Sakura back in time ❦ (Naruto BIT fanfic)

18

"I'm so sorry,"she heard somebody say. "I should have protected her better... I shouldn't have trusted Madara... I'm so sorry."
Sakura's eyes fluttered open and it took a few moments for her vision to right itself. She looked around the room to see an IV bag full of blood and some machines reading her vital signs. Then, she saw Itachi leaning over the bed, his face in his arms.

She reached out a pale hand and set it on his head. He looked up, his face giving away his exhaustion. His hair was half-way out of its tie and he had a few cuts on his face.

"Hey, you," she whispered, taking his hand.

He took the hand and put it to his lips, closing his eyes as he let in a shuttering breath. She used her other hand to caress his cheek and he leaned into her soft palm.

"I take it... Madara's dead?" she asked.

He shook his head. "He escaped before I had a chance to kill his sorry ass."

"And Mikoto-san and Sasuke-kun?"

"As fine as they can be after all this. Tou-san didn't make it, though."

She hadn't expected him to, but she still had to shut her eyes as the tears began to burn them.

"I never should have asked you to do this," he told her. "I never should have trusted Madara."

"I never should have agreed," she replied. "All I wanted was to stay with you, even if it meant helping you kill them. Mikoto-san must hate me."

"She understands just as I do."

She tried to sit up, but felt a stabbing pain in her back.

He gently pushed her back down and said, "Lay still or you'll re-open your wounds."

She complied and relaxed in the bed.

Then, in came Mikoto, holding Sasuke's hand. Mikoto seemed just as tired as Itachi and her face was tear-stained. Sasuke didn't seem tired, but he was even paler than usual and his eyes looked blood-shot and swollen from crying. He relinquished his mother's hand and ran to Sakura, hugging her. She hugged him back as everybody in the room sobbed.

Since that day, Sakura, Itachi and Sasuke trained. They trained with the hope of, one day, avenging their fallen kin. With Kakashi as their teacher, they went far... until the third Hokage approached Sakura in private, that is.

"I hear you are from another time," he commented in that raspy voice of his.

She nodded. "Uchiha Sakumo sent me here."

"Ah," he said. "Well, I have heard great things about you from Itachi-san and, because of this, I have come here to give you a choice. Would you like to return to your time, or would you like to stay here?

"Of course I want to stay here," she answered. "I've found more here than I could ever imagine I'd have in my time."

He nodded, not looking at all surprised by the answer. "How is my grandson there?"

"He's great," she answered. "His mother names him Konohamaru and he, um, he looks up to Uzumaki Naruto."

"God save us all," he replied with a smirk, making her giggle. "Well, I'll let you think on it. If you change your mind, the offer will always be up."

"You don't want to know what happens in the future?"

"Oh, I'm sure you've changed things up so we'll never know if it'll stay the same or not."

"Yeah, a lot of things have changed."

"For the better, I hope?"

"You know it."

"Hey, Sakura," greeted Itachi, walking up to the two.

"Alright, I won't keep anymore of your time," Sarutobi told her as he walked off.

"What's going on?" asked Itachi.

"Oh, um, I was just talking to Hokage-sama."

"You're not going back, are you?" he asked. "I'd told Hokage-sama about where you came from, but not with the intention that he'd send you back."

She shook her head in the negative. "I told him I wanted to stay here."

He smirked and kissed her cheek. "I'm glad then."

Then, Sasuke ran up to them, Sakura in tow. "Nee-chan!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms around her. "Mini Saku-chan and me wanted to come see you guys!"

Sakura hugged him back and looked to the little version of her. She knelt before her and told her, "You're perfect just the way you are, Sakura-chan"

Little Sakura blushed and nodded, mumbling a "thank you".

Sakura took both Itachi's and Sasuke's hands while Little Sakura took Sasuke's hand and they all headed off to the Uchiha compound where Mikoto was waiting with Kakashi.

When they got in, Mikoto said, "Lunch is almost ready, Guys." And Kakashi took Fugaku's place at the head of the table.

"Hey, Sakura," Mikoto said as she set the lunch on the table. "You know, in a few years, I'm going to be expecting some children. The clan isn't going to restore itself, you know."

Sakura giggled while Itachi nearly choked on his ramen. She asked, "Is it alright for a person that's not of the clan to help bear children for the clan?"

"It is now," answered Mikoto with a smirk.

Sakura nodded, still giggling and started eating her ramen. Life was perfect. She had a mother, a step-father figure, a brother, a sister, and a boyfriend, everything she didn't really have in her time. Of course she wouldn't want to go back there!

Now, the only thing she had to wonder about was if her life could get any better.

Itachi kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear, "I love you."

Hell yeah, it just got better! she mentally exclaimed as she whispered, "I love you, too."