Sasuke was making his way out of the Hokage's office when he turned back to look at Naruto and Sakura, "Are you both coming?" he asked, taking Sakura aback with the request, He wants me to be there too? She mused. "Yeah, wait up" Naruto said as he walked up to him to follow. They were walking down the street in silence when Naruto broke it, "Teme, this is just great. Everything is working out! You're one lucky asshole, you know that?". Naruto's jest at the situation had driven Sasuke deeper into his thoughts, and Sakura wondered what he might be feeling now.

Sasuke himself was going through a range of emotions that he couldn't process. He was, for the first time in a very long time, very happy, and this scared him. Did he dare to allow himself to feel this way. Doubt about what he deserved was preventing him from accepting this would last. He was waiting for the other shoe to drop, because that's how things usually happened when it came to him, didn't they? Things go wrong…

"Sasuke…" Sakura called out to him as she caught up to his stride to walk beside him now, "… How are you feeling?" He didn't respond, not because he wanted to ignore her, but because he didn't really know the answer to that himself. Sakura read this when she noticed the knot forming in his brow, and Naruto was paying attention to him as well. "I guess this must be confusing for you" she said as she lowered her gaze to look at the ground they were covering.

Naruto must have been able to read Sasuke's mind because what he said next was what Sasuke needed to hear, "Only you would be brooding about something like this. What's so confusing about it? It's not like Itachi was the first to come back from the dead. Half this village was revived after Pain's attack, including Kakashi Sensei, and Madara did it too…" He clasped his arm around his shoulders and continued "…Teme, something good is happening so just accept it. You got your brother back, and this couldn't have happened to two other people who deserved it more. Whatever it is you're thinking that's stopping you from being happy about it, just let it go" He said grinning, and Sakura was grateful that Naruto always knew exactly what to say to him. "Unless what you're actually worried about is your brother finding out what a real jerk you are. In that case, don't worry, I'll make sure he knows it" he was chuckling now, and Sasuke smirked, "I'm mostly just a jerk to you, loser" and Sakura smiled at the exchange.

"Oh please, I'm sure Sakura agrees with me too. Right, Sakura?" Naruto turned a questioning gaze to her, and she scoffed and said, "I don't know what you're talking about" with a smile, and Naruto whined in disbelief, "Sakura! Oh, sure take his side on this. Some things just never change" and Sasuke said amusingly, "That's true, you're still an idiot" and Naruto deadpanned, then grumbled to himself, "Always ganging up on me…"

Itachi was looking outside the window of his hospital room between the closed blinds, so that he doesn't draw any suspicion towards him until it was deemed alright for him to be seen. He peered outside and found village people strolling about that he didn't recognise, I don't recognise any of the places either, he mused as all the buildings looked different as well. He made a mental note to ask about this the next time he sees his brother or any of his friends.

He sat back down onto his bed and hoped Sasuke would come to see him soon. He wondered how he even considered avoiding him all those years ago. Back then, all Itachi could think about when he was back home was when he would be leaving it again. Though those days were different; back then he was a double agent trying to protect his village from a coup that would have started a war. Back then Itachi and his father had a falling out over their ideologies. Fugaku Uchiha put the clan before the village's wellbeing, and Itachi saw the village's wellbeing was what was good for the clan. He couldn't stand the narrowmindedness of his own people, and so Shisui and him would often be conspiring together away from the compound. This meant he had no time for Sasuke… How foolish he had been. The goddess had been correct in her assessment, Itachi hadn't lived at all. This time he was going to make the most of it.

Right outside Itachi's room, Sasuke was staring at the door where two Anbu guards were watching him hesitate. "Teme… I know you've been away for some time, but I promise you doors still work the same way. You slide to the right." Naruto remarked, and Sasuke sneered back at him with his indifferent tone, "I'm not you, loser" and Naruto who had been irritated retorted, "Then slide it open already". Sakura thought Naruto was overstepping and being thoughtless, but Sasuke actually needed the push, and Naruto provided it as he was now sliding the door open.

"I wasn't sure if you were going to come in" Itachi remarked to his brother who shied his gaze away from him. Itachi had sensed them lingering outside his room for what felt like was longer than what was usual. "It was a door mishap. The damn thing wouldn't budge" Naruto explained as they all entered now. Sasuke would have been grateful for Naruto's quick excuse, but he knew Itachi would never buy such a lame excuse as that. He was right, Itachi hadn't bought the excuse, "Sasuke, may we speak?" he was to end the doubts at this moment before they festered any longer. Sasuke nodded and Naruto and Sakura understood this to be their cue to be anywhere else. "Hey Sakura, could you help me prepare Sasuke's family home. We haven't furnished the place, and we should probably stock it up with some food too." Sakura nodded and they both moved to exit the room. She met Sasuke's gaze on her way out and gave him a comforting smile to encourage him on. Then they were gone.

"The family home?" Itachi asked, and Sasuke explained, "We'll be staying at the old estate. You probably noticed the compound was completely wrecked, so no one would be wandering over there. It's completely off limits which makes it the perfect place for us to stay until we figure out how to move forward with everything". This was an acceptable plan, and Itachi was grateful he wouldn't be staying at the hospital. He also noticed his brother's choice of words, "So I'll be staying with you then. I honestly didn't think you would choose to live in our parents' old estate" and Sasuke retorted, "I didn't. The night you showed up was the same night I decided to return as well." Then with a more humbling tone he explained, "I've been away since the war had ended trying to atone for my crimes"

Itachi smiled at his brother. So, he had returned right after the war had ended. Naruto had succeeded in taking him back to Konoha after all, he mused and was grateful his plan to leave everything to the Uzumaki had worked. This thought had made him recall a question that had been on his mind since he returned, "How long had it been since we broke the reanimation jutsu together?" Itachi asked, "It's been about two years. The war ended two days later" Sasuke answered. "So, you must be nineteen years old, which makes you only two years younger than me now" Itachi remarked, and it made it apparent to Sasuke that age was no longer an obstacle between them. "Sasuke, I made the mistake before of not devoting any time to you. That won't happen this time around." Sasuke's eyes widened at hearing Itachi's words, "I will still fight to protect my village and dedicate myself to it, but I will be giving myself to you first. Will you allow me this chance to be a better older brother for you?" he asked, and Sasuke who did not expect this declaration from his brother gave one simple nod in return. An expression that had been far from the elatedness he was feeling within himself. This feeling didn't last long as Sasuke knew there would be one thing preventing them from staying in the village and rekindling their brotherly bond.

"Itachi… The village still isn't aware about the truth of what happened back then" Sasuke took this opportunity to convince his brother of disclosing his past mission from the higher-ups to the village, "If being a Konoha Shinobi again is what you desire, then we must settle this once and for all. Naruto and I had always planned on revealing the truth about what happened; however, we were waiting for the peace to settle properly before doing so. I was to see to this once I returned to the village, but now that you are back as well this only makes it more necessary to reveal what happened sooner"

Sasuke expected to receive some push back from Itachi, which is why he had been astonished when his brother answered him with, "Alright". Sasuke couldn't hide his surprise at hearing his brother's response, "You agree to this?" he inquired. "Yes. I trust you and Naruto. If you believe this is the right decision, then I will go with it. Besides, I plan to stay by your side. I can't very well do that if I am still considered an S-rank rogue shinobi from the Hidden Leaf." Had the data collected by T&I as well as Sakura's medical report not indicated that this was in fact his brother, Sasuke would have called him out on being an imposter again right at this moment. That would still be more believable to him, than the universe giving him everything he ever wanted. Yet it seems he really was 'one lucky asshole' as Naruto had put it earlier.

Sasuke smiled at his brother and asked, "So, are you ready to leave this place?" and Itachi got up eagerly, "More than I'll ever be, so what's the plan? How do we leave this place undetected?" Itachi asked, and Sasuke said, "The same way we got you to the hospital, although you were unconscious then, but now you get to see how much my eyes have bested your own" he said with a smug look on his face. "A genjutsu then?" Itachi asked chuckling, and Sasuke shook his head and said, "Better" as he revealed his Rinnegan from behind his fringe and opened a portal for them to walk through. "The Rinnegan? Spoils of war?" Itachi asked, and Sasuke replied "Something like that. I'll tell you all about it when the loser joins us. Oh, by the way Naruto will be staying with us for the time being as well" he stated as he walked through the portal to turn up at his family's estate.

Sakura and Naruto had just finished getting the futons and some groceries when Sakura decided to open the subject of Itachi returning with him, "Hey Naruto" She said grabbing his attention while she phrased the question in her mind, "What do you think about this whole Itachi situation?" Naruto let out an exasperated sigh, "Weren't you the one who said the tests you ran proved it really was Itachi? Don't tell me you still doubt that it's true" he groaned. "No, that's not it. I'm sure it's him, and besides, at this point nothing surprises me anymore. It seems anything we used to think would be impossible just isn't."

Naruto was confused with her questioning now, "Then what is it that's bothering you?" he asked. Sakura was surprised that Naruto hadn't been bothered by it as well, "I'm worried for Sasuke. What this all means for him. He's been through so much because of Itachi and now…" Naruto was now beginning to understand what Sakura was worried about. "Look, back then things were different. Those problems don't exist anymore. Sasuke is not going to leave us again. In fact, it's quite the opposite" Sakura was now looking at Naruto with wide eyes, "What do you mean?" she urged him to elaborate, and Naruto obliged, "Now that Itachi is back, it gives Sasuke a reason to stay in Konoha. That means we'll be seeing a whole lot more of him." A hopeful smile beamed on his face, "Itachi returning is the best thing that could ever happen to him and us as well".

He was right, how did Sakura not realize what this meant before? Sasuke would now be staying in the village so long as Itachi was here. "You know… this means you two might finally get to talk about … well about you two" Naruto chimed as he wiggled his eyebrows at her, and Sakura was now blushing, "Oh, stop it you idiot" she said embarrassedly. "Ah come on, don't tell me you weren't thinking this too" he retorted, and he was right. She was always thinking about Sasuke, but Itachi's return might also mean that they wouldn't get the chance to talk about the two of them. She has no idea if Sasuke was still considering it. He'd been gone for two years; what if he had met someone else on his travels?

Naruto saw the worried look on her face and she has no idea when it was that Naruto had become so perceptive, because he clearly knew her well enough to read her mind as he said, "Sakura, this is Sasuke… I'm sure there's no one else. He's even thicker than me when it comes to this stuff, and I had you to make it clear to me when it came to Hinata. He's sure not going to figure anything out on his own." She was grateful to him; he really did know how to say all the right things. "I owe you for that still, and I'll be repaying the favour by helping him realize how he feels about you too" he said grinning, and Sakura now worried at the thought of Naruto playing matchmaker.

[Before you start fixing other people's relationship problems, don't you think you should be worrying about your own? You still haven't told the Hyuuga you'll be staying with the Uchiha for who knows how long]

"That's right! I totally forgot!" Naruto yelled with a flabbergasted look on his face at Kurama's reminder. Sakura was very confused at his outburst but realized Kurama had probably just reminded him of something that the idiot had forgotten.

[ Why am I not surprised] Kurama jeered.

"What is it this time?" Sakura asked amused, and Naruto informed her that he had forgotten to fill Hinata in on the whole thing. "Naruto, you really are lucky to have Kurama around. You'd be totally lost without him, and Hinata would have been fed up with you a long time ago"

[That teammate of yours is a smart kunoichi] Kurama remarked with a growly chuckle, and Naruto now had an annoyed expression on his face. "Yeah, well too bad you're stuck with me!" he retorted.

Sakura laughed at the one-sided conversation she was hearing; she always found the exchanges she witnessed to be amusing and wondered what Kurama would be saying to get Naruto so flustered. "Alright, I better get going. I need to stop by my apartment now too, before heading to Sasuke's" Naruto announced and said lastly before walking in the direction of his home, "Don't worry, Sakura, everything is going to work out. I'm sure of it" She waved him goodbye and made her way back to the Administration building to discuss the report she produced in more details with Kakashi.

Author's note:

Thank you for following this story, and for those who were kind enough to leave a review.

While there will be romance in this fic, the main focus is on the trio Itachi, Sasuke, and Naruto.

Next chapter:

Itachi, Sasuke, and Naruto catch up... Oh, and there's a big announcement!