Holy COW my life is a MESS! I am sooo sorry! This will now be one of my first priorities. Also, I apologize, since this chapter is soo nothing to look forward to for all this time, so I am writing the next chapter RIGHT NOW. It will hopefully be better. So, please at least TRY to enjoy this chapter T-T

The gates of Konoha opened, revealing Sasuke's surprise (which was a shame that he wasn't actually there to receive it).

Holy cow, everyone. And I mean EVERYONE. Was there. And you know what the first thing they all said in unison was?

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY SASUKE!"

Itachi's jaw dropped. It was already July 23rd? It had totally blown his mind?

Also, how were they even able to set all this up? How did they know he'd even be back by then? Itachi had to hand it to them— they were smarter than they all looked.

Suddenly, confetti flew into the air in all directions, while balloons of every color seemed to fall out of nowhere. Itachi stared wide-eyed into the now-colorful sky, gaping like a suffocating fish.

He immediately stopped when he heard Naruto laughing. The Uchiha looked over at the happy blonde. "So, what do you think?" Naruto asked.

"How… how did you KNOW!" Itachi asked incredulously.

"I know more than you think, Sasuke!" Naruto said. And with that, he ran into the crowd to join the party.

Suddenly, Itachi felt a tug at his sleeve. He looked over to see Sakura, standing there. She looked upset. Like a sad puppy.

"Sasuke, can I talk to you?" She looked so adorable! Her eyes were so big and green and hopeful. Itachi HAD to say yes.

"Sure…" He said carefully.

Sakura began walking and Itachi followed, until they were in some type of storage closet.

Itachi looked around at all the ninja equipment lying everywhere. "Um," he started. "What's up?"

Sakura turned around. In a split second, he saw tears running down her pale cheeks. She made a weird noise that sounded like a banshee… a very upset banshee. Suddenly, she was clinging onto him, exceedingly so that he could scarcely breathe. Itachi raised one eyebrow as the kunoichi hugged onto him, sobbing.

What. The. Hell.

Itachi stopped before these words slipped out of his mouth. "I, uh… thought you wanted to talk to me," he said instead.

Sakura just hugged him tighter, almost completely cutting off his oxygen. She looked up at him, waterfalls pouring from her eyes. "I can't believe you're back," she said shakily before burying her face in his chest. Then she looked back up at him and said: "Will you promise that you won't ever leave again? Will you please stay here in Konoha? I'm begging you!"

Itachi could barely understand her. It was like she was speaking gibberish. But he answered with a simple "Okay."

Suddenly, Sakura was leaning up, her eyes closed… and her lips puckered.

Itachi gasped. He desparately wanted to run away, but he didn't realize until then that she had him pinned against the wall of the supply closet thingy. And he couldn't attack her! That would just be cruel. He looked to his right, then to his left for something that would help him escape… in a non-violent way.

But she was now clouding his vision, and if he were to press himself against the wall anymore, then he would probably flatten himself.

Shit.

But suddenly, the door opened, and Sakura looked away in a hurry, letting go of his chest. Itachi was about to run over to the door to kneel at his savior's feet.

Until he noticed that it was a girl in purple, running excitedly over to him.

Shit, another fangirl.

"Sasuke-kun! You're back!" She jumped onto him, knocking him back against the wall. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, and she was snuggling into his chest. "Ooh, I've missed you!"

Okay, THIS one, Itachi could have dealed with violently, but Sakura came to the rescue instead just as he was about to slam his knee into her bust.

"INO-PIG!" Sakura yelled at the top of her lungs, a vein popping in her enormously large forehead.

Upon hearing this, the blonde girl in the purple immediately turned her head, wacking Itachi in the face with her ponytail. The Uchiha rubbed his nose, annoyed.

"What did you just call me!" Ino yelled as a vein now popped in her forehead.

That's when Itachi ran out the door, but the two girls didn't seem to notice. They continued their battle as the door slammed behind Itachi, who sighed a sigh of utter relief.

"Whoo, that sucked," he said with a smile as he turned around to walk away…

Only to walk right into someone else.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't—" he started to say, but stopped when he saw that this was yet another girl

Shit.

"Um, Sasuke-kun," she said in a high, innocent voice. "I just wanted to welcome you back to Konoha. I-it's nice to see you again."

Itachi gave her a good look. She had long violet hair, and white eyes. It was no mistake she was a Hyuuga. A certain Hyuuga that he happened to remember.

Too bad when he realized this, he also forgot that he wasn't in his own body.

Itachi pointed at the teenage girl. "I remember you!" he exclaimed.

"Y-you do?" Hinata asked, fidgeting her fingers.

"Yeah," Itachi said incredulously. "I mean, it's been a while, but yeah! Of course, you were tons younger when I left Konoha. Like, maybe five years old. But yeah! You're Hinata!"

Hinata just gazed at the Uchiha, confusion written all over her pale face. "What are you t-talking about?" she asked.

"You're Hinata!" Itachi stupidly repeated, still not realizing he was in Sasuke's place. "I mean, you were just so adorable and small the last time I saw you, but NOW you have grown into such a beautiful young woman. Wow, time sure does fly, doesn't it?"
"Um," Hinata said, "I wasn't five years old when you first left Konoha. I'm… I'm your age, Sasuke-kun." If possible, Hinata's eyes grew bigger and more innocent. She looked a bit uneasy and anxious. "Do you mean that all this time, you thought I was five?"

That's when Itachi realized his mistake.

"Uhh," he said, quickly trying to fix what he had said. "I, um… no. I just remember that you looked unnaturally young! Uh, but that's a good thing! Because when you get old, then you'll look really young! Um, not that you're gonna be ugly when you're old, or anything. I mean, you're NOT ugly! You're actually really pretty! But it's just that you won't be as wrinkly and stuff… not that it's a BAD thing, I mean… it happens to ALL of us!" He was just making this harder on himself. Hinata looked dumbstruck before quickly stopping his babbling.

"A-anyways, it was great to see you again, Sasuke-kun."

Then she ran off at lightning speed.

Shit.

Itachi felt like stabbing a kunai through his head. Now he had gone and done it. How stupid could you get? He should have just KNOWN after all this time in his brothers' place.

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

As this thought was running over and over in his head, he heard a familiar voice.

"Sasuke."

Itachi turned around to see a ninja with spiky gray hair and a covered face.

"Kakashi… sensei," he said awkwardly.

"Hey," he simply said back.

"Hey," Itachi said back.

"Sasuke, I just wanted to let you know…" Kakashi trailed off and looked up into the starry sky.

"Yes?" Itachi questioned.

"It's getting late."

There was a silence between them, which was filled with everyone in Konoha, partying in the streets around balloons and confetti.

Itachi piped up. "IS THAT WHAT YOU WANTED TO TELL ME! I'M NOT THAT STUPID!"

Kakashi turned to look at his "student." "Oh, I didn't mean to offend you," he said with a smile as he scratched the back of his head.

A vein popped in the Uchiha's head.

"Would you mind if I accompanied you home?" Kakashi asked casually, as if he had not just received a large scolding.

Itachi did nothing but nod. The two shinobi began walking in unison, dodging the crowded streets of Konoha and taking a shortcut. Itachi followed closely by Kakashi, whose masked face was buried in a mint-green book which read "MAKE OUT TACTICS" on the front. The Uchiha wasn't quite sure where exactly his little brother had lived before he stupidly abandoned all his friends in Konoha.

At first, the two were engulfed in a calm silence. Itachi looked up at his brother's sensei, who was looking rather joyful as he read his book, a slight blush creeping across his cheeks. Something was bothering the younger of the two.

And Kakashi seemed to sense it. "Sasuke," he said, looking up from his precious belonging. "Is there something wrong?"

Itachi sighed and looked up at the black sky, which was dotted with glittery stars. "Um, Kakashi?" he started nervously. "Have you ever… wished that you didn't have to live with yourself?"
Ironically, as he asked this, a shooting star flew across the night sky.

Kakashi put a hand on his student's shoulder. "Son, let me tell you something. Everyone wishes that in their lifetime. Everyone." Kakashi looked up, looking thoughtful. "But in the end, it's all worth it. Yes, Sasuke. I have wished that before. But if you think about it, nobody's life is exactly how they want it to be. You, Sasuke, have had to go through a lot in your life, and at a very young age," Kakashi stated wisely, his book now closed. "But that makes you an even stronger young man."

Itachi smiled a little. Those words of wisdom were meant for his brother, but they helped him, as he could relate.

The next thing they knew, the two ninja were approaching a small, simple, yet very nice little house. They both stopped to give the outside a good inspection.

"Well," Kakashi said, cracking open his book, "home sweet home."

Once again, I apologize for the crappiness. But thanks for being patient everyone. I love you all!