Notes: Something of a story behind the title. For years, I have tried and failed to produce a story entitled "Springtime for Sasuke". It was named after the infamous play, "Springtime for Hitler" because I was fascinated by the idea that someone would devote a play of that nature to Hitler. Similarly, I am fascinated and vaguely disturbed that Sasuke disproved my theory of his reproducing asexually. And before I could take out my anger on his kid, I found that she had a crappy enough life just from being his kid. So I thought I'd show how it could be even worse. Which is always smart where Sasuke is involved. It just so happens that "Spring" is part of Gaiden's title, so that worked out nicely.

Chapter Summary: Sasuke spent over a decade away from Konoha, searching the world for Kaguya. And Kaguya quietly regained her power, waiting for Sasuke in the one place that it never occurred to him to search for her: Konoha. In his house. With his family. Making her more of a parent to his kid than he was. Um, awkward.


Springtime for Sarada

A Naruto Fanfic by

Nate Grey (xman0123-at-aol-dot-com)

Chapter 1: Return of the Rabbit


"We talked about this, sweetheart. No pets."

Sarada Uchiha, then seven years old, ducked her head, wincing as she glanced over her shoulder to see her mother frowning at her. "But, Moooooom..." she whined.

"No," Sakura replied firmly. "No pets. That's the rule, and you said then that you understood it. True or false?"

"True, but I-"

"And now I find that you have ignored the rule entirely," Sakura went on, gesturing angrily at the obvious evidence: the adorable white rabbit in Sarada's arms, the freshly painted rabbit pen that Sarada had built in the backyard with remarkable speed while Sakura was at work, and the small mountain of vegetables that Sarada was trying to hide behind.

"Mom, I only-" Sarada began.

"You broke the rule, Sarada, and you need to be pun-"

"Himawari has six rabbits! Six! She was even letting me keep mine at her house, until her parents found out and said I needed to be responsible for my own pet. So I saved up some money until I could afford to-"

"You did all of this on your own?" Sakura asked sharply.

"I had some help," Sarada admitted, clearly unwilling to name her accomplices. "But I paid for everything myself. Including the labor that went into making the pen."

"Which doesn't explain why you knowingly broke the rule about no pets, Sarada."

Sarada glared at her. "None of my friends ever want to sleep over. Except Himawari, but if I let her in here, she'd never leave. Ch?ch? says we never have enough food, but I know she's only saying that because it's just the two of us. She feels weird sleeping in a house with no father around, I can tell. She actually asked me if she could bring her mother with her, the last time I asked her to sleep over."

"I would have been... fine with that," Sakura lied with some difficulty. She would have put up with Karui Akimichi for Sarada's sake, anyway. But Karui had never really forgotten that Sasuke had kidnapped her sensei. And her eyes could be pretty scary when she was busy holding a grudge. Also, she was strangely a better cook than Sakura, which was incredibly annoying. She'd only married into the Akimichi, there was no way her cooking should have improved that much.

"Mom, you're missing the point. A rabbit doesn't make excuses not to spend time with me."

"A rabbit is a pet, and we agreed-"

"That was before I realized that being part of this family would suck so much!"

Sakura frowned, keeping a tight hold on her temper solely because she could see that Sarada was truly upset. The girl was shaking, and the rabbit in her arms looked quite displeased about that. "Does he have a name?" Sakura finally asked.

Sarada blinked slowly. "What? Oh. Um, her name is Rabid."

"Oh, honey," Sakura sighed. "You can't name a rabbit 'Rabbit' and not expect-"

"No, not 'Rabbit' like a bunny, 'Rabid' as in foaming-at-the-mouth, overly aggressive-"

"I heard you," Sakura said through gritted teeth. "I was hoping you were joking."

"So I can keep her?" Sarada asked hopefully. "I'll rename her after you, if that would help."

"It would not. So long as you're being responsible, I guess I can look the other way this one time. But I'm not cleaning up after her, and you are responsible for keeping Ch?ch? from eating her."

Sarada's face lit up. "I love you, Mom!"

Sakura waved her off wearily. "Say that the next time I punish you, please. I'm going to start dinner. In honor of our new houseguest, we'll be having salads."

Perhaps if it had been a dog, or a cat, Sakura would not have agreed. But each time she looked at the rabbit, she was reminded of how tiny and cute Sarada had been as a baby, and her heart melted just a bit. She couldn't have gotten rid of either one if she'd tried. And it was fortunate she didn't, as that would have ended badly for a variety of reasons.

Still, Sakura wished that Sarada had given the name some more thought, or perhaps less. Because for the time being, they were stuck with Rabid Uchiha.


It had been sixteen years. Sixteen years since Sasuke had last set foot in Konoha. In that time, he had occasionally had to stop and help defend the world from various threats: the revived Akatsuki, the revived Uchiha clan, the revived Orochimaru. But he had done all of that without ever going home. He always said that the mission was the most important thing.

But after sixteen years with no trace of Kaguya Otsutsuki in sight, even Sasuke had to admit the excuse was flimsy at best. In truth, he simply had no idea how to be a husband or a father, and hadn't wanted to stick around and find out how badly he'd screw it up by staying. So he hadn't. In theory, by the time he came back, Sarada would have outgrown the need for a father, and Sakura would be so used to being without her husband that she would have become similarly self-reliant. He refused to believe that either would sit around sulking and missing him for all that time. He was not especially loveable, and it would have gotten old at some point, even for Sakura. As for Sarada, surely she would hear enough negative things around the village to know better than to get her hopes up too high.

Which was not to say that Sasuke hadn't actually looked for Kaguya. He'd searched the world for her, and found nothing. But it had been a convenient excuse all the same.

There had been countless messages from Naruto over the years, delivered by summon toads, suggesting that Sasuke at least send a Shadow Clone home from time to time. Sasuke refused, ignoring all offers to see pictures of Sakura and Sarada.

It wasn't that he missed them. He had spent most of his life running away from Sakura, and if he had to live without her, he would. Sarada was a complete stranger to him, and there was no way to miss someone he didn't know. It was more that he didn't want to know them: Sakura as his wife, Sarada as his daughter. Attachments made people weak and vulnerable. Attachments could be snatched away in the blink of an eye. It wasn't something that Sasuke ever intended to let happen to him again. Itachi had taught him that much, whatever his original intent had been.

Still, there were more important reasons to return to Konoha. Naruto would have shared any leads on Kaguya immediately, and he wasn't really a deep thinker even now. But he had a way of thinking outside of the box that was usually worth the effort of asking him. And if there was one thing an ancient evil like Kaguya couldn't predict, it was the way Naruto's mind worked.


Sasuke chose to sneak into Konoha by the cover of night, like a criminal. He certainly didn't have to, but in all honesty, he liked the way criminals did things, and their way suited him well. They answered to few, and no one expected them to be honest or noble.

He knew something was off the moment he passed through the gates. The guards, who surely noticed him, did not react in the expected way. They ignored him, and when Sasuke slowed down and actually invited their pursuit by making obvious noises, they put even more effort into ignoring him. Either they had been briefed by Naruto, or they were all Nara and thus incredibly lazy. And Sasuke had spotted at least one guard with a Byakugan, so it wasn't the latter.

The next problem was the total lack of a night-life. Konoha had always been fairly active at night, even if it was mostly ninja on patrol after the shops closed. But both the streets and the rooftops were completely empty. There weren't even any drunks or low-lives hanging around. And Sasuke couldn't imagine that Naruto had created or enforced such a strict curfew for the entire village.

But the real sign that things had gone to hell came in a far more obvious form: there was an empty lot where Ichiraku Ramen had once stood, and every indication that they had not only been closed for years, but had failed to relocate elsewhere in all that time. Even Sasuke wasn't sure he wanted to live in a world where Naruto didn't love ramen enough to prevent such an occurrence. If Naruto didn't still cherish ramen, in what other ways had he changed? And did his strange behavior have any connection to the unusual state of the village? Almost certainly so, assuming Naruto was still Hokage. And Sasuke was no longer willing to assume anything, including that his own family was intact. With that in mind, he headed straight for his home, concern for his family taking priority for the first time in years.


The first thing that Sasuke noticed upon entering his home was Naruto's signature cloak, draped across a chair. Another man might have read far too much into that. Sasuke knew better. Sakura had had every opportunity to be with Naruto in the past, and oddly enough, had taken none of them. She certainly wasn't going to be unfaithful now that she had Sarada to look after, and especially not now that Naruto's wife and in-laws all had the Byakugan. And yet the presence of Naruto's cloak did indicate that he himself was in the house, which was still unusual, given the late hour.

Even stranger, Sasuke could detect the chakra of his wife and daughter in the house right away. Which would not have been so odd, except for the fact that both had apparently been doing some incredibly intense training. Sakura's already impressive chakra reserves had at least doubled, and though he had been nowhere near Sarada since her birth, she had to have three times more chakra than anyone her age should have had, including Naruto's kids. And no one should have been training that hard unless they expected to be caught up in another war, or a fight with an immortal.

"You really should have come home sooner, bastard."

Sasuke frowned as he turned to find Naruto leaning against the wall. While Sasuke had been focused on the chakra of Sakura and Sarada, he had not been so focused that he should have missed Naruto entering the room. And Naruto had never been subtle, not even when he learned his father's prized technique. Sasuke, at least, had always been able to feel him coming.

"Why are you in my house, dead-last?" Sasuke asked.

"Not like I expected you to be here to find out I was," Naruto countered. "Did you forget how a family is supposed to work, or did you just not care? All this time and you're still treating Sakura like she doesn't matter. I'd kill you if I thought I could get away with it."

There was no heat behind Naruto's words, and he actually looked bored as he spoke. These were warning signs to Sasuke, and though he could detect no hostile presence in the house, and believed Naruto to be genuine, he drew his sword.

Naruto shook his head. "Won't need that. Way too late to do anything about this now. Told you, you should have come home sooner."

Sasuke glared at him. "Start making sense, for once."

"Don't suppose you ever found any trace of Kaguya out there?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke froze. "None."

"Ever once think about looking here?"

After a long pause, Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "You were supposed to-"

"Yeah, I'll just bust out these awesome eyes the old sage left me. Oh, no, wait, you've got the eyes. I've got the mad awesome chakra sensing. Which means I knew she was here only when she wanted me to know that she'd set up shop. By then it was too late to stop her, and I couldn't do squat about it from outside of her hidden dimension, anyway. Guess you didn't think that part of the plan through."

"You're telling me she's in the village?" Sasuke demanded.

"I'm telling you she is the village. I haven't seen a person here in years that doesn't carry some of her chakra. Except you."

"Then Sakura? And Sarada?"

Naruto shook his head. "They were the first ones she caught. She was pretty clever about it, too. Took one look at you and figured you'd never be home looking after your family. Now she not only has them, but every family in Konoha. All because you couldn't be bothered to look in on yours. I told you being an insensitive ass would blow up in your face one day."

"How did she break our seal?" Sasuke asked.

"I still don't know. Maybe someone unsealed her, or she managed to hide a piece of herself somewhere before we sealed her. All that matters now is she's back, and she's not going anywhere anytime soon."


It had been so very easy.

The Uchiha child had welcomed her with open arms, and a desperation that actually moved Kaguya. It wasn't natural, to crave affection that much. She decided then, as a woman and a mother: she would punish the man who had made the child this way. And she would start by taking his family away from him, not that it even required much effort. Only the mother and the Hokage would say anything decent about Sasuke, and after a few years, only the mother actually believed what she said to be true.
At first, Kaguya timed the expansion of her chakra within the child, so that it was easily passed off as growth spurts, or increased training. And if anyone ever detected a flare of chakra that could be considered questionable, it was easily explained by the girl's heritage. Being that closely related to someone with chakra once more twisted than Madara's came with a certain amount of backlash, whatever a person's intentions.

Avoiding detection was simple. Kaguya had learned that acting through Zetsu was not an option: the Hokage would instantly sense that. He could not, however, sense her specific chakra. It was too powerful, too old, and too all-encompassing to be detected by someone who didn't know her on an intimate level. And it was that much more difficult to sense when she made it a carbon copy of someone else's chakra. Zetsu had been talented in that area, but he hadn't been her, which made all of the difference.


"She's in my house, too?" Sasuke demanded angrily when Naruto showed him to the bedroom.

"Actually, only one of the entrances to her hidden dimension is in your house," Naruto corrected. "If you want a physical location, technically it's under your house. But you're going to love where she put it. I know I did. Go on, take a good look."

Sasuke activated his Rinnegan and almost rocked back on his heels in shock. Kaguya's chakra was not only all over the room, but also the house, and blanketing the entire village. And just as Naruto had said, Sasuke could now see the entrance to Kaguya's dimension... directly under his own bed.

"Just think," Naruto chuckled. "If you had come home even once this whole time, and taken Sakura to bed like you should have, you could have saved the whole village. After you two got done in here, anyway."

Sasuke ignored him, staring at the glowing portal beneath the bed. It did not appear to have any other special qualities, though only being visible to the Rinnegan had made it special enough. "You can't see it. How did you know where it was?" he asked Naruto.

"I've seen them disappear into it. It's not like they try to hide it anymore."

"You didn't stop them?" Sasuke asked.

"By the time they showed me this, Kaguya could make my whole family grow temporary horns on command. I wasn't exactly in a position to stop anything. And from what I can tell, the only ways to get inside are to have the Rinnegan, or to be invited. I did ask you to come home."

"You never said why I should," Sasuke insisted.

Naruto glared at him. "The hell I didn't. I told you that your family needed you."

"You left out the part where Kaguya had them and the whole village brainwashed!"

"Did you forget everything we ever learned? 'Look underneath the underneath.' I shouldn't have had to spell it out for you. Your family should have mattered enough to bring you home at least every few years. And if not that, I figured sex with your wife would bring you home every month."

"You're really stuck on that. If you want my wife, then say so."

"What I want is for her to have a husband who gives a crap a few times in a decade. But looks like we're both stuck with you. You going in after your women or not?"


Kaguya's dimension was nothing like Sasuke expected. It was essentially the size of a large room, covered in grass and wildflowers, and contained little else, other than Sasuke's family and a highly suspicious white rabbit. All three were seated in the grass, but only the humans seemed to notice his arrival.

"Ah! He's here!" Sakura said happily, clapping her hands.

Sasuke frowned. Other than the increased chakra, she seemed no different. She couldn't possibly be under Kaguya's control, at least not at the moment.

"Who's he, Mom?" Sarada asked, sounding bored.

"Sarada!" Sakura scolded. "Show some respect! That's your father!"

Sarada blinked. "What, you were serious about me having one all this time? I was sure he was dead. That's about the only thing that would have been a good excuse for me never seeing him."

"Your father had a very important mission-"

"Mom, give it a rest, please. I've lost count of the times I nearly died. If I had, it would have been without ever knowing him, and you know what? Once I stopped caring about it, I had a pretty good life. I am not taking three steps backward just because he wants to show up now. I'm starting to get why people said I was lucky he was never around."

Sakura frowned and glanced worriedly at Sasuke. "Sarada, that isn't fair."

Sarada scowled at her. "Me never meeting my father wasn't fair, Mom. And other than my genes, I bet he hasn't done a single thing that benefits me. He doesn't send home money or gifts, he doesn't send either of us letters, and at this point that academy teacher who smells funny is more of a father to me than this guy."

Sasuke was irritated by Sarada's disrespectful attitude, but he was more concerned about the rabbit, which appeared to be dozing near Sarada's left knee. It hadn't moved yet, other than breathing, but he was sure that simply stabbing it without explanation would not go over well.

Sarada noticed the direction of his gaze and quickly picked up the rabbit, settling it in her lap. "So, what do you want, anyway?" she demanded. "I doubt you're here to see either of us. You've made it clear that you can get along just fine without doing that."

"Sarada," Sasuke said slowly, "put the rabbit down and back away."

"You think you can just walk in here and start ordering me around, because-"

"Sarada!" Sasuke snapped. "Do as I say!"

"Mom told me never to listen to strangers," Sarada spat at him.

Sakura sighed. "Sasuke-kun, why are you so concerned about the rabbit? It's Sarada's beloved pet, and she-"

"There is no point in pretending any longer. He knows."

Sasuke didn't have to look to know that the voice had come from the rabbit. And it was a good thing he didn't, or else he might have missed the blank look that settled on Sakura's face as she murmured, "As you wish, Lady Kaguya."

Perhaps more disturbing was that there was no change in Sarada's expression, which implied that she was fully aware of Kaguya's possession of Sakura and was not the least bit bothered by it.

The rabbit, no longer pretending to be asleep, stared directly at Sasuke, its Byakugan staring straight through him. "I have been waiting a long time for you, Sasuke. Though not quite as long as these two, it seems. Apparently our battle taught you nothing about protecting the bonds of family."

"I was protecting my family, by searching for you," Sasuke argued.

"And that turned out so very well," the rabbit replied, smirking at him. "No, you are lying. If you were really so concerned about your family, this would not be the first time either your wife or daughter has heard from you in so long. You possess the power to reshape this world, yet you cannot seem to ensure your own family's happiness and stability. Perhaps your line truly is cursed. And perhaps that is partially my fault. I failed as a mother many times, but even I can see that simply putting forth effort repeatedly is better than not trying at all."

"It's easy to preach when you're the one that turned my daughter against me!"

"It was easy to turn her against you, when you were never here to defend yourself, or to ever make an impression on her in person," the rabbit answered smoothly. "You may blame me all you wish. That will not change the fact that Sarada blames you for your choices. Choices I had no influence over, I would remind you. Until and unless you accept blame, Sarada will never forgive or trust you. But if you truly feel that you are unfit to be a father, and if that is why you stayed away, I would not blame you. And if you are concerned with how your daughter was raised, do not be. She is a fine human."

Sasuke froze, certain he did not like where this was going. "What do you mean by that?"

"I have raised her into a fine human. I have been with her all these years, listening to her insecurities, offering comfort and guidance, ensuring that she grows properly in the ways of our clan."

"You are not a member of my clan," Sasuke growled.

"True. You are a member of mine. For the moment. But that can and will change, if you seek my life, Sasuke. Konoha is mine now, as is your family. You may join us. But unitl I can trust you, I would take back the chakra given to you by Hagoromo. Admittedly, that may interfere with your using the Rinnegan, but so long as your intentions are honorable, you will not need it."

"And if I refuse?" Sasuke asked.

"Then you can resume your life outside of this village. But you will never see your family again, unless it is on the battlefield. You will have no more chances to harm them."

"Sakura would never accept that."

"Sakura has had over a decade to see other children growing up alongside their fathers, and just as long of Sarada's complaints of a damaged family. You would be surprised what she would accept. Or who. There are many men who would be happy to take your place in her life. Perhaps some already have. How would you know either way? And would you even care?"


Naruto had grown up under the assumption that when Sasuke hurt the people close to him, it was rarely ever done on purpose. Sasuke had lost his family at a young age, and perhaps because he knew he could never have them back, he lashed out at those he saw as trying to replace them. Or perhaps he could only quiet the rage in his heart for so long before it spilled over and drove him to violence.

After the war, there had been small signs that Sasuke had changed. Marrying Sakura, and making Sarada, for example. And then Sasuke had come up with the search for Kaguya. And while it made sense that only Sasuke could find her, Naruto had never understood or accepted the part where Sasuke never came back home. There had been so many times where he had been prepared to go out and drag Sasuke back, but Hinata had always stopped him.

"He'd only run again, and hurt them more in the process," she always said. Which was true. And also possibly Kaguya speaking through her. now that he reconsidered it. "It has to be his choice." Which was even truer. If Sasuke didn't want to come back to his family, there was no point.

Naruto couldn't understand how Sasuke's heart worked, if it did at all. From the moment Naruto had found out that Hinata was pregnant, he always found ways to sneak in time with his kids, even if it was through Shadow Clones. His son never failed to find unique ways of getting into trouble, and his daughter was the sweetest thing on two legs. The thought of not seeing them for even a few months made Naruto's heart ache. He couldn't imagine how Sasuke managed it, and apparently desired it, for so long.

That was why Naruto hadn't even tried to fight Kaguya when he first discovered her in the village. Someone who could spirit his family away in the middle of the night, and would be impossible to track without Sasuke's help, wasn't a foe he could afford to anger.

Kaguya had infested the entire village, but harmed no one. She had merely passed her chakra on like a disease, albeit one that seemed to be entirely beneficial, in that it notably increased chakra capacity, but did little else, initially. The problem was that any being that possessed a portion of Kaguya's chakra was also under her complete control, as often and as long she so desired.

She had targeted the Hyuga clan after Naruto's family, her mastery of the Byakugan making them easy prey.

But aside from a few new laws that didn't actually change all that much, Kaguya didn't seem to want much of anything from Konoha, other than total control of its population, which she did next to nothing with. Naruto was not so naive as to believe that it would end there. He rarely left the village for fear of what might happen in his absence, and he was certain that Kaguya had to be spreading her chakra throughout the rest of the world, although Sasuke's lack of findings suggested otherwise.

Also, Kaguya seemed more overbearing than evil now. She would occasionally provide a reminder of her power, in the form of some random person close to Naruto suddenly gaining a temporary Byakugan, or growing horns shaped like rabbit ears. Other than that, she was content to keep Sakura and Sarada as her constant companions. And so long as the pair continued to make semi-regular public appearances and remained in good health, Naruto could not truthfully say that Kaguya was hurting them. Just the opposite, to hear her tell it.

Of course, Kaguya was ethically wrong, but if she had first formally established a clan in Konoha and named herself clan head, everything she had done would have been covered by law. So long as she allowed the possessed ninja to act when necessary, and did not interfere with their duties, Naruto would have been powerless, especially as Hokage, to stop her. The only real difference between Kaguya and the Hy?ga was that they had controlled people through influence rather than chakra, and they had certainly interfered with far less good intentions and far more resulting harm all over the village through the years. Kaguya's chakra had done wonders in all areas. The mission success rate had never been higher, medic-nin were saving patients that would have been beyond their skill years before, and Naruto now lost more veteran ANBU to retirement than to death in the field.

And if the only prices he had to pay for all that was a slight loss of control, and Sasuke never seeing Sakura and Sarada again? Well, it wasn't as if Sasuke had expressed any interest in seeing them to begin with. and Sarada had eventually gotten over Sasuke's absence. As for Sakura, if Sasuke wasn't going to make her happy by being with her, and Kaguya could find someone who would, that was another plus. Sakura had earned the right to be happy, even if it had to be forced on her. And Naruto, for one, was sick of seeing her unhappy, especially when she invited it on herself by insisting on staying with Sasuke.

It wasn't a betrayal, not really. Naruto had a duty to his friends and his village. Sasuke was the only thing that had managed to hurt his family in quite some time, and it was time to cut off the bad leg.


"Mama, help! Kushina got out again!"

Hinata sighed and slowly opened her eyes, taking in the sight of her daughter leaning over her. She did not need a clock to know that it was the middle of the night. Kushina only ever seemed to vanish during such hours. "Calm down, Himawari. Where did you look for her?"

"Under my bed, in my closet, and in the hallway."

Hinata mentally counted to ten. "And did you think to use your Byakugan while you were looking?" She already knew the answer, though.

Himawari blushed. "Um, no. I was so worried that I didn't think about it."

"Well, try it now, dear." Hinata wanted to encourage her children to do things for themselves, and more importantly, she did not want to get out of bed for anything less than a true crisis. She did not consider Kushina's nightly escape attempts to be on that list.

"Oh, I found her!" Himawari cried shortly, beaming in relief. "She's with Papa again."

"She always is," Hinata reminded her. "She must be living up to her name."

"You really think so?"

"I know so."

Himawari had decided to name each of her six pet rabbits after the previous Hokage. So there was Hashirama, Tobirama, Hiruzen, Minato, and Tsunade. But the final rabbit had also been female (and Himawari had not wanted to name one after either Sixth, anyway), and since one had already been named for her father's father, Himawari named it after her father's mother. To everyone who pointed out that Kushina had never been Hokage, Himawari insisted that was only because she'd died before she got the chance. And in any case, the rabbit did feel like a Kushina. She seemed to think she belonged to Naruto, and escaped at every available opportunity, just to be near him.

"Sorry I woke you, Mama," Himawari apologized.

"It's fine," Hinata yawned. "Just remind your father to put Kushina back in the pen with the others."

"This is not why I woke you, Hinata."
Although there had been no change in Himawari's voice or expression, Hinata instantly noticed the slight difference in her chakra fluctuations. She had never determined if that was because Himawari was her child, or due to her own chakra's uniqueness, or a gift that Kaguya had allowed her. "I am honored, Lady Kaguya. As always," Hinata murmured as she sat up, now fully awake.

"I will have to deal with the Uchiha soon. Whatever the outcome, I am sure that Sakura and Sarada will need your family's continued support."

"I cannot imagine that I could provide them with anything that you cannot, but it will be as you say. Do you think you'll have to kill Sasuke?"

"I would regret it, it would complicate things. Yet it is an acceptable outcome. Some disruptions simply cannot be tolerated."

Hinata noted that Kaguya seemed genuinely annoyed by having to deal with Sasuke, which at least was something she could understand. She could not exactly make the case that Sakura and Sarada had been happy without Sasuke around, and yet she was sure his absence was preferable to his presence. "I understand. Was there anything else you required of me?"

"Yes. Himawari is considering giving Kushina to her father for his next birthday. Encourage her."

Hinata blinked slowly. "May I ask why?"

A flicker of annoyance passed through Himawari's face. "Why would you? It would make them both happy."

"Yes, I know that, and you know that. I'm merely surprised that you would care enough to bring it to my attention."

"We are not so different, Hinata, whatever you might think of me. We have different ways of raising our children, but it pleases us to see them happy."


"Mom, you burned the rice again," Sarada complained the next morning.

"Sorry, honey," Sakura apologized, taking the bowl away. "I was distracted."

Sarada frowned at her. "So that guy is gone? Again?"

"He... yes, he's gone," Sakura answered, looking away. "Lady Kaguya didn't want him here, and we live to serve her, so..."

"Good," Sarada replied. "I didn't want him here, anyway. We're better off. Lady Kaguya takes better care of us than he ever did. Why was he so special to you, anyway?"
Sakura sighed. "Sarada, I have learned that it's a waste of time trying to convince others of what I see in him. I can only tell you that he is what my heart wanted. And when you heart wants something, you will do anything to grasp it, and hold onto it, for as long as you can. Even if others tell you to let go."

"I didn't like him."

"That isn't surprising. He has never been good with first impressions. Or children. Or marriage, if you want to get technical about it."

"Are you admitting that he wasn't a good husband or father?"

"None of which changes that my heart still wants him, and you Sarada," Sakura replied, squeezing her daughter's shoulder. "You are both precious to me, even if you are not exactly fond of each other."

"You mean like the way I can only stand Himawari in small doses?"

Sakura smiled. "Something like that, yes."

"Are you going to be sad, now that he's gone? I don't want him here, but if it means-"

"Lady Kaguya," Sakura interrupted, "was very understanding. She offered to let me forget him, if it ever became too much. But I don't think it will be necessary." She smiled confidently. "Your mom is much tougher than she looks!"

Sarada looked uneasy. "You must be an absolute monster, then, because if I wasn't your kid, you'd scare the crap out of me half the time."

Sakura's smile stayed firmly in place, even as she returned the bowl of burned rice to its original spot in front of Sarada. "In that case, you're a monster's kid, and than means eating burned rice should be no problem for you, missy."

"Uh, Mom, I didn't-" Sarada began.

Sakura's smile widened. "Eat. It. All."

Swallowing nervously, Sarada reluctantly began to eat. "I should really learn when to stop talking." She paused when her rabbit hopped into her lap. "Oh, Rabid! Would you like some of Mom's special rice?"

The rabbit gave her a cold stare.

"I guess not." Sarada lowered her voice. "Look, can you help me out here? Just will the burn away, or wish up some more rice?"

"I have no problem with your attitude toward that man," Rabid said. "He has done nothing to benefit you, and only brought chaos to your life. But disrespecting your mother, either of them, demands punishment, Sarada. Eat the rice."

"Easy for you to say. She never burns your food," Sarada grumbled as Sakura placed a plate of raw vegetables on the table.

"I can also burn your lunch, if you'd like," Sakura offered.

Sarada frowned. "But you've already made my lunch, you always do it before breakfast."

"Exactly. And I have no problem burning it now."

"Are you absolutely sure you're not upset about that guy being gone, Mom?"

"Honestly, I'm more upset that my daughter thinks of me as a fire-breathing monster who burns her food."

"You misunderstood me. I don't mind so much having monster in my blood. I just don't want to eat like one. We're Uchiha, not Akimichi."

End of Chapter 1.


Continued in Chapter 2: Salada of the Grass

Sarada has the chunin exams won when she runs into, you guessed it: a suspicious Grass genin. But this one happens to be authentic. Problem is, she's authentically Sarada's half-sister.


Endnotes/Rant: (may want to skip if you love Sasuke)

Initially, I thought Naruto Gaiden to be the brainchild of a madman, holding Kishimoto at knifepoint and forcing him to put his name on it. Mind you, a well-meaning madman, who was once a Sasuke fan, but gradually became bitter with the revelation that Sasuke has no soul. But at some point just before the final chapter, Kishimoto made his escape... and gave Sasuke back his soul. And you have no idea how much I wish that hadn't happened. Because, once again, I feel like the final chapter ruined nearly everything. And the most disgusting thing of all? I was right about Ino not being over Sasuke, which means she actually married the guy most like Sasuke on purpose. Made me throw up in my mouth a little bit.

So, this story (and indeed, most of my Sasuke-centric stories) are an attempt to return things to a simpler time. When Sasuke had no soul, or at least did a great job of keeping it locked away, where it belonged. Uchiha walking around with souls, nobody wants to see that. We want a Sasuke who stabs everyone who claims to love him. A Sasuke that could drop Karin's kid in Sakura's lap like a boss, then walk out for over a decade, and still find a hot dinner on the table when he got back. A Sasuke with a pimp eye that strong, I could at least grudgingly accept. A Sasuke that can't kiss his wife is an embarrassment... to Sasuke. Make him a powerful jerk, but don't make him shy. That's Hinata's gimmick, and it cost her a cousin and a rod to the gut, so she's more than earned it.

I feel like the Sasuke in Gaiden is something of a new character. Supposedly a redeemed version of the guy who once hated the world. Which only works if you accept that Sasuke has been redeemed. And I only feel that Sasuke made amends with Team 7. And by that I mean he basically did nothing, and they forgave him yet again. Here' s the problem: the village isn't Team 7. Sasuke may have once been their golden boy, but that was before. Kakashi actually had to put some effort into getting Sasuke pardoned, so Konoha is no longer in the business of looking the other way when Sasuke messes up. Yet there is no mention of anything Sasuke has done to repay the village for his crimes against it, or even the former classmates he nearly got killed. And I doubt there is anything to mention. Instant Forgivess no Jutsu at work yet again. And clearly Ino invented it.

I'm sure there are lots of people bragging now that Sarada is safely Sakura's child. Doesn't change the fact that Sarada has a crappy father, has zero memories of him until recently, and that he is leaving her yet again. Or that he apparently has time to train Boruto, with the very same jutsu that could have easily allowed him to check on his family. I'll give Kishimoto credit for one thing: he never fails to remind us that Sasuke is cuel to people who love him, for no apparent reason.

People still make excuses for Sasuke not going home in over ten years. I maintain that there simply isn't a good enough one, especially among those who can make Shadow Clones. Jiraiya didn't have an excuse for not checking on Naruto, Kakashi didn't have one for not training Naruto or Sakura during the chunin exams, and Sasuke especially doesn't have one for all that time. I'm reminded of Sasuke preaching to Naruto about how he couldn't understand what it felt like to lose a family, when he never had one. Sasuke knew how it felt be ignored by his own father, yet he can't see that he's doing it to his own kid. Funny how that works. Only not really. What is it about being a combat genius that makes for lousy parenting in Naruto? I mean, Goku used to think marriage was food, but even he knew enough to play with his kids occasionally. And he had the very valid excuse of being dead half of the time. Which is just going to make Sasuke look worse in the crossover.