Notes: This chapter was sitting unposted on my computer for a LONG time. My job kept me from getting much writing done. Plus I wanted to see where the manga and anime were headed. And I think both have progressed enough where nothing here disagrees too much with either. So that was a nice surprise.

Anyway. Sasuke does not know how to treat his wife and daughter well. It's awkward at best, cold at worst. And I give the anime credit for showing that. But, Sakura and Sarada accept him as he is. Sakura, I've given up all hope of coming to her senses on the matter. Sarada could still wake up one day and think, "Papa sucks." Which is an understatement, her reaction would (or should) be a whole lot worse. There's a lot that had to be forgiven. And it was. Which is impressive, even for Instant Forgiveness no Jutsu. But since Sasuke is now on his redemption quest, he doesn't use it so much. So Sarada has to decide whether or not to forgive him, entirely on her own. What a concept, right? Believe me, I'm scared, too.

While I was coming up with ideas for this, I needed sufficiently creepy background music. The first thing that popped into my head: "Papermoon", from the Soul Eater OST. But then, most of the music from Soul Eater is at least slightly creepy, that's kinda the point. This song in particular truly fits the progression I had in mind.

Springtime for Sarada
A Naruto Fanfic by
Nate Grey (xman0123-at-aol-dot-com)
Chapter 6: Doomed to Repeat, Part 2: The Greatest Sin

Chapter Summary: Sarada's search for the full story behind a curious scar on Karin's chest leads to an obvious cover-up, and many disturbing truths.

Sarada quickly became accustomed to Karin suggesting weird bonding activities. Karin seemed to be under the permanent mistaken impression that Sarada was still just under ten years old. This was embarrassing, and frustrating, but Sarada put up with it for only two reasons. She could tell that Karin cared deeply for her, and Sarada really wanted the information that Karin had about the Uchiha clan.

When Karin first suggested taking a bath together, Sarada had been a little hesitant. At least, until Sakura teasingly pointed out that it wouldn't even be the first time. Apparently, Sakura and Karin had taken turns bathing Sarada just after she'd been born. Worse, Karin still had pictures to prove it. And while she assured Sarada that she would never use such things as blackmail material, Sarada still took it as a threat and decided it would be safer to agree to the baths. Which, once she got over the embarrassment, turned out to be much more informative than any information that Karin had shared so far.

It wasn't how Karin's body looked, not really. Sarada had seen her own mother naked, so she had some basis for comparison. Their body types weren't exactly the same, and of the two, Sarada thought men might find Sakura more attractive. Even so, Karin didn't have anything that would have made it hard for Sarada to stare at her. If anything, the bite marks covering Karin's body made it hard not to stare. But Sarada didn't really care about those: the marks didn't cause Karin any pain now, and Karin clearly had no problem showing them... to Sarada, anyway.

No, what really held Sarada's attention about Karin's body was the curiously blue scar, located just between Karin's breasts. And in particular, why there was a matching scar on her back. It took a while, but Sarada finally realized that the color was not what disturbed her about the scars. It was that the linked locations implied one thing, something that Sarada could not mistake as the daughter of one of Konoha's foremost medical experts: Karin had been impaled and run through. And had survived, obviously. In a grisly coincidence, Sarada had also seen Naruto impaled, but even with their shared super-accelerated healing, the wounds could not have been pleasant to suffer through for any length of time, and to leave such a distinctive mark suggested a unique weapon, or perhaps a special chakra.

But if Sarada had expected Karin to be open about the blue scars, then she was disappointed. Karin would only say that it was a wound she picked up just before the Fourth Great Ninja War began, which was curious enough in itself. Even stranger, Karin claimed she had been even more seriously harmed during the war, but Sarada didn't quite believe her. Especially since Karin was willing to offer a lot more detail about the second injury - which, to no great surprise, was also an impalement. And yet, there was almost no sign of that left on Karin's body. In fact, based on Karin's claim, the resulting wound should have covered nearly her entire back. So either the wound hadn't happened the way she said, or she'd managed to heal enough where there was almost no trace of it. Which still implied that whatever caused the blue scar was far more serious, for her to be unable to erase it to the same extent.

In the end, Sarada realized the answer from what Karin hadn't said. Karin hadn't said that she healed herself, as she'd likely been unable to. Which meant someone else had treated her wound. And the only reason Sarada could think of for Karin to hide that fact, is because she didn't want Sarada asking the healer for details. Which of course meant it was someone that Sarada already knew. And since Tsunade was barely in the village anymore, that really only left one person.

"Mama, did you heal Karin before the war started?" Sarada demanded over breakfast the next day.

Sakura blinked and stared at her. "She told you about that? I didn't think she would."

"Why not?" Sarada asked at once. "Why wouldn't she?"

Sakura hesitated. "It was a very traumatic experience, Sarada. She almost died. And even if she hadn't, there was a chance she might not have wanted to live with that wound, and what it represented. That was... a very hard day. For both of us. Even though we were on different sides of the same conflict, neither of us could ignore the other's pain. It connected us, made the other's situation more real. I think that shared pain is what eventually allowed us to become friends."

Sarada frowned. "What made her so different from any other patient?"

Sakura shook her head and smiled faintly. "I could see myself in her shoes. Easily."

"Do you know who attacked her?"

The smile faded from Sakura's face at once. "What did she tell you?"

Sarada noted the evasion. "Nothing conclusive. So you do know?"

"If Karin didn't or wouldn't tell you, I assume she has a good reason for that. It is her story to tell, or not to tell. I'm sorry, Sarada. I don't feel comfortable saying anything more about it."

Sarada was annoyed, but simply nodded and went back to her breakfast. She had learned more, just not enough.

Her mother knew who Karin's attacker had been, but neither woman seemed willing to reveal the attacker's identity. Sarada again had to assume, hard as it was to believe, that it might be someone she currently knew. Perhaps they worried that she wouldn't be able to forgive that person. Or maybe they thought she would try to hunt the person down. Honestly, Sarada wasn't sure what she would do. But she wanted to know, despite that. Karin was important to her. For someone to hurt Karin so badly and get away with it, Sarada needed to know what type of person they were now, and what type they had been back then. It might change how she felt about the attack, and it might not.

Karin was alive now, that was most important. But some people and acts were beyond forgiveness. Sarada needed to know if Karin's attacker was. And if they were, and Karin refused to do anything about it? Well, Sarada was going to be Hokage one day. That meant protecting the village, and all of the people in it. And especially those most precious to the protector.

Another clue came to Sarada when she was not even searching for it: she walked into a training session, and saw Kakashi and Boruto each holding a handful of purple lightning. It was nothing she hadn't seen before, or even expected to see again. But it did remind her: Kakashi's lightning was famous for being purple, in part because that color was unusual. And, she realized with a start, it had not always been that color.

Before, it had been blue.

It didn't mean anything, Sarada knew that. She had seen Karin interact with Kakashi more than once. They were awkward around each other, but only because Karin was constantly asking if he had grabbed any other girl's butt lately. There was just no way that Kakashi had been the one to inflict that wound. And yet, he had then, and still on occasion, wielded blue lightning. It could not be a coincidence.

Kakashi noticed Sarada staring and let the lightning in his hand fade. "I know you've got a few Lightning Release techniques already, but if you're going to copy some from me, best to let me give you some pointers first," he warned.

"No, that's not what-" Sarada began, then realized she probably did want to copy it, just not at the moment. "Maybe later. Look, you met Karin right before the war, right?"

Kakashi nodded. "Your mother, Naruto, and I did, yes."

Something about the way he said that bothered Sarada, but she was more focused on getting the answers she wanted. "Do you know anything or anyone that might have given her a blue scar?"

Maybe it was the way that Sarada's tone had become slightly accusing. She hadn't meant it to: again, she did not suspect Kakashi of attacking Karin. But she was now convinced that he also knew something about that wound. And from the way his eyes widened, ever so slightly, she knew she'd caught him off guard.

"Maybe," Kakashi said slowly, "this is something I should discuss with your parents first."

"Why?" Sarada asked sharply. "I'm a genin! If I'm prepared to face life and death, I can know things like this!"

"True," Kakashi agreed. "But you are also the child of two of my students. And while I will admit to having been reckless with my students in the past? That isn't something I will do with you."

Sarada glared at him. "So you won't tell me?"

Kakashi shook his head. "Not without their permission. Sarada, one day you will understand: a harmful truth can be so much worse than a comforting lie."

"I've had enough lies!" Sarada snapped as she turned and ran out. She heard Boruto shouting her name, but ignored him.

And it was then that Sarada saw that Kakashi had given her a clue. He had included Naruto among the people that met Karin just before the war. It was just as, no, even more likely, that Naruto would also coddle her, in the interest of keeping her innocent. But... maybe, just maybe, if she could make him see how much not having the truth, again, was distressing her, maybe he would be different.

Naruto had come to appreciate various things about his close friends over the years. He could count on Lee to always be enthusiastic, Shikamaru to be blunt, and Sasuke to be gloomy. They would deny it, but that was just how Naruto saw them. It didn't make them any less his friends, it was just part of who they were.

More than anything, though, he appreciated Sakura's maturity. She could have easily been the type of woman who never let him forget how he spent so much of his life chasing after her like a love-sick puppy. She could have reminded Hinata every chance she got, exactly which of them had been Naruto's first love.

Although, Sakura was the type of woman who liked to rub in Ino's face exactly who had ended up with Sasuke, and Ino was the type of woman who still seemed very annoyed by this, despite her own fairly happy ending.

So it was very sobering, when Naruto looked up from his desk to see fake tears streaming from Sarada's eyes, and her hands clasped together in clear need. She wanted something from him, that much was obvious, and if she was willing to sacrifice this much of her pride to get it, then it had to be important. He wasn't moved, but suspected he would have been, if only the tears had been real.

"Something you need, Sarada?" Naruto asked.

"Nanadaime-sama, only you can give me the answers that I need this time!" Sarada wailed. "I'm really counting on you!"

Naruto tried very hard not to laugh, she was clearly overdoing it. "I'm listening so far. What do you need?"

The tears stopped at once, and Sarada said in a business-like tone, "Do you know who stabbed Karin before the war, and left a blue scar on her body?"

Naruto grunted, as if he'd been punched in the gut. "Huh. So it's about that." He frowned thoughtfully, then motioned for her to come around to his side of the desk.

Sarada hurried over, and gasped when he lightly grasped her waist and lifted her, settling her in his lap. It was not really uncomfortable: Sarada trusted Naruto without reservation, and was familiar enough with him where such affection, while embarrassing, was not deemed inappropriate. Really, she would not have been shocked if he had also given her baths that she was too young to recall at the time. But, for some reason, she really hoped the same was not true for her mother and Boruto.

"A long time ago," Naruto began, "I stood before the Sandaime Hokage, and asked if he knew who my parents were. He looked into my eyes, and said he didn't know." He paused, nodded, and then added, "That was a big, fat lie."

"What?" Sarada asked in shock.

"He knew them well, better than most did, in fact. But he lied. I now understand why he did, and I forgive him. But if I had known back then, I think I might have hated him for lying about something so important to me. Children see things differently than adults, and always will."

"Why are you telling me this?" Sarada murmured. "Are you going to lie to me, too?"

"I'm going to do what no one did for me: I'll give you a choice. You get to pick which hat I wear, when I give you an answer." He patted her shoulder. "As your Hokage, I give you exactly what you need, as one of my shinobi, to carry out your missions." His hand drifted up to rest on her head. "But as a close friend of your parents, I want you to be happy, and I'll do everything in my power to keep you that way."

Sarada stared at him blankly. "But... I can't tell which one would tell me the truth! If finding out who hurt Karin would upset me, you wouldn't tell me either way!"

Naruto simply smiled at her, much to Sarada's growing frustration.

"Just tell me," Sarada muttered, glaring at the floor.

"You don't need to worry about the one who hurt Karin," Naruto said softly. "That person no longer exists."

"Are they dead?" Sarada asked at once.

"That person no longer exists," Naruto repeated.

Sarada scowled, then sighed as he rubbed her head tenderly. It was a good enough answer, she supposed. For now. It didn't feel like a lie, anyway. And if it was one, she knew there had to be a good reason behind it.

So she didn't ask again. Instead, she draped her arms around Naruto's neck and leaned her head against his cheek. "Thank you, Nanadaime."

It was enough to make Naruto inwardly wince. He wondered if Sarada would be so grateful, both if she knew who had attacked Karin, and that he was the reason that person, or at least that side of the person, no longer existed. He knew very well: Uchiha did not always respond as expected, when vengeance was taken out of their reach.

When Sasuke had first learned that Sakura was pregnant with a girl, there had been a very, very brief moment of sheer horror on his part. Somewhere, he was sure, Kaguya had been howling with laughter.

Sasuke had virtually made a career out of not knowing what to do with girls. Oh, he always found uses for the ones that weren't entirely without value, eventually, but he had reached a point where he could now see that, to an unbiased observer, his treatment of women in general had been just shy of braining each one he met with a club (and not for the purposes of dragging them back to his cave, either, which might have been somewhat acceptable to some). And that, he could now admit, would have been kinder than some of the things he had done to the few women who did matter to him.

So he could not really be blamed for having no idea what to do with Sarada, nine times out of ten. Sakura was no idiot: she knew there was no jutsu that would magically turn Sasuke into the best father ever, just as she knew that expecting Sasuke to raise a girl well was like expecting that Itachi teaching a class on how not to murder a clan in one night would be effective. Uchiha males were simply not built to do things so far outside of their characters.

Sarada, then, was a curious mix of her parents. She could be just as expressive (or rather, quick to anger) as her mother, but she could also clam up and display almost no emotion, if the mood struck her. Sasuke might have been proud, except that this made Sarada, who was already hard for him to read, even more impossible to figure out, without considerable help from Sakura. Who, it should be noted, greatly enjoyed his clumsy attempts at parenting their daughter. There was no concern that he might traumatize their child, only amusement that Papa Sasuke was doing his awkward best to bond with his baby girl. Sasuke told himself that Sarada's ability to accept his bumbling was proof of her natural resiliency and, hopefully, resistance to trauma. So he was the first to recognize that this was not quite the case.

The warning signs were simple enough, at first.

Sarada had always been an inquisitive child, but she suddenly stopped asking questions. Not as if she now had all the answers, though. More as if she knew the answers she would get were worthless.

She also spent more time alone in her room, and when she did respond to being called, there was now a delay. Without telling Sakura, Sasuke had searched Sarada's room, and found nothing suspicious. So he could only conclude that Sarada was not using that delay to conceal anything, she was merely being purposely disrespectful. Well, maybe it wasn't so mere, but Sasuke preferred that to the worse alternatives.

His wife, however, had a different perspective.

"Sasuke, just talk to her!" Sakura begged, tugging on her husband's arm. "She's been cooped up in her room all day! She won't even come out to eat!"

Sasuke frowned at his wife. "What exactly is preventing you from simply knocking the door down?"

Sakura shook her head. "I can't do that! She'd never trust me again!"

"And so you want me to do it, so she'll never trust me?"

"If you do it, she'll just accept that you're being an unreasonable, typically nosy father. She'll get over that. But I'm her mother. I can't destroy the bond I have with her. Not unless you want her hiding out at Naruto's."

"Why would that be so bad? We'd know exactly where she is, and I doubt Hinata, who can see through walls and is equally devoted to not being made a grandmother yet, is going to let anything inappropriate happen there."

"That's not the point!"

"Then please get to it. I feel a headache coming on."

Sakura pursed her lips. "If you could go back in time to the exact moment just before Itachi had no other choice, wouldn't you try to reason with him? Find some, no, any other way to settle things?"

"You know I would."

"I feel like this is a similar moment for Sarada. I'd like to get it right the first time."

"You're saying if we handle it wrong, Sarada will murder us in our beds."

"I would like to not get murdered, yes, but I would prefer our daughter not become the type of person capable of such a thing."

"You mean outside of a mission."

Sakura frowned at him. "I said what I meant, Sasuke."

"Hn." Sasuke thought for a moment. "That Akimichi girl is Sarada's best friend?"

"You mean Chocho? It's more accurate to say that Sarada is her best friend. Why?"

"Would you say that they hang out here more or less, now?"

Sakura blinked. "Sarada almost never brought friends home to begin with. She preferred to make the effort to go to them. I preferred knowing she was sleeping at a friend's house, instead of here alone, if I had to work overnight. Why?"

Sasuke grimaced at the reminder of Sakura having to parent alone. "More or less, in general?" he revised.

"Oh. Definitely less, now. Chocho asked me today if Sarada had been sick. She even brought over a gallon of soup for Sarada to eat. And none of it had been eaten!"
Sasuke stared. "Is that important?"

"It's an indicator that Chocho is worried sick about her best friend. Even sick Akimichi don't normally stop eating, they're just more selective about what they do eat."

Sasuke knew then that he had to act soon. Not just because his wife was demanding it, but because now the situation did, as well. If Chocho told her parents about Sarada's changed behavior, they would either try to intervene, or worse, ask Naruto to do it. And it wasn't that Naruto was unable or unwilling to help, or that Sasuke wouldn't welcome the assistance. Even Sakura would never complain about Naruto being more of a stand-in father to Sarada than Sasuke was an actual one. And yet, that knowledge bothered Sasuke a great deal. It didn't matter that the situation was technically reversed with Boruto, and that Naruto had just as much reason to feel equally vulnerable about Sasuke's role in the boy's life. Yes, it was easy to rely on a friend to help raise your kid... so long as you could accept that there were things you would miss, moments you would never get back, and that the bond between parent and child might never be as strong as the bond between child and father's friend.

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Keeping a secret, in a village of secrets, can be very tricky business.

There are secrets so dangerous that they should never see the light of day. There are secrets that would simply make the lives of certain people extremely difficult. And there are secrets that are really just slightly embarrassing, so the preference is that they not be revealed.

The problem with having so very many secrets, and trying to hide the majority of them, while at the same time allowing access to certain ones so that secret-seekers are satisfied, is that everyone does not view the same secrets in the exact same way.

For example, some might feel that the full truth of Orochimaru's past with Konoha was so demoralizing that they would deem any intel connected to him to be off limits to any non-shinobi, and even then, clearance above chunin level would be required for most of it. In theory, this might be a good idea. In practice, it was silly and inconvenient: Orochimaru was once a keystone of Konoha, and his contributions to the fields of medical research and ninjutsu design alone were more than enough to earn him the much-coveted title of "God of Shinobi"... though perhaps "Devil of Shinobi" would have been more appropriate, thus why so few were willing to grant him such increased infamy. In any case, if a misinformed shinobi suddenly swore off all things Orochimaru, they would find themselves denied potentially life-saving medical treatment, as well as their access to learning several top-ranked jutsu blocked. And if their pride and righteousness was worth their life, then so be it.

Blocking references to Orochimaru, though difficult, was not impossible. Erasing everyone who had ever met him was impossible. And there was no denying that some of his preferred students had become fairly essential personnel in Konoha, so even thinking of trying to erase them was madness in itself, both because of the resulting void their absence would leave, and the collateral damage that would occur from the resulting unavoidable battle. Pacifism was something that either never occurred in Orochimaru's students, or was largely trained out of them immediately.

In short, even if someone wanted to, say, erase the fact that Orochimaru had been a snake summoner and a carrier of the snake summoning contract, they could not erase the fact that two of his former students were still snake summoners. And still used said snakes. And why wouldn't they? Snakes were extremely useful and versatile. Why, for a summoner to possess such a capable summoning contract, and rarely use it at all, simply made no sense. Unless, for example, they themselves were capable enough without it. Or, perhaps they were a Hokage who had been repeatedly reminded by elders that summoning at all would remind people of the fact that Team 7 all had summons, which could be connected back to Orochimaru.

(Naruto thought this was silly to the extreme. From his limited interaction with snakes, he found precious few of them to be so loyal to any one summoner, not even Orochimaru, who was still synonomous with them. The relationship between Orochimaru and the former snake boss, Manda, was supposed to have been a positive bond between snake and summoner, and half of the time Manda would have eaten Orochimaru on the spot, if there were a better food provider nearby, and if Manda could be assured that Orochimaru wouldn't taste too bad. Even stranger, Sasuke had effectively killed Manda, and to date, had yet to run across any snake that took issue with him for it. From this, Naruto concluded that most snakes were opportunistic, self-centered creatures who were only as loyal as was convenient for them. And they either hadn't cared what happened to Manda, who was admittedly a real jerk, or did, but figured if Sasuke could kill their boss, he could certainly kill them. Stranger still, Sasuke also had a contract with eagles, who apparently saw how abusive he was to snakes and possibly hoped to get easy meals out of it. Less likely was that eagles were secretly masochists and hoped to be equally mistreated by Sasuke.)

Sarada was not stupid, and she had eyes. Even if she had never seen Orochimaru summon a snake, from the way everything about him screamed, "I am a snake!" it was pretty obvious. So when Sarada noticed that both her father and academy sensei Anko summoned snakes, but never wanted to discuss their personal lives (another common theme in Orochimaru's students), it wasn't hard to make the connection: two current snake summoners loyal to Konoha, one older summoner (he didn't look it, but as one of the Sannin, his true age was well-known) who must have taught them. Also, that was something Karin was happy to blab about, since it kept Sarada from hyper-focusing on Karin's own past. Perhaps Karin thought that Sarada would eventually become a snake summoner, and so saw it more as preparation than revealing Anko's secrets.

But Sarada saw it as proof that Orochimaru was indeed a guardian of exclusive knowledge, some of which he had passed onto her father and Anko. Plus, he had offered to share, and was one of the few willing to do so. Sarada was sure her parents wouldn't like it, but found she wasn't so much interested in what they didn't like anymore. Finally knowing the truth was so much more important to her now. And if Karin wouldn't take her to Orochimaru, it wasn't like Sarada didn't know the way by now. Mitsuki might even agree to accompany her, since she actually wanted to go this time.

The members of the current Team 7 had an unspoken agreement: when granted downtime, they checked with each other first to confirm their plans on how to spend it.

Mitsuki only ever seemed to have two options: time spent alone, or time spent shadowing his comrades. Boruto always had the most options, especially now that Kushina was in his life.

Sarada had more options because of Kushina, too. Kushina spent the bulk of her time with her family, but she had kept her promise to tutor Sarada in sealing jutsu. In fact, Kushina often included Himawari, even though Himawari clearly had no interest, beyond spending more time with her grandmother. Conversely, Boruto's instinctive sealing ability had inspired him to study it more in-depth... but only for a month, after which he declared himself proficient. Sarada could not decide if Boruto actually felt that way, had limited interest in sealing, or if he felt guilty about taking time with Kushina away from Himawari. So Kushina found other ways to engage Boruto. Her favorite involved ambushing him: attacking him mercilessly with taijutsu while demanding that he recite a random fragment of an obscure sealing formula. Interestingly, Boruto never had any problem with the reciting, but almost always got knocked flat on his back immediately after. No matter what fighting style Boruto used to counter her, Kushina easily broke through his defenses, and almost never because of her greater strength. Kushina claimed that Boruto was terribly easy for her to read, and that she was actually not that familiar with any of the styles he used. It was probably true: most of the people who had trained Boruto would have honed the bulk of their technique long after Kushina's death. And yet, the same did not apply the few times Kushina had sparred with Himawari, who largely made up techniques as she fought and was difficult to counter, even if one could get past the cuteness factor.

Sarada had already finalized her plan to learn everything that had been kept from her. She had shared the details with no one, and would not unless left with no other choice. But she had been careful, and was confident that she had taken every possibility into account. And she put her plan into motion the instant her teammates began to discuss their plans aloud.

"Boruto," Sarada interrupted, grabbing his attention at once. "You really should take advantage of the fact that you have Kushina around. Despite what you did, she may not be here forever. Don't waste this time."

Boruto frowned. "I hear you, but aren't you the one that's usually taking advantage of that?"

"Yes, but I'm not now, so go and be with her!" Sarada snapped. She wasn't actually angry, but knew Boruto only ever responded in two ways to that attitude: fight or flee.

"Okay, fine, don't have to bite my head off," Boruto muttered, rolling his eyes. He made a point to wave at Mitsuki as he left, but offered no farewell to Sarada, which was just fine with her, this time.

Sarada immediately turned to Mitsuki, who she noted with some alarm had tensed slightly, perhaps expecting that she wanted to take her anger out on him next. Best to fix that right away. "Mitsuki," she said softly, trying to diffuse the situation. "Are you busy? There's something I could really use your help with."

Mitsuki blinked and relaxed. "You chased Boruto away so that you could speak to me alone?" he asked, peering at her intently.

Sarada blushed, not liking it to be stated so boldly. "Yes. You know if I had just asked him to leave, he probably would have stuck around, wanting to know why. This way was faster. But I'll apologize to him later, I promise!"

Mitsuki nodded, satisfied for the moment. "Fine. How can I help you, Sarada?"

She beamed at him. "Thanks, Mitsuki! I, um... I really want to talk to your... parent?" Mitsuki had always referred to Orochimaru this way, so Sarada felt it was best to do the same in front of him. She had assumed Orochimaru was male, but if there was reason enough for his own child to question that, it was best to keep an open mind about it.

Mitsuki's reaction was expected: he looked very surprised. "May I ask why?"

"There are answers that I really want, but the other people who have them, won't give them to me. But I think your parent would be different from them. I hope that's true, anyway. And it can't hurt to ask. Right?"

Mitsuki did not speak for a long moment. Finally, he said, "I am not opposed to this. But, Sarada, I wonder if you truly understand-"

"Mitsuki," she interrupted, holding up a hand to stop him. "I already know that the questions I'm asking, and the answers I get, won't be pleasant. But I'm sick and tired of all the lies. I need to know the truth. I'm willing to accept the responsibility of this blowing up in my face, believe me. But either way, I have to know. Can you understand that?"

"I see." Mitsuki hesitated, then nodded. "I will arrange a meeting. Come to my apartment tomorrow morning, and be prepared for anything."

Sarada smiled. "Thank you, Mitsuki. I'll pay you back for this, I swear."

"No." Mitsuki shook his head. "This is not a favor I wish to be repaid for, Sarada. Instead, I hope you will remember that I did warn you."

"I will." Sarada leaned forward and grabbed his hand. "You're a good friend, Mitsuki. To me and Boruto both. You don't hear that enough."

Mitsuki stared at their joined hands, then raised his eyes to her face. "Sarada, these answers you seek. I doubt they will bring you peace."

"I doubt that, too," she agreed. "But I still need them. And no matter how I feel about them later, I'll be grateful that you helped me. That's what I now understand, Mitsuki. Keeping someone safe can be a bad thing. Exposing them to danger, while risky, can help them grow. I never would have thought that before, but now I do."

"I suppose that can be true sometimes. But as your teammate and friend, I will do my best to protect you. Even from yourself. I could not face Boruto if I failed you."

Sarada grinned. "I'm asking you because I have faith that you won't fail me, Mitsuki. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow."

Boruto got the shock of life when he returned home, only to find Himawari up on the roof, alone, pacing back and forth with a thoughtful expression on her face.

"H-Hima!" Boruto cried in alarm. "How'd you get up there?!"

"Baa-chan," Himawari replied absently.

"Hold on! I'll get you down-!"

"NO!" Himawari shouted, startling him.

"What? But why not?!"

"I get a cookie if I can get down on my own," Himawari replied. "A BIG cookie."

Boruto gaped up at her. "How long have you been up there?"

Himawari shrugged. "Um... an hour? I dunno."

"Look, if baa-chan put you up there, she can-"

"She didn't put me up here!" Himawari snapped. "I got up on my own! So I can get down on my own, too!"

Boruto shook his head. "Wait... baa-chan got you up there with a cookie, didn't she?"

"No, we were playing tag, and she ran up here. So I did, too. She was so surprised that I won that round. But when I told her I wasn't sure I could get down, she said I'd get a prize if I did it by myself."

Boruto frowned. "I'm gonna go talk to her, but DON'T MOVE, I'll be right back!"

Himawari stuck her tongue out at him. "It's not like I was gonna jump. I'm not stupid!"

Muttering to himself, Boruto ran into the house, only to find Kushina on the couch, calmly knitting a bright red scarf that he strongly suspected was for him. There was indeed a big cookie on a plate next to her, at least, so it didn't appear she'd forgotten about Himawari.

Kushina stopped him before he could speak. "I heard you yelling. She's fine, and of course I won't leave her up there all day. That girl has some amazing potential in that little body, but she'll never realize it if we don't push her."

"I'm more worried about her pushing herself off of the roof!" Boruto shouted.

Kushina shook her head. "She isn't stupid, she wouldn't do that."

"How do you even know what she can and can't-"

"She told you, didn't she? She chased me up there. I didn't teach her how, she saw me do it once and figured it out almost instantly. That's more than just perfect chakra control. Do you really want to see that type of talent wasted? If she doesn't want to be a ninja, that's fine. But no granddaughter of mine is going to be unable to take care of herself in a fight. I would think you'd want to teach her some things, too."

Boruto scowled. "Okay, fine, but-"

"HAHA!" came a loud, happy shriek from outside. "BAA-CHAN, ONII-CHAN, COME SEE!"

Boruto and Kushina glanced at each other, then both ran outside.

Himwari had gotten down on her own. Sort of. She was hanging from the edge of the roof by her fingers, but was grinning and appeared to be in no immediate danger of falling, despite supporting her entire body weight in such seemingly flimsy way.

"Told you," Kushina said proudly. "Potential."

Boruto was smiling as well, but his entire face was pale. "Get her down, please," he hissed out of the side of his mouth.

Shaking her head, Kushina stepped forward and reached up with a smile. "Jump down so I can catch you and give you the biggest hug you've ever gotten in life, clever girl."

Himawari giggled and let go at once, falling neatly into Kushina's hands. Boruto was shocked, not by the total trust, but by the visible bright blue chakra he saw coating Himawari's fingertips. She'd left small gouges in the roof, and he could see more of them leading up to the rooftop. It wasn't exactly conventional, but so long as Himawari was safely on the ground, that didn't matter to him.

Kushina covered Himawari's laughing face with kisses and squeezed her tight. "You've more than earned that cookie!"

"Yeah, a cookie and almost a tall glass of broken neck," Boruto muttered.

"Jealousy really doesn't suit you, Boru-tan," Kushina said. "You can get a kiss and a cookie later."

Boruto glared at her. "This isn't jealousy, it's concern!"

"If you were really concerned about Himawari, you would have shown her how to climb up to the roof and back down yourself. And before I could."

"Not unless I wanted my own neck broken when kaa-chan found out! Some of us wouldn't heal instantly from that sort of thing!"

Kushina rolled her eyes. "That wouldn't happen if you checked with her first. She'd want to watch, but I doubt she'd say no. You're just so used to sneaking off and doing things on your own that it wouldn't even occur to you to ask first, would it? I'm starting to see why you get into so much trouble, Boru-tan."

Boruto wasn't sure what he disliked more: that she might be right, or the way Himawari was nodding her agreement. But then, he told himself, Himawari had a big cookie coming her way, so she would agree with anything Kushina said just then.

Sarada arrived at Mitsuki's apartment expecting to leave Konoha immediately and head for the Sound Village, and had packed for such a journey.

But when Mitsuki opened the door to let her in, not only had he not packed, he was still wearing his nightshirt.

"What-?" Sarada began to ask, but Mitsuki shushed her.

"I still need a few minutes to prepare, Sarada. Make yourself at home until then. There is tea in the kitchen." With that, he vanished into a back room and shut the door behind him.

Very confused, Sarada started to make the tea, then changed her mind and settled for tap water. She was trying to decide if Mitsuki had overslept or not when she heard the same door open. Mitsuki emerged, now dressed properly, and was immediately followed by Orochimaru himself. At least, that was Sarada's first impression, until she looked closer, and saw that Orochimaru was swaying unsteadily, almost as if he too had just woken up, or had a hangover.

"What is going on here?!" Sarada demanded as Orochimaru almost fell into a nearby chair. Mitsuki helped him sit up straight, then sat on the couch and gestured for Sarada to do the same.

"I apologize for how this must look, Sarada-chan," Orochimaru stated. "But when Mitsuki told me that you wanted to speak with me, there was simply no way for me to travel here on such short notice. So I had to resort to alternate measures."

"Which were?" Sarada asked uncertainly. Then she paused, and said the first insane thing that occurred to her. "Wait! Don't tell me you grew a cloned body just for this meeting?!"

Orochimaru blinked. "It was not explicitly for this meeting, but you have the general idea."

Sarada stared at him in shock. "Why would you do that?"

Orochimaru shrugged. "You are important to me, Sarada-chan. He does not like to admit it, but your father was one of my favorite pupils. I am always so interested in how he will react to any situation. I have a similar interest in you and your team. But, I assume these are not the questions that you intended to ask me today?"

"No. There are lots of things I want to know, and I think only you are willing to tell me." Sarada paused. "And if... there needs to be some sort of payment, we can discuss that, too."

"Hmm. In the past, I might have demanded your eyes as payment."

Sarada gasped and clapped her hands around her head.

"Calm yourself," Orochimaru chuckled. "Your Sharingan is still immature. At this point, you would be most useful to me if I extracted your eyes and replaced them with a more mature set of Sharingan."

"So it's not my eyes, but my body that you want?!" Sarada shrieked.

"No, no. I said in the past, I would have wanted that. You are quite safe from me, now. Please do not forget: I am here at your request."

"But I thought Mitsuki was going to take me to the Sound Village. I didn't think you'd technically come here in person."

"I pride myself on being full of surprises. Now, I don't mean to rush you, Sarada-chan, but we really should get on with it. While I am not exactly banned from being in the village, it would not be a good thing if I were discovered here with you. Some might jump to the wrong conclusion."

"That you were trying to lead me astray?" Sarada guessed.

"Exactly. But I must stress that I merely offered my assistance. I did not even try to tip the scales, as I did with your father."

"Didn't you, though? You let Kushina come back with us."

Orochimaru smiled. "Ah. I suppose you are right in that. I stand corrected."

"So are you trying to tell me that wasn't part of some grand plan to get me here?"

"Like you, I would have expected such a meeting to occur in the Sound Village. I am at a disadvantage here, but you, at least, should feel much safer here. As for a plan, you've had time to get to know Kushina, and how willfull she can be. If she did not want to be in the Sound Village, she would not have stayed there."

"True," Sarada agreed. "But what if you lured her into staying by having one of her relatives on your team? I don't think it was a coincidence that you had Karin on hand to hold Kushina's interest."

Orochimaru nodded. "Fair enough, but Karin has proven very useful to me, even before Kushina's return. Still, I will admit that having met Kushina, before she died, was part of what provoked my interest in taking in Karin when I found her. The Uzumaki really are a remarkable clan. But then, so are the Uchiha."

"And now you're luring me, since you're the only one willing to give me the answers that I need."

"If you feel you are being mislead by me or Mitsuki, we can end this meeting at any time. This body is only temporary, and once its purpose has been served, Mitsuki will dispose of it promptly. If you do not want to be here, Sarada-chan, I certainly do not wish to be accused of holding you against your will."

Sarada shook her head. "But that's just it. You aren't forcing me to do anything. You're tempting me. There's a huge difference. And I think that difference is what makes you dangerous."

"Indeed," Orochimaru agreed. "But I do not believe that you came this far to walk away. You have questions, and I can answer them. And I should point out, after this time, the odds of us being able to meet, here or anywhere else, will decrease. They will be on high alert, once they realize that one of us has an interest in the other. They will be more determined to get in your way. So I would advise that you take advantage of my being here now."

He wasn't lying, Sarada knew that. Time was limited, and her window of opportunity was closing. When it did shut, she intended to have those answers. "Tell me what left that blue scar on Karin's body."

"Ah. So it is to be those types of questions, is it?" Orochimaru looked as if he was trying not to show how pleased he was. "Very well. I suspect Karin told you, her body is unique. Not just in its capacity for healing others, but in how Karin herself heals... or does not heal. When Karin chooses to heal someone, and truly wishes for them to recover, the experience can be quite pleasurable for her. But the opposite is true as well: if she is forced to heal someone she despises, that can leave a mark, which either never heals, or takes considerable time to fade. And the situation becomes more complicated, if she were to be betrayed by someone she held dear..."

A few hours later, Sarada emerged from Mitsuki's apartment. Mitsuki followed her closely, concerned about how quiet she was being.

Finally, Sarada turned to him. "Thank you," she murmured. "I finally know, because of you."

"Do you hate me?" Mitsuki asked at once.

"Never," she said firmly. Then, not even realizing she would do it, Sarada leaned forward and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "I don't kiss people I hate."

Mitsuki stared at her, wide-eyed. "I see."

She tried to smile for him, but was sure it didn't go so well. "I need to get home. If you see Boruto before I do, tell him I'm sorry for yelling at him? He's probably over it by now, but-"

"I will," Mitsuki promised. But, feeling he needed to do more, he asked, "May I hug you?"

Sarada blinked, then smiled softly. "Sure, but why?"

"I cannot say exactly how you are feeling just now. But, I think you should know, that if you disappeared, I would not like it. A hug will express that, won't it?"

Sarada laughed bitterly. "It can. Do you think I'm going to disappear on you, Mitsuki?"

"Yesterday, I would have said no. But now... I think you need that hug."

"I'll make a deal with you. You can hug me now, on one condition. The next time you think I need a hug, don't ask first. Just do it."

"What if you do not wish to be hugged at the time?"

"Then it's even more likely that I needed it."

It was a quick hug, and Mitsuki was never sure, afterward, that it did its job. After Sarada had left, he noticed the tear-stains on his shoulder, and he would come to believe those were a farewell from his teammate. Because the Sarada he saw day after day, from then on, was never quite the same, and hugging her felt like hugging a stranger.

Sakura heard the keys, and the door open and shut, and knew that a member of her family was home. Sarada was most likely, as Sasuke was away so much. But when there was no greeting, not even an announcement that someone had entered the apartment, Sakura began to believe it actually was Sasuke, and stuck her head out of the kitchen just to check.

Sarada was standing just inside the doorway, leaning against the wall, staring at her feet. She hadn't bothered to take her shoes off yet, and from the blank look on her face, would have to be reminded to do so.

"Sarada?" Sakura asked softly. "Did something happen?"

Sarada blinked, slowly raised her head, and turned to look at her mother. Then something in her face crumbled, and she ran at Sakura full-speed.

With very little time to react, Sakura tossed the mixing bowl she'd been holding aside, and opened her arms to Sarada, who slammed into her with such force that, under other circumstances, if Sakura had not seen it coming, she would have thought someone was attacking her.

Sarada began to sob uncontrollably, and no matter how much Sakura held her, kissed her, rocked her, stroked her hair, and told her everything would be fine, would not say what was wrong.

Sakura had no idea how long they stayed like that, but Sarada eventually began to form whole words, yet even that was no big help. The only thing she would say, over and over again, was, "I love you so much, Mama!"

Which was nice to hear, since Sarada was already at that age where kids, if they expressed such things at all, used far more subtle methods (Sarada preferred high-fives, which made Sakura feel both younger and more like one of Sarada's friends). But in this case, it only made Sakura worry more. Sarada did not usually state obvious things, as she felt it was a waste of time. So if she felt the need to say that she loved her mother... for some reason, maybe she thought it was not so obvious anymore. Sakura's feelings for Sarada, at least, had never changed. So perhaps Sarada was saying the words more for her own benefit. As if she needed to be reminded. And that did not reassure Sakura at all.

Although, Sakura felt a little better, when Sarada finally calmed down and asked, "Mama, can I sleep with you tonight?"

Of course, this was not normal behavior for Sarada, but because it wasn't, Sakura welcomed the excuse to keep a close eye on her, especially if Sarada happened to display any worrying habits while she slept. That, and it had been some time, since Sarada had been young enough (or scared enough) to want to sleep with her mother, and Sakura had no problem admitting that she missed it.

Dinner was an awkward, rushed affair: Sarada picked at her food and said nothing. Sakura, eager to end it as soon as possible, ate faster than she should have. They washed, dried, and put away the dishes together. Sakura, wondering if she was pushing too much, suggested that they bathe together, and was shocked when Sarada instantly agreed. Sarada usually complained, lightly, if she felt Sakura was being too physically affectionate, and shared baths had been high on the list of things that Sarada wanted to leave firmly in the past, unless she was either too injured or sickly to do a decent job of it alone. Sakura was certain, then: this sudden, overwhelming need that Sarada had to be close to her, it had to mean something. But she still had no idea what, yet.

Orochimaru had kept nothing back. Which surprised Sarada only in that she half-expected him to save something for future meetings, as an excuse to keep having her return to him. And maybe he had. But if so, he'd dropped enough bombs on her in the one meeting that if he had held something back, it had to be even more world-shattering. And Sarada had had quite enough of that for one day. One lifetime, even.

She had known, or strongly suspected, that her father hadn't always been a good person. He'd implied as much himself. But there were bad people, and then there were evil people. And Sarada could not help but think that anyone who targeted her precious people, and intended to kill them, was at least bad. Lacking a good enough reason, however, was what would make them evil in her eyes.

And Sarada was starting to believe that her father had been evil at some point. Nothing else explained what he had been capable of, and attempted to do.

But she was not going to just assume that Orochimaru had given her all of the relevant information. She needed to hear, in her father's own words, the same accounts. And he would either have to defend his actions, or he would simply cease to be her father. Rather, she would no longer acknowledge him as her father. Because Sarada would not and could not, honor, nor obey, nor love a man who had done what he did. Not unless he had excellent reasons. And she couldn't really see how he could have had any. But that was why she needed to hear his side of the story.

And until she did? Sarada was going to do her best not to judge him. But in the meantime, she was going to do the only thing she could: treasure what an evil man had almost snatched away from her.

The lives of her mother, Karin, Naruto, the entire village. And, of course, Sarada's own existence.

If her father could really defend that, and make her understand it, then Sarada would never question that he was indeed the most powerful genjutsu user alive. But he would need to put Sarada under the same genjutsu he'd no doubt placed on her mother, if he expected the three of them to continue to live in the same house together, after what Sarada had learned.

Technically, there was no real reason for Sasuke to use or even possess the Animal Path. His summoning contracts with both snakes and eagles had served him well enough, and even those he tended to use sparingly. Most would have believed that it was because Sasuke preferred to fight his own battles with as little outside aid as possible, but the truth was far simpler. Sasuke had to be conservative when it came to his Rinnegan, and so it was pointless to use it for summoning when he already had two perfectly good summoning contracts that did not rely on his eye.

Whether he used it or not, Sasuke did possess the Animal Path. But even if he hadn't, events likely still would have progressed in much the same way they did that night. Because history repeats itself, no matter how much people try to escape the cycle. More so the harder they try to escape it, really.

For the times when Sasuke had to camp in the field, he sometimes summoned a hawk to stand guard while he slept. He did not usually sleep so deeply where that was necessary. But then again, in the past the entire world had been out to get him. That sort of thing could happen, when you declared war on it. And it wasn't really paranoia if they were indeed out to get you.

On this night, the summoned hawk either saved his life, or simply was there to bear witness.

As Sasuke slept, a shadow slowly rose from his own.

The hawk noticed, but, sensing no harmful intent, did not alert Sasuke.

The shadow split into two smaller shapes.

Still, the hawk did not cry out, although it did shift its stance and tense its wings, prepared to attack immediately.

The shadows became birds. Small, black, silent crows, to be precise. Silent for the moment, anyway.

The hawk relaxed slightly. But if the crows showed signs of proving themselves an annoyance, it would chase them away.

"The power of love, sheathed in darkness," said the first crow.

"The power of love, growing stronger to protect," answered the second crow.

The hawk tilted its head slightly. It sensed that, even if they were summons, these were not standard crows.

As one, the crows turned to the hawk, and finally proved that they were indeed a threat. Or at least, not totally harmless.

And the hawk, unable to react in time, could only stare back at them, the Sharingan reflected in its eyes.

Their first task complete, the crows took flight.

A moment later, the hawk cried out, as it had intended to do previously, and Sasuke was on his feet at once, sword in hand and Sharingan blazing. Finding no threat, he turned to the hawk expectantly. The hawk could only shake its head: the threat was gone, but the hawk's job was to alert, not defeat. It could not help it, if the threat had run away upon being detected.

With a sigh, Sasuke sat down, wondering how long it would take for sleep to come again, and hoping it lasted longer this time.

Sarada woke up in her mother's arms, and came to a startling realization.

She did not hate the man who had tried to kill her mother. It would have made sense, if she had, and few would have blamed her. She did not pity him, either, for she would never be able to relax her guard around such a person, out of fear that they might try to kill again.

Her soul did not cry out for his spilled blood or his ended life. Instead, it cried out the need to protect her mother from him. Sarada could not bathe in hatred, because she had already been filled with love, and she would never fail to protect the one who had given her that love.

Yes, she still needed to hear her father's explanation, but she suspected it would not change her feelings very much. She did not want to hate him. And if she had to cut him out of her life to prevent that, then so be it. Better to never think of him, than to see him and constantly be reminded of what he'd nearly stolen from her.

Sarada closed her eyes, inhaling her mother's scent and basking in the warmth. This... above all else, was worth protecting. No one would ever change her mind on that.

Suddenly, she felt soft lips press against her forehead.

"Are you feeling better today, Sarada?"

She opened her eyes, and found her mother staring at her worriedly. The knowledge that she had the power to soothe that worry pleased Sarada greatly. "Yes. Today I'm feeling much better, Mama."

Sakura smiled and kissed Sarada again. "I'm glad. You scared me yesterday."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I was just reminded, harshly, how fragile life is. And I... wanted you to know how much I treasure you, Mama. I really, really do. I love you."

Sakura hugged Sarada tightly. "I love you, too. More than anything else in the world, Sarada."

Sarada truly hoped that statement was accurate. Or, she at least hoped that her mother would put child before husband. Because if Sarada was wrong, then her world would lose all meaning.

"I should get breakfast started," Sakura said abruptly. "Karin said she was coming over early today."

"No," Sarada said, grabbing Sakura's wrist as she started to leave the bed. "Let me cook for you two."

Sakura smiled. "That's sweet, but you don't have to do that."

"I really want to, Mama. Please. You work so hard, and I like being able to help you. If you didn't want me to cook for you, then you shouldn't have taught me how."

Sakura laughed. "I guess it is a little odd to argue with my daughter for being too helpful. And I'm sure Karin would love that you cooked for us."

Sarada smirked. "Karin would love if I served her tap water. She'll be over the moon for a real breakfast that I actually made."

Considering their own pasts as shinobi, Boruto thought his parents were very open-minded about letting Himawari choose whatever path in life that she wanted. They didn't seem worried when she chose not to enter the ninja academy, and they asked Boruto not to push her in that direction unless she showed interest first. Boruto wouldn't have, anyway: the last thing he wanted was Himawari constantly putting herself in danger.

Kushina didn't think like they did. They all valued Himawari's happiness, but Kushina wanted her to be strong, even if not as an official kunoichi. And because Kushina had the bright idea of disguising training as fun activities, simply by playing games with Kushina, Himawari was getting trained without even realizing it. But when asked, Kushina insisted that she wasn't trying to send Himawari out on missions. She just wanted Himawari to be able to protect herself and all she held dear, if it was ever threatened.

Boruto had mixed feelings about it. He wanted Himawari to stay innocent of the world's dangers. Yet he had already seen that sometimes, the world's dangers came to Konoha with no warning. If that should happen again, he wanted his enitre family to be safe. As safe as they could be, anyway. And if Himawari ended up alone, he wanted her to be strong enough to survive.

So Boruto did the only thing that would give him any real satisfaction: he asked Kushina to include him. And as it turned out, the only person more excited about that than Kushina, was Himawari herself.

Sasuke was just about to begin another day of traveling when one of the most unexpected things imaginable happened: he was reverse-summoned to Ryuichi Cave.

Of course, a summoner being called to the homeland of his contracted summmoned creatures was well within the realm of possibility. Rare, perhaps, but not unheard of.

But Sasuke was not just any summoner, and he had gone to certain lengths to find a snake who understood and was respectful of that.

And as he turned to find his personal summon snake Aoda staring apollogetically at him, Sasuke reminded himself that the reason such an occurrence was so rare, was that Aoda was typically very respectful towards him. So the idea of a frivilous meaning behind this current act never even crossed Sasuke's mind.

"What is it, Aoda?" Sasuke asked. "What do you need from me?"

"I humbly beg your forgiveness for interrupting your important work, Sasuke-sama. It's just, something has happened that... may require your immediate attention."

Sasuke frowned. "It may? Does it or doesn't it?"

"That will be for you to decide. Again, I deeply apolo-"

"Never mind that, Aoda. What's the situation?"

"Ah. Well." Aoda cleared his throat. "Sarada-sama has requested the honor of your presence. However..."

Sasuke blinked. He was aware that Sarada and Aoda had met, once. But she still would have had to go to some effort, to get a message to Aoda, since she was not a snake summoner. "Yes?"

"She demanded that I stress it was not a request. And she said several things that I would never repeat to your face, Sasuke-sama. But I agreed to carry the core message to you, out of respect for the fact that she is your only child."

"I see. Thank you, Aoda."

Aoda made a sound that sounded suspiciously like a fake cough. "Shall I have one of my comrades near Konoha summon you there?"

"Yes, do that."

"At once, Sasuke-sama." After a pause, Aoda added in a rush, "Sarada-sama sounded quite upset, I'm sure under normal circumstances that she would never dare-"

"It's fine, Aoda," Sasuke said wearily. Sometimes, and only sometimes, Aoda reminded him a bit too much of his old fangirls.

Sarada was waiting in the clearing with an unreadable expression on her face, and a large basket at her feet. As Sasuke came closer, he noted the way she tensed up, despite the fact that she had demanded that he appear before her.

"Just so we're clear," Sasuke began, "the reason I didn't leave you an easy way to contact me? The kind of work I'm doing tends to be extremely time-sensitive. So I strongly prefer not to be interrupted during it."

"Understood," Sarada replied too quickly. "Would you like to hear something that I would prefer?"

Sasuke stared at her.

"When I finally found you, after so long, the first thing you did was nearly stab me. I would prefer to think that you didn't make a habit of trying to stab the people closest to you. So I guess we're both disappointed today, aren't we?"

After a pause, Sasuke said, "Orochimaru told you."

Sarada glared at him. "And you know that how?"

"He's one of the few who would, that was always there. In a manner of speaking." Sasuke shook his head. "What were you doing, talking to him?"

"Are you actually trying to make that the most pressing issue here?" Sarada demanded.

"Depending on what he told you-"

"If you had told me first, you wouldn't need to worry what others were telling-

"You were a child, you didn't need to know-"

"That's easy for you to-!"

"It wasn't easy, none of it was-"

Sarada exploded. "YOU TRIED TO KILL MAMA! TWICE!"

Sasuke stopped and looked away. "Yes," he admitted after a moment.

"And if it needs to be said," Sarada added, still trembling with fury, "we are not moving past you answering for that, because you think I'm too young or I don't need to know. You are going to tell me why you tried to do that. To Mama. To Karin. To Nanadaime. And to anyone else I care about that you nearly killed, in case I missed anyone!" She paused to take several deep breaths. "You are either going to tell me, or you had better put me under some serious genjutsu right now, because this isn't the kind of thing that someone forgets easily!"

"You're right," Sasuke agreed slowly. "Now that you know what you know... not explaining myself would be unacceptable. And I don't want to do to you, what was done to me."

"Which was what?" Sarada asked warily.

"I didn't know that I was acting out a role in someone's play. That my struggle, my life, was a lie. And I wish I could tell you that that's the reason I did what I did. But that isn't true. And now that we've come to this point... I'll give you the truth, Sarada. And, unlike me, you'll have it before it's too late."

So they sat, and Sasuke explained. He was relieved to learn that the basket Sarada had brought contained water and snacks. She'd expected that this would take a while. And she hadn't packed a full meal, because as she'd accurately guessed, these weren't the kind of discussion topics that helped one maintain their appetite.

Sasuke told Sarada about the Uchiha clan massacre: the failed plan to conquer Konoha from within. The lives lost. The executioners. The minds behind it all on both sides. And what he saw that night that he would never be allowed to forget.

He told her about living alone in the village as a child of empty priviledge: treated with respect that he would trade in a heartbeat to hear his mother's sweet voice once more, or to see his father's rare nods of approval.

He told her about being groomed to hate the brother he had loved more than anyone else in the world, finally killing that brother, only to learn too late that it had been that brother's plan all along.

He told her about swearing vengeance against those who had wronged his clan twice over, who robbed him first of his family, and then of his only remaining relative.

He told her about the faithful friend who never gave up on him, no matter how much sense it made to do so.

And he told her of the sometimes blind love of a good woman, which had ironically reached out to him, even through the darkness.

He told Sarada all of those things, and more. Not in the hopes that she would forgive, but in the hopes that she would understand. Because if she was going to condemn him, then she should do so only after she had all of the facts. And if she was going to forgive him, it would only be after she knew all of his crimes.

Sarada wasn't sure if she felt more disgusted or exhausted when he finally stopped talking. She was certain of only one thing: the disgust she felt, was no longer focused on her father alone.

And he was still her father. She had no problem admitting that to herself. She had not forgiven all that he had done, and she might never forgive it all. But, after everything that had been done to him, she was really just amazed that he was still walking upright and arguably sane.

"I need to think about all of this," was all that Sarada could say to him.

He nodded. "If you need to hate me, Sarada, then do that."

She frowned at him. "Not that I would need your permission or encouragement, but you probably shouldn't tell me that. And I don't think I hate you. If I did, I feel pretty sure I'd be certain of it. Right now, I think I pity you, and don't like you very much. But I don't hate anyone."

"Even that is more than I could have hoped for."

Her eyes narrowed. "But I'm not okay with you trying to kill Mama, Karin, and Nanadaime. And I may never be. You told me what you were thinking in each case, but those weren't good enough reasons for me, and I reject them."

Sasuke nodded. "If you want to stay with some friends-"

"Actually," Sarada said pointedly, "I was thinking you could stay wherever you were. If I'm not home every night, Mama would need to know why. And me being away from her would only punish us. She might not like you being gone, but she is used to it. Which I can thank you for."

"But you won't."

"Glad we're on the same page." Sarada paused and lowered her head. "Look, Papa. I'm... sorry that such bad things happened to you. It wasn't right and it wasn't your fault. So I can't blame you for a lot of the things you did. I know that in my head. But my heart... it insists that even if you had been swallowed up by darkness and pain, there still should have been some things that you could never do." She shook her head in frustration. "I mean, how were you going to revive your clan if you killed every woman that wanted to be with you? Were you going to force one that didn't want to be with you? Keep her under genjutsu her entire life while she popped out your babies? Would that really have been preferable to Mama? Or even Karin?"

Sasuke closed his eyes. "I hope you will never understand this, Sarada. But when you convince yourself that you have the resolve to kill virtually everyone you've ever met? Such things don't seem so hard to accept."

Sarada really didn't like that answer, because it made a little too much twisted sense to her. "I think you should leave now."

Sasuke nodded and stood up. "Everyone credits Naruto for opening my eyes, and Kakashi for speaking on my behalf. But your mother's ability to forgive me, I believe, always made the biggest difference among her friends."

"I'm not her, though," Sarada said firmly.

"I know. Your Uchiha blood grants you two things, Sarada: a life of hardships, and the ability to endure that life. So if you never believe anything else that I tell you, believe this: my daughter is not so weak that she would give up before she even tries."

It wasn't those words, or not just those words, that made Sarada move. More than anything, it was the sight of her father's back as he turned to leave. The thought of him leaving her behind again, even after everything she'd learned, bothered Sarada more than she cared to admit.

Her mother would have understood.

From the way that Sasuke tensed up as Sarada ran toward him, he must have been expecting an attack. And because he felt he deserved it, he was not even trying to defend himself. But Sarada threw her arms around him, buried her face in his back, and clung to him harder than she ever had before.

"I still love you, Papa. I just don't know how to forgive you yet."

"Maybe," Sasuke said after a long moment, "you should talk to the people who had every reason not to forgive me. Ask them why they chose to let go of their grudges, and move on instead."

"I'll do that," Sarada agreed, letting him go. "And please don't be mad at Aoda. He was the only snake I knew for sure would help me, so I asked Mitsuki to give him my message. If it's a problem, I would gladly become Aoda's summoner. Eventually."

"You don't need to worry," Sasuke said. "I understand why Aoda cooperated. And I am glad you called me. In the end, I prefer that to you jumping to your own conclusions." After a pause, he added, "I'll tell Aoda what you said, but it's more likely that one of his children or grandchildren would be working with you."

After Sasuke had left, Sarada realized that finding people who had forgiven him wouldn't be difficult at all. Finding some who might admit why they had, to her, would be the real challenge. So she decided to start with one of the most blunt people she knew.

"Karui-san, why don't you hold a grudge against me?"

Akimichi Karui frowned thoughtfully at Sarada. "You? What the hell did you do to earn a grudge?"

"My father?"

Karui blinked. "Uh, you must be new to grudges. See, if your dad's a creep, that's not your fault. Now, if he's such a creep that someone decided to take it out on his kid, that's a little different. But it still wouldn't be your fault. And none of that applies to this case, anyway."

"Why not?" Sarada pressed.

Karui shrugged. "Lots of reasons. You're a decent kid, you're my kid's best friend, and you haven't actually done anything wrong that I know of. As for your dad, I won't lie to you: he used to be a huge ass, and for a while I hated his guts."

"Because he kidnapped your sensei," Sarada said.

Karui shook her head. "That's the part that most people still get wrong. Your dad only tried to do that. But he failed, because my sensei pulled a bait and switch on him, so your dad basically kidnapped a clone. Which allowed my sensei to go on a much-wanted vacation, plus he got a good fight out of it first. He even thanked your dad for it, later. So it didn't make much sense for me to stay mad about it." Karui paused and scratched her cheek. "Especially since Naruto let me turn his face into hamburger when I was mad about it. I ended up having to apologize to him about that, but it was a great chance to vent. So, even less reason for me to be mad: nobody else was. I'm not gonna invite your dad over for dinner anytime soon, and I doubt he'd come if I did, but I save grudges for people who actually did enough to deserve them."

"I don't like your dad, but he has his uses," Nara Shikamaru said slowly. "But I have no trouble admitting, if it weren't for Naruto, I wouldn't let your dad anywhere near this village."

"So you don't hate him anymore?" Sarada asked.

"I don't think I ever hated him so much as the hell he made of our lives. He never really did anything to me personally. But his actions had major negative consequences for me and those I cared for, and he never seemed to care that he was hurting us."

"So you trust him because Nanadaime does?"

Shikamaru grunted. "It's more accurate to say that if your dad did go bad again, I trust Naruto to turn him back into someone we can put up with. Naruto... makes me want to believe in things and people I wouldn't normally. I'm sure that I'm not the only who feels that way."

It was the same two stories everywhere Sarada went: people either trusted Naruto to keep Sasuke in line, or they outright forgave Sasuke. Sometimes it was because someone else important to them had forgiven Sasuke, and it was just easier to agree with them. But many people seemed to have genuinely gotten past any ill feelings they had toward Sasuke.

Maybe that should have made Sarada happy, but it only made her angry.

It should not have been that easy to forgive him. And it would not be that easy, not for her. Perhaps it was because she had not experienced a childhood trauma on the level that her father had when he was young. But to Sarada, there was a very clear separation between things that might be done in desperate times, and things that should never be done. And her father had crossed that line, multiple times. And even if the people he had wronged had forgiven him, she could not.

It was particularly frustrating in the case of her own mother. Sarada could understand that her mother loved her father, and probably had for a very long time. But she also understood that if someone she loved tried to kill her, it would either end, or at least severely dampen, those feelings of love. But to hear Sakura talk about her feelings for Sasuke, it was as if they were still teenagers in love, and nothing bad had ever happened between them. And it was not so much that Sakura ignored the bad, it was that she apparently accepted and forgave it, too. The only plus was that Sakura, and Sasuke, clearly did not expect Sarada to feel the same way, which was why they had kept the truth from Sarada for so long. And part of her was even glad now that they had, or else her childhood would have been extremely trauma-filled, and she might now be living in Chocho's basement, rather than with two obviously insane people.

Because it was crazy to try to murder someone who clearly, genuinely loved you, and it was equally crazy to forgive someone who twice tried to kill you for no good reason. And not even Naruto's famed ability to befriend enemies excused what had happened between Sarada's parents. The situation was just far more complicated. And it was certainly nothing that a simple apology could brush aside. Sarada could not compartmentalize her feelings so easily. She would never not be able to see her father, at least in part, as a man who had tried to kill her mother. Just as she would never be able to not see the foolish part of her mother that forgave him. Nor would she be able to quiet the part of herself that insisted on protecting her precious, beloved mother, especially from the foolish part of Sakura that insisted on making itself so very vulnerable.

All of these thoughts caused an immediate and noticeable change in Sarada. They almost had to: there was no one she could confide in, and keeping such tumultuous thoughts bottled up inside was bound to change her, inside and out. Her parents, Orochimaru, Karin, and Mitsuki knew why Sarada had changed, but she doubted they had told anyone else, with the possible exception of Naruto. And there, at least, Sarada understood why he would have been told: if she went Itachi on the village on his watch, then "I didn't know anything was bothering her" would not be an adequate response.

But the more she thought about it, Sarada realized that her situation was nothing like Itachi's. There weren't two sides at each other's throats, threatening to spark a civil war. There was only one side: an entire village that had forgiven Sasuke's crimes.

And Sarada wasn't on that side.

She was entirely alone, in the village, in the world. Sure, Mitsuki or Karin would have listened, if she wanted to talk to them. But Karin would never understand, and while Mitsuki might, he would never be able to support Sarada the way she needed. Ultimately, he would be loyal to his parent, or the village, before her, no matter how much they both wished otherwise. But Sarada wouldn't have blamed him. He'd done enough for her, and she would always appreciate that.

So Sarada began to believe that she would never truly have anyone who both understood what she was feeling, and agreed that it was okay to feel that way, for the rest of her life if need be.

Life provided her something else. Or someone else, rather. Someone who was not on the village's side. Someone who, like her, was basically alone, on their own side, against the world. Someone who would never in a million years forgive an abusive or unfit father. Someone who actually did want his own father dead, for reasons of self-preservation at the very least, and revenge or justice at the most.

Naturally, when they first met, he hated, or at least didn't care about, her and everything associated with her. And she was certainly no fan of his.

Eventually, she would see him as a treasure. The one person in the world who would accept everything about her, because she fully accepted him in return. And she would not care how he was raised, or how damaged and angry he was, or even if staying at his side meant she would get hurt. And though she had good reason for it, she didn't actually need one. Crazy was in her blood, after all.

End of Part 2.

Continued in Part 3: Seal the Day

Sarada only wants to preserve what is precious to her. Why can no one else understand that?

Endnotes:

Karin and Sarada's relationship was depicted in the anime about the way I imagined it. I think Karin was a bit too eager to have Sarada bite her, but I am least glad that Karin didn't orgasm when it happened (I was really dreading that). And Karin does tell Sarada that Sakura saved her life, but of course doesn't say who endangered it.

There isn't a lot of proof of it, but the implication is that Naruto's and Sasuke's families are close. So it is possible that Naruto (or Hinata) gave baby Sarada a bath. Likely, even, as Sakura was effectively a single mom for an extended period, and still has a job. Someone had to babysit, and I don't know that I'd trust Ino to ever give Sasuke's kid back. Naruto is just young enough to be a weird uncle to Sarada. And either Sakura is still young enough, or even Boruto knows better than to call her old.

I am taking artistic license with how Karin's body works. But she was covered in bite marks even when it was only Sasuke biting her consistently, and he didn't make all of those. So if an old bite can scar that long, no telling how long a lightning spear through the chest would last. Kakashi only told Sakura to save Karin, not to erase any sign of the wound. And Sakura might have been preoccupied, as she still had to hurry off and nearly get herself killed a second time that day. So I'm guessing Karin still has a scar.

I now have a different interpretation of what Orochimaru meant when he said he wanted to see which way Sasuke's wind blows: wind is not Sasuke's primary element, it's Naruto's. Orochimaru is really saying he wants to see what Sasuke AND Naruto will do. Which would explain his encouraging Mitsuki's interest in Boruto.

As Kushina has lived through at least one war, I would assume Himawari being strong enough to protect herself would be a priority. Especially since without that, her safety would depend on someone else always being around. Though, Himawari definitely has some high potential, even without Kushina's help.

What I had in mind for Himawari's development seems to be more or less where she is in the anime.

I accept that Sasuke's early life royally sucked, and that Itachi is to blame for it. So Sasuke gets a pass... for the early stuff. But anything that happened after he defeated Orochimaru, and especially after he fought Itachi, I don't blame on anyone but Sasuke. There is too much emphasis on what he chooses to do at those points. You could blame the Curse of Hatred, which would explain his urge to kill anything Uzumaki... but not Sakura (unless you're going to argue that the curse made him target a Senju's apprentice, and not the Senju herself, which would really be reaching, since I can't think of a single time that Tsunade ever entered Sasuke's thoughts). This is both the part of Sasuke's character that I have the biggest problem accepting, and the part that does most of the unforgivable things he's guilty of. But trying to kill Sakura is the ONLY thing he does at that point that makes no sense to me. Whether he had any special feelings for her, or not. Kakashi and Naruto were both threats. But Sakura never does anything that effectively proves to be an obstacle for Sasuke, and she never once, in the entirety of Naruto, managed to hurt Sasuke physically, so he has no reason to consider her a real threat. So why try to kill her? Even stranger, once Sasuke IS thinking clearly, and entrusted with the Sage's power, he does two very backwards things concerning Sakura. 1) He claims Sakura would get in the way. Which, again, she has never managed to do. And the one time she tried, Kakashi broke up the fight instead. 2) Instead of killing Sakura, he uses genjutsu to keep her out of the way. Despite the fact that killing her would fall under his "destroy the past" agenda. So he tries to kill her when he has no reason to, and yet doesn't kill her when he does have a reason to! And if you're going to pass that off as Sasuke being unable to kill someone he loved, I would remind you that he still intended to kill the rest of Team 7, which I doubt Sakura would be able to forgive. And if she could, then she deserves exactly what she got by marrying him, which wasn't much.

You will notice I never actually provide detailed reasons as to why Sasuke tried to kill Sakura. That's because to me, there aren't any.

Even though I feel Karui is exactly the type to hold a grudge with no justification, I assume this excuse applies. And it would help that Killer B didn't hold a grudge against Sasuke. But if you had told me that Karui would ever get along with a Sasuke fangirl like Ino, I never would have believed it. Can't help who ends up in your family, or your friend's family, but it's still weird to see them together.