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: 30 - 48

Naruto, Sasuke: 24 - 43

Shisui: 33 - 52

Kakashi: 38 - 56

"Give this poor man a chance," Itachi told Akane, his one-year-old daughter in his arms. Akane groaned and closed the door behind her.

"They tricked me. Both him and his daughter."

"I thought you were happy Shisui and Sena were dating."

"Yes! I mean, we both agree that he's not changing himself to please her and is still himself, right?" Itachi nodded, putting their daughter down. She stood up and went to her ball pin, with Eiji and Sushi following her.

He was not sure if he loved the fact the crawling phase didn't last longer as Mamiko had decided to stand up and walk a month prior to follow Sarada around. Sarada who was missing her dad as he had accepted to send Sasuke on a mission to investigate those dimensions he was talking about. He wasn't blind, he knew his brother kept thinking about it while being the main care giver to Sarada. Sakura was busy with her job at the hospital, and as the Hokage he was glad her maternity did not take away her love for being a doctor, so Sasuke was the one to mainly stay at home. However, she was five, the following year she would go to school so…Sasuke would insist on the subject more.

Shisui and Sena were also dating now. He had noticed them dancing around each other and them mentioning the other when they would be over, and eventually they started dating. It was obvious it was a lot healthier than whatever it was with Manami.

Which led them to eat lunch at Akiko's house, where Sena's dad, Ji-Yoo, was. Him and Akiko had been seeing each other since Mamiko's birth, and friends since their wedding. Akane was not happy about it though, and neither was Naruto.

Naruto would take the hat when Boruto would start school as well. It meant he had a year to go before retiring and being able to spend more time with his family. Sometimes, it felt like his daughter had grown a lot in just one day.

Eventually, they both came to accept their stepdad. When Mamiko was two, Sasuke asked for Akane for a mission because he needed someone to translate old fuin. She had gotten closer to her skill level before her pregnancy, but he was more than hesitant to agree to it. He knew Akane was a Seal Master, he knew his brother and her were strong, but he saw her as his wife and mother of his child before anything else now. Even if she had started studying the Kamui with the sharingans Obito left her before he died. Ultimately, he agreed.

They both missed Naruto becoming the Hokage though, which made the Uzumaki a little upset. He hugged his niece once he had the hat on, telling her her mom was not nice to him.

When she came back, she had a baby boy with her and sad eyes. Telling her he wouldn't get her pregnant ever again had hurt her, but she had agreed it was for the best.

"His name is Akira," she told him in a shaking voice as he was being checked at the hospital. "His dad is dead and his mother…she was an Uzumaki, she died, she was sick…she asked me to take care of the baby." She looked up at him with pleading eyes. "I couldn't say no. I know I didn't tell you but…"

"It's alright, we can raise him too," he cut her off gently. She was still in shock of whatever had happened. "We'll raise him knowing his mom loved him and left him to us."

"…she was seventeen 'tachi…" He wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Mamiko, even with her surprisingly large vocabulary for a two-year-old, was at a loss as well when they went home with her new baby brother. She quickly settled in her new role and would flutter around whoever was taking care of the baby, the few red strands on his head a sharp contrast to his sister's ebony locks.

More time went by. Masashi, who had been leading a quiet life in Konoha since his return, passed away when Mamiko was five and Akira three. Him and Akane had developed a relationship when she had introduced their daughter to him.

Overall, they were leading a happy, quiet life the four of them, the children playing with their pets as if they were siblings as well. He had stopped wearing a ponytail, instead going for a bun on the back of his head and shortening the length of his hair. Both girls at his house looked at him weirdly at first, but his boy had said he looked awesome, so it didn't matter.

However, the moment Sasuke started to go away longer and longer, he decided to step up for his niece. She was ten, she needed her father, but he was away, so he'd try to reduce the damage a little. It was his job as her uncle and Sasuke's older brother, to do damage control after him.

Before he realized what was happening, he was also helping Sakura out around her house, spending more time there than at his house.

"Itachi, we need to talk," Akane told him one night as he came home when their kids were sleeping. "Damn it, did you eat?"

"I ate at Sakura's." She hid the hurt in her eyes quickly.

"Don't you think you're doing too much?" He frowned. "Look, I get it, you're stepping in because Sasuke's away, but playing house with his family i…" He narrowed his eyes dangerously at her.

"I'm not playing house Akane. Sarada needs her father and he's away, I'm…"

"What, replacing him? You have kids of your own Itachi, don't forget it."

"I'm not forgetting it, I'm still here."

"Are you? It's been four months, and we barely see you when you're off work. You're training Sarada, or helping Sakura or…"

"I don't like what you're implying Akane, so stop talking before you say something you'll regret later on," he told her coldly, glaring at her.

"Do you really not see what's happening right now?" she asked him more quietly. He ignored her and went to bed.

"We'll talk about it later."

Their bed was cold that night.

A few days later, as he was telling Sarada about the Sharingan, he noticed her sad face.

"Mami hates me."

"What? She doesn't." Sarada raised angry eyes at him.

"Yes she does, and Akira is not far behind but he's too polite to say it! She said I was stealing her dad because mine was away Uncle Itachi! She said I was making Aunt Akane sad!" He felt a surge of anger in him.

He knew Akane could let things slip, even in front of their kids sometimes, but she wouldn't say that to them, would she?

That very night, he confronted her once their kids were in bed. Akane let him talk, her face as cold as ice.

"Do you really think I would blame the ten-year-old and use Mamiko as a messenger?" she asked him coldly. "Do you really think I would do something like that?"

"I don't know Akane, would you?" She shook her head, almost in defeat.

"You don't realize that by trying to keep your brother's family together, you're letting your own family falling apart Itachi?" He didn't reply. "I didn't tell Mami anything, but she's not stupid, she knows her cousin sees her dad more than her and she doesn't like it. She wants her dad, Akira wants his dad, that's why they're pissed." She took a deep breath. "I don't want to do anything rash, but their well-being is more important right. You keep this up for Sasuke's sake when he didn't ask you anything to begin with, I'll give you divorce papers." It made him freeze.

"You're not serious."

"I don't know, am I?" She climbed up the stairs after that.

He ran his hands on his face, noticing a shadow outside. He opened the bay window, letting his daughter get in.

"Mamiko, what were you doing?"

"Spying on you two Dad." He blinked and bent forward when she kicked his leg. Hard. "You're making Mommy cry!" She ran upstairs as well.

He limped to the couch, not knowing if Mamiko just kicked really hard for a kid, or if he had gotten rusty with age.

Still, he couldn't believe Akane had talked about divorce. Sure, he was away a bit but…he thought they were happy. He knew it was not ideal now, but as always, he thought they'd pull through together.

So…divorce? It broke his heart just thinking Akane had considered it an option. Was he really letting his family down by trying to keep Sasuke's together? He thought he was doing his job as a brother, as an uncle, and as a brother-in-law. But he was still Akane's husbands, and the father of their children.

It didn't change anything. He was less here but…

He asked Sakura the next day, who admitted she had gotten too used to having him around when Sasuke wasn't there. Then she let some of her frustrations against his brother out before telling him that he shouldn't prioritize them and not his own family.

Akane's cold eyes almost froze him on the doorstep that evening.

"Daddy!" He caught Akira easily, lifting him up. He smiled at his boy. "You're home!"

"Yes, yes I am." He kissed him on the top of his hair. "And I'll cook tonight." Akane raised a brow. Mamiko looked at him, then her mom and rocked back and forth on her feet. "Whatever you guys want." Mamiko looked up at Akane, who smiled gently at her.

"Curry Daddy?" she asked him shyly. He nodded.

"Of course honey." She ran to him too and he caught her easily, kissing her cheek.

"Sorry for last night Daddy," she whispered in his ear.

"Don't be, Daddy was an idiot."

It was only with his children in his arms he realized how long it had been since he had hugged them.

Akane stayed with them as he cooked, but she didn't say much at the table, smiling as their children were telling him what they had done during the day. Afterward, as he was playing with them, he saw Akane getting ready to leave, Eiji with her and her camera around her neck.

"Where are you going?" he asked her, ready to stand up. She glanced at him above her shoulder.

"Mommy's client wants the moon cycle," Akira replied. "We had clones at night!"

Akane was a photographer and would write papers for Konoha's newspapers sometimes. Her book had been published and became successful with children and teenagers.

"I won't be back until dawn," she informed them. "Mami, don't let your brother near the cookies tomorrow morning. Not after last time."

"Yes!" Last time? His son was pouting now but…

What else had he missed? Akane was using clones to stay with their kids when she'd work? And what last time?

She left, his eyes staring at the spot she used to be at. His children took his mind off this though and convinced him to have a sleepover in the living-room, making a blanket fort. Sushi joined them, laying on Akira's lap who couldn't move anymore while Mamiko was telling him about the school play she was doing at school and in which she was the fruit merchant.

Was he a bad father for not knowing what was happening in his children's life? He wasn't aware of the school play, or Akiko-san teaching his kids fuinjutsu alongside Himawari and Boruto. He wasn't even aware Akira had broken a few plates and cups trying to get cookies from a shelf way higher than him. He had not noticed the missing things in their kitchen when it was in plain sight.

When he woke up, around seven, Akane was still not there. His children were sleeping on him, so he got up doing his best to not wake them up. He cooked them breakfast, his eyes darting between them once they were awake and hungry, to the lobby, hoping to see Akane come in.

She did, around eleven, yawning and scratching the back of her head as their dog directly came to ask food. His children went to greet their mother, who kissed them on the cheek in return.

"Did you sleep in the laboratory again Mommy?" Mamiko asked her. Akane nodded.

"I took pictures, started developing them and realized half of them were screwed because of the rain last night. I went to bed at eight." The photo laboratory was in their old apartment. It was Akane's photography studio, with the living-room as the studio, the old spare room her laboratory and their old bedroom, then Sakura and Sasuke's bedroom before they bought their house, was still a bedroom ready to be used. He knew Akane liked her comfort when she was working there for hours but…

A part of him couldn't deny he felt like she was avoiding him.

"Frustrated!" Akira stated loudly, after thinking for a few seconds. Akane laughed.

"Yes, Mommy was very frustrated with herself, so she slept with Eiji." She spotted the fort. "You made a blanket fort without me? Dang it."

"We can have another sleepover tonight!" They both suggested with bright eyes.

"Not two nights in a row, and you have school tomorrow," Itachi refused, wiping his hands with a towel. He briefly met Akane's eyes, who looked away quickly. There was a tug at his heart.

"Mommy, nap later?" Akira asked his mom, who nodded.

"It would be my pleasure." Mamiko looked at him.

"Can we train?" It broke him out of his thoughts.

"Sure." Akane walked past him in the kitchen. "Lunch is on its way."

"It smells good, I just need something quick…ha! A banana is perfect!" Their kids went in front of the TV.

"Since when you do sleep at the apartment?" he asked her, turning around completely.

"Since I have this annoying customer, so a few weeks. I do it on Wednesday nights usually because it's sleepover at the grandma of the week, so I can focus."

"You could have told me." She glanced at him from the corner of her eyes, throwing her banana peel in the trash. "I was worried."

"You could have asked the kids." She left him alone in the room.

Once again, when their children were both sleeping, they could talk. Instead, he went to the engawa and smoked a cigarette. Bad habits died hard and his had never fully left.

When he went in their bedroom, Akane was glaring at her pictures.

"Akane…"

"Busy right now." He pursed his lips and closed her portfolio. "Well, I'm not anymore," she said sarcastically. "I'm tir…"

"Do you really want to divorce?" She blinked at him.

"It worked then?" He frowned. "A divorce is at the bottom of my list, even if it did go through my mind for a second when I was really mad at you." She pursed her lips. "So, did you realize you had no idea of what was going on here?" He looked down. "Good, I've been a single mother once, doing it again is not something I want."

"It never was my intention. You know that don't you?"

"Sure. You never mean wrong, but more than one person is impacted by your actions, which speak more than words." She sighed. "Just…be a good dad to Mami and Aki-kun. They need and deserve it."

"What about us?" Akane's eyes became colder.

"Right now, they're my priority. Be a good father, we'll talk about being a good husband later." It broke his heart, especially when she gave him essentials for the night and basically kicked him out of their shared bedroom.

"You're making me sleep in the couch?" he asked her quietly, not even looking at her.

"I was thinking of the guest room where there is another functional bed, but if you want to go in the couch be my guest. For now, I just…can't sleep next to you."

"Okay." He almost had the door closed in his face.

He just had to prove himself, right? He could do that. He would do that.

He didn't want Akane to spend the night away again or think the only way he'd pay attention to her, to them, was by mentioning divorce.

He didn't get much sleep, dwelling about everything. He had been away, sure, but surely Akane couldn't forget their fourteen years of being together and in love, right? He had not lived that long to end up divorced at thirty-six. In the middle of the night, he got up to eat something, and drink some water and as he went back on the second floor, he almost entered their bedroom. He stayed in front of it for a few minutes.

He hated sleeping on his own ever since they had started their relationship. They had not even bothered trying to take things slow anyway, the second they were back from Kiri and in their apartment, he had moved in her room. Plus, the guest room was cold and hostile, or maybe it was the fact his wife had banished him from their bedroom that made it seem like it.

He focused on his children after that. He still saw Sarada to finish a few things up but slowly started to distance himself, going back to his uncle role and not the father-figure role. She was not dumb; she knew what he was doing and thanked him for taking time for her but that she was fine. However, at some point his daughter glared at him as he was taking her to school an afternoon.

"What?"

"You're too much right now Daddy, you know that?" Mamiko told him as he crouched in front of her. "I mean, you're here, it's great, but now you're too much here. I need to breathe! I'm six, I go to school, I have a life!"

"And yet still living under my roof free of charge," he retorted. She puffed her cheeks.

"Daddy, Mommy needs you too. Don't let her think you're in love with Aunt Sakura!" He widened his eyes in shock.

"What are you talking about Mamiko?" She shrugged.

"I heard Mom talking to herself one night when you were not home. She thinks that I think." Oh no, it was worse than expected.

"Okay, I'll back off. I need to talk to your mother." He started to leave but looked at his daughter once more, in front of her school. "We'll discuss your habit of listening and spying on everything that happens Mamiko." She shrugged.

"Then stop me when I'm doing it." She was Akane's daughter, no doubt about it. And Sasuke's niece, he could see the same defiant gleam in her eyes. "Love you Daddy!" She went inside.

He wasn't looking toward her teenage years.

He bought cuckooflowers and chocolates on the way back home. Akane was supposed to be here at this time of day, at least usually.

"Itachi! I finally get to see you!" He blinked at his mother, a few strands of white now in her hair. She had a sleeping Akira in her arms.

"Hi…Mom, can I ask you a favor? Two, actually."

"What is it?"

"Can you keep Akira and pick Mamiko up in three hours and keep them at home?" She raised a brow. "And if we don't pick them up today, then it will be tomorrow morning."

"Is everything okay with Akane Itachi?" his mother asked him more seriously. "She looks elsewhere." He pursed his lips.

"Yes, that's why I need you to possibly host a surprise sleepover." She sighed.

"I don't know what happened, but you better do something about it." She touched his arm and smiled. "I have your children covered, don't worry about them." He smiled faintly.

"Thank you." He kissed his son goodbye and entered the house.

He went to her study and found her looking through a family picture album, stuck on a picture of them a long time ago, before the war.

"Akane?" he called her gently. She raised her head and glanced at him above her shoulder.

"You're never home this early."

"I know, but Mamiko told me something I need to clarify." She closed the album and turned toward him, blinking at the flowers and chocolates.

"What are they for?" He knelt on one knee in front of her and gave them to her, who took them in confusion.

"To apologize for being a bad partner to you recently." She pursed her lips. "Being distant is one thing, but my behavior making you think I love another woman goes against everything we've built together." She widened her eyes in surprise and looked away, biting her bottom lip. "The only woman I've ever been in love with is you Akane, I don't have feelings for Sakura."

"…are you sure?" The pain in her voice and on her face broke his heart. "We've been together a long time, with routine and children…you could be sick of me and…" He pulled her in his arms.

"I told you you were stuck with me, it's not for me to just leave. I love you and only you sweetheart, until the day I die and beyond." She grasped his jacket in his back, her forehead against his shoulder. "Will you ever forgive me for making you believe nonsense like me loving someone else?" She nodded against him.

"You…you just started to be more and more away and I…I thought you weren't happy and didn't want to hurt my feelings or something…I have even thought you regretted not choosing Izumi." He hugged her tighter.

"You and the children make me happy in a way I never thought I would experience one day Akane. No words can fully express how happy I am thanks to you." She hugged him tighter.

"Really?"

"Yes." He pulled her back, cupping her face between his hands and kissing her lips. "There's no one else I want to kiss, or make love to, or laugh, or talk to when I'm not okay sweetheart. Just you." He wiped a treacherous tear from her cheek.

"I felt so lonely…I thought I was losing you and you weren't giving me a chance to…" He leaned his forehead against hers.

"You're not losing me, never." She was back in his arms, crying because of him. He just hugged her, whispering repeatedly he loved her. He didn't know how long she cried in his arms. At some point, she stopped, and they just stayed there, not moving.

He took her to their bedroom and put her in bed.

"Do you want some tea?"

"…the chocolates…" He chucked despite the situation. "And the flowers here," she added, pointing at the dresser and the empty spot between the pictures they had on it.

He sat down next to her, running his fingers through her hair as she was eating her chocolates, her head on his lap. He accepted the chocolate she put to his lips, licking her fingers clean.

It was enough to make her put the chocolates on her nightstand and straddle him.

"Maybe it's a little early to ask, but can I sleep here?" She nodded.

"You're not allowed to sleep anywhere else without my permission," she whispered, her lips grazing his.

"You know…I asked my mother if she could keep the children with her until tomorrow morning."

"Good, I'm not letting you out of this room," Akane stated firmly before kissing him hungrily.

He was all too happy to oblige.

Every story had an ending. Sometimes, in a corner of his mind, he was thanking his lucky star he still had Akane by his side. They were forty-eight, close to fifty and she still was okay. She had resorted to the Claw a little bit when the Otsutsukis came back and when Kawaki and Boruto fought each other, but she was okay. She was okay enough to scream at him when Mitsuki showed up, and he had to explain he had forced Orochimaru out of Kabuto because he needed him for something.

Yet, one morning, he woke up, like every day. He looked at his sleeping wife, who was quick to flutter her eyelids. He kissed her, like every morning. She didn't return it though.

She was frozen in shock in front of him. Then, she kicked him out of bed and fell from it, going back to a corner of the room like a frightened animal.

"Akane, what's wrong?" he asked her in alarm.

"You're dead!" she yelled back at him. "You're…you're dead and…" She looked around herself. "It's not my house, it's not…where are my kids!?"

"Aka…"

"What have you done to Akiko and Shisui you fake!?" It was his turn to freeze and his heart drop.

"Dad, Mom, what's going on!?" Mamiko asked from the other side of the door, and he heard her brother stop next to her.

Their kids were so big now. Eighteen and sixteen. They no longer were the little babies they used to care for and who would giggle at any silly noise they would make.

"It's okay, let me handle it!" In the fraction of seconds he answered, Akane put some clothes on and ran past him and straight to their children. She turned around, staring at them weirdly, not recognizing them.

"Mom?" Akira called her.

"I'm not your mom." Akira winced. Before he could step in, his daughter did.

His boy always felt a little out because he was adopted. He never felt out in their home, but people from the Uchihas would say he was an impostor because of his last name, that he was not part of them. Yes, there was no blood tie between them, but Akira was Itachi's son, blood or not.

"Mom, what's gotten into you!? You were the one who sai…"

"I'm not your mom either!" Mamiko froze, her arm falling limp by her side.

"Bu…but Mom…"

"Enough," he interrupted them. Before Akane could leave again, he caught her in his Sharingan and caught her in his arms when she fell, unconscious.

"Dad, what's going on with Mom?" He looked at his children.

They didn't know about Yuureis and their mom being one. Yet, it seemed like now it was something they could not get out of explaining.

He took her to the hospital, where Sakura took care of her immediately. When Akane woke up, confused as to why she was in the hospital and not in their bed, he held her hand hard, so hard she winced at his grip.

"Your…mark is winning, the balance is broken." He kept a blank face. "It has already started to impact your brain quite a lot and from what I saw in your body scan, it's spreading throughout your left arm and down your chest already. It's…going to burn your body inside out until the seal on your stomach I'd say from what I've seen."

"Can you slow it down?" he asked her immediately. Sakura's eyes darted between them both, Akane strangely quiet. "There's got to be some new drugs or…"

"You know like me the particular energies in the body of a Yuurei are impossible to control and out of this world, literally. It's like…" She took a deep breath, obviously not wanting to say the words either. "It's like a terminal disease in stage four, I'm not even sur…"

"It just started Sakura, it's not…it's not that bad yet!" He took a deep breath. It was not…it was not happening, not right now…

He glanced at his love, because it was her health and he didn't want to break now, he didn't want her to worry about him now. He had to be her rock until the end after all.

Yet, she was not surprised.

"Akane, you haven't…" Sakura started to say, to which Akane shook her head. "I'm going to give you two a moment." Itachi went in front of her, taking both her hands in his.

"It's not sudden," she started quietly. "It has started a couple of months ago." His heart dropped for the second time today. "I would…be confused about where I was, with whom for a few seconds and then revert back to normal and…there's this." She rolled up her sleeve.

Black dots were spreading around her mark.

He shook his head.

"You would have told me…"

"Itachi…"

"No, I'm your husband Akane, you would have told me something this important!" She smiled sadly at him.

"Call me selfish, but I wanted to keep a normal life, for me and everyone. This conversation is not something I wanted to happen 'tachi." He shook his head, a painful lump in his throat.

"No, no…I'm not…I'm not ready for that, I'm not ready to say goodbye yet sweetheart, please…" She delicately put her hands on his cheeks, her brown eyes just as wet as his were.

"I'm seventy-three my love, it's okay. I…I did my time."

"I don't want to say goodbye to you Akane, I can't…I just can't…"

"It's okay Itachi, it's okay. Do you know why?" He pursed his lips. "Because I said goodbye to you once and I got to say hello again. This time will be the same, except there won't be any more goodbyes after." He tried to kiss her only for his sobs to come out.

Ugly sobs were coming from his chest and throat, his whole body shaking as he was crying in Akane's arms like he had never cried before. Even his father dying did not get so many tears from him.

He just couldn't say goodbye to his soulmate and his everything. He couldn't. He didn't want to believe that the arms holding him as he was sobbing like a little child, so warm and safe, this embrace that was his home would soon be gone.

Their children cried as Akane explained everything to them, Mamiko asking, once her mother was over, if they really couldn't see their older siblings. Twins who had no idea they existed and that their mother didn't die in front of them but got another shot at life.

Of course, it sent a shockwave through their families and friends, people from Kiri coming. While on the surface it was just to visit, everybody knew it was to say their final goodbyes. When Dai hugged her goodbye, he started sobbing uncontrollably and fell on his knees. Akane had frozen from seeing her teammate like this, so he stepped in and pulled him on his feet, returning his desperate embrace when he slouched on him.

After this, it went fast. Too fast. She would often forget everything and be confused, sometimes it would be violent. Her being herself…was rarer and rarer.

"How are you…going to proceed?"

"I'll go to bed, as usual. Then once I wake up, I'll go to Uzushio, where my dad will be waiting for me," she replied, cracking her back.

"I should go with you." She sighed slightly.

"No, I don't want you to go."

"Someone has to bring you home after."

"I know, but not you. The children will need you and you'll need them. You don't need to see me like this."

"Akane, please I…"

"I love you, Itachi. More than anything else with our babies. So please, keep a picture of me living, annoying the shit out of you and smiling at your bad puns." He took a deep breath. "Please."

"Okay," he agreed with a heavy heart. "I…"

"I love you too." He didn't need to say for her to know what he wanted to say. She knew his heart and mind by heart.

He didn't let go of her that night. Yet, her spot was empty when he woke up. He hoped, naively, that she was somewhere in the house but nothing.

She was gone.

"Dad." He turned around to see his daughter, Akane's necklace in her hand. "I found this on my desk."

"I had that on mine," Akira added, showing an old, Uzumaki katana that Akane had inherited from Masashi a long time ago.

"She's gone," he whispered to himself.

Hey! Thanks for reading and please leave a review to tell me what you thought of this chapter! Not gonna lie, I had a huge lump in my throat as I wrote this chapter and the next one.

Bye!