Chasing After You || Itachi

Ch. 23 - Epilogue

"Tora, are you sure you don't want these before I throw them out?"

"Just toss it, Ma. Whatever it is, I haven't missed it since I left before so I won't miss it now."

It was a sunny afternoon and, instead of enjoying the perfect weather to lean against a tree and take a nap, an annoyed ravenette was busy packing scrolls. She placed another box down on the ground and wiped the sweat off her brow with a small sigh.

"Tora, come look at this!"

Once again, her mother got sidetracked along memory lane. With a groan, Tora headed back inside the house. Walking into the common area, she leaned against the door frame and watched her mother go through the catch-all drawer. She was currently holding a photo in her hands and immediately turned to her daughter with a smile to hand it over.

In the picture were five people at what looked like the front of the Academy building. The main focus was on three of them - Hana, Izumi, and herself. In the background, she could make out Itachi sitting on the steps of the building and Koji leaning against the rails.

"I'd been looking at it for a while. You all look so small compared to now."

"Yeah."

Tora held the photo in her hand as she studied it for a moment. Everything was definitely different then. If someone had told her what the future would hold, based off this picture alone, she wouldn't have believed them.

It had been nearly a year since everything went down. Sasuke had succeeded in his quest of killing Itachi to her dismay, but everything had been inevitable from the beginning. She wasn't able to recover Itachi's body from the scene, however she was able to get his necklace.

"Everything is ready for the trip." Jaga taped up another box. "Are you going to let your friends see you off this time?"

Clutching the photo frame she was holding, Tora smiled before heading towards the door. "No. I'll be right back, then we can leave while the sun's still out."

Still to this day, everything that happened after she let Sasuke into the cave was very hazy. She could remember explosions in the distance as she made sure she wasn't in the way. She swore she saw some white snakes and a warrior shrouded in fire, but afterwards, everything was black. When she woke up, she was back in the forest in the pocket of a tree trunk. It didn't take her long to find out that Kisame had moved her body at Itachi's request.

When she made it to her destination, Tora let out a small sigh before sitting down in the grass. In front of her was the weary gravestone of Izumi Uchiha, however it was now joined by two smaller gravestones that represented Itachi and Shisui's memory. Pressing her palms together in prayer, Tora bowed her head in respect before relaxing.

"I'm sorry it's been a while since I came to see you, Izumi." Tora smiled apologetically. "You wouldn't believe the journey that I've gone through. Well... actually you might since it is me we're talking about."

Tora pulled her knees into her chest and divulged everything to her friend as if she were answering back. When she finished her story, she placed the photo frame against Izumi's gravestone with a grin before glancing at Itachi's.

"You better be treating Izumi and Shisui well, Itachi." She murmured. "Don't worry about anything here. I'll keep looking after Sasuke. And I found someone else to chase after, in case you were wondering."

"Oh really? Who?"

The ravenette nearly jumped out of her skin as an additional voice whispered into her ear. Hearing laughter behind her, she quickly turned her head to see Koji clutching his stomach.