm glad that her loyalty to you is requited."

"It is," Itachi answered both slowly and meaningfully. There was a certain level of understanding exchanging between the two that Kisame and Deidara did not understand. They were speaking in some sort of layered code, only understanding what the other was meaning and doing. And for outsiders who were fairly new and uncomfortable being here, they were being left in the dark completely.

"Huh?" Kisame finally interrupted, asking what the conversation was about. Clearly, he and Deidara hadn't been let in on the fun, and now he wanted to know why his fellow former Akatsuki member couldn't blow up the air vents. In response, Itachi walked over to the air vents and snapped the grated piece of metal open, revealing Sasuke's and Sakura's guilty faces. Kisame sputtered in surprise, Deidara's reaction mimicking his, but he quickly understood what had happened and laughed heartily. "Hey there, kid!"

"Hey, Kisame!" Sakura greeted rather cheerfully. "You want to help us out of here?"

Kisame walked over as he chortled laughter at their situation, his black, beady eyes glowing with delight. Grabbing Sakura by the shoulders, he hoisted the thin kunoichi out of the small duct with little effort; however, Sakura wasn't steady on her feet, so she promptly tripped and stumbled once Kisame had set her down. Itachi's hand was there though, steadying her by crutching her forearm.

"Thanks," she muttered while dusting off her shirt and shorts. Sasuke was able to pull himself from the duct now that Sakura had been removed. Before he could insult Sakura's annoying, stupid idea of hiding in the air vents where they had been sensed anyway, Tsunade interrupted.

"Uchiha Sasuke," she barked in a commanding voice. Sasuke turned and set her with a well-timed glower. If she had known they were there the entire time, she could have at least called them out on it in the beginning so he didn't have to lay/squat in the small, enclosed space for the better part of an hour with Sakura breathing on his neck. Tsunade just quirked a brow at him, as if daring him to complain. "You will be taking the two nukenin to your new compound and guard them there. They are not to leave without you, me, Sakura, or Kakashi. Is that understood?"

That was fantastic – give him unwanted house guests that he had to babysit most of the time. Really, the old woman was getting on his nerves. He wasn't sure if he was more afraid or excited for the day that Naruto became Hokage. Gritting his teeth so hard that it was audible, Sasuke muttered petulantly, "Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Good. Sakura, I'm assuming Itachi-san will be staying with you?" Tsunade asked mirthfully, her eyes colored with a fine-tuned humor.

"Yes, Hokage-sama!" Sakura replied cheerfully. She turned to Itachi, though, and gave him a strange look. "If you want to, that is. I'd understand if you want to stay with Sasuke, though."

Itachi regarded her for a moment. Staring at the beautiful, fierce, currently dusty woman in front of him, he could only watch at her wordlessly. She had opened up her heart, her home, and her life to him, and now she was giving him some other option that he hadn't even really considered. His planning in coming here had been both short and relatively impulsive. It was a small window – a window at happiness and freedom – and he had grasped it with little to no thought. This had been one of the very few impulsive moves he had ever made in his life, but it had just seemed right. Why?

Because of her.

"Your home will be fine," he finally replied easily. To anyone else, it would have sounded like an unimpressed notion, but coming from him, it meant a lot. Being close to Itachi meant that one had to understand each nuance that the unflappable man portrayed, and this was his way of telling her that he wanted to be with her – not anybody else. So her face brightened in excitement.

"Alright!" she replied cheerfully, teetering from the balls to the heels of her feet in suppressed excitement.

"Sakura," Tsunade interrupted. "You will come here tomorrow morning. We will need to make a plan for if the village is attacked, and I want you here."

Sakura's eyes went wide. She had never, ever been invited to an advisors meeting outside of small meetings about the hospital.

"Yes, shishou. I would be honored," she responded dutifully.

"No, Sakura," Tsunade said, waving the group out of her office as she pulled a bottle of sake from her drawer. "You've earned it."

The trip back to her small, one bedroom apartment should have been shorter, but they stopped by the Uchiha compound to drop of Sasuke, Kisame, and Deidara. The two missing-nin had already caught onto annoying Sasuke – dubbing him several inappropriate and feminine nick-names by the end of their journey. Princess Sas-cakes was the personal favorite of the group, much to Sasuke's chagrin. When they reached the newly minted gates, they said their goodbyes. Although it was a new place, the death having been wiped from the walls, Itachi was clearly uncomfortable being around the domicile where he had murdered his entire family save his younger brother.

The villagers watched them all with a guarded curiosity, clearly surprised by the sudden arrival of three missing ninjas, one of which hailing from their own home. Sakura ignored the stares and the whispers, and instead, took to chatting happily next to Itachi who just listened to her talk.

So, in a roundabout way, they made their way to Sakura's small home. He didn't speak, but Sakura never expected him to. He was just Itachi, and he was quiet, but he was hers, and most importantly, he was here.

The key slid into the lock easily as she let them both in. The moment the door closed behind her, Sakura was whipped around by Itachi who grabbed her head in his two hands before leaning down and placing a hard kiss to her mouth. Sakura smiled hazily when he finally took his soft lips off her own.

"I'm glad you're here," Sakura said breathlessly, still recovering from the kiss that she had just received.

Itachi just watched her for a while again before leaning down and kissing her more chastely on the lips. Finally, he conceded, "It's good to be here," he whispered into her lips, reveling in her warmth.

"It's good to be home."

AN: There we go. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.

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