Anime Short Stories Collection I

To See Him Again [Itachi Uchiha x OC Ficlet]

Shakirie stood in front of the grave stone, staring down at it as the wind blew her blonde and orange hair blowing gently in the wind. Every day, she visited this same spot, this same grave. If it weren't for Naruto, Shakirie knew that this grave wouldn't even be here. That she wouldn't be here and neither would his brother be. She knew that she owed just about everything that she had in her life right now to him.

Sighing softly, she turned to leave when she noticed another figure approaching her. While it was a surprise to see Sakura here, Shakirie didn't question her approach, instead decided to simply watch her. She knew that Sakura visited this grave out of respect for Sasuke, but whether Sakura actually respected him, was still up for debate.

Sakura stopped when she reached Shakirie, smiling slightly at her.

"So you're here to visit too, huh?" she asked softly.

Shakirie nodded, looking over her shoulder towards the gravestone. Of course she was here to visit. The man this grave was for, although he wasn't truly laid to rest here, had been her best friend, her true love, her husband and the father of her children.

"I come every day that I can before the children get out of the academy," Shakirie said simply, looking back at Sakura, who was looking at her with a look of something Shakirie could only guess was sadness. Maybe pity.

It was easy for her, she supposed. The man she loved was still alive, although Sasuke wasn't in the village at the time. Shakirie would take Itachi simply not being in the village over being dead any day.

"I wish things could be different for you," Sakura stated, earning a scoff from Shakirie.

"If wishes truly got us what we wanted, he wouldn't be dead," she stated bluntly.

Normally, Shakirie wasn't this way. Towards Sakura, towards anybody. But today, she had woken with an ache in her chest that drove her from the house. She'd been here for hours, talking to him and simply sitting or standing next to his grave.

Sighing, Shakirie turned and looked back at the gravestone, crossing her arms over her stomach.

"I wanted to see him again. I always want to see him again, even if it's just to give him a proper goodbye. I saw him only the night before. That was the last time, save for during the war. Even then..." she trailed off, sighing once more.

"I know if I ever really got my wish, to see him just one last time for something as simple as telling him goodbye, I'd never want to let him go, to let him leave me. I'd be selfish about it... I'd never say goodbye," she mumbled.

Shakirie would be selfish with his life, if there ever was a way to bring him back. Taking only a few more moments, she simply turned and walked away from the gravestone and Sakura. It was time to pick up her children from the academy. While Itachi was gone, and it truly saddened and pained her, she knew she still had a piece of him with her always.