"Come on, I know you can do it! I showed you the hand signs. Try to focus your chakra in your belly and then force it out like fire."
"Ok. I'm gonna try!"
This brought him back memories of how he learned the Fire Ball technique at that age. He was practicing day and night to master his Clan's Jutsu in order to satisfy his father and show him that he's a worthy son. Unlike his father, though, Sasuke would train with his son. He didn't leave him by himself. He would stay by his side and watch him getting better after each try. Seeing his own child developing like that, he couldn't possibly understand why his late father missed such a chance. For a parent, that's the best thing to experience.
"Alright, how about a break? You can't master it in just one evening. Yours truly learned this technique in a whole week!"
"Hmm~.."

It's been 7 years now since Haru was born. In a few more years he would graduate from the Academy and become a genin. He looks so much like Sasuke, although sometimes he reminds him of Sakura, the way he smiles, that smile is the same as hers.
"Say, dad?"
"Hm?"
"I heard from my classmates that you used to be a rogue ninja. Is.. Is that true?"
He remained silent for a while. He never told either of his children about his past, neither did Sakura. They knew that the other kids at the academy would look down on them if they ever knew about it, but this situation was unavoidable from the very beginning. People keep talking until today about the once Rogue Ninja, Sasuke Uchiha and of course the children would hear them talk as well.
"Yes." he answered bluntly.
"Oh… Then, how did you decide to come back?"
"Well, that is.."
He didn't expect his son to be that curious. Nevertheless, he had prepared himself to talk about this to Haru sooner or later.
"My friends were the reason."
"Your… friends?"
"Uh huh."
Haru smiled when he heard that and so did Sasuke. It was rare for him to smile in the first place, but Haru and Ayame always put a smile on his face. It truly is a blessing to have children. If something ever happened to them , he wouldn't be able to forgive himself.
"That's why you should hold your friends very dear. And be sure to be a trustworthy friend to them as well."
"Mom said you were on the same team when you were genin. Were you at first friends?"
"Eh? Where does that come from now?"
"Hajime-kun told us how his parents met and then I asked mom and she said that you were on the same Team."
"Is that so?.."
It's been such a long time. Back then he had only revenge on his mind, although there were a lot of happy memories with team 7.
"Does that mean that if I end up with another girl on my team, I'll fall in love with her and marry her too?"
"Wha-.."
Sasuke frowned at his son, who had a worried look on his face, and suddenly burst out laughing. Haru was shocked and couldn't understand why his father was reacting like that. He was being very serious with that question.
"Sorry, Haru. No, it doesn't mean that. It could be possible, but it's not necessary. After all, I didn't fall in love with your mother from the very start. In fact, it was many years later."
"Really?!"
It was many years later, indeed. After so much struggle. So much sadness he left behind in the village, there came the time, when he learned to love and appreciate people's existence.
"Then how did you fall in love with her?" the boy asked.
"Why are you being so curious today?", Sasuke repliad with a smirk on his lips.
"I just want to know.."
Haru smiled and looked up to his father. Sasuke didn't know if his son was ready to hear the truth, but whether he'd tell him now or 10 years later, it would be the same, so he decided to speak about his and Sakura's relationship.
"You see, I didn't marry your mother because I loved her."
"Huh..?"
"It was seven years ago that I started feeling that way towards her. And I'm happy I learned to love her with all my heart now."
It was true. The reason why he married Sakura wasn't love or affection. It was different.
"Then… how?"
"When I finally came back to the village after the current Hokage defeated me in our final battle, the villagers wouldn't accept me at first, which was totally normal since I used to be a rogue ninja. The only ones who defended me were Naruto and your mother. They would beg the villagers, kneel down before them, just to convince them that I'd changed and I was no longer a threat to Konoha, but a lot of them didn't believe them. I was kept in prison for several months. My only visitors were those two. Sometimes even my old teacher Kakashi-sensei would pay me a visit. When I got released, the village had calmed down."
"How did they accept you afterwards?"
"I thought they'd forgiven me for what I did, but I later found out that it was all Naruto's doing. It was the same year he became Hokage when I got released and from then on I was officially a resident of Konogakure."

The lake by which they rested after their training was so clear and calm that no waves were to be seen on it. Just the crystal clear image of the cherry blossom trees around them. The evening sun was nice and warm and the color of the sky reminded him of that day…
"Your mother confessed to me when we were still kids. Moments before I left, she spoke her heart out to me and I, the idiot, just walked away. I thanked her for what she'd done for me and I was ready to cut my bonds with her and my other teammates. I was ready, but she wasn't. Three years after that, we met again. Me, Naruto and her. I can't remember how I felt at that moment. Maybe I didn't have any emotions at all. I forgot how it was to feel. My only goal was to defeat my brother and avenge my murdered Clan."
"Uncle Itachi? But you always speak very highly of him. Does that mean he was.."
"Yes, your uncle was the one who murdered our Clan, but he didn't do it because he wanted to. It was an order from his superiors. The Uchiha Clan was plotting an ambush on the village and planned to take it over. Itachi was a pacifist and hated War. He wanted to avoid conflicts between Clans from the same village so he reported the Uchiha's plan to the Hokage. One of the three elders of that time had then given him the order to kill the Clan, but even so, Itachi let me, his little brother, live."
Haru was sinking in thoughts as he listened to his father's words. He didn't know how to react so he remained silent and kept listening carefully.

"I thought he was evil. I trained myself to death so I could defeat him and I succeeded. Only to later find out the truth about how it really went. I was filled with rage and wanted to let it out on the village and when I finally clashed in a real battle with Naruto, I realized that what I was doing had been wrong from the beginning. Everything I did, from the moment I left the village until my defeat. Everything had been wrong…"

The wind was light at that evening and the sun seemed to have frozen, like time would've stopped as Sasuke was speaking. The redish color of the sky was very beautiful. Not like that rainy day when he killed his one and only brother.
"After my release, your mother and Naruto came and picked me up. She turned to me and said «Welcome home, Sasuke-kun» and I was just so happy that I couldn't hold back my tears. Then both of them embraced me and I could feel the warmth of my dear friends. I hadn't realized how much I missed them. I didn't know how to thank them enough for believing in me, for trusting me again.
I thought of making out with Sakura since I knew she still loved me, but I also knew that Naruto was in love with her as well, so I let it be."
"Why did you come up with making out with her?"
"As a sign of gratitude. I thought I owed her at least that much. I thought that if I was with her, if I satisfied her with my presence, with being around her and showing her that I care, I could pay back for all the mistakes I made and for the way I treated her in the past. I knew it was wrong to pretend to feel something that wasn't there, to pretend that i love her in a romantic way, but I couldn't come up with a better way to make amends. Then Naruto suddenly came to us one day and announced that he would be marrying Uzumaki Karin. It was an arranged marriage since the two of them were the only ones left from the Uzumaki Clan. After that, I proposed to Sakura and a few months later we got married, too. I still remember the look on her face when I asked her to be my wife. It was filled with joy and tears of happiness. I was glad I could make her feel that way, so I told myself that as long as I can keep her this happy, I would do anything. One year later she suddenly came rushing to me saying that she got a surprise and revealed her pregnancy. I didn't know how to react. I just embraced her and smiled. 'I'm happy to be able to give her a child' was what I thought. Nine months later you were born. I arrived at the hospital and in your room I saw Sakura holding you in her arms and smiling, although she looked exhausted from giving birth. I was just standing at the door, amazed by how tiny you were and how cute you looked in your mother's arms. She then raised her head and told me with a smile on her lips «Haru-chan is here. Come and greet him.»… and that was it."

The wind hit his face and he could smell the cherry blossoms intensely. They smelled like her.
"That was.. what?!"
Sasuke looked into his son's eyes and with a bright and warm smile he said:
"That was... The moment I feel in love with Sakura."

The evening sun finally continued setting and it was becoming darker. The lights started turning on and parents would go and pick up their children from the play grounds. Night was falling in Konoha.