Itachi entered Sasuke's office when he passed by one of the employees who greeted him and told him that she had seen Mr. President on his way back to his office. He was about to scold his little brother and teach him the difference between eating lunch and taking a 5-minute break only for him to see the familiar pink-haired girl.
They were not still aware of his presence yet.. He hated to break them apart for he swore his little brother was about to kiss her. Well..he would just apologize later on. He cleared his throat to gain the couple's attention. A very flustered Sakura Haruno turned around and stared unblinkingly to him, and a not impressed Sasuke scowled at him. (Itachi guessed that it had something to do with him interjecting.)
"I apologize for interrupting. But Sasuke, I told you to eat. Oh well, since you are now here, Sakura, you can scold him for me. After all, you're the doctor. And Welcome back." True to Itachi's suspicion, a frown made its way to Sakura's face; she turned back her attention to a now completely defeated Sasuke who sighed in the process.
In a span of ten minutes, a lot had happened and lunch was the last thing in Sasuke's mind. Now that his family is back, he could not help but to worry about his fucking Uncle Madara's reaction. He scoffed at the thought. In the very first place, he threatened Sakura and even his daughter to stay away from him. He even perceived the existence of Sarada as a threat. A threat to his fucking business. That he could not forgive.
He looked back to the amount of paperwork he had to read and sign as if to explain his wife about the situation..only for Sakura to cross her arms and raised an eyebrow at him.
"You're busy? Is that your excuse? Do you want to orphan our child?" Sakura exclaimed to which Sasuke rolled his eyes at her over exaggeration.
"What? Like you do not overwork yourself? I know you, Sakura." He retorted.
Itachi watched as the couple bickered like they hadn't been separated for years. He shifted his attention to his sleeping niece on the couch. Sarada stirred a bit, but nonetheless did not wake up. With the loud public display of affection of her parents, no one will ever get some sleep.
"You two. You're disturbing your daughter. Sasuke..just go have your lunch. Bring along your wife with you. I'll take care of Sarada."
While they were on their way to the Uchiha mansion, Sarada excitedly asked Sasuke about spending time with her and Grandma cooking spaghetti. Sasuke was driving his 2015 Audi A8 with Sakura seated beside him. When Sasuke did not respond, Sarada pouted and pestered him about it. Since Sarada was seated at the back of the car with her seat belt on, she could not see the way her parents exchange glances as if communicating how to explain to her how busy her father is.
Sakura turned her face to Sarada and explained to her that she would instead cook with her and Grandma only for Sarada to sulk quietly on her seat. "Sarada-chan, you know how busy Daddy is? If you like, I will ask Uncle Itachi." When Sarada still ignores her, Sakura massaged her temple.
"Sarada, is that the right way to treat your Mommy?" Sakura always loved to see her daughter smile and laugh, but sometimes you also have to discipline your child. She had to know that there will be times that she cannot get what she wanted. Sakura knew that lately Sasuke and Itachi has treated her like a princess, but she should not be accustomed with that kind of attitude. She let them for a while since she knew how much they love Sarada, however, for a very young age, Sakura wanted her daughter to instill values that she will remember once she grew up.
Sasuke, sensing Sakura's patience thinning, sighed and looked into the rear view mirror. He noticed how Sarada was bravely holding in her tears. He did not want to promise her anything; he did not want to break any promises to her. So he remained silent..focusing on the road ahead of him. Having said that, he could not help but assure her that he would definitely find the time to spend with her.
Sarada did not lighten up in one bit. He looked into Sakura who mouthed words along the lines of spoiling her again and not making promises he could not keep. Sarada stayed quiet throughout the journey until the gates of the Uchiha mansion came into her view.
"Woaah! Wow! Mommy, look! So pretty lights!" Sarada exclaimed pointing out the changing colors of the Christmas lights surrounding the trees as they enter the gates of the mansion; she completely forgotten about her earlier sentiment with her parents. Sakura, in turn, giggled as she remembered her same reaction as her daughter when she first managed to enter the mansion. She could still remember the gardens where Sasuke's mother would spend most of her time with..the pool, the enormous bedrooms, the library. She kind of missed it.
When Sasuke parked right outside the door, Sakura suddenly became aware of how will Sasuke's father react to her sudden appearance once again. As if reading her mind, Sasuke put his hand over hers and squeezed it as if to assure her.
A maid, Sakura recalled, named Chizu widened her eyes as she realized who the young Mr. Uchiha brought along with him. The said maid looked at her with a bright smile and politely bowed her head in respect. Sakura, taking in her appearance, did not waste a second to hug Chizu. "I miss you, Chizu! How are you?"
"I've been well. You look beautiful as ever, Miss Sakura!"
Sensing Sasuke's eyes on them, Chizu abruptly pulled away and bowed her head to greet him. The said maid shifted her attention to a little girl clinging to Sasuke's pants and bowed her head as well.
"Come on, Chizu! I told you not to do that anymore! Oh! Sarada baby, come here, this is Aunt Chizu." Sakura introduced the little girl, who Chizu noted to be like the female version of Mr. Sasuke.
"Hello. I am Sarada. Nice to meet you." Chizu was about to shake the little girl's hand when a very excited Mikoto tackled Sarada into a tight hug.
"Hi dear! It's me, Grandma Mikoto! You look just like Sasuke when he was your age!" Mikoto exclaimed cheerfully. With Itachi coming home earlier than his brother, he kind of given his parents an idea as to what he had encountered in Sasuke's office earlier that afternoon. He phrased it along the lines of Sasuke having an adorable visitor.
Sarada grinned widely and kissed Mikoto on the cheek. Out of the corner of Sarada's eyes, she took notice of her grandfather watching them silently. She pulled away from her grandmother and proceeded to hug her grandfather. "Hi Grandpa!" She squealed and cling into Fugaku's pants. The said man looked into Sasuke's eyes as if asking for an explanation. When his son only shrugged, he glanced at the woman standing beside him.
Sakura, his son's wife, stood there nervously playing with the hem of her shirt. She refused to look into his direction. A week ago, when his sons informed them about the existence of his granddaughter, he did not know how to react. He always knew that his wife, Mikoto, is giddy at the thought. Hence, reminding Itachi all the time to marry Izumi already and give her grandchildren. Seeing his wife so happy of having Sarada and meeting her for the first time reminded him of how Mikoto would always tend to Itachi and Sasuke when they were still young.
Having a kid again in his house felt exhilarating. He might not be good at expressing one's self like his wife, he is indeed happy to have Sarada in his house. He crouched down to Sarada's level. "Nice to finally meet you, Sarada."
Fugaku asked the maids to take care of their visitors' belongings and to prepare the dinner at once. Sakura, on the other hand, did not dare to utter a single word until they were seated in the dining room. Noticing her Mom's inner turmoil, Sarada looked at her mother in concern. "Mommy, are you tired?" Sakura just smiled lightly and tucked Sarada's hair behind her ears.
After the dinner is over, Mikoto asked Sarada to come with her in the living room explaining she has gifts for her to which Sarada jumped from her seat and squealed in delight. Now that Sarada could not hear any of them, Fugaku turned his attention fully to Sakura.
"We have to talk, young lady." Sasuke was about to retort, but Sakura only shook her head and told him it's alright. Itachi, who was seated across the couple, stood up and made his way to Sasuke telling him to join Sarada in the living room.
With Fugaku and Sakura alone in the dining room, Sakura quickly apologized about fleeing without notice and taking away their granddaughter away from them. "Sir, really, I do regret what had happened. I did it because-"
"I am very much aware of your reasons. Sasuke told me." He paused for a few seconds to study her reaction. "I did not acknowledge you as my daughter-in-law. I hope you do realize that what was I doing years ago was what I thought my son's best interests. I will not apologize neither should you. We may had a lot of differences in our views in life, but Sakura, we have something in common. And that is my son. And now, Sarada. I am no longer the president of the Uchiha corp. I can already be the father to my sons. I will not interfere anymore with their relationships. Sasuke is already old enough to make wise decisions, and I trust him."
Completely caught off-guard, Sakura just stared at the man across from her for a few seconds. "I-I..I love your son. And I promise I will not leave him again. No matter what happens."
And, she was even more surprised to his response.
"Good."
Sarada had slept in between her parents inside her Daddy's room. Waking up before her parents, she kissed both of their cheeks to wake them up. To her frustration, they did not open their eyes and only smiled in their sleep. That was when Sarada decided to go out of the room and head downstairs.
Itachi, noticing the kid on the stairs, picked her up and asked where her parents are. "You should not go downstairs alone, Sara-chan. You might fell and hurt yourself." Sarada explained that her Mommy and Daddy were still asleep and did not want to disturb them.
Waking up only after an hour when Sarada left the room, Sakura felt strong arms wrapped around her waist. "Sasuke, where's our daughter?" She asked without bothering to open her eyes. Sasuke kissed her shoulder and buried his face into her hair as if to distract her.
"Hmmm..who knows?" Sasuke sleepily replied. Sakura was quick to disentangle herself from Sasuke and immediately sat up much to Sasuke's disappointment. "Sakura, go back to bed." Sasuke instructed. And, when Sakura purposely ignored her husband, Sasuke decided to sat up as well and hug her from behind halting her from leaving the room.
"We have the room to ourselves, Sakura. Why not take this advantage." Sasuke suggested giving butterfly kisses along Sakura's neck and shoulder. As much as she wanted to give in to her husband's err.. seduction, Sarada would definitely wonder why her parents are taking so long. "Sasuke, you have work. You're already late actually." She said looking at the clock hanging in the wall.
"Who cares. It's been a while, Sakura." Without waiting for a reply, Sasuke quickly swept her off her feet and deposited her on the bed. His face hovered inches away from hers, he dragged the tip of his nose down the bridge of hers. Sakura muffled a giggle before closing the distance between the two of them.
On the other hand, the Uchiha family was eating their breakfast except for Sasuke and Sakura. Mikoto, this time, had initiated to feed her granddaughter. "Grandma, should we wake up Mommy and Daddy?" Itachi was quick to reply. "It's okay, Sara-chan. Your parents are surely enjoying themselves."
"Itachi!" Mikoto warned her son, giving him a glare saying that it he is talking to a toddler. "What do you mean enjoying themselves, Uncle?" This time, Fugaku shook his head to Itachi. "They were very tired, Sarada. They need to enjoy their sleep."
Itachi muttered a quiet yeah, right very tired from all the sleeping. Fugaku sighed at his son's antics and continued eating. And when they were almost finished eating, Sarada had insisted to wake them already. Mikoto was about to give an excuse, but Itachi already volunteered happily. Mikoto could not help but think as to why Itachi loves teasing his little brother so much.
Without bothering to knock, Itachi reached for the doorknob to throw the door wide open, but he figured it was locked confirming his suspicion. Poor Sara-chan, unaware of how indeed tired her parents are. He knocked loudly three times. "Sasuke! Just continue what you're doing later! You are late for work."
News had spread about a mysterious pink-haired girl entering Mr. President's office weeks prior. Many of the employees speculated that Mr. Sasuke Uchiha had been cheating on his fiancee Ms. Yumi as to reason why she stopped bothering to visit Mr. Sasuke. Often, the employees would also notice a kid hanging around their president.
The gossip had reached Itachi. So much for nonsense, he thought. He was about to tell a word about it to his brother when he heard a commotion right outside Sasuke's office.
"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT SENDING THEM AWAY!" Sasuke furiously snarled at his visitor. "You have no right to control my life like that!" Chest heaving, Sasuke tried to calm himself down reminding himself that his damn Uncle Madara is still sick and it will do them no good if he lost his temper.
Madara, in contrast to his nephew, just stared at the young man in front of him. An informant had mentioned about Sakura Haruno coming back to Tokyo. Hence, the reason why he was here paying a visit to Sasuke. His informant, however, failed to mention about Sasuke knowing about everything that transpired three years ago. That woman, such a loud mouth.
"She finally told you, huh? I do not care if you curse me. I was doing what is right. And now that woman is back, the partnership with the Aihara's will definitely be as good as gone. She made quite a mess, is that your wife, Sasuke? A selfish, foolish, good for nothing woman." In a blink of an eye, Sasuke grabbed his collar.
"Don't you dare call Sakura like that. Selfish? You're the one who's selfish treating your own damn family like toys. If you think that you can toy around me like what you did to Father, you are wrong. I don't give a damn anymore. Once you touch either Sakura or Sarada, I swear to you I will forget that you are my Uncle or that you are sick." Sasuke said in a cold, low voice.
"What an ungrateful brat you are. After everything I did, after choosing you as the successor and not your older brother, you show me no respect. Just because you are now the President of my own company, you have to act like I owe you one. Everything you have up until now was because of me. I think, Sasuke, you should not forget that. If weren't for me, you will not be able to finish college." Madara indicated.
Sasuke finally released Madara and scoffed at him. "I think you're wrong. Respect is earned, and you don't deserve any. You know as well as I do, Itachi will not tolerate your pompous attitude like I did for three years, that's why you chose me. And I think you should also not forget that it is my Father who brought Uchiha Corp to the top. It was him. Under your leadership, Uchiha corp was nothing but a crap. You did not care about the employees, all you care about is your damn money." He paused for a while and send him a dangerous glare. "So what, come on, take back the position you had given me. Let's see how will Uchiha Corp fall. I will also remind you that three years ago, it was your fault having our company suffer from bankruptcy."
Sasuke stormed off his office room and shut the door with a bang, brushing past Itachi in the process.
Currently, Sakura had been preparing her documents in order to transfer to Tokyo General Hospital. With Sarada playing around the garden with her grandparents and both Itachi and Sasuke at work, she finally had a time to give time and attention to her pending application to Tokyo General Hospital. With Tsunade's recommendation, she was gladly welcomed and was just waiting for certain documents to be processed.
A knock on her bedroom startled her; opening up, Chizu informed her that she has a visitor. Frowning in thought, she asked the maid who it is, but her visitor specifically told the maid not to mention it until they meet. "Uhhh.. Miss Sakura, don't worry. She said that you know her and uh..I know she won't do anything err.. to harm you or something."
Curiously, she followed the said maid to the living room. At first she thought it to be Madara, but Chizu said she. Sitting comfortably in the sofa, is no other than Yumi Aihara, who stood and smiled at her lightly at Sakura's appearance.
Shocked is an understatement as to what Sakura's reaction when she saw the woman. "Uhhh.. Sasuke's not here." Sakura finally said when Chizu left them a few seconds ago.
"I know. I told Chizu that I wanted to talk to you. You, Sakura. I want to clear things up between the two of us." The said woman took a seat and Sakura averted her eyes as she took as seat as well across from her. Sakura swallowed nervously. She did not know personally the woman, but finding out that your fiancee is married and with a child no less, she could not even imagine the pain this lady is going through right now.
"First of all, I am not mad at you. Just to be clear. To be honest, I want to apologize. For what did my Dad and Mr. Madara had done to jeopardize your marriage. I apologize for being dense and having been the reason for all those years you got separated." She paused for a second and sip the orange juice Chizu prepared for the two of them. "I have always followed my Dad's wishes because I am the only remaining person in his life that truly cares for him. He loves me so much and I trust his decisions. That's why you no need to worry about the partnership between the Aihara's and the Uchiha's. I convinced my dad to push through our investments."
She looked right outside the window to stare at the little girl running along the gardens. "Sasuke is a good man. Despite having been the circumstances, he never mistreated me. To be honest, I started liking him. Aside from his good looks and intelligence, he is kind, thoughtful. I see the way he regards his mother and father with respect. I could not wish any other man than him." Yumi smiled sadly. "I also saw the way he treats your daughter, who looks just like Sasuke by the way." She giggled softly. "I bet he spoils her."
Sakura was at loss for words. How can this woman so kind, so tender. So understanding. "I- Yumi, I do not know what to say." Yumi just smiled at her. "We are both victims here, Sakura. But..we don't need to act like one. There is no need for me to be bitter or to curse you. We deserve happiness. And I am letting myself be free from all the ill feeling to achieve that happiness. I know that one day, the right guy will come for me. You do not need to be sorry for me. You just happened to find the right one sooner than me."
Sakura stood up from her seat and sit beside her. "Thank you Yumi. You are one of the most compassionate, understanding women I ever met. Even if you said you are not mad at me, I still am sorry for the circumstances that happened between the two of us. I regret that we met in this kind of err..situation. Maybe someday when we meet once again, I can call you my friend. And whoever that guy is, he sure is lucky to have you."
Silent tears had escaped Yumi's eyes and before she can think about it, she pulled Sakura into a hug. "I promise to be happy. So you and Sasuke should be happy too." She whispered into Sakura's ear.
A word had spread that the Aihara's will not pull out their investment despite Sasuke having been rebel about marrying Yumi. Madara, along with his other trusted men, walked along the Tokyo airport for his flight to America. Having been sick lately, a specialist had suggested for him to stop working and instead focus on taking care of himself.
Madara, looking back at the view of the Uchiha Corp. from the airport, reminisced about his younger days wherein he worked day and night just to bring glory and gain a good reputation and recognition among its competitors. Remembering his earlier conversation (argument) with his nephew, he scoffed at how clueless Sasuke had been. Whatever he was doing now as the president of the company, it was not nearly as half as to what he did back then.
Yes, he admitted that there were times wherein he made bad choices, but truly enough, if weren't for him, Uchiha Corp. would not be known worldwide. His decision to finally retire was for him to find peace in his remaining days to his world. He did not need to have Fugaku or any of his other relatives to accompany him to the airport. With Fugaku promising that Uchiha corp would maintain its standing, he was contented to finally leave the country.
After Five Years
Sasuke and Sakura celebrated Sarada's birthday back to Europe, having been able to grant their daughter's wish to finally see her Aunt Ino, Uncle Sai and Inojin again. Sarada, now at seven, is considered to be a genius in the class. Her parents are very proud of her achievements, boosting Sarada's confidence every time they praise her for a job well done.
As they visit the park that Sarada used to go to, a familiar blonde guy caught Sasuke's attention out of the corner of his eye. Not a second later, the said man had waved his hand up in the air. "Sasuke! It's me your bestfriend, Naruto Uzumaki!" He yelled and and tackled Sasuke to a hug. Sasuke scowled in response and tried to disentangle himself from the man.
"You're still an idiot." Sasuke bluntly said to his friend.
"Is that you way to greet me? Man, I haven't seen you since forever! Although I see your daughter's posts in facebook now and then, it's still different when I talk to you like this. How's life man? Or should I say Mr. President? And oh, my son, Boruto, I am taking him to the park today. I told you about him, right?" Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto. They may not talk everyday but the blonde had still been asking him how he has been for years.
Naruto had also left Romania years ago after Sasuke had left since he was assigned into one of the branches of the Hyuuga Cars in America. Now that the idiot is back in Europe, he could finally ask him how can the heiress of the said company fell in love with a man like him.
"Hey! Hinata just truly appreciated a good man, unlike you, Sakura-chan!" Naruto shifted his attention to the woman beside him. "I can never understand how can you put up with this bastard over here." Sakura just laughed lightly.
Turning his attention to his son who almost fell down from the seesaw, Naruto quickly excused himself and introduced himself to Sarada who was playing with Inojin nearby. "I am your Daddy's most handsome bestfriend, believe it! This is my son, Boruto. You two should be friends from now on." Looking at Sasuke, he whispered loudly. "How about marry Boruto so that we can be a huge, happy family!" Sarada blushed in mortification and looked at her father who glared at Naruto dangerously.
"Like hell, my daughter would marry an idiot's son." Sasuke said in a low voice to his wife. Sakura laughed in response and intertwined their hands to calm her husband down. "Shh.. Naruto's just joking, you know that. Just like that, Sasuke sighed and turned his full attention to his wife who is now 4 months pregnant.
Sakura leaned her head to her husband's shoulder and contentedly watched Sarada play with the other children in the park.
A/N: Hi guys..it's finally over. Thank you so much for taking your time reading; it means a lot. I do hope you guys enjoyed reading this. I will truly miss this. Please take your time to review and give me a feedback. I apologize for having grammatical errors and the like. Nonetheless, I had fun writing this. THANK YOU AGAIN.
I finally have my laptop back so expect that I will be updating KRF more often from now on. I am also thinking to write a highschool AU, but it will still depend on my time and priorities next semester. It's finals week and I will truly appreciate if you guys will pray for me.