A/N: I placed a bit of symbolism in here! If you can find it (it's about Itachi), you get... nice thoughts? Nah, I'll mention how fabulous you are in the next chapter. Hint: Lady Macbeth.

Naruto wanted to scream. Yes, that would be somewhat satisfying, but the most satisfying thing would be to give his emo-ass of a teammate a good beating. Of course, Sarada had already done that, but Naruto wanted his share. How entitled could he be? He gets vaguely offended by the well-meaning Sakura, throws a hissy fit, insults his future daughter, and goes stomping off, expecting to be allowed to come gallivanting back whenever the hell he wants. He was so moody! Maybe his curse mark was acting up? No. He didn't get excuses. He was being a prissy little douche and he would have to suffer the consequences. Naruto would make sure of that.

"That asshole!" Naruto spat, "He knows we have to all be together if we want to defeat Hiroyuki right? He can't just go running off into the forest to whine and sulk 'cause he got a little offended'! That's just stupid."

Sarada nodded, "I'm going to go find him." She reached into her pouch and pulled out two mini radios, "Take one of these. If I'm not back in ten minutes, use it to call me."

Naruto fastened the radio around his neck and nodded, hoping the Sarada could convince Sasuke to return.

Sarada made her way through the dense forest, following Sasuke's blatant footsteps.

That diva. She thought, shaking her head, He wanted someone to find him.

It didn't take Sarada more than five minutes to find Sasuke, and when she did, she wanted to slap him even more. Instead of pacing around or burning his teammates in effigy, he was sitting like an owl in a tree, sharingan blazing, spitting small fireballs at falling leaves.

"Sasuke." She leapt into the tree and grabbed his wrist. "You're coming back right now. For the love of god, don't put up a fight."

"Let go of me." Sasuke growled with menace, "I'll come back when I want to come back."

"And that better be now." Sarada's grip didn't relent as she commenced in a vicious staring battle with her father, "Do you want to get out of this damn dimension?"

Sasuke snorted and looked away.

"I'll take that as a yes, you monosyllabic asshole. I know you wanted someone to find you, now come back so we can defeat Hiroyuki. Your comment about Sakura being weak really made her sad you know."

Guilt flashed over Sasuke's features for a brief moment, "She is. She shouldn't deny it."

"I know you don't think that. She saved my life you know." Sarada tightened her grip around Sasuke's wrist, hoping that she'd leave a bruise. "You wouldn't have been able to do that."

"I've never tried."

"For the love of god, admit you're wrong!" Sarada valiantly fought back the urge to slap Sasuke. Instead, she tugged at his wrist and pulled him off the tree with her, hoisting his writhing body over her shoulder and beginning to walk towards the clearing. Unfortunately for her, Sasuke's weight was superior. Pivoting his body, he managed to throw Sarada off of him. Sarada quickly popped back onto her feet, sending a lighting-fast punch at Sasuke's face. In the very last second, Sasuke ducked under it and sent an upper-cut towards Sarada. She too blocked the strike and leapt backwards, hoping to recalibrate. Sasuke didn't give her that time thought. Right before she landed, Sasuke flash-stepped next to her and attempted to sweep at her feet. Sarada clumsily jumped out of the way, allowing Sasuke's incoming fist to graze her cheek.

"We could just go back without fighting you know!" Sarada exclaimed, raising her fists in front of her face, "If we're injured, we can't fight Hiroyuki."

Sasuke said nothing, but sprung towards her, launching several kunai.

Sarada dodged them flawlessly but gave her fellow Uchiha an appalled look.
"Are you trying to kill me you idiot?!" She exclaimed incredulously, "Get your goddamn feelings in check!"

Sasuke said nothing again, clutching at his neck for a brief moment. He winced in pain and sent a powerful roundhouse kick towards Sarada's ribs.

Remembering her taijutsu training well, she deflected the kick with her forearm, locked his leg in her elbow, stepped towards him, and swept his feet from under him in one quick motion. Sasuke's back hit the ground with a powerful smack, dirt rising in clouds around him. Seconds after making impact, his body dissipated into a cloud of white smoke, leaving a log in his place.

"Damn you." Sarada hissed. She focussed on sensing the chakra around her. Right before she found Sasuke's masked presence, she felt something else. The presence was so faint, she knew that it was the work of a highly skilled ninja. Because the level of the jutsu was so high, Sarada could not tell whether the ninja to whom the presence belonged was right behind her or yards away.

"Sasuke!" She called, her voice urgent, "There's someone else here! Get over here now!"

Sarada received no response, but saw black hair in the distance and let out a heavy sigh. As the figure got closer, Sarada began to realize that something was wrong. Sasuke was not that tall. He was not wearing a flowy robe and his hair was not long and tied into a ponytail. As soon as the person's face came into view, she realized that it was not Sasuke at all, but someone who looked a lot like him. The more she thought about it really, he looked a lot like her too.

"Who are you?" The man asked calmly, approaching Sarada.

"Why don't you tell me first?" She retorted, activating her sharingan.

"That's impossible." The man murmured, "I killed them all. All but one, and you are not him."

"What are you talking about?" Sarada stepped back from the man, her mind racing. Who could this possibly be? What did he mean 'kill them all'? Was he talking about my sharingan and the fact that I'm an Uchiha? Wait. This is a time neutral zone. He could be my son or my great-great-great-grandfather. There's no way I'd know. "You never answered my question." Sarada insisted, "Who are you?"

"Ah, but you didn't answer mine. You are impossible, girl. From whom did you steal those sharingan?" The man flashed his own crimson pair, his face still indifferent.

"I didn't steal these from anyone." Sarada hissed, "I'm an Uchiha, just like you. What time did you come from?"

"You cannot be an Uchiha." The man shook his head, "And you know what time I came from. The same as you."

"No! You didn't! This is a time-neutral dimension. I could be you ancestor or your great-niece or something like that."

The man's face suddenly looked shocked. "How many ninja wars have there been?" He asked, his face returning to its usual stoic self.

"Four." Sarada replied without hesitation. "You… you look a lot like my father."

"Who might you father be?"

Sarada realized that telling her father's name was not detrimental. If this man was from the future, he'd know how strong Sasuke was, and if he was from the past, well he wouldn't know who he was. Somehow, Sarada forgot to think about what would happen if the man was from the same generation as her father. "Sasuke Uchiha." She replied confidently, "I'm Sarada Uchiha. Who are you?"

The man looked even more shocked. Actually, no. He looked frankly distressed. His dark eyes melted in sadness, but shone with a bit of hope. "I am his brother. You must be wondering how I got here." Sarada nodded intently. "In short, I was using a teleportation jutsu to travel to the meeting location for the...organization I belong to, but due to my...dwindling health, I took the wrong turn in a sense." As if on cue, Itachi coughed violently into his hand, revealing a circle of blood.

"Uncle Itachi." Sarada whispered, also worried by the blood on her uncle's hand. "I've always wanted to meet you. My father says such amazing things about you and about how strong you were."

"Does he now?" Itachi seemed to be smiling, "But since you have never met me, I could suppose I'm not alive in your day?"

"No." Sarada shook her head sadly, "I honestly don't know what happened, but it's-it's a really touchy subject for papa."

"I understand." Itachi nodded his head thoughtfully, "He did as I expected. Good."

"I have so many questions!" Sarada exclaimed, grinning expectantly at her uncle, "I really want to know why there are so few Uchihas! Papa always says he'll tell me when I'm older, but he hasn't yet. I also want to know more about the sharingan. All of the scrolls say that it is awakened through emotional trauma, but that's not how mine was awakened. Mine was awakened through happiness and expectancy."

"That is strange." Itachi concluded. Suddenly he tensed. Turning abruptly to Sarada, he flashed his spinning mangekyou sharingan. Sarada was instantly caught in the genjutsu.

"I'm sorry Sarada, but I had to trap you in this genjutsu since Sasuke was about to arrive." Itachi spoke soothingly inside the red-hued genjutsu.

"Why can't we all talk together?" Sarada asked, "You know, like a family."

Itachi chuckled lightly, "Our situation is a complicated one. I will show you if you'd like. Just the images that I am allowed of course. Some of it is up to your father."

"That's what everyone says! Whenever I ask what happened, they say that Papa has to tell me!"

"They're correct." Itachi kneeled next to Sarada, "Ask your papa next time." He gently poked her forehead.

"You're just like him." Sarada murmured, placing her hand over her forehead. "Show me what you can."

Itachi nodded, forming his hands into a ram seal.

Images of Sasuke as a child flashed before Sarada's eyes making her giggle happily. She watched him trip over his own chubby feet and she watched him sit like a king on Itachi's shoulders. Soon, the images took a darker turn, flashing to Itachi's encounter with his father in the Nakano shrine. Shortly after, Itachi showed the Uchiha massacre. Sarada tried her best not to cry as she saw the uncle she had just held so close to her heart minutes ago rip down her ancestors. She could have met her grandparents, aunts, and uncles if not for him. Still, she knew he had a reason. If he didn't why would her father hold him in such high regards? Thankfully her questions were answered. She saw the orders that Itachi had received from the village elders.

Suddenly the vision ended and Sarada was left in the first layer of the genjutsu.

"That's all I can tell you." Itachi said, smiling a melancholy smile, "Sasuke has arrived and I must let you go. Please act as if I attacked you. You'll understand why now."

Sarada nodded. This time, she understood why her father was angry at Itachi. He had not been told the details; all he knew was that Itachi had murdered his family. His anger was justified.

The walls of the genjutsu fell away as if it was melting, leaving Sarada feeling disoriented and dizzy. The world around her spun, making her wobble on her feet.

"Sarada." Sasuke sounded slightly worried. "Sarada, what happened."

She tried to focus on Sasuke's figure, but he kept oscillating between two blurry versions of himself. Noticing that Sarada was having trouble balancing, Sasuke stepped behind her and supported her weight.

"What happened?" He implored, gritting his teeth, "That bastard. What did he do to you?"

"I-I was looking for you and-" Sarada remembered Itachi's request, "he ambushed me and trapped me in a genjutsu. He showed me really terrible images." She shuddered, realizing that she wasn't completely lying.

"I was worried." Sasuke muttered, "When I saw him with you, I was worried that I'd-I'd lose you too."

Sarada smiled as the figure of her father began to come into focus. "Thank you." She replied, resting her head on his shoulder.

This time, Sasuke didn't flinch.

A/N: Hope ya liked it! Please review and favorite and stuff, I really appreciate it.