Summary: after the war... multiple time skips. Only difference is Itachi is alive.

Age: Itachi= 21 Almost everyone else=15/16 Kakashi= Idk, I think he was around 31 or 32 yrs old at this time...

Category: Itachi/Sasuke centric, SasuSaku, Team 7

Note: Itachi's birthday is here. *wants to stay in room crying all day but still has to go to a birthday party and be social 😭😭😭😭😭* i have got to come up with a really good one shot for that! Prepare your Itachi shrines, ladies and gentlemen. Started on: May 4th, 3:58 PM. Finished: September 6th, 6:14 AM.

Just so you guys know how sad I am. I started this ON May 4th, edited it around June 9th, and finished it today.

< weasel >

Itachi sighed and wiped his head, leaning against a tree. His brother and Naruto-kun were having their little showdown, and Kakashi and Sakura had left to stop them a long time ago.

He looked to the sky. The sun was going down. They should be back soon. It's been hours since they left... the villages were still recovering, everyone trying to heal or be healed.

Itachi held his own arm, feeling the blood from his injuries run down the Akatsuki cloak he was still wearing. He had used his eyes more than he could. And the side effects were taking place. His eyesight was blurry and worse than before, and cheeks were still stained from the blood that had dripped down them before.

He slid down the tree, landing in a sitting position. He rested his head on the bark and sighed again as a cool breeze swept through his tired, aching bones. He should be seeing a medic. But he knew that other people should be treated before he was, and he was more than content to wait.

His vision started to have hints of black around the edges, and Itachi mentally groaned. I'm passing out... His head rolled back, but before his eyes completely closed, Itachi heard a girl scream, and a pink haired kunoichi Itachi recognized as Sakura stumbled into his line of sight. Itachi saw that she and Kakashi-san were supporting a certain blonde, and Itachi's little brother between them.

The last thing Itachi felt before blacking out were two pairs of hands on them. One of which was Sakura's, which was surrounded by the green glow of the medic chakra, and the others were Sasuke, his arms splayed over Itachi, silently begging him not to die, to stay with him for Sakura to help.

< seven days later >

< weasel >

Itachi blinked his eyes open, squinting them to focus. My eyesight is still a little blurry he noticed. Then his eyes focused, and Itachi realized that his eyesight was completely normal now. His eyes widened in shock, and he took in the world. He was in a makeshift hospital in what looked to be Suna, lying on a bed.

Sakura then walked in. She had a white cloak on he recognized as a doctor's cloak, and a pencil behind her ear. She was holding a clipboard and looking at him with a big smile on her face. "Itachi-san! You're awake! How are you feeling?" She asked him.

"Haruno-san, it's okay to just call me Itachi." He said, looking her in the eyes. He'd never noticed just how green her eyes were. Maybe it was because he was half blind at the time.

"Then you have to call me Sakura." She said, then walked to him. She looked to his side fondly. "Ah, I see Sasuke-kun's still in here."

Itachi frowned, turning his head. There was his brother, laying on Itachi's stomach, fast asleep. He hadn't noticed the light pressure he felt from Sasuke.

"I hadn't noticed, actually," Itachi said, lifting one of his arms to bury his left hand in Sasuke's hair. He rubbed it, and the boy sighed. He'd been having a freaky dream, apparently, because he relaxed at Itachi's hand.

Sakura's smile widened. "You two are so cute." Itachi looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "What? You are. Brother goals, right there." She retorted sassily. Then she slipped into doctor mode. "Okay Itachi-sa-- Itachi," she corrected herself when she saw his look. "Tell me how you're feeling."

"How did you get my eyes like this?" Itachi asked first. "My eyesight was completely destroyed."

"We implanted Shisui's Sharingan into you. You now have an Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, and your eyesight will not be taken from you again." Sakura said. "We only managed to do it with Sasuke's help."

"What about Sasuke? The plan was for my eyes to go to him." Itachi frowned more. He was happy his eyes were back to normal, and the fact that they were Shisui's left questions.

"Before Obito died, he said his eyes were going to Sasuke." Sakura said. "So Sasuke has also recently had an implant. Kakashi now has two eyes, thanks to Naruto."

"How did you get Shisui's Sharingan anyway? I thought Shisui's eye had gone down with Danzo." Itachi said, confused.

"It did. You see, Tobi-- err, Madara-- no, Obito-- Obito had transported Danzo's body seconds before the explosion, and simply hadn't gotten to having the eye implanted into himself because of the little time. We found Shisui's eye, and then found the other one, and you were set." Sakura said.

"You couldn't have done that in a such short amount of time," Itachi frowned.

"Hon, how long do you think you've been asleep?!" Doctor mode had fully taken over Sakura. "I'd say seven days is enough time to get that done, wouldn't you?"

Itachi's eyes widened. "I've been asleep for a week?!"

"Yes. We almost lost you twenty-six times during that time. Fortunately, we had me, Shizune-senpai and Tsunade-sama. You have no idea how tired I am." Sakura sighed. That was when Itachi noticed the bags under her eyes and the way her shoulders were slumped.

"You should've slept." He told her, ready to start scolding her.

"I couldn't just let you die," she said, cocking and placing her hand on her hip. "If sacrificing sleep for a few days would do that, I was fine with it. Still am. I'll just sleep a lot when this is over."

Itachi smiled at her in relief. This turned out a lot better than how I had planned it.

Sasuke shifted a little on Itachi's stomach, drawing his eyes to the boy. "He looks exhausted."

"He does." Sakura sighed, walking to him. She set her clipboard on Itachi's bed, and crouched to pick up the blanket on the floor. She had probably put it on Sasuke's body. "Do you want me to move him to the couch?"

"How would you pick him u--"

Sakura smirked at him and grabbed her clipboard again. She grabbed Sasuke's arm, and using only that, hoisted him onto her back. She carried him all the way to the couch without breaking a sweat, then tucked him in again. She looked at him, again, and Itachi was gaping. "What? We had to get you here somehow, since you were passed out, and all."

Itachi shook his head, chuckling. "You've surpassed Tsunade-sama?"

"She says so. Ah, speaking of Tsunade-shishou, you've been completely pardoned of your crimes and will be allowed to live in Konoha for however long you wish. Since Danzo is dead, Tsunade will work on picking new council members. You'll be treated as a hero for the rest of your life, just as it should be." Sakura smiled, petting Itachi's head. "Welcome home."

< 8 Days Later >

< weasel >

Itachi sat on the pier, looking out over the lake that had been such a massive part of his short childhood. It had been renovated to almost the same way it was when he was a child. The sunset was beautiful, projecting out over the water. As the sun set, the cold air pierced Itachi's now healed lungs (courtesy of Sakura, Tsunade, Shizune, and a four day long surgery). Birds flew by overhead, flying towards whichever tree they slept in at night. Wind whipped through the grass, moving Itachi's hair with it.

Itachi frowned at his hairtie, but didn't take it off. It was one of those moments when he couldn't be bothered.

As much as he was totally alone out there, he was also the most peaceful that he had been in a very long time. He let out a heavy, regret filled sigh that only people with a hard past would comprehend.

As of now... nothing was as important as watching the sun go down.

Nothing, except his little brother of course.

Sasuke lay down next to him on the pier, arms sprawled on either side, knees up to provide support. Itachi almost sighed again. Now that Sasuke was here, the moment of peace is gone. It's not like Itachi minded or anything.

The two brothers sat in complete silence, neither saying a word to each other. The sun went down, and one by one the lights around the pond lit, providing a beautiful view and limited light. Itachi lit his own lantern and set it behind the two of them so they could both see when Sasuke opened his eyes, which he hadn't opened since he sat down.

It was well into the night when Sasuke spoke for the first time. "Do you ever wonder what the world would be like if mother and father were here?"

Itachi looked at Sasuke, then back out at the water, tracking the path of the moon over the lake. It was close to the middle of the body of water. "No. When I do, it hurts."

"Me too." Sasuke replied. His eyes were still closed. You almost wouldn't realize it was him that spoke. It looked like he was fast asleep, but Itachi knew he wasn't. Not even close. His arms shifted to let his hands cup the back of his head and provide a cushion from the hard pier he had been laying on for a good hour.

Neither said a word anymore until the moon was fully in the middle of the pond. Itachi didn't even realize it, but Sasuke spoke again right then.

He said, "I hate you."

Itachi chuckled bitterly. He looked at himself, then back out at the water. "I hate me too."

"But I'm happy you're okay." Sasuke finished. Itachi looked down at his brother in pure shock. Sasuke looked back up at him, his onyx eyes swimming in sadness. "Naruto says I should forgive you. Sakura says it's not your fault. Kakashi says that you're the only family I have left. If I waste my time being bitter, where would that leave us? But I can't find... I can't find anything in me that is happy about how things turned out."

"Sasuke, listen--"

"I bet it would've been hard no matter how we had made it. There are many roads leading to the same destination. And maybe... in some of those roads, I lost you. Maybe I did it myself. So I can't be bitter at how things turned out here. Because here you are, at the end of it, sitting next to me."

Itachi laughed. "For your information, you're sitting next to me. I was here first."

Sasuke snickered, shrugging innocently. "I guess so. But you get what I mean?"

"Yes." Itachi said, thinking about it more in depth. With all those words, with all of his explaining, all Sasuke managed to say was that he was happy that Itachi made it. "I'm happy you're okay too."

Sasuke looked out at the water, laughing quietly. "I would've had more chances of making it anyway. You're just a big wimp that can't kill a bug."

"That was one time, that spider was the size of my palm, and I'm a pacifist." Itachi said, taking down Sasuke's argument in three sentences. "What about you and Mr. Dino? That doesn't seem very manly, hmm? Should I dig through the old family albums and invite Sakura over?"

"ITACHI, DON'T YOU DARE."

Itachi laughed, letting his back rest on the pier in the same position as Sasuke. He looked up at the sky, and he realized that while he was watching the lake, he was missing the magnificent view of the stars. Yet... Sasuke had seen it the whole time.

"You know... you could've been the one to change mother and father and the others. " Itachi turned his head to Sasuke. Sasuke was further ahead than him, so he looked up at Itachi, confused. His right cheek was still laying on the cool wood of the pier.

"What are you saying?" Sasuke furrowed his brow.

"I acted without taking into account that you are your own person." Itachi frowned. "I thought I needed to protect you, to watch over you. I took away something that would have been big for you. I'm sorry for that." He got to his knees and formally bowed to Sasuke. He peered at Sasuke through his bangs. "You never have to forgive me, though. I just... I want you to know that no matter what comes next, I will always love you."

Sasuke's eyes widened. Itachi had never said that to him before, aside from the two times when he had thought Sasuke was asleep. They were little back then, though. Sasuke had never said it to him. He showed his love through the brotherly adoration and competition, and Itachi had showed it in his patience and kindness. It was an unspoken code between them. Both knew it, but neither acted on it.

Now... Itachi had voiced it. Sasuke didn't know what to say. Itachi remained in a hunched position, waiting for Sasuke's response.

"Tch. Get up, Aniki. If Naruto walks by I'll never hear the end of it." He scoffed, not really knowing how to do this. Itachi smiled, sitting up. He understood. Just the word aniki meant something. But... Sasuke also wanted to elaborate. "You're forgiven. You know, if you make me mother's famous rice balls tomorrow."

Itachi chuckled, nodding his head. "Hai, hai."

Sasuke stood up, yawning. "It's been a long day, and a long night. I'm exhausted."

Itachi nodded quietly, simply looking back out at the lake for a minute. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around, eyes wide. Sasuke stood next to him. He had a small smile on his face. He kept his left hand on Itachi's shoulder, and his right reaching out to help him up.

"Let's go, old man." He grinned cheekily at the insult. Itachi chuckled again, nodding, and allowing Sasuke to pull him up.

They walked back to the house together.

"So... Sakura, huh?"

"..."

"Why are you blushing, ototo? She's beautiful, powerful, smart and kind. Isn't that what you said you wanted in a wife? She's perfect for you."

"A-ANIKI!"

Loud, melodious laughter could be heard from him, were you walking close to them.

The two had honestly never been happier.

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Well, hey there!!!

This is Silverwolf735. Man I'm glad to be back to my real name.

Anyway, I'm here to give you a small preview of one of my future books.

The book is called < If >, and in every chapter, I have to make a small change.

This is new, I hope, because there is a blatant, obvious change every chapter.

This actually isn't my only idea, I will have another book or two going while i write that. I have plenty of ideas! Just expirementing!

Enjoy!

--Silverwolf735