But when you told me the whole story I felt like throwing up

17

~10 years later~
Valentina's POV
I awoke gasping for air and scanning the unfamiliar environment.

Where am I, I wondered and then looked down at my hands. My fingers traced Itachi's Akatsuki ring that i was still wearing on my left right finger. My husband's ring. Then panic filled me as I scanned the unfamiliar room and couldn't find my husband. Where's Itachi?

I got up from the floor. Have I been sleeping on the floor? Why?
My eyes travelled to the walls. Empty from clocks and calendars. Did I not have an obsession with time anymore?
I looked at the bed next to me. Now that my eyes adjusted to the morning light I could see it was a familiar bed. It was Orochimaru's bed. But what am I doing in Orochimaru's bedroom?

I ran out of the room and almost bumped into Kabuto, but he didn't look all freaky with his snake skin like he did the last time I saw him. He looked normal.

"Valentina what are you still doing here?" Kabuto turned his head to the side in confusion.

"Why am I here? Where's my husband Itachi?" I tried to say but nothing came out of my mouth. Why couldn't I speak ? Was I permanently mute?

"Oh Valentina. Did you lose your notebook again?" Kabuto shook his head in disapproval. He then proceeded to take a small notebook and a pen from his pocket. Like if this was a common scenario and he was already prepared.

I grabbed the notebook and began writing on it. 'Where is my husband Itachi??'

"Your husband Itachi!?" Kabuto looked at me confused then at the ring. "Valentina are you feeling okay? Lord Orochimaru is downstairs working on an experiment but I can go get him."

"Don't." I wrote on the notebook and began feeling a knot in my stomach. I knew where this conversation was going. "Just tell me what day is today. What year. How long has it been since I died?" I wrote.

"It's been 10 years since you died," Kabuto said and I looked at my hands again.
These weren't kids hands. I travelled through time again. From 32 to 13. From 13 to 23. I am now 23 years old.

"It's better if you get going. Karin is waiting for you in the gates of Konoha. You're going to be late," Kabuto said and he didn't have to say it twice. I hurried away.

Did the plan to save Itachi's daughter work? I left Orochimaru's hideout without a 'thank you' or 'congratulations'. Like if all my hard work traveling through time meant nothing.

"There you are! You're late like always!" After minutes of walking I saw Karin standing outside of Konoha's gates.

"Sorry. I'm just.... lost," I wrote on the notebook trying to accept my new reality.

"You look crazy Valentina and today is your first day in your new job," Karin scolded me as we walked into Konoha.

"New job?" I was shock. No recollection of anything and the thing I last remember is passing out in Itachi's arms...... but that was 10 years ago apparently.

"Are you on drugs or something? As an anbu.....well kind of a downgrade from your previous position."

"What do you mean?" I wrote trying not to dissociate from reality.

"You were lowered a rank by Tsunade because you would always disappeared at night and nobody knows anything about you. You don't engage with anyone. But I've told you before to not run to Orochimaru every time you have a nightmare regarding what happened 10 years ago. One of these days you will be caught by one of your anbu teammates." Her tone was authoritative, yet in her eyes I could see that she cared for me.

"You're right," I didn't want to have this conversation anymore.

"I want you to meet my boyfriend, Sasuke. He's such a sweetheart." Karin changed the topic and I couldn't be more glad. As she rambled about him I felt myself getting lost in my own thoughts.

"What do you mean meet him? We've known Sasuke since forever."

"What? No we don't..."

"Yes. With Orochimaru-sama? Remember? He joined after the Uchiha massacre." I looked at her and she wasn't walking anymore.

"Well he joined for like a month and then left. The Uchiha are alive," Karin looked at me confused.

"Yeah his family..."

"No the whole clan is alive. One day they just came back. No recollection of what happened."

We stopped in front of a small house full of flowers.

"Well are you going to go in your house and get changed for work?" Karin asked me.

"I don't think I'll go to work. I don't feel good" I lied.

"Yeah being an anbu must be tough. You should cut Orochimaru out of your life and just become a teacher like I did." Despite knowing that Karin cared deeply for me, I did not look her in the eyes. I could see the pity in her crimson eyes forming as her eyes travelled to my outfit and the small notebook and pen I was enslaved to.

Her goodbyes and friendly hugs lasted for eternities as she walked me inside my house. After I watched her leave, I headed to the Uchiha village to see Itachi.

Author's Note
I haven't posted in a while but new chapter woot woot!
When a sentence is underlined it means that the main character wrote it because she can't speak (Obito cut her tongue)