A/N: A follow-up to A Daughter's Plea since there's so many requests. I just have one question with you guys, why do you want SasuSaku to have a boy with pink hair? Well anyways, I just wanna thank the people who reviewed A Daughter's Plea and to that one anonymous jerk who told me that I ruined Naruto ending because of my story. Hello? There were stories older than mine that contained spoilers so don't single out mine just because you bemoan the fact that you 'just happened to encounter it' wtf? Is this a Pokemon game or something?

Whatever. So anyways, read and REVIEW. Flames will be ignored and now I know why they flame writers by using anonymous accounts (They're a bunch of cowards)

Onee-chan's Duty

Seven hours

It took seven exact hours for her sibling to arrive in this world. She was nodding off on the plastic chair with Hinata-san and Ino-san sitting beside her while the Nanadaime paced in front of them with his eyebrows scrunched. The Rokudaime was sleeping with an orange book covering his masked face, and silver hair poked out in unruly spikes, blissfully unaware of the world around him. They asked her for the thousandth time if she wanted to go home or go tone of their houses so she will have company because the hospital was no place for a child and she needed to sleep. But unfortunately for them, she inherited both of her parents' stubbornness which meant nothing and no one can change her mind.

Finally, the tired yet youthful face of the former Godaime poked out and smiled at Sarada. "You're baby brother's here!" Sarada felt a slight frown tug her lips for a moment; she wanted to have a little sister.

Boys are loud, messy and... stupid. All of her male classmates were like that. But he can't be that bad; they have the same father after all so he might be on the quiet side. The Nanadaime wanted to go in as well but the blond woman glared at him and said "Sakura's tired right now. The hospital doesn't need another Naruto-shaped wall like the last time."

Sarada looked up at her godfather who, in turn, scrunched his face in a sour expression before his wife patted his shoulders and led him to the rows of chairs. She walked towards the room and the smell had hit her nose like a punch. The scent of medicine, disinfectant, blood and something else almost made her head spin and there lights were so bright.

Lying in the middle of the padded table with stirrups was her mama, all sweaty and pale with the covers under her, to Sarada's horror, drenched with blood and her papa was holding a small lump covered with a light blue blanket. Her mind can't still wrap around the fact that she was a big sister.

Her papa gave the bundle to her mother and beckoned her to come closer. Somehow, her feet suddenly weighed like a ton as she approached the bed and stood on the tip of her toes to get a better look. She felt herself being lifted up and she turned around to see it was her papa.

Her mama gave her a tired smile and gently uncovered the lump. "Say hello to Hatsune, Sarada-chan" she cooed and showed Sarada the face of her new brother.

He was...

Ugly

His face was splotched with red under that pale skin and he had a froggish face in a really large head compared to his small pudgy body. He also smelled weird; coppery and slimy that made her want to gag. Her papa held her closer to the babe and she could see her mama beaming at him with tired eyes. He looked so helpless... vulnerable. And he gave her mama a hard time just by getting out of her body with that big head of his. When she unconsciously poked his chubby cheek with her fingertip, he stirred with his face scrunching up and as soon as he opened his mouth; the most annoying sound had echoed around the room.

A thin high-pitched cry grated her eardrums, giving her the urge to gnash her teeth as she hopped down from her papa's arms and covered her ears while her mama hushed him softly while stroking the small of his back. Gradually, the crying ebbed but she didn't dare come closer until she was sure he wouldn't start the waterworks again.

"What's wrong?" Her papa's husky voice rumbled before her mama soothed her brother's infant rage completely. She shook her head and answered,

"He's just surprised I guess" She grinned at Sarada and whispered, "It's alright Sarada-chan, you didn't do anything wrong."

Sarada bit her lower lip, unsure of whether to approach the baby or not until she saw her parents staring at her. But her papa leaned down to her mama's ear and she nodded to his words before she unsnapped her hospital gown and bared her breast to the babe. It was the baby's instinct taking over as it began to suckle as her papa went towards her and placed a hand on her head. Tsunade-baachan nodded at them and ushered her mama to transfer to a wheelchair, guiding her by the forearms.

"We'll let your mother and brother rest first" her papa said to her as he steered them to the door, much to her relief. Usually if they were walking by side, she will intertwine her hand with her papa's but now; she wanted to look like a grown-up. She's now an onee-san after all.

They ended up walking up to the deserted rooftop after Sarada told him that she had no appetite. Sasuke leaned against the wall and sat on the floor with his daughter imitating his action, stretching her legs out in front of her. The cool breeze swept their hair; the scent permeates the hints of the trees that surrounded Konoha. Sasuke closed his eyes for the moment and let his muscles relax. His artificial hand might need some adjustments as Sakura nearly broke it during her contractions but it didn't really bother him that much.

He may have been born in this particular village but he had never really considered it as his home. For most, home is a place that was built with four walls and a roof; a place where memories started. But as he assessed that information in his head; his home was his family. The Uchiha compound was destroyed and all that was left of it was the rubble and ruin of a once proud clan. But he will make sure it will flourish again.

Not for the sake of the clan itself but to honour Itachi. And for his own family. He opened his eyes and looked down at his ten year old daughter who happened to be staring at him as well.

"What is it?" he asked.

Sarada sighed as she stared at her papa's sole black orb that was as dark as the starless sky. She had seen her baby brother's own set of eyes for a fraction of the moment before he began to screech his head off. They were the darkest shade of green and they burned with the warmth her mama's own light viridian eyes. Hers was more of a cold light, much like her papa's as Naruto-san and Kakashi-sama said.

She didn't know what to make of it; she was proud that she was her papa's girl but at the same time, she didn't want to be known by that endearment either. There was a reason she idolized her mama so much.

Despite the fact that her papa travels around a lot and returns for just a few months, her mama remained strong and supportive to him. At times, it bothered Sarada about how lenient her mama was to his nomadic habits.

After their talk and the sudden announcement of her mama's pregnancy, it was a miracle that he only strayed away for two months before he returned home and remained there although he would wander out of the village for a few days or a week at most. She found that he didn't like walking around the village except at night, and he was never the inviting host when visitors happened to flock their doorstep; retreating to his and mama's bedroom and he would stay there until her mama would ask her to call him out.

Now she had a brother to take care of, if he was exactly like her papa... well mama won't be the only who will have their hands full. She knew the responsibilities of being the older sibling; she had seen it through Boruto-baka and Himawari. The energetic girl was so sweet and endearing (despite her impossibly restless nature) that it influenced her favour to have a female sibling so she can tie her hair and share stories with her mama.

Boys will just mess things up.

"Papa" she started, unsure on what to say next though the very idea was bouncing inside her mind. It was quite a childish favour and not to mention selfish that she quickly derailed the thought from her tongue.

However, the damage had already been done as she caught her papa's utmost attention. "What is it?"

Heat covered her cheeks and she tucked a strand of hair behind her left ear; a habit she used whenever she felt embarrassed or nervous. "It doesn't matter, it's... stupid" she mumbled.

"Sarada" he urged, his patience may have improved over the years (a requirement when your best friend was a certain Uzumaki Naruto) but he didn't like to beat around the bush. People, more specifically his wife, told him that Sarada took after him in more ways than one but he can't help but chuckle whenever the word 'Shannaro' would slip out of Sarada's mouth every now and then whenever she gets angry.

He heard her sigh and squirmed a bit under his intense stare. He tried to soften his eyes but she settled her sights forward, no doubt she was deep in her thoughts, sorting things in her mind.

He had no clue how to start or carry on a conversation, usually because he had nothing to add or say something interesting unless his daughter would ask the edible plants than can be found in the wilderness. Whenever Naruto and Sakura would rope him into a conversation he will just listen as they babble about how they spend their days and ask him when he would stop leaving every damn time. Well, more likely Naruto would badger him; he already had this talk with Sakura way before he proposed to her. He had to admit; though her patience was nearly as short as his was before; the measure of her understanding was no less than a deity's.

"Papa"

Sarada's voice pulled him out of his ponderings and he returned his attention to her. She took off her glasses and glanced up at him, a mannerism she developed along with the hair-brushing, onyx eyes bore upon his own and she had quite a serious look for a child.

"I don't like baby brothers"

Her confession felt like a punch on his gut before he realized it was more in a girl's point of view rather than his long and consistent failure as Itachi's younger brother. An amused smirk played on his lips and placed his hand on her head, "And why don't you like them? You never had one until now."

Her lips pursed, no doubt she was trying to think of some reason to justify her claims before she hugged her knees and placed her chin on top of them, her glasses were hung in front of her vest.

"Because they're annoying. They're messy and loud and... needy"

He raised a brow at her words. Actually, he found all babies like that; both boys and girls but he dare not say it in front of his family. But knowing Sarada's insightful nature, there was something more than she lets on. He closed his eyes for a moment and let the fond memories of him and Itachi play in his mind.

"Nii-chan you promised to teach me how to throw a shuriken!"

"Sorry Sasuke, I'm busy. We'll practice some other time I promise."

He finally found an answer to soothe her disapproval of having a male sibling. "Younger brothers can be... stupid" he said, treading carefully at the double meaning of each word that rang with personal experience. "They won't get what their onii-san and onee-san wants to do or sometimes they feel they don't care. But the reason why younger siblings... seemed to be annoying was because they want to spend more time with the older ones."

Her lower lip puckered out a bit into a pout as she leaned against the wall, "They're clingy? I don't want someone to tail me forever!"

A bubble of laughter struggled to burst out of his throat but it came out as a breathy chuckle as her complaint; reminding him of the days he struggled to get out of Itachi's shadow and at the same time garner some attention from the same person.

"They do that because they look up to the older ones. You're Hatsune's onee-san now. It may not seem like it now but you're going to love and protect him even if you're both adults."

Sarada slowly nodded as if she was considering his statement before she replaced her glasses and brushed her bangs, "I just don't know what to do with boys... I can't exactly dress him up like mama does with me or share secrets with him."

'This kind of talk really needed Sakura's attention' he thought because he can never understand how girls bond. He imagined that they will just sit in a circle and talk and laugh and exchange gossip all day long.

"It doesn't matter" he assured her, "He will love you. You might fight and not see eye to eye but you will always protect each other no matter what. Because you're his big sister... you're a part of his family" he was struck on much his words that were meant for his daughter affect him as well. He can't help but miss his older brother, even if he seemed too cold to care.

Finally, a small grin graced her face. It made him see how much she took after Sakura whenever she smiled. She may have most of his features and seriousness but her expressions and understanding came from her mother.

"I guess so..." she answered, making peace with the fact that she's an onee-san to a boy. He nodded to her and began to stand up, pulling her up from the floor with both hands. The rays of the sun started to heat around them, prompting Sarada to ask to a cup of water and they started to climb down the staircase. But before they reached the last landing, Sarada stopped, prompting him to stop as well and sent her a questioning look.

"Can..." she started, averting her gaze from his mismatched eyes, "Can we see mama and Hatsune first?"

He nodded.

Her mama's room as in the private ward. It was big and it was separated from other rooms. When they entered it, the blinds covered the afternoon sun and the side of her mama's bed was bombarded with streamers, balloons and a huge poster that read 'Congratulations!' And it was signed by various people.

Her mama looked up and gestured them to come forward as she held Hatsune up for her papa to carry. He carefully tucked her baby brother in his arm and began to talk in a soft voice as Hatsune blinked at him. The baby squirmed in his arms but only because he seemed excited or something, Sarada gathered that information when she read her mama's pregnancy book that was lying around their house.

"Sit up here Sarada-chan" her mama coaxed and patted the space next to her bed. She really needed to rest because of the shadows that started to form around her green eyes but Sarada obeyed her mama and sat next to her. Her papa gently leaned down and presented her little brother.

Now that she took a better look at him... he was kinda cute. His head that was slightly misshapen was now rounded and his cheeks was coloured with a soft red hue. He was bald but she can clearly see the colour of his hair because of his eyebrows. She leaned closer until they were nose to nose and Hatsune made a happy gurgling sound.

She heard her mama make a choked sound from her throat and her papa's face brightened considerably despite the unchanging facial expression.

"Would you like to hold him?" he asked.

She just nodded, so entranced by the dark green eyes that were staring at her face but not recognizing her just yet. She held up her arms and felt the baby's weight as her mama guided her.

"Be careful with his head sweetie" her mama whispered before she settled him against her chest. Strange warmth spread across her chest as she held him against her. He may not see her clearly just yet but she knew that he knows her as she spent most of her days talking to him through her- their mama's belly.

They now have a bond and right then and there, she made a promise to herself that she will protect him and love him. Because she's his onee-chan.

Her eyebrows scrunched when she remembered one little detail-

"How come Hatsune got mama's pink hair?"

Her innocent question got an instantaneous reaction. Both her mama and papa leaned close to Hatsune; their bodies almost squished the sides of her face as if the information was just new to them. Seriously, did they not see that splash of colour on his face?

"Oh-" her mama hid a smile behind her hand as before she looked at her papa. Her papa was almost as stiff as a rock as his one visible eye trained on the pastel coloured eyebrows. He lifted his right hand and gently traced the baby's eyebrows, making the baby squirm again. Sarada then realized why this was a huge deal for her papa.

Hatsune is a boy.

A boy with pink hair.

She knew that there will be other kids who will make fun of him- hell no doubt Boruto-baka will make fun of him if they happened to be in the same age. But she was sure that she will beat him up if he so much as look at her brother the wrong way.

Huh, she never felt so protective over someone who can't even talk yet. She looked up to her parents and grinned at their shell-shocked expressions, clearly not over the fact that their son had such a feminine hair colour. "I'll protect you" she whispered in a soft voice, "Onee-chan will always be here to protect you, I promise."

What she didn't see was her parents watching her declaration with a serene expression on their faces. Sakura's head was nestled against the curve of Sasuke's neck and his left hand enveloped her shoulder in a possessive yet loving touch as they watched their daughter and son communicate in a sibling's secret gesture.

The Uchiha Clan's dying embers had sparked once more.

Yep that's it. Not sure I will make follow ups wth Hatsune-kun seeing as there are a lot of stories I needed to update (sorry readers) but until then, review it people!