A/N: Okay, okay, sorry this is out a little later than planned. I really tried. I came home earlier after uni, sat down, wrote as much as I could, then left again for another lecture. It was stress pure. I was supposed to revise some Japanese history tonight, but I postponed it until tomorrow just to complete this piece of literature. I am making sacrifices here, lol!

So please bear with me once more, my dear friends and wonderful readers. There are bound to be mistakes, and I honestly am a little displeased about how rushed this story seems towards the end. Forgive me, my lack of time and of coherent, finite ideas. I still hope it pleases you all, makes sense, and seems like a good conclusion. Also sorry that this part is so much longer, ha ha...

Enough babbling; enjoy!

Heritage (Part 2)

His mind was racing faster than lightning could strike. Which meant faster than his chidori could induce pain, which was something.

The young girl...she had Uchiha complexions; he needed no bloodtest to confirm the cognation that evidently existed between himself and the child. They were related. Dark eyes, dark hair, that look that dug through concrete. She was his...

The only logical explanation his mind could spew out in the heat of the moment, of all that had occurred in less than two minutes, was one single truth; she was his child. Hence, she was Sakura's child. Thus, when he had left all those years ago to complete the dangerous task he had set himself...

Sakura had been...?

His eyes were as wide as he allowed them to be – flabbergasted by the life-changing news, by the sudden realities that began to reveal themselves, by all that he had suddenly caused; further pain, more loneliness.

Sasuke expected Sakura's anger; her wrath at him for having left yet again, wordlessly, after having given her hope of a beautiful life as a family. What else would one think after marriage with the one true love? She had believed all the fighting and secrecy and solitude to be over, yet here Sasuke went, placing a cherry on top of the huge cream-cone that was his disastrous personality.

Sasuke was prepared to never be forgiven; to earn apathy, maybe, in the worst case scenario, to even find Sakura in the arms of someone else, despite how ridiculous it seemed considering her to be his wife. He felt ridiculous for having married her; not because the idea was absurd, for it was not at all; she was his life, even if she was not quite aware of it. He wanted to spend every morning seeing her immaculate face and marvel at the feminine beauty she possessed, but it was atrocious of him to have her bound to his never-present form; to tie her to his greedy persona. Simply put, it was a selfish act of his, in which he wanted to claim her, to make sure the world knew of her belonging to him, despite him being absent and not giving her the love and adoration she more than deserved.

He had married her because he wanted her; still wants her. But he cannot be with her, because life is a series of horrible tasks and constant fights and he was the lonesome hero that fought under a veil, always maintaining peace, never being seen, never stationary.

Why was it so hard? To complete both desires; that of justifying his actions, of preserving the equality in the world he and Naruto and so many others had fought with blood and sweat for, and of living a normal, wonderful family life with the one person who loved him unconditionally.

He would never find someone like her again. Not in a million years would he ever receive the same, in-depth love he currently owned. He should feel blessed, honoured, like god himself.

Yet all he could return was pain. Conflicted to the marrow, Sasuke grimaced as the image of the injured girl flickered inside his mind; his daughter, Sakura had been pregnant, had had a child, raised her without him, in solitude, with all the pain and suffering she underwent, in silent wailing, without him there to aid her. He had wanted to leave her with blissful memories; a broken heart, he knew, but with the knowledge of his love. Instead, he left her with a child and a duty too much to bear on one single pair of shoulders.

Sasuke took a careful step forwards, his sandal crunching something other than dusted earth. He averted his onyx orbs to the ground, discovering a tattered image under his foot. Carefully, he raised his shoe and picked up the piece of thick paper.

It was an image of himself with Team Taka. Well, Juugo was not present, but Suigetsu and Karin were. The latter stood, blushing, next to him, whilst the he had his usual, stony facial expression and Suigetsu had that mischievous glint in his eyes that he always owned.

The Uchiha was irritated. Why did his daughter carry such a photograph with her, and why did it seemingly disturb her so much that she questioned her heritage? What had Sakura told her about her birth, and her father? For a curt second, Sasuke began to worry about the possible relationship he and his child might have considering all the terrible things Sakura might have told her; but then he chuckled. What an absurd thought. She was Sakura, not Karin-

Wait. Karin. He furrowed his brows, scrutinizing her glasses and realising that the younger Uchiha had worn pretty much the exact same pair. Why did she...

There was no doubt she was Sakura's daughter. Sasuke would know; he knew with whom he had...well, with whom he had a more intimate relationship, and that was definitely not Karin. Sure, she had been infatuated with him, more so than Sakura had been in her younger years, but other than a trivial friendship and a specific amount of gratitude he owed her as well as some respect, there was nothing else. He doubted she truthfully loved him, believed it was simply a near to psychotic obsession, and had otherwise dismissed her character as just, well, Karin. He did not hate her. Neither did he love her.

And never would he get intimate with her.

So why was the young girl so disturbed? It must obviously be a misunderstanding.

Sighing with a tremble of his hands, for he had not eaten since two days, nor rested much, nor felt overly comfortable with the situation, Sasuke trudged to what he knew to be his home.

There, he would face Sakura, and he would lie if he claimed to not dread the meeting. He had no problem in facing her wrath; in letting her pound him into the ground, in roaring and shouting and punching. But he would never be ready for her sorrow; the moment she would begin to cry, to display her anguish so openly, he would crack with her. He would feel his heart rot within his ribcage, would sense the unworthiness that was him. He would be no better than filth. And now, with this twist of events, things would get a whole lot more precarious.

Nonetheless, he yearned for his wife; for answers, for truths, thus he hurried to his house with quickened steps, soon pouncing from rooftop to rooftop until he reached his-

A fierce amount of rubble and shattered remnants of a once intact house encountered him. He saw their shelter reduced to pieces. Sasuke's heart jerked violently, fear and foreboding theories clogging his mind as he could only guess what horrible circumstance could have possibly led to this.

Had Sakura and his daughter been assaulted? Were there fiends within Konoha, possibly chasing down the solemn heir of the Uchiha clan? Had Sasuke failed in his mission to make the world a safer place?

"Sakura!" It was idiotic, calling her when she clearly was not around, or would not hear him if she were buried underneath the shrapnel. Yet he sensed no presence. She was not...no, she was not.

With a sickening churn of his stomach and a beginning boil of his blood, Sasuke darted at incredible speed towards the Hokage tower; the Dobe would supply him with answers, would know what had happened. That was the first and most logical assumption he could come up with; when in doubt, seek the central power of a place. Naruto would know.

He better pray to every existent guardian god if he did not.

The Uchiha's feet skittered on the surfaces he jostled from, wind piping in his ears aggravatingly as he closed in on his destination. Houses and people as well as voices rushed by in a blurry haze, nothing being as clear as the contours of that one particular building and the image of a beautiful, rose-haired woman with a smile that could melt icebergs.

'Sakura...'

He put particular pressure on his last jump, landing right at the window of Naruto's office which he kicked open violently, the glass vibrating with a threat of exploding before he steadied himself on the windowsill.

Naruto had turned around in that precise moment, his body poised to block and defend and then attack, but his azure oculars widened incredibly upon the sight that met him. He was paralysed for several seconds, before his voice returned.

"T-Teme!?"

"Where is Sakura?" His tone was cold, his face determined and with building anger. No one except Naruto would be able to tell at that moment.

The blonde relaxed, one brow raised irritatedly, "Nice to see you too, bastard, after what? Twelve years."

"I have no time for formalities. Where is Sakura?" He was getting increasingly impatient, could feel the urge to punish arise and suppressed it with his entire will.

"Err...well she's not home since she wrecked her house, I just got that report." Naruto leaned over towards his desk, retrieving a few documents with his bandaged arm as he thumbed his way leisurely through, "I'm not sure where she is right now, though."

His at-ease attitude began to piss Sasuke off to quite an extent. The obsidian-haired male jumped down the ledge, fingers clenching unwillingly as he walked towards the blonde and glared him down, "Naruto, I need to know where-"

"Shishidaime!" The door burst open, the image of a rather annoyed Shikamaru entering as two young children trailed after him.

One looked the splitting image of Shikamaru, with minor details different, such as the eyes, whilst the other...

"Boruto! Don't tell me you pranked someone again. Weren't you playing with a shadow clone of mine...?" Naruto quirked an eyebrow once more, the documentations in his hands forgotten as well as the angrily towering Uchiha next to him.

All three of the newcomers now stared in astonishment at Sasuke, who glanced nonchalantly at them. Evidently, his daughter was not the only member of the next generation. He had already suspected to find Uzumaki brats running around once he returned; that the Dobe had built up a relationship with Hinata, finally. Yet he was surprised to find the overly calculated Nara to actually be in a wedlock. Did he not claim all females to be troublesome?

In return, both Shikadai and Boruto stared at him with grand fascination. Even the terribly lazy Shikamaru was astounded and actually displayed a facial expression other than detachment. The two children, however, were analysing Sasuke with interest, evidently wondering who this man was and why he currently stood next to the Hokage in rather disrespectful proximity.

"Sasuke." Shikamaru stated more than asked, obscure eyes boring into his counterpart as his hands glided into his pockets.

"Shikamaru." Sasuke responded, feeling his nerves go on overdrive as he was wasting more and more time with greetings and formalities – time in which Sakura could be at some place, in danger, suffering, and his daughter had run god-knows-where.

"Uchiha Sasuke, as in, Sarada's father?" Shikadai now concluded, eyes large in astonishment as he focused in the Uchiha with as much interest as Shino-Sensei might devote to a new bug-type.

"Sarada?" He was haunted by a heart-aching memory of a brilliant night, in which Sakura had uttered just that name, albeit jokingly. He could not believe she actually...

Was this her form of revenge?

"Aah...yes..." Naruto began to scratch the back of his skull sheepishly, feeling the pressure rise, "You see-"

"Her name is Sarada – Sakura's and my daughter?"

"Y-You have met!?" With large orbs, he blinked several times, sweat beginning to accumulate on his forehead.

"Five minutes ago. Where is Sakura?" He began to loathe this entire situation with a passion. He was wasting too much time. Why could the Dobe not speak and explain himself!?

"Hey hey! Don't you dare blame Sakura-chan for you not knowing of your daughter's existence; she had no chance of contacting you, after all!" Naruto intervened, protecting his much-cherished team-mate with a glare, "She had a hard time-"

"No, idiot. The house is destroyed, Sarada is distressed. Where is Sakura?" He would spew fire any second from now. If Naruto did not supply him with the necessary answers, in the name of all that could be considered holy, he would beat the bloody-

"She was at Shizune's." The little blonde boy, Boruto, threw in casually, his face the perfect imitation of Naruto's, "She fainted after she destroyed her house. Got into an argument with Sara or something..." trailing off, he redirected his tender eyes towards the ground.

Sasuke's stare was severely intimidating.

Without a further word having been spoken, Sasuke was about to dart through the window through which he had entered, determined to seek out Shizune, when he remembered that he did not know where exactly the elderly woman lived.

The confusion must have been displayed openly, for Boruto immediately commented on it, "I could take you there."

An unexpected clap of a hand onto the Uchiha's back followed as Naruto grinned his goofish way, "Good idea! You take Sasuke to Sakura-chan whilst I sort out the annoying paperwork here. I'm sure she is fine." There was something reassuring in Naruto's eyes as he looked meaningful at his former comrade and best friend, smiling delicately.

Boruto led the way as Sasuke exited after him, using the door instead. Shikamaru glanced critically after the dark-haired male, until the door was shut and he heard the footsteps fading rapidly.

"There will be a lot of trouble in the next few days." Shikamaru sighed, and his son mimicked the action.

"Yeah, the entire academy is not going to shut up about it."

"It's great to have Teme back." Naruto was seated in his chair by now, arms crossed behind his neck as he glanced near to dreamily at the ceiling, one leg draped over the other, "Sakura-chan will be very happy."

Several seconds of silence intervened, until Shikamaru scowled, "Get back to work, you lazy ass."

There was a moment of utter silence before all emotions began to course through their eyes, only to be viewed by the equivalent other, yet both parties managed to catch themselves adequately. It was a curt amount of time in which there simply existed staring and realisation, in which there was no movement, no response, not even a breath being taken.

Sakura had a stack of hospital files clutched in her arms which were gradually gaining in weight. She felt them slide, knew they would clatter onto the floor any given second if she were not careful.

She was.

Collecting herself with as much strength as she could muster, the rosette shut her eyes briefly, frowning with the action before her verdant orbs focused on Sasuke with resolute determination.

"What are you doing here?" Was the only question that left her lips; the only words that decided to come together to form a coherent sentence. Everything else was lost to her rationality.

Sasuke had more or less expected such a response. It did not hinder him from being heavily relieved, his muscles relaxing as he slacked in position, something minutely similar to a smile gracing his lips.

"You are okay." He stated, not moving nor intending on decreasing the precise two metres of distance between them.

Sakura furrowed an eyebrow, "Of course I am..." Her hair had been tied up in a messy tangle of strands, held together securely by a clasp. Her lips were tainted the faintest of red colours, the diamond-shaped seal upon her forehead nearly glowing a deep lilac.

"He means because your house is in ruins." Boruto piped in, still present as he stood leisurely next to the elder Uchiha. He was far too curious about the situation as to leave already.

The young child knew this was none of his personal business, but prying had always been a hobby of his, and despite him not showing it on the outside, he did care for Sarada. So if her father had just returned, for the first time since her birth, then she was surely heavily impacted by it. He feared the outcome of the entire scenario, thus decided to gather as much information as he could get a grasp on. Maybe he would be an aid at one point, if only to Sarada. He did not care much for the others, anyway.

Despite him not getting to spend as much time with his father, whom, secretly, Boruto admired from the bottom of his heart, he at least got to see him and interact occasionally. Sarada had none of that. He could only somewhat sympathize with her.

Sakura nodded in understanding, her eyes glancing about before she took in a deep, measured breath, "Oh...yeah, just...an accident. It's okay." The medical ninja raised her head slightly, glancing with a smile at Boruto, "Thanks for bringing him to me, Boruto, you can go back home now."

Obviously the Uchiha matriarch did not want the young boy to have to indulge into their upcoming argument. Sasuke knew there would be an argument. How else could it be?

Reluctantly, and with a pout, the blonde left, retreating with slow steps down the corridor before he was finally out of sight and, thus, out of ear-shot.

"Follow me." Sakura spoke sternly as she marched past her husband and along a different route.

Mutely, he trudged behind her, cutting several corners and passing by too many white doors to count them all before he was met with one broader, darker entrance, which gave way to an office.

Sakura's office. She had opened the door, slammed down her files and then turned around, leaning against the edge of her desk as she crossed her arms over her white coat.

"Welcome back, Sasuke-kun." She spoke sarcastically as he now faced her.

"I'm sorry." Did that sound pathetic? Moronic? Fake?

It was true to the core; it was what he had wanted to tell her over and over again all these years. It was the first thing to enter his mind.

"I'm sorry!?" Her eyes had widened incredulously, her lips parted in horror as Sakura leaned forwards, disbelieving of his words, "Wow, Sasuke-kun, great start! That promises something!"

He scowled, "What do you want me to say?"

"Try the truth." She bit back cuttingly.

"It is the truth."

"Don't go telling me you've been thinking this all these years you've been gone." She knew him too well. She was probably not even aware of it, but she had him figured out already.

He did not reply, simply gazed at her, consuming her form with as much details as he could get his brain to remember. It felt so good seeing her. The perfect curving of her cheeks, down her slanted neck, her body poised readily. If only he could touch her...

"Sasuke-kun, this- No. You left. Again. I can't just-" biting her lower lip ferociously, Sakura avoided his penetrating gaze, her eyebrows creasing as she tried to find the right words, but was left mute.

"I met Sarada." Sasuke thus stated, wanting to get to the centre of this debate.

Immediately, Sakura's face slackened as she redirected her large, immaculate emeralds at him, all colour draining her already pale skin. She shook her head lackadaisically.

"No...not already..."

"I ran into her. She seemed distressed."

"Obviously! She has been waiting to meet you her entire life!"

"I'm not sure that's why she was so riled up." Carefully, dangerously, bravely, he took a step forward.

Sakura twisted her head in confusion, "Why else?"

A quick grasp into his pocket and he retrieved the mangled photograph of the former team Taka, handing it to Sakura. He was horrifically careful as to not stroke her fingers. Albeit desiring nothing else, he knew the effect such a simple act could have on him. Especially after all these years.

She took it with a shaky hand, despite her desperately trying to conceal that factor. Her eyes glared down at it, recognizing the image to be from her personal belongings. That used to stand in her house...

"Where did you get this from?" Her voice was a higher pitch than she intended to make it.

"Sarada had it with her. She was asking who her father was, and her mother as well. What have you told her?"

Sakura gradually raised her critical face to look at him, searching those abysses he had as oculars to find the underlying implication. But he seemed as genuinely irritated as she was.

"That she is the daughter of the biggest moron this world ever has seen, what else?" Her dry sarcasm graced him.

"So she is Naruto's child?"

She laughed airily for a second, shaking her head and suppressing the smile that curled around her lips. Uchiha Sasuke, attempting to crack a joke. At this point in time. Someone needed to document this day right now, for all eternity, for it was a historical moment.

"I told her she is Uchiha Sasuke's daughter; last heir of the Uchiha clan, brave ninja, saviour, and my husband." There was something dreamy about the way she described him then and there, whilst avoiding his intense gaze and simply staring off into space. She was currently somewhere far, far away, he could tell, "I said that..." Sakura hesitated, a melancholic atmosphere engulfing her as she contemplated her words carefully, "her father...is on an important mission and that he will come home as quickly as possible..." she trailed off, her voice dying down as she glanced at the ground, her stray bangs hiding her face from him.

She was not even quite as wrong with that explanation as she thought she was.

"But she knows she is your daughter?"

Sakura now glared at him, "Of course she does!"

"Then what about the glasses?"

More puzzled than before, she shrugged questioningly, until Sasuke pointed with his nose towards the picture she still held in her hands. Another quick peek told her what he implied, causing her eyes to widen once more that day.

"Oh..." the rosette gulped down a heavy amount of air, "We need to find her." was what she threw in next, already heading towards the exit.

Sasuke did not retort, but followed instead, just as adamant as Sakura in seeking out the young girl.

She was perplexed when he had grasped her hand, pulling her through the streets at a terribly fast pace, his grip a vice on her fingers.

Sarada tried to protest, to inquire what he was doing, even wanted to slap him for being so bold and well...Boruto, but there was simply no time to do any of those things. Not even the throbbing of her twisted leg nor sprained ankle seemed to matter in that moment.

They moved too fast, his hand felt too comforting and her heart beat too rapidly as for her to find the courage to retort, no matter how grand the temptation was. It was not until several minutes had passed, Boruto tearing her through an arrangement of streets, when they reached their destination.

He tugged her onto a small, shabby rooftop, then skipped onto a bigger building with a minor tower placed in the middle. Finally, the Uzumaki let go of her hand, ushering her to be silent, but to follow. Sarada simply complied, peeking around the corner of the tower just as Boruto glanced past the painted brick and stained tiles.

As she followed his line of view, slightly distressed and still sniffing from the heavy onslaught of tears she had encountered mere seconds before Boruto had just grabbed her and tugged her along, she saw what he meant.

This was a building adjacent to her home; to what was left of it, at least. And there, amid the rubble, stood her mother as well as her father, clambered along the stacks of rubble and checking behind every cracked wall, a heavy argument growing between them.

Again, Boruto indicated with his index finger for her to be silent and merely listen, which she did.

"Did you not tell her that she is your daughter?"

"Of course I did!" Sakura roared at him, kicking a few shambles to the side, her agitated form shaking, "Sarada!" She felt ridiculous for calling her; she knew the girl would not come.

"Then why does she doubt it?" The onyx-haired man lifted a few wall-pieces, carefully placing them to the side. He attempted to flatten out the level of destruction, so that he could get a somewhat clearer overview of everything. That would make finding Sarada easier, because she would have less hiding-space.

"Because of the glasses? I don't know!" There was doubt and hesitation within her voice.

"This is ridiculous, Sakura." He stepped towards her, glaring angrily, "Why would she think she is Karin's daughter? Glasses or no glasses, why would she have reason to believe something so absurd?"

Sakura just shrugged, too afflicted to form a coherent thought and respond with something adequate.

"We are married, does she not know that?" He stated with a cold, factual tone.

"She does. She knows."

"Then why-"

"Why, Sasuke, why!? Maybe because you are never there!?" Without warning nor control, Sakura began to lash out with a full streak of emotions, scowling at her husband, "To her...you are just a myth! You are something from stories! I have no photographs of us two to show her how great I believed our time together to be, because you took them all. And I cannot convince her of us being married because there is no evidence of your life being connected to mine except for the stamp in my heart that you made before you vanished! And I cannot tell her what her father likes or dislikes because I do not want to see her all shattered when she realises that...that...she might just never meet this man who is so much like her. She is sad every day and I cannot help it. I...I sometimes regret having told her about you. Every detail that I reveal makes her feel worse and worse...so I've decided to just...play dumb." she was panting by now, her eyes misting over with glittering liquid as the first tear tumbled down her cheek, "But a wife is supposed to know those things about her own husband...and tell her child...but I cannot. I know you Sasuke, but I also don't know you...and...and I'm scared that that'll break Sarada because..." hiccups were winning over, her lips trembling at an atrocious pace as she let the sorrow overtake.

Sasuke's expression softened. This was the moment he had feared the most since his return; the moment of break-down. It was far worse than what he had had prayed it not to be; he felt himself shrink on the inside, felt his guts twist agonizingly as his stomach lurched.

"Sakura..." he muttered, stepping towards her with a tender step.

"No." The Uchiha matriarch sniffed, wiping her nose vehemently, "W-We have to find Sarada, s-she-"

"Sakura, I'm sorry."

"Sorry won't cut it, Sasuke-kun." Another sniff, before she turned to have her back facing him, "In all those years, did you ever think of me? Of coming home? Of what you did and the impact it had on my life?"

He did not respond to her questions, but waited, for he knew she had yet not finished.

"All these years, I have waited and waited and waited. I waited the first time you left, I waited after you made it clear you would not return; no matter how many times you tried to cut the ties with us, I kept waiting and hoping and-" She hiccuped strongly, the back of her hand pressed painfully against her lips, "No matter how many times I tried to convince myself that I did not love you, I failed. And all the hurt, and all the waiting; I don't want Sarada to know a single bit of it. I don't want her to think badly of you just because you are not there. I want you to be her hero, and I want her to have faith, but now I'm realising that she is going through the same crap I went through and it's breaking me, Sasuke-kun. It just...has to stop."

Finally, with trembling legs, the rosette gradually twisted her body around and began to reveal her drenched face, her sparkling eyes and all the salty liquid that stained her reddened cheeks. All agony was viewable to him, and he hated it. No. He despised it.

"Please, Sasuke-kun...y-you can break my heart all over again but please" she began to shake her head beseechingly, "don't do the same to your daughter."

It was the final droplet of water in the brimming bucket needed to break down his resolve; for him to keep a distance and respect her privacy, her feelings, her desire to come to terms with everything. No longer heeding the wish for solitude she had silently spoken, as paradox as the thought was, he stepped forward and engulfed her into his arms.

Sakura found herself firmly pressed against his chest, feeling the beating of his radical heart and the warmth he actually radiated like any normal human being. He felt so real. She let him embrace her; let him do as he pleased as she succumbed to him and no longer halted her feelings from pouring out completely. The crying grew louder.

His lips were pressed against the shell of her left ear, his voice a soothing caress made out of velvet and reminiscent of a flowing river, "I left because I had to. This world, Sakura, is not as safe as it should be, and I have done many evil things to many innocent people. Staying with you, here, would have ultimately cost you your life. So I left on a special mission, and I took all evidence of our coexistence with me to protect you from harm, yet also to remind myself of its existence. It was my anchor, all these years, believe me. Nothing will ever excuse the fact that I was gone, but believe me when I say I did it for you; because if I lose you..."

She doubted he had ever spoken so many words in such a curt amount of time; she loved every second of it. His sincere tone of voice, the sentiments he revealed by it. It was so out of the world, so bizarre that it appeared meticulous.

"Sakura..." he began anew, pressing her more firmly against his form. She did not resist the intimacy, "I love you. And I will never allow anyone to take you away from me, nor Sarada. I swear on the name of the Uchiha."

He could feel the tears staining his coat and shirt; the fluids were sinking in, drenching him, her fingers curling agonizingly against his clothes, her entire body one single tremble. All of a sudden, she had her arms wrapped around his back, hugging him as tightly as she could without disrupting her breathing.

After many minutes of muffled wailing, the verdant-eyed female distanced her face a little from his chest, muttered a mumbled "I hate you" at him before she returned into his embrace.

Sasuke smirked, "I know." He kissed her brow.

When finally her heaving had calmed down and she was capable of forming coherent words once more, her body not quite as much a wreck anymore as it had been, Sakura spoke anew, louder and clearer than before, "We still need to find Sarada. I need to explain-"

"I'm here."

The Uchiha parents both stood still on top of the pile of destructed furniture, glancing over towards the edge of the conundrum where their little girl stood, puffy-eyed herself and with a shy air around her.

Boruto was several metres behind her, peeking at them with hesitant orbs, evidently unsure if his presence was appreciated or not.

Sakura completely unwound herself from her husband, stumbling towards the younger Uchiha as she landed on her knees in front of her and wrapped Sarada into a mangling hug, "Sara-chan!"

The girl complied, returning the display of emotions as fresh, boiling tears were shed once more, "I'm sorry, Mama, I-"

"What happened to your leg!?" Cool hands dove for the scarlet blemish and earned a wince for the action, "I need to see to that immediately."

"Mama, it's okay, I just-"

"Don't you ever just run away like that; where no one can find you!" Sakura now roared in strict scolding, completely changing the topic before it was lost upon her. Afterwards, she smiled tenderly once more, "And don't forget that I love you."

Her daughter blushed, avoiding her mother's keen eyes, "I know...I was just...the woman on the photograph."

"Has the same glasses as you, I know."

Behind them, footsteps were audible; Sasuke was gradually trudging towards them.

"Why do I look like her?" Sarada was still perturbed, pleading eyes begging her mother not to tell her something dreadful; something that would kill her to know.

Yet Sakura merely smiled with a meaningful glance, her fingers delicately grasping the spectacles and pulling them off with a light tug. Once they were off, and Sarada's world became a slightly fuzzy realm of dodging colourings, Sakura spoke again. And she realised, for the first time, that her mother's eyes were as clear as daylight despite the absence of her seeing-guide.

"When you were just born, Tsunade-Shishou stated that, just like a true Uchiha, you would inherit the Sharingan. But with no Uchiha to teach you how to activate it, and because of a slight malfunction you were born with, Shishou claimed that your eyesight might suffer and begin to deteriorate. She stated that you would need glasses to see later in life." Sakura hesitated, observing as her one and only child gazed in open mesmerization at the pinkette, "Karin...your father's former team-mate, she was still in Konoha at the time of your birth. Well, she had been gone in the meantime, but returned for a few weeks. We...did not get along too well, because she liked your Papa a lot, but he chose me, not her. Yet despite all...bad blood," Sakura frowned at this, unsure how to formulate everything without it sounding like a ridiculous children's tale, "Karin wanted to reconcile. I was alone with you, your father gone. There was no way of telling him; of getting him back. She sympathized, and told me she wanted you to have her glasses. She wanted to do something for the Uchiha; so if it was not to love one, then at least to aid one in some way. It's like...this allows her to leave a piece of herself with the Uchiha clan, as strange as that might sound. That she was actually useful, and won't be forgotten."

Gradually, the shorter, dark-haired female nodded, somewhat understanding the implications made by her mother, "So...I am not her child?"

The Uchiha matriarch laughed, "Look at you, Sarada. You don't really look like her without the glasses." Earning only a hesitant, slightly frightened expression in return, Sakura continued with a playful shake of the head, "No, you are my child, for sure! You just possess her glasses; it's something you inherited, more or less. Something she left behind in order to be remembered."

"That's...strange." Sakura returned the spectacles to her daughter, the smile not leaving her lips.

"I know. But I found it an earnest request, so when she asked me to do it, I complied. But trust me, you have my complexions, not hers."

Sasuke, who had been listening in on the conversation this entire time, shook his head slightly. An awry thing for a person to plead for, yet the act very much sounded like something Karin would do; she was strange and possessed a rather abstract personality, so why not? He saw no harm in it; the glasses were quite normal. And without them, Sarada was every bit Sakura's daughter; he could see it perfectly clear.

"She wanted to help me out, thus left me those glasses?" Sarada summed up, still critical, but gradually grasping the concept of it all and beginning to accept it as the truth.

Her mother nodded with a heart-warming smile, "Yes, she did."

"Is...that the reason my sight goes fuzzy sometimes?"

Another nod.

Sarada shyly glanced up at her father, analysing his features and attempting to find herself within them. In all honesty, she saw nothing of herself in him, but she saw everything of her mother; the shape of her face, nose and eyes, the slanting of her brows and hair and the emotionality they both liked to display.

"I could have taken it, you know." She now threw in, a saddened smile forming on her lips, "The truth about Papa, I mean..."

With a tender kiss to her brow, Sakura bobbed her head once more, "I know..." she whispered with a melancholic grin, "You are stronger than me, and I nearly forgot that. I guess I was just frightened of hurting you. Forgive me?"

She slitted her eyes, staring her mother down, before she attempted another, brief peek at her father, "Only if we're having omuraisu with tomatoes tonight."

Sakura laughed heartily at her daughter, "Of course." Standing up, the pinkette dusted herself off, before she turned quite officially to Sasuke, "Sara-chan, meet your father, Uchiha Sasuke."

Now standing directly in front of the male Uchiha, the girl got to realise just how minuscule she was in comparison. Several head were missing before she would ever stand on physical eye-level with him.

"So, this is the biggest moron the world ever has seen?" the trade-mark Uchiha smirk now graced her lips, whilst Sasuke frowned at his wife questioningly, who was rather perplexed.

"I never-!" She began to defend, yet was interrupted.

"No, Boruto did. He heard that."

Realisation dawning on both parties, Sakura began to giggle sweetly into her hand, the mellifluous sound reminiscent of one very specific night she and her husband had spent together.

Sasuke merely grimaced in displeasure at the mentioning of the insult.

Then, he decided to mimic his wife's earlier actions and squatted in front of the frail-looking child; his child.

"Hello there." He uttered as tenderly as he could, a rare smile greeting her.

She liked it very much.

"Hi...Papa."

A/N: So...err, sorry for Sasuke being OOC, and for the ending to be...strange? I saw it fit to end there, as I feared any further typing might give it a cheesy, cliché ending that, once I realised just how stupid it actually is, I'd have to hide myself in shame for all eternity. I guess I am satisfied with this. Not my best work, I know; I am terribly tired from all the running around I did today and all the work. Just like you guys, I am intrigued to see how Kishimoto will resolve his...dilemma in the Gaiden chapters. He better make it epic.

So, I would gladly like to know what you think of this, if it is not too ridiculous. I just saw the whole Karin-handing-over-her-glasses-as-a-symbol-of-her-love adequate. She is quirky, this act is something quirky, she would definitely do something quirky. I hope you all did not laugh too much. Don't forget, SS is canon and Sarada IS Sakura's child. Kishimoto stated it several times. The Gaiden, I believe, is merely to kick all doubters in the ASS (any high five's for my pathetic pun here? No? Ha, okay...)

I want to thank you all for the WONDERFUL reviews I got; I love hearing from you, you are really fantastic and make me all enthusiastic about writing. I hope you will also review this installment. I love hearing your thoughts and feelings, after all! Thank you! *spreads some Uchiha lurv*