A/N: Guess what? I'm back! I used to have a story on here that was called Hanami, but I deleted it since it was poorly written. It wasn't exactly a crossover with Elfen Lied since it did not involve any characters from that series and was set in the Naruto universe. It did, however, borrow concepts from Elfen Lied as will this fic. I initially wanted to rewrite the story, but I decided on an entirely different storyline that is more relevant to the conclusion of the Naruto series. I also wanted to show a bit more fairness to SasuSaku after the conclusion of Lacrimosa. I may bump up the rating as the story goes on.
Anyways, enjoy!
Trigger
Sarada rested the side of her head against her hand and set her elbow down on the surface of the table. She could hear the distant sounds of Boruto and Inojin exchanging snide remarks somewhere on the street. Her gaze flittered to ChouChou, who sat across from her at a table situated in front a dango shop. ChouChou's golden eyes rolled, echoing Sarada's exact sentiments.
Those boys were always so obnoxiously loud!
A faint smile formed on Sarada's features as she watched Boruto, Inojin, Mitsuki, and Shikadai race past the dango shop and leap onto the rooftop of a burger restaurant. If she had to hazard a guess, they were, without a doubt, up to something mischievous.
A few months following the defeat of the two alien invaders, Momoshiki and Kinshiki, the reconstruction of the stadium was eventually completed. The Hokage announced that all qualified candidates were eligible to retake the Chuunin exam. However, Sarada wasn't in chipper spirits because of the opportunity to participate in the exams again. With the defeat of the Otsutsuki duo, her father was home for good. Finally!
While he was discharged from his drawn out mission investigating Kaguya and her enemies, he was periodically deployed to complete minor assignments outside of Konoha on behalf of the Hokage.
"So, are you going to train with your dad today?" ChouChou asked with a slight tilt of the head.
"No, my dad is on a brief mission to Suna. He said he'll be back in three days," Sarada answered. Instead of becoming downcast when ChouChou broached the topic of her father, a confident smirk flashed across Sarada's face. "I should have it mastered by the time he returns. That'll give me the upper edge in the exams."
Prior to her father departing, he was in the midst of giving her lessons on how to cast Sharingan genjutsu. She managed to successfully cast it on a living target at least seventy-five percent of the time. However, she wanted to ensure that she would close all known genjutsu-repelling loopholes by the time her father returned. That way, she could impress him by demonstrating her commitment to attaining and perfecting the skills necessary to become Hokage someday.
"What about your mom?" ChouChou followed up her initial question. "She's good at genjutsu, isn't she?"
Sarada stared vacantly at a shopkeeper sweeping the sidewalk as if she were consumed in thought.
When Sarada offered her no reply, a concerned wrinkle formed on ChouChou's brow. "Is something wrong?"
"I don't know…" Uncertainty filled her onyx eyes and leached into her voice. "My mom has been acting 'off' lately."
"What do you mean?"
"Well…" Sarada began. "At first, my mom seemed to more than overjoyed when my dad came home. They got to spend quite a bit of alone time together. But now, it seems like my mom is 'fake' happy."
ChouChou contorted her chubby, youthful face bewilderedly as she claimed the last of the dango. "What do you mean by 'fake'?"
Sarada turned her gaze upward as she contemplated how she would explain her mother's aberrant behavior. "It's like the happiness wore off or something."
"I still don't quite get what you mean," ChouChou said with a mouthful of dango and shook her head. "I don't think couples can be lovey-dovey all the time. Maybe they're no longer in the honeymoon phase. That's normal with couples, right?"
Sarada tucked a stray lock of her jet black hair behind her ear and adjusted the earpiece of her glasses. "My mom will suddenly change course whenever they cross paths in the hallway like she's trying to avoid him. Sometimes she'll stop smiling whenever he enters the room. She'll get out of bed at two in the morning to take long walks outside and then spend the rest of the morning doing random chores. I just feel like she's not truly happy now that he's home and I don't know what's changed."
"Perhaps they got into an argument?"
Sarada couldn't pinpoint what exactly had caused this rift between them. Did they argue over finances? The home loan? Were they at odds with each other over household decisions? Was her mother upset with him for accepting short term missions despite being gone for so long? Were there problems in the bedroom?
Sarada rested her head against her hand and heaved another sigh. "It's impossible to tell what goes on between the two of them. They're always so secretive. I don't want to question my mom about it because she might get mad again."
The volume of ChouChou's voice diminished to a near-whisper. "What if they were never meant to be?"
ChouChou immediately regretted thoughtlessly opening her mouth when Sarada's weary expression morphed to one of despondency. She hated seeing Sarada like this again. Unable to think of anything to remedy her tactless words, ChouChou remained politely silent.
"My dad told me their hearts were connected and I am the proof of that." A rectangular, bright light flared from the lenses of Sarada's glasses when her gaze fell to the ground. "I know his words were genuine and he hasn't changed at all while he's been home. I think it's something with my mom."
"Oh my god!" ChouChou's eyes broadened as she stumbled across a salacious thought. "What if your mom is actually a succubus who devours the hearts of men at night?"
"Are you kidding me?" Sarada uttered dully. Though she was blatantly unamused with her friend's obvious, yet tasteless joke, she offered her a wry smile.
"I'm just trying to lighten the mood here." ChouChou put a finger to her plump lips and hummed for a moment. "Maybe you're reading too much into this?"
"I think you're right," Sarada admitted. "I'm making a mountain out of a mole hole. Her work schedule did change recently and she's probably trying to adjust to life with my dad back in the household."
The onset of dusk settled over Konoha, enveloping the village in a warm, amber glow. Calling it a day, the two young kunoichi rose from their seats and cleared off the table. Sarada bid her best friend goodbye as they parted ways and set course for home.
Sarada returned to find her mother inside the kitchen, removing groceries from a bag and setting them on the counter.
"I'm home," Sarada said, approaching Sakura from behind.
Sakura craned her neck over her shoulder and returned her greeting. "Welcome home, Sarada."
"Mama," Sarada began, twiddling her fingers somewhat bashfully. "Would it be alright if we trained really quickly before it gets too dark?"
Sakura pivoted to face her daughter, who kept her gaze averted and lips pouted. Sakura smiled inwardly, fully aware that she was putting on her sweet, innocent front to coax her into getting her way. Quite frankly, it didn't take much for her to cave to that cunning child's demands. She knew how desperately she wanted to advance her genjutsu skills and learn as much as she could from her father.
"Fine," Sakura stated with her arms folded across her chest. "Really quickly before we get dinner started."
Satisfied that her little ploy had proven successful, Sarada nodded and followed her mother out the sliding door leading to the yard. Sakura lectured her on the basics of genjutsu, which was something she already knew from both the Academy and her prior training sessions with her parents. Before Sarada tuned her mother out from sheer boredom, Sakura clapped her hands together loudly, seizing her undivided attention.
"Genjutsu relies on altering the chakra pathways of the nervous system and influencing the five senses. Genjutsu can be repelled if the target has impeccable chakra control." Sakura raised a finger and delivered her direct instructions, "Now, activate your Sharingan and cast a genjutsu on me."
Sarada grimaced hesitantly, standing adjacent to her mother. "Um, are you sure about this?"
A coarse laugh escaped Sakura's throat as she pointed to her chest in a cocky manner. "Your mom is resistant to even high level genjutsu, you know. There's nothing to worry about."
Though Sarada wasn't completely assured by Sakura's claim, she drew a deep breath, closed her eyes, and readied herself. Sarada's irises bled red when her long lashed eyelids fluttered open. Sakura stared directly into her single-tomoe Sharingan, permitting her to cast a genjutsu over her without initial resistance.
"Good, Sarada. Now—" Sakura's body suddenly jolted violently, as though she were stricken by a bolt of lightning.
Utter panic washed over Sarada as her mother's bloodcurdling screams filled her ears and penetrated her at her core. Sakura clutched the sides of her head and curled into herself. Without wasting a second more, Sarada deactivated her Sharingan, instantly dispelling the genjutsu. To her dismay, Sakura's piercing screams did not abate though she was absolutely certain she fully terminated the genjutsu.
"Mama!" she cried out, rushing to her mother's aid as her body teetered to the ground.
Sarada caught her mother's limp body in her arms, preventing her from hitting the ground. She adjusted her grip and widened her stance in order to keep Sakura's body upright.
"—hate you…" Sakura muttered unintelligibly.
"Mama?" Sarada breathed, not quite catching her frail words.
From her angle, she could only see the bright pink crown of her mother's dangling head.
"I hate you…"
Sarada's heart dropped into the pits of her gut once she deciphered her mumbled words. What was she saying? Was she talking about her? Was it about Papa? Was her mother divulging her innermost thoughts or was she jumping the gun and misinterpreting mere nonsense spoken from the aftereffects of her genjutsu?
Sarada swallowed forcefully and repeated once more, "Mama?"
Sakura slowly lifted her head at the sound of the girl's shaky voice. Never had Sarada fathomed seeing such an unsettling look of unfettered hatred burn within her mother's vivid green eyes.
"I am not your damn mother!" Sakura snarled savagely like a wild beast.
Before Sarada knew it, a hard slap landed on the side of her face, launching her small body across the yard and through the neighboring fence.
A/N: Looks like things are going swimmingly at the Uchiha Household. Thanks for reading and please remember to review!
