Eleven • The Truth

They say ignorance is bliss.

But that only goes for the weak. Those who are too scared to accept and hear the scary truths. They choose to be comforted with empty lies rather than having their faith shaken by facts. To pretend like nothing's happening, just to save themselves from the pain.

But for Uchiha Sarada, it was just the opposite. She didn't want to stay ignorant any longer. To her, it was futile to pretend that nothing is wrong. Even if it was going to break her, crush her, or even shatter her into millions of pieces; she has decided. She made a resolve to know.

The broken pieces of the shattered lamp Sakura previously had hit scattered on the floor, along with a few medicines that had fallen along. Sarada felt her tears drying on her cheeks, her eyes turning red and puffy beneath those glasses. She looked over to Sakura through her peripheral vision, hoping she would speak up soon, or else she would end up insane from all the questions running through her mind.

"Sarada," she finally spoke up, gaining the young girl's full attention. "I'm sorry."

She shook her head lightly, opening her lips to voice out her reply in a coarse voice. "I don't need your apologies, Mom. You know what I want."

The pinkette sighed deeply, nodding afterwards. "It's impossible to narrate your father's background without mentioning Uchiha Itachi, his brother."

Itachi oji-san? Sarada thought about the first time she ever discovered about the man.

"I don't think I'm in the place to actually speak about this. This matter is very sensitive for Sasuke-kun, but for your sake, I'll rewind everything." Sakura briefly explained, pursing her lips into a thin line as she recalled the past memories.

Unbeknownst to them, Sasuke stayed behind the door and listened quietly to the conversation. As Sakura spoke, it seemed as if every memory hit him straight in the heart.

"The Uchiha is a proud, powerful clan, I'm certain you know about it. Your grand father was the head and he had two children: your uncle Itachi and your papa." Sakura carefully picked her words, her emerald eyes directed at Sarada's onyx ones. "Your father loved Itachi-san more than anyone else. Your uncle loved him too, but a lot things just came by and Itachi was soon ordered to attack his own clan, resulting to the infamous Uchiha Massacre."

Appalled and dumbfounded, Sarada found herself hovering a hand over her mouth in complete shock. It was true - Itachi killed the whole clan alone. But...

"H-He was ordered?" She could barely ask, her voice continuously quivering. "By who?"

The pink-haired medic shut her eyes for a brief period of time, before opening them again to answer. "By the Konoha Elders."

It seems like Sakura would be revealing countless of shocking facts endlessly. With each statement she said, Sarada was completely dumbstrucked with horror.

"I-I don't understand," the young Uchiha grasped her aching head, her breathing becoming shallow. "Is this why the library..."

"You tried searching for information before," the medic concluded, clearing her throat as she reminisced all the memories and information. "And it's restricted, am I right?"

She did, actually, just that time when her curiosity got the best of her. The young girl didn't understand why it had to be the people of Konoha. What exactly was the purpose of their order? Why did they have to ask an Uchiha to kill his own clan? Merciless, that's the only thing she could say. Both for the elders who created this mess and for Itachi who tolerated it.

"I-It's impossible! This is crazy!" She cried out. Was this the truth in the purest form or was this some blasphemy? "Why? Why would they order him to kill the people of the same blood? And how could he do it?"

"This is too complicated to understand, Sarada." The pinkette replied, realizing that the information in hand opens even the history of Konoha and not only the Uchiha Clan.

"So are you going to lie again?" Sarada remarked, pained and tired eyes directed at Sakura's emerald ones.

Shutting her eyes, she curled her lips into a soft, faint smile that Sarada knew was absolutely fake. "I just don't want you to be open to dark histories at such a young age, that's all. But if you insist, then I have no choice."

So she narrated everything from the start; how Konohagakure suspected the Uchiha as the ones responsible for the tragic Nine-Tails Demon Fox attack. She told him how Itachi had no choice left, since the the clan's disdain for the unfair treatment lead them to plan coup d'état.

"Itachi-san loved Sasuke very much, he spared his life in the end," she said in a weak voice. "He might have sinned for ambushing his clan, but he did that to attain peace. He was a great shinobi."

Tears brimmed in Sarada's eyes as she listened carefully. What a shameful and appalling history it is.

"Sasuke-kun loved his family very much. He admired them. And he couldn't accept that the man he looked up to could destroy his happiness." Sakura hang her head low, feeling sorrow and pity as she recalled that memory. "He grew up alone, Sarada. But he found us, his friends."

"But I guess he still couldn't forget. He seeked vengeance for a long time and he left the village to get more powerful and someday face his greatest enemy and loving brother, Itachi."

The tears that the young girl has been keeping seeped through her eyelids in a snap, as if the last part of Sakura's statement served as a trigger. So that was it, that was the root of everything.

"Sasuke-kun was blinded by his ambition of avenging his clan. It took him a few years before he could finally have a face off with Itachi. In the end, he emerged victorious."

Sarada thought it ended there, but Sakura spoke once more. "Not long after that, he discovered the truth about Itachi. Naturally, he grew to despise the elders and Konoha itself, plus the people in it. He made the decision to eliminate the elders and eventually got involved in illegal organizations.

"I won't deny the accusations you threw. Sasuke may have hurt many people in the past, he may have hurt me, Naruto, and everyone else, but he had a motive for it. I'm not saying that his past actions can be tolerated just because of those reasons; I'm simply just trying to understand. He was wrong too, but he was lonely. He had no one and nothing. Nothing but hatred.

"A lot of things had happened after that. Sasuke's only goal was to bring justice for his brother. Then the war happened right after. It was tough, heartbreaking, and simply tragic, but it also served as a chance for our team to reunite. During those times, he also managed to clear his mind thoroughly."

Sarada couldn't remember when was the last time she felt such tremendous emotional pain. Or maybe she never really felt this. Even when she saw Karin's photo and mistook her for being her real mother, this one is still different. She couldn't stop her tears from painfully flowing down her face.

Tears welled up in Sakura's eyes as well as she grabbed her daughter's hand softly. "I'm so sorry, Sarada. I'm so sorry for lying to you, for keeping the truth for so long."

Sarada tried to muffle a sob, but miserably failed as she broke down in front of the pinkette. A mix of guilt, anger, sorrow, and confusion painted her pale face.

Squeezing her hand, Sakura bit her trembling lips before speaking again, "I'm sorry for not being able to fill up your questions. I'm sorry for always avoiding your inquiries about our past. I'm so sorry for depriving you of what you deserve."

Her cold hand went to reach for Sarada's face, gently wiping the tears away. "I'm sorry, Sarada. But please, please don't hate your father."

The young Uchiha stared at her mother, waiting for her next words. Sakura flashed a faint smile. "I care less of who your father was in the past. What's important to me is the person who he is right now."

"M-Mom, he tried to hurt you-"

"I love him, Sarada. But love isn't enough for me to accept him back then. I forgave him because he was a friend and he was special to me. I loved him whole-heartedly, but I wanted to start anew. I wouldn't make him mine just because I loved him and forgave him.

"But I saw his sincerity. Even before you were born, he went out to go to different destinations and journies to see the world for himself. He wanted to be alone as he repented for his sins. And I was watching as he did all of those. Our relationship improved and I knew by then that he changed. He became better and for that, I loved him even more."

Sakura continued to wipe her daughter's wet cheeks softly. "And when you came, Sarada, he became the best man he could ever be. Again, for so many years, I saw genuine happiness in his eyes again - after seeing you."

Sarada's heart ached painfully upon hearing those words. Guilt was starting to eat her up quickly as she recalled the harsh treatment she gave her parents beforehand.

"I love your father very much in spite of his mistakes. He cares for us, Sarada. He loves you."

"I-I'm sorry, Mom," Sarada choked out, throwing herself in Sakura's arms. "I'm sorry... I'm-"

"Shh," the pinkette smoothed doqn the flyaways of her hair, embracing her tightly. "He loves you, dear. Please don't hold any kind of animosity against him."

Behind the door, Sasuke listened to the intense conversation inside. His heart clenched; his hands were trembling. He was terrified.

Terrified of what Sarada will think of him after this.

He closed his eyes briefly before he opened them and walked slowly to the room he shared with his wife afterwards. His mind traveled from years back, during the time he first left the village.

"Don't leave!" A teary-eyed Sakura shouted in despair.

Sasuke simply kept his hands inside his pockets. With a meaningful smirk plastered on his face, he turned around. "You're annoying."

After that, he knocked her outcold. He also carried her and left her in the bench nearby, before he took steps away from the village.

He was angry, both at the situation and at himself. If only he didn't have this ambition, then he wouldn't leave. But still...

Uchiha Sasuke had finally found his resolve.

And it was to forget and leave everything behind - the memories, the bonds, the warmth. All of them, because they were hindrances to his ambition.

Nothing and no one could top his goal. The only thing he ever wanted to accomplish in this cruel, forsaken world was to avenge his family and finish off his good-for-nothing, treacherous brother. Just that and he would feel better - hopefully.

It would hurt to admit, yes, but he knew what he felt towards his team. It was such a familiar, sensitive feeling that he knew so well that he was damn scared about it. For once, he would be true to himself and inwardly say that indeed - he really treasured his team; Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura were all dear to him.

And they mirrored people from his past: his family.

He also had to admit to himself that Sakura, although despite his cold shoulder, he knew what he felt. He knew the special affection. But It wasn't something he couldn't contain; he managed to hide and disregard it, but it still hurt.

In the end, he still walked out of Konoha, half of his mind tremendously sorry for causing heart aches not only to Sakura, but to everyone who truthfully cared for him.

. . .

A/N;

Is this becoming too dramatic? hahah

also - not sure if this line is quoted somewhere in a Hiden novel or I just randomly found it in the internet, but yeah I kinda used it as an inspiration hehe

[EDIT: I found out that the photo seen above was only an edit. I hope this doesn't grow any confusion.]

Anyway, Happy New Year from yours truly! I wish you all have a prosperous 2018, I hope your dreams come true and I hope you're healthy (physically & mentally).

Thank you for reading :)