Two • Uchiha Sakura

"Let's start!"

"You don't have to yell, Boruto." Mitsuki intervened, earning a glare from the blonde. "I'm quite astonished that you are actually here with us right now."

"Yeah?" The young Uzumaki crossed his arms. "I'll stay until I think of a new way to prank my old man."

The pale, golden-eyed boy shook his head in defeat. "At least visit Konohamaru-sensei in the hospital before you pull 'pranks' on Hokage-sama again."

"You don't have to remind me," Boruto replied, sneaking a glance to his left, where Uchiha Sasuke stood with his arms folded. "So let's start the training, dattebasa!"

"Let's get on with it." Sarada agreed, excitement growing inside of her from the thought that finally - her father was watching her from the sidelines. He has been away for a lot of years and she's stoked by the fact that she can showcase her growth and improvement in terms of taijutsu.

Sasuke simply stood there as a decision met between the three kids. It was going to be Sarada versus Boruto first and Mitsuki, like him, will only be watching from the sidelines.

The two started to spar, with Boruto launching the first attack by throwing a fast kick towards Sarada, who managed to dodge it as her Sharingan activated. She threw a punch directed to his face, but he ducked and quickly stepped backward to glare at her.

"No fair! You're using the Sharingan! Aren't we sparring?!" He complained, pointing rudely at the young Uchiha.

"I don't see why I can't use it while sparring," she shrugged, causing Sasuke to smirk slightly as he watched the two.

Boruto composed himself and breathed out. "Fine then," he stated, tightening the knot of his forehead protector. "I'll still win, Sarada!"

"Like I'll let you off easily," she smirked, cracking her knuckles before running to him and launching consecutive punches and kicks.

Boruto kept dodging them and barely found an opening to attack her because of her astonishing fast reflexes. He internally groaned. I'm not doing a good job at showing off! I need to show old man Sasuke that I'm strong!

Brows knitted and eyes flaring with determination, he continued to escape Sarada's quick attacks and when she somewhat slowed down from exhaustion, he took advantage and dodge an incoming punch from the Uchiha and successfully hit her in the stomach, a grin passing by his face.

"Hah! Take that, Sarada!"

The celebration in his mind was short-lived as he realized that she tricked him - a block of wood appeared in front of him and his mouth hung in shock. So much for showing off.

"Kawarimi?!" He hissed, narrowing his eyes in search for his opponent.

Boruto, although tricked, decided to pay attention more to his surroundings to detect Sarada. His eyes widened when he finally sensed her, but it was too late as she launched a heavy fist on the ground, immensely cracking the surface.

"Shannaro!"

Sasuke stepped backward and waited until the wind had carried the dust away. He silently chuckled to himself. She was indubitably like her mother.

"Damn it..." Boruto was completely caught off guard. He was spread across the ground, scratches covering his face and knees from the sudden impact. Even Mitsuki climbed up the tree to save his dear life.

For Boruto, it would have been better if she just threw a powerful punch at his face. But she practically destroyed the ground and managed to hurt him in that process.

"This sucks," he mumbled, trying his best to pull himself up. Sarada stood just a few feet away from him; Sharingan glowing behind her eyeglasses.

"I thought we agreed on sparring!" He protested, getting on his feet. "You're trying to kill me, Sarada!"

"Pummeling the ground won't kill you, Boruto," Sarada said, in a matter-of-factly tone. "And we are sparring. Did you see me using any ninjutsu?"

The blonde scowled. "You're annoyingly sarcastic, to be honest. Lady Sakura isn't like that!"

"Well," she smiled in triumph. "Maybe I inherited my dad's sarcasm." She said before throwing shurikens to his direction, effectively hitting the sides of his clothes and pinning him to a tree.

. . .

When evening came, Sakura cleaned the dishes while Sasuke remained in the living room with his daughter.

He was quiet as always; with a book on his hand, eyes scanning the pages quickly. The same thing went for Sarada, since she loved to read and learn, but she couldn't help but sneak glances at him every once and a while.

The silence between them wasn't awkward, in fact, it was the peaceful and comfortable type. Sarada recalled her mother telling her about Sasuke's hobbies - he didn't really read a lot, he was just a natural genius. A prodigy in their generation. Sarada couldn't help but think of how cool her dad is.

"Papa?" She called out, closing her book and giving him all of her attention.

Sasuke did the same, turning to her in curiosity. Sarada fixed her glasses, hesitant to ask him the question that lingered through her mind.

"What is it, Sarada?" He asked, instantly noticing the reluctance on her face.

"Well..." She set the book down on the table and looked at him. "I was wondering if you could tell me about you and Mom's love story?"

Sarada was well aware that her father was a man of a few words. Asking such a thing from him would probably only lead to rejection, but she was too curious. Every time she asked Sakura about it, she gave unclear and vague answers that often lead her to more confusion. 

Sasuke's eyebrows rose. He turned mute. Sarada immediately got the message, lowering her head and releasing a fake cough. "It's fine, Papa. I remember asking Mom about this but she gave me very few answers. I just wanted to know the other details."

Seeing the disappointment on her face, Sasuke inwardly sighed, placing a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Don't make that face, Sarada."

The young Uchiha lifted her head to meet her father's soft gaze. "What happened years ago isn't something you need to know."

Sarada pressed her lips together in understanding, looking away. She would be lying if she said she wasn't curious anymore. Why can't Sakura just tell her love story with Sasuke?

"But I could tell you a few things."

Upon hearing that, her gaze flickered up to meet his onyx eyes again, a glint of joy and excitement in her face.

The way Sarada's face lit up brought warmth to Sasuke's heart. It gave him a big wave of nostalgia. Indeed - she really got the color of his eyes and hair, but everything about her resembled Sakura.

Sasuke pressed his lips together. Where to start? Surely, Sarada already knew that they met in the Academy and were placed into the same team, along with the Seventh Hokage. His heart suddenly sank in realization. There weren't plenty of memories to share at all. Or good ones, at least, because he knew he left a ridiculously huge amount of painful recollection in Sakura's life, which immensely scarred her heart.

A good memory? He began to throw himself back to the past, unable to avoid the lingering memory of him where he actually tried to finish her ruthlessly. He visibly flinched at the thought, adding more curiosity and concern to his daughter who patiently waited for his words.

"Your mother..." Sasuke finally uttered, his mind racing through all the past memories - both painful and good ones. "She's someone I shared my secrets to. She's someone I trusted from the start." He narrated, in a slow and steady voice, like all the events were going back into his head one by one. The Chūnin exams. Getting the Cursed Seal from Orochimaru. Hiding his secret with her. Telling her to refrain from informing anyone about the mark.

"She's... really similar to you, Sarada." He added, staring deeply into the young Uchiha's eyes, and he couldn't help but feel an awful feeling of familiarity; it was as though he could see Sakura's own emerald eyes. "She reminds me a lot about you."

Sarada grinned happily. "Sharing secrets? Then you and Mom were really good friends from the beginning, I see."

Sasuke breathed out, his head automatically nodding. "Unlike you, however, your mother would always have herself caught in a genjutsu."

"Really?" She snickered. "But Mom's really cool now!"

"That was way back when we were twelve," he noted. "She improved drastically through the years."

"Did she surprise you with her monstrous strength?" Sarada sneaked a glance to the kitchen while giggling.

Sasuke responded with a light chuckle, his lips twitching into a smirk. "She did."

. . .

"Sarada was all smiles while going to her room. What was that about?" Sakura asked while folding the clothes and leaving them in the cabinet dresser.

Sasuke sat on their bed, watching Sakura - who had her back on him - with thinly-veiled amusement. "Go ask her."

"She probably wouldn't tell me."

"And I wouldn't tell you either."

Sakura closed the dresser, turned to her husband and shot him a glare jokingly. "You were probably telling her that you'd stay for two weeks here."

"She already knows," he corrected. "What makes you think that?"

"Well..." Sakura's expression suddenly softened as she approached Sasuke, sitting beside him silently with eyes down on her fingers. "She's always happy knowing about you. Whether it's the smallest detail or an information about you that she already knows, she'll always be happy. I'm really glad that the two of you are spending time together." And she smiled.

The way she spoke made his heart wild, and he wondered if he ever deserved to have a wonderful wife like her and an outstanding child like Sarada. In spite of all the crimes and brutal murders he did, he was still gifted with a lovely family that he usually doubted if he was deserving to be Sakura's husband or Sarada's father.

He managed to be happy with a real family all because Sakura loved him dearly. Amidst his sinful acts in the past, the chaotic war, the pull of revenge, she still reached out to him and gave him light.

So he simply reached out to her and Sakura quickly assumed that he was going to give her the usual affectionate forehead poke, but instead of that, his hand went pass her face and reached the back of her head, leaning his face forward until their foreheads met. He closed his eyes, gratitude welling from the depths of his heart; resting his hand gently on the back of her head. A sharp pang of guilt hit his chest in realization that he was never such a good man to her - or a father to his child - but he was willing to compensate. Even if it takes a lifetime, he will repay her this time with real, honest, and overflowing love.

"Sasuke-kun..." Sakura called him in confusion, neverthless she held his other hand and shut her eyes as well. He hardly ever showed actions like this in public but he would always make her feel loved in spite of that. His hand was warm and it was comforting, engaging, and securing all at once.

"Thank you." And just that, all the memories flooded back, and Sakura smiled to herself while she felt his lips pressing a brief, sweet kiss to her forehead.

A faint blush covered her cheeks as she smiled brightly at him. "Are you tired? Let's sleep."

He agreed, collapsing just beside her after shutting the lights off, with only the lamp on the side table illuminating the bedroom. She was facing him and he was doing the same, a soft smile on her face. "Good night, Sasuke-kun."

He watched as her eyelids fell before he turned the lamp off.

Sasuke fell in deep slumber right away. When he woke up, the same thing happened - Sarada training with her teammates, Naruto talking to him, and picking up Sakura from work.

When he arrived in the hospital, though, she wasn't in the spot where they usually meet. He concluded that she was still tending to the patients and decided to wait for her in the lobby.

"Oh! Sasuke-san," his eyes flickered to see Shizune in front of him, wearing a lab coat, a pair of gloves and a surgical mask down to her chin. "You must be waiting for Sakura."

Sasuke nodded quietly. She fixed her gloves and replied, "I think she's in the equipment room in the second floor. Her shift is done already so it's fine to pick her up."

He nodded again then silently thanked her before heading towards the said room. It was quite easy to find and he got there quickly and opened the door without knocking.

He expected to see her smiling face but the moment he opened the door, sheer terror covered his face as he saw her unconscious body on the floor.

Sasuke instantly rushed to her side, his eyes widening even more when he saw blood from her stomach. No one else was in the room. His brows furrowed as his Sharingan activated, even turning into the Mangekyo in rage.

"Sakura..." Sasuke called, pulling her up, the horrified expression on his face still present.

The slash across her stomach seemed like it was from a kunai or a sword. But it's impossible for her to be taken down just by that. Why was she unconscious when she can perfectly heal herself if needed?

Someone ambushed her - he was sure. His blood boiled in anger and fear entered his system. Whoever hurt her will pay. Regardless if the opponent is only one person or a hundred - he wouldn't let a single soul live.

"Sakura!"

Sasuke rose from the bed, sweat forming on his neck and temples. His breathing was ragged as he turned the lamp on, only to find Sakura sleeping soundly beside him.

Her eyelids twitched at the sudden brightness. She opened her eyes slowly. "Sasuke-kun? What's wrong-"

Before she could finish, he pulled her to his arms and hugged her tightly. This time, there was no sleepiness in her face anymore.

"You're... you're okay..." she heard him say, his breath tickling against her neck.

His hug was extremely tight but she didn't say anything. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his waist as well and rubbed circles on his back. "I'm fine, Sasuke-kun. You got those dreams again, huh."

"Nightmares."

"Don't worry, everything's fine, Sasuke-kun."

When he finally calmed down, his arms gradually loosened around her figure. She let go of him and looked at his face, noticing the sweat all over him.

Sasuke felt like he was a child. This wasn't new. He was having nightmares after Itachi's death. When he married Sakura, the nightmares gradually lessened and it surprised him that he got another one tonight.

Sakura stood up from the bed to reach the light switch. When the room was finally lit, she went to the cabinet to get a clean shirt and a towel for Sasuke and walked to the bed again.

She sat beside him and used the towel to wipe all the sweat on his neck, his temples and forehead. Her actions were gentle and slow. "You okay? Want me to get some water for you?"

Sasuke shook his head. She then proceeded to wipe his sweat. After that, she pulled his shirt over his head and wiped his back while he watched her. Finally, she took the clean shirt and helped him put it on.

"How are you feeling?" Sakura softly asked, slowly intertwining their fingers.

The ravenette nodded. "I'm better now."

"That's good to hear," she said while she folded the damp shirt and towel with her other hand quietly. "You can lay down again. I'll wait until you're asleep."

Sasuke breathed out. All he could do was agree. Before collapsing back on the bed, he squeezed Sakura's hand tightly, still terrified that she'll slip away if he lets go.

She smiled, watching him close his eyes. Sasuke was completely vulnerable in front of her. And she was happy that he was showing that side of him to his wife.

. . .

A/N;

Hello! How's the update?

Hope Sasuke isn't too ooc. The other gesture he did was inspired by Itachi again (remember Itachi's final goodbye?)

A little note, by the way: the next update (might) take a while because I'm starting school again (usually I start every June but this year it was moved to July)

Another thing: there might be a lot of flashbacks (LOL you know a naruto episode is like a 20 minute video and 3/4 of it is composed of flashbacks) but ofc it's because I plan to show more of Sakura and Sasuke's relationship before Sarada came ♡

Feedback is greatly appreciated!