This one shot is requested by and dedicated to Obito_Uchiha4213! Happy Reading! :)
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I'M HOME
Moriko pov:
"Beautiful flowers as usual, Moriko chan!" "Thank you, obaasan." I smiled warmly, pushing my bangs out of my eyes.
"You really know how to grow plants so healthy! Still, haven't you considered coming to live here with us?" She asked with a toothy grin. I chuckled softly, shaking my head. "Thank you so much for your affection, obaasan. But I like living with all my friends in the forest." I rejected her offer kindly. "Hmmm, that's too bad. I was hoping you'd consider becoming my granddaughter and teaching that useless grandson of mine how to not be lazy."
"Obaasan! Stop embarrassing me!" A flustered voice rang from inside the flower shop I was standing in front of. I could only laugh as a boy about my age popped her head out, cheeks flushed darkly.
"Here's the money, dear." Obaasan handed me a bag of coins which I accepted with another smile. I bowed and then I was on my way back home.
My name is Moriko meaning child of the forest. I have knee length blonde hair and hazel color eyes. I'm 18 years old and I live by myself in a cosy cabin in the middle of the forest. I don't really know my last name because I have lived alone for pretty much my entire life. I don't know who my parents are, where I originally came from, how I ended up in the forest; nothing. But I do know that, I belonged here in the forest.
I was raised by the animals in the forest like I was their own child. It might have been a bloodline trait of the clan I was from because unlike other people, I could understand and communicate with animals. I just....understood them. They were my family and friends and so I loved to stay in the forest with them.
Another ability I had was healing and the power to nurture the living. It was a good trait because I had the ability to heal people's pains and it gave me great satisfaction to see people finally smile after healing their suffering.
When I was child, I lived like an animal. I hunted for food, I lived in clothes made from leaves, and I didn't know how to speak. But one day, obaasan had been walking through the forest to look for flowers for her flower shop and that's when she saw me. Even though I had resisted, she took me to the village, dressed me, fed me human food and slowly taught me how to talk in a language humans would understand.
Even though I had pretty much learnt how to live like a human, I wanted to live with my real family. I wanted to return to the forest, because it was my real home. Somehow I find feel like I fit in with so many humans. Of course, I returned to my family as a human but they didn't seem to mind that. Its not like I had changed.
Once I was back in the forest, I had to change a few things, especially the so called house I lived in. Thanks to the animals, I was able to set up something like a log cabin. It was a comfortable sized house with a living room, an open kitchen, a bedroom and a common bathroom. I had huge patches of flowering plants all around the cabin as well.
As time passed by, I realized that I had to start looking for ways to earn my food. I preferred cooked human food over the raw meat I had been eating all this time. I had learnt how to cook as well. Obaasan had constantly helped me with everything but I didn't want to take her help for free. She had already done so much for me....so I had decided to sell flowers that I grew and earn money to buy things that I needed on a daily basis. Obaasan, her son and daughter in law and her grandson were all really nice people and agreed to help me.
And of course as everyone heard earlier, she was bent upon having me marry her grandson. But I had refused kindly saying I wasn't ready for that kind of commitment.
Using my powers and the help of nature around me, I was able to grow lush flowering plants all around my house. Roses, tulips, marigold, orchids, water lilies, poppies, spider lilies; almost anything possible. With the chakra that I gave to the plants, letting energy for my surroundings seep into the plants, I nurtured them into healthy, long lasting beauties.
I visited the village every week with the flowers that I grew. Mei, one of the dear that lived around my house, usually helped carry the huge bundle of flowers on her back during our journey to the village. After giving it to obaasan, she would pay me and then I would buy enough groceries to last the next week. I would have a little bit of the money left which I saved up in a cane box in my room. Once I had enough, I planned to buy supplies to build an extra room so the animals that sometimes stayed with me would have shelter during the monsoon or even the times when some were hurt or unwell and I nursed them back to health.
"I'm home Dan!" Ears perked up and my white and black striped friend met me near the door. "Moriko, you're back. How was the trip?" Dan was a white tiger who pretty much lived with me. I had found him when he was just a cub, injured and starving. I had healed him instantly with my ability and shared some of the food I had scavenged for. Ever since then, he's lived with me. He's now a five and a half adult tiger.
"It was good. It looks like obaasan has given me a tip this time." I huffed as I unstrapped the groceries from Mei's back. It took me about five trips to take everything to the kitchen storeroom. When I was done with that, I sprawled out on one of the makeshift couches in the living room. Dan walked to me and sat down at my feet with his eyes closed.
Getting groceries back from the village was always a tough job and I would sit relaxing for at least fifteen minutes after all the work. "Thanks for the help Mei." I smiled. "You're welcome, dear." I waved and she walked out of my house.
After resting up for a while, it was almost dinner time. Dan headed out to hunt for his meal and I headed to the kitchen. I pulled out some pots and pans along with the vegetables I was going to use for today's meal. Well, I didn't need to buy vegetables because I grew them myself, but there was one particular sweet vegetable that was imported from a neighbouring village. I hadn't been able to cultivate it so that was the only vegetable I would buy. And since they got spoilt quickly without a refrigerator, I had to cook them the day I bought them.
I reached out to the pot in which I usually stored water in. Much to my unhappiness, there wasn't even a single drop. Sighing, I picked it up and began to head to the river. I knew I forgot to do something this morning....man, my stomach was grumbling and I had to do work even before I could start cooking!
Itachi pov:
"Kisame, lets rest here for the night." I sat down at the base of a tree tired yet again exhausted from overusing my sharingan. "As you say, Itachi san." Kisame sat a few feet away from me and I closed my eyes with a sigh.
This was never ending. The wait for Sasuke to get strong and kill me, the excruciating pain in my chest because of my illness....when was this hell going to end for me? I was tired of pretending, I was tired of using my sharingan all the time. If I could just sleep away till I died, I would be so happy.
But my guilt wouldn't let me go so easily, would it?
I let out another sigh. This was a forest that had a lot of wild animals prowling during the night. Not many ninjas would risk passing through at night so it was a rare opportunity I didn't want to miss. All the missions we had been receiving lately was really taking a toll on my health; with no sleep, no rest. I really needed this break.
The weather was pleasant and the reassurance of the locality next to the stream would have made me fall asleep almost instantly. Unfortunately, I couldn't fall asleep because of a sudden crunching sound that I heard.
I shot my eyes open, sharingan active. I narrowed my eyes slightly sensing someone with quite a high level chakra walking towards the stream. Kisame was already up, Samehada in hand and grinning at the probably unsuspecting visitor we were going to end up fighting with. Kisame loved fighting, quite the opposite of me and he didn't want to miss out on any chance of a good fight.
The rustling got closer and I stood up as well, groaning about my disturbed sleep in one corner of my mind. But I was surprised when a girl, possibly not even 20 years old walked out from the bushes. She had a pot in hand, a warm smile on her face as she stepped out.
When she saw us, she paused to stare a moment before smiling again. "Oh, travellers I'm guessing?" She didn't look scared. She didn't look like she even recognized the coats we were wearing. She wore a plain one piece dress and her hair looked like it was tied in a high ponytail. She walked to the stream, getting down to fill the pot she had with water. "Its not very often people stay in this forest during the night. You guys are a brave pair." She commented coolly.
Once she had filled the pot with water, she turned to us again. Kisame was hesitating from attacking here; he kept glancing at me because I always told him to not kill people without a reason. Since she was unarmed and she was talking to us like she didn't know who we were, I didn't think it was completely okay to attack her without some information. I didn't want to hurt an innocent person unnecessarily.
"But I still suggest you don't stay here in the open. The animals are quite protective of their territory and it wouldn't be nice if you got into a fight with them. Why don't you stay at my place? It's just a little from the river." She was smiling and I wasn't sure if this was a trap or an ignorant girl giving us a place to stay for the night.
"What should we do, Itachi san?" Kisame broke me from my thoughts. Well, her invitation was tempting. Sleeping under a roof sounded nice but I still was suspicious. Nonetheless, even if there was some sort of threat, we would be able to sense it and take care of it quickly.
"Lets go, Kisame." I said and followed the still smiling girl as she led us through the forest. "Are you sure its okay to trust her?" Kisame asked as he walked next to me. We were a few feet behind her and we spoke in hushed whispers to make sure she didn't hear us.
"It doesn't matter. The minute she saw us, we were caught anyway." I darted my eyes around trying to sense any other person around us. But besides this girl who was now humming a tune as she walked in front of us, there was no one within miles of where we were.
We finally made it to a small wooden house with flowers all around. I couldn't see what flowers they were clearly, but from the sweet scent lingering in the air, I could figure out quite a variety. The girl let us into her house and I looked around. It wasn't much....even with my blurry eyesight, I could make out a living room with two small couches, a kitchen and two doors. One was a bathroom and another was probably a bedroom.
The girl walked into the room and came out holding two towels. "You guys can wash up. The bathroom is over there and here are two towels. I don't have any clothes that will fit you though because I rarely have guests. I'll prepare dinner, you guys can have some too." I took the towel from her warily.
"Who are you?" I asked and she slapped a hand on her forehead. "Jeez, where are my manners?" She chuckled; her melodic laughter stayed ringing in my ears. "My name is Moriko. What about you guys?"
Child of the forest? That's a strange name for someone to have. She did live in a forest but I don't think any parent would want to name their child like she was homeless....unless she had some special ability that was indicated through her name.
"I'm Itachi and this is my partner, Kisame." I didn't want to tell her our last names. She didn't seem to have noticed that we were from the Akatsuki but there was a chance she would figure out if she heard our clan names.
"What is your last name?" I couldn't stop the question from leaving my mouth. I doubt she would answer though. Despite telling us to wash up, I had followed her to the kitchen. Kisame had gone to wash up first, but I wanted details before completely trusting her during our short stay here. It wouldn't be good if she had us ambushed in the middle of the night.
"If you're asking about my clan, I don't know. I've been living by myself in this forest for as long as I can remember." She moved past me to the other end of the kitchen. I had one hand slightly outstretched and I flinched when her hair brushed against my hand. I hadn't realized it was so long; my eyes went slightly wide realizing it was well past her knees in length. It almost made me forget the question I had just asked her and the answer she had given me.
But I composed myself before watching her as sternly as before. "You don't know? Then what abilities do you have?" "Hmm, well I have three abilities to be precise. I can heal, I can communicate with animals and I can transfer the chakra in the air into plants to help them grow well or sometimes even help me. Its nothing great." I could hear the constant smile in her voice. Was she really so ignorant? Telling some random strangers about her abilities which I have to say were actually quite unique and powerful....she wasn't lying, that's for sure. She didn't know who to trust and who not to, did she? I suppose for the time being then, we were safe.
I heard the door open and I stiffened when I heard a low threatening growl. When I looked behind me, I saw a white figure coming towards me. It was an animal, what animal though wasn't too clear for me. But I sensed the obvious danger and I reached for a kunai.
"Mou Dan! How many times have I told you to wipe your paws on the grass outside before coming into the house? Now look! The whole floor is muddy!" Moriko complained from behind me. The animal just growled and huffed. "Oh him? He and his partner were near the stream resting for the night! I offered them to stay here because I didn't want any of the animals to get hurt."
The animal growled again. It was almost as if Moriko was really talking to the animal. "Oh, stop nagging Dan! Its just one night....its not like they're going to live here. You're so stingy...." My lips twitched, a smile wanting to escape at the whine her voice held. The animal snorted and walked past me to stand next to Moriko.
"I know, I know! But don't worry! They seem to be nice people." I closed my eyes with a tired sigh. Alright, I suppose she was fine to trust for now. I doubt she had lied about her abilities too.
I turned to look at Kisame when he walked out of the bathroom. "Hey Itachi san, I'm done washing up. You can go ahead now." I glanced one last time at the girl who was humming as she cooked and I walked into the bathroom to wash up as well.
Moriko pov:
When we were all done with dinner, I had taken some time to wash the soiled dishes. Itachi and Kisame had sat down on the couch and waited patiently until I was done.
After doing the dishes, I had got out some extra bed sheets and pillows from my room for Itachi and Kisame to use. Since I had two couches, there wasn't a problem of where they would sleep. I bowed to them once. "If you need anything, I'll be sleeping in the room. Water is in that pot and if you get hungry in the night, I've placed some of our leftover dinner on the counter there. Sleep well." I smiled and walked to my room, Dan following closely behind.
He kept telling me that these guys were bad and that I should trust them. To mw, they just looked like tired travellers so I had offered to let them stay the night. I don't know what Dan was so worried about that he was going to the extent of wanting to sleep next to me to protect me. Nonetheless, I didn't argue with him and let him sleep on the bed next to me. I slept with my head resting on his neck, the soft fur tickling my skin.
I guess I had slept for a couple of hours before I was awakened by someone groaning and moaning in their sleep. I forced my eyes open, stretching my arms a little above my head. I looked out of the window realizing that it was still night time....probably midnight or very very early in the morning. I groaned at the disturbance to my sleep and got off the bed. Dan was up the minute I had shifted and he followed me out of the room as I went to check on my two guests.
I looked at them, noticing Kisame snoring away to glory. Itachi on the other hand was sweating, tossing and turning on the couch. Frowning a little, I walked to him. His face were scrunched up, his whole face covered in sweat, his breathing ragged and surprisingly, tears escaping his eyes. My heart jolted at the look of pain on his face as he groaned in his sleep.
I got on my knees next to the couch so my face was close to his and I touched his forehead. He was hot, in pain and suffering. "Dan, what's wrong with him?" I asked in a worried whisper. I moved a little away, to let Dan touch his forehead against Itachi's. He was a special tiger. He had the ability to look into peoples' emotions, their pasts and present. Its not that he could see the details of their past, but he could sense the emotions that people had gone through.
A few moments passed and Dan pulled away. His face had a look of sorrow and it made my heart clench tightly. "What it is?" I placed my hand gently on his neck and he sighed. "He has been through a lot of pain and suffering in his past. He has seen a lot of blood, done things he feels extremely remorseful for, he has lost all his loved ones and the trust of everyone he wanted to be close to. He has suffered much loss....despite holding his head up on the outside, he's close to breaking on the inside. He also has an incurable lung disease that seems to affect his body more and more everyday."
So much of pain? How did he look so calm on the outside? My heart hurt for him. I wanted to help him in some way....he looked like such a gentle person. What had happened in his past that made him suffer so much? It wasn't my place to pry into the details, but seeing him like this really made me feel hurt.
Sighing, I placed my hand on his forehead again. I was gifted to heal. It was truly a blessing to be able to help people in this way. I closed my eyes and began my healing. A few moments passed and I realized just how serious his physical illness was. It was a lung disease that had no cure found but if I used some chakra from nature, I would be able to make it a little better. For it to heal completely, I would need to give him the treatment several times. But he was just a passerby....there's no saying when I would see him again.
So just this once, I wanted to pressure myself to do as much of the healing as possible.
First I calmed his mind. If he was having some bad dream, I wanted that to stop. I calmed his mind, his chakra and he finally stopped groaning and sweating. He didn't look like he was in pain anymore, it was such a relief for me. Then I placed my hands on his chest. I could feel the illness...the places where his chakra was clogging because of the infection in his lungs.
I had made him go into a deep sleep to get the rest he needed, so I pulled the blanket off him and lifted his shirt to expose his chest. Using my fingers, I put pressure on various chakra points on his chest and abdomen. I was doing my best to control the flow of his chakra, adding chakra from nature to make his own body cells fight stronger against that of the illness. It was a touch, strenuous battle but I wasn't going to give up on him.
If what Dan said about his past being filled with guilt and remorse was true, he must have had a reason for what he did. He must have done it for a reason and now he was repenting.
I don't know why, but I felt instantly protective to this stranger. I had met him barely a few hours ago but I wanted to heal his body and his heart. Helping people was the right thing to do....so healing this stranger was a good decision, right?
Itachi pov:
"Thank you." Moriko smiled as she handed me supper. How long has it been since I met her and finally found a reason to live again? Two months perhaps....or even less.
The first time Kisame and I had stayed at her small house here in the forest was just on a whim. I had thought I would never see her again. After all, she was just a girl in the shadows. She had no clan, no one actually knew about her besides the people of the non ninja village a few miles away and she didn't really stand out much since she was never really seen outside the forest.
The night we had stayed in this cabin was horrible. All those memories of what I had done had come back to haunt me....with revenge. I should have woken up with a start, not being able to fall asleep again for the rest of the night. But something warm and gentle had seemed to calm me. The nightmares had died down, the pain in my head and chest had slowly subsided.
I had felt something happening to me. I don't know what it was but I felt my chakra slowly begin to flow in a more relaxed and unblocked way. I felt better and better as the night had passed and when I awoke in the morning, I felt like a new person altogether. I wasn't as tired, my chest didn't hurt, I could see much clearer than before.....in all, I felt a little closer to the word healthy. I had wondered if the medication I had been taking all these days to prolong my life had finally started to kick into my system.
When I had seen Moriko in the morning, I noticed the dark bags under her eyes like she hadn't slept. She looked tired but somehow content. When she had looked at me, my eyes at gone wide at how beautiful she actually was. Her long hair, her small heart shaped face, those gentle hazel eyes....that smile that showed so much warmth and love. She had the same smile when she looked at me, Kisame or any of the animals that came to her house uninvited. She treated everyone with the same love....it made my chest constrict in some sort of happiness....for the first time in so many years.
At that moment, I had realized that she was the one who had healed me....both my body and my heart.
The week after that, I hadn't coughed even once. I hadn't felt any pain in my chest and I had done better on our next missions. I didn't have to rest as often too. Whatever Moriko had done, had worked wonders on my body.
But it also began to give me thoughts that I had forbidden myself to think of. The whole of the next week, I could not get Moriko out of my mind. I wanted to heal, I wanted to feel warmth again, I wanted to see her again, I wanted her to heal me again....I forbade myself to think of anything besides pain to punish me for what I had done to my clan. And yet....I could no longer be firm in my decision.
I had gone out for a solo mission after that week. On my way back to the Akatsuki hideout, I don't even know how it had happened. When I came to, I found myself standing in the rain, right in front of her door. I didn't have the courage to knock and enter though....I didn't know if I was being rude. I was a stranger who she had helped once, there was no reason for me to come here again. Maybe she would think I was stalking her.
But I was surprised when she had opened to door, expecting someone there. Her eyes had gone wide and she had pulled me inside scolding me for standing in the rain like that. As if I were someone she knew, as if I were a friend, she had thrown a towel over my head to get the water out of my hair. I had watched her silently as she frowned, still scolding me as she rubbed my head. When she had paused, I couldn't stop myself from hugging her tightly.
She seemed surprised, but ignoring the fact that I was dripping wet and getting her clothes wet as well, she had hugged back gently, her hands patting my back reassuringly. I had cried shamelessly in her arms yet she had not said or asked me for any explanation.
My visits became quite common after that. Moriko always welcomed me with open arms and during every visit, she healed me bit by bit. My illness was almost gone; I had stopped taking the medication because I didn't need it anymore. My eyesight was almost back to its 100% as well. Just being around her, watching her innocence, her smiles, her concern for me gave me strength. I still felt guilty for what had happened in the past, but I started to waver in my goal to be killed by Sasuke. I no longer wanted to die....I wanted to live here in peace with Moriko.
I had fallen in love with her.
"Itachi? Itachi?" I blinked out of my thoughts seeing a hand waving in front of my face. "What are you thinking so deeply about?" I smiled as I met her eyes.
I had told her about my past. I hadn't left even a single detail of what I had done, how many people I had killed, the Akatsuki, what jobs I did....but she only smiled and said that everything would be okay. She told me she understood that I hadn't done all that because I wanted to. She understood my pain and she accepted me without question.
Is this what it meant to be in peace? If so, I never wanted it to end.
Moriko pov:
"Moriko....are you sure its alright for me to keep coming here? I'm from the Akatsuki and we are enemies of the rest of the world....I don't want to put you in danger." Itachi stood at my door, ready to head back to where he lived. He called it a hideout though because no one besides the Akatsuki members knew where it was.
"I'll be fine, Itachi. You said even Kisame hasn't told anyone about that day, so no one knows, right? You don't have to worry unnecessarily.....have you always been this way? Worrying too much can get you stressed!" I scolded touching my index finger on the center of his forehead. He smiled, his eyes getting slightly distant as he probably thought of something from his past.
"Yeah....I suppose I've always been this way." "Bottling up your emotions too?" I asked making him smile a little more. He just nodded and I laughed. He had such a beautiful smile that made unexplainable butterflies flutter in my chest.
But he lost my smile soon after. His eyes turned sad and I was sure he was thinking something about his younger brother. He had told me that he had to fight him soon in a death battle....as if paying the price for killing his clan. But that wasn't his fault; he was ordered to do so to prevent the world from breaking out into a war. He didn't have to do something so extreme....
"Is it your brother?" He averted his eyes from mine the second I asked him that. Feeling a stinging pain in my chest, I reached up to cup his face in my hands. He met my eyes again and I smiled. "No matter what happens, I want you to remember that I am here. You will always have a place to return to because this is now your home too." I couldn't stop myself from closing my eyes and letting my lips touch his gently. I loved Itachi. The moment I decided that I wanted to protect him, he became the only one who could hold the place in my heart.
I pulled away with another smile to find him watching me with wide eyes. "Moriko...." "Since I know that he is true and honest at heart, I will let him stay with you." Dan said from beside me, rubbing his side against my legs. I pulled my hands away from Itachi's cheeks and held his hands instead.
"Dan accepts for you to live here too. Besides, there's nothing wrong in wanting happiness. You have sacrificed so much for everyone else....you deserve to be happy too, Itachi." When I stopped speaking, he was breathing raggedly, his attempts to hold in tears completely futile. I smiled and brought him into an embrace, holding his head with one of my hands gently. He didn't hesitate to hug me back with his arms tight around me.
He trembled and I felt wetness on my shoulder as he buried his face there. I closed my eyes patting his head softly. When he felt better, he pulled away and looked at me. I wiped off the remaining tear stains on his face with my thumbs. I closed my eyes as he came down and met my lips again. I smiled into the kiss caressing his head.
He pulled away and finally smiled. "Take care. I know that everything will be fine." He nodded as he moved away from me. "Thank you, Moriko....and I love you." I stood by the door waving until he was out of sight. I knew he was going to be fine. The look in his eyes told me that he had already decided what he had to do....and he would come looking for me then.
"Lets go inside, Moriko. It's getting chilly." Dan said and I smiled as I looked at him. "Yup! I feel like eating some steamed sweet potatoes! Lets get a warm fire started!" With that, we headed into our cosy little house.
>>Timeskip 3 months
Sitting on the couch, wrapped up in a warm blanket was just what anyone would want to do on a cold day like this. Dan was sitting next to me on the floor sleeping as the warm fire crackled in front of us. It had been snowing since the past two weeks and a layer of snow covered the whole forest. But being evergreen vegetation though, none of the trees had withered.
I had put up something like a cloth greenhouse for the flowers that I grew and with my ability, I was able to keep them healthy during these cold days.
I hadn't seen Itachi ever since he left that day. I hadn't heard anything about him either. Well, I was never living with people to actually be aware of the world like I should be but I was content with the quiet life I had with all the animals. So I wouldn't know about any fight or anything related to any village let alone an organization like the Akatsuki.
But I still wondered what had happened. Had itachi defeated his brother or vice versa? I wanted to be positive, hoping that neither had gotten too badly hurt during the fight.
I let out a soft sigh before taking another sip of my tea. Everything was silent before Dan suddenly perked up. He lifted his head, his ears facing forward as if listening for some sound in the distance. "What is it, Dan?" I asked gently touching his head and neck. He gave a rather big yawn, licking his mouth before closing his eyes and sleeping again.
"It looks like our long lost guest has returned." He said making me smile. I got up, wrapping the blanket closer to my body before opening the door of my house. There in the distance, I saw him walking towards the house. He wore a black cloak and a straw hat as protection from the falling snow.
He reached the house soon and I let him inside. After taking off his shoes, hat and cloak, he didn't say a word but merely brought me to his chest. I was a little surprised at his sudden gesture. "I need to recharge." He mumbled into my hair making me smile. I held him around his torso and we just stayed like that without moving for several minutes.
When we pulled away, he smiled. "Is it over?" I asked and he nodded. "We fought....I let Sasuke win. So now everyone thinks I'm dead." I felt a little sad when he said that. But in one way, it was okay. If people thought he was still alive, they may come looking for him. But this way, he could live with me without any worries. He could be free.
He let go of me and went into the bathroom to wash up. By the time he was done, I had a hot cup of tea ready for him along with mine which I had reheated. We sat down on the floor wrapped up together in a bigger blanket with me sitting between his legs and leaning on his chest. We both held our cups of tea, sipping them occasionally as we enjoyed being in each others arms.
When Itachi was done with his tea, he placed the bowl on the floor before wrapping his arms around my middle and resting his chin on my shoulder. I smiled, reaching up to touch his cheek softly. "I'm so glad....that I had somewhere left to return to." He said in a soft voice. "Everyone always has a place to go back to....they just need to find it." He shook his head though, disagreeing with my comment.
"No....you need someone to show you the way sometimes. Thank you for being there for me, Moriko. I love you." I laughed softly and turned to face him. He had a gentle serene look in his eyes. They were no longer with the sharingan activated, no pain besides the slight hint of sadness. They were charcoal black, the light of the fire shimmering and making them look so beautiful. "I love you as well, Itachi....and from now on till forever, this is your home."
I leaned up and gave him a chaste kiss. "Welcome home." I smiled. "I'm home, Moriko."
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