Here it is! the long awaited chapter!

onii-chan: big brother

ne: hey

Chapter 4

Naruto sighed. She knocked hesitantly on the door that was blatantly in front of her face. At the quiet "C'mon in, Naruto" she pushed aside the door and stepped inside. Uchiha Itachi was lying on his futon, his head propped up by a large pillow and an open book in his lap. His eyes however, were not directed at the book but at the blonde who now fidgeted uneasily in the doorway of his room.

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Naruto?"

"Um…"

"It's late."

Naruto sighed. "Yeah I'm sorry. I should just…" The blonde turned to leave.

"Naruto."

Naruto froze at the inflection in Itachi's voice before giving in to her anxieties. She ran over to the older man's side and allowed herself to be pulled into his warm embrace. The Uchiha stroked Naruto's golden hair and kissed her soothingly on her whiskered cheek. He continued to pet her head until her trembling ceased.

Naruto took in a jagged breath when she had calmed down. "I'm sorry. I had a nightmare." She smiled ruefully. "Look at me, twenty-four years old, and still having nightmares."

Itachi stayed quiet. Then, shifting Naruto so they were now staring at each other face to face, the man asked firmly, "Is this because you found out that Sasuke is coming back?"

Naruto's flinch confirmed Itachi's question.

"Naruto," he said.

"I'm scared, Itachi."

Itachi felt his heart break as two terrified orbs of blue stared into his soul. His arms instinctively tightened, and he brought her closer to his chest. "Naruto, I promise everything will turn out fine."

"I know I'm being irrational." The blonde took a long shaky breath before smiling bravely. The smile, however, never reached her eyes. "I just - I really need your company for tonight."

The Uchiha placed a loving hand on the top of her head. "I'm here."

"I know." Naruto comfortably nuzzled her head into the crook of Itachi's neck and consequently closed her eyes. "I'm going to sleep now. Good night, Itachi."

"Good night, Naruto."

Looking down at the sleeping golden angel on his chest, Itachi realized there was no way he could read now, and so, pulling up the blankets around both of them and setting the book aside, he turned off the lights and let his mind wander in the darkness.

Sasuke was finally returning from his mission.

He had sent the letter regarding his return to the Godaime three days ago. The Hokage, for her part, told Sasuke's ANBU squad, which included Ino, who then went and blurted out the news to Naruto. Itachi had gone home that day to a petrified blonde waiting for him in his room. She had already tucked the kids to bed, and after waiting for him for way too long in the living room, she had moved to his room and sat on his bed, waiting desperately for him there. When he did arrive, she threw herself into his arms and consequently burst into tears. It took him forever to calm her down, partly because he lacked such comforting skills and mostly because she was so horribly shook up.

After he had gotten the waterworks to stop, Itachi realized his nightmare was far from over. For now that she was no longer sobbing her heart out, Naruto had started to rant about how, given the circumstances, she'd have to move out tomorrow, so would Itachi be ever so kind as to help her with the moving?

Itachi had immediately felt all feeling leave him. He looked at blonde, not believing the words that came out of her mouth, before saying in the firmest, most Uchiha way he could, that no he was most certainly not going to help her move out.

This resulted in a death glare from Naruto, and a loud, heated argument would've definitely started between the two – well, mostly Naruto – if Itachi had not mentioned two words.

"The kids."

Those two words did their magic and said blonde immediately deflated, all fight leaving her body. For although she had the heart to leave Itachi, there was no way she could leave those kids just like that. There was no way she could leave those kids who each possessed such a big portion of her heart. And there was no way she could leave those kids without a mother.

And indeed a mother she had become to them. Four months had passed by ever since Naruto walked in into their lives, and the four months had definitely left its mark.

Momo could now walk, run, jump, and even stand on water for a few minutes at time without a problem. Although the little girl was still blind, she was without a doubt an Uchiha genius and did not hesitate to use that trait to the uttermost of its ability. Itachi still remembered when he had come home early one day and found Naruto, Ryūshiro, and Kaira staring at his niece in wonder as the little girl picked herself up from the floor and began to maneuver around the house without bumping into any furniture, doors, or walls.

After discussing it at length with Naruto, Itachi and the blonde both came to the conclusion that Momo had already learned the primitive basis of chakra control and was using chakra to map out the floor beneath her feet. That theory was proven correct when Naruto placed Momo against the surface of the pond and within minutes a giggling Momo was standing on top of the water surface, swaying with the waves but never falling in. The only catch to this stunning show of remarkable ability was that Momo didn't possess a lot of chakra supply – for god sakes, she was only two – and doing such things exhausted the poor girl.

And so Naruto banned these actions from Momo and tried to stop the girl from performing such actions – and including other impish things – whenever she could. But Momo was just as naughty as she was intelligent; it was lucky Naruto had a lot of chakra supply, for she spent the entire day chasing after Momo and reprimanding the girl whenever she was caught guilty of mischievous doings. But Momo never listened, and things became worse when the little girl began to expand her vocabulary and grammar. Now, at age two years and seven months, Momo could say complete and intricate sentences that normal children her age would definitely have trouble pronouncing, never mind using.

Itachi's favorite phrase his niece used was, "Mama looks like she's about to burst another blood vessel, Uncle 'Tachi."

But no matter how often Naruto found herself within a millimeter of exploding, a loud laugh or giggle from Momo immediately quenched all fire, and well, the girl was only two. Just because she was a prodigy didn't mean she wasn't a kid.

In all aspects that Momo was the devil, Ryūshiro was quite the opposite. He was often praised by Naruto to be the angel of her life, and although his mouth had yet to utter a sound, the love that shimmered so brightly in his eyes was to Naruto worth an infinite amount of words. Now that he was growing older – his fifth birthday just around the corner – it became obvious that he was the splitting image of his father. Itachi could see that every ounce of Ryūshiro's being was bit by bit a replica of his father's younger self, and Itachi supposed, for that reason, Ryūshiro was babied in the family. Not that Itachi and Naruto consciously tried to play favorites, but it was so natural for Itachi to slip and see a baby Sasuke in Ryūshiro's wake – a Sasuke that could've been. As for Naruto… Itachi could only assume that Naruto felt the same way.

When it came to school, Ryūshiro was the top of his class, number one in all categories like his father had been. The biggest difference between the two was that while Sasuke had a lack of social life – excluding the fan girls - Ryūshiro could not get away from the crowds, fan girls and friends included. Already, at age four, Ryūshiro had girls his age or older swooning over his looks, and the number of friends he had at the Academy could not be counted. Everybody wanted to know the affable angel, and no one could get enough as soon as they were inside his compelling bubble. Although Ryūshiro never talked with his mouth, the messages he got across with his eyes or his hands were understood and cherished by everyone.

But regardless of how many friends Ryūshiro made – and how many more still were waiting to meet him – only one person held his heart, and that person to this little Uchiha boy was no longer 'beloved goddess', but 'beloved mother'. This was definitely made clear two months ago by the picture he drew of her with the words "I love you Mommy" painstakingly written on the top of the page in his best handwriting. Naruto, tears streaming down her whiskered face, had immediately taken the boy into a crushing bear hug and stuck the paper against the refrigerator door where it was to stay, and stay it would for all eternity as far as Naruto's heart was concerned.

Kaira was the last one to call Naruto 'mother,' and the first time that word had escaped said Uchiha girl's lips had been an accident. For some reason, instead of 'sensei' or Naruto-neesan, 'Mama' had blurted out of Kaira's mouth. Itachi had been sitting in the room when that incident occurred, and he still remembered the shock – which quickly turned humor when Naruto turned around with mock annoyance etched in her cerulean depths and said grouchily, "What, Momo?" There was a brief silence as Naruto realized Momo was not in the room but was outside playing with her brother, and after locking eyes with an equally stunned Kaira, Naruto had squeaked out a rather high pitched, "Kaira?"

Ever since then Kaira never called Naruto 'sensei' or 'nee-san' again. Itachi couldn't have been happier; there was no other woman alive in this world that Itachi thought worthier to be Kaira's stepmother.

And Naruto could not have become Kaira's mother at a better time. Kaira, as a girl who entered puberty rather early, had found her legs dripping blood one day and was ready to burst into tears when Naruto found the Uchiha girl hiding in the bathroom and calmly explained – blue eyes twinkling with merriment – to Kaira that bleeding from the legs was normal for girls. Kaira, who had become an even better shinobi under the intense teaching of her father and Naruto, did not miss the humor in Naruto's eyes and was about to cry again at Naruto's insensitivity when Naruto soothed Kaira and assured the girl to believe it when Naruto said she understood exactly how much shock Kaira must've been going through right now; Naruto's first period hadn't been much of a pleasant stroll down the park either. Itachi had laughed quietly when Naruto told him of this story later on that night and he asked her if she really did have that big of a shock. Naruto had given him a tight smile in response and said, 'After fourteen years of thinking I was a male, it's hard to not find it nastily surprising. Every single month I'd have as big of a shock as I did the first time.' Itachi chuckled some more, which earned him a wincing punch to the shoulder. She certainly didn't hit like a girl.

Shortly after that, Naruto could be seen in the Konoha village shopping with Itachi's daughter. And after that first shopping trip, there was no doubt Naruto took up the 'mother' position in Kaira's life, and within a week Kaira was telling Naruto every mundane detail about her life, from the boys she had a crush on to the annoying kid in the corner who wouldn't leave her alone. The sudden closeness between Naruto and Kaira made Itachi uneasy at times, since often he felt like they were conspiring against him. But Naruto had only laughed when Itachi questioned her about it, leaving a very irate Uchiha man in her wake.

A small whimper from the blonde that was sound asleep in his arms pulled Itachi back to the present.

He sighed and gently stroked her hair until the frown she had on her face subsequently disappeared. He looked at her sleeping figure, so small, so forlorn, and the Uchiha then tiredly closed his eyes. For her to even think about leaving the kids, Sasuke's return must be more of a nightmare to her than anyone could imagine.

Anyone, of course, except Uchiha Itachi.

He had deduced – no, he knew – that his baby brother and Naruto had been involved in a relationship one way or another. The only thing that Itachi didn't know – it also happened to be the most important thing regarding this matter – was what had happened between the two and what had Sasuke done that was deemed so unforgivable, even in Naruto's books. Itachi cursed as he instinctively knew the answer. But he didn't want to think his baby brother would ever make such a choice.

To choose power over a life with this woman…

Was his brother really that stupid? That he couldn't even see heaven being handed to him on a silver platter?

The look on Sasuke's face when he had heard of Naruto's death was forever etched into Itachi's memory. It was the look of a man burning in hell; the look of a man who lost his redemption; the look of a man who would never again find happiness in this world. And Itachi knew in that moment that he would do everything in his power to right his brother's life again.

Itachi blinked, coming to reality. When had his eyes gotten so moist?

A stir from the woman in Itachi's arms caught his attention, and the moisture in Itachi's eyes quickly collected and became tears. For here lay the angel who held the keys to his baby brother's salvation. After years of desperate prayers, it seemed like Sasuke was finally going to be released from his personal hell.

But then Itachi remembered the terror in Naruto's eyes when she had heard of Sasuke's return, and Itachi's heart gave another unpleasant lurch. Naruto had made it clear from the very beginning that the only reason she was 'willing' to meet Sasuke was out of her love for Itachi, not Sasuke. From what Itachi inferred, Sasuke had obviously deeply wounded Naruto, wounds that, even after so many years, had not healed. So was it right for Itachi to force Naruto to sacrifice herself once more for his little brother? Was it fair to ask Naruto to give herself up for the man who had already broken her heart once?

The many mistakes his little brother made in his lifetime were all brought upon himself by his own selfish actions.

The only mistake Naruto made was loving his little brother.

So was it fair?

Itachi fell asleep with a troubled frown haunting his face.

XXX

It was a pleasant afternoon in Konoha. The clouds rolled by happily against the summer sky, and a warm breeze stirred every once in a while. The trees were turning a lovely shade of orange, a tell tale sign that autumn was approaching. But all this was lost upon the ANBU ninja as he hurried jumped from tree top to tree top. If anyone had been looking, there was no doubt that the man was deeply disturbed.

And deeply disturbed he was. He had heard some gossip in the village that made his heart speed up and his mind whirl. For those idiot villagers had been talking about something that could not have been the truth. Because for one, his brother was not a – what did the villagers describe him as? – ah yes, a man with kind eyes and a gentle smile.

And second…

Here, his heart sped up once more.

Her name could not have been mentioned. He hadn't heard her name mentioned in five years. So they could not have been talking about her. There was no way.

But then, even he had no explanation as to why he was hurrying – sprinting even – towards the Uchiha Estate like there was no tomorrow. Jumbled thoughts flitted in and out of his mind. Was this the reason for Tsunade's strange behavior? Was this why she had excused him so quickly, and then cursed at him when he walked out the door? But then she would've told him, right? She would've said something.

He shook his head. He was not going to believe it until he saw it for himself. Until he saw her, flesh and blood and alive, he was not going to believe anything anyone told him. He couldn't, because if it all turned out to be a lie, there would be no hesitation this time to sink a kunai knife into his stomach. He had nothing to live for. Tsunade had given him Sakura's divorce papers right before he left. They were tucked neatly in his shirt, searing through his clothes and burning at his flesh with each passing second. His two children… Well his two children didn't need him. He didn't know how to be a good father; how could he even call himself a father to children born out of blackmail? Damn the Konoha Councilmen, who only saw the Sharingan bloodline limit as a weapon to be exploited. And damn that Sakura for falling for the oldest trick in the book. Their kids were better off without their parents, who didn't know how to love them and who most definitely did not love each other.

He abruptly came to a stop. The Uchiha Compound loomed ominously in front of him, and, releasing a breath he didn't know he had been holding, Uchiha Sasuke entered his house for the first time in half a year.

XXX

The first thing he realized was how warm and friendly the atmosphere in his home had become. There were flower vases, paintings, decorations, and furniture everywhere in sight. He did not remember such things when he had left for his S ranked mission five months earlier; instead there had been dust cluttering the corners and empty beer bottles – which he had deliberately ignored – all over the place. Thus it came as no surprise to him when he did not mind the addition of these new articles. In all actuality, he rather liked it. For it made it seem like a real family lived here.

The man shook himself slightly – a dark look passing through his handsome face – before he quickly regained his composure. Who was he fooling. What family? There was no family living here. At least, not the family he imagined. Not the family he wanted with… with her.

A sudden shriek of laughter pierced through his brooding. He startled to reality, confusion gracing his regal features.

When was the last time he had heard laughter in his house?

Never.

"Shiro-niichan, Shiro-niichan, you can't catch me!" came the baby cry of a girl. More joyous laughter was heard, followed suit by the frantic sounds of someone desperately scrambling after something, presumably said girl.

The man was staggered. There were only two girls that lived in the Uchiha Manor, and the voice that he had just heard definitely did not belong to his brother's daughter. But…

His own daughter? Momo? There was no way she could've learned to talk, let alone put words together into sentences in just five months. And what did she mean by Ryūshiro not being able to catch her? Wasn't she blind? A twinge of guilt poked at the man's conscience before he forced it down. It wasn't his fault.

His debate at whether that voice was indeed Momo's or not was put at rest by a second voice.

"Momo, Ryūshiro, stop that!" This voice undoubtedly belonged to Kaira. "You're giving me a headache." A pause. "Well, I tried, Shiro-kun. But you know your sister. The only one who can control her is Mama, and even Mama has a hard time at that."

Now his mind really was racing. Not only did Kaira confirm that it was indeed Momo who had spoken earlier, but Itachi's mistress was now living in the Uchiha Estate. After all, Kaira did say 'Mama,' didn't she?

"Mama! I want Mama!" came a loud gleeful shout, which he recognized this time to be his daughter's. He was bewildered. Had his own two children taken in Itachi's mistress to be their own mother? A pang of sadness ached at his heart. Did that mean Itachi had replaced Sasuke as his own children's father?

"Mama's not home yet, Momo," he heard Kaira say patiently. "She's out talking with Jiraiya-sama, remember?"

His stomach lurched unpleasantly, and the room suddenly seemed very cramped, suffocating the breath out of his chest.

"Mama! I. want. MAMA!" It was obvious to everyone that the little girl was not happy, and a tantrum was sure to ensue.

He heard Kaira sigh in exasperation. "All right. Why don't you go wait at the door? Mama's bound to be home soon."

And nothing could've prepared him for the events that followed. Before he could compose himself, before he could flash step out of the room and consequently disappear so that he could push seeing his children as far back as possible, the sounds of very small feet scrambling against the floor – which was quickly followed by two more pairs of feet – was heard, and the world stilled to a stop as he watched the shadow of a small child excitedly open the door that brought her face to face with him.

Momo stopped abruptly. She sensed the presence of another person in the room, but this man was not Itachi. She cocked her head to one side and aimed her gaze towards the direction of where the strange yet familiar man stood.

He felt his breath choke him as he saw his daughter for the first time in almost half a year. He could not believe his deceiving eyes but there she was, in direct line of his vision and standing in an array of confusion and puzzlement. There was no denying that she was Momo, for her emerald gaze was empty and blank and her small shape gave way to her young, infant age. But unlike what he remembered, there was no trace of fear in his daughter's face as she became aware of his presence. Instead curiosity shone brightly in her round, mischievous face, and what he could not understand was how she was able to stand and run around like that in her blind state and obviously not bump into the many things that obstructed her path.

Another figure stumbled into the room soon after Momo, and the man then found himself staring into the large and surprised eyes of his son, Uchiha Ryūshiro.

Panic rose in Ryūshiro's chest at the sight of his father, tall and intimidating. He felt himself being scrutinized by his father's cold, calculating gaze, and his mind screamed for his beloved mother to hurry and come home.

Momo, realizing her brother had now joined her, turned to the stunned Uchiha boy with a mystified expression.

"Ne, ne, Shiro-niichan," the little girl said, cocking her head to one side. She reached towards Ryūshiro's general direction and tugged on his arm – almost as if she could see him – and asked, "Who is he? Who is he, onii-chan? Is he Mama's friend?"

Before Ryūshiro could make a movement, Kaira stepped into the room. The man saw the pretty, bright clothes she wore and the way her silky black hair flowed behind her. Her face held now a spirited and cheerful look, but that look quickly turned to apprehension and dread as she took notice of him.

"S-Sasuke-san!" she exclaimed, surprise coloring her tone. She bowed immediately. "Y-you're home." Kaira winced as she realized she had just stated the obvious, something Uchihas in all their glory did not do.

Momo, oblivious – as a small toddler would – to all the tension in the room, was flabbergasted that no one was answering her questions. Spoiled like the princess that she was by her mother and uncle, Momo was not used to being ignored, especially not when she was so clearly interested in this new man in their house.

"WHO IS HE!" came the shriek that held way too much decibel to have come from such a small body. Momo stomped her feet for emphasis and began to cry, from anger or frustration, no one knew.

All three older Uchihas winced in unison as Momo's screeches filled the room. The man had never heard a shriller voice, and he gritted his teeth as his ears felt close to bleeding. Kaira saw the dark expression that was etched in her uncle's face, and she realized she had to do something before her moody uncle became angry. If he wasn't already, Kaira thought wryly as another shriek impaled the inhabitants of the room.

"Shh, shh," Kaira soothed, trying to hold down her baby cousin's flailing arms. She cast a dark look at Ryūshiro, who had yet to recover from his upsetting encounter with his father.

"Do something already, Shiro!" the oldest Uchiha heir hissed.

Ryūshiro blinked to reality, his eyes focusing as he came out of his stupor. Grimacing as he took in his sister's scrunched, wailing face, the boy performed a few hand signs with ease, and in a sudden puff, a little dog – obviously henged – wagged its tail in front of Momo. Momo momentarily reduced her bawling to hiccups and grabbed for the dog – Kaira watched in chagrin (why hadn't she thought of using genjutsu?) – and the baby girl cuddled her newfound toy against her chest happily.

No words could describe how Sasuke felt as he watched his son – the very son who used to tremble at every single harmless sound – so effortlessly perform a henge that was beyond his years, and the young child had done so without making a single sound. But before the man could grab ahold of his wits, Momo – the infant herself not any less of a prodigy than her brother – realized she had been tricked, and throwing the dog against the ground, where it disappeared with an indignant poof, the girl resumed her crying, this time with ten times more the audacity.

The three were about to let all hell loose as they covered their ears, and just when the last straw was within a millimeter of breaking, someone else's voice – none of the Uchihas had heard the newcomer's entrance, thanks to Momo – spoke up.

"Momo," the person said quietly. Momo immediately stopped her crying to stare towards the sound before she squealed joyfully as she recognized the owner of that voice. The baby clapped her hands together and rocked back and forth in excitement in Kaira's arms.

"Mama's back, Mama's back!" The girl cooed and smiled hugely before pointing a chubby hand towards the man who seemed to have turned to stone. "Who is he, Mama?"

There was a moment of silence.

"That, little baby, is your father."

The man's eyes opened wide in disbelief at the sound of her voice. His heart began to race, his blood pounded in his ears. All of a sudden, his mouth had become dry, and he felt like an explosion had just wiped everything in his mind away. Did he dare to look?

Cerulean clashed with onyx.

The whole room held its breath.

"Hello, Sasuke."

She was here. The golden ray of sunshine was back in his life again.

"Naruto."

Okay, so i've decided that the chapters are going to dramatically decrease in size from now on. Writing such long chapters exhausts me :(

Well, Sasuke's finally back! I wrote this chap from his point of view, but I dont know if I'll do that again anytime soon.

And helloooooo finals week!

yup, that means no updates for at least a week... or more.

Depends on your reviews! haha :) please review! thanks!