Weapons (Itachi romance)

Epilogue

-Itachi's POV-

"Nnh..." I slowly sat up, blinking as my eyes adjusted to my brightly lit surroundings. That's strange... my vision. It was never this good before.

I rose my hands to my face, then looked myself over. No blood...

I then took in my surroundings. I was lying by a large koi pond, in a garden with lush green vegetation and a wall surrounding it, with a house on one side. The whole place was vaguely familiar, except different in the somehow clean glow of it. Then I noticed; it was an almost exact replica of the training grounds that I used to meet my ANBU team at back in Konoha. But what was I doing here?

"Itachi..." my head snapped to the sound, and I froze in shock.

"K-Kaoru?!" how was this possible?! Kaoru was dead, and yet, here she sat, before me, in a plain white yukata that gave her a vibe of wholesomeness.

"It's good to see you, Itachi." I stood and ran over to her, ignoring the fact that I shouldn't have been able to do that in my condition. I stopped abruptly in front of her, staring into her eyes. She smiled at me, and I was astounded by the pure beauty of it.

"Kaoru-chan... it's really you..." I dared reach out and touch her face; it was free of the weariness, free of the stress, and clear of the bags that usually hung under her eyes. She looked so much healthier, so much more peaceful.

Her skin was soft, and warm. She reached up to place her hand over my own, and my heart glowed with happiness.

"But how is this possible?" the aura of angelic behaviour that she emitted wore down a little as she rose an eyebrow at me.

"You surely aren't that dense, Itachi?" she asked, a playful smile on her lips. It clicked in my mind.

"I'm... dead?" I questioned, and Kaoru's eyes misted with a slight sadness as she nodded.

"Yes, everyone here is." she paused, then grinned. "In fact, there are a few people that might want to see you."

"Itachi!!" a raven haired woman flung herself at me, seeming a lot smaller than she used to. My eyes widened with shock.

"M-Mom?!" she just hugged me, and I felt dampness spreading on my shoulder as she cried.

"Oh, Itachi! We've missed you so much! You've grown so big!" Mom sobbed, leaning back and cupping my face in her hands. Guilt filled my expression.

"So... you're not mad?" she appeared shocked.

"Oh no! Of course not! How could we be mad at you?! Fugaku, tell him!" I looked over and noticed my Father for the first time.

He cleared his throat, "Yes, Itachi. We understand why you did it. It's admirable that you went to such lengths to protect the village and our Sasuke."

I remained silent, letting it sink in. They had forgiven me...

Relief flooded my system, and I grabbed my mother in a tight hug. "I'm so happy..."

She just hugged me back, and stroked my hair, in a loving embrace that I had missed for so long.

Eventually, we seperated, just as there was a knock at the door. "Fugaku! Is our daughter here?"

My father pulled open the door, "Yeah, Minato, she's here."

A familiar blonde man entered, along with a woman with long red hair. Kaoru went over to them, and smiled.

"Hey Mom, Dad. Look, Itachi's here!" she said, and I bowed.

"Minato-sama, Kushina-sama." I greeted, and Kaoru rolled her eyes.