Song of a Cherry Blossom
by Diana-san

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 27

The next day, they two of them woke up to a knock at the door. It was a bit past noon and Sakura slowly opened her eyes as she blinked at the sunlight that was filtering through her blinds. She suddenly realized what position she was in when she glanced up to see Sasuke sleeping soundly with his chin resting on top of her head. Her face turned pink as the knocking on the door continued. Slowly, she slithered away from Sasuke's grasp as she crawled over him to get off the bed. Sasuke felt the movement and opened his eyes slowly as he groggily woke up.

She opened the door, hoping to see Sai or Naruto with good news, but was surprised when it was someone else.

He stared back at her as Sasuke came up from behind Sakura.

"Who is it?" Sasuke yawned.

"Good afternoon," the man responded as his dark onyx eyes flicker with recognition at the boy.

Sasuke froze as he stared back at the man. "Itachi?!"

Sakura glanced back and forth between the two. There was no mistaking the similarities between the two. They looked exactly like brothers with their onyx eyes and jet-black hair. The only really stark difference was their height differences and the fact that Itachi had pronounced tear-troughs beneath his eyes. He looked exactly like the picture she found of him in Sasuke's room albeit a few years older now.

"May I come in?" Itachi asked.

"No!" Sasuke stated as he held out his hand to block Itachi from entering. "Why are you here? You left the family long ago. You have no right to be here."

"It's better if we talk inside. Sai will be here shortly."

Sasuke looked surprised. "Sai?"

"Yes, he told you I would come to explain everything right?"

"He didn't say it was you," Sasuke muttered.

Sasuke stepped back reluctantly to let Itachi inside.

"You spent the night here?" Itachi asked.

Both Sakura and Sasuke turned red as they said nothing.

"Never mind," Itachi said as he sat down on a kitchen chair.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked as he crossed his arms.

"You two should sit. It's a long story," Itachi said as he motioned to the chairs next to him. They both sat down as Sakura gazed nervously at Sasuke before looking back at Itachi.

Itachi cleared his throat as he glanced over at Sasuke.

"Sasuke, I'm sorry."

Sasuke was taken aback by the apology. "Sorry doesn't take away everything you did to our family."

"I know. And I'm sorry for that as well. But I had no choice. I loved her you see. Your sister-in-law. As much as you probably love this girl in front of you." Itachi turned to look at Sakura who only faintly blushed as she glanced down at her hands.

Sasuke glared at the table. "Still, you didn't have to leave us. Father and Mother would have understood if you gave them some time."

"Would they?"

Sasuke thought for a moment but sighed as he replied. "Maybe not."

Itachi smiled. "Mother may have. I always believed she wanted the best for the both of us. But Father is a different story. Uchiha Corporation was everything to him. Sometimes, I think the company was both a blessing and a curse. It provided our family with enormous riches but left us greedy for power."

Itachi turned to Sakura. "You met Obito, right?"

Sakura nodded. "Y-yes, last night."

"Obito?" Sasuke asked. "You didn't say anything about meeting anyone!"

"Sorry, he said it was better not to say anything," Sakura apologized. "I also didn't want to worry you any more than you already were. He didn't say much to me anyways to begin with."

"Uchiha Obito is a distant relative of ours. He is a very reclusive man and built a small empire himself of companies and businesses. It's unknown actually how much he acquired since many of the companies were never shown to be connected in any one way. His empire may well surpass the Uchiha Corporation in strength and mass," Itachi began to explain.

"When I left the family five years ago, I was struggling to find a way to support me and my wife. Obito found me and came to me with a proposition. He was going to help me build up my own company and expand enough to be able to stand on its own as a top company."

"Why would he do that?" Sasuke asked.

"I wonder that myself. Whether I could trust him or not. But he was true to his word and did help me get back on my feet. I came to realize what his vision was over time. In time, I started and raised my company to become what it is today. Perhaps you heard of it? Sharingan Inc."

"Sharingan?" Sasuke echoed. "That was you?!"

"Ah, we recently have acquired enough resources to become one of the top businesses in the nation. Though a lot of it is thanks to Obito's contribution. We're not as influential as Uchiha Corp. or the Tojo family but I think we are getting there. Obito called me last night and told me that he would pass over his shares to me today."

Itachi closed his eyes. "With that, I would like to be able to merge Sharingan Inc. with Uchiha Corp. I spent these past five years hoping that I could be able to save you one day. From being swept into an arranged marriage like I was. That if I had enough strength, I could step in as a financial backing so that you can have the life you desire. With the one that you desire."

Sasuke was speechless as he looked at his brother.

"W-why would Obito help you?" Sasuke asked.

"Obito was a simple man. He only wanted one thing. That was for the Uchiha name not to be feared for its power of strength but instead, to be recognized as a symbol of love. You see how our family has turned out over the years. Relatives would fight over each other over company matters. There was a lot of distrust and hatred as the power struggle went on and on through the decades. Our father was no different. He was sucked into this curse of hatred as well. He strived for power and I couldn't bear to watch it. Obito hoped that a new leader will be able to change the course of the company over time."

Itachi took out his phone. "I kept in contact with Sai since I left. He kept tabs on you Sasuke, and filled me in with the details of your life."

Itachi smiled as he turned to Sakura. "When I heard about Sakura-san, I wondered if Sasuke was similar to me as well and would choose love over power."

"How come you never mentioned any of this to Sasuke?" Sakura asked.

"Obito told me that his one condition was that Sasuke had to decide things on his own terms. If Sasuke really did possess the ability to choose love over power, then Obito will agree to help the Uchiha family. After all, he didn't want the successor to be just another power hungry relative."

A knock came at the door.

Sakura and Sasuke both glanced up with a startled expression. "It must be Sai," Itachi murmured as Sakura got up to answer the door. It was Sai indeed as Sai strolled in with a smile on his face.

"You knew everything!" Sakura blurted out.

"Woah, calm down," Sai replied. "I didn't know everything. I was only filled in bits and pieces and finally learned about everything just last night."

Itachi smiled. "I tried to keep Sai in the dark as well. I was worried that he would try too hard to push Sasuke. But in the end Sasuke chose Sakura-san over the company."

"I really was beginning to worry when it seemed as if Sasuke was going to go through with the wedding and Sakura said she was going to take Danzo's offer," Sai remarked.

Sakura sat back down on her chair. This was a lot of information to take in. "Somehow I feel like I've been manipulated."

"No, no. You two fell in love on your own. And you finally came to realize that you two belonged together," Sai assured her.

"But, if you hadn't told Sasuke about my plans… he wouldn't have left the wedding," Sakura retorted.

"No, I wouldn't have gone through with the wedding," Sasuke spoke up. He sighed. "I was already actually going to leave when I realized what I was doing. When Sai caught me escaping through the window, he told me about you and then helped me escape."

Sasuke glared at Sai. "Although, something didn't add up. Why would you cause a scandal with Sakura?"

Sai smiled. "Well, the scandal was a plan I created. I fed that plan to Danzo to make it seem as if I wanted to help promote the movie but in truth, I wanted to reveal a fake relationship in order to get you to admit to your feelings. It's so hard when you're so stubborn." Sai sighed as he shook his head at Sasuke. "Honestly, how hard is it for you to admit your feelings?"

Sakura's mouth dropped open. "What if it didn't work?"

"But it did. Although a bit too well. Didn't think Sasuke would announce it to the world by doing it so publicly in front of cameras," Sai said with a smirk.

Sasuke said nothing as he glowered in his seat. "Manipulative," he muttered.

"Wait, if Obito is going to give up his company to you, what will he do afterwards?" Sakura asked as she turned to Itachi.

"He plans to seclude himself in the countryside and live a quiet life. I think he's done with the business world. His only other request after I take over is that the Uchiha family make an annual contribution to the Rin Foundation in memory of his wife."

Sakura nodded as she smiled. "He really does think of her."

"Sasuke," Itachi said as he turned to his younger brother. "Do you forgive me after all these years?"

Sasuke said nothing as he looks away. "Does this mean you will be coming home?" he asked.

Itachi holds out his hand. "As president of Sharingan Inc., I extend my invitation to the Uchiha heir for a merge with Uchiha Corporation."

Glancing at the hand in front of him, Sasuke slowly reached out to shake it. Itachi smiled as he proceeded to poke two fingers at Sasuke's forehead.

"Merge complete."

"Ow!" Sasuke cried out as he rubbed his forehead.

"Let's go home, shall we?" Itachi stated as he stood up.

Sakura and Sasuke both stood up as well. A loud growl erupted from their stomachs as the two lovers clutched their stomach in embarrassment. They hadn't eaten anything the whole day.

Itachi chuckled. "Oh perhaps we could wait until night time. Let's eat lunch first."

The four of them filed into the small restaurant as they sat quietly in a booth in the back. Sakura had recommended the place since it was run by a sweet elderly couple and was not too far from her apartment.

Sakura looked up from her bowl of udon as she glanced around the table. The three boys kept quiet as they ate their meal and Sakura couldn't help but marvel at how similar they were to each other. Sleek, black eyes underneath dark, raven locks. Each had his own calm composure and were meticulous in the way they ate.

She smiled a little as she saw Sasuke dart his eyes up and down from his bowl of noodles to his brother's face. Sasuke must have sensed that he was being watched when he turned to look at Sakura. She blushed slightly for having been caught staring and so she quickly turned back down to her bowl.

Itachi cleared his throat. "I noticed that you two slept in the same bed."

Sakura almost choked on a piece of udon noodle.

"Itachi!" Sasuke cried out as his ears turned a bright red. "Can we not discuss this here?"

"I know you had quite a reputation in school with your frequent dating around the female population in school," Itachi murmured as he sipped at a spoonful of the broth in his bowl.

Sasuke lowered his eyes, half embarrassed and half ashamed.

Itachi turned to Sakura. "I hope you forgive him for his devilish ways. I cannot fathom how sinful he was in the past."

Sakura coughed as she wiped her mouth with a napkin. "Ah, yes. It's fine. He didn't know me back then," she replied.

"Nii-san," Sasuke said through clenched teeth. "You make me sound like I'm some lecherous creep."

"You did sleep in her bed last night," Itachi remarked.

"I-I was…" Sasuke flubbed with his words as he tried to respond to the remark.

"You didn't do anything besides sleep did you?" Itachi asked.

Sai coughed. The conversation was becoming too weird for him.

Sakura's face turned bright pink. "W-we did nothing! Honest!"

"Can we not discuss this in public or ever?" Sasuke said with a groan.

Itachi smiled. It has been a while since he got the chance to tease his little brother. "Very well," he responded as he raised two fingers to poke at Sasuke's forehead. "Maybe next time."

Sasuke frowned as he rubbed at the area where Itachi had poked him. "Let's not have a next time," he grumbled.

Sakura smiled as she watched the two brothers interact. Despite the awkward conversation about last night, she was happy to see that Sasuke seemed almost relieved that his biggest problem in life was not about the company matters but rather simple worries of a normal high school boy. Such as having your older brother ask you about your love life.

Sakura and Itachi went to pay at the front of the counter as Sai and Sasuke waited outside.

"Sasuke," Sai spoke up as he clutched something inside his coat pocket.

"What?" Sasuke answered as he stared at his girlfriend's back. Sakura was having a small chat with the grandma at the register and it seemed as if the two were laughing about something.

"Here," Sai said as he shoved something into Sasuke's hands. "This might be useful for you."

Sasuke glanced down at the item. It was a book. "Icha Icha Paradise?" he read the title out loud.

Sai smiled. "Jiraiya gave me a copy."

"The hell is this?" Sasuke asked.

"For your worries in the future."