AN: Finally, I was able to update. Thanks to all my reviewers. I love you all. Too busy right now. Thanks to my beta, sweetmaiden. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Chapter 13

Encounters: Past Meets Present

Was it Fear? Happiness? Anxiousness? Maybe Doubt? He couldn't tell. He was feeling a sudden surge of different emotions all at once. He prepared himself for this but he was still caught a bit off guard upon realizing where he was. He was sure he was at the forest of Konoha. So this is how that place looked five years ago. Nothing much has been changed. If he hadn't known that Tsunade actually used the jutsu on him, he would think that he was still in the present year.

Slowly, he stood up, his feet a little wobbly. He could hear the soft sound of kunais hitting the tress not that far from where he stood. 'Some shinobis must be training' he thought as he made his way towards the source of the sounds.

The sounds were getting louder. He was only a few meters away when he felt a kunai going in his direction. With his quick reflexes, he was able to bend his knee, effectively dodging the kunai that was supposed to come in contact with his head.

"Whoever you are, show yourself" he heard an oddly familiar voice said from the trees in front of him. He must be one of the shinobis who were training and he must have mistaken him as an enemy because of the kunai he threw in his direction. He could tell that the person was a very skilled ninja for he could already sense his chakra even if he was still far from them. Come to think of it, he had a good aim too.

"Itachi, don't be too harsh. Maybe the person is just one of the citizens of the village or probably one of your fan girls," Shisui teased as he looked at the stoic face of his friend.

Sasuke froze upon hearing the name. His hands unconsciously balled into fists. The person who killed all the members of the Uchiha clan was there a few meters away from him, hidden by a couple of trees. He suppressed the urge to continue walking ahead to see him and beat him to a bloody pulp. He should remain calm as best as he could and observed what would happen next.

"You could never be too sure, Shisui. The person could be a spy.

"Whomever you are, come out and show yourself" he looked at the trees as if he was talking to them.

Shisui? The name was familiar to him. He remembered now. He was Itachi's friend from the Uchiha clan right? It was believed that Itachi killed him a day before the Uchiha clan massacre.

He cursed himself for not being careful. He should have hid his chakra. But still, he knew that Itachi would still be able to sense him even if he did. He was a prodigy after all. He decided that it was best not to escape from them. If he did, they would think he's an enemy who was trying to flee.

He stood up and walked closer to them. The two watched as a figure emerged from the trees.

"Who are you?" It was Itachi who asked him.

Sasuke looked at his brother. The person he wanted so much to kill. All the painful memories came rushing back to his mind as if they were happening right in front of him:

the blood

the people dying

Save yourself

Run and cling to life

Foolish little brother……….

However, all that seemed to vanish when he looked straight in his brother's eyes. He couldn't explain why but he couldn't feel any killing intent in his eyes. Only emptiness

'This is crap' he thought. Itachi had always been their father's favorite son. Everybody liked him because he's strong and powerful. He couldn't possibly feel empty. Could he?

"I guess you're not an enemy. After all, you are wearing the Konoha forehead protector, I apologize," Sasuke heard him say before Itachi turned his back on him and started to walk away as if nothing happened.

"Where are you going? I thought you need to attend your first ANBU meeting today," Shisui said, trailing after Itachi and leaving Sasuke alone.

"Screw the meeting," Sasuke could hear his brother's voice fading.

'What was that?' he asked himself. He still couldn't accept the fact that he just saw his brother but didn't even make any attempt to fight him.

He knew why but didn't want to admit it.

He still couldn't bring himself to hate his brother despite what he did.

And, with Itachi's twelve years old self, he couldn't see the image of a murderer but rather the image of the brother he had always trusted as a child.

-

Sakura heard Mikoto humming a tune when she entered the kitchen. She seemed to be in a good mood that morning.

"Ohayou Sakura-chan," She greeted her as she came in. "Sit down. I've got something for you,"

Sakura sat down on one of the chairs just like what Mikoto said and waited. She saw her working on something but didn't know what it was.

"Sorry for the wait. Here it is. I baked a strawberry cake for you," she said happily as she set down the cake on the table right in front of her and got a knife.

"Here. Let me slice it for you," Mikoto then started slicing the round strawberry cake into eight parts and gave a slice to Sakura.

"Er….is there an occasion, Mikoto-san?" she asked.

"No. Sakura-chan. I just wanted to bake you a cake. That's all." Mikoto sat across her and smiled. "Don't be shy. Eat it. I made it just for you. Itachi and Sasuke do not like sweets."

"But Why?" she asked.

"I just want to," she was still smiling at her.

"Thanks," Sakura muttered before getting a fork and eating a bit of the cake.

"How's the taste?" she looked at her expectantly, waiting for the answer.

"You're good at baking Mikoto-san. This cake tastes really good," Sakura said as she continued eating.

She watched her while she was eating and chuckled. She really looked cute and perfect for her older son, Itachi.

"Did I miss something?" they both tilted their head and saw Itachi leaning on the kitchen wall, smirking.

"Oh nothing much. I just baked a cake for my future daughter-in-law,"

Sakura nearly choked on the food.

Itachi remained impassive as ever but Mikoto knew him better to know what he really felt. After all, she was still his mother.

"Eh, Did I say something wrong?" she asked in the most innocent voice she could muster. They were both giving her weird looks and this made her uncomfortable.

"I remembered something. I still have to go to the market to buy something for dinner later." Mikoto said as she stood up.

"Sakura, don't be shy. You could eat all of that. After all, I baked it just for you" she said before going out of the house, leaving Itachi and her alone…………….again.

What they don't know was that, Mikoto just wanted them to have some time alone together.

There was an uncomfortable silence that followed. Itachi was still leaning on the kitchen wall and Sakura was still there. She needed to start a conversation or else she'd go crazy. She hated the uncomfortable silence that's always present whenever he's with her.

"Itachi-kun, you want some?" she said as she offered him the cake, totally forgetting that he hated sweets because of too much nervousness.

"Didn't kaa-san told you that I don't like sweets?" he asked.

She flushed from embarrassment. "Gomen. I forgot," she said as she resumed eating. She could feel him staring at her. How he wish he wouldn't look at her like that. It just made her even more nervous.

Then, he felt him walk toward her and sat across her, staring at her the whole time. She felt heat rise to her cheeks. She became conscious of every movement she made. She couldn't take it anymore.

"Itachi-kun, quit staring. You're making me nervous," she bluntly said as she forced herself to meet those beautiful onyx eyes.

"Gomen. You have a bit of cake on the right side of your lips." He said as he chuckled a bit. In one swift motion, he was beside her and before she knew it, he had already bent down to lick the piece of icing that was just beside her lips.

"Tastes good," he was smirking…..again.

Her cheeks turned beet red. He almost kissed her on the lips. What was he thinking anyway? And damn, he was so fast she didn't even felt him move.

"Hey! I thought you don't like sweets," she pouted which only served to amuse him more

"Where did you get the idea that I was taking about the cake? Huh?" his tone was teasing.

She couldn't think of any reply

-

It's a good thing he decided to change his shirt before he got here. He knew for sure that the people in the village would be surprised when they see him wearing a shirt bearing the symbol of the strongest clan in Konoha and they didn't have any idea who he was.

He stopped in his tracks when he reached the gate of the Uchiha compound. There were houses in front and all of those belonged to some of the clan members and clan servants. That's how rich and influential their clan was until Itachi destroyed everything.

Power, prestige and wealth…all gone with just the blink of an eye

What was he doing here again? Oh he's just doing what the Hokage ordered him to do. He was supposed to look for his teammate right?

And Tsunade told him that there's a possibility that she's staying at the Uchiha mansion. Even if she weren't, he would still go here. Seeing your love ones alive again right in front your eyes was an opportunity he never wanted to miss. Now, what should he do in order to get closer to them? As far as he could remember, no one was allowed to go in their mansion except for the guests, members of the Konoha police force, some trusted people, and the servants. Outsiders were not given the chance to enter the main house unless the head of the can told so.

He could only think of two possible options. It is either he joins the Konoha police force, or worse, apply for a job as servant for the clan. Well, if he joins the police force, he would have the chance to enter but only when he has some business with the clan's leader. It would not guarantee that he could go to the house nay time he wanted.

He had no choice. He had to swallow his pride and do what he needed to do. He gave his word to the Hokage that he would do this and an Uchiha never backs on his word.

Finally coming up with a decision, he went inside the compound. He remembered that his father appointed a person in-charge for the recruitment of servants. He did this because the clan was so popular and powerful that many people considered serving the clan as servants, an honor.

He was passing by different houses and different persons who continued minding their own business. They didn't seem to notice he was there.

He just needed to find the person who's in charge of the servants and get this part over with.

He continued to walk and felt an odd feeling of anticipation when he saw their house. He wondered who was in there at this moment. The temptation to go inside there was really strong. But, as always, he had to suppress the longing and its becoming annoying.

That's the exact time when he noticed a woman with long straight hair went out of the house. She was smiling.

Sasuke looked at the woman and almost felt his world stopped. Those eyes, face and smile, there was no mistaking that the woman was definitely his mother. Before he could stop himself, he had blurted out the first word that popped in his head.

"kaa-san?"

The said woman, upon hearing that, looked at him with confused eyes. For a moment, Sasuke just stood there, unable to say anything.

"Are you talking to me?" she asked, snapping him out of his daze.

"N..no" he couldn't believe he was stuttering right in front his own mother.

"Why are you here? Are you one of Itachi's friends?" she asked, even though she knew that Shisui was her older son's only friend.

It made his heart ache to know that his own mother didn't recognize him but he just had to get over it. It was five years ago, he reminded himself. It would be near to impossible for her to know who he was.

"No. I'm one of those people who wanted to apply as servants," he replied.

She nodded her head in understanding. "I see you're one of them. Just go straight and turn right at the corner. The first house you'll see is the office of the person whose in-charge of recruiting the servants," she explained.

He politely bowed his head, "Thank you,"

"No problem. You know what? You look a lot like my son, Itachi,"

He gave her a surprised look.