Sister!

By Almine H

He sat by the river again and looked out into the setting sun. It'd become his habit since he didn't know what else to do with his time. His head was spinning with thoughts again of what had happened in the past three weeks. He still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that they were gone; all of them; his mother, father, aunt and uncle, his entire clan wiped in one night by none other than his own older brother whom he'd looked up to and idolized.

Now the tears came once more as he remembered Itatchi Uchiha his elder sibling. His heart still ached and even though he'd been told to foster his hatred for his older brother so that one day he might kill him, Sasuke couldn't bring himself to do so at the moment, it just hurt too much. He began to hiccup as he cried somewhat silently and shook. Then he heard a familiar voice from behind him however soft it was.

"See, he's here like I said," exclaimed the voice of Sasuke's academy classmate Naruto Uzumaki. He could tell by the voice that it was him and personally he felt embarrassed that Naruto was watching him cry from behind. He tensed and shook now with embarrassment and some rage.

"Thank you Naruto," said another voice, a female's voice. Sasuke heard the shuffling of feet behind him and he turned his head to glance over his shoulder when she called out his name. "Sasuke." Sasuke looked up to see a beautiful young woman standing before him, tall and with long black hair. She had a naturally flowing face which seemed flawless; just like mother's, thought Sasuke although the memory started to choke him up. The woman knelt down beside him, a soft and kind smile upon her face. She wore the leaf village headband and as Sasuke continued to analyze her he noticed the woman really did look a lot like his mother. This only caused Sasuke to shake more, trying to get the picture out of his head so he wouldn't break down bawling in front of Naruto who stood just behind her, nervously glancing back and forth between them and the river.

"Who are you?" he tried asking in a threatening tone. However his voice wavered some with emotion. The woman continued smiling as she answered him but didn't at the same time.

"My, you've certainly grown, haven't you Sasuke? You're much bigger than when I left the village back then," she stated. Sasuke wasn't in the mood for games.

"I said who are you?" he re asked his question then glanced angrily at Naruto again. "And what're you doing here?" Naruto flinched and blushed, turning away from the harshness of Sasuke's words. Normally he would've retorted or have yelled angrily at the Uchiha but Naruto was still too confused about his own current situation to do so. The black haired woman placed a tender hand upon the young Uchiha's shoulder.

"I'm sorry Sasuke," she apologized, though what for was unclear to Sasuke. "I wish I could've been home sooner but as soon as I got word of what happened from Lord Third well…I got home as quickly as I could and…oh that's right," she chuckled slightly. "Listen to me rambling on and you still don't know who I am. Sasuke…I know mother and father must not have mentioned me in order to keep you safe and Itatchi must've done the same but My name is Sarah, Sarah Uchiha and I'm your older sister."

It took a while for what she'd said to register. Suddenly Sasuke was leaping back defensively from her embrace whilst shaking angry and confused.

"What are you talking about I don't have an older sister. Who are you really?!" he demanded. She sighed.

"Sorry Sasuke but I am. You never knew about my existence because when I was young I was chosen for a special task because of my special sharingan abilities and so I was taken from the village to be trained in the art of the cat sage, a tradition in our clan. Mother and Father must not have told you about me because they were sworn to secrecy on the matter and Itatchi as well. The only other one who knew of my leaving long ago was the fourth hokage and the third."

Sasuke thought about it for a while but then became suspicious. "Oh yeah and what proof can you give me?" he asked stubbornly. Sarah seemed taken aback for a moment.

"Proof?" she questioned. She thought long and hard and finally gave her soft smile again. "Here," she said as she reached into her ninja pouch by her side. She pulled out a little square photo and showed it to him. Sasuke leaned forward, taking it in his hands his eyes widening.

It was a photograph of the whole family together with him as a baby in Itatchi's and Sarah's arms. Meanwhile his parents stood behind him smiling as did his aunt and uncle. Then there were two extra people. A man with bright blonde hair and sapphire eyes beaming while beside him stood a young woman with long beautiful red hair and a slight bulge sticking out from her stomach. She held it lovingly as she stared into the camera and stood right next to his own mother. Sasuke cocked an eyebrow.

"Ok but who're these people?" he wondered. Sarah leaned in to see who he was talking about and smiled again warmer.

"That is Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki," she explained. Sasuke's eyes widened as he recognized the name Uzumaki. "They're Naruto's parents," Sarah continued, confirming Sasuke's suspicions. He was surprised to see them in the photo.

"Is this for real?" he asked still looking at the photo. He glanced up at Naruto who noticed as he too was trying to get a peek and looked away sheepishly, blushing redder. Sarah nodded, taking the photo back and carefully putting it in her little pouch. She smiled again at Sasuke.

"Yes and I am your sister," she confirmed with her words. "In the time I've been away, I've been married too and now after everything that's happened, I'm now your official guardian along with my husband, Kisuke. You that is and of course Naruto." The younger Uchiha looked absolutely shocked. "I've just finished adopting him into the family. Since it's getting late now, why don't we all go home and I'll cook dinner?" Sasuke didn't quite know how to respond.

"This is crazy!" he stated. "Why did you adopt Naruto, he's not an Uchiha and what about Itatchi, he's still out there and…and mom and dad; the clan and…I don't understand!" he cried out in frustration, tears now visible on his cheeks. Sarah then pulled her little brother into a much needed hug. This surprised Sasuke but it was also what he'd needed for such a long time since in the past three weeks, he'd become so tense with emotion he couldn't comprehend anything. His voice caught in his throat.

"It's okay Sasuke," his Sister consoled. "I miss mother and father too and I'm just as confused about Itatchi as you are. However, I won't let that all cloud my judgement because I know that I still have you and now we have a new brother too and I'm certain you'll like Kisuke. He can be a bit of a bad jokester at times but he's very sweet. I promise that I'll explain everything," she promised.

Sasuke wanted to protest but at that moment he more than anything just wanted to be held by somebody and then the tears came although he didn't bawl he just let them fall silently whilst shuddering and hiccupping as they did. Meanwhile, Naruto was feeling just as flabbergasted as Sasuke. Not only had a complete and random stranger come in and claimed to be good friends with his parents whom he'd known nothing about but she'd also adopted him without hesitation or remorse. In fact she was so unlike the other villagers that it'd caught him off guard by how nice she was. He wondered if this was what it felt like to have a mother or an older sister.

After a while, Sarah looked up and gestured for Naruto, who still didn't feel like he belonged, to come over. He did so hesitantly at first and was pulled into the hug with Sarah and Sasuke who didn't even care anymore that the blonde had joined them. They remained like this for a while. Then Sarah let them go giving her most sincere and heart-warming smile, a glimmer of some tears in her eyes as Sasuke and Naruto wiped their own tears away with their hands. They looked back at her not knowing what was next.

"Let's go home," Sarah said. They nodded then allowed the Kunoich to take one of their hands in each of her own and guide them up the embankment and down the road towards where she and her husband had settled into yesterday. The boys didn't even try to get up to their old fighting habits; they just gazed up at the newest anomaly that'd entered their lives wondering just what was to come next.