Sasuke felt oddly liberated. This simple yet intimate interaction with Sakura had freed him from his detachedness and reserve for a moment. With her he felt safe enough to let go for a while, but the intimacy he had displayed with her was the extent of what he was capable of in that moment. The feeling that was driven into him by the touch of their heads, the proximity of their bodies, and the prickle from her sweet warm breath upon his skin, was like an electric shock that had awakened a sense which had been dormant for the longest time.

This was a feeling that he had repressed, having convinced himself that love was nothing but a weakness. Sure, he was now a reformed shinobi, and Naruto had taught him that the expression as well as sharing of one's pain was how one could heal that pain. However, the fear of feeling such pain again had still plagued him, which is why he kept his feelings repressed. What if his clan's curse overcomes him once more? He had learned that Madara Uchiha had reformed as well before reverting to his hatred. That same hatred led to the Fourth Shinobi War and almost an end to the world.

'Don't you get tired of being miserable?', right on cue, Naruto's annoying voice reminding him of what he wanted, and that he was no longer alone. Unlike Madara, Sasuke had bonds that he cherished and still existed. What's more is that Sasuke got his brother back… No, he was different from Madara, but he still felt like he needed to be careful with his feelings. There's nothing wrong with being cautious, right?

Sasuke contemplated if this was what his father had done as well…

Fugaku Uchiha was infamous for his scowl. He had only ever shown indifference to anyone, besides Itachi before their falling out. The only other expression Sasuke had seen from his father was pride, an expression that was reserved for his exceptional eldest son, and that one time when Sasuke had accomplished the fire ball jutsu. Nevertheless, his mother had explained to him that when she and their father would be alone, he would only speak about Sasuke and how he was proud of him. Was that true, or was his mother just lying to him so she could spare his feelings? Or was the feeling he experienced with Sakura something his father had shared with their mother as well?

Sasuke could only speak with two people freely without feeling overly exposed, and those people were Itachi and Sakura. With Naruto things were different; he didn't need to speak much because whenever they exchanged blows, Naruto would understand what was within him easier than anyone else could. They had a different bond that was unlike any other. Not to mention he enjoyed occasionally kicking the loser's ass.

Curiosity about his father had peaked. The fact is, even with Itachi's memories, Sasuke did not know his father as well as he would have liked. Perhaps there were memories that Itachi hadn't shared with him, so he made a mental note to ask him about this. He should probably also apologize for his behaviour earlier.

He was walking home as he was mulling all these thoughts in his head. He enjoyed walking; it allowed him to slow down his thoughts and self-reflect. By the time he arrived home, he noticed Itachi wasn't there, but if he could take a guess at where his brother would go late at night, now that he was at liberty to walk around the village, it would be at the place where he and Shisui had met often.

Naka no River.

"I'm home!" Naruto called out as he entered the apartment. Hinata popped her head out from the first room on the left in the hallway to greet her husband, "Welcome home", with a warm smile and slanted eyes. He quickly took off his sandals and made his way to his wife quite clumsily, almost knocking her over in search for a kiss. Hinata, of course, did not mind anything this clumsy fool did. She was the definition of whipped, but she was lucky that the boy she was whipped over had a heart of gold, was loyal to a fault, and appreciated her.

Lucky for her as well, the man she chose was one heck of a perv, and she had all the right assets. In other words, he was just as whipped as she was.

"Man, I sure missed you a lot, you know" as he held her in his embrace. Hinata giggled shyly and the pink forming on her cheeks just got Naruto even more excited. He lifted her up and pressed her against the wall as he went in for a kiss.

Kurama was feeling sickened by his Jinchuriki's open display of sappiness, 'Get a room' he thought to himself, before recalling that would do very little to block Naruto out. 'Actually, I'll get a room' he decided as he moved into the deeper psyche plane where his brothers and sisters could reach as well for them to communicate. That way his Jinchuriki could receive his privacy, and Kurama can maintain his sanity.

(While Naruto and Hinata… Ahem… get reacquainted, we'll be joining Kurama in the deeper psyche plane as well)

Kurama arrived at the plane and found he had been the only one present, which he was grateful for. He can finally enjoy a long nap, knowing his Jinchuriki wouldn't be going patrolling in the streets tonight, but the short-lived peace was quickly interrupted by the arrival of Isobu and Gyuki who was joined by Killer Bee.

'Kurama my man, tell me what's the plan. You calling us here for a conversation? Come on explain the situation.'

Kurama was already feeling irritated. How did the Hachibi tolerate this incessant rapping?

'Oh, looks like the Kyuubi is alone, did you leave Naruto at home?' Bee questioned, and Gyuki pressed, [What's the matter, Kyuubi? Did something happen in the Leaf? Where is Naruto?]

They believed Naruto was probably in a bind since Kurama showed up in the plane alone, but this wasn't the first time Kurama appeared here alone, and they knew this happened often… way too often, but it's better to be cautious than sorry, so they go through the same routine interaction each time.

Kurama growled, scoffed, and then turned his head to the side, so they would get the hint. That was when Isobu began to laugh, [It seems Naruto is… Getting busy again…] 'Oh I get it, Naruto and the misses are exchanging heat and kisses. Well glad to know my buddy is safe, the Hachibi and I can now leave this place! Fool you fool!' Gyuki was turning red in the face [Oh… I see. Well see you all later. Let's go Bee] and they both disappeared with Gyuki feeling awkward, and Bee with a pervy smirk on his face.

Naruto has no idea that the tailed beasts and Bee all knew when he was getting hot with his wife. However, this was the only place Kurama could go to, so there's nothing he could do about it. The other Bijuu were so used to this, that the rest of them stopped showing up. If they really ever were in a bind, then Naruto has only himself to blame if the Sanbi and Hachibi start ignoring the call as well.

Isobu was still laughing as he said [ I've never been more grateful to be free of my Jinchuriki] and with that note he was gone as well. Kurama loved Naruto, but in times like this, he wished he had more options than just the deeper psyche plane to escape to…

Itachi was sitting at the edge of the cliff by the Naka no River. He made a point to visit this site and pay respect to his best friend and martyr. This was the place where they spent the most time together, but it was also where he last saw his best friend as he put an end to his own life by jumping off the cliff.

"It seems we can't prevent the Uchiha coup d'état, and if civil war erupts in the leaf, the other villages will invade for sure" Shisui said as he stood by the edge of the cliff and stared at the water rushing below.

"True war will break out… when I tried to stop all this with my Kotoamatsukami, Danzo stole my right eye" He explained as he turned to face Itachi and revealing the blood trail trickling down from his empty right eye socket.

Itachi remained silent and listening intently, he had never heard Shisui sound so… despairing.

"That man doesn't trust me at all, he intends to protect the village his way, no matter what it takes or how it looks. I suspect he'll come after my left eye, so I'll give it to you before he has a chance" Shisui pulled out his left eye and handed it over to Itachi "You're the only one I can count on my best friend. Protect the village and the Uchiha name…both of them"

Itachi stared at Shisui and the eye in his palm… He should have been there with him to prevent Danzo's attack! But it doesn't do to dwell on paths not taken. Itachi summoned a crow to collect the eye and said, "Alright, I accept it. What will you do now?"

Shisui was now taking several steps backwards towards the edge of the cliff as he said "If I die, many things will change… I left a note". Itachi became alarmed having understood what his best friend intended to do and yelled, "Shisui, wait!" but the now blind Uchiha interjected and said, "Don't try to stop me, Itachi" as he went over the edge and plummeted to his death. Itachi ran to grab hold of him, but he had been too late…

The recollection of that day had caused a tear to trickle down Itachi's cheek. That was the night he awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan, and the night he lost all sympathy towards his clan. How many times had he stood here since to reflect on what he must do, and the despair he had felt over the rift between his clan and his village. How many times did he wish Shisui was still alive and by his side to help him carry the weight of that burden.

That burden had now been lifted, but he stood over the cliff again and found himself wishing that his best friend was still alive and enjoying this peace with him. Shisui was the worthiest among the Uchiha, and he would have protected the clan's name better than anyone. With this thought, Itachi made a promise to restore the good Uchiha name, and to ensure their descendants would maintain this.

Hm… Descendants… that would mean Itachi would have to consider marriage. The thought made him recall Izumi. If he hadn't been forced to put an end to her life, she would have perhaps been the one he married. Itachi liked her, but he wasn't in love with her. He was only thirteen and he didn't think of such things. Nevertheless, he ensured that Izumi had gotten to live a full life with him through his Tsukuyomi. It was mere seconds in the real world, but Izumi married Itachi, bore his children, and lived a happy life for decades growing old together in his genjutsu world. Casting it had taken a toll on his health and weakened him severely. He no longer suffered from those ailments when he had been revived… Itachi sensed Sasuke approaching.

"Sasuke" he greeted his bother calmly without turning to face him. "I suspected that I would find you here… Have you come for Shisui?" the younger brother asked, and Itachi turned to meet his gaze and nodded, to which Sasuke returned a sympathetic yet barely discernible comforting smile.

"Itachi, I want to apologize for the way I behaved today" He jumped right to it, and Itachi gave a single nod of acceptance to the apology then said, "Sasuke, I intend to do better with this second chance that I have received, but I will need you to help me with this as well. We should be able to be upfront with one another, especially if something is bothering us. I don't want our clan to revert to its old habits. We must change if we wish to be better."

Sasuke's head fell in embarrassment. His brother was right… restoring the good name of the clan had always been what Itachi intended. "I… it bothered me to see you being friendly with the Yamanaka. It seemed like it was easy for you to just be normal again, and… It's more difficult for me. I was jealous."

Itachi gave his brother a comforting smile and thought his brother can sometimes be so foolish. "It seems that even though you possess the Rinnegan now, your eyes still cannot discern what is before them. It isn't easy for me either." Sasuke scoffed and said, "Yeah right… I saw how you were with Ino. You poked her forehead, that's something you only did with me." He pointed out and Itachi wanted to change the subject so he smirked saying, "I heard you have been doing your fair share of poking foreheads" and Sasuke blushed in embarrassment, "So, the other teammate of yours… you two are close?"

Sasuke never expected he'd be talking about girls with his brother, but it made him feel elated. "I just came back from our first date, actually" he said in his nonchalant tone behind a hint of a smirk. "Is that so" Itachi remarked, "I don't have to give you the talk, do I?" his own smirk growing wider, and causing Sasuke to fluster and blush brightly as he realized what Itachi had been referring to, "No, Kakashi took care of that a long time ago" with illustrations and quotes from his favourite novels too, but Sasuke thought it best to not mention this at all. "Besides, it won't be like that with Sakura, I'm traditional" he explained. Sasuke was a real gentleman, and he would court according to his clan's traditions. "Well, I'm certainly happy to hear that" Itachi remarked.

Sasuke intended to change the subject and he recalled what a certain idiot blond had planned and so he informed his brother, "You should know, Naruto intends to throw you a party for your promotion" Itachi's eyes widened, and Sasuke knew his brother would hate the idea of being made the centre of attention. "You won't be able to get out of it either, he's asking Hinata and Sakura to plan it, and they can both be quite… Intimidating." He smirked. Well seems Itachi is going to have to just grin and bear it. He hoped he'd be able to escape early, perhaps Ino can help him then as well.

"Hey Itachi… do you think you can tell me more about our parents, and how they used to be?" he finally asked. The older Uchiha had expected this curiosity, and so he nodded and said, "Let's go home and I'll tell you all you want to know".

Author's Note:

Another double post. The day ends here!

Poor Kurama... his Jinchuriki has no clue what's going on, and we all just know that Killer B isn't keeping his mouth shut on Naruto's sexy time :'D

If you would like to read about how Kakashi explained to Sasuke and Naruto about the facts of life, the story is published separately and is called The Birds and The Bees.

It's a short crackfic, and here's the link:

s/14194573/1/The-Birds-and-the-Bees

Next Chapter:

Team 7 and Itachi are summoned to the Hokage's office, and an announcement is made to the Jonin of Konoha.