A/N: Hello! This is the first chapter of a two-shot series I have started. It is formatted in the same way as How the Winters Change, which is also about an Uchiha lady (what can I say? The Uchiha women are fabulous). This fic strays from canon very early on and becomes my personal idea of what Sarada's life is like. I personally doubt that any of the situations I thought up will ever become cannon, but hey, I like 'em.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. All characters (except for a few of my creation) belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

Sarada's first memory was of her father. She remembered seeing Sasuke's onyx eyes looking at her with pride as she spun around in her burgundy dress, emblazoned with the Uchiha symbol. Sasuke had just gifted her an entire new wardrobe for her birthday with the Uchiwa on each article of clothing. As for the rest of the day, Sarada didn't remember it as well; it hardly mattered anyway. What mattered was that her father was proud of her, and Sarada would never forget that.

The rosy hues of morning filled Sarada's bedroom, bathing her bed in a soft light. She opened her eyes and smiled with anticipation since today was her first day of the academy.

Stepping off her bed, she put her red glasses on and moved towards her wardrobe, knowing exactly what she would wear.

You should look formal but not overdressed. Sarada remembered her mother's words, picking out her white shirt, orange vest, yellow cardigan, and red skirt. After dressing, she observed herself in the mirror, ultimately approving of the look.

"Sarada!" Sakura called from downstairs, "Breakfast's ready. You don't want to be late for your first day!"

"Coming Mama!" She replied, skipping out of her room and to the kitchen. A warm plate of eggs, toast, and fruit sat waiting for Sarada at the table.

"I can't believe my girl has gotten so grown up." Sakura sighed, squeezing her only daughter, "Eat up sweetie. You want to be well fed so that you can show everyone how great the Uchihas are!"

"Mama," Sarada started, "if you're an Uchiha, why aren't grandma and grandpa? You said that papa's parents were."

"I wasn't born an Uchiha. You see, once I married your papa, I became an Uchiha."

"Oh, okay mama!" Sarada exclaimed after a moment of thought, "I'm going to go to the Academy now!"

"Have an amazing day."

"Of course!"

Sarada wasn't surprised when everyone seemed to know who she was. As Mama had often told her, Uchihas are very well known for their strength and intelligence. I have no doubt that you'll live up to that reputation. Yet again, heeding her mother's wisdom, Sarada opened the textbook she had just been assigned and began to read it.

"Four-eyes!" A voice called from behind her, breaking her concentration, "You don't even know what we're supposed to read. On top of that, studying is boring, why don't you have some fun?"

Sarada rolled her eyes and turned, ready to snap at whoever had interrupted her reading. Upon turning around, she realized that the obnoxious kid was Boruto. Her family friend and the son of the Hokage.

"Leave me alone Boruto." She sighed, turning back to the reading.

"Geez Sarada, you're no fun." The Uzumaki grumbled before sliding into a seat beside Shikadai.

The door of the classroom slid open as their new sensei walked in. He wore a green jacket and had something that slightly resembled electronic goggles on his face.

"Hello class." He said, setting his books onto the teacher's desk, "My name is Shino Aburame, but you can just call me Shino-sensei. That is because I will be teaching you until you graduate. Why don't we go around the room and introduce ourselves."

Each of the new Genin gave their name and something they liked to do. Once it was Sarada's turn, she sat up straighter and adjusted her glasses.

"My name is Sarada Uchiha. I like to train and read." She announced proudly, making sure everyone heard her speak.

Shino nodded and moved around the class, quickly jotting down each individual answer.

"I am pleased." He stated, "That is because you seem like an interesting class."

Sarada grinned and cracked her knuckles. It was the academy student's first spar. Previously, the matches had been strictly boys vs boys and girls vs girls, but the rules had been changed to encourage the girls to be stronger. Sarada loved the new rule, since most of the girls were far below her level in taijutsu, leaving only the boys as suitable taijutsu opponents.

"The matches will be picked at random." Shino announced, "That is because I want everyone to test their skill and not just challenge their friends. The first match will be…" he reached into the straw basket he was carrying, "Wasabi and Denki."

Sarada recognized Denki as he was the son of the Kaminarimon company owner. The boy looked frankly terrified when he walked into the ring, his knobbly knees shaking in fright. Wasabi, on the other hand, cracked her knuckles confidently and strutted into the ring. Sarada didn't know much about Wasabi other than her affinity for cats, so she made a note to pay extra attention to her fighting style.

Wasabi bounced lightly on her toes, waiting for the match to begin. The smile on her face suggested that she was confident in her abilities, or perhaps that she was confident in Denki's lack thereof. Sarada deemed the latter rather messed up, but also highly probable.

"Hajime!" Shino started the match, leaping out of the ring.

Wasabi decided to take full advantage of Denki's cowardice and rushed straight in. With an impressive burst of speed, she leapt behind the boy and knocked him clean off his feet. Denki fell unceremoniously to the ground, but still pushed himself up, placing his fists in front of his face for protection. Wasabi gave Denki an uncomfortable (and rather pitying) look before she knocked him to the ground again. Ever persistent, Denki clambered to his feet again, his eyes scrunched shut, anticipating the next blow.

"Let's call that a match." Shino interrupted, appearing in between the two, "Wasabi is the winner."

"Next match…" Sarada prayed for her to be matched with Boruto so that she could beat some sense into him, "Sarada vs Boruto."

Sarada smiled as her prayers were answered and she stepped into the ring.

"I'm totally gonna win four-eyes!" Boruto announced, raising his fist for emphasis, "I'm gonna kick your ass-ttebasa!"

"You wish baka-Boruto." Sarada sighed, "You'll understand how wrong you were after this match is over."

Sarada breathed deeply, running strategies in her head. She had seen Boruto train before with his father and alone; his style was reckless and he never planned out his moves beforehand. It was his greatest weakness and his greatest strength. Sarada decided that she should fight unpredictability with unpredictability and threw out her previous well-crafted plan.

"Hajime!"

Sarada knew that Boruto would expect for her to test the waters before going straight into the fight since he didn't know that she had been observing him. Sarada decided to throw him off and start off with a bang.

"Shannaro!" She exclaimed as she shattered the ground with one chakra infused punch.

Boruto's eyes widened with shock and horror as he was thrown off-balance. Sarada seized the opportunity and pinned him to the ground, holding her fist over his face.

"Told you you'd be wrong dobe." She teased, accenting the last word.

"The winner of this match is Sarada." Shino announced, quickly jotting something down on his clipboard.

Sarada walked home fuming. She had just lost a match to Boruto and she couldn't be more angry. It was all because she hadn't activated her sharingan yet! When she had voiced her complaints to her mother, Sakura had assured her that most Uchiha's acquired their sharingan after the academy, but Sarada didn't stand for it. She didn't want to be average. If she was average, she'd never be able to totally cream Boruto.

She threw the door of her house open, adding in a little chakra for effect and stormed up to her room.

"Sarada sweetie, what's wrong?" Sakura asked worriedly, hurrying up the stairs, not even bothering to take her doctor's coat off.

Sarada slammed her door shut and pulled the old Uchiha scrolls her ever-absent father had apparently left for her. It was in that moment in which she realized what she needed.

"Nothing's wrong!" She exclaimed, "Not with me at least! What's wrong is the fact that my father, the only person who can teach me real Uchiha techniques hasn't been in by life for years! In fact, I don't even remember what it felt like when he held me! I have no memories of him! Who knows, the pictures of papa could be some random Uchiha man for all I know!"

"Sarada!" Sakura exclaimed, breaking the door off its hinges. She took one look at the ruined door, grimaced, and walked into Sarada's room. "Your father is off protecting us right now. When he gets back, I'm sure he'll teach you everything you need to know." Sakura was careful to not say 'everything he knows' since she was more that positive that Sasuke would want to keep many secrets from his daughter.

After much confusion and about a gallon of tears, Sarada finally got to see her papa home again. Now that she knew that Sakura was truly her mother and that Sasuke was a sweet and considerate father, Sarada could be at rest.

"Sakura-anata," Sasuke called from the living room, "would you like me to make dinner?"

Sasuke got no response.

Sarada grinned happily at the sight of her father calling her mother's name with such gentle sweetness. "No papa, I think mama's still at work." She slid onto the couch next to her father and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Hn." Sasuke replied with his typical monosyllabic grunt, "Do you want to train?"

Sarada was suddenly giddy with excitement. She had never expected to get to train with her father without suggesting it first. The fact that Sasuke wanted to train with her practically forced her sharingan to activate. "I'd love to!" She exclaimed, leaping off the couch, "I'll get in my training gear and be down in a few minutes."

Sasuke grunted in approval again, walking towards the bookshelf to grab a few training scrolls.

Sarada opened her newly-replaced bedroom door with glee and skipped to her dresser. She grabbed her favorite red tunic, cream shorts, and the arm and leg warmers that had been a gift from Hinata.

After dressing at a record speed, she grabbed her kunai and shuriken pouch and sprinted downstairs. Her father was waiting patiently for her at the door, his katana fastened around his hip.

"Let's go."

Sarada embraced the clarity of vision she got from her sharingan as she dodged another barrage of kunai. Pivoting gracefully on her heel, she performed her signature shuriken jutsu and aimed the sharp weapons at her father's supposed position. She grinned when she heard the sharp sound of metal against metal, meaning that Sasuke had finally been forced to draw his katana. Riding on that sudden burst of confidence, she confronted him, aiming a chakra infused punch. Sasuke leaped gracefully out of the way, but Sarada didn't drop her fist. Instead, she struck the ground right where Sasuke was about to land, causing cracks to spread outwards. As Sarada expected, Sasuke did not lose his balance like Boruto often did; he leaped outside the damaged area with well practiced ease and aimed a kick at Sarada. Still smiling, she ducked under her father's muscular leg and flipped backwards. Sasuke re-sheathed his katana and gave Sarada a kind smile.

"I am impressed." He stated, "You use your sharingan well, despite its undeveloped form."

Sarada's smile only increased. "Thank you papa!" She replied, wiping sweat off her brow, "I bet mama's waiting for us."

"Hn."

Sarada smiled exasperatedly at her teammates. Boruto had gotten into trouble yet again, and Mitsuki had done nothing to stop him. Sure, Sarada was a bit miffed that they had jeopardized their mission, but the look of horror on the escort's face when she realized Boruto had deeply insulted her father was priceless.

"Our apologies ma'am." Sarada bowed in front of the woman, trying desperately to stifle laughter, "My teammate did not understand what he was doing. You see, he's a little…" Sarada leaned closer to the woman, "slow."

"Sarada!" Boruto whined, "I heard that!"

"It's okay, you can ignore him." Sarada assured the client, "Though he may not be intellectually strong, I can assure you that you are in good hands when it comes to protection."

"He better be top notch!" The woman exclaimed, "I paid good money for this and I would rather not be killed."

Sarada tried not to yell 'bullshit' as the client blew the simple escort mission out of proportion. They were only protecting her from measly robbers and a couple vindictive princesses who were jealous of her wealth.

"You will definitely not be killed." She said with certainty, "We will make absolutely sure of it."

She could walk all by herself and not get anything but a good frighten from some of the wild animals. Much less be brutally murdered. Sarada thought.

"Mitsuki," she started, "Let's set up camp."

"I'll collect the fire wood." He replied, "Why don't you catch some dinner?"

"I'm on it. I'll have Boruto watch the 'princess'." She placed irritated emphasis on the last word, shooting a disdainful look at the aforementioned subject.

"Boruto!" She called, scanning the area for a yellow mop of hair.

"What, Sarada-teme?" A voice replied from behind Sarada.

"I need you to watch the client baka-Boruto."

"Why can't you do it?" He whined.

"Because I need to catch dinner and my aim and stealth is far better than yours." She turned dramatically on her heel and marched into the forest, reaching for her kunai.

Sarada was practically sprinting home after her mission. When they had delivered the report, Naruto-sama had told Sarada that her parents had to tell her something important.

Sarada was mixed with feelings of anticipation, excitement, and lingering traces of dread.

What if what mama and papa have to tell me is bad? She thought worriedly, leaping from roof to roof. Maybe grandma passed away. Or grandpa? Or maybe it's something good. Maybe papa's going to stay here for real. Or maybe mama got a raise? No, she's already head of the hospital. Her mind was rushing with hypothetical situations and the ways she'd deal with them, but she somehow managed to completely ignore one possibility. Maybe because she was overestimating her parent's age, or she didn't think papa wanted to stay for that period of time, but she somehow didn't think she'd be getting a little sibling.

"Really?!" Sarada exclaimed, not fully processing the full implications of what her mother had just told her.

"Yes." Sasuke replied confidently, "I will also be staying in Konoha for at least three years now."

Sarada received another influx of mixed emotions. Sure she was overjoyed that her father was going to stay at home for at least three years, but she still felt a twang of anger and jealousy when she realized that her father was going to actually see her sibling's childhood when he wasn't around for her's.

"Aren't you excited?" Sakura asked, frowning at Sarada's detached expression.

"Yeah." She said half-heartedly, "I'm going to go out and train."

"But you just got…" Sarada had already left the house before Sakura could say 'home'.

"What's up with her?" Sakura asked Sasuke, leaning on his shoulder.

Sasuke wrapped his single arm affectionately around his wife, "It must be a teen thing."

"Or maybe it's just the Uchiha moodiness. I was hoping it wasn't hereditary." Sakura mock sighed, making her way over to the couch.

"Hn." Sasuke replied, sitting down next to his wife.

"Now you're being detached and moody!" Sakura pouted, sticking her bottom lip out, "Am I being too annoying?"

"You know what could make you less annoying?" Sasuke asked suggestively, "If you don't know, we can talk about it tonight."

Sakura blushed slightly and gave Sasuke a quick kiss on the cheek. "I love you Sasuke-kun." She whispered, "I think I'll take you up on that offer about tonight. Now, I need to make some dinner."

"Hn."

Sarada half stomped to the training grounds, still battling with her emotions. She wanted what was best for her younger sibling, of course she did! But she couldn't push aside the feelings of jealousy that plagued her mind. She needed someone to talk to. Her mind went first to her teammates. She could speak to Boruto; no, he'd be far too immature and annoying. Mitsuki was also out of the question, as Sarada doubted that he even had an emotional range. She needed to speak to an adult, one that knew how to approach children. Auntie Ino! Her mind lit up as she made her way to the Yamanaka complex.

Her fist hit the door twice before it was quickly opened by a tall, blonde woman.

"Sarada-chan!" Ino exclaimed enthusiastically, "I haven't seen you for ages, please come in!"

Ino ushered Sarada to the kitchen where she placed a pot of tea and some snacks in front of Sarada.

"If you were hoping to speak to Inojin, I'm afraid you're out of luck." She said, sitting across from Sarada.

"Oh, I was hoping to speak to you." She replied, grabbing a stick of tri-colored dango.

"Perfect! About what? Are there any boys you like?" Ino sipped her tea and straightened her long blonde ponytail.

"No, no, it's not about boys." Sarada took a deep breath. "It's just, I'm going to have a little sibling-"

"Oh yes!" Ino interrupted, "I've heard!" She took one look at Sarada's conflicted face and changed her attitude, "Now you don't seem all that excited about that. Want to talk about it?"

Sarada nodded, swallowing her dango. "I'm happy that I'll have a sibling, and I want what's best for them. It's just, my papa will be staying and paying so much more attention to him than they did with me. And I know that sounds really selfish, I just struggled for such a long time to get papa to notice and love me, I feel that it's-it's not fair."

"Oh sweetie, your papa always loved you." Ino said kindly, "Though you may not remember it, he would carry you around with him everywhere before he left for the village. You probably know that Sasuke isn't particularly simley, but whenever he'd look at you, he'd grin. And it scared us all at first, because we'd never really seen him smile, and we were worried that he'd kill someone or something-oh I'm going off on a tangent! Anyway, I know it may seem like Sasuke loves your sibling more, but I assure you that he was just as happy when you were born. Though I wasn't there while Sakura was pregnant the first time, I can assure you that you were really loved!"

"Thank you auntie Ino." Sarada said sincerely, "I know he loved me, but why did he have to leave? Everyone tells me that he had a very important mission to go on, but no mission should be so important that you have to lose contact with your family for ten years!"

"I don't know if I'm that one to tell you that." Ino replied apologetically, "I'm sure Sasuke would want to tell you that for himself."

"That's what everyone says!" Sarada exclaimed indignantly, "No one tells me, and when I ask my papa he poked me in the forehead and says 'maybe next time'."

Ino stifled a laugh, "Here's one thing I can tell you." Sarada perked up, "I'm sure you've heard of your uncle Itachi." Sarada nodded, "See, he used to poke your father in the forehead the same way. If fact, right before he died, that's what he did. It's your papa's way of showing deep affection."

Sarada smiled to herself, "How do you know that auntie Ino?"

"See, right before he left the village about thirteen, fourteen years ago, he poked your mama on the head and promised to take her next time. He did. As for how I know that Itachi did that before he died, Sakura told me."

"Thank you auntie Ino." Sarada hugged the kunoichi and began to walk home.

"Sarada, you can go see your brother now!" Shizune announced, ushering Sarada into Sakura's room.

"Sarada, this is Kohei." Sakura said cradling the baby boy.

Sarada grinned and walked towards her new brother. Sakura let her hold the little bundle and Sarada held him close to her chest.

"Hello Kohei." She whispered, gazing affectionately at the newborn. "My name is Sarada, and I'm your big sister. I promise to always protect you. No matter what."

The baby stirred in his blankets, and grabbed onto Sarada's index finger. Sarada grinned even wider and rocked the baby gently.

Sasuke smiled lightly to himself while holding Sakura's hand gently. He took in the beautiful image of his two beloved children together and memorized the moment with his sharingan.

"He has pink hair Sasuke." Sakura muttered chuckling, "You said that the Uchiha genes were dominant, but look at him with his pink hair and green eyes. He's a mini me."

"I suppose there are always exceptions."