Hello! I hope you'll like this chapter!

Disclaimer: I own the OCs in this fic, the rest is Masashi Kishomoto's. Sorry for any spelling mistakes or any OCCness.

Character age:

Akane, Itachi: 22

Naruto, Sasuke: 17

Shisui: 26

Kakashi: 31

"I don't want to be that person criticizing everything, but instead of biting my tongue with my teeth can't you check where we are?" I asked the Shodai, annoyed at him.

"Anija, let me in control," Tobirama ordered him. "If you get in a fight it will be too obvious it's not you, and you're not even a sensor."

"I can handle it!" He took a few breaths. "I just need to to figure out...with Akane's chakra and not mine...Uzumaki chakra and Senju chakra, I thought they were pretty similar but they are...still pretty different."

"Is it good or bad?" I whispered to oji-chan, who shrugged. Tobirama looked at me from the corner of his eyes.

"Anija had an incredible vitality when he was alive, and we've seen how his body cells were harvested to your time because of it, but the Uzumaki clan as a whole is known for their life force and vitality, so who knows. He is this Asura's reincarnation but your whole clan was incredibly resistant."

"We should have been called the cockroach clan," I muttered.

"Alright!" He turned into sage mode and was expelled quickly. "Huh, so no senjutsu."

"Shodai-sama, if you give me a few seconds I can sense the area for you," Minato suggested. Hashirama hummed.

"Alright, but then it's my turn. I want to…" I narrowed my eyes at him and he sweatdropped. "Get Akane out of this terrible situation."

"Right…"

Oji-chan sensed the area, confirming Obito was nowhere to be found. Hashirama then started to carefully explore the area, Tobirama giving him...quite a lot of pointers.

"Remember, Akane uses Suiton Fuuton, Hyouton, Fuinjutsu, Kenjutsu and…"

"I know, no Mokuton Tobirama, I've been awake for a while," Hashirama interrupted him, annoyed. "But it doesn't mean I can't use Hyouton to…"

"You'll freeze yourself to death and all of us with you."

"Please don't use my kekkai genkai…" I asked him quietly.

I'd trust Tobirama more than Hashirama with it. I mean, not that the Shodai was not good but...maybe a little too forward like Naruto.

Anyway, he went through the place, ready to jump into action. It seemed to be completely deserted and a maze. At some point, Tobirama got sick of his brother just walking in circles and took his place.

"Tobirama!" I put my hand on Hashirama's shoulder and gave him a threatening look.

"I'll let you have a walk once we're in Konoha, or Kiri, literally anywhere but here." His shoulders dropped.

Tobirama was way more efficient, and was an excellent sensor so he decided quickly where to go. He made turns here and there and stopped in a dead end. I frowned.

"You don't look too good." Who was he…

"Shut up Uzumaki." I widened my eyes at Sasori.

He was missing a leg now, and a part of his head. I mean, I knew he was a living puppet but to see it like this...

"You helped me but it had consequences."

"Humph, the only reason Tobi left me be is because he went to harvest Pain's eyes in Ame. Konan won't let him do that freely."

"Oh fuck, he's going for the Rinnegan," I cursed out loud.

"Come on, finish me off instead of staring at me like that." I looked at the image of Sasori, so weak while in my memories…

I bit the inside of my cheek as Minato put his hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him and he smiled at me, nodding.

"Tobirama, let's help him. We'll let Suna deal with him if we make it out alive," I told the Nidaime, still staring at my godfather. Tobirama grunted but put Sasori's remaining arm on my shoulders nonetheless.

"Where do I go?"

"You're an odd one Uzumaki." I scoffed. Didn't I know that already?

Eventually, Sasori led us outside. Ultimately, we wouldn't need the tunnels but I was momentarily stunned at the giant bones around.

What kind of animals even had…

"Tobirama, let me do it, you can't fully sense in her body!"

"He can't?" I repeated, surprised. Minato shook his head as the First convinced his brother to give him his place.

"We're very limited because we use your chakra. We don't have the same control that with our own, so we're careful."

"I see." I gulped. "We might need to have a reunion to review our situation now Obito's out in the open."

"It would be for the best," Hiruzen agreed.

I couldn't do anything but watch Hashirama, now in my body, walking with Sasori. Night fell, then day, then another night...So far, I had no issues fulfilling my basic needs, but now in the wild...my body was weakening quickly.

"And where do you think you're going?" Hashirama looked up. Obito was there, but half his mask destroyed and missing an arm. Konan did not go down without a fight.

"Tobi…"

"Still alive I see. Too bad Kisame, Zetsu and you are now the only living members of the old Akatsuki." Konan was dead then, so he most likely had the Rinnegan.

Obito tried to attack them with Wood Release that Hashirama destroyed with a Suiton. They traded blows, Hashirama making them more obnoxious and chakra consuming every single time.

"Does he have a strategy or does he want to kill me?" I wondered out loud. "Maybe someone…"

"I think he has a plan," Hiruzen said.

"I hope you're right," I muttered under my breath.

Hashirama kept fighting until he wore my body out. He fell on his knees, panting. Obito was about to grab me but Sasori pulled me to him with his chakra thread as a last resort.

"That's the end," I stated flatly. "It's…" I started to laugh hysterically as Obito grabbed me by the neck. "It's really the end! I'm gonna die, not break my seal and hello eternal damnation with all of you!"

"Akane, don't give up yet," Minato scolded me with a frown.

"You know, sometimes you've got to admit defeat."

"Yes, but not now."

"Really?"

"Yes, because you have a very peculiar boyfriend." I furrowed my brows.

"What the…" I looked at what was going on outside.

Shuriken flew at Obito's hand out of nowhere. He dropped me and I was caught by a giant red hand. Itachi then appeared out of nowhere and grabbed me, putting some distance while Taka landed between him and Obito.

"You made a ruckus," Itachi whispered softly to me, well Hashirama really, with a small smile on his tired face. He blinked and moved his face toward mine with a frown. "You're not...Akane, are you?"

"I really thought you were going to kiss me. You seem like a good man, but I have very similar tastes to yours in women." Way to go.

Tobirama pinched the bridge of his nose.

Itachi widened his eyes a little. Well, out of four Hokage, two were married to Uzumakis and oji-chan wouldn't have gone for such flashy moves.

"Hey, let me get my body back Hashirama, if they're here it should be fine." My body nodded and I was back outside.

My eye found Itachi's eyes, which sparked when he realized it was me.

"It's very disturbing," he whispered to me.

"You don't say…" My eyes were closing once more. "Don't panic...I need a hospital...tortured with sharingan...can't stay awa…"

Her head fell against his chest. She was breathing, but if she had been tortured with the sharingan, it made sense the Hokages would take control of her body. Her brain couldn't keep up for now.

He held her close for a few seconds, feeling the tension in his back. Then, he turned his head and set his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan on Obito, fury and a blood lust he had rarely felt in his life pouring from him.

He'd make him pay. He didn't get angry often, but you didn't harm one of his loved ones or use them and expect to leave unscathed. If you were crazy enough to for his brother or girlfriend, then he'd take his time making them pay.

"Well then." Obito left.

"Karin," Sasuke told her.

"Yes!" She ran to Itachi and Akane. The Uchiha gently laid her on the ground as Karin started to work. "Damn it Uzu-nee, always pushing your body to the extreme…"

It wasn't as if she had another choice for once…

Sasuke decided to take Sasori with them after sending him in a genjutsu. Once everything was settled, Itachi lifted Akane and they left, him keeping her close to his body. She seemed so small and frail at the moment…

He could only imagine what she went through. Kakashi told him they were captured by Iwa and tortured but…

He held her closer if possible. He'd need to be more careful than ever once she'd wake up of her mental well-being. He had not thought about his own yet, but hers was more important. Seeing the changes in Sasuke was bad enough, he didn't want to imagine those in Akane knowing her condition.

At least he had her with him now.

They stopped for the night, having ran for most of the day. While they made a fire to eat, he sat down away from them, against a tree, Akane still unconscious in his arms. He cupped one of her cheeks and leaned his forehead against hers, exhaling slowly. He was touch-starved and in spite of having her so close, her not being conscious made it worst.

When he moved his head back, he frowned and pulled her collar down a little. There was what looked like an old burn mark. Itachi swallowed quietly and removed his flak jacket, putting it on Akane and zipping it up. It was a little too big for her, but she'd be a little bit more protected.

"Nii-san." He looked up at Sasuke, who handed him food. He took it with a quiet 'thanks'. "I can carry her tomorrow if you want."

"I'm fine." Sasuke furrowed his brows.

"Are you sure? It would be bett…"

"Sasuke, I'll carry her to the village and that's final. I don't care if you're the team leader, I'm not letting go of her." Sasuke just sighed.

"You're annoyingly stubborn." On this note, he left.

He knew he was stubborn, but he couldn't let go of her right now. In Kiri, after they escaped Sasori and Deidara, Kakashi struggled to take Akane from him so that he'd get treated for his injuries.

He didn't trust anyone at the moment, not even Sasuke.

"Itachi, it's…" His lips left a trail of kisses in her neck and she chuckled, her hands clenched on his shirt. "...they're all downstairs…"

"Downstairs, not upstairs where we are," he whispered in a sultry tone, his arms around her waist.

"It's your brother's birthday."

"His second party and I had to watch you and him playing the perfect engaged couple, I deserve compensation." She raised an amused brow.

"Compensation?" He nodded. "I wronged you then."

"I'm terribly wounded," he agreed, kissing her as she was snickering. He was smiling too. She broke the kiss too soon to his taste.

"Wounded or not, if we're gone for too long they'll ask questions." He pursed his lips. "Your parents are here and if your father finds out about us…"

"I know, I know." He kissed her forehead.

She cupped his cheeks and pecked him on the lips.

"Now, if it's attention you want, I'll give you as much attention and affection you want later tonight when we're home," she whispered sensually against his lips. He held her gaze.

"You and I both know after eating so much you're going to get ready for bed and fall asleep in a minute." She gaped at him, shocked.

"Wow, that's…"

"True." They kept gazing at each other. Eventually, she pouted and leaned her face against him.

"Meanie."

"Realist." She pulled her head back and tip-toed, her hands on his shoulders.

"It's the last one in this house for tonight," she told him before meeting his lips with her own.

He hugged her close to him, his lips moving slowly against her own, like his tongue against hers. Kissing her was always intoxicating, making his heart beat incredibly fast in his chest. He had no idea if she realized the effect she had on him, but feeling her shivering in his arms was filling him in pride.

"Akane!" They stopped and she moved away from him.

"A minute!" Akiko was most probably in the staircase. "Lucky for us, it's not Naruto or he would have forced his way in the room."

"I'm sure." She kissed his cheek and left.

Finally being in a relationship with Akane was wonderful and he was more than happy, but having to hide was a problem he'd quickly run out of patience with.

Itachi woke up slowly. He was used to having memories coming back to him since the war had begun. It was his way to remember what he was fighting for and what he'd get back once he'd be home.

He straightened up and stretched out his back like he could in the chair, before looking at Akane. She had been in the hospital for a week. The Hokage had taken care of her personally, like often, and mended the broken pieces of her mind. Now they had to wait for her to wake up on her own.

He took her free hand in his and kissed her knuckles. He had spent too much time in the hospital with her unconscious. He knew she needed and deserved the rest but…

It happened too many times, way too many times. At least, Tsunade had been able to put her eye back but...there were still damage, she might need glasses or something.

"You're not putting one foot in my daughter's room." Itachi frowned and looked toward the door. It was Akiko-san, he was sure of it.

"We need Itachi and he's been in the…"

"You think we fucking care about that!? You step a foot in my sister's room and I'll…" That was Naruto and from the sound of it, he was angry.

"What are you gonna do you dumb brat!?" Itachi stood up and walked to the door. His hand stopped near the handle when he recognized his mother's voice, cold and sharp, ringing in the hallway.

"You should know better than to insult the Fourth Hokage's only son Yashiro, or try to force your way in the room of someone under the Hokage's personal care."

Itachi rarely heard his mother speak this way, showing that she may be a housewife, but she was the wife of the head of the clan and used to be a full-fledged jounin before he came along. He'd sometimes wonder if his mother regretted having him as it was the end of her career. He was not exactly planned after all, and his parents not even engaged so…

"Fugaku was very clear, the only people allowed near Uzumaki Akane's room from the Uchiha clan are me, Sasuke, Shisui and Itachi. Who do you think you are to come here?"

"Your son has been making the nature of his relationship with that foreigner very clear this past week, it can't go un…" He opened the door firmly, stopping Naruto who was about to talk back.

"And you think the hospital is the place to talk about this, Yashiro-san?" The man gulped at his sight.

His sharingan was burning in his eyes. He deactivated them once he realized they were on, Yashiro visibly relaxing when his eyes were back to their charcoal color.

"I'm going to head to the Compound shortly if you insist that much, but for now leave." He did. Itachi sighed and turned to the two Uzumakis. "I'm sorry for the scene." Naruto just glared at him, pushed him away and took his place in Akane's room.

"He just needs some time to...digest everything," Akiko assured him with a small smile. "You go deal with these idiots." She patted his shoulder and entered her daughter's room, Itachi staring at the closed door.

He didn't want to leave, what if she woke up and he wasn't there to…

"Honey, let's go," his mother told him, pulling on his arm.

"Hn." Once out of the hospital, he put his hands in his pockets.

"I'm not going to lie, we're heading to a big crisis," she said quietly. "They all know about your relationship with Akane, it's…"

"What are they going to do? Keep me from seeing her? As if." Mikoto frowned at her son.

"Look, I know you love her, trust me I do, but it's time for serious measures."

"What are you trying to say?"

"That it's time for measures. You're the heir, maybe it's time to behave like one." He had a hard time figuring out if she was criticizing him or asking him to do something. "In any case, I don't think that, for now...you can't pursue your re…"

"You can't be serious." There was no way she was really suggesting him to break up with Akane.

No way in hell.

"She's not alone Itachi, and personally, I don't want to see her around our clan until we finally deal with our issues. I don't want her more involved than she sadly already is."

"Neither do I but…"

"I have talked with Akiko. We both agreed it's for the best." He blinked. "She's her daughter, her and Naruto will take care of Akane once she wakes up, and you can't deny there's no better people than them for the job." He clenched his fists and looked away. "And you...you need to get your head back in this. I can't deal with these jerks alone." He looked back at her in surprise and she put a finger on her lips.

"You know what they're going to tell me."

"Maybe." She crossed her arm with her son's. "Come on now."

Soon he was in the basement of the Naka Shrine. His father and brother were already here. The five Elders of the clan were there as well. He sat down in front of them.

His father was the head of the clan, but the heaviest decisions were always made with the Elders.

"Uchiha Itachi, I am sure you already know why you are here." He stared at the floor. "We will not waste time. Have you been in a romantic relationship with your brother's fiancee?" He shot his mother a brief look, who nodded, telling him to tell the truth.

"I have." He ignored the disgust and insult from the woman in the Elders, Keiko, toward him and Akane.

"Have you been engaging in sexual intercourse?" Itachi frowned at the floor.

It was humiliating to have to detail this to them and to his family.

"I have," he replied, aware of his father's sighing.

"Is there any chance of her carrying your child?"

"No."

"When was the las…"

"I think you have enough details about their relationship Hiroshi-sama," Fugaku interrupted them coldly.

"It is within our right to…"

"I know, but if you go too far with Akane then you will have the Mizukage after you, and after what happened with the Fourth Mizukage it is the last thing the clan needs." His father did not leave room for discussion. Hiroshi held his gaze for a few seconds and ended up looking back at Itachi with disdain.

"Fine, the nature of their relationship is now clear." He looked at Sasuke. "You will be eighteen in a little bit less than four months, right?" Sasuke nodded. Sakura had turned eighteen already. "Then, the wedding between Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Akane will happen starting this point depending when she wakes up." His stern eyes were back on Itachi. "The relationship you have had with her is to be terminated the moment she wakes up, and no contact between you two will be accepted except in official places, shinobi affairs or in presence of her soon-to-be husband."

"And how would you know if I still see her?"

"You will be placed under surveillance," another Elder, Itsuki, replied bitterly. "This unmoral behavior of yours is unacceptable, but with a foreigner and an Uzumaki above else...it is unworthy of this clan and your title!"

Unmoral...there was nothing unmoral about their love for each other, it was pure and beautiful if anything…they were the unmoral ones wanting to separate them.

"The apartment you have, who is the legal owner of it?" Keiko asked him coldly.

"I am."

"Fine, she will move out then."

"This whole story will remain hidden from the village, we can't let them know this kind of behavior took place right under our nose," Hiroshi continued. "You will not be expelled from the clan, your father has been adamant about how essential you were for our relations with the village, much like your brother is for our image abroad. We can't allow any of your reputations to be stained by this...misjudgment." Itachi shot a brief look at his brother. From his gaze, he must have had quite the scolding as well, especially if he admitted he was well aware of the affair and didn't do anything to stop it. "That being said, in the next twelve months, you will have to get engaged and have your future wife pregnant with your heir." He kept staring at the floor.

"You're not serious," Sasuke spat, jumping on his feet. "You can't expect him to marry someone he does…"

"Sasuke, don't," his voice rang in the room, not giving room for argument.

"But nii-san!" He glanced back at his outraged brother.

It was nice to know Sasuke had his back, but it was his mess and he wouldn't involve his brother...more than he already was.

"It's alright." Sasuke blinked and clenched his fists before their mother pulled him back next to her.

"We need to have a future leader who is irreproachable and with the clan and its future as his first priority!" Hiroshi shot Sasuke and his mother a furious look. "Having clan members friends with jinchurikis is already…"

"We're here to discuss my oldest son's relationship, do not involve my youngest or my wife in this." It was rare to see his father talk back like this.

The disdainful look he received were no longer hidden.

"If we discover you do not fill these conditions, you will be immediately removed from your position and you will resign for incompetency," Hiroshi spat, looking at his father.

Oh, so was it what they were truly looking for? Him failing their conditions so that they could get rid of his father as the clan leader and then...probably run the clan to its destruction.

It was smart.

But, as they would say, so unmoral.

"That is all."

They left the shrine and went home in silence. Itachi immediately went to the engawa. Sasuke joined him quickly.

"Did you get a speech too?" Itachi asked his brother, who growled.

"It was incredibly selfish of me to not stop you and possibly let you tarnish the clan's reputation and then I stopped listening." Itachi smirked.

"It is incredibly unmoral of you Sasuke." Sasuke snickered.

"They do love that word." Silence engulfed them for a few seconds. "And how are you?" Itachi hummed and looked at the setting sun.

"Pretty numb." Sasuke looked at him in alarm. "Is it wrong of me to hope Akane doesn't wake up too quickly now?"

"No, I mean...you're going to break up with her." He sighed and ran his hands on his face. "Temporarily, I hope."

"Definitely," he assured his brother. "I just need to sort my thoughts out after this and come up with a plan. They're trying to get Father out of the picture and they barely tried to hide it, so I need to be the perfect heir."

"...they'll try to make you fail."

"I wouldn't be surprised if there are a lot of official gatherings out of sudden where you and Akane have to play the perfect couple in front of me." Sasuke pursed his lips and looked down. "Don't worry, it won't work. That being said, if it happens, then people will talk and try to get her because she's...a weakness of mine and they know it now." He swallowed slowly. "If they start calling her names or try to get a reaction out of her, I won't be able to…" Sasuke clasped his hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, the only Uchiha who gets to call her out is me, I'll give shit to anyone else who tries, trust me on that." Itachi smiled.

"Thank you Sasuke."

"Don't worry about it. That being said, is Naruto still…" The oldest sighed.

"We got closer on the battlefield, but since he discovered I've been dating Akane for almost a year in his back he just...really can't stand me."

"Well, I don't think it's just that." Itachi looked at him with a raised brow. "Naruto's an understanding person, but he has his limits. Nee-san got in troubles because of our clan too many times and I think he just sees us as people who want to harm her now. He's not exactly wrong. Right now he's in defensive mode."

"I guess you're right." He took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and stopped, looking behind him to check if his parents were there.

"I thought you stopped?"

"I didn't touch one since you woke up, but right now…"

"Can I try one?" Itachi's firm and stern gaze answered him.

"No, and I don't think smoking here would make my case any better."

He started to smoke during the war. He worked a lot with Shikamaru, who'd smoke here and there since Asuma got injured against the Akatsuki. Itachi was stressed, Shikamaru offered him on and after that, he didn't stop at one.

He told himself it would be over once back, but here he was.

"Do you know about Shisui by the way?" Itachi raised a brow as he put the cigarettes back in his pocket.

"What happened?"

"He's kicked out of the clan." It made Itachi widen his eyes in shock. Shisui? Kicked out of the clan? "It happened when you were at the hospital so I'm not surprised you don't know about it, but yeah."

"What happened?"

"What almost happened is better. The Elders found out he wanted to use the Mangekyou on the clan ten years ago. They wanted to punish him for treason, but he managed to be kicked out only." Itachi pinched the bridge of his nose.

"How...how do you even have this much details?"

"He told me." Itachi blinked, making Sasuke sigh. "Right, we didn't really have the time to fully catch up. I spent quite a lot of time at the outpost near Taki with him, and Akane. He clearly was trying to turn himself into a shield between us and the...numerous kinsmen of ours present."

"...did he now?"

"Yeah, and him and Manami broke up, he didn't explain in details but…" Sasuke frowned. "Thinking about it, Shisui and Akane were kind of secretive back then, before or after Taki." Itachi's fingers twitched in his pocket.

"Really?" Sasuke nodded, apparently oblivious to his brother's frustration.

"Yeah...point is, he's kicked out of the clan."

Maybe it was not that bad. If Shisui and Manami broke up, then Shisui most likely opened his eyes, right? Then having him on the outside would be a plus.

He needed to have a word with him. And not ask him what him and Akane were secretive about.

He wouldn't let old feelings ruin everything he had now.

Hey! Thanks for reading and leave a review to tell me what you thought of this chapter! Thanks to mikan26 for the reviews!

Bye!