A/N: Please remember to review right after reading it to show support... and inspire me to write more stories (hint hint!)
Mother
A young girl sat on the rubble of what was formerly their house. A photograph suddenly weighed like a ton on her small hand and her whole body felt cold. The man in the middle, which her... mother had acknowledged as her father, had a frowning face and regarded the camera with little importance. The man on the left was beaming widely, exposing his shark-like teeth and an enormous sword behind him and the woman at the right-
She didn't know what to think.
Clearly she was wearing glasses and a blush covered her face that was forever immortalized in the photo. Her red hair was in an irregular cut and her closeness to the dark man somehow made her bristle.
Sarada never knew her father. Uchiha Sasuke was a stranger to her; the mere fact made her feel so detached from everyone else. She was beginning to question her own origins. Was her mother truly her biological mother? Did her own father disregard her?
Asking her mother was out of the question, she's back at the clinic- having fainted for destroying their house although she had been fainting a lot lately. And she felt guilty for being the reason why her mother wrecked the ground in the first place. But who could blame her? All her life she was fatherless and her mother was hesitant in giving valuable information whenever she asked her about it.
If there was one person she could turn to other than mother, it was the Nanadaime. With a steeled resolve and determined grit; she stood up, pocketed the photo and headed towards the Hokage's office.
Envy
That's what she felt as she watched Boruto fight with his father. How she hated feeling so different, so... irrelevant to her estranged father's eyes that he didn't even try to see her just once. The intensity of their kicks and blows can be heard even if they're on the rooftop.
The Nanadaime's advisor, Nara Shikamaru just sighed as he watched the rumble with disinterested eyes before he raised a brow to Sarada's direction. The girl just bowed her head and waited until Boruto was out of breath and fell into a crumpled heap. The blonde Hokage wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and grinned at the girl, "Hey Sarada! Need something?"
There were people around them so she was having second thoughts about the while confrontation but Shikamaru-san did say that the Hokage's a busy man so it's now or never.
She walked towards the Hokage with a stoic face, "Hokage-sama, I have some questions about my parents."
His face crinkled into a confused expression, "Eh? Why don't you just ask your okaa-chan? I'm sure she-"
"She's in the hospital right now" she cut him off, "I'd rather speak to you about it... alone" she ended with a whisper. He raised a brow but he turned to his son and said,
"Alright champ, you better get your butt home"
Of course, Boruto scowled at this and began to resist his father's wishes with taunting statements but the Nanadaime just ruffled his yellow hair and said "If you go home right now, we can have a spar tomorrow to see who's stronger" Boruto's baby blue eyes brightened considerably as he considered his words and ran down the stairs with a wide grin.
He then turned to the frowning girl with sincere curiosity before she placed her hand into her pocket and retrieved a photograph.
His eyes softened as he scanned the picture, "Heh, Teme's still angry at the camera" The way he offhandedly commented on such a trivial thing made her patience snap. With a vicious tone she hissed,
"Is the woman on the photo my real mother?!"
The two adults stared at her with wide eyes. Shikamaru-san rubbed the back of his neck in an uncomfortable stance while the Nanadaime frowned "Oi what's the pro-"
"The problem is everyone's lying to me!" she screamed, her throat felt scratchy from the sudden rise of pith in her voice "I never knew my father and everyone is avoiding the question! This woman has glasses like mine and now the woman who I've been calling my mother my whole life might as well be a stranger! And-"
Before she could finish her sentence, a knuckle came down on the middle of her head. The force vibrated from the tip of her skull down to her toes. He had hit her... the Nanadaime had hit her!
Her own mama had never even spanked her!
Through bleary eyes and askewed glasses, she glared at him while cupping the sore spot. "O-oi! Baka don't hit a kid!" Shikamaru-san exclaimed but the Nanadaime stood firm as he placed his hands on his hips with a scowl on his whiskered face.
"Wha- why did you hit me?!" she yelled in a childish fit.
"Because you're being a brat!" he answered in a firm tone "You're complaining on and on about how you don't have a father and shit and don't even know how to be grateful to your okaa-chan!"
"I didn't-" she started but she was quickly out-shouted by the leader of their village- "Family's not about blood but rather by bonds and love we all share! Everyone in this village is family Sarada-chan, every boy and girl is a sibling. Every adult here is a mother and a father to you- you're not alone in this village! Who cares if Sakura-chan's your real mother or not? If she isn't, will it make you love her less? If she is your real mother will you be dissatisfied that she didn't answer all your questions?"
Tears began to fall from her eyes; she didn't care if she was crying in front of two full-grown adults with her hands rubbing her eyes like she was four years old again. "I-I just *hic* I just wanna know more about my *hic* my father!"
The Nanadaime sighed and gave her a sympathetic look before he knelt down and placed a warm hand in her head, "I know how frustrating it is Sarada-chan. Your otou-san's walking around Kami-knows-where for years but you have to understand that this hurts your okaa-chan more than anyone else. It must've hurt her every time you ask her about him because she's reminded about his absence not only in her life but in yours too. I'm not saying that you should forget about Sasuke but you should be beside Sakura-chan. She may be strong (actually she's a monster) but your okaa-chan really needs you to be by her side because I know she misses him a lot."
Sarada swallowed thickly and nodded in silence. She held out her hand to grab the picture from him and walked off to the clinic to join her okaa-chan.
Naruto sighed heavily, "Haaa, teme you owe me big with this one!"
Shikamaru walked forwards him a disinterested expression on his face, "Other than hitting a kid in the head, how are you gonna explain your action to Sakura?"
His tanned skin suddenly grew pale and the mental image of a grape being squished popped into his head "Kuso, she'll murder me!"
The smell of disinfectant was harsh on her nose but she just stayed put on tue chair and waited for the nurse to leave the room where they're evaluating her mama's condition. The Nanadaime's words had hit her harder than his fist-
'This hurts your okaa-chan more than anyone else'
Looking at the words she had told her mother, Sarada realized that her mother had every right to be angry.
'Are you even his wife?!'
It must be devastating for her mother to hear such words from her. And why did she felt so entitled to know if her mom's her biological parent or not?
Hers was the face she could only remember since the beginning of time.
Her okaa-san who had taken extra hours of her shift in the hospital to provide her needs and bought her nice presents on her birthdays just to make her smile.
She was the one who soothed her fevers during flu season.
The one who had sang various lullabies when she couldn't sleep.
The one who healed every scratches and booboo's whenever she falls down.
She was the one who had the warmest and most gentle presence in her existence. Her smiles were infectious and her constant chatters distracted her from loneliness.
She was her anchor in her otherwise messy life and she was the one she loved the most, maybe the only one she loves- period.
She took out the photo again and stared at the woman's face. A stranger; will she waste time and energy to know if this stranger was supposed to be taking the role of her mama? Does it matter if she's your biological mother or not?
"No" Sarada whispered before she tore out the woman's side of the photo and threw it on the nearest waste bin. She already has a mother and she will never replace her for anyone else. The nurse walked out if her mother's room and told her she could come in.
Sarada went in the room to see her mother sitting up with an IV drip attached on her arm. Her pink hair was swept on the side as she adjusted her hospital gown.
"Mama?" she called out softly, feeling much like the four year old child who had wandered out of her room during a lightning storm into her mother's room. Her mother woke up with a start but when she saw her small, scared form by the door; she stood up, scoop her into her arms and covered her body into a warm bundle under the blankets.
And like that night, her mother looked at her with alarm before she graced Sarada with a small grin. It made the girl even guiltier; the way she had yelled at her was not only rude- it was also below the belt as it was a very tender topic with her mother.
"Ah, sorry you had to bring me here Sarada-chan" she said in an apologetic tone.
'Stop it' she wanted to say 'Please stop being so apologetic when I'm the one who should be sorry for being so insensitive!'
But the words won't escape her mouth. The sight of her mother lying there on a hospital bed with... things hanging on her body was something she didn't want to see. In Sarada's mind, her mother's always healthy and smiling whether she had arrived from a tiring day at the hospital or cleaning out the house on her days off. The color of her hair that reminded her of spring was something Sarada wished she had. Her bright green eyes was filled with warmth and her hands that can crush boulders in a single punch had held her with such gentleness and protectiveness that couldn't be found elsewhere. The Hokage's right, she was always strong; physically, mentally and emotionally.
She's her mother. Uchiha Sakura's her one and only mother.
Sarada didn't realize that her mother was still talking before Sarada rushed to her bed and tackled her with a hug. Of course, her mother blinked for a few seconds before she slowly peeled her away from her, "Is there something wrong Sarada-chan?"
All the questions she wanted to ask her previously had now disappeared. The whereabouts if her father, his connection with the red-haired woman who was formally in the photograph, his supposed journey- they're all gone.
Instead, she just wrapped her arms around her mother's middle and said "I'm so sorry mama"
"For what?"
"For doubting you"
A/N: Aaand scene!
I have to be honest, I was pretty pissed with Kishimoto with the first chapter of Naruto Gaiden because he's giving some sort of hint that Sarada is Karin's kid which I thought was complete BS. My first impression to Sarada's behavior especially towards her mom was rather bratty but since she just wanted to know her dear old daddy more, I guess she just got carried away. But I would've liked to see Sakura discipline her because of that behavior as well. (Or maybe because my parents were disciplinarians when I was a kid… ah well) so I made Naruto knock some sense into her (literally)
MY own theory (therefore I can avoid any possible nay-sayers here especially SasuKarin shippers who had no business to be here in the first place): This was just some sort of twist so it will just throw people off the course before proving that Sarada's Sakura's child. Because if Sarada IS Karin's then that would make Sarada the oldest kid in their batch but since everyone is roughly the same age, I highly doubt that Sasuke had a fling with Karin during the 'blank years' since he was already committed to Sakura by that time (timeline of Sakura Hiden). And I have already explained my theory as to why Sarada had glasses via my other fanfic, 'EYES' yes, I'm shamelessly advertising my other stories here.
OR by snowharvester's theory: that Karin had somehow taken Sasuke's DNA (she collects his sweaty shirts for fuck's sake) and merged it with hers through experiments and left if for Sakura to watch over although it seems highly improbable for lots of reasons
So I think Sarada IS still Sakura's kid and I just focused this story to soothe Sarada's worries for the timebeing.
Read and Review please. And by review I meant your comments or feedback regarding the story itself, the writing style, grammar and spellings. Suggestions and comments are always welcomed even constructive criticism. No flames though.