Inevitable
Chapter 31

"Itachi! Ameji!You're finally back!" Sasuke cheered as he ran to hug the two people thathe'd missed so much as they walked through the gates of Konohagakure for thefirst time in what seemed like forever. "Where were you for all thosemonths?"

"Uh… It'sclassified for now," Itachi smiled sadly at his brother, relieved that he probablyknew nothing of his capture, and glad that he and the Ishi had abandoned theircloaks at the destroyed base.

"We need to see LadyTsunade, is she around?" Ameji asked, obviously tired from the journey.Her future husband was exhausted as well, but was better at hiding it.

"I was actuallywaiting for her, that's why I'm here," the younger Uchiha said. "Sheshould be getting back any minute."

The three decided towait together, and sure enough, the Hokage was in sight after an hour or so ofthe couple almost falling asleep on a nearby bench. She was in shock as she sawthe two escaped ninja waiting for her. "You… How?" she could barelyspeak and felt slightly guilty of agreeing to endanger them with a war, thoughthe alternative was worse.

"Sasuke, go home.We have to talk to Lady Tsunade alone," Itachi said in a tone that Sasukeknew not to argue with. The dark haired teen walked off, leaving the blonde torecover from shock. Shizune gaped at them, having caught up to her sensei justthen. Guy was just confused as to why everyone was so surprised to see the two.They were just on a really long mission from what he'd heard. Then again, somethinghad been said about them at thatgathering, but he hadn’t been paying much attention.

"Guy, yourmission is done. Please leave us alone to go over the past few months,"Tsunade dismissed him. He bowed and dramatically left the scene, mumblingsomething about having another competition with his rival.

"It's been awhile, Lady Hokage," Itachi greeted.

"Yes it has. Comewith me," they went to the Hokage mansion, being greeted on the way thereby almost everyone in the streets, proving that they had been thoroughly missed.Once they were inside, Tsunade took her seat behind her cluttered desk, foldingher hands on her lap with seriousness and impatience. She didn't need to evenask before Itachi spilled out all that had happened over the months, includingthe event that had occurred just a few days before.

Amejisuto stayedquiet, only speaking when she was adding something to his story or correctinghim.

By the time he hadfinished giving the detailed report, two hours had already passed.

"So there will beno war," the blonde said happily after a few moments of processing."Shizune! Send word to the other Kage that the Akatsuki has been destroyed!Immediately!"

"Yes, LadyTsunade," the assistant ran out the door, ready to spread the good news.

"I’m giving youtwo a month off of shinobi duties, no matter who objects. Will you return tothe Uchiha district?" she inquired.

"Yes. We shouldget going right away," Itachi nodded, turning to the brunette and holdingout his hand. She smiled and took it, leaning on him for a brief moment tosignal that she was exhausted.

The Hokage looked atthem in shock. "What are you guys doing?"

"Oh I forgot totell you," the Ishi smiled. "I found out we were engaged within thefirst two days of being captured."

"Yes, and it wasa good thing that we were already in love by that time," Itachi grinned.“Otherwise, I might have gotten more than just a fractured arm.”

"We shouldseriously leave though,” Ameji yawned before turning to the man. “Is it alrightif we stop by the Ishi district?"

He nodded and theyboth bid farewell to the Hokage before leaving the mansion, greeting more familiarfaces on the way to Amejisuto's old home.

By the time they gotto her mother’s house, she was extremely jumpy, having left behind herexhaustion and replacing it with pure excitement. She quietly opened her doorand whistled softly, the opposite of her signature jutsu, alerting her motherto her presence.

The older womanreacted right away, running to the door and almost knocking her daughter overwhen she crashed into her to give a hug. She was beaming and struggling to talkthrough the wind. ‘You- How- You’reback!’ she managed to say.

"We're alright mother,"the brunette smiled. "And I already know about the engagement. You don'tneed to worry about that."

Itachi waitedpatiently, smiling as the mother and daughter caught up a bit. Eventually,Amejisuto made a promise that she would return the next day.

The anticipation ofseeing his parents suddenly hit him hard as they walked to the Uchiha district.Would they be mad that he chose love over honour? Would they be disappointedthat he left behind everything to save his apprentice and fiancée by joiningcriminals? Would he be banned from being the Uchiha Clan leader or even worse,banished from the clan itself?

"Itachi!Amejisuto!" Mikoto ran to greet them with happy tears and a smile,smothering her eldest son in hugs and a few kisses. "I missed you both somuch! Welcome home! The others are already having dinner, but you're only alittle bit late," she babbled on, happy that she was reunited with thetwo.

The tension and uneasethat Itachi had felt before had vanished with his mother's cheerfulness. Theyleft to the Uchiha estate and Amejisuto and Mikoto were chatting non-stop thewhole five minutes.

Once they finallyreached his home, he hesitated before stepping inside. The first person he sawwas his father, who was waiting for him and his apprentice. "You'reback," he said with no emotion in his voice, though Itachi could see thatthere was a glint of pride in his father's eyes.

"It took uslonger than expected,” Itachi replied, sitting down at the table. He andAmejisuto had barely eaten in the past few days, and it was now apparent as hedished out delicious food onto the plate that had been set for him, thanks toSasuke informing their parents that he was back. He looked over at hisbride-to-be, who was smiling and conversing with Sasuke.

“The Hokage had manyconsultants on how to help you two,” Mikoto spoke carefully, still trying tokeep Sasuke from knowing what exactly the two had been up to.

“There was initially afew plans, but all of them would have most likely ended in more deaths than itwas worth, or your deaths,” Fugaku continued. “Lady Tsunade eventually decidedthat you would figure it out yourselves. Not even Jiraiya was permitted to gonear you, since it was too risky.”

Ameji looked down ather food with a sad look. “It was only with the sacrifice of a friend that wewere able to get out.”

The mother lookedquestioningly at her son. ‘She found outhe loved her,’ he mouthed. Her eyes grew wide and her lips formed an ‘oh’.

“How could you makefriends in a place like that?” the father sounded slightly disgusted.

“He was also forced tobe there,” the brunette defended. “And are missions that they go on muchdifferent than ours? Either way, a leader tells the ninja to kill or steal. Thepeople we were with just took some extra things.”

It was then thatSasuke decided to pop into the conversation. “What kind of mission did you guysgo on?”

Itachi looked at hisparents, who both sighed and nodded, giving permission. “Well… We weren’texactly on a mission…”

“I was kidnapped bythe Akatsuki and Itachi was forced to join to keep me safe, but don’t worry, wedidn’t kill anyone except this rogue ninja from Suna that even Lord Gaarawanted dead,” Amejisuto summed it up, though with an annoyed tone from being sotired. “I was informed that I am arranged to be married to your brother, whichis fine because I love him. Oh, and also, this might be news for all of you,but a few days ago, before my friend Deidara blew himself up to kill off theother members while Itachi and I escaped, we found out that the true Akatsukileader was Madara Uchiha.”

The whole table wassilent.

“That’s terrible,”Fugaku finally broke the silence.

“Yes, it was,” Itachisighed.

“No, I meant there isa possibility that your friend’s sacrifice has been for nothing. If Madara hadsurvived this long, he might still be alive.”

“It was a pretty bigexplosion,” Amejisuto argued, shuddering at the possibility of the man stillbeing alive.

“Let’s hope that itwas destructive enough.”

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Konan woke with agasp, immediately sitting up and looking around. "You're finallyawake," Pain smiled softly that his best friend was alive. She wasrelieved to see that he was alive and well, saw that Madara and Zetsu werethere too. They had all survived Deidara's self-destruction thanks to Madara’sspecial sharingan.

"What happened toeveryone else?" she asked.

"The Uchiha andIshi escaped, but Orochimaru, Kisame, and obviously Deidara, are dead,"her old friend answered.

"We have a newgoal: Destroy Konohagakure. Make sure our old members get killed during theprocess," Madara ordered, sealing the fate of that village. Pain and Konannodded, knowing exactly how to get it done. They had a few tricks up theirsleeves still…

The old Uchihanarrowed his eyes behind his mask. "They will all pay."