Alternative Ending Part 2

It took several days to get back home from the battle, all the while I was reconnecting with everyone I spotted. I chatted with the separate village members that I had bonded with, including Kurotsuchi, her dad Kitsuchi, and even Karui and Killer Bee from the Cloud. I have a nice long chat with the Sand siblings, happy to see all three alive and well. Neji and Sasuke were reluctant to leave my side much, both slightly afraid I would just vanish if they were away from me too much, so I just toted them both along as my shadows while I met up with everyone. I knew I needed to talk to both of them separately once I got home, and they were thankfully both patiently waiting to get back to the village first.Tsunade formally pardoned both Sasuke and Itachi while we were on our journey home, which both were surprised to hear that they had been pardoned long ago for their crimes. Itachi seemed to immediately know it was me who had a hand in it, and he just kept looking at me curiously the whole way back. He was also reluctant to leave Sasuke, especially since there is not much trust for either of them within our shinobi at the current moment, so he was really like a third shadow for me too. Once we got back to Konoha, we did finally part ways and the Uchiha brothers got set up at Naruto's apartment while they would have to wait for a new home of their own, both debating whether or not to return to the old abandoned Uchiha compound or not. Naruto was more than happy to take them in, elated to have his best friend back and was talking his ear off when he wasn't socializing with others along the journey home. Neji and I finally walked back into our home, a place I didn't think I would ever see again after we had left for war."Ami." Neji says after he brews some tea for us that evening, both of us just taking a seat on our porch, looking out into the night sky. "It's time we talked.""Yeah." I say softly, looking up into his stern yet slightly desperate eyes. "I think it is.""Your soul in the Sound Four's trap, your dying plea to forgive you for never telling me the truth, and when you said... you couldn't watch me die again. Please Ami, what did all that mean?" He asks desperately, his voice firm but emotional."I'll tell you." I reassure him. "It's all connected. Just... please don't see me differently. You're my most important person in this world." I ask pleadingly, and he nods sincerely in response.And so, I tell him everything. I tell him about my past life, how Death sent me here to learn and grow. I tell him about the show Naruto, and how I knew all the plot of this world up until the war ends. I told him about his own death, and how it affected me even before I ever knew him. I cried several times as I told him the truth, and all the while he listened attentively, never once growing angry. I know if I had been on the receiving end of this news, if I had been lied to my whole life, I would have been livid. But not Neji, not my calm, peaceful brother. Maybe a few years ago, before his eyes were opened by Naruto, he may have had some animosity towards me, but not now. By the end of my explanation, and when I told him all the assassination journeys and the secret hunting I've been doing to find solutions to problems before they start, he just held me in his arms firmly."Ami, I love you." He says firmly. "You're my twin, even if you are a little different. You saved my life too, so I guess you're also my hero." He smirks at me softly."Father..." I start to say, "He left me a second scroll, a different one than the one he left for us both. In it, he told me he knew I was different, but hoped I would always guide over you and keep you safe. He said that nothing is set in stone, so I knew I could change more than just your fate. I was so narrow minded when I came this world, I didn't know how to care about anyone but myself. You helped me, you were the first person I ever truly loved and cared about. I knew... I knew I would do whatever it took to keep you alive, even if I had to die for you." I confessed, and he gripped my hand tightly. "I knew I couldn't live with myself in this world if I had let you die. I learned through the years that I had the knowledge and power to save others as well. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but I just... was so afraid you would reject me as your sister. I never wanted you to see me as different. I'm so much more Ami Hyuga than I ever was my past self. I know... I know I still have work to do on my soul, even Death mentioned it during the war. But I'm happy to get to have the chance to be here with you and work on it in this world. I really thought the war would be my end here.""I will help you grow your soul in any way that I can." He vows to me. "I know we grew up very isolated from everyone else, but at least we had each other. You were also my first friend, my best friend. You're my little sister, and now you have a chance to live a long life here. Even if you do end up with an Uchiha." He finishes with a brotherly smirk at me."He's probably not going to take the news as good as you are." I chuckle nervously. "You're going to give him a shovel talk, aren't you?" I add on, seeing the steely glint in his eyes as they harden."I never gave permission for him to confess to you." He says darkly, cracking his knuckles ominously. "And he certainly doesn't have my permission to date you until he and I have a little chat. We may have worked together during that final battle, but he still has to properly go through me to get to you.""I have faith in you, Nii-san." I say with a soft smile, happy my brother cares this much about me. "But let me get the truth out to him first, then you can promise to murder him.""Do you really love him?" He asks after a comfortable moment of silence. I look at him curiously at this question. "You never mentioned your feelings for him before. You always stayed vague.""My feelings formed slower than his, and I never wanted to admit anything." I say truthfully. "Growing up here, he was always just my friend. My best friend besides you. When he left the village and tried to confess, I stopped him because of our age differences, and because he was leaving. To me then, he was just a child, it was wrong, and I didn't feel that way for him back then. It's still kind of wrong now, to be honest. I'm so much older than him mentally." I admit guiltily. "But... I know that I love him. Maybe not as much as he loves me, but I know that I care deeply about him. I'm not... entirely sure what love is yet, but I know he brings a warmth to my heart. It's different than the warmth and security you bring me, but it's still strong like that.""Then tomorrow, go tell the idiot the truth." Neji says confidently, standing up and picking up our tea cups. "Then I can threaten him. Let's get some sleep now." I stand and throw my arms around his back, hugging him tightly in thanks."Thank you, Neji." I kiss his cheek as I pull away, taking the cups from his hand and walking towards the kitchen to put them away. "Goodnight, Nii-san." I call out softly to him as we part ways at our respective bedroom doors. I sleep soundly that night, happy and elated to be in my own bed, across the hall from my brother who is safe and sound.The next morning after breakfast, I head over to Naruto's to find Sasuke. When I knock, it's Itachi who greets me at the door."Good morning, Itachi." I say happily to the man as he greets me curiously. "How's being home feeling?""A little cramped." He chuckles out with a smile, opening the door wider to see the small apartment with the futons still laid out."Any thoughts on rebuilding the Uchiha compound?" I ask a whisper, taking my shoes off and entering, seeing Sasuke and Naruto still asleep. It's still early in the day, Neji and I are very early risers."I don't... think I could go back there." He confesses quietly, his voice laden with guilt. "Not after all I did.""I can understand that." I reply just as quietly. "Just remember, you were only following orders. The wrong orders, but still.""That's the problem, I think." He says a little more firmly. "I have always been following orders." I look at him curiously, and silently prompt him to continue. He sighs out, glancing over at Sasuke, likely checking if he's still asleep or not before continuing quietly. "I think my time as a shinobi is over." He confesses, and I widen my eyes at him. "I have done enough, taken enough. My hands... they shouldn't wield weapons anymore. I shouldn't be a weapon anymore. I already died, my time as a shinobi just died with that.""What will you do now?" I ask him softly, noticing Sasuke rolling over in his sleep. "Will you leave the village again?" I add on worriedly, knowing how that will affect Sasuke."No, I won't leave." He admits. "I will stay for Sasuke, and now I can see, also for you. You mean so much for him, and you've helped be his light when I did nothing but plunge him into darkness. I should have listened to your warnings years ago. But now... I want to listen to them now. I want to try to build my bond with him again. I'm not sure yet what I will do, but I know I'm done following orders, and I'm done running.""I'm happy to have you here, Itachi." I say honestly to him. "Whatever your endeavors are here, I will help and support them." I grab his hand and give it a tight squeeze, and he returns the gesture. "But for now, I have to wake up your brat of a brother. He's had about three years of absence I have to brutally reprimand him for." I add on darkly, standing up and cracking my knuckles while Itachi smiles at me innocently, enjoying the show.A cold bucket of water does the trick in waking both the boys up. While I laugh at their misery, Itachi and I manage to cook them both a simple breakfast with what few ingredients were in Naruto's fridge while the two sleepyheads cleaned up. After they ate, I asked Sasuke to join me on a walk, and so we went together out to our old training ground, sitting under the shade of one of the trees together."Sasuke, I know we have a lot to talk about, but before we can talk about the future, we have to first talk about the past." I start to say confidently, and he looks at me curiously. "My past, more precisely. It wouldn't feel right for me to be anything more with you if you didn't know the truth."And just like last night, I told Sasuke everything. He was more skeptical than Neji was, less calm as I told my tale. He was angry at moments for my lying to him, but I kept pressing on, knowing I had to get everything out now. When I got to the point where I really spelled out our age differences, his eyes widened in shock. I told him it was a large reason for why I shut down his confession when we were kids, and that even now I was nervous to be with him."I don't care." He says firmly when I expressed my fears for our ages. "You could be a hundred years older than me, and I won't care. I love you, Ami. You said that I'm your foundation, well you're mine too. You helped save me, not just when I left the village or needed help in a battle, but since the day we met you've saved me." He takes my hand tightly, looking deep into my eyes. "I had no one after... the massacre, but you were there. You were the one constant in my life, and you helped push me to be a better person. During the Chuunin exams, your voice alone pushed back the curse mark on me when I was giving in to it. When I was gone and training with Orochimaru, your face was what pushed me to see the point in being there. I wanted to be stronger for you, to make this world a better place, for you."I noticed he was using past tense verbs as he spoke, and I felt my heart seize up, thinking I already ruined what we could have had. "And now?" I ask hesitantly. "What am I to you now?""Now, you are my future." He says, leaning close to me and placing his hand on my cheek softly. "I accept your past, because you've done nothing but accept me for mine. You are my light, and I won't lose you. I don't care if you're mentally older than me or from another reality. To me, you're still just you." He leans over more, placing a gentle kiss on my check. "I love you, Ami.""I love you too, Sasuke." I say softly, and kiss him delicately on the lips. "But... can I ask for one thing from you?""You can ask for the world from me." He vows sincerely which makes me smile at him."Can we please start slow?" I ask quietly. "Until you're of age, which I know is in a few months, but until then... Can you respect that I need to wait for us to be more?""I can do that." He smiles at me, and his smile is so rare to see, but I love it on his face. "But will you please be with me still while we wait? I won't push for more, but I need to be with you.""I would love to be your girlfriend, Sasuke." I grin at him, using the term he was hinting at but unwilling to say. "But you're on your own with your fangirls." I add with a smirk, kissing his cheek as I stand up and stretch."Hn." He hums out in annoyance. "What about you and your bug friend? Or Kiba? Or Shikamaru?" He adds on with not-so-subtle jealously."Shirotsu has bugs. Inside his body." I say with a deadpan. "He may be one of my closest friends, but he still has bugs. In his body." I shiver in disgust at the notion. "And Shikamaru has Temari, don't worry about him." I add dismissively."You didn't mention Kiba." He adds with a growling pout."Hn." I respond with his own annoying hum sound and walk away. I catch the knife easily that he threw at me, turning and grinning at him as I ran away, forcing him to chase me. "You forgot about Kankuro too!" I add cheekily as he chases me all over the village. "And your brother's quite the charmer!" I add on when he gets close to catching me, enjoying watching him be jealous and pouty, but also too slow to catch me with my enhanced speed. After a little while of running, once we are near my compound, I slow down and allow him to tackle me to the ground."Ami." He growls out at me darkly after he tackles me to the ground and pins my hands over my head. I grin at him innocently, enjoying my fun."Sasuke." I reply back happily, his eyes narrowing. I lift my head up and give him a firm kiss while he's glaring at me, and can tell I caught him off guard. "You already beat the others out of the competition, but I do like seeing you jealous, it's cute." I say sincerely once I part from our kiss. He smirks at me and kisses me again more passionately in response."Sasuke." We hear a dangerously growling voice from the side of us, and part from our kiss and see my brother glaring at Sasuke, radiating killing intent at him. I smirk at Sasuke as he gets up off me slowly, then I stand up and join my brother's side."He's all yours, Neji, as promised." I clap my brother on the shoulder, then wave goodbye to Sasuke. "It was nice knowing you, Sasuke!" I walk away laughing, leaving my brother to threaten my boyfriend. I already know I love and care about Sasuke more than I did any man in my previous life, and I can't wait to see what is next for us in the future.