AUTHORS NOTE, BUT THE ONLY ONE TO APPEAR IN THIS STORY. PLEASE READ:

The night I posted the first chapter, I was hit with a better idea than what I originally was inspired by. I'm going to be changing the whole direction of this story from what I intended, thus the name change. You guys won't notice a difference since I haven't gotten to the plot quite yet, and everything I've posted thus far fits with what I'm going to do next. But, I think you'll enjoy this more than what I would've done.

There will be a few major character deaths in this story now. It will be dark. You are being warned early. Lemon may be a possibility down the line, but not yet.

Deliriaella

REBIRTH

A KakaSaku fic.

PROLOGUE

Her breaths were labored and shallow, the pain rocking through her body becoming too intense for the young woman.

"Come on, Sakura! I can see the head! You're almost there sweetheart, just keep pushing."

Brow furrowed and teeth clenched, Haruno Sakura pushed with all her might. It felt fruitless, trying to get this child out of her, but she continued pushing.

"That's it Sakura, I can see her head! Come on now, you can do it."

The air in this old hideout of Orochimaru's was stagnant and hot with her own perspiration, but Sakura breathed it in deeply. Sweat dripped heavily down her forehead, and her pink hair clung to her face like a second skin.

"Push Sakura! Push as hard as you can!" said Karin. The red-headed woman was Sakura's impromptu midwife, having luckily been hanging around during the last few months of the pregnancy. Really, Sakura had no idea what she'd do without her.

Slowly, a hand slipped into Sakura's grip. She snapped her head to her right and saw her love, Uchiha Sasuke, standing by her side. He squeezed her hand softly and managed to give her a small smile. A warmth having nothing to do with her exertion spread throughout her body. He was there. He was there for her, just like she had always wanted – just like she had always tried to be there for him, whether he had accepted it or not.

Sakura found new strength flowing through her, spreading from where he held her. He was with her. She could do this.

Her lips pulled up over her teeth in a loud snarl, and Sakura pushed with renewed vigor.

"That's it! Sakura, you did it! She's out!"

The sharp cry of a newborn baby echoed throughout the underground room, and for the first time in many hours, Sakura relaxed. Though the sound reverberated off the walls painfully, she didn't care. It was a beautiful music to her ears, finally being able to hear the sounds of the child of her and Sasuke's union.

The hand in her grip squeezed tightly then, having also been touched by the hauntingly beautiful caterwauls of their baby girl.

"Just give me a second to clean her up a bit dear, then she'll be right in your arms where she belongs."

Karin wrapped the newborn in a red blanket of cotton bearing the Uchiha crest and brought her over to the bowl of warm water that Sasuke had just fetched. She gingerly wiped away the afterbirth and smiled down at the child. Sure, Karin resented the fact that it was Sakura that Sasuke had chosen over herself, but she knew that this small bundle of joy in her arms deserved none of that bitterness.

Once she was satisfied with the child's first bath, Karin wrapped her in a fresh blanket and made her way over to the parents. Sakura's eyes were glassy and half-lidded, but she forced herself to stay awake. Her baby was coming. Their baby was coming. Her shaky arms stretched out in front of her, eager to hold her daughter. Karin handed over the child gently, and Sakura cradled the baby girl to her chest.

Karin took a step a step back, having decided to allow Sasuke and Sakura to have their moment of peace no matter how much it hurt her. Though Sakura may have been swept up in the moment, the gesture did not go unnoticed by the young Uchiha man. He mouthed a silent 'thank you' to her, and she nodded in response before quietly exiting the room. It was true that Karin respected Sakura and even regarded her as a friend of sorts, but she had never gotten over her love for Sasuke. Even now, after having just aided in the birth of his child to another woman, she still pined for him. The pangs of loneliness rushed through her heart as she walked through the sparsely lit halls of the hideout. She needed space. She needed some kind of release from this torrent of emotion, and she knew she wouldn't find it here.

Back in the room, the infant's cries continued as Sakura tried to hush them as softly as possible. Sasuke lowered his head to Sakura's and brushed the strands of hair from her eyes.

"She's beautiful," he said. "Just like you."

Sakura's face broke into an exhausted smile as she regarded her daughter, fingers skimming gently over the baby's forehead before glancing up at her lover.

"She's ours," she said, her smile becoming wider as she saw the look of adoration on Sasuke's face.

He couldn't help the grin that crept upon him, and the sight of it made Sakura's heart beat wildly.

"Indeed she is… but what shall we call her?"

Sakura turned her loving gaze back to the noisy newborn. Her tired arm lifted the hem of her blouse to expose her breast for her child, and she winced slightly as she felt the suckling on it in response.

"How about… Sarada."

Sasuke nodded in agreement before leaning ever closer to the scene before him, stretching a finger out to the tiny hand of his daughter. "Sarada sounds like a wonderful name." Almost as if she understood, Sarada's small hand flew to his finger lightning fast and squeezed it with surprising strength. The touch made Sasuke's eyes widen in shock. Everything before this moment suddenly felt like a dream, and it was only the grip of his newborn baby girl that anchored him to this life, to this reality.

Sakura chuckled softly. "I think she likes that name." Sasuke could only stay where he was, afraid that any slight movement or noise he made would force him to wake up in some strange land where what lay before his eyes now was just a dream. "Yes, I think she likes that name," Sakura repeated absently. Her eyes blinked slowly as she fought against the tides of sleep threatening to overtake her body. As her breath gradually evened out, Sasuke was finally shaken from his reverie. He leaned down to place a soft kiss to the purple rhombus on Sakura's forehead.

"Rest now, Sakura."

Sakura gave a small hum in reply, satisfied that Sasuke would remain to care for Sarada once she was asleep. Within seconds, Sakura was adrift in slumber. And Sasuke did remain, watching the torch light dance on Sakura's face, and waiting for Sarada to be content enough to be removed from her mother's breast.

Outside, Karin wailed.