AN: This is a short story about Sarada and Sasuke. Let the tale begin.
Uchiha Clan
The Chunin Exams. They were coming closer by the day, and it was to no surprise that Genin were training really hard to be ready for them. Among the young Shinobi, is a Sarada Uchiha. She had watched Boruto change his childish attitude for once and actually pull off learning something new. Something that took a great amount of effort. Now that she knew he was going to give the exams his all, she felt more at ease as she trained on her own. She didn't have time to watch over him, she needed to become more dependable to the team.
She was training on the public grounds available to Konoha just as the sun was rising. If he was going to push himself, she was going to do the same. She was throwing shuriken and attempting to aim for a target far away using her sharingan. Sarada had to take deep breaths so that her hands were relaxed and didn't jitter for even a moment. Even if she had visual prowess that helped see amazingly, it would mean nothing if she couldn't use skills that kept up with her eyes. She felt the wind pass her, and she could tell this one had been building up. Once the wind subsided, she threw with the best aim she could. Four shuriken flew from her hands and struck trunks and branches.
"Tch. Needs work" she said, disappointed.
She looked off to the side. Only one of her shuriken even got close to the secluded target.
"Maybe"
Sarada flinched to the sound of her voice. She turned around and saw her mother leaning off a tree while staring off to the forest. Just in the direction of where the target was. Sarada's eyes widened to the fact that her own mother could see that far. And without any help like the sharingan. Sakura smiled to her daughter's amazement.
"So why come up so early to train?" asked her mom
Sarada reached into her bag and took out two more shuriken. She held them in her hand and stared for a moment.
"For the Chunin exams, what else?" She said before turning back around and walking towards the target. Sakura stayed, crossing her arms and looking up to the trees.
"Ah…I see…"
Sarada stopped after walking a short distance and began looking for the target. She couldn't find it with her regular sight, so she activated her sharingan and quickly found it. She began analyzing the environment and making sure that her shuriken would strike true this time. Sakura thought about something for a moment, and then grinned at an idea that came up. She watched intently at Sarada's form and waited for the perfect moment. Just when Sarada was about to whip the shuriken from her hands, Sakura blurted.
"Sasuke could help you with this"
The thought of her father tripped up her aim and she sent one shuriken straight to the ground, and another far to the side. Sarada spun around and pointed at her mother.
"What was that? I had it this time and you had to go say something like that?"
Sakura broke, laughing at her child while Sarada blushed slightly. Sarada looked to the side while having a pout-ish face.
Sakura walked over to her daughter and leaned to her level.
"You know… I'm sure he wouldn't mind" said Sakura
Sarada looked to the ground, not convinced that her father would have the time to spend with her. Sakura saw the look in her eyes and sighed.
"He isn't going to be here forever. Now is a chance for you to ask him about such things"
Sarada looked to Sakura. The look in her mother's eyes told her that she should go for it. She broke a smile and looked at her mother a little worried.
"R-right. It's now or never…"
(...)
Sasuke came walking into the deciphering core and looked to the text that was being precisely analyzed. An attendant hurried their way to him and held a clip board.
"Do you have anything?"
"Uh, well, you see, we haven't come up with anything solid, but it seems to be a premonition of some sort. Or something similar" stuttered the attendant
Sasuke looked to the attendant with his bland stare.
"I see"
He turned around and made his way out. Nothing was being accomplished. But there was nothing he could do. All that was left was to be patient. He internally sighed at the amount of progress that was being made. It couldn't be helped. He would continue training Boruto for the time being while he made his rounds to see what was new.
He walked the streets of Konoha, making his way to the home his family currently resided in. He stared straight ahead, ignoring the glances and slight whispers near him. He was the legendary Uchiha that was regarded as the rival of the Hokage. Naruto Uzumaki. Long ago, the whispers he heard were about how evil he was and how they didn't trust him. The glances he received really weren't ignorable. They were frightend and aggressive. But now things have changed. For the worse in his opinion.
"Look at that. Uchiha Sasuke is so handsome" "That guy is a lone survivor. He's super cool!" "I wonder how he makes money. Probably a black market thing"
The glances were attempted to be hidden, but he could still tell that people were surprised he was in the village. Sasuke looked to the side at the smell of something unforgettable. He wasn't one for showing emotion anymore, but he swore he nearly frowned at what he was looking at. There was apparently a big sale in ramen, and there was so many people that the line almost reached him. He considered it for a moment. After all, he hadn't tried out ramen in a long while. He reached into his pocket and searched for some money to use. He found none and unexpectedly felt relieved. Sasuke didn't ever think that he would feel glad that he didn't have money to eat, but here was an occasion. He continued walking, thinking more on the progress the deciphering core was making.
"Dad!"
Sarada. He looked behind himself and saw her jogging her way to him. He turned around and waited for her as she reached him.
"What is it?" he asked calmly
She took in a breath and stopped before him. Sarada felt a little nervous now that she was before him. But her mom was right. It was now or never!
"I… uh… was wondering if you could train me?"
She looked straight at him, feeling anxious for what was to come.
Sasuke felt a slight pang of nostalgia when she asked him. Before, he was the one trying to ask his brother for some of his time. It was why the tap on the forehead was made. For a sign of 'I care, but I can't'. But it wasn't always like that. He did have times before Itachi began his journey that they spent time together. Sasuke could see how she was nervous, and realized that this was a little bit of a different situation. She wasn't asking someone who was sometimes around. Nor was she asking a sibling who she grew up with. She was asking her father.
"I see"
Sasuke turned back around and began walking. Sarada looked at his back and her eyes traveled to the ground. The distance between them grew, and Sasuke stopped. He looked back and saw the expression on her face and let out a heave of air.
"You're…"
Sarada focused her eyes on his, surprised he was still there.
"Still jumping to conclusions"
(…)
Sasuke led the way into the Uchiha training grounds. He knew of a spot that would suit well in training shuriken throws. It was a small area that had many trees around so that the wind wouldn't interfere as much. And as well as a stone to mark where the center piece was. He had heard from Sakura that she was exceptionally well in her shuriken field of skills, and decided that was what they were going to train in first. Though Sarada had no idea what they were doing just yet.
"Are we there yet?"
"Nearly"
Sarada noticed that she was staring to her father's back so much, and tried to pry her eyes away. But she couldn't help it. Her dad was around and he was going to spend time with her. It felt like a dream, which she felt mildly embarrassed for thinking of it that way. Shouldn't she be wishing for other things other than her father's acknowledgement?
"Okay. Ready?" asked Sasuke
Sarada saw that her father was standing next to a large stone and made her way infront of him. She nodded to him and he reached for some shuriken. He held out four in his right hand and fondled with them for a moment.
"Try finding all the targets here"
Sarada activated her sharingan and searched the area, high and low. There seemed to be about 4, no, 6, wait, 8. She had to jump on the stone they were near to make sure and to her amazement; there was about 12 targets that seemed rather old. They all hung from a piece of string, and were pretty evenly spread out from where they were.
She was still looking for more, when one by one, thuds could be heard. Sarada searched for the ones she already found, but they were gone. But then she realized that the reason why she couldn't find them was because they had all fallen to the ground. She looked back to Sasuke and he was staring at her and how she took in what just happened.
"How?"
He stood silent while watching her. He only used four projectiles and was able to take down 12 points of interest. He looked down while analyzing what her reaction was. She wasn't that far ahead. She couldn't tell that they were falling due to his aim until the first cling of the shuriken. And she didn't have the slightest clue as to how he redirected them back and made rounds through the air. It would take a while to teach her those things.
"Let's start in more basic fields"
They spent a long while showing each other what they could do and Sarada began to understand more of how he was able to do that phenomenon earlier. While Sasuke began to learn more of what she learned during his absence. It seemed that she excelled in what her mother taught her. Medical training and physical force were well embedded into her. But she somewhat lacked in the Uchiha side. She only possessed the knack for figuring out shuriken skills and her sharingan. He supposed that she could start on it. After failing for another time in hitting her marks, Sasuke spoke.
"Come here. I have something I want to show you"
He began walking and Sarada looked back to him. Something he wanted to show her. She didn't know why, but felt like he was itching to introduce this something. Sarada caught up with him and looked to the empty space in his left arm. She had studied up on why he lost his arm. It was the same reason why the Hokage didn't have his. They had a battle that ended in both of them becoming friends. But it didn't mention how, or anything of the sort. Just a battle that bonded them together. She did have a certain question about it though.
"Dad. Why don't you have a new arm like the Hokage does?"
"I don't need to get a replacement. I'm fine with one"
"Wouldn't it be better to have two so that you could do more?"
Sasuke stared to his missing arm and thought back to his battle with Naruto. He had to admit, he had sometimes forgotten about the big fight. But he was constantly reminded that he was a Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf because of this missing piece of his body. And that he made a promise to Naruto. It was like a mark that he always had and a thing that had reasuured him that he would never go back to the way he was.
"Its…necessary that I don't get a new one"
"Heyyy!"
Up ahead, was someone that Sarada didn't want to see at the moment. The blonde that was always up to something.
"Boruto, what are you doing here?"
When he reached the two he smiled while putting his hands on his hips.
"Came to train with my sensei. What else?"
"But I'm training with him right now. Just go practice your rasengan or whatever"
"Eh? I only perfected that thing cuz uncle Sasuke said I needed to. Now that I got that out of the way, the real training…"
"What? You lost your train of thought again?"
"How did you know I was practicing that?"
Sarada jumped at the question and adjusted her glasses while getting angry with him.
"Everyone knows that you've been practicing it! It's not really a secret when you spend day after day yelling about how lame something is!"
Boruto blushed a little at how she did have a point.
"Who cares? I came here cuz I finally got it down and now I can really learn from him"
"What? That small little ball? Please, Konohamuru sensei makes them so much better. You have a long way to go before you perfect it"
"A rasengan is still a rasengan, ya'know!"
"Yeah? Well my dad is still my dad, ya'know!"
"What?"
"You heard me! Stop trying to steal my dad!"
"No way! I asked him to train me first!"
"My dad. Your sensei. I think my reasoning takes the cake!"
"That's not fair!"
"Is to!"
"Is not!"
"IS TO!"
"IS NOT!"
They both got in each other's faces and held a staring contest while Sasuke watched with interest. He could almost see both the dobe and himself standing there. He could feel that right about now was when Sakura barged in and separated the two while Kakashi would just be reading off to the side.
"Both of you. Stop"
The two of them jolted into bowing stance and leaned their heads down while both simultaneously saying their apologies. Sasuke didn't know how he would deal with this. He already had one student and now he had his own daughter coming into the picture.
"I-"
"Sasuke!"
He looked ahead and saw yet another person. It couldn't be helped he supposed.
"Mom!"
"Aunt Sakura?"
She flashed over to Sasuke's side and had a bag over her back. She smiled to the two children and then sat down while taking things out of her bag.
"I brought lunch for you all" Sakura said
She set out three boxes and sticks on top. She zipped up the bag and leaned against the tree she was near to and closed her eyes while smiling.
"Eat up!" she said
They were all surprised that she came so prepared. She not only had food for Sarada, but for Sasuke as well. Like she knew that he was going to be with her. Furthermore, she had anticipated that Boruto would be there to. Sasuke was the first to take up a lunch box and snapped his sticks. While the other two where dumbfounded at how this was playing out.
"Thanks"
"Don't mention it"
He was hungry after all. That ramen had stirred his stomach up more than he had anticipated, and Sakura's cooking was just what he needed.
"Uh… right"
Boruto took up a box as well and parted his sticks.
"Thanks"
Sarada still couldn't believe that her mother planned this. She took advantage of the opportunity and made this from a training session, to a small little picnic. With her family. All together. Plus an annoying ninja.
She looked down to her untouched lunch. A small smile cracked and she took the food.
"Thank you mom"
(…)
There was a long day ahead still. Sasuke was the first one to have started eating, and to add on he had always been a fast eater. So now he had to make a plan so that he could train both Sarada and Boruto equally. But he didn't want to train them together; the two of them were bound to start another argument and waste time. Also, he wanted to train them individually to make sure he monitored them to the fullest extent. How could he manage to train two people at once? It was like attempting to look to the left while also looking to the right. What would Naruto do…?
"Hey uncle Sasuke! I'm ready to get serious" said Boruto as he jumped up
"Hold on! I'm not done here" said Sarada
"I finished first. Totally fair this time"
"Ish noght" said Sarada as she stuffed her face with the remaining food
They continued bickering as Sasuke thought more on how he could train the both of them. Then it finally hit him. The dobe's mind was useful from time to time after all.
He raised his hand and made a sign, and following that, puffs of air appeared around him. Shadow clones. Only two were made, but that was enough to stop the two from their argument.
"I'll be here… while these two will each be assigned to train you individually" said Sasuke as he made his way where Sakura was and sat down.
Sarada and Boruto looked to each other with a look of disappointment. They really wanted to have a one on one training session, but it seemed this was going to be it.
"No problem! I'll knock this clone flat and then become stronger"
Sarada dropped her box to the side, finished with it's contents.
"As if. I bet I can take mine down long before you can"
"Prepare to be wrong" said Boruto as he charged after one of the clones.
Sarada made her way to the other one and the two genin began practicing their taijutsu against the surprisingly strong clones.
Sasuke watched them for a bit, but knew that his clones would remember every detail they got within their sights. There was a low grumble that he heard from his side and it was long. He assumed it was a toad that was quiet large. He turned his attention to the sound and looked over the grass. Nothing. Sasuke looked up to Sakura and she was blushing.
"I uh, guess I'm pretty hungry"
She had only anticipated that the three of them would be there, so she only made boxes for three. But when Boruto was there, she silently made it seem that it was all for them.
Sasuke looked at her stomach and she began to feel like she was being analyzed by him. It felt like her body was getting attention from the whole village, but is was just Sasuke.
"What?" she asked after a period of time. He had been staring longer than it was necessary and it made her fidgety. Was something wrong? Had she gained weight? Was her skin tone too light or dark? Did he think her outfit was too revealing? How many years has it been since he looked away?
He had been thinking about something and decided that he would go with it. The idea seemed appropriate enough. He let the ninja battle it out for quite while. It was nearly four hours when Sasuke estimated that now was fine.
"Clones" he said
The two shadow clones backed away from the two panting children. They were tired out this much from only a couple of shadow clones. They had eventually made a truce to try and defeat them both, but to no success.
Sasuke looked to the sky and could tell that it would soon become sunset. Good timing. He raised his hand and made a sign, and in turn the shadow clones dispersed.
"That'll be all" said Sasuke as he stood
"What? But we barely started!" said Boruto
"Yes. You barely started. I have things to do now"
He walked away towards the forest and the rest of them thought they might as well return home to. Boruto compromised. He still had some time before the Chunin exams.
"Well I'll see you later I guess. My mom is probably gonna be mad if I'm late" said Boruto as he jumped away. It was just the Uchiha left, and Sasuke stopped when he could tell that his student was out of ear shot.
"Please wait for me at the house. I'll be there in a moment"
Sasuke then flashed out of sight and Sakura and Sarada were left there.
"I wonder why he said that" said Sarada
Sakura bolted from her seat to the direction of the house, leaving a really confused daughter standing.
"Uh…" she decided that it might be best to follow suit and made her way to home as fast as possible. Her mother was a much more experienced ninja though, so of course she was going to take a while to get there. She contemplated why her father had said such a cryptic thing. He wasn't the type to say please. Or at least she thought he wasn't. So maybe that was why her mom reacted with such energy. But what could be so important that was there…
She slowly but surely made it to the door of her house. She just about grabbed the knob when Sasuke opened it and walked past her, with her mom right behind him.
Sarada was even more confused as to how he was able to finish up whatever he was doing, and make it back to the house and exit it before she even entered. To make matters more weird, her mom was smiling so hard it almost scared her.
"Where are you guys going?" she asked
"To eat. C'mon" said Sasuke
Sarada's eyes could not get any bigger.
"Eh?" she asked as she was left staring at empty space
She snapped out of her trance and looked around; they weren't too far, just heading down. She jumped out and landed on the main street and saw the two barely coming out.
"So where are we going?" she asked she made her way over to them and walked with them.
"You'll see Sarada" said Sakura
They all walked together as a group through the streets and it actually felt more than just a walk to a place to eat. All of them could feel the difference. It took a long while; they were all following Sasuke as he perused the area. In reality, Sakura had absolutely no clue where they were headed. But Sasuke wanted to make this somewhat special. Naruto had been nagging him non stop every time they met about being involved in his family. He couldn't explain to him or anyone else why he hadn't started before. It just wasn't the time. And even now, he was having his doubts. They were nearing the location and he looked over to the two beside him. These two were precious to him. They were his most prized people. So even if he thought he wasn't ready, he had to show that he still was Sasuke Uchiha. He realized that he had to do this much when Sarada went out of her way in search of him. He only wished that…
He stopped infront of their destination and the two girls looked above at the sign.
"Ichiraku Ramen?" said Sarada
"Sasuke…" Sakura was left with no words as to how symbolic this felt.
He only wished that he came up with a better place to eat at. He wasn't familiar with the village restaurants since a lot has changed. This was one of the memorable places that he knew where you could get food. Before he got home, he had went to go see the dobe and asked him for a small amount of money. Unfortunately he had gotten a lot since he was friends with the loser, which was nice and all but he only asked for some. Not enough to keep him eating for an entire month.
"Let's go"
They entered and sat at the front. Sasuke at the center, Sarada to the left, and Sakura to the right. They waited until they could order, and the waitress recognized the lone survivor of the Uchiha.
(…)
"I'm sorry, we just can't" she said
"Take it" he said with a slight edge in his tone.
Sakura tried to chuckle quietly to soften the mood and Sarada was sweat dropping to the situation. Apparently the Hokage had ordered long ago that whenever Sasuke was present in the Ichiraku shop, he was, under no conditions, allowed to pay for his meals. All orders and things of cost were to be put under the Hokage's tab and he had no say in the matter. This was when Naruto initially became Hokage and he still had the time to make his rounds to his favorite shop. This did not bode well. Sasuke would not allow this. He already had to ask him for some cash, he would not have Naruto provide for his family a second time. Especially since if he didn't use it right now, that would mean he had the money to himself. He didn't ask for the sake of himself, but his family and their meal.
"I think it would be best if you took it as a tip?" asked Sakura
"I'm afraid I can't" said the waitress
It seemed that all the staff here was aware of this rule, and none would disobey the Hokage's wish. To be fair, the Hokage rarely asked for anything. He hadn't asked of the people in so long, it seemed like this was one of the very few things that they could do for him.
Sasuke calmed himself and thought of a way so that they would accept the payment, and only one came to mind. This would be a waste of money if it didn't work, but he still had pride to coddle. He held it out to the waitress once more and she looked to the side, not accepting it.
He dropped the money and it landed on the floor, and looked to the order list on the counter. The other two Uchiha smiled to him and thought it was fine. They to, began looking over the meal options while some of the employee stared at the money at the ground. Sasuke could recognize some of what was on the menu, and some of the new options interested him.
"Waitress"
"Y-yes?" said the lady who was just looking at the cash.
"I'll have some ramen"
"I'll have that as well" said Sakura
Sarada looked to her mother and father and thought it strange that they wanted something that sounded so plain. But despite that she ordered the same. The employees had to ignore the money on the ground as they went about their business and prepared meals.
Sarada thought back to the training grounds and what had happened. Something came right out of the blue and she snapped her head to her father.
"Dad? What was it you wanted to show me back at the training grounds?"
Sasuke's eyes nearly showed surprise, but he looked back at the menu.
"Yes. That would be-"
"Score!"
Sakura straightened her back the moment she heard that voice. Oh wow. What timing.
"Lady Tsunade, you don't know who that belongs to"
"Ah what's the harm in practicing one of the most wisest words ever written. 'Finders keepers.' "
Sakura tried to make herself as unnoticeable as possible, but to no success.
"Well look what we have here…" Tsunade saw that not only her pupil was present, but her daughter and the Uchiha.
She pushed over Sakura and sat next to Sasuke, giving him a look that was studious, yet menacing. The Sanin cared very much for her student, and hadn't got much contact with the father of her grand child. He was never around, and she was going to wring him clean of info before she lost the opportunity.
"What's up?"
Sasuke looked to her with his ever so calm face. She seemed to be in a bad mood, even though she just found a sum of cash. No matter. He was probably one of the very few who could make people do a one eighty like that. From happy to mad.
"Eating with my family"
Sakura didn't want to interfere because she wanted to see if Sasuke of all people could handle lady Tsunade. If she spoke up now, she would probably get shut out of the conversation. Her master was very strict when she wanted to be. But Sarada didn't know that like Sakura did.
"Dad. About that thing earlier?" Sarada wanted to really know now. As well as try and protect her dad from any interrogation that Tsunade was planning.
Sasuke didn't look over to his daughter. He continued staring at Tsunade still while ignoring her.
"Well? What was the thing you were going to tell her?" asked Tsunade
"I can either turn to her…or to you right now" he said slowly
Tsunade's eyes flickered at his words. She looked down to the counter for a moment, deep in thought. Waiters came by and placed bowls of ramen to each of the Uchiha.
"Would you like to order anything?"
"No. I'll be leaving" said Tsunade as she rose from her seat. Sakura was surprised that Sasuke was able to pull it off. And with only a few words that didn't mean anything. At least at face value.
Shizune was blown away. When m'lady was in a bad mood, the only things that brought her down were gambling and sake. Yet the Uchiha did it with words alone.
As they walked out, Shizune looked over to her.
"Tsunade… What did he say?"
Tsunade kept walking while thinking about his words, and how true they were. He rarely came to the village, and didn't have the time to spend with others on this occasion. He purposefully took out his family to eat, and here she was. About to ruin it. She might as well be grateful that she got some free cash from the store at least. What type of fools would just leave money lying around? She would really want to hang with them for a while. For now she would leave him off the hook. She would admit, he played it out well.
However… That only meant more time for her to think of ways to make him break.
"Don't worry about it. Let's go Shizune!" Tsunade lurched forward and began making her way to the hospital. On toe, was Shizune calling out to her, while confused and worried.
(…)
The Uchiha family finished their meal and headed home. It was night as they walked the streets yet again, and Sasuke felt glad that he did this. He would never show the content through facial expressions, but he was really itching to just smile. Sakura was really content with the night. They had all eaten and had small talk at Ichiraku's, which by small talk, they barely talked at all. Sasuke still wasn't that social, but it was great that he leant an ear for them. They caught him up with all their endeavors and achievements, and he even shared a bit of tales with them aswell.
When they were at the door, Sasuke stood there for a moment.
"Sasuke?" asked Sakura
"Don't worry about it. Sarada, will you come with me?" asked Sasuke
He turned to her and waited for her response. Sakura smiled when Sarada gleamed with readiness. They took off, leaving the mother there as she opened the door.
"Those two…"
(…)
They made it to a lake. Sasuke stood on a platform made of wood that was the center, while Sarada was still making her way to him by using chakra on her feet and walking. He looked up to the moon that lit the night. He wondered if his brother was watching over him now, or father for that matter. This was passed down as a jutsu of great value, and it was supposedly difficult to master at a young age. Both Sasuke and Itachi did it, and now it was her turn.
Sarada stood next to her dad, waiting for him to show her what was to come. He looked down to her, and she stared at him. Both wore a plain face for a moment, but he couldn't help it, and a small smirk appeared on his face. Sarada remained stoic for a moment longer, but couldn't help it either and smiled. She began to laugh and Sasuke let out some chuckles. Neither of them knew why they were so happy, but neither of them cared. It was just them, and the glowing moon way up high.
"Ok" he said, calming the mood down as Sarada retained her laughter.
He took in a deep amount of breath and made a sign with his hand.
'Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu' Sasuke rose his head up and let out the largest fire ball he could muster. Sarada looked up in awe, and could feel the amazing amount of heat from Sasuke's flame. She raised her hand and unexpectedly saw that there was a strange glow glaring off her knuckles. She realized that the glow was coming off her arm to, and looked around to see what the cause was. The lake was reflecting the fire, and it was magnificent. Sasuke's jutsu was still active, and it was so large, that it surpassed the lake's limits. It was possible that if he didn't have his head pointed up, he would have destroyed the entire area he faced. He was running out of air in his lungs, so he gradually reduced the size of the fire until it barely peeked out of his lips. He closed them and as well as his eyes.
"Now you do it"
Sarada raised her hands and made fists. "Right!" she said nodding.
She began trying to understand what he did exactly, and came up empty. Her head hung as she looked at her hands. She opened and closed her palms, over and over as she memorized the signs required to do a basic fire jutsu.
She jolted her head up and weaved them as she faced upward, just as her dad did.
'Fire Ball Jutsu'
She blew as hard as she could, so much so that she had to close her eyes to concentrate. She was imagining herself doing it successfully, and Sasuke observed the strange creation she was making. He activated his sharingan and studied the details on her, and found the reason why her fire ball… was a straight line.
She was blowing too fiercely, and her lips were too near each other that it was like she was thinning out her flame into a long line. She opened her eyes to see her results, and lost concentration when she saw that she wasn't doing the same as her father. The flame went out and she looked to her dad with a worried look to know what she did wrong.
He stored his sharingan away and spoke.
"Don't worry. Try again"
Sarada smiled a little at how her dad didn't care about her failure. She would prove to him that she would be able to do it. She turned her head back up, but before she could try again, he pushed her head diagonally so that it faced forward with two fingers. She blinked at what just happened, and then questioningly looked over to him.
"When you look up, your throat is too straight and it makes it more likely to create that trail of fire from earlier"
"Oh"
She faced forward to where he directed her and weaved the signs again. This time her flame was a little more full, but it still was too thin. He gave her more pointers and she adjusted to his advice. Over and over, she changed one thing after another. It was a long time of the same thing, of rinse and repeat. She wasn't applying enough chakra, she wasn't allowing the flame to flow, her teeth were in the way, she wasn't taking in air through her gut, and so forth.
Sarada dropped down and planted her hands on the platform to keep from falling. She had failed once again and she was running low on chakra and stamina. She took in gulps of breath and could see her sweat drop on the wood. Sasuke felt a little bad that he was pushing her far. After all, she had just been introduced to the jutsu and he was expecting her to get a grasp of it so suddenly. He remembered how much effort he had put in to try and master the jutsu as soon as possible. It took so long, it took so much effort, but he didn't do it over night. It took patience, it took determination, and it took a whole lot of chakra.
"Sarada…"
"Not yet"
Sasuke's eyes flinched slightly at how much conviction she had in her voice. Yes. He knew what she felt right now. What drove him the most to master this jutsu, was the acknowledgement of his father. And now here he was. The roles have changed, and he was the one looking down to his child.
"We can continue tomorrow" he began walking on the water towards their home. He knew that there was no way he would be able to convince her that she needed rest, and was showing that they were done for now.
"I…I always wanted this"
He stopped. The water beneath his feet had made tiny waves, but they were ceasing to radiate because of his immobility. The cool night wind gently passed them as the moon was on the horizon.
"They always talk about it. Their parents taught them how to do their family abilities and stuff. And mom was there, but it felt different because they didn't only talk about their moms. Even Boruto used to train with his dad, but now all he says is how useless his old man is. But I. I never had the chance to do what we're doing right now" she was trying so hard to not sniffle as her tears fell, but Sasuke's attuned ears could hear a couple of them as she continued.
"I… I never knew…" she unintentionally let her voice squeak when she spoke.
"I never knew how much I wanted it until right now!" she blurted out in a mess of words.
She raised her head to look at her father's back once more. She wanted so badly to spend time with him. To know that her dad was watching her train her hardest.
She had spent many days training under her mom, and eventually trained best on her own. Her mom held her back many times, mainly due to care of her well being. But this felt different. The feeling that she got while having him over her was like no other. This was what she saw in little kids when their parents gave them attention. It was childish of her to want it as badly as they did, but she didn't care.
"W-will you stay?" she asked
Sasuke stood as still as a statue, staring at the stars above. They would eventually pop away because the moon was making it's cycle.
He turned around and took a step towards her. He waited for the water to still, and then took another. One leg after the other, he was slowly making his way to her.
Sarada didn't know what he would do when he reached her. Was he coming over to smile and stay? Or was he coming to pull her up and drag her home? She had no clue as what to do, or what to expect, she looked at the wood and hung her head as low as possible.
'What is he going to-'
She felt his hand on the back of her head and it pushed her to look up. But all she saw was his eyes and she felt her forehead tap against his.
They stayed like that for a long moment. Their eyes not blinking and her's wide open. He stared at her with the same dull eyes, but they somehow then changed to ones filled with care. She was mesmerized at the moment, and she couldn't feel her body. She didn't feel like she was just crying a second ago, nor did she notice that he was on one knee as they were touching.
"I'll stay" he said with the same conviction she had before
AN: Thanks for reading. It took a long time, but I like how it turned out. I'm open to suggestions on what to write next. Romance seems interesting.