Love can spark Miracles - Uchiha Itachi Fanfic [Edited]

Chapter 7 - Konoha

Emiko pov:

"Sasuke, hurry up," I whispered, glancing once over the other three who slept soundly and absolutely unaware of us preparing to leave. Sasuke was packing a few things into a small bag, mostly food that we could eat on the way if we got hungry.

When he had everything he needed, he regarded me with a nod which I returned. We were quick to begin our sprint to Konoha. I felt momentarily bad for leaving Suigetsu, Jugo and Karin hanging but it had to be done. Surely they would not agree to us returning to Konoha and the more rogues that entered Konoha, the more difficult our situation would become.

My heart raced from the many emotions that surfaced from deep within me. Sasuke and I were finally going home, back to the place where I had always though that life would have been perfect. Many memories flashed in front of my eyes - my first time visiting Konoha, my first time meeting Itachi and Sasuke and the others of the Uchiha Clan, how Itachi and I had grown closer over the years, become best friends first before we fell so deeply in love with each other...

My eyes stung, blurring my vision momentarily, and I felt a weakness in my legs that made me stop running. I sat down on one knee on a branch and breathed heavily whilst closing my eyes. Tears fell from my eyes but I only heaved at the tightness I felt in my chest.

"Nee chan, are you alright? Please, don't cry," I heard Sasuke say as he came to kneel next to me with a hand on my shoulder.

"Forgive me, Sasuke. It's just that so many memories are rushing through me...and I miss everyone so much. I'm so sorry for hurting you and everyone else so much. I know I'm doing what I can to set things right as much as I possibly can, but the past cannot be changed and...oh goodness, I miss Itachi so much, Sasuke," I confessed shamelessly.

"Please don't apologize, Nee chan. What happened was not your fault, and I'm sorry too, for hurting you and Nii san without knowing the truth," Sasuke replied, bringing me into an embrace. It elicited more tears in me, though Sasuke only patted my shoulder to comfort me until I had calmed enough to stop my embarrassing show of waterworks.

With several deep inhales, I was able to calm myself. I made Sasuke let go of me and I apologized to him again with an embarrassed smile. He looked pained too, his eyes welling slightly with tears of all the pain that he harbored in his heart. I placed my hands on his cheeks at that and we closed our eyes as we let our foreheads meet. We remained like that for several moments before we stood, held hands and continued to Konoha.

I couldn't help but glance at Sasuke as we ran - though he always appeared so strong and harsh on the outside, I knew he held so much pain on the inside. He was the kind of person who would readily give up his life for the person he wished to protect. He had only been so confused and misunderstood all this while, and needed a warm heart to stand by him through everything to support him. He needed someone to understand him for who he was and all the turmoil he had lived through, someone who wouldn't judge him for what he pretended to be on the outside, and loved him for the lonely and frightened Sasuke he was on the inside.

I wished for the best for this special, loving and kind-hearted little brother of mine.

I wondered if he had someone like that in Konoha. It would be wonderful if that was the case, so the wounds in his heart could heal faster and he could be happy again. He met my eyes with a small smile when I gave his hand a gentle squeeze before I looked ahead, eager to see our destination.

It took us more than ten hours of non stop running to reach Konoha, though we had stopped once in between for a short rest and to satiate our grumbling tummies. Our journey had been pleasant and calm after the few moments I had broken down, and our hearts were light. We spoke of many things as we ran, mostly fond memories that we held close to our hearts - we smiled, we laughed, and felt whole again.