He's dead. He's dead. This can't be him. They're just toying with my mind. How could they bring him back? Who's 'they'? This can't all be his doing, can it? It can't be. I refuse to believe that.

It all makes sense, though... I completely overlooked it, but...

"Take care out there, Sasuke. From, Naruto. PS: Hinata and Konohamaru told us about some of the ANBU that attacked her. They knew the Fireball Jutsu. Do you think the Uchiha clan is involved with this?"

"What's the matter? Little Sasuke Uchiha, I guess you never grew up, huh? Hard to believe you're the last survivor of such a legendary clan. What a failure that you're crushing under the pressure like this. How foolish I was in my past life to leave everything up to someone like you."

Sakura frantically tied the nurse's arms behind her back and moved her away before moving closer to Sasuke, "Sasuke, don't look at him! He's not him! He's not real!"

"He's standing right in front of me, Sakura." Sasuke muttered, "he's real. But you're right. He's not the one I knew before. The one I loved. The one who gave his life for the rest of the clan." He glared at the man, "you're not actually Itachi Uchiha, are you?"

Itachi slowly opened his eyes to reveal two Rinnegans, just like Sasuke's, "but I am, little brother. Don't you see? And now, I'll rise up and I'll be the one to restore the legendary clan and make it what it was made to be!"

"No...." Sasuke took a step closer to him, "this isn't what Itachi wanted. You might look like him, sound like him, but Itachi would never want to hurt me."

Itachi cackled, "I'm going to remove the clans corrupting the Shinobi world and bring up a new era of ninja to be as strong as what the Uchiha clan once was! Make it stronger than what I see here before me."

"'Clans'?"

He chuckled, "of course. This corrupted Uchiha clan along with the clan of that boy that brought all this strife upon the Hidden Leaf Village. You heard about the village getting attacked by those ANBU, didn't you? It's all because of him!"

Sakura stared at him, "N-Naruto..."

"The Uzumaki and Uchiha clans need to be erased and reborn as a newer more intelligent clan under the Uchiha name. The shinobi world will bow to the Land of Fire, all thanks to the Uchiha that made it all happen: Me."

Sasuke shook his head, "Itachi! Stop this!"

"And you, Sasuke. You may be weak now, but I can help you become stronger." He looked at Sasuke and set his hands on his brother's shoulders, "after all, isn't that all you always wanted? Power? To become stronger?"

Sasuke stared into his eyes as even more memories flooded through his mind.

"I need to become stronger..."

"Pain makes people stronger..."

"My only goal in life... Is revenge..."

"I'm the strongest there is, now... And I'll begin my journey into the shadows from this moment on..."

My journey...

Begins in the shadows...

In the darkness...

"Join me, Sasuke. You and I can rule the Shinobi world with power unmatchable. We can show everyone the true power of the Uchiha clan. I'll train with you, I'll teach you everything you've always wanted to know." Itachi smiled at him, "isn't this the relationship you always wanted?"

"Come help me train, Big Brother!"

"Sorry, Sasuke. Maybe next time."

"Big Brother! Help teach me the Fireball Jutsu!"

"I'm sorry, Sasuke, I have an important mission. I'll help you next time."

There was never a next time, was there?

This bond with my brother...

It could be re-established right here, right now.

All those lost years...

Those lost feelings of having someone to look up to...

A big brother to look up to...

And the power of the Uchiha clan, too.

This is a two-for-one deal.

And it's all right here,

Just waiting for me to accept it.

"... I--"

"Sasuke!"

That voice.

This feeling.

I've said it before and I completely forgot my own promise.

"Sasuke! Don't listen to him! He's only tricking you!" Sakura cried, "don't you remember? You were able to escape your own darkness those three years ago! Don't get sucked back into it! What is it you truly needed, Sasuke? It wasn't power! Sasuke!"

Hearing her words... She's absolutely right.

Sasuke looked up at his brother and smiled, "my journey may have begun in the darkness, but that's not where my journey ends."

Itachi's smile faded, "what?"

"I'm sorry, Itachi, or whoever you are. My time with my brother was up a long time ago, and I've moved on. I don't need power or authority. Never have needed it. I have all I need. And yeah, it comes in a two-for-one deal." Sasuke glanced back at Sakura, who smirked at his remark, "but you, on the other hand, I don't know who you are or what makes you think you can toy with our emotions like this, but whatever you're doing has to stop. That's why..." His arm slowly lifted to hold a tagged kunai against Itachi's neck, "I have to end this."

Sakura recognized the tag, "that kunai... It's the one from..."

"I've held onto this kunai for a long time, now." Sasuke looked at it, "I swore to myself I'd kill any person that dares lay a hand on my wife or child with this kunai."

Itachi scoffed, "Sasuke, I'm your brother. You wouldn't dare kill me, would you?"

Sasuke took a deep breath and brought the blade closer against Itachi's neck, "I would. Because you're not my brother."

The elder Uchiha looked at his younger brother, chuckled, and sighed, "I should've known. You're a pretty persistent guy. I like that."

Just as he finished his sentence, he pulled out his own kunai and hit Sasuke's arm away, sending the two into a fight.

"Fire-style, Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke weaved the single hand-sign and sent Itachi out of the room and into the cave.

"Two can play at that game." Itachi snickered as he weaved his own hand-signs and used the same Jutsu, "I'm impressed, though. You've got one-handed signs, now. Wherever could you have learned that?"

Sasuke gritted his teeth and gripped the hilt of his kunai tighter, "Just shut up!"

He ran up to his brother and engaged in hand-to-hand combat until they both had each other at the edge each other's kunai.

"Give it up." Itachi panted, "you can't win against me, little brother. You're still. Too. Weak."

Sasuke breathed hard to catch his breath, "you're wrong."

"Oh yeah? Wanna bet?"

Sasuke looked past Itachi and saw just behind him, a shadow clone of his brother was standing a few feet from them with a kunai against Sakura's neck and Sasuke's sword hovering centimeters over her stomach.

"What the...." Sasuke glanced down at the sheath at his side and didn't realize Itachi had taken his sword.

"So, what will it be?" Itachi chuckled, "you're out of options here."

Sasuke looked into Sakura's eyes, "not entirely."

The way she looked at him shifted from fear to understanding. She nodded as her grip on Itachi's hand loosened.

"Heh." Itachi laughed, "you think that trick's going to work on me again?"

Sakura glanced up at him with a pained smirk, "no. We're not that dumb."

Itachi blinked a few times just before bringing the sword and kunai down against her, piercing her and sending her onto the ground, bleeding.

Sasuke stared in horror, then smirked, "checkmate."

"What?!" Itachi froze when Sakura suddenly disappeared then felt the cold blade of Sasuke's kunai against his neck from behind him. He looked down at where Sakura lay and her body slowly started distorting into Sasuke's body, looking up at him, chuckling weakly, "then... Who's...?"

"Checkmate, Itachi." Sakura spoke from behind him, "he's my husband, and I won't let you hurt him."

"How did..." Itachi stared at her as she held the blade closer against his neck.

That's it... Sasuke realized the one holding Sakura was the real me and that he'd been fighting a clone this whole time. While I was distracted by her, he put me under a Genjutsu thinking I was still holding her. Then they switched places and she got away... How silly of me to overlook that. I let my guard down.

He looked at Sasuke, "but why?! Why would you let yourself get this hurt?!"

"Because." Sasuke breathed heavily, "she's my wife. You don't think I wouldn't give my life for her?"

Sakura gripped the kunai tighter, "you've said enough, Itachi. It's over."

The sound of a slicing kunai echoed through the cave followed by the dull sound of a body collapsing onto the ground.

Sakura stared as the tagged kunai dropped from her hand and made a loud clang on the stone floor. She soon fell to her knees and rested her hands on her large stomach, "I..."

"No, wait."

Sasuke and Sakura watched as Itachi's body began to glow and his skin started to dissolve into billions of pieces.

"It's like... The last time I saw him." Sasuke muttered as they watched the particles rise into the air and begin to dissolve into nothing, "this is the Impure World Reincarnation technique that Kabuto used, but... How...?"

"Wait, Sasuke." Sakura set her hand on Itachi's fading shoulder, "I think..."

Sasuke looked down and studied his brother's face, "Itachi?"

He slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Sasuke, "S-Sasuke..."

Sasuke felt his eyes begin to well up with tears, "yeah... It's me."

Without another word, Itachi just smiled and let his eyes shut again.

"Sorry."

With that final word, Itachi's body dissolved and disappeared above them in the air into millions of dazzling particles, in his place was an unrecognizable ninja.

Sakura stared at where Itachi used to be then looked up at Sasuke as he did the same, "I'm so sorry, Sasuke..."

As if yanked back to reality, Sasuke stood up, ran to Sakura's side, and hugged her tight against him, "I'm glad you're both okay."

Sakura felt tears fall down her face, "that was your brother, Sasuke! I'm so sorry, I didn't realize..."

"It's okay." Sasuke stroked her hair, "it's okay. It wasn't your fault."

Sakura cried into his shoulder as she hugged him back. She caught sight of Sasuke's kunai, wiped her face, and grabbed it, "I should probably give this back to you."

Sasuke smiled as he set his hand on hers, "I don't need it anymore. You're safe. That's all that matters to me."

She looked at him happily and wrapped her arms around him, leaning in and pressing her lips against his. He smiled in the kiss and wrapped his arm around her and pulling her in tighter.

"We need to get you out of here." Sasuke pulled away and cupped her face with his hand, "you probably need to rest."

"Yeah. I'm exhausted I might faint." Sakura chuckled lightly as she rubbed her temples then looked at her hands, covered in blood, "wait, your wounds..."

"It's fine." Sasuke coughed, "just a couple of scratches."

Sakura carefully touched the small cut in his neck, "Sasuke..."

"I'm alright." He assured her.

She ignored his remarks and held his neck while her other hand moved to his stomach, where Itachi had stabbed him. She shut her eyes and pursed her lips as her hands started to glow green and she used as much chakra as she could manage to heal his deep wounds to at least stop the bleeding and speed the healing process. Her hands eventually fell to her sides and she slumped over against Sasuke.

"Sakura." Sasuke held her steady, "now you've lost so much chakra."

"Heh..." Sakura chuckled weakly, sounding much weaker than before, "hey, you're looking a little better, at least."

"Sasuke? Is that Sakura in there with you?"

The two looked up to see Shikamaru run up to them, followed by Ino and Choji.

"Oh my gosh, Sakura!" Ino cupped her hands over her mouth as they ran to her side.

"Take her first." Sasuke managed to get up and supported Sakura's arm, helping her get up, "she needs to get out of here and find a place to rest."

"Will do." Shikamaru nodded, "what about you?"

"I'll catch up." Sasuke smiled as Choji moved to his side and slung his arm over his shoulder, helping him walk out of the cave, "you guys took care of things out here, huh?"

"Oh yeah." Ino smiled as she and Shikamaru helped Sakura outside, "they all just collapsed at once and disintegrated in front of us. I don't know if that was your guys' doing."

"Might've been." Sasuke chuckled.

Shikamaru looked at him, "did you figure out who the guy behind all this was?"

Sasuke shut his eyes and thought for a few moments before leaning his head back and smiling, "he was a good friend."

____________________

"Look at you." Ino laughed, "feeling any better?"

Sakura took a huge gulp of Ino's herbal tea and nodded, "oh yeah. Thank you so much, Ino."

Ino smiled, "it's so good to see you two again. You have no idea how happy it makes me to see you two like this."

"Yeah? Well, me too." Sakura chuckled as she looked around her at the small forest area they found and set up camp on. Then her gaze fell on where Sasuke stood with Shikamaru and Choji at the edge of the forest, silhouetted against the sunset, talking, "how long has it been since you guys met up with Sasuke?"

"Almost a week. Majority of our time with Sasuke was searching for you." Ino smiled, "you really scared us back there."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Sakura sighed before smirking at her friend, "so, Ino-Pig, I heard. Inojin, huh?"

Ino laughed, "oh yeah. Our newest member of the family. You should've seen his face. You'd think Sai's a pretty emotionless guy, but you could see every single emotion on his face!" She laughed until she noticed Sakura's gaze was still fixated on the group of guys not too far from them, "heh. I wonder what Sasuke's reaction will be when you have your baby."

Sakura looked at her and blushed slightly, "well, you know, I never really thought about it. Sometimes I can't even imagine how he'd react. Do you think he'll be mad?"

Ino stared at her, "mad? Why on earth would he be mad?"

"Well... He's been anticipating a boy. You know, boys are ideal for clan restoration. I'm worried. What if it's a girl? Wouldn't he be mad?"

Ino sighed, "a boy would be nice for clan restoration, but you know fathers bond well with their daughters. That bond would be worth more to him than clan restoration, I'm sure."

Sakura chuckled, "then again, maybe it is a boy? I guess we won't know until the delivery."

"He said it was a boy." Sasuke walked up to the two and sat down next to Sakura, "I didn't believe him."

"What made him say that?"

"He claimed he saw it." Sasuke made gestures to his eyes towards Sakura, who understood what he was talking about.

"Uh..." Ino chuckled weakly, "like the Hyuga clan? No! Was it Neji?!"

"No, no." Sakura smiled sadly, "just take our word for it."

"Anyways." Sasuke cleared his throat, "I think it'd be best if we just waited until the baby arrives."

"Speaking of which." Shikamaru and Choji walked up to the trio, "Sakura, we talked it over with Sasuke. While we're here, we can provide you with protection."

Sakura looked at Sasuke, "but... We agreed that--"

"Until tomorrow morning." Shikamaru shut his eyes, "Sasuke was pretty persistent about keeping his word to you, so we'll respect that. We also figured you might want to spend some time with Ino, and that's understandable, too."

Sakura smiled and turned to Ino, "yeah, that'd be so great! Thank you!"

"We're glad you guys are safe, now." Choji smiled, "we know Sasuke will take care of you from here on out."

"Besides." Ino smirked, "you're due pretty soon, aren't you?"

"Heh." Sakura chuckled before turning to Shikamaru, "oh! Congratulations on your proposal! Glad to see you've finally done it."

Shikamaru smirked, "heh. It was kind of a drag, but it had to be done eventually, I guess. Come on, Choji. We should probably set up our area, too."

Choji nodded, "sure."

Before leaving, Shikamaru turned to Sasuke, "so, do you guys know where you're going after this?"

"Actually." Sasuke looked at Sakura, "we're just outside the Hidden Waterfalls Village. We're just on the border between it and the Hidden Sound Village."

"The Sound Village." Ino stared at him, "you don't mean..."

"Sasuke." Choji coughed, "this is Orochimaru's hideout."

"Orochimaru has multiple hideouts, meaning he's not always at that one." Sasuke reassured them, "there's someone I think could help."

"You can't be serious." Ino looked at Sakura, "this is Orochimaru. You can't possibly let him near your child. Sakura?"

Sakura looked at them and smiled, "I think it's fine. I know who he's talking about, and I trust her."

Sasuke nodded with a smile, "if she's fine with it, then I'm fine with it."

Shikamaru sighed, "there's no point arguing. This is Sasuke, after all. We'll trust you both that you know what you're doing."

Sakura smiled, "thanks, guys."

Ino sighed and shrugged, "it's whatever. You're the one giving birth. I only remember when I was pregnant and Sai refused to do whatever I told him and wouldn't let me do what I wanted. I was pissed and just about ready to rip someone's head off." She grinned, "yeah, it's painful, by the way."

"Eep..." Sakura stared at her in horror, "you can't be serious..."

"Oh yeah..." Ino chuckled, "it's bad."

"We should leave them to that." Shikamaru cleared his throat as he grabbed Choji's arm and dragged him away to set up their areas.

Sasuke watched Sakura and Ino talk and laugh together, making him smile to himself.

Is the threat really over? It can't be this easy... I feel like one after another, threats keep coming after us. That's just who we are. We're meant to have these problems and challenges that keep coming at us. That's the price of being an Uchiha. Despite all that, she knew the risks and wanted to marry me, leave on this journey with me, and even have a child with me. A rogue ninja like me, someone who deserves eternal despair and even death. She still loves someone like me. I can't thank Shikamaru and his team enough for helping me bring her back.