I don't think this is my best bit of writing. That mini-story was perhaps one of the most difficult things I have ever written. It was deceptively difficult. Anyway, this is for SasuSaku-Month. It's for the prompt on the 15th, but I'm posting early because I will probably not have consistent internets the next two weeks.

Sayuri means "small lily", according to babynames . com. Also, I was trying to come up with Sakura's actual position in the hospital and failed. Would she be considered surgery or emergency or what? Whatever department it is, she's the head, like a boss.

This oneshot is dedicated to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! Part 2! Totally awesome. (Cause the prompt is for the day the movie comes out in the US. And I'll be on vacation. D:)

"Calm down, Mikoto. It's okay," Itachi Uchiha said, trailing behind his big sister.

"No, it's not. Don't you understand what they were saying?" the elder daughter stormed down the street, causing bystanders to stare.

Itachi grabbed his little sister, Sayuri's, hand and followed his older sister, shaking his head all the while.

"You're drawing attention to us. That's not going to help anything," he called.

Sayuri tugged Itachi's shirt. "Are we going to Mama?"

"Yeah. We're going to the hospital now, okay, Sayuri," Itachi tried to comfort her.

Sayuri smiled and continued on. How anyone could hate her, Itachi didn't know. How anyone could say the things they said to him and Mikoto to Sayuri was even more baffling.

Konoha's hospital was a clean building, with a stone front and neat gardens. The three Uchiha children filed through the glass door. They were a common sight at the hospital, given who their mother was. The receptionist pushed the glass bowl of mints forward as the three trooped in. Whenever they showed up at the hospital, they always took mints. However, Mikoto drove right past the desk, making a beeline for the stairwell. Itachi gave an apologetic smile to the receptionist and grabbed a handful of the candies. He handed one to Sayuri and rushed forward to catch up with his older sister.

Sakura's office was on the third floor, about ten minutes from the stairwell. The children were supposed to go to the office, regardless of whether Sakura was there or not. They could do homework there and Sakura would know exactly where they were. It was a win-win situation.

Mikoto turned her key in the lock and opened the door. Their mother was unsurprisingly not there. Sayuri shut the door behind them, and the three sat at the table and took out their paper and ink. Well, Itachi and Mikoto did. Sayuri had a coloring book and crayons. Mikoto continued to scowl and scribble furiously until Sakura came in.

"Mama!" Sayuri squealed, abandoning her half-colored picture and rushing forward into Sakura's open arms.

"How are you, baby?" Sakura swept Sayuri up into her arms, resting the child on her hip. "And how are my other kids?"

Itachi set his pen down neatly and walked over. "I'm okay."

"I'm not," Mikoto grumbled.

"What's wrong, Mikoto?" Sakura sat next to her oldest, a concerned expression on her face.

"There were some kids at class today. They said some things," Itachi hastily explained.

"They told me and Itachi that we were no-good kids of a traitor. And that we would be a traitor too," Mikoto slammed her pen on the table. "There was more too. It was so… Mother, I hate them. I hate them, I hate them, I hate them."

The young girl ran to her mother and buried her face in Sakura's shirt. Sakura put Sayuri down and hugged her eldest close, running her fingers through her hair and rubbing the nape of her neck.

Sakura sighed inwardly. Somehow, she always knew this day was coming. It would be so easy to lie to her children, to tell them none of their parents was a traitor in any time, but they were smarter than that.

"Mom," Itachi began tentatively. "Is that true?"

"Itachi, Mikoto," Sakura said, forcing her voice to a calm line. "This is something that we really should discuss with your father."

Three pairs of eyes stared at her. Sakura ruffled Itachi's hair.

"Don't worry, he should be home tonight. Now let's do your homework."

Sasuke came home to the shrill shriek of his youngest and all 34 lbs of her running into his legs.

"Daddy, daddy, daddy," she chanted, looking up at him with wide dark brown eyes, dark hair flying around her flushed face.

"Hm, Sayuri?"

"Nothin'," she giggled and disengaged herself from his knees. Lately she had gotten into the habit of repeating people's names to get their attention, even though she had nothing to say.

"Hello, Sasuke. How's Naruto doing?" Sakura leaned on the doorframe, her pink hair tied back with several jade hairclips. She looked the part of a perfect housewife. None would know that she was still considered one of the best healers in Konoha, maybe all of the Hidden Villages.

"He's okay," Sasuke said, shrugging off his scarf and hanging it on the bronze hook by the door.

Sakura smiled and walked back to the kitchen. Sasuke followed, smelling a delectable scent of tomatoes that wafted from the room. He stopped in front of a large pot of stewing tomatoes, water bubbling around them as they bobbed like red drops of paint. As delighted as he was about the food, Sasuke felt a bit cautious as well. Sakura didn't normally make tomatoes unless it was a big occasion.

"Sakura," he started, leaning closer to her.

"What?"

"Why did you make tomatoes tonight?"

She visibly stiffened, stopping mid-stir. She breathed out slowly and controlled.

"Today at the Academy, Itachi and Mikoto said they were called names," Sakura turned to face Sasuke, a sort of plaintive worry branded in her eyes.

"And?"

"They… they were… they were called children of a traitor. From what I can tell, Mikoto didn't take it too well."

Sasuke nodded. "And I suppose we need to talk to them about it?"

"Yeah," Sakura set down her spoon. "Hey, look at me."

Sasuke complied.

"I don't care what others are saying. It's important that they know the truth," she replied with the same fervor that made Sasuke fall for her in the first place. He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss on her forehead.

"I know."

That night after dinner, Sakura gathered all three of her children in her and Sasuke's bedroom. Sasuke had reservations about telling Sayuri. She was only four; she didn't need to hear this. But Sakura insisted. Sayuri was stubborn and she was bound to hear from her siblings anyway.

"Mikoto, Itachi, Sayuri, we're going to tell you a story. It's a sad story, but it has a happy ending," Sakura said in her bedtime lull, a voice crafted specifically for storytelling, all while stroking Sayuri's hair.

"You're ten and eight; you're old enough to know your heritage. Besides, you two are more mature than I could have ever hoped to be at your age," Sakura laughed a little.

Sasuke cleared his throat. He had to be the one to tell them. It was his story.

"Once, there was a very large clan. It was one of the largest and greatest clans in all of Konoha. They were very powerful, and very strong. This clan was the Uchiha."

Sasuke didn't know at first whether to tell the whole story of politics, deception, and power-thirstiness that doomed his clan, but in the end he decided to tell all. It would be better that way. They wouldn't carry the same hatred as he did, if he had any say about it. This way, he could explain the reasons he came back, why he was loyal to Konoha after all this.

"But, there were those in the clan that were power-hungry. Mostly one man, Madara Uchiha. He wanted power, and would stop at nothing to get it. One night, he orchestrated an attack on the village by the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. The people in charge blamed the Uchiha. Most Uchiha began planning a coup d'état. One member, Itachi Uchiha, disagreed with the leaders. He went to the Third Hokage and told of the plot."

Sasuke looked at his son, wondering what he thought of this. Itachi's face was carefully arranged in a look of simple curiosity. He never was one to show his emotions on his face, being an unbelievably mellow child. Sakura had been thrilled that her son was quieter than Mikoto, but sometimes it worried her. She wondered if he would be able to hide any inner turmoil. While that was a good skill for a shinobi, Sakura was terrified of missing some subtle sign.

"The Third tried peace talks. But it didn't seem to be working. Then, a man on the council ordered Itachi to kill his family," Sasuke said slowly.

Mikoto made a small yelp. Itachi gasped. Sayuri stared.

"So," Sasuke gulped, the dull pain of tears building behind his eyes. "Itachi killed his family. All except for one. His little brother, me."

Mikoto then latched herself to Sasuke's side like she did when she was young. She laid her head on his shoulder, her auburn hair spreading all around. Itachi snuck closer and put his hand on Sasuke's knee. Sayuri looked at her siblings, then back to her mother, and then crawled into Sasuke's lap. Sakura gave Sasuke a supportive nod to continue. Sasuke took a deep breath, and stroked Mikoto's hair.

"He told me that he did it for power and fled Konoha. So, I grew up. When I graduated the academy, I was placed on a team with Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno under Kakashi Hatake."

"That's Mama!" Sayuri exclaimed. Sasuke smiled at her and ruffled her hair.

"I'll save you all the details, and get to the part that matters. After the chuunin exams, I left the village to Orochimaru and the Sound Village. All for power. So, I suppose what those people said is true in that regard. I abandoned the village."

"Dad! How," Mikoto gasped, lifting her head up. "How could you!"

"Revenge, Mikoto. I was obsessed with revenge against my brother. I left to get powerful enough to kill him. I trained under Orochimaru for years. Then, I killed him, and went out and killed Itachi. I was told the 'truth' by Madara Uchiha. It was true in some ways, but it was skewed. I made another stupid, revenge-driven decision. I swore to destroy Konoha."

"Why didn't you?" Itachi asked.

"Shh, he has to tell the rest of the story!" Mikoto hit Itachi on the head.

"Mikoto!" Itachi yelled softly, mellow even in anger. He only raised his voice when Mikoto did something to him.

Sakura took this moment to speak up. "Your father was really thick. Naruto and I tried several times to talk sense into him, but nothing worked. Then, Madara attacked."

Itachi nodded solemnly in acknowledgment. "The Shinobi Alliance, right?"

"Correct," Sakura replied cheerfully, tapping Itachi's nose. She then went serious. "You will probably learn more of the battles later. What matters right now is the fight against Madara himself. You see, Naruto went to go attack Madara himself. However, he ran into your father on the way."

"We fought. It was small, not really anything. Then Madara came. He slipped up. He made a mistake in his words, and something snapped. I can't really say why that particular moment just fell the way it did, but it did. So, Naruto and I fought Madara."

Sakura once again took up the story. "I came in once they had been fighting for awhile. I must say, we were awesome."

Mikoto giggled. "Did you do your strength thing, Mom?"

"Of course I did. Ripped up the ground right from under him," Sakura laughed.

Sasuke cleared his throat. "Anyway, after Madara was gone, I once again made a stupid decision. I fought Naruto, full-out."

"Your father got very injured. But I think he finally got it. It was time to go home. Of course, after that, your father had to get past Lady Tsunade," Sakura got up and stretched. "I think we should get ready to go to bed, children. We will continue this conversation later."

Three voices protested.

"That's not fair!"

"Why!"

"I'm not sleepy, Mama."

Sakura chuckled. "You know it turned out okay, because you all are here. So, why don't we get some sleep and we'll get all the details tomorrow."

"Wait. I have a question. If Itachi was named after your brother, who was I named after?" Mikoto asked.

"My mother," Sasuke replied calmly.

"And Sayuri?"

"I just always liked the name, since I was a little girl," Sakura said, picking up the child in question. "Now, let's go."

After a squeeze of her arms, Mikoto left. "Goodnight, Dad."

The next day, Sasuke was home alone, taking care of the garden. Last night's story had taken an emotional toll on him. He kept himself together for his children, but that was all he could manage. He couldn't tell them more than the bare bones of the story. That was too much. Picking methodically at some weeds, Sasuke forced himself to blankness.

"Dad?" Mikoto's voice came from behind. Sasuke turned around, setting his gardening equipment down. All three of his children were standing in front of him, Mikoto resting on one leg, Itachi with his one hand in his pocket, and Sayuri holding the other one.

"Hn," he said.

"Well, we just wanted to say something. But, uh, Itachi's gonna say it, cause he said he would," Mikoto stumbled uncharacteristically over her words.

Itachi rolled his eyes slightly and stepped forward. "We talked about what you said last night. I felt that we should be more upset about our… heritage, I guess. But, you know, it's different. I feel sad, yes, but this," he made a vague gesture around, "is what I know. Not what used to be."

"But that's not all we talked about," Mikoto said. "We also talked about how we don't feel any different about you. I still love you, Dad. Sayuri does too, don't you, Sayuri?"

The youngest Uchiha nodded furiously.

"So don't worry about us. I'm kinda happy you came back, 'cause other wise I wouldn't exist," Mikoto said with a wry smile.

Sasuke stared at his children. He had been hesitant to tell them his past in the event they then rejected him. But here they stood, telling him they still loved him. Sayuri then took a small lily and handed it in one outstretched hand to Sasuke.

"Take it, Daddy. It's pretty and Aunt Ino says it's good because it's my name," she explained, brushing her hand back and forth on her magenta skirt. Sasuke blinked, then opened his arms. All of them, Mikoto, Itachi, Sayuri, rushed into a huge hug. Sayuri's elbows dug into his leg, Itachi's head hit his shoulder, and Mikoto's hair got stuck on his mouth, but that didn't matter.

He was calm and, in those small moments, happy.