epilogue

It was Sunday evening when Uchiha Sasuke was scheduled to leave the village.

He had told his family that it was unnecessary to drop him off the gates as it was already dark and chilly outside. Besides, he doubted that he would be out for long - that's what he told his wife before he completely left the household.

The night was quiet and his black cloak was fading along with the immensely dark surroundings. It was indeed cold like he concluded; the harsh wind was blowing hard against his clothes.

He was supposed to go straight to the Konoha gates, that was the initial plan and what he would actually do, but instead of doing so, his feet dragged him towards the building of the Interrogation Force.

Although it was already past dinner time, the lights inside the wide building were brightly glowing, signaling that its workers were still inside.

Sasuke knocked on the door twice in which he immediately got a response when one of them opened the door. Sasuke eyed the shinobi behind the door, his ash blonde hair and unusually pale skin was a distinct feature that gave off the fact that he belonged to the Yamanaka Clan. Sasuke gave him a nod.

"Oh, Sasuke-san." The door opened wider for him to come in. "Great timing. Morisuke-san is still here."

The Uchiha nodded for the second time, stepping forward to enter the renovated Interrogation place. His eyes instantly fell on the three shinobi who were seated with a pile of documents. These three immediately acknowledged his presence, to which he reciprocated by apologizing for coming in such a late hour.

Sasuke wasn't a very sociable type, obviously, but he most definitely knew that these three were all from the Yamanaka Clan - which he actually considered to be the best at this job because of how their abilities justified the job.

"Sasuke-san, we have the written reports," one of them said, standing up and handing the confidential papers to the ravenette. "We were able to grasp information from Kurui as he was the one that Sakura-san reported to have ambushed the hospital as well."

Sasuke grabbed the papers, skimming the words written.

"We're sorry that this operation is taking a while, we're still recruiting members." He added.

Well it wasn't a big of a deal to Sasuke, all he really wanted was assurance that he would find information about Sarada's captors. He heard from Naruto that Inouchi Yamanaka was best at interrogations due to his unique ability of being able to mentally see a person's memory, but as a casualty of the war he was part of those who had to leave.

Thankfully, Ibiki Morino was still part of the Interrogation Force and he was helping in the operation.

"We're extracting their memories one by one. Yesterday we went for Kurui while his subordinates are sealed in jail. Tomorrow, we'll be having Yasuda."

The Uchiha's fingers subconsciously tightened around the papers. It was impossible for him to forget what recently happened.

"Based from what we saw from his memories, he had an unknown subordinate who came from the same generation as you, which explains why they have legitimate data about you." The Yamanaka explained furthermore. "And although it was unclear, he actually went to kidnap someone to extract more information about you, your family and your relationship with them. Unfortunately his memory of the person was very blurred, I couldn't see her face a lot..."

Her? Sasuke frowned in confusion yet chose to cut the conversation. "Okay. Thank you."

"You're leaving tonight, Sasuke-san?"

He glanced at the Yamanaka and nodded. "I'm coming back soon. If not, you can write to me for updates or any of the sort."

"Oh! Okay... we'll work harder for the future interrogations."

After that, Sasuke left the village to resume his duty and also to find out more including Kurui and Yasuda, so that he could prevent any threats from hurting his family again.

. . .

One month later, Uchiha Sarada found herself alone in the woods with scraped knuckles and a few minor cuts along her forearm.

Wiping away the sweat on her temples, the raven-haired girl was short of breath as she panted heavily. She slowly deactivated her Sharingan, the crimson blood hue fading into a pair of pitch black color. She grabbed her drawstring bag - making sure to aid her minor injuries with some medicine that Sakura had packed beforehand - before she headed out of the dark woods.

Sunset was over and all that greeted her was the colorless sky. No sign of the moon, stars, or any kind of light. However, once she got near the town where all the food chains and public facilities were located, she found herself walking through numerous brightly lit lamp posts and all the other artificial lights, which made her feel at ease.

"Oh! Sarada!"

A curly-haired woman with a kind smile approached suddenly approached her, waving a hand excitedly but ended up gasping when she finally sees all the bandages on her arms.

"Oh my! What happened?"

Sarada, although confused at the situation, shook her head. "Oh, uh, this was from training..."

"Ah, I see!" The villager sighed in relief, a chuckle coming from her when she sees Sarada's clueless expression. "Sorry, I don't think you're familiar of me. I'm Aina, I own this bakery shop here..."

The woman gestured to a fairly sized shop, one that Sarada was familiar with. "Your mother would buy some bread and cakes from me every now and then. She even asks me sometimes to reserve some for her, because the shop is already closed by the time her shift ends." She laughed heartily.

Sarada listened attentively to her, a smile forming along her lips. "That's nice to hear, Aina-san. I've always wanted to know where Mom bought all our bread and biscuits in the house, they're really good."

Aina grinned. "Ah, it's no wonder that you're Sakura's child. Both of you are so kind. The two of you are very pretty too!"

Sarada blushed lightly at the sudden compliment. Aina smiled. "Are you heading home? It's already dark."

Sarada managed to nod. "It's the final match of the Chunin Exams soon, so I got caught in the dark because of training."

"Right. When is it again?"

"The day after tomorrow," she smiled. For some reason, she felt comfortable and warm with the woman. "It's pretty rough, but it excites me a lot."

"That's the spirit!" Aina cheered before turning to her shop, grabbing a few slices of bread and packing them inside a plastic wrapper. "Here you go! Work hard, Sarada-chan. It's my treat!"

Sarada flushed, seeing the woman's actions. "A-Aina-san! It's fine, I'll pay for it!"

Aina immediately crossed her hands. "No, no! It's nothing. Share it to your mom and make sure you rest and eat properly, okay?"

Touched by the woman's thoughtfulness, the Uchiha smiled warmly at her out of gratitude. "Thank you, Aina-san. I'll work hard."

"Great! Say hi to your mom for me!"

Sarada waved goodbye to the woman and continued to walk ahead. Her muscles where aching from the training earlier but she felt way better when Aina had approached her and cheered for her.

Sakura had always done the same, so she wouldn't say that she lacked support. And of course, she knew by herself that although he was away, he was as supportive as he could ever be.

. . .

Upon arriving at home, Sarada was greeted by an empty household. Like usual, she took off her shinobi sandals and placed them neatly on the shoe rack, proceeding inside and sitting on the couch.

The whole month was rough. Right after Sasuke left, it was the beginning of the Chunin Exams. Although she was healed from her previous injuries and pretty much seemed good to go, her body still felt weak at certain times.

Luckily, the first stage of the exam was only a written-type, where they were given a five-page test paper - which, by the way, everyone else aside from her cried about. It wasn't the easiest test she ever took; in fact, she had to agree that it was quite difficult. But as if luck was on her side, some of the questions were based from the book series called Shinobi Strategist Detective Story - which she had read all four volumes of - so it became one of her advantages.

Boruto almost failed the first part of the exam, which made Sarada almost kill him out of madness because it was in the rules that if one member out of a group fails, then they won't be able to participate in the following parts.

The second part was more adventurous than the first one, which focused on team effort. Each team was supposed to find one flag per group so that they can advance to the next part; all techniques and types of forces were allowed in order to take the flags. There was a total of eighteen teams participating in the second round and there were only ten flags hidden within the test location.

Boruto claimed that he would lead the team but Mitsuki didn't even hope for anything, which was actually good because Sarada herself ended up taking the flag and providing their ticket to the next round.

The third round was a prematch that focused on individual strengths. Shino was responsible for matching up the fighters, and with only ten teams left with three members each, there were only fifteen genins that stood tall by the end of the matches.

Surprisingly, all three of Sarada, Mitsuki, and Boruto were part of the finals. Shikadai, Inojin, Chocho were also included.

Sarada stretched her arms, relaxing her muscles as she layed down on the soft couch. She promised Sakura that she would just rest tomorrow, so she could replenish her chakra for the exam itself.

"I'm home!"

Sarada instantly stood up from the couch, fixing her glasses to check the clock. "Mom? You're here already?"

"Why? Don't you want me here?" was her plain reply, smiling slightly.

"You know what I mean..."

"Shift ended early," Sakura smiled heartily. "You hungry? I'll make some dinner for you tonight."

The raven-haired girl glanced at the pack of bread on the couch, smiling. "That'll be good. I also met Aina-san on the way home, we can share the bread she gave me."

. . .

The next day, Boruto and Mitsuki suddenly showed up in front of Sarada's door.

"And you're here because...?"

Boruto crossed his arms. "Are we not allowed here?"

Sarada arched an eyebrow. "Your salty attitude isn't, for sure."

The knit on the blond's eyebrows deepened as he looked away. "Hah! I'm starting to think that visiting you here is a bad idea!"

"I don't recall any circumstances that I actually asked you to visit me."

"Why you-! Can't you just be thankful that Mitsuki and I are in front of your doorstep with a pack of your favorite black tea - which, by the way, tastes disgusting!"

Mitsuki facepalms himself. "Boruto, stop shouting and stop badmouthing Sarada's favorite drink. This is why you two don't get along." He chastised.

"Hmph! Whatever!" The blond enters the household without permission, nonetheless Sarada lets him in.

"Why are you guys randomly showing up here?" She asked.

Mitsuki only gives her a small smile. "Boruto saw you training yesterday and says you looked really tired. He asked me to come along while he gives you your favorite drink."

The way he bluntly said it made Sarada's face flush. Mitsuki noted this immediately. "I expected this reaction from you. You're blushing."

"Shut up!" She shook her head. "Really, then? If it was his idea then why would you even come along?"

"He asked me to go with him, probably because he needed mental support."

Sarada regretted asking for the second time, as the scarlet tint of her face became more obvious. "Just come in."

Mitsuki smiled, stepping inside. "You two really look good together."

Resisting the urge to throw him to the roof, Sarada ignored his cheeky comments and lead him to the living room, where Boruto was seated alone.

Mitsuki sat beside him whereas the Uchiha decided to sit across from them. In the middle there was a glass table, where a plastic bag was found. Sarada grabbed it, taking out a few packs of black tea flavored drink.

She wanted to ask how they knew - or in this case, how Boruto knew that it was her favorite, but she figured that Mitsuki would insert his asshole comments again so she simply shut her mouth.

"Thanks for this," she gestured to the tea, opening it.

Boruto rested his back on the couch. "So you're training later?"

Seeing as how the tea wasn't the usual powder and instead was already blended and ready to drink, Sarada tasted it before shaking her head. "No, Mom asked me to rest today. I trained a lot yesterday."

"Then it's just Mitsuki and I going for a training later, then." Boruto concluded. "Where's Sakura-san by the way?"

"Work." was her short reply, drinking the tea.

"You're alone today?"

"I guess so."

Mitsuki suddenly sighs, catching the attention of both of them.

"Jeez, Boruto, just offer to spend the whole day with her rather than winging it out and asking if she's alone or what."

Both Sarada and Boruto blushed profusely upon his choice of words.

"S-Shut up!!! What's your deal with Sarada and I? You always say disgusting stuff like that!" Boruto looked away in embarrassment.

"Mitsuki, seriously, get out of my house if you're not going to stop." Sarada rolled her eyes despite of her blushing face.

Instead of stopping, he shrugged nonchalantly. "You guys always act like tsunderes, but you don't see me complaining."

"SHUT UP!"

The whole visit to Sarada's place was like that for the first two hours. Gradually, then opened different topics that was related to the final part of the exams and whatnot.

After lunch time, the two males were heading out of the Uchiha household.

"Uh, thanks for the visit, I guess." Sarada smiled genuinely, opening the door for them.

Mitsuki nodded. "Yeah, see you tomorrow." He walked before Boruto, leaving the two alone.

"We're going to train," Boruto said. "Make sure you arrive at your top condition tomorrow at the exams."

"Yeah, okay..." The Uchiha nodded. "You too."

"And drink your black tea, I saved up to buy those!" He quickly added before running out.

Boruto was gone in an instant and Sarada found herself smiling.

"Okay then."

. . .

This is it.

Today was the final stage of the Chunin Exams. Sarada didn't know whether it was out of excitement or anxiety, but she woke up way too early.

By breakfast time, Sakura gave her way too much food, telling her about protein and giving her medically-proven data about food and lifestyle, but she couldn't understand any of them at all. All her mind could register was the fact that today was the exams. It was an opportunity to be promoted, and it was one step to be closer to her dreams.

"Make sure you do your best, Sarada!" Sakura encouraged her as they walk to the fighting grounds. "I'll be watching and cheering for you!"

Sarada smiled. "I'll return as a chunin, Mom."

The pinkette held out a thumbs up. "Keep your goals in mind and you'll be fine!"

Goals. Of course.

She'll do anything to finally be on top. In the future, she'll make sure to be the first Uchiha to ever become Hokage.

Upon arriving in the fighting grounds, Sarada shortly met up with her friends. Sakura had gone to the audience section meanwhile the participants were getting ready.

"I'm nervous." Inojin shuddered.

"Huh? We'll lose anyway, it'll be over in a bit."

"Shut up, Shikadai! I'm going to win my match!"

"I wasn't talking to you, Boruto. So troublesome..."

"Where can I get my snacks? They're my source of life."

"Sarada, aren't you going to defend Boruto from Shikadai?"

Sarada facepalms, ignoring her peers. They were all suddenly alarmed when they were called to the field by the Seventh Hokage himself as an introduction.

All the participants walked to the field and as if on cue, a lot of cheers were heard from the audience.

"These kids are all here in front of us to show all of their strengths," Naruto says, smiling at all of them. "With this, let's start the final part of the Chunin Exams!"

While everyone else cheered, Sarada had an anxious heart. She looked up and tried to find a familiar face in the audience. Through her glasses, she saw a hint of pink hair, instantly seeing the supportive face of her mother.

Her heart felt warm.

Seeing Sakura in the audience made her feel amazing, but seeing who was beside her made her feel special.

She saw him in his usual vest and long sleeve attire, his raven locks covering his other eye while he sat beside his wife. He was looking down at her, no smile on his face, but he wasn't impossible to read for the first time.

She saw a very encouraging flame in his eyes, and all she could do was feel the tears in her eyes.

He went back.

He went back home.

Sasuke was there with Sakura, watching her with a supportive look on his face.

Sarada smiled, feeling how happy and thankful her heart was.

Thank you, Papa. I love you.

. . .

A/N: And that's a wrap! [read till the end]

I'm so sorry that the epilogue took so long, it's been a month and a half since my last update and believe me, I really tried to write but I couldn't for some reason.

But anyway, I finally found my groove again and here is what I came up with!

[Spoiler] Originally in the Boruto series, Sasuke also came home to see Sarada in the Chunin Exams, which I think was like the purest thing ever and I loved it a lot. Hence, I didn't want to change that little detail.

Thank you so much for reading, it truly means a lot to me! If you'd like a little extra scene, continue reading what's below. :)

. . .

EXTENDED ENDING

"What happened to Sarada's captors?" Karin asks, aligning the conical flasks on the shelf neatly.

Suigetsu leaned against the door of the laboratory room, folding his arms. "Sasuke took them to Konoha for investigation, that's what I know. He also told me that Sarada's captors also kidnapped someone in the past, that's where they got personal information about his family."

Karin freezes on her spot, jolting her head to look at him. Suigetsu walked towards her, a small frown on his face. "Karin, that's exactly what happened to you months ago before I saved your ass. For some reason, you forgot your kidnapper's face, it's probably their technique or whatever it is. I think they might have gone through your memories from years ago and..."

He stopped when Karin nodded. "Ah, I only remember getting kidnapped and waking up in Orochimaru's hide out that time." Her eyebrows knitted. "Now I'm suddenly..."

"Guilty?" Suigetsu finished. "Come on, that isn't like you."

Karin smacked his head. "Get away from me, you asshole."

"What is it with women and their painful hits," he rubbed his head gently before regaining his composure. "I'm serious though, you didn't know any of that. It's the enemy's technique that made you forget, you're not at fault. Besides, Sarada is safe with her mom and dad now."

The red head shot him a brief glance. "I should pay her a visit soon."

"You sure it's Sarada you're visiting? Not Sasuke- ouch! Why did you smack me again?!"

"You deserve that!" She rolled her eyes, averting her attention to the chemical flasks once again. "Of course it's Sarada. I'm not crazy over Sasuke anymore and you, of all people, should know that!"

Suigetsu shrugged. "I guess. But I mean, you were crazy over him when were still in Taka."

"Sakura was crazier. Not in a bad way, but she... loved him truthfully... more than I ever did." Her tone softened at the last sentence.

Suigetsu didn't respond, watching the red-haired's serious expression. Karin continued, "Sasuke is lucky to have her despite of what happened in the past. The man he is today wouldn't be him without her. I'm thankful that she's with him."

"So... you don't... like him?"

Karin grabbed an empty box of medicine and threw it at him, but he caught it at the right time as if he expected it.

"You always ask me this, stupid Suigetsu. And no. I don't like him that way anymore."

"I was just making sure..."

"What?"

"Nothing." He shook his head. "Anyway, speaking of his past, I told Sarada about it one time and-"

"You what?" An incredulous expression took over her face. "Are you an idiot?!"

"Huh? What's so wrong-"

"Why am I even putting up with you?" Karin sighed angrily. "Sarada has no clue about Sasuke's criminal acts! She didn't know that he defected from Konoha! She didn't know that he fucking killed people!"

Suigetsu's mouth hung open in shock. "B-But she said-"

"Goodness! You're so dumb! Did you casually tell her that her father was an international criminal in the past?!"

"I-I didn't know!"

"Fuck! We're visiting Konoha next week and you better apologize to her, you peabrain!"

. . .

And that is the extended ending lmao. Suigetsu is always causing the trouble (Mistaking Karin as Sarada's mom and now spilling Sasuke's past)

Anyway, head to the next page for further acknowledgements. Thank you so much!! :)