Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters in any way, shape, or form.
Chapter 1: Aftermath
Marika had waited in baited breath -along with everyone else in the Allied Forces in fact, to hear back from Sakura's team. They had lost communication with them after Madara had been resurrected, and had to guess as to what was happening over there, although seeing Sakura's cherry blossom trees did much to give them hope that everything was alright.
Although it was a little more disconcerting when the cherry blossom trees had disappeared, they had continued their fight against the Zetsu clones -it would do them no good to assume why they had vanished, for they did not know if it was because Sakura had de-summoned them or because... well, she'd rather not think it. And so that's exactly what she did: block it out of her memory. Fight.
But their battle had waged on for most of the day, and with the help of Sakura's cherry blossoms for the time that they had been up, the Konoha front had successfully repelled all of the Zetsu forces (it did not hurt that they had Jiraiya's monstrous strength for help) -and report on Mei's, Onoki's, and Gaara's fronts had come back in a similar fashion, although all of these fronts currently lacked their Kage to hold their own.
They had waited -rather impatiently, to hear back from the platoon that they had sent out to defeat Madara, and soon enough the sun began to set; and with its departure came Tsunade, with the news that Sakura's team would be making their way over there when they found themselves capable of doing so -a statement worrisome indeed.
Marika and Daichi, among many others, namely Tsunade and the Rookie 12 that were within the army, did not get a wink of sleep the day before and did not even think to rest, grimly staring over the horizon silently and hoping that everyone they had sent out into that battlefield would come back to them in one piece.
Hours passed from there.
The sun was nearing its complete retreat over the horizon, Marika trying her best to remain awake, but failing miserably; she would doze off for minutes at a time and come rushing back to consciousness, simply because even in her dreams she was overwhelmed with anxiety and stress -that is, until a watch man, someone who she knew to be Kotetsu, had barged into her sleeping quarters, shared with Daichi. "We've spotted them! Team Sakura! They're making their way here!"
In an instance both had rushed to their feet and ran past Kotetsu, where a crowd was already gathering -apparently everyone had been alerted of their arrival, and Daichi and Himawari pushed themselves past the crowds to see the approaching figures before them -about ten in total.
The first people she spotted was Naruto, carrying the figure of Sakura in a bridal fashion which Marika knew would have her younger sister in a fit ( but obviously she was still too exhausted to move), and beside them Kakashi and Sasuke, carrying between them one Uzumaki Nagato as she had never expected for him to actually look, his eyes bandaged.
Just behind them was Konan and Kisame, who had on his back Himawari. Although looking exhausted, she had this exuberant energy to her, even now (had any of them slept?
And last but not least, were the figures of Sayuri and Hiroto, both leaning on each other as they walked forward.
Although filled with glee at seeing that everyone was alive and relatively okay, a frantic panic began to fill Marika's being, for she was also keenly aware of the fact that there were two figures missing from the dilapidated but victorious members of Team Sakura, both of which Uchiha and entirely too important too both her and Sakura.
Where was Shisui?
And of Itachi?
The thought was pushed to the back of her mind for the time being, as she, Daichi, and Tsunade rushed forward to greet their shinobi and perhaps aid them in their arrival.
"Sakura-chan!" Marika rushed first and foremost to her younger sister, as Naruto gently set her to her feet, even as he asked "Are you sure you can stand, Sakura-chan?"
No, she wasn't sure, but she didn't want to look entirely useless in front of her entire village -as such, she lied and confirmed that yes, she was sure, and allowed Naruto to put her on her feet. She took but two steps and promptly fell right into Marika's arms, although Marika merely allowed Sakura to drag her slowly onto her knees. "I'm so glad you are all okay." Silent tears streamed down her cheeks. "I was so worried..." Truth be told, it was more worrisome knowing that her family was far away from her fighting a legend, while she was elsewhere unable to help them.
"Gomen Marika-nee." Sakura smiled up at her, bringing up her hand to wipe away Marika's tears.
Marika merely shook her head vehemently, her eyes turning to examine the remaining shinobi -and with this, once more the realization that Shisui and Itachi were not among them crept up on her, and she turned to Sakura once more in a panic. "And of Itachi?" The inherent curiosity of Shisui's whereabouts was also there, but she knew she could not ask this out loud.
The tension had returned once more, and Sakura's eyes had grown weak and filled with turmoil, tears beginning to form at the corner of her eyes. In fact, she dare not give Marika a response as she looked down at the floor.
"Uchiha Itachi was killed in battle." Tsunade answered the question that Sakura could not answer, and it had brought on a surge of fear and panic within Marika, who turned to look from Tsunade back onto her younger sister. For Tsunade to know this, it meant that he had already been defeated by the time that she had arrived to help them.
'No...'
The world around her seemed to spin out of control, as whispers from the shinobi behind them went up in rushed shocked -the Uchiha Itachi had been the only casualty in the war? Perhaps the strongest shinobi out of the bunch had been taken out? And if that had been the case, how had the rest of them survived?
And what did this mean of Shisui? She was almost too afraid to ask, but she did not want to put her sister's distraught state behind her own selfish desires. "Sakura-chan, I'm so sorry... I-" But she stopped herself -quite frankly, what could she say? Nothing she spoke would alleviate Sakura's torture right now. Definitely not right now, and especially not in front of the thousands of shinobi staring at the scene before them.
"Don't worry about me, Marika-nee." Sakura had finally looked back up, wiping away the tears that had yet to spill from her eyes. "I'll be fine."
But Marika couldn't help but wonder how that could possibly be -no, there was no way she could be fine. Kami knew if she found out that Shisui hadn't made it back either- But as a matter of fact, if Shisui indeed had passed away, Marika would be an absolute wreck right now -so why was Sakura not in the same state? Was she simply putting up a front for all of her comrades to see? Or was there something more to the story?
Marika's eyes had turned from pained empathy to confusion, and Sakura could understand what she wanted to ask, but felt obviously too uncomfortable to do so. Either way, Sakura had brought Marika closer into an embrace, her lips brushing lightly against her older sister's ear. "Play along. They're fine." Sakura explained dutifully, knowing fully well what was eating away at Marika, despite her not even asking on Shisui's behalf.
They had pulled away for several seconds, and although Marika looked on with a renewed expression of confusion, she turned to look at Sasuke -who although worse for wear and clearly troubled, was not a distraught mess as she would expect one to be after finding out that their brother had died.
No -something was amiss.
And Sakura had said they expressly; she could only mean Shisui and Itachi, for they were the only ones they had not returned with. Before Marika could do anything else though, somebody behind her had cleared their throat, and Marika was forced to release Sakura and turn to stare at the towering figure of their Hokage. "I take it everything went well?"
The tension in the air was near suffocating, as everyone, included the hundreds of shinobi in the background, waited for Sakura to speak.
"Hai. Madara and Obito were defeated -Orochimaru fled, though." Sakura responded solemnly.
But this was all the confirmation they needed, and with this statement cheers erupted in the crowds, but even so, just a few seconds later Tsunade had lifted her hand to silence their shinobi, clearly wanting to speak once more -and silence they did. "Sakura, we would not have won this battle without you." Tsunade admitted honestly -because in between Sakura's Rinnegan, her hundreds upon hundreds of cherry blossoms that had encompassed the grounds of battle and healed literally everyone, and her battle against Madara, everyone knew that had they not had Sakura helping out, there would have been hundreds more casualties by the end of the war. "We would not all be here were it not for you."
"Iie, Tsunade-shishou, it was Sasuke-kun and Naruto who-"
"Hai... it was them too -but you saved us. In fact, all of you helped to achieve victory in this war." Sakura was going to argue against it, but she had not had the time to speak, as suddenly Tsunade bowed before Team Sakura -and accordingly, so did the shinobi behind her, until everyone was suddenly bowing before them.
Sakura's face turned a fearsome shade of red, but alas, she could not even stand, so she had to just sit there and take it, as she, Naruto, Sasuke looked away in embarrassment -for it was because of them specifically that Madara had been defeated, and everyone knew that, and accordingly even the other shinobi that had been a part of Team Sakura had bowed before the trio of nin -now legends in their own respects, despite their young age.
But of course, this moment had been interrupted by a loud grumbling, and all eyes turned to Naruto, now blushing as well. "Baa-chan, I haven't eaten all day, is there any food?"
Tsunade snorted -of course the baka would ruin the first time everyone had bowed to him as if he were a Kage. Nevertheless, his statement brought a smile to her face. "Hai -but let's focus on getting everybody healed first, nee?"
Accordingly, medics had rushed to their side, in particular to help Sayuri, Himawari, and Hiroto, whilst Tsunade stated that she would handle Team 7 and the mysterious nin in between Sasuke and Kakashi personally. "Marika, I want you in charge of the rest."
Marika nodded and made room, allowing Tsunade to approach the fallen figure of Sakura, who she picked up with an ease attributed to her enhanced chakra. "Gomen, Sakura... you've over-exerted yourself..." Tsunade stated with pity -just by running the slightest amounts of chakra into Sakura's system she could tell that her reserves were all but gone -it was sheer will power at this point that was keeping Sakura conscious, and she knew it would take the entirety of a week for Sakura to be up and running once more.
"Nevermind that, shishou. There's more pressing matters to discuss." Sakura whispered lowly, and Tsunade knew just by the way her eyebrows knitted together that this was serious and entirely to be kept under wraps.
"What's wrong?" She spoke, as she began to walk towards her tent -Sasuke and Kakashi still helping Nagato, and Naruto leading the rear, urging that none of the other medics on duty follow them.
"It's about Itachi... he-"
But Sakura did not have time to finish her sentence, for it was at this moment that Tsunade stepped into her tent-
-And was greeted by the sight of Itachi and Shisui themselves, the younger of the two Uchiha sitting on one of the beds, while the other stood by his side with a hand on his shoulder for support.
"...is alive..." Sakura finished quietly, even as the rest of Team 7 and Nagato entered the tent, Naruto making sure no one peeked in, as he sealed the flap closed.
"What in Kami's sake..." She damn near dropped her student at the sight.
After the surprise and shock of discovering both Uchiha in her tent (how had they snuck past everyone so quietly, especially in knowing that Itachi was blind before her?), she settled down in a lone chair, after Nagato had also been brought to a bed for examining.
And then the silence stretched as Tsunade simply stared at them (Was she hallucinating? No -that couldn't be right. But how had she left Sakura with one Akatsuki member and she returns with four?).
Finally with a heavy sigh, she parted her lips. "First and foremost, I'd like to know how you're alive, Uchiha." the atmosphere, which had been nothing but shock and confusion, had now turned serious as Tsunade stared at the Uchiha. She had seen the man die -hell, she had transplanted his very own eyes into Sasuke's. So how...?
Itachi did not respond -even for his standards, he was unusually quiet and on edge. "Kikyou used up the last of her strengths to bring him back..." Sakura stated seriously, answering for Itachi. Truth be told, he hadn't said a word after being told that he was amnesic (with the exception of nods and low "Ah"s). Perhaps he was still processing, or perhaps he felt as if he were surrounded by a sea of strangers, save for Kakashi, Shisui and Sasuke, the only three people he could remember from his timeline, save for knowing the name of Senju Tsunade.
Tsunade nodded in understanding. "I guess you're lucky..." he addressed him, although he was still unusually silent.
Sakura frowned. "Shishou... he's amnesic."
Tsunade blinked, twice, thrice. "Oh..." it was all she could say as she turned to stare at the nin -accordingly, she could now understand why his shoulders were so rigid and tense, why he hadn't said a word, and why, pray tell, Shisui had yet to release his hold on him, as if assuring the elder Uchiha. "Well, I suppose this does pose as a problem..." Even so, she would not hold back on the Uchiha. "How amnesic?" she spoke after several seconds of simply staring at the blind and silent Uchiha.
"As far as we can tell, severely." Sakura stated, her lips pursed into a frown -after all, he couldn't remember her at all, which meant that his amnesia most likely wiped out several years of his memory. "He doesn't even know who I am." Which spoke to the severity, because Sakura was now a part of his past that should be deeply ingrained in the nin -over ten years of history between them, of lingering memories and emotions that were suddenly all gone.
"Do you know who you are? Speak up Uchiha." she spoke sternly as she addressed the blind man.
There was no response, and as such Sasuke moved to sit alongside his aniki. With a hand on the shoulder not currently occupied by Shisui, he parted his lips. "Itachi-nii, it's alright. This is the Godaime Hokage; Senju Tsunade.
Itachi shifted, for the first time since Shisui had brought him to this foreign location moving, as he cleared his throat. "Hai; Uchiha Itachi, first son of Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto.
Tsunade scowled. He was too tense -not that she could blame him, being surrounded by a sea of strangers after supposedly having been dead and now suddenly not. "It is good that you decided to sneak him in," Tsunade began with a sigh. "In any case, it means we have the upper hand."
"The upper hand against what?" Naruto frowned -was the war not over? What other enemies did they possibly have to deal with right now?
"Danzo, right?" Sakura spoke seriously from her location atop another bed alongside Nagato. "I figured keeping Itachi a secret for the time being would help us in case Danzo was snooping around." Sakura stated seriously.
Although Naruto seemed confused, he knew now was not the time to ask -Kami knows this Sakura knew much more than him, and kept too many secrets to count.
"Unfortunately, there is not much we can do for Itachi right now, until we can get him back into the village and run some tests on him. I fear there is too much on our hands for the time being." Tsunade spoke seriously, as she turned to eye Nagato and Sakura, both of which heavily wounded in their own ways. But her eyes shifted from her young disciple -if she could even call her that now, because it seemed to her Sakura was more than capable of fighting against her on even fields, to the older nin in question.
"Nagato," she addressed him calmly. Blind as he was, he was far more comfortable with his situation, waiting patiently for someone to address him. "You were an enemy to our village until recently -I cannot promise your safety if your identity is discovered."
"I do not expect lenient treatment, Tsunade." Nagato spoke seriously. "My foolish ideals and blind faith in Obito caused this war. I am no one to ask for such kindness." he spoke humbly. "I expect punishment -and I will welcome it. So many lives have been destroyed because of me. I have no right to beg for mercy."
"Even so, you aided us when you did not have to; and I will keep this in mind. For now, we will worry about returning you all to the village and seeing what can be done from there."
"When were you thinking about having us return, Tsunade-sama?" Kakashi spoke seriously -truth be told his left eye could no longer see, as it had been over-used -he would need a week's rest just to be able to see again.
"I will first have to speak to the Kages'. I am sure they are awaiting for me to reach out to them." Tsunade stated seriously. "That being said, once we confirm Madara's death there is no real reason for us to remain here. I do, however, need to give you guys time to rest, or you will not be able to make the journey home. I need a pair of good shinobi to be able to escort the Uchiha back home undetected."
"You can leave that to me," Sasuke spoke confidently.
"Iie." Tsunade rejected. "You will have too many eyes on you; furthermore, Sakura will need help to travel, as well. You guys are all being revered as heroes; your absence will bring up questions, and we need to keep this as clean as possible for the time being."
"I'm fine, shishou." Sakura protested.
"You can lie to them all you want, but you cannot lie to me, Sakura. You are my student, and I know your limits." Tsunade spoke sternly. "You reached it a long time ago. If you try and work your body now you will cause permanent damage." her golden eyes stared right at Sakura. "You must rest, for there will be much to do once we return to the village."
Sakura grumbled incoherently, but said not a word to counter Tsunade. Accordingly, she turned to stare at Shisui. "I want you to wait for Marika in her tent; you need to be checked up by someone who knows of your existence. If you are deemed okay, I would like to assign you and Marika to escort Itachi home. Would you be alright with that?"
"I have no complaints, Tsunade-sama. Even if I have not been in the village for years now, Konoha is my home. I am your shinobi." Shisui bowed in respect.
Tsunade nodded in satisfaction. "I'm sure you can find your way into Marika's tent, then; if you were able to find your way in here, I'm sure you can manage that. I'll send word for her to meet you."
"Hai." With a nod, Shisui released his hold from Itachi, able to do so only because he knew Itachi would be okay so long as Sasuke was by his side, and began to walk away.
With a sigh, Tsunade turned her focus onto the remaining shinobi. "Let's see what I can do about patching you all up, then."
"They sure did a number on you." Marika scowled, examining her elder cousin with her healing chakra. "You're not as young as you once were, Hiroto. Even Saki managed better off than you."
"Saki's got a useful contract she can make use off," Hiroto scowled as he glanced at Saki -already done with her treatment and simply standing there to converse with Daichi.
"I don't care to hear your excuses," Marika remarked with a roll of her eyes. "You'll need to lay off your arm for the next few days to allow the spider fractures to mend all the way. As it stands I don't have enough chakra to do everything for you." As she spoke, she stopped the flow of healing chakra to Hiroto's arm and turned, taking her gloves off all the while. "Alright, whose next?"
But before she could get her hands on Himawari, a young kunoichi made her way into the medic's tent. "A-Anno... sorry for the interruption..." she spoke meekly, noticing that before her were two S-Class rogues, although both blue-haired former Akatsuki members seemed entirely complacent as they listened to the medics currently healing them. "Marika-sama, Tsunade-sama has asked for you -something about going to your tent to check on something?"
Marika's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but she nodded and excused herself quickly, stating that she would be back soon enough -she had probably left a letter for her or something, not that she couldn't understand why the medic hadn't just delivered it here. Accordingly, she trudged on, already exhausted, in between healing Saki and Hiroto, and having had not an ounce of sleep the entire day before. Without giving it much thought, she entered her tent, her eyes immediately scanning for some sort of scroll or letter-
But she found none, and rather, she was not alone in the tent -and with bewildered eyes she stared up at the figure of Shisui -granted, she had ran smack into his chest, having not expected somebody to be two inches away from the flap.
Accordingly, she was about to yelp, clearly startled, but Shisui had merely held his hand to her mouth, a grin on his features. "It's good to see you too, Marika." he stated sarcastically.
Marika glared, removing his hand from her lips as she turned to close the flap on her tent, lest anybody see the man in there. "What are you doing here? Sakura-chan told me you were supposed to stay away." Her back was still facing him, perhaps because she didn't want him to see her flushed face.
"I was in Tsunade's tent conversing with everyone -but I wanted to see you."
-Oh and now it was even redder. "Okay, well, congratulations, here I am." she stated sarcastically. "What do you think is going to happen if people see you he-?" she sighed once more, trying to regain her breathing (and calm her raging cheeks), and she turned to face him once more, but she did not get to finish her sentence.
For the moment she had turned, she had found Shisui's lips directly on hers, and all she could do was stand there, eyes wide, too shocked to even reciprocate the kiss, until Shisui once more retreated, the grin on his face having never left. "Gomen -I had to do that. I've been waiting too long." he admitted honestly, scratching the back of his head hesitantly. "Given your response, or lack thereof, I take it you don't feel the same." And why did he say that so coolly, as if he weren't affected by the news, that stupid grin never leaving his features?
Something within Marika snapped, and she instead glared. "How dare you," as she spoke, she poked him in the chest harshly, "decide to do this after we could have possibly died, you stupid Uchiha." Hell yeah she was angry -why couldn't he have let her admit to her feelings the last time she had seen him? Quite frankly, when she didn't see him alongside Team Sakura, she had thought, even if just for a few minutes, that he had died, and it had built up a dread within her like no other.
"Gomen." Shisui stated with a frown. "I just -I didn't want to get my hopes up." He admitted honestly. "The chances of me not coming back alive were high, given who our opponents were. I didn't want to start something that I wouldn't be able to see through to the end." And there it was, just the slightest shades of pink tinting his cheeks, and it made Marika's stomach churn with emotion. He gave a defeated sigh and once more spoke. "I know I'm probably not ideal -granted, I'm sure there's many men who could give you more than I could-"
But now it was Marika's turn to cut him off, poking him once more in the chest. "You think I care about that? Kami if that was the case I would have married the Daimyo's son years ago." she rolled her eyes. "I have been irreparably single all of my life hoping that this dunce of an Uchiha would realize how I feel and make a move, but nooooo..." she glared.
But that was all the confirmation that Shisui needed, and with Marika's indirect proclamation of her feelings for the nin, Shisui broke out into a smile filled with elated happiness. He had always believed Marika deserved better, more than he could ever give her, and he was relieved to find that, all along, she had been in the same boat as he.
But at that moment he looked so breath-takingly handsome, and Marika couldn't help the blush that returned to her cheeks.
"So you mean to tell me you've liked me all this time?"
-And there he went, ruining the moment, doing this weird thing with his eyebrows as he stared at Marika funnily.
"..."
"..."
"You know what? I change my mind, I don't know what I saw in you. Please leave my tent."
Shisui released a laugh from his throat, but did not back down as he pulled Marika to him and wrapped his hands around her. "I refuse."
"Let go of me." Marika stammered.
"Hmmm... Nah, I'll pass."
"Shisui." she threatened.
"So long as I live I will never let go." he teased once more -little did Marika know that, despite the joking undertone, there was much truth to his words.
"I won't ask again." she warned him.
"I guess you'll just have to fight me." Shisui ignored her.
Marika grinned. "With pleasure." Given her close proximity to the nin, it was quite easy for her to trip him with a little help from her Jasmines, and he had fallen right onto her sleeping bag.
-Granted, Shisui had seen this coming and had merely allowed it to happen, taking delight in the fact that she too fell with him, now placed ungracefully on top of him (did he mention he had yet to release her?). "Well Marika, if this is what you wanted you could have just said so."
Her face got even redder, if possible, and out of sheer panic she began to fidget wildly, anything to get away from that man because Kami she swore she was going to pop a nose bleed any second now, but Shisui did not relent -instead, he turned to the side and brought her face closer to his. "This is nice, isn't it?" he hummed out.
"Holding me against my will?" she glared straight at his amused orbs, if only because they were so close, it was the only thing she could glare at.
"Shhhh" Shisui silenced her, as if asking her to stop being dramatic, closing his eyes as he did so. "We should do this more often."
She fidgeted a little bit more, even going as far as asking her jasmines to help her.
But with a mischievous snicker, they, for the first time ever, refused to acknowledge Marika's demands. 'We won't help you out of this one, Mistress. Gomen.' As such, the jasmine bud that had emerged earlier had disappeared once more and then she was left with a displeased frown on her face. With a new found anger and agitation, she began to squirm under his embrace once more, before she gave up with a defeated sigh and allowed Shisui to smother her. Truth be told, despite her embarrassment, she had only ever dreamed of being this close to the man -of hugging him and -Oh my Kami they had shared a kiss! Granted, she hadn't kissed him back because she was too shocked, but a kiss nonetheless...! She swallowed this thought down because she knew it would only mean the death of her. "People will start to wonder where I went, you know."
"Just a little while longer, okay?" his voice was so gentle -so vulnerable, it had caught Marika off guard as she stared at his face.
Despite his relentless teasing, he was just as vulnerable as she was, and it made her heart flutter with a different kind of happiness. But then from his eyes, his long lashes framing his features beautifully, her eyes traveled down to his pointed nose and beautiful cheek bones until they settled on his lips, her stomach churning once more with untold desires. "I'd like to try that again, if you wouldn't mind." she spoke hesitantly.
"Try what?" As he spoke, he peeked one eye open.
But Marika did not wait for permission, instead allowing her lips to once more join his –an act which had surprised Shisui and had left his face to flush red this time, but he did not miss a beat to reciprocate the affection. And that's when Marika felt it -all the love and affection that they had been holding back, the warmth of his touch and the gentleness of his moves.
This had been right all along, they had both just been too scared to act on it.
They pulled away several seconds later, Marika beet red and Shisui the slightest shades of pink -but they did not speak, simply lay there and stare at each other in a way that sealed their feelings and their intentions in stone.
"So what now?" Marika finally spoke after a while.
"Tsunade-sama asked me to come visit you so you could check my injuries -and if I was cleared, she wanted to assign the two of us to escort Itachi into the village -secretly, of course. After that we can see about me no longer being dead, because I have no intentions of walking away from you again."
Although his statement had made her blush, Marika scowled at the same time. "You couldn't just start with that?"
Shisui chuckled. "I could, but where would be the fun in that? -Ouch, hey!" he had been silenced once more, but not by Marika's lips.
It was dark once more; between healing their comrades and communicating with the other fronts of the war, what was left of the day had dragged on unbearably slow -somewhat slugging exhaustion washing over the Allied Ninja Forces as the news of their victory spread and although clearly joyful, suddenly the events of the war began to sink in -particularly of the lives that had been lost, and of anxiousness awaiting for the friends in other fronts of the war to finally communicate with them.
Even so, Naruto's rallying call had done wonders to boost the morale among the Konohagakure camp -and with Naruto at the helm of all the attention, it had left Sakura to comfortably and calmly nestle herself next to Tsunade and disappear into the background, even as Sai and Marika approached them with two blue-haired figures in tow, both chained, although not very securely guarded (seeing as they were of no real threat) mostly to qualm the concerns of the surrounding shinobi.
After being healed, as was promised, Kisame was delivered to Tsunade, Konan following behind him simply through obligation -her guilt would not allow her to escape the consequences of this war that she was partially at fault for starting.
"It is good to see you both well." Tsunade stated calmly, eyeing the two former Akatsuki members.
"Hai." Kisame agreed calmly. "In any case," he began, "a deal's a deal, Tsunade. You can tell Mei that I'll be awaiting my punishment thusly; she does not have to worry about me trying to run away."
"Sai, release them." Tsunade ordered calmly, and with a lift of her hand, Sai had bowed and undid the chakra enhanced cuffs at both of their wrists. "You two are dismissed for the time being. Please gather Team Gai and have them wait for me in my quarters. Arigatou." With another bow, Marika and Sai left, leaving Tsunade and Sakura alone with the two former Akatsuki members. "Although I cannot speak on Mei's behalf, I will ask her for a lenient punishment. You deserve as much, after everything you've done to help us." Tsunade stated calmly.
Kisame snorted. "Nothing I do will ever make up for what I've done in my lifetime." he reasoned logically. "But I've come to terms with that; whatever decision Mei will come to, I will respect it."
Tsunade nodded, knowing there was not much else she could offer the nin. "The Kage's will convene at this location; when they arrive I will hand you off to her."
"And how long will that be?"
"Sometime within the next three hours, I estimate." Tsunade responded curtly.
"Hai. Arigatou." He thanked once more with a nod.
Tsunade parted her lips, wishing to say something on Kisame's behalf, but closed them once more, knowing anything she would say now to be futile. Instead, her eyes shifted to the kunoichi -a kunoichi whose fate she could instead decide. "You...-" she began, taking a pause to eye the kunoichi up and down. Despite the hardened look in the kunoichi's pointed expression, there was a softness in her remorseful eyes, and not to mention deep troubled concern over her partner's health. "Kaede, right? Sakura has told me about you."
"Hai." Konan bowed slightly to the Kage -perhaps in another lifetime, it would have been her Kage. But not as things stood -her heart and loyalty lie elsewhere, past Tsunade, being guarded by Sasuke within the confines of her tent.
The silenced stretched on as Tsunade struggled to determine what to do here. "Truth be told, we have no real evidence that ties you to Akatsuki activity other than your own account. As far as I'm concerned, you're just a long-lost Konoha kunoichi who happened to land herself in Ame."
If nothing else, Konan was relieved to hear these words, and knew it had entirely to do with Sakura too, who sat alongside Tsunade with a small, exhausted smile on her features. "Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Nagato. And although I promise to take good care of him for the time being, I alone am not capable of making the decision of what is to come to him; he has committed international crimes, and as such, the other Kages' decisions heavily affect what will be done to him."
"I completely understand." Konan nodded with regret and pain swirling in her eyes.
"However," Tsunade paused, "If you are at all inclined to take on the job, I would like for you to be the spokesperson fighting on his behalf. You know better than anyone why he did what he did; surely, if we can sway the other Kages into believing this was all part of Madara's manipulation-"
Although it was a slim chance, it was a chance nonetheless, and it gave Konan hope. With a smile, she looked back up to meet Tsunade's eyes. "Hai; arigatou. If it wouldn't be asking for too much, would it be alright for me to see him?"
Tsunade nodded and stood. "I will escort you; come."
Accordingly, it had left Sakura alone with Kisame, who calmly sighed and took a seat next to Sakura. The tense silence stretched on. "How's he doing?" Kisame finally spoke.
"Heavily amnesic still, although I didn't expect this to change during our journey here." Sakura mused out-loud, staring at the fire a distance from them.
"Ahh..."
More tense silence stretched on. "Do you know if he's still... sick?" Kisame didn't exactly know what else to say -how else to phrase it. But even from the moment that he had seen Itachi rise up from the grave, he was still conscious of the fact that reviving oneself does not necessarily guarantee returning in perfect health; and they could see as much, because Itachi still looked like a deathly weak version of himself.
"I won't know until we return to Konoha and run some tests; as it is, I don't know what I'm looking for." Sakura admitted honestly, although she did instead rummage through her pocket to pull out the medicine bottle that Kisame had thrown at her earlier in their fight against Obito. "All I have is this." she murmured to herself.
Kisame sighed bitterly. "Sakura, no matter what happens-"
"I know." Sakura stated bitterly. "It wasn't my fault, right?"
Kisame frowned. "No matter what happens I've got your back." he instead said, a hand reaching out to grab her shoulder in a comforting manner.
With a sigh, Sakura turned to him. "How about you worry about yourself first, fish-face?" she tried to lighten the mood, if only because she knew that their down-trodden expression was soon to be noticed by her peers, and she didn't want any of them knowing just how deeply troubled she was. "Don't worry, I'll be sure to put in a good word for you with Mei too."
Kisame snorted. To be honest, if he were to die now, he would be accepting of it. After all -who could say they've gone up against a fearsome Uchiha with prowess rivaling Madara and lived? But he would not tell Sakura he was already accepting of his death -he had made a promise to Itachi, and until his dying breath, he would make sure he did just that. "You're too kind."
The hustle and bustle, and not to mention the large influx of shinobi returning to their home (and the civilians too, for they had taken precautionary measures and evacuated the village), had made the perfect setting for Itachi and Shisui to be quietly and remotely extracted and brought into the village undetected alongside Marika. They had been brought to a secluded section of the hospital wing, where Marika had admitted Itachi under an alias and Shisui had been put on bodyguard duty. Then they had been notified by Tsunade to not make any more movements up until she and Sakura arrived to sort through all of the affairs, and so as to not raise suspicion, not even Mikoto could know that they had entered the village.
In the days that came the news had spread like wildfire -of one Uchiha Obito's defeat at the hands of the members of Team Sakura, and Madara's resurrection and eventual defeat by the star Genin Team 7, and of Uchiha Itachi's defeat in battle.
News that had rocked the entire village and had left Mikoto in near heartbreak.
But these tears were good -the devastation, the sheer agony it showed made the death all too real. The following day, the Konohagakure squad had finally arrived back home; bringing with them cheers and applauds from the villagers. And although many wanted to do nothing more than thank Team 7, Sakura had trudged on silently and with much purpose. She had restored enough chakra to walk -but nothing more, and she had been carried by Naruto most of the way here.
Mikoto and Saki had been waiting by the entrance too, both in a manner that showed to both Sasuke and Sakura that they had heard the news.
And although Naruto had basked in the glory, Sasuke and Sakura had walked straight to Mikoto and Saki -Sasuke welcoming his younger sister into his arms while Sakura and Mikoto exchanged a long-lasting hug.
And just those eyes -those regretful, saddened eyes on Sakura's being told Mikoto everything they had to. "Sakura-chan..." she didn't know what to say -didn't know what she could.
"Hospital room 131 on the right wing. Don't ask anyone."
If Mikoto was shocked or confused by the statement, she didn't show it, merely hugging Sakura, and then Sasuke without a word. Their greetings had been cut short, as Sakura had been expressly told to check herself into the hospital for a check-up -and Sasuke would see to it that she went.
Taking this as her queue, Mikoto had followed closely behind them, telling Saki to stay with Naruto for the time being so she could get to the bottom of whatever Sakura's message had been.
He heard shuffling before anything else -felt the chakra signature of four people approach him -3 of which he had already recognized from his time being "resurrected". The last one seemed familiar but different at the same time.
"Itachi-kun, my boy!"
The voice he recognized though, (the first of its kind to make him feel like he was home) quite instantly despite the different chakra signature that he was used to -not that Sasuke had seemed all too alien, but it was hard to imagine that the eight year old child he had loved and cherished so dearly had now become a grown man in his own respect -puberty seemed an odd thought to him.
But his mother was timeless; despite the fact that his last recollection of her was that of his thirteen year old self, his mother sounded exactly as he remembered her to be -it probably did not hurt that he could not see her.
But it did not matter, and even though the hug that Mikoto had embraced him in seemed obtrusive to him, he had allowed the affection to overtake him, finally feeling a sense of normalcy in his life."You're alive. Thank Kami you're alive." she clutched onto her child -even if just for the briefest of days... to actually think that he had...
No, she would not think of it again.
"Gomen, Mikoto." Sakura apologized earnestly, her expression pained. "I didn't want to keep this from you, but it's best Itachi's state remain unknown right now. We thought it too risky to even inform you until we got here."
"Iie. I understand. You did what you had to."
"Hai." Tsunade nodded in agreement. "However, this isn't where our issues end, Mikoto." she spoke grimly. And for the third time since his supposed reincarnation, Itachi had to sit there as the current Hokage -Senju Tsunade, was it, and the apparent teammate of his brother, one Haruno Sakura, explained to Mikoto of Itachi's amnesic state.
"You're telling me he doesn't remember anything?" Mikoto whispered in aghast disbelief, turning to stare at her eldest soon -eye sockets still bandaged and composure still tense.
"As far as we can tell, his last memories seem to be of his thirteen year old self." Sakura assessed his condition thoughtfully.
But at this, Mikoto couldn't help but knit her eyebrows. "You mean to tell me he doesn't remember the-" But she cut herself off, in fear that it would alert Itachi -her poor son was already so anxious as it was, and she most definitely did not need to add anything else to the mix right now.
"It would seem not." Sakura shook her head in denial, answering Mikoto's unfinished question.
He did not remember the massacre.
"Itachi, I know this may seem like a really frightful situation to you, but can you tell us the last thing you remember?" It had been Sasuke who spoke this time -a voice that Itachi could make out and identify well enough, despite the passage of time.
Despite his apprehension, feeling the presence of his mother, her gentle, comforting hand upon his own, had given him the confidence to speak up. "I was returning from a mission when I stumbled upon a kunoichi in a clearing outside of the borders of Konoha."
Sakura's eyebrows knitted in confusion.
Why did this eerily remind her of the first time she had met Itachi?
"This kunoichi -can you describe her?" It had been Sakura who spoke up this time.
"Iie, I cannot remember her features." Itachi denied politely. "All I know is that I delivered her to the hospital and notified Sarutobi-sama. Afterwards I returned home."
Sakura frowned. Why was everything so coincidental here?
"A-Annou..." There had been a disruption by the form of Shizune, who had entered the room nervously.
"What is it, Shizune?" Tsunade asked seriously.
"Neji's reconnaissance team is back from their scouting of Madara's lair. He says he needs to speak with you urgently."
Tsunade sighed, moving her hands to massage her temples -truth be told, the damage control following the war was becoming too much, in between having to deal with hiding Itachi's identity, trying to figure out what had happened, and sorting out the international affairs after the fact. "Mikoto, I leave Itachi to your care for the time being. Sakura, come with me."
Sakura turned with a slight frown of refusal, not moving an inch even as Tsunade began to walk away -immediately after returning to Konoha Sakura had rushed back here, hoping to be able to care for Itachi, but nearly as soon as she had gotten back she was once more being pulled away.
Although Tsunade understood Sakura's urgency and desire to stay by his side, there were things that Tsunade needed her for presently. "He will be here once you get back, Sakura." she instructed calmly.
"I know that, shishou but-" her words got stuck in her throat as she turned to stare at Itachi, busy conversing with Sasuke and Mikoto.
After having nearly lost him, separating from him was simply too much for her heart to bare -and quite frankly, according to Kisame's last words, Itachi had been sick. If these words were true, Itachi simply coming back to live did not put him in the clear -in fact, it was probably still prolonging the inevitable.
And so it had been, and Itachi had promptly been left with the likes of Mikoto and Sasuke -only immediate family, save for Saki because Itachi obviously knew not that he had a sister, and they wanted to show as much normalcy as possible for the time being.
With the exception of Sakura, Tsunade, Kakashi, and Shizune, none other than the Uchiha had been allowed entrance into the secured and secluded hospital room -truth be told, with the added exception of Naruto and the Haruno clan members, no one else knew that Itachi was even alive.
But this was relatively unimportant, she supposed.
It had been silent in the room after Tsunade and Sakura had left -Mikoto still tightly hugging her child but not knowing what to say, what with a magnitude of different thoughts running through her head, and Sasuke simply staring at his brother -banged up and bruised, eyes bandaged and his body weak and pale. Never before had he seen his brother so worse for wear, so... defeated, but thoughts of his dead body simply kept flashing through his mind.
'No, this is infinitely better.' He told himself. Despite his being blind, despite his amnesia -Itachi was alive, and that was all that mattered.
"Tsunade... she seems accustomed to her duties as Hokage..." Itachi finally spoke up, deciding that he didn't like this silence -he already couldn't see, and the silence, given how alienated he felt as it was, felt obtrusive and suffocating. More than anything, he wanted to feel caught up to current events -and now that he was back in Konoha and alongside his mother, he finally felt comfortable enough to speak up (not to mention that three days had passed since he had awoken once more, so he had had time to process everything).
"Hai." Sasuke stated with a nod, even if Itachi could not see it.
"And of Sarutobi?" Of course even though he knew the answer, he still had to ask -Sarutobi was, as far as he could remember, his Hokage. Having to get used to that would take time.
Sasuke frowned. "He was ambushed by a joint attack on Konohagakure by Orochimaru and Suna six years ago. He gave his life to protect the village. He died an honorable death." Sasuke stated slowly.
"Ahh..." Itachi seemed hesitant to continue on with his next train of thought. "And of our family?" Perhaps the more relevant question.
There was some sort of tension in the air, as if Mikoto and Sasuke had been hoping this question would not come up -especially not so early on. But simply by the lack of response Itachi could already tell what the answer was. "Given the silence, I take it they are all gone." Although this was strange enough as it was, seeing as Shisui was alive -they had come to a joint agreement that Shisui would give his life for saving Konoha when the time came. So what had changed? Given his empty sockets, he knew his eyes now lay with someone else -meaning that they had had the Mangekyou in them for them to even be valuable enough to take. And how had he obtained them if his cousin was still alive?
Mikoto turned to Sasuke. "I believe this is something to be better discussed with the entire family. Perhaps later, when Shisui can join us... As it is, Saki has been waiting anxiously to see everyone..." Mikoto spoke, a bit worriedly. "We've kept her in the dark for far too long, Sasuke. She's a smart girl, there isn't much that gets past her."
"Saki?" Itachi asked in confusion. Who was she and why was she relevant to the topic at hand?
Sasuke frowned, staring at his currently blind elder brother as he and Mikoto realized their mistake. "She's our sister. My junior by eight years."
"..." Silence ensued in the room.
He had a sister?
Given her age, it was likely that she was conceived before the Uchiha Massacre that he was accurately assuming had already occurred, and had spared only those previously mentioned -had she perhaps been the reason that he had decided to spare his mother?
Just how much information was he missing?
Blind, Nagato had been taken back to Konoha in Konan's origami and supervised by one Sai, and forced to recover under heavy security. He had been healed and the dozens of metal rods previously protruding out of his body had been removed (courtesy of Shizune) having no more use for them, and while waiting to obtain new eyes, he had been left to silently mule over his actions and his future in solitude -Konan had to be elsewhere arranging for his safety and being the spokesperson to argue for his safe release.
But something was different; it had been the moment that Sakura's cherry blossom trees had been erected around them and he had felt their power surge through him.
His hand tightened into a tight fist as he tried to draw enough strength to move; Kami he had gone too long without moving his physical body now that his strength could be akin to a child's. His muscles had deteriorated, and it had made it impossible for Nagato to move on his own.
But he would not give up.
He had clicked on the locks for his wheelchair, positioned right in front of a window with a rail, and with much determination, he had grabbed onto said rail.
He could do this -he would do this.
With a heavy sigh of concentration, he had pulled himself up, his knees hobbling precariously as they tried to accustom themselves to his weight.
And even though it hurt immensely and he could barely hold himself up, he had done it.
He had stood, even when his legs had been deemed irreparable many years before!
"Nagato, I have your foo-"
Konan had entered his hospital room, but at the sight before her, the metallic tray in her hand had fallen straight to the floor, and with wide eyes she stared at Nagato, who turned with a strained, beaming smile on his features. "Konan." he greeted her even though he could not see her, but within the next few seconds his legs had once more given out, and he had fallen to the floor.
Konan had rushed to his side in an instant, ignoring the food, and had knelt before him. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" she looked over his weakened figure, pleased to find no real injuries.
But Nagato, as tired as he may be, looked up towards the sound of Konan's voice with, for the first time since Yahiko had died, hope. "I can walk, Konan."
Konan did not respond, but merely looked on in wide-eyed confusion.
Tsunade, Sakura, and Shizune had made their way back to Tsunade's office, where Neji, TenTen, and Lee had been waiting -rather tensely, it would seem, for Tsunade's arrival.
The introductions had been bipassed, as Tsunade examined their expressions -Lee's disturbed, Neji's grim, and TenTen's uncertain. "What did you find in there?" Tsunade stated seriously. Tsunade had originally thought of just destroying the lair in its entirety, fearful that within it could be anything that could lead to more disasters, but given what Sakura had sensed, quietly relayed to Tsunade during their healing session, she had warned her Kage (and aunt!) that maybe it was worth checking out at first; but Sakura was far too injured and exhausted, hell, most of the members of Team Sakura which she had sent out were, and as such she had had to entrust these matters onto other shinobi which she trusted with nearly as much discretion.
"Sharingan." Neji stated seriously. "Hundreds upon hundreds of Sharingan eyes, locked away and stored, as if for later use."
But at the mere comment, Tsunade, Shizune, and Sakura couldn't help but widen their eyes in shock -and almost as if for added emphasis, Neji pulled out a scroll and unsealed it -within them lay two perfectly stored eyes of the very same nature that Neji had described.
"But how?" Sakura's eyes furrowed in confusion.
"Given how long Madara and subsequently Obito have been alive in the span of both their lives, is it truly unrealistic to see that they managed to steal and store so many Sharingan?" Neji asked seriously. "If I'm not mistaken, Orochimaru conducted similar experiments..."
And Neji was entirely right; these Sharingan had to have been collected long before the extermination of the Uchiha -or perhaps some even taken during the massacre itself. It seemed plausible, but it did not make it any less disturbing.
"What are you orders, Tsunade-sama?" TenTen stated hesitantly -as it stood, only the people in the room knew about what was hidden within that lair; none of the other Kage had given it any thought of checking the lair, as they also had damage control to deal with in their own cities but for the time being, were all resting and recuperating in the Konoha hospital -the closest city between all four.
"These eyes are dangerous, shishou." Sakura warned seriously. "If this gets out-"
"It won't get out." Tsunade affirmed seriously, looking at the eyes placed on the table. "These will go to Itachi -it is only right, seeing as he gave up his own to win this war." she determined with a bit of empathy. With Itachi, they could trust eyes such as these. "Shizune, I want you to inform the Kage's that we're having an emergency meeting to discuss what we have uncovered."
"Do we really want to notify them?" Neji asked with much apprehension. "This could lead to an international incident."
And Neji was right, but inversely, not telling them would be a sign of bad faith; and when they were this close to global peace, did Tsunade really want to affect that? "I have to put my faith in the relations that we are building with these nations." Tsunade admitted honestly. Truth be told, she was not at all concerned with how Gaara or Mei would take the news; it was more so A and Onoki who she had reservations over.
"You're making the right decision, Tsunade-shishou." Sakura affirmed with a confident nod. "Irregardless, these eyes are property of Konoha if no one else's -they cannot lay claims to it." Sure, they may want their hands on them, but anyone of them there could just as easily argue that these eyes had started too many wars as it was -why not limit their spread entirely?
"After what these eyes have started, I doubt anyone will have any protests about seeing the entirety of the base go up in flames." TenTen admitted honestly. "I think the last thing anyone else wants is for the power of the Sharingan to resurface again."
And TenTen was undoubtedly right, and it did much to ease their worries about the matter. "Sakura, I'm putting you in charge of Itachi's recuperation." Tsunade stated sternly. "I know you're exhausted, but now more than ever we need to get him to full strength and hide him away. The quicker it is he gets better, the less of an threat there is to his being."
Sakura nodded seriously. "And of these eyes?"
"I want you, Shizune, and Marika to handle the operation; it should not be too difficult." she stated seriously.
Sakura and Shizune exchanged glances, and nodded accordingly. "I will take these to the hospital and prep him for surgery, then." Sakura stated seriously, mostly addressing Shizune. Truth be told, she didn't want to just be holding on to Sharingan eyes; the quicker they transplanted them into Itachi, the better.
"I will relay Tsunade-sama's message to the Kages' and then inform Marika that her presence is needed in the hospital, then." Shizune nodded in affirmation.
Tsunade nodded, pleased with their plan, before she turned to Neji. "Good work you three. I expect what you have discovered to be kept secret with the utmost confidentiality."
"Of course, Tsunade-sama." Neji, Lee, and TenTen had bowed accordingly, and promptly dismissed themselves.
End of Chapter
Hi everyone! The long awaited sequel is OUT!
So, I could not hold back any more on posting the final sequel to the trilogy. I know I have not finished updating Sakura's New Past yet, but I've gotten it to a place where I am content with it and don't feel the overwhelming need to change everything. As such, I felt it was an appropriate time to finally post this.
Similar to the beginning of Sakura's New Present, the first couple chapters will include flashbacks, but this time of everything that happened immediately after the war. This will pick up right where the last story left off. The next chapter will officially begin the progression of the plot, but this will include important information to know.
There is a lot that is going on in these first couple chapters, the Aftermath of the war, but after everyone has been moved back into Konoha, we will finally begin to see the emergence of the new antagonist of the story and how the war has impacted some of our favorite characters.
There is a lot in store for all you readers and I am so excited to finally be out with this ^_^
I also want to explain my thought process as far as Nagato's walking goes (which kind of alludes to Itachi as well). Sakura's healing chakra, when activating Hanami, is amplified and potent -having the ability to rejuvenate chakra and heal wounds instantly, in the cellular level it means that it can cause a mass reproduction of cells to replace damaged ones. Furthermore, due to a common lineage from the Otsutsuki blood, Sakura's Hanami is especially strong to people with common ancestors; Uchiha, Haruno, Hyuga, Senju, Uzumaki, etc.
Nagato is still severely weakened and practically crippled, but similar to what Lee had gone through with Tsunade, he is capable of once more walking, given proper time and therapy. I'm a sap for happy endings and no one is excluded from this, and I regret nothing!
I would love for everyone to spill their thoughts on the beginning! I made it extra lengthy for you guys as well to apologize for the long hiatus. I do want to say I will not be updating until I get my next 2 chapters out for SNP, but I've gone back on my word before so I will not set anything in stone.
Any and all feedback is much appreciated!
-MarzSpy