So sorry it took forever to get this. More fics to do as well as life in general.

I've been through hell mentally and emotionally in the last couple weeks. Fires near my area in southern California, but we were on flat land and on the other side of the highway, so we weren't touched. Except my heart goes out to those who lost their homes, pets, and other people they loved. :'( What a Christmas this is going to be for them, and those still living are grateful for being alive - except many of them have to start from scratch all over again.

Chapter Two

The End is the Beginning

He was keeping watch tonight, because his eyes were sharper, and he was used to sleeping less at times by now. His doctors told him time and time again that it was unhealthy; sometimes, he knew his health better than they ever did.

Sakura was one of them to also try and get him to have more hours, using a special herbal tea she concocted herself, no sleeping powder, and it would do wonders. But it wasn't enough to heal a hardened and broken heart. The one they both loved was now the enemy, and they would have to kill him if need be. Naruto still believed in stopping Sasuke without killing him, but if he was to be a great Shinobi, it meant being capable of making harsh decisions.

He had been down the road one too many times to know that sometimes things don't go the way you want them to. You're about to learn that the hard way, Naruto.

"When I see Sasuke, I'll settle it between me and him," he declared after swallowing a piece of fish, moaning happily and then announcing that he ought to try something different at Ichiraku's, like their fish-accented noodles. "Something like this! Itachi, you're a god send for making it like this! I didn't even know you could cook."

He chuckled. "Not often, but I know this and that. My mother primarily did the meals," he answered. "And given I was always away on missions, there was little time to cook nutrition like that." Food pills in the shadows while the clients we watch over sit in the sun enjoying full meals - the way of the ANBU and a true Shinobi. To protect from the shadows instead of setting out to seek glory.

"My mom is the same way, although once in a while, she burns when she doesn't mean to," Sakura said, bringing a laugh from the circle, and it was then that Itachi noticed the look in Naruto's eyes at the mention of a family, having lived on his own his entire life. But here, now, he had friends and comrades to help him, even if one of them abandoned him.

He remembered Naruto once telling him a time when Sasuke said, during the Chuunin Exams, that he was one he wanted to fight the most, as the first time he said anything to acknowledge him. It was what made the blond so happy beyond words that he began to really see a significant. The guy he hated so much in the Academy just because of his "holier-than-thou" attitude turned out to be someone who would gladly risk his life...only to throw it all away.

Kakashi exhaled and looked into the fire. "If only I knew what it was like to have a mother..." This shocked Naruto to finally learn that his sensei knew what it was like to not have parents. Especially when the boy learned what happened to Kakashi's father.

They couldn't be out here so late, so when they finished the meal, he took his watch...except one struggled to sleep despite trying. "Try a personal sleeping pill you've concocted," Itachi teased her when she sat up and crawled his way, away from her boys, and rested her head against his chest, body spooned up against his. It felt so good to have her against him like this, at a dire.

"Now, you and I both know that it's a stupid mistake to make," Sakura told him. "I'm surprised you would suggest that." He chuckled and looked up at the sky, which was brushed with a lighter shade of smoky gray.

"We all need our strength, my lovely kunoichi," he told her, resting his hand on her hip. She sighed and nodded, closing her eyes, but it seemed sleep couldn't claim her like this. Itachi looked over to Kakashi and Naruto's passed out forms. There was one thing he could think of that would help her sleep, if it wouldn't do so to him, but he wasn't like any other person. He wasn't tired unless it was his own will, but with her, she needed it more than him. And a med ninja is of no use if something becomes of him or her. She could get killed with fatigue.

Itachi bent his head down and captured her lips with his. "I know just how to tire you out while I keep watch," he purred. She giggled when he moved down to her exposed neck. He loved the feel of the throbbing vein, for it was a sign she was excited.

"Itachi, I don't know." It was hard for her to keep her voice down. No matter; it wasn't long before he stood up and whisked them both on the other side of the tree. "Itachi, is this really a good time?"

"It's the perfect time," he answered smoothly, his body covering hers, his hips rubbing against hers, both of their groins still covered. The friction made the heat in that part of his body burn, and hers, too, by the sounds of the moans he was drawing from her. In this temperature and these surroundings, being completely naked was out of the question. But that didn't stop his hands from going up her shirt and finding her chest bindings, slipping his hands underneath and groping both breasts. She closed her eyes and moaned in her throat, swallowing it down as much as she could. He tweaked her nipples and nipped at her neck, gently rotating his crotch against hers. Gods, he wanted her so much, before morning broke, that he couldn't wait a second longer. He then reached between their bodies for the front of his pants, watching as she did the same, and then shifted her lower body upwards to push her pants and underwear down, and he did the same, both of them ending at the knees, and he wasted no time entering her sweet slick waiting for him.

Oh, divinity at its finest on the dimmest hour before the darkest hour to come in the morning. It wasn't enough as full flesh in bed, away from the world, but perhaps they could experiment that in another time. The idea was exciting in itself.

Time went by slowly but fast at the same time. No one kept track of time, but he was constantly peeking around the tree to see that Naruto and Kakashi were still in deep slumber. His Sharingan blazed with every detail in his eye range, as it burned with his bodily sensations and those of his lover. The fluids of their love were exchanged when it was all over.

"...oh, that was..." Sakura could not find it in herself to speak.

He sighed and rested his face into the crook of her neck, ignoring their nude lower bodies and just rested against her, her arms coming to wrap around him and keep him close. "Itachi?"

"Mmm?" he murmured, lifting his face to look at her, taking in her flushed, shining skin that nearly matched her hair. She turned her darkened eyes in his direction.

"I love you."

She loves me. The words made his heart jump in a way he hadn't felt in his entire life. It wasn't long before he felt his cheeks burn with tears that melted his flesh like lava burning across the landscape. Itachi dipped his face back into her neck and shoulder, unable to stop his body from shaking, and her embrace tightened around him as reassurance. His mother always said she loved him, Sasuke used to say those words to him, but now the woman he knew he'd always been in love with but had been in despair when she long ago chased after the other one who never cared about her...

My Sakura, you have no idea what you have made me feel, do you?

~o~

She couldn't sleep well until she and Itachi made love that night. He took them around the tree so Naruto and Kakashi wouldn't hear them. It was still close to them, but the bushes and tall trunk hid them from view. It was also too cold and too open to get completely naked, so pushing their pants down and groping underneath the clothes was as close to contact they could get. This was the first time they'd done this in the outdoors and on a mission of all times.

Sakura finally said she loved him. She held it behind her teeth for so long because she needed to make sure it really was. To finally say it was a wave of release, at the right time and place. But he didn't say the words back. He was good at many words, except one thing: expressing his feelings.

They redressed before falling asleep together that same night, so in case Itachi accidentally lost his instincts to listen, one of his crows would wake them when they spotted the ones they were all looking for.

But when dawn broke, Itachi in fact was alert and aware as she was, because light on their faces was all they needed - except when his bird came back, the enemy was approaching. She stretched herself and stood up, going over to wake up her boys. "He's coming," she told them, and that was all they needed to know.

Within moments, the group assumed the positions in the trees.

In came a group of different people - but one who stood out was Kabuto. Sakura gritted her teeth. Why the hell are you here, bastard? Why did she have a terrible feeling about this...?

The other three: one was a young woman with bright red hair and glasses like Kabuto, and seemed to have a powerful chakra wave. Something about her seemed familiar, but then she saw the young man behind her. He was white-haired with blue at the ends, a mouthful of sharp teeth - and attached to his back was a weapon she and the others recognized all too well.

Zabuza's sword...the Executioner's Blade.

And finally, the one they came here for. "...Sasuke," she whispered, hoping nobody heard her. She was in the bushes, Itachi high in the trees, Kakashi with him but lower, and Naruto was on the other side of the brushes, furious and aching to get down to business. Sasuke was the same as they remembered, except now he was in a kimono-like garment similar to one Orochimaru used to don, complete with the purple obi sash. He was in the lead, which confused them, and Itachi narrowed his eyes. Why did Kabuto not seem bothered, and why would he let Sasuke boss him around when it was clear they hated each other?

Something was terribly wrong here. Then he spoke, calling up to them. "You may come out now. It's not like we'll strike before the other side does..."

Now that did NOT sound like Sasuke at all.

It was going to be an outright accusation to point that out, but then Itachi beat her to it. Kakashi caught on himself. The two appeared before the group in a flash. Sasuke smirked. "Aniki, it's been a while."

"Indeed," the elder Uchiha said coldly, standing to full height. "But explain why you bring a group - including Kabuto Yakushi, spy of Orochimaru - in the direction of the village you betrayed."

"Itachi -" To say his brother's name must be uncomfortable and pushing the wrong buttons. "- I didn't think the Hokage would even leave his village vulnerable just to come all the way out here for me," Sasuke sneered. "Did you come because you wanted to do...Naruto-kun's job?" Now that made Sakura suck in her breath. He...said Naruto's name like...

There was only one she could think of who could purr your enemy's name like it was too close for comfort. And Naruto's eyes were turning red as the Nine-Tails mode threatened to leak out. Damn it, but at least Itachi's Sharingan could suppress it - but so could Sasuke. And it was Naruto to burst out, snarling and consumed by red chakra, and it was then that the fight broke out.

She found that Sasuke chose to dive for Itachi - why was she not surprised? Though Naruto wanted to do that job, it must have made it easier for him. Kakashi even went toe to toe with Kabuto, leaving Sakura with the swordsman whom she wouldn't be surprised was the last of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. "You know, Pinkie," the guy said casually when he brought the blade towards her, but she blocked it using her fist tekko, and she got him down in place when she ducked and swung a kick to where it would hurt him most. He groaned and reached down with one hand to that spot. She snorted.

Oh, Sasuke, you really picked the wrong people, because this idiot here doesn't have basic ninja skills - wait, WHAT?!

He was obviously originally from Kiri, because he dissolved into water - he literally turned into it! Sakura's brain scrambled to think of a way to counterattack him, but she settled on her Cherry Blossom Fist to the ground he was on, and it sent parts of his watery self splashing into the air. "CHAAAAA!" She gathered all the chakra back into her fists and aimed it at his sorry self when he started to get himself back together. Which left another option for her. Her skin was breaking out into sweat; behind her, her boys were getting it hard and dropping when she saw Naruto decking the girl who had NO skills in any of the three big categories. She could have just stayed out of the way!

"You don't see you're dealing with a medical ninja, do you?!" Sakura shouted at the sharp-toothed man when he got back to his human state. Since he was just like the rest of them, he was going to suffer at the hands of her surgical currents.

He laughed and looked her over. "I did, gorgeous -" Okay, that was better than "ugly", but he really enjoyed pissing her off. "- and oh! I just remembered, I never said my name. That's just rude, wouldn't you agree?" He snickered as he watched her produce the chakra blades in both her hands. But he was so caught up in his conversation that he didn't see her speed coming. "I'm Suigetsu Hozuki."

Even when she heard the name, she didn't hesitate when she struck him where he was vulnerable, and he was down, losing hold of the Executioner's Blade which she did the honors of grabbing and wielding it. It was so damned heavy-looking, and the blade swirled as she fought for a balance in her hand. In the end, she held it over him. He had no medical abilities. He was a member of a clan from Mist that had the ability to transform into water - the Hydrification Technique. Which means they have to stay hydrated at all times whether by drinking or swimming. That also means to stop and rest constantly after too much aerobics.

She looked up from the corner of her eye and saw that Naruto had the girl down, and his Nine-Tails mode was slipping back to his normal self. "Alright, I got her, Sakura!" he called over to her, holding up the unconscious form of the redhead. She could be someone who used to serve Orochimaru as this Suigetsu; either way, they both had sensitive information to give them when this was over.

Kakashi and Kabuto were still going at it - and so were the Uchiha brothers. She had faith in her sensei, so her initial concern notably was the man she loved as well as the one she used to.

~o~

When he spotted Kabuto amongst the ranks, he knew that something was beyond off about his brother. He was aware of how the two had hated each other, and he could read off how that chakra wasn't his brother's - but he couldn't say it aloud to the others yet. He needed to fight Sasuke in order to confirm it.

He knew Sakura and the men were faring well. He'd seen her fight before and didn't doubt her for a second. And Naruto released part of the Kyuubi chakra, of his own will, and suppressed himself. "I don't wish to kill you, little brother," he said to Sasuke when he reached for his sword behind his back, just as the younger was doing the same. He received a sneer in response. No snarky comeback? "If you will just come back with us without anyone dying..."

He was interrupted without even a raise of the voice. "I was hoping to slip in without anyone stopping us - anyone who wasn't my old team - but I never would have expected you to come with them, Itachi. The Hokage should never be away from the desk, but did you break that rule because you cared so much about me? The indomitable Itachi Uchiha - the man who never let personal feelings get in the way of his mission - has fallen low at last." He had by then wielded a sword much longer than his; Itachi recognized it as the famed Kusanagi Blade - also known as the Serpent Sword. This was very special...

Itachi readied his own, lowering it to his side but watching his opponent's moves with extreme care. "...yes," he said. "Danzo and the counselors want your head, and the clan seeks to expel you even if you get off the hook. You won't be welcomed home that easily, but you can also get a lighter sentence if you just -" He could finally let out a growl of frustration through his teeth when Sasuke cut him off...and then he heard the sound of that chuckle.

Or rather, he heard the tone. It was a silken slither, not at all his beloved brother. His blood ran cold while the rest of his body crawled with heated shivers.

"I was indeed planning to come without a fight, and if you hadn't come my way, I would have arrived without being discovered - or perhaps I underestimated the security once again, Itachi."

So, it IS you...

"You thought to come in with that face, believing a second time could work unlike last time -" When you impersonated the Kazekage. "- Orochimaru," Itachi said, the name a foul germ on his tongue. Behind him, all activity stopped as time had.

All three were thinking the same thing: No, it couldn't be...

Except it was. "...Orochimaru," was all Sakura and Naruto could get out. Kabuto said nothing, but the snide smirk said it all.

Sasuke hadn't been strong enough to defeat Orochimaru. The intelligence had all been a lie that even his visual prowess could never read between the lines. The snake got him in the end; he intended to get inside the demon's head to see the entire story if it was the last thing he would do. Even if it would shatter his heart further at the failures he had as both a brother and a Hokage to his village...

How could I be Hokage if I failed to protect my own brother? I fully understand Naruto's despair when he tried to stop Sasuke that day...

They had been fighting while the two of them were busy catching up without even a blow exchanged. In a way, Itachi was glad there wasn't fighting - yet - but now that he had his confirmation, it became easier for him to want to kill the monster before him and spare Naruto the trouble. Except now that the blond knew, the murder intent flashed red once again. "Out of my way, Itachi," he growled, his fangs growing. "He took Sasuke away, and now I should kill him myself!"

Itachi acted fast and held up his finger in his direction, all the while keeping his attention on the one before him. He didn't have to use his eyes to suppress the Nine-Tails or even perform genjutsu; all he needed was a single finger. It worked in causing Naruto to stop in his tracks and fall to his knees, gasping as his will came back to him. The one who wielded Zabuza Momochi's sword was still down, a result of Sakura's chakra scalpels, as was the redheaded woman who had fallen unconscious, and Kabuto was kneeling in front of Kakashi, chakra seals around his wrists which were also in place by ANBU-styled cuffs.

He felt his ocular channels contract as he activated the Mangekyo and brought the snake inside his brother's body into the nightmare realm...

I'm utterly devastated as I was when I thought of this idea. :'( I never thought I would do this. Please don't hate me, Sasuke lovers, because I really do care about him. In terms of how the confrontation would go, my friend happened to be fine with the idea that Orochimaru succeeded in getting the body he wanted and move to the Leaf Village again.

I really hate always repeating myself when it comes to how things end for the characters, certain situations, because once or twice guessed cursed at me and even told me to kill myself. They should know better that just because you write it does NOT mean you support it or "get off on it", as they put it.