Sakura listened to the crickets chirping loudly as she dried dishes and put them away. Sarada was in her room, probably sneaking a book under the covers instead of sleeping, which left Sakura with a lot of time to think; Naruto had propositioned her to take on a genin team since Sarada was getting older. Sakura felt Sarada's chakra signature spark and knew she had sensed someone. Whether she was awake or asleep, Sarada had an incredible sensibility for chakra, which Sakura assumed she got from her father. Sakura relaxed her shoulders so as to not alert the trespasser and grabbed a knife, pretending to dry it. She controlled her chakra just enough to feel out the intruder's location, but not enough to alert them that she knew that they were here, or where exactly they were. She could feel them on the southeast corner of the house, the complete opposite direction of Sarada's room.
Sakura warred with herself; her motherly instincts told her to rush to Sarada's room and protect her child, but her kunoichi instincts told her that if the threat was on the opposite side, then they had no clue where Sarada was, and rushing to her room would only alert them as to where she was. Sakura assumed the intruder was an S-class criminal so concealing her chakra signature was out of the question; they would know immediately that she knew they were there.
Though nothing had ever happened, Sakura was always on high alert. Many people had not forgiven the Uchiha for the war and destruction of Konoha and someone was bound to come after Sarada. As a mother, Sakura always assumed the worst. No one had said anything to Sarada that she knew of, but Sakura knew she couldn't protect her daughter for much longer, especially if and when she activated her Sharingan. Sarada was the heir to the Uchiha name, a heavy burden for such a small girl, which meant she must be protected at all times.
Sakura felt the foreign signature disappear and panicked. She whirled around, knife poised to strike, but the intruder caught her wrist. Sakura dropped the knife into her other hand and side swiped at the intruder's rib, incorporating chakra to turn the simple household weapon into a deadly chakra scalpel that could slice through a human torso as easily as a katana. The form jumped back so quickly Sakura had barely seen it move. Sakura stood in front of the stairs leading up to the bedrooms and held the blade in front of her face. The figure lifted its arm and Sakura tensed, immediately lowering herself in a position that could effortlessly shift from defensive to offensive. The figure grasped the hood covering its face and threw it off. Sakura's eyes widened at the handsome face revealed from beneath the hood. Sharp onyx eyes clashed with ferocious emerald. The man's high cheek bones and aristocratic nose combined with dark brows to give off an entitled aura. He stood to his full height, a head or two taller than her, and became an imposing figure that filled the space of Sakura's living room. A tiny cry broke the silent trance between the two shinobi and Sakura's eyes darted to the pack on the man's back.
"Sasuke," her eyes sharpened and narrowed. He said nothing but his lips formed a fine line. Sasuke flared out a little of his chakra to confirm his identity; she barely recognized his chakra anymore since it had changed so much in the time she knew him. His chakra lacked the chilling effect she usually associated with him, but it was still strong and filled the space. Sarada's chakra receptors must be buzzing from chakra so daunting it was almost suffocating. Sakura lowered the knife and set it on the table within easy reach if she needed it again. Sasuke shrugged the pack off his shoulder and took out a little bundle with surprising ease considering he still only had one arm. He cradled the little bundle with a gentleness that seemed strange to attribute to Sasuke but then Sakura was reminded of the first time she'd seen him with Sarada, under similar circumstances. Sakura bit back the anger that flared and Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the heat seeping into her chakra.
"Another Uchiha." Her voice was sharp as tempered steel. Sakura scoffed and looked down at the bundle. Sasuke walked towards her but Sakura held up her hand. Her eyes were transfixed on the blue cloth. She fought tears but she had sworn she would never cry over Sasuke Uchiha again. Sakura never hated herself so much as when she interacted with the cursed Sasuke Uchiha. The bundle made a little noise and Sakura's heart called out to it. She walked up to Sasuke and took the little bundle, softly cooing and rocking him. A full thatch of onyx hair and curious onyx eyes confirmed her accusation. Another Uchiha, the second brought into the world after the tragedy of the Uchiha Massacre.
Sakura walked to the cabinet and fished out the powdered formula she kept for infants in Konoha's hospital and began to fix a bottle while the baby wrestled with its swaddling to reach for her pink locks. Sasuke watched the woman and noted the motherly instinct that over took her; he knew he'd made the right choice. Sakura waited for the boiling water to cool a little before she set the plastic bottle full of formula and water into the pan to heat it. She focused on her task, completely ignoring the man who was still in the room. Once the formula was heated enough, Sakura tapped a little on her wrist then gave the bottle to the baby. Sakura was shocked and angered to see that the baby was old enough to hold its own bottle. Where she had first assumed the baby was a newborn or only a few months old, this confirmed that the baby was at least 6 months old. A million questions ran threw her head, most of them souring her mood further than the proceeding one. Amazingly the one that found its way to her lips was:
"Are you going to abandon this one too?" Sakura turned an accusing eye to the elder Uchiha. His expression didn't change and it pissed Sakura off further.
"She has not needed me yet." Sasuke was lucky she was holding a baby or she might have flown across the room to strangle him.
"Hasn't needed you yet? You're her father; she will always need you!" Sakura whispered viciously. "You of all people should know how terrible it is not to have a parent with you!" Sakura was not pulling any punches and she saw the faint flicker of rage in Sasuke's eyes, but as soon as it was there it was gone.
"There are things I need to do."
"Things you need to do?" Sakura scoffed. "You're only responsibility is to your daughter and now your son. What are you going to do, whore your way around the shinobi nations until the Uchiha Clan is restored?"
Sasuke's eyes bled crimson but Sakura did not back down from him. He could abandon the village; he could abandon her and Naruto and Kakashi, but she would not let him abandon his own flesh and blood.
"There are things about their heritage that I cannot teach them, Sasuke. Who am I supposed to turn to when they awaken their Sharingan? I can't rely on you because I never know where you are or honestly if you're even still alive. At least Kakashi can help them with the fire techniques, but no one can make up for their father!" Sakura hadn't even noticed how loud her voice had gotten until she heard soft footsteps treading down the wooden stairs. Both adults turned to the child wiping her eyes.
"Oka-san?" Sarada questioned softly. "Otou-san." Her voice hardened in an instant. Sakura was honestly surprised that Sarada even recognized Sasuke. He looked very different than the pictures Sakura had shown her whenever she asked about her father. Her facial expression was neutral but Sakura knew there was hurt, uncertainty, and rage beneath the calm façade ingrained in Uchiha blood. Sasuke looked at her, taking in her form, then nodded to her.
"Why are you here?" Sakura instantly caught the waiver in Sarada's voice. Sakura turned to embrace her daughter but Sarada's sharp gasp stopped her. Sakura followed her line of sight and looked down at the baby happily sucking away at his bottle, unaware of the family drama sparking around him. Sarada walked up to her mother and Sakura bent down to give her a good view of her little brother. The baby's eyes locked onto Sarada's, evaluating her with a scrutiny uncharacteristic of an infant, but which seemed typical of an Uchiha. He seemed to be etching every line of her face to memory like an early form of the prestigious but cursed Sharingan. Sakura remembered when Sarada had looked at her like that the first time she held her in the Emergency Room of Konoha's hospital.
Done with his scrutiny, the baby looked at Sakura then went back to his half empty bottle. Sarada looked at Sasuke and her eyes narrowed. She walked around her mother and faced Sasuke with her arms spread wide.
"I'll protect my mother and little brother." She declared with ferocity. "We don't need you." Sakura's eyes widened; she knew Sarada's declaration was as much to Sasuke as it was meant to reassure herself. Sakura looked between the elder and younger Uchiha and felt electricity fly between them. Sasuke looked down at the young girl who reminded him of himself but also of Naruto. She seemed determined to prove that he was not needed. Sasuke nodded to the younger and walked to the door.
"Sasuke," Sakura called out to him. He stopped before reaching the door but did not face her. "If you walk out that door, don't bother coming back. I've raised Sarada on my own so far; Akiharu won't need you either. You'll forfeit your parental rights, and only see them if Sarada and Akiharu decide they want to meet you at some point." Sasuke waited a second before opening the door and walking out into the early spring night. Sakura felt a weight fall off her shoulders. She took the bottle and set it on the counter before burping the sleepy baby. She told Sarada to bring the crib down from the attic and set it up in the master bedroom then began cataloging everything she needed to do in the morning. She needed to sign a birth certificate, give Akiharu a proper checkup, purchase baby supplies, inform Naruto of the new development, and petition for Akiharu's name to be added to Sarada's on the list to inherit the Uchiha fortune when they came of age. Sakura sighed and settled Akiharu into his crib in her room. She was surprised Sarada had nestled into her bed too; she'd always been an independent child, but tonight she needed the comfort of her mother. Sakura settled into her bed and wrapped her arms around her daughter, hushing her and telling her it was ok to cry. Silent tears slipped down Sarada's cheeks and Sakura cursed Sasuke all over again.
"We'll be ok, won't we Haha?" Sarada's voice was small, reminding Sakura that though she was very strong willed, emotionally mature, and independent, Sarada was still just a little girl who deeply felt the sting of her father's rejection.
"Of course we will, Sarada. We've been ok all this time, now we just have Akiharu to protect too." Only when Sarada was fast asleep did Sakura let her own tears fall. She isn't sure what possessed her to think that Sasuke would want to be with her when he told her he'd come back, and when he snuck into her home that faithful night which resulted in Sarada. She doesn't know why she expected Sasuke to be a viable parent. Maybe it was because he knew so keenly what it was like not to have any parents at all. Maybe it was because Sasuke had always been so goal oriented and restoring the Uchiha clan had been his goal since he was a child.
But Sakura soon realized that his goal of restoring the clan had nothing to do with him being an actual father to his children.