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Chapter 13

Itachi moved through the woods quickly, never pausing for a moment. There were things he needed to get done, people to kill. The meeting with Sakura had not gone like he had thought it would. For one thing, he never imagined that Sakura would have had a child, or his for that matter.

Originally, he was going to ask Sakura to come with him for a while. Not as a missing nin, but more like take an extended vacation for her health. During those years that he was fighting the Akatsuki, he had missed Sakura fiercely. At first he attributed the feeling to the Gods still having a hold on him, but as time went on he realized that he truly enjoyed the time they had together. Granted, it was usually running from someone, or rescuing her from certain peril, but it was memorable. When he saw that she had a daughter to care for, Itachi couldn't ask Sakura to come with him. It would not be fair to take a mother from her child or vise versa. As for bringing the child along, it wouldn't be fair to throw having a father show up out of the blue and then whisk them away.

He realized that they could never be a happy little family; his past would never allow it, but he could make the world safer for them.

Sakura watched her daughter turn over in her sleep, a peaceful smile on her face. She had never doubted that Itachi would come back someday, but to just come for a moment and then leave again. She brushed a tear from her eye and took the necklace out of her pocket. Silently, she clasped the necklace around her daughter's neck.

Sakura had told Yuki about how that man that came by, was really her biological father.

"Yuki, Mr. Itachi isn't just a friend of mommy's, he is your daddy." Sakura spoke carefully, not wanting to upset her daughter.

"Oh, well I guess that would make sense." Yuki had calmly responded, and took another bite of her food.

Yuki was wise beyond her years, but the way she understood things was almost inhuman. Sakura sighed and left her daughter's room quietly.

For the next ten years, Itachi would be a semi constant figure in the women's lives. He would spend a day with Sakura, and then teach Yuki jutsu and be gone before ANBU realized that he was there. It was a strange sort of existence, but it was comfortable for them. It continued this way until news that Itachi had been killed by an up in coming S-rank criminal.

Sakura cried for days, not only for the loss of her lover and the father of her child, but for the death of a person who had only just begun to try to right the wrongs he committed in his life.

Three days after the body of Itachi Uchiha was brought back to the village and buried, Sakura was brought into the intensive care unit at the hospital. After a hour of trying to save her, Sakura's heart had finally given out.

"Why?" Yuki asked her Uncle Sasuke as she stood before the graves of her parents. She was not crying, but merely asking a simple question, one that Sasuke could not answer.

"Come on Yuki." Sasuke turned away from the graves as started heading home. Yuki turned to follow but then paused. A warm breeze brushed past her, making her smile. Her parents were there.

"You think she will be okay?" Sakura asked Itachi nervously.

"She is our daughter, she will be more than fine." He assured. "I don't think I could be more proud, making ANBU captain at 17."

"She takes after her father." Sakura smiled, and squeezed Itachi's hand with her own.

"Those Gods nearly drove us nuts didn't they?" Sakura asked with a laugh.

"Yeah, and to think it was all for her, Yuki Uchiha the seventh Hokage. The Peace-Bringer, and youngest to ever become Hokage. It all worked out in the end."

"I agree. Yuki was born, your soul was saved, my loneliness was broken, and we have each other for eternity. Not a bad deal." Sakura brushed her hand through her daughter's hair, making her turn and smile.

"Let's go now Sakura." Itachi whispered.

A/N: I couldn't see this story ending any other way. So it was a sad/cute/informative ending. So the Gods had a purpose after all. Please read and review, this will probably be the LAST Sakura/Itachi story I write unless I get A LOT of requests to do another. Please check out my other stories if you haven't already. Set Me Free, Ari's Trilogy, and The Rogue. The Rogue is my newest, and the one that is currently taking up all my thoughts.

Thank you ALL very very very super much for all the beautiful reviews you sent me. It is really helpful and encouraging.