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: 24

Naruto, Sasuke: 19

Shisui: 28

Kakashi: 33

I had a slight headache when I woke up, alone in the bed. I took the painkiller and water on the nightstand and opened the blinds. The sun was shining brightly outside, slowly melting the frost that had settled in the night. I left the room and found breakfast for two on the stove. It was nine though, Itachi should be at work. Where was Sushi as well?

I looked around and then went to the study, finding her on Itachi's lap as he was working. He looked up and smiled at me.

"Good morning."

"Morning. Why are you here?"

"I'm working."

"From home?"

"Very observant." I rolled my eyes, and he stood up, Sushi in his arms. "I went to the office an hour ago to ask for the morning off. Shikamaru knew it was because you're here and said I didn't have any meeting today so I could just work from home."

"You're the Boss but Shikamaru is the boss of your agenda." He nodded with a small smile. I kissed Sushi on the head, scratching the sides of her face. She jumped out of Itachi's arms just a few seconds after and I watched her leave. "Every single time she shrugs me off except for last night," I muttered under my breath. Itachi pinched the bottom of my, well his, shirt and pulled me closer.

"I don't, so look at me." I did and welcomed his lips on mine. I was a bit ashamed to admit I was greedy and didn't want him to stop kissing me.

Remembering was strange. I was me when I didn't remember the past five years, yet it feels like a different person as well. It was me five years ago but not entirely, yet Itachi just stuck around.

I didn't want to imagine how it was for him to see…what happened with Samuru, then me forgetting and…me dying in front of him. Had I remembered him, he would have been a mother hen, more than what he had been.

"I saw breakfast for two," I said against his lips. "Have you waited for me?"

"Of course." He led me to the breakfast table by the hand.

He tried to engage in small talks, but I didn't say much, just looking at him instead. Ultimately, he smiled, and we ate quietly. He didn't let me clear the table and I hugged him from behind when he barely had put everything in the sink.

"May I make a suggestion regarding your alcohol consumption of last night?" he asked me quietly, his hands on the edge of the sink. I nodded against his back. "Is it about the four Hokages?" I tightened my hold on him, and it made him turn around, his arms around my waist.

"How did you know?"

"They would have been the first ones to explain the situation to you, especially Minato-sama," he replied. "But you did not bring them up, so I figured…they had something to do with your state."

"I remember being back in Yomi with them," I whispered and his hold on me tightened, pressing me more against him. "When Izanami came and told me what could happen to me if she sent me back, how I might be nothing more than a vegetable…Oji-chan came up with that solution. The energy used for them to be awake…they renounced it so that my soul could reconnect with my body. They fell asleep and I can't feel any of them anymore." I gulped. "It's so…quiet now." I closed my eyes. "I was so mad at Oji-chan for doing that because…I know why he did it, but it felt like he was leaving again and when I remembered everything and remembered that too it…it's like I have lost four people I knew at once, like Oji-chan died a second time. When I got home I…drank and cried."

"I'm sorry I wasn't there," he whispered in my hair. I shook my head.

"No, it was…I needed to process it fully on my own. You don't have to apologize." He cupped my face and made me look up, his eyes staring deeply in mine. It seemed like he was looking for something. "Thank you, for being here even if…"

"You're stuck with me, that you remember it or not." I chuckled lightly, which made him smirk smugly.

"Still, you were great even if…you had stuff to deal with on your side as well." His gaze became more serious. "I'm sorry for…all of this."

"Hn."

"But there is one positive thing to come out of it." Itachi moved me back with a frown. I went to my bag, still on the couch, and opened it to take the box. I sat down on the couch, Itachi next to me. "Not that my family history is something very joyful with Masashi, but he…did something good. Actually, the whole hitogami thing gave me the key to break the bound with Izanami."

"Izanami's kami stone disappeared years ago, didn't it?" he questioned me more seriously. I opened the box and showed him the purple magatama inside. He frowned deeply, then looked up at me.

"It's when I touched it that my memories came back. Masashi thought it might do something he took me to…" I trailed off.

"Where was it?"

"Where I…summoned the Shinigami for the very first time," I said quietly. Itachi closed the box without a word. "And…it made me wonder what Taiga was really doing there before."

"You protected the twins, whatever he was doing there was none of your business." He put the box on the coffee table, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

"Itachi…" He looked back at me. "How are you really?"

"I'm fine." I gazed sternly at him, not buying it. "Look, it's…" He looked away as I kept staring at him. "What do you want me to say?"

"I know you're angry at me for going and you didn't…"

"You didn't remember, being angry at you at that time didn't seem fair," he interrupted me coldly. I tried to touch his hand, but he stood up, putting as much distance between us as possible.

It had to come out, I couldn't back down now. I watched Itachi pacing briefly before stopping in the kitchen, his back to me and his hands on his hips. I waited for him to collect his thoughts, hearing the deep breaths he was taking to calm his nerves.

"You…" he started, stopping himself immediately. His voice was hoarse. "You were right in front of me Akane. I had to see him kiss you, and use nicknames, my nickname for you, and touch you and call you his wife and then he…he took you away from me in every way possible and I just…I couldn't do anything to stop it." At this point, I stood up and approached him carefully.

"What I told you regarding this in Kiri has not changed. I don't blame you for not noticing he was not dead my love."

"I do. It's not the first time I…" I walked around him to face him, a concerned frown on my face.

"That you what? 'Fail' me? Is it what you're thinking?" He averted his eyes, gritting his teeth. "Things happened in the past and we're over them, aren't we?" I put my hands on his cheeks, but he removed them quickly. "Itachi?"

"You were…dead Akane." He finally looked at me and I froze at the anguish and guilt in his eyes. "I was…I asked you to wake up so we could go home but you didn't…" I gulped. "And in that moment, I just…it wasn't fair…"

"I kno…"

"No, you don't Akane." I frowned. "You had the twins to take care of, I…I had nothing." I shook my head.

"It's not true, you have your whole life in Kono…" He scoffed.

"Right." I was confused. "You don't…you don't get it, do you?"

"I was the one to mourn you for years Itachi, I do know," I reminded him firmly. "And…and even if I were to die and stay dead…you'd find someone else one day." He looked offended I would suggest such a thing.

"I don't want to find someone else; I want you to stop randomly dying!" he retorted, raising his voice a little. "Do you seriously think I could get over you?" I was taken back. "You were dead, and my whole world just came crashing down!" I was at a loss for words. Itachi was losing his composure, the raw pain in his voice and on his face so evident it broke my heart.

I suddenly remembered how he wanted to be killed and just waiting for it before. I never thought I would be the reason he'd be in so much pain, and I worried on how he would deal with it on the long-term. I knew him, his mind could go to very dark places.

"You don't…you don't get to leave me like this." I cupped his face and tiptoed, my forehead against his. His breathing was shaking. "Don't leave me Akane, please don't leave me…"

"I'm sorry, I won't," I whispered to him, putting his fingers on my pulse point. If anything, this whole situation made me see how much I wanted a life with this man and how…no matter how much I cared about my village and about the changes I was making, I couldn't pretend it was my dream job.

I didn't like politics, the meetings, giving missions to kids, the obligations…I couldn't wait until my five years were up so I could go back to him.

"Then marry me?" I looked at him in confusion and he gulped. "I was planning on waiting until the end of your years as the Mizukage as you told me you wanted to be the Mizukage for five years but…We can get properly married once you come back for good, but we can legally get married right now."

"Itachi…I don't think that…" He pulled back.

"Why?" I looked away. "You don't want to marry me, and you can't even look me in the eyes?"

"I don't think it's the right moment to…"

"We can be engaged for four years, I'm fine with that as long as you have a ring on your finger." Yeah, that was the issue. If I went back to Kiri with an engagement ring on my finger…

I could hide it, but again, I didn't want to hide it if we were going in the next stage of our relationship. I wanted to enjoy it and be stupidly over the moon about marrying him and plan things with my mother and future mother-in-law.

"It's not the right time to get engaged to each other and making you wait for four years does not seem fair," I managed to say.

"I'm going to work."

"Ita…" He almost slammed the door behind himself, and I groaned. The day had started so well and now…

I didn't want to hide my relationship with the man I loved and if we were engaged…I would need to do that in my own village, of which I was supposed to be the leader.

I wanted to marry him. Unlike what he now was thinking because of my inability to properly communicate with him regarding our future, I wanted to marry him now. At first marriage didn't appeal to me as something necessary. The one marriage I usually thought of was my parents' and to me, it only showed that just like anything else in life, marriage was about promises that could be broken at any time. Marriage, to me, did not make your relationship stronger. It validated the strength of your relationship only, and if it was not a strong one, then you couldn't even leave the relationship easily.

But I wanted to marry him now. Having him around, helping me when I had no clue about us just showed me…how much I wanted to have him around, always, and that he was my family. Hell, I was still in love with him when I didn't remember us after all.

And, in my defense, he always proposed in the worst times. Once when he got memories from his other self, so not his best. Then after his father died, so he still was not his best. Now after I died and forgot our relationship, so still not a good time. If anything, it just looked like proposing was his way to find reassurance when things were rough or something.

After sulking for an hour, Sushi trying to comfort me as she was done with shrugging me off, I decided to get Itachi's favorite food for when he'd get home. I also got him flowers because, why not? I didn't want him to think I didn't care about what he wanted or that I was disregarding his feelings because I cared about them, of course I did.

At the end of the afternoon, someone knocked at the door. I opened it to find Naru.

"Oh, hey Naru…" He walked past me and in the hallway before turning around. I closed the door. "What's going on?"

"Did you know?" I blinked. "Did you know Hanabi would be kidnapped? Did you know she'd have her eyes removed by that guy? Did you know he'd try to marry Hinata?"

"Wha…" He grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me briefly.

"Did you know!?"

"You're hurting me Naruto!"

"Then answer my question!"

"Naruto, it was an S-rank mission, I was never told the details!" I yelled at him, trying to force him to let me go. He didn't budge.

"Really!?"

"I was a civilian!" It seemed to have reached him. "I wasn't a kunoichi back then Naru. You all left out of sudden, you just told me it was an S-rank mission and that you guys would be back quickly. When you came back, it was a success, and you suddenly had a girlfriend. The only thing you told me was that there was a version of the Mangekyou for the Byakugan and some crazy Otsutsuki dude was living on the moon with a part of the Hyuuga clan nobody knew about."

"And nothing more?"

"It was shinobi business and frankly, we didn't die so I was fine with what I knew. The only person you told the details was Sasuke."

"You really…you really didn't know?"

"How about you let her go first?" I blinked at the voice. I glanced above my shoulder. Itachi was there, Hinata behind him. She was panting.

Naruto released me and I massaged my shoulder.

"Naruto-kun, please, Hanabi is fine. It was not a nice time, but she is fine and already asking Neji-nii-san to train her so please, don't blame Akane-san for what she may or may not have known," Hinata said, her hands on her knees.

"She has hidden things like this before, so that's why I…"

"You're lucky to be siblings in the eye of the law Naruto," Itachi told him coldly, his onyx eyes piercing. "Otherwise, attacking a Kage who is staying at the Hokage's residence could cost you a lot, do you hear me?" Naruto nodded sheepishly.

"Sorry nee-chan, I shouldn't have done that," he apologized quietly.

"It's okay, I did hide a lot of things." I patted his shoulder. He looked ashamed and guilty. "I won't tell Mom." I shot Hinata a smile. She looked ashamed as well.

"I'm sorry for the scene," she apologized, bowing to me.

"It's fine. Just…go home you two." I shot my cousin a knowing look and he blushed a little, leaving with Hinata's hand in his. Itachi closed the door behind them. "Hinata fetched you?" He nodded.

"She said Naruto was angry at you and left." He lowered my sleeves, his fingers grazing the red fingerprints I now had.

"It's nothing, it won't leave a bruise."

"Hn." I put my sleeves back on and ran to the kitchen. "Are you mad?"

"Huh?" He blinked when I handed him the flowers. "Aren't you?"

"I…are they for me?" I nodded and he accepted them, surprised. "It is unexpected. Than…" He stopped as he watched me put different foods on the kitchen counter. "I don't understand." I then brought the teapot I made of his favorite tea, and he recognized the smell instantly, spotting the dango I made. They were a little too big.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you this morning. I care about your feelings; I really do and I'm not…please don't hate me." He rubbed his temple.

"You think I'm going to hate you?" I shrugged.

"I mean…no but…when it comes to this kind of subject, I'm scared you might leave because…I don't know Itachi, there are times when I see you leave, I can't help but think you won't come back."

"…it is called a trauma sweetheart." When he called me that, it was as if a weight was lifted off my shoulders. He took a skewer of mitarashi dango. "Did you bake them?" I nodded.

"I'm not sure if they're good or not, so don't force yourself to eat them." He tasted one.

"It is a little too firm, but I love the taste." I smiled shyly, standing there awkwardly. "About this morning…"

"I'm very sorry."

"I am too. I shouldn't pressure you about marriage if you're not there yet." I pursed my lips. "Although I can't help but think there is something else." I looked down. "There is something else then." I gulped and nodded. "What is it?"

"You won't like it."

"I wasn't expecting to like it." I went to the couch and Itachi followed, the plate of dango and onigiri in his hands. He brought the tea after and sat down next to me. "What is it?"

"It's…look, we both agree it sucked when we had to hide our relationship, right?" He nodded. "And when we get engaged, it wouldn't be fair to you to hide my ring."

"I guess not."

"Dai brought this up to my attention not long ago and now I recovered my memories…I can't help but realize a lot of things." I pursed my lips and looked at him. "Let's get this over with. We lost two Mizukages to an Uchiha, the higher-ups don't want it to happen again." He stared at me for a couple of seconds and slowly frowned.

"Oh." He looked down for a second. "But you said five yea…"

"It will be five years," I interrupted him firmly. "I didn't change my mind, I want to build a life with you here, with my mother nearby and see Naruto and Sasuke raise their kids. But you know, people saw us holding hands and stuff like that last time you were there and…public opinion matters. If I were to show I was halfway out of Kiri then…well, I don't see it going well. From what Dai said, I already have Konoha written all over me for people in Kiri and that they fear I'll leave for Konoha one day. The higher-ups thought that when I was a kunoichi here, but sensei and Dai never told me. Now the villagers…"

"They see you as a trophy," Itachi summed up coldly. I pursed my lips. "They know your achievements and want to keep them in Kiri even if technically, only a quarter of your blood is from Kiri."

"…I guess it sums it up quite well."

"Would they put pressure on you?"

"I've known the Daimyo for years. He would, will, try to talk me into staying in my position but his daughter seems to like me now, so I don't think he'll try too hard. His advisers and the Council in the village, like the Elders, or Civilian Council would…the Elders would not shy away from saying I would bring back honor to my clan while the Civilian Council would say I owe Kiri that after being Yagura's weapon." I gulped and raised conflicted eyes to him. "I don't want to bring you into this. Kiri's politics are still messy regarding some stuffs. I've been trying to raise the drinking age to seventeen but because it would cause a big economic drop for many, they're refusing to put that in place."

"Is that part of the reason you didn't come to the summit?" I nodded sheepishly. "It is a lot." I took a sip from my cup of tea. "Should I visit you less then?"

"I mean…we barely see each other, and if I go to Konoha to visit you they'll still talk…" I sighed deeply. "It just makes me want to quit. It's almost as if each time everything went well, I was bringing some issues into the mix."

"I brought my fair share of issues in the mix as well sweetheart." He buried his hand in my hair at the back of my hand and I closed my eyes. "You don't have to keep issues you have with Kiri to yourself, even if the root of the issue is my last name."

"You're not like any of them," I whispered. "They just…"

"You know, people who got wounded tend to make a generality of the culprit as a defense mechanism. Kiri went through hell because of two men having the same last name as mine. I cannot blame them for doubting me being in a relationship with you." He pulled me against him in one, swift move. "That being said, I'll follow you on how to proceed for the next few years. If you want me to come less, I'll come less."

"I'm sick of hiding," I mumbled against him.

"It's temporary," he replied softly, his fingers running through my hair. "However, I can't help but to notice something."

"What?"

"You said 'when' we'll be engaged. Not 'if'."

"What about it?"

"It hints at a particular answer."

"I'm not going to say the word. I thought about it today, and none of your proposals were…" He pulled me back with a frown. "Think about it Itachi. How were you feeling when you proposed to me?"

"Not okay," he admitted under his breath. I nodded.

"Do you want a 'yes' from me when you're mourning, or you've been through difficult times? Because I don't want to give you a 'yes' in those times." He sighed.

"I hold onto you when I feel like I'm drowning," he whispered to me. "But you're right, it should be when we're both ready and not when I'm living difficult things and need something solid to rely on."

"Not having a ring on my finger doesn't mean I'm not solid. I'm not here a lot but…it doesn't mean I'm not solid."

"I know." He kissed my forehead. "I know."

"Ask me in a few years, when I'm done with my annoying job."

"I won't forget it." I hugged him tightly, my cheek on his shoulder. "Something happened since we came back by the way."

"What is it?"

"I have a sister." I blinked and moved back. He poked me on the forehead at my confusion. "I'm not kidding, Sasuke and I officially have a little sister and he was shocked yesterday when Mom told him." I didn't comment on how he used 'Mom' and not 'Mother'. "It's Min."

"What? How?"

"Her parents are both dead and when I introduced her to Mom, she said it would be easier for Min to be integrated with a real family here. She has always wanted a daughter and Min…has been wanting a parental figure for years now."

"And…isn't it weird?"

"She grows on you." Min was a good girl, but it was…sudden? "I think they're good for each other to be honest. The war put an abrupt end to a lot of things and no matter how much she pulled through, Mom seemed to have gotten something back with Min being her daughter. I don't really see her as a little sister yet but…Sasuke and her are bickering like siblings."

"Since they met really. She took a liking to him as a big brother figure and…he didn't hate it." He scoffed.

"I hope Min will give him a taste of his own medicine." I laughed at that. "Merry Christmas by the way." I jumped on my feet and ran for my wallet.

"I didn't get you anything, for real this time! I'll go ge…" He hugged me from behind before I could leave the room.

"I got flowers and food, I'm happy. If anything, I didn't get you anything with everything that happened."

"We had a fight and made up, I'm fine with that."

"Hn." I turned around, a finger on my lips. "It's not a gift."

"Or…or…" He raised a brow when I was on my knees in front of him, my hands on the waistband of his pants.

"It doesn't look like a gift for you," he said with an amused smiled.

"Depends how obedient you are after." There was an amused twinkle in his eyes. "Like…like a striptease or something."

"Well, it is Christmas." He pulled me on my feet and took me to the bedroom as I giggled.

When cherry blossoms were blooming in the trees, I didn't refrain myself from holding Itachi's hand as I watched Naruto and Hinata getting married.

I had three years and a half to go. We could do this. I could do this.

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

Merry Christmas everyone!

Bye!