Hey guys! If any of my readers from my other stories are checking this out, please don't worry! I am working on finishing my Hiei story; it hasn't been dropped or forgotten! I just had this idea that kept rolling around in my head and I had to let it out. So here it is! It's an ABC challenge, which I don't know if you are supposed to be challenged to write one or if it's certain times of the year, or whatever. I have no idea how they work, I just really have been itching to do one. So I did! I hope it came out well! Please, please leave any and all feedback in a review! It is seriously appreciated, because I would love to grow to be a better writer! So please leave a review and enjoy!

A – Affinity

God, Sakura's sobs were obnoxious. And, damn, was she heavy leaning on his chest as she was. He voiced this, and her sobs turned to happy laughter and her arms wound around his neck as he tenderly sat up. He winced at the many senbon still piercing his skin and all of the wounds he had received. Ignoring Sakura's presence, the genin looked around him, wondering what had come of his battle. What he saw instead surprised him. It was just for a split second before she hastily turned around, but Sasuke was positive that he had seen her green eyes overflowing with tears.

Later that night as the rest of the team slept, Sasuke slipped into the room Manami and Sakura had been given to stay in for the duration of the mission. He wasn't surprised to see that she was awake, sitting beneath the window so she could read by the moonlight as Sakura slept. She felt his presence and looked up, arching an eyebrow in annoyance. Stoic as usual, Sasuke simply inclined his head, a silent request that she follow him. He waited until she had stood up, silently placing her book on the windowsill before creeping out of the room. The pair walked out of the house, no conversation filling the space between them. Finally, Sasuke stopped at the edge of the forest and looked at her expectantly.

"I was reading," she said moodily.

"I thought you hated me."

He knew she had been completely aware the entire time that he was seeking an explanation for the tears when he had appeared dead, and wasn't surprised when she answered his unasked question.

"I have developed a certain affinity for you."

"Hn. Another fangirl."

"You wish, fuck face."

B – Bored

Ever since the mission with the bridge builder, their simple D ranked missions seemed even more torturous than before. Kakashi was reading a book somewhere as the four ninja rushed around a house to do some old woman's spring cleaning. Sakura was on kitchen duty, Naruto in the bathroom and he and Manami were organizing and cleaning out all of the closets in the home. Sasuke wasn't surprised when the red head had suggested they divide the closets between them instead of working together on the same ones. Despite her supposed "affinity" for him, she surely didn't show it. Not that he cared. Much.

He was surprised, then, when he could feel her presence behind him. He was even more surprised when he turned around and came face to face with her. And still he was more surprised when she stood on her toes and pressed her lips to his. Despite the shock, the avenger lost no time and his lips responded to hers. Their lips were clumsy at first, but found a rhythm faster than either teen had expected. When they broke apart, Sasuke noticed that her cheeks were flushed.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"I was bored," she shrugged.

Their eyes remained locked for a moment before Sasuke mentioned, "I'm still bored."

C – Cocktail

Manami rolled over moodily, though not without effort. Everyone else was on a mission that was actually a little less lame than usual. Well, not really, if she was thinking clearly. It was actually just inspecting the walls which surrounded Konoha inspecting for any damage or imperfections. But she wasn't being honest with herself, and suddenly the prospect of hiking around the village and recording the location of every peeled off section of paint sounded like a step towards ANBU captain. The young girl of thirteen sighed and looked at the clock on her nightstand. It was just about time, but she had yet to muster up enough energy. Her body felt simultaneously numb and limp yet throbbing with pain. Her head was heavy, her throat incredibly dry. Every so often, she would cough up blood. Just another night in the life of Manami Kiriko.

So out of it was she that she jumped, startled, when a voice came from her doorway, "You look like shit."

"Thanks, fuck face."

"Kakashi wouldn't tell us why you couldn't come to that lame ass mission. I didn't think it was laziness."

Manami shot him a glare, admittedly one which lacked her normal iciness.

"Are you sick or something?"

"You could say that," she muttered, her emerald eyes fluttering shut with exhaustion despite how much she wanted to keep glaring at the raven haired boy.

Sasuke frowned and shifted his weight awkwardly. "Do you need anything?"

"Yeah," she sighed, hating that she was actually requesting his aid. "See the bottles on my nightstand?"

The Uchiha nodded and wondered why there were so many of them.

"Put one of each in that paper cup there," she said, eyes opening wide enough to look at the small blue paper cup also on her nightstand. "But two of the little red ones."

The raven haired teen said nothing, still surprised as he carefully filled the little cup with about a dozen different pills. With what appeared to be a great deal of effort, Manami sat up and took the cup with a shaking hand. She put the rim of the cup to her lips and jerked her head back, swallowing the cocktail of pills like a seasoned pro. So many questions arose in Sasuke's mind, but he didn't want to admit his curiosity just yet.

"Well, I'll leave then. Since you hate me and all," the Uchiha quipped, playing at normalcy with their usual profession of hatred.

"You know," Manami said quietly, as sleepiness hit her like a freight train. "I don't hate you. I actually really like you."

Sasuke smirked as the pretty redhead fell into a slumber. Finally, a confession that didn't require a rejection.

D – Death

"Sasuke?"

"Hn?"

Manami looked at him from her position seated on the opposite end of the couch. She was pale and had deep purple circles beneath her eyes, a sign of her feeling ill recently. Sasuke hadn't said anything, but his frequent visits and warmer attitude spoke of his worry.

"Do you ever think about death?"

He chuckled slightly and said, "That was an odd question, considering you know about my goal to kill my brother. And you must figure I think about the massacre at least from time to time."

"I meant your own."

He turned onyx eyes on her, a frown set on his lips. "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious," she said evasively. "I mean, we are ninja. Will the end be quick or slow? Probably painful. I mean, if it happens in battle it would be. And then what happens?"

"Is whatever you have killing you?" asked Sasuke perceptively. She had vaguely explained after the night he had discovered her nightly mix of pills that she was born with some sort of rare disease.

"I don't know," she muttered. Her eyes dropped to her hands which she was wringing nervously. "When I said it was a rare disease… I meant it. There is virtually nothing known about it. I have no idea what's going to happen to me."

Sasuke could easily hear the worry and fear in her voice. Without a word, he turned sideways on the couch and unfolded her arms from across his chest. She moved closer, testing the invitation. He open he legs for her to settle between and wrapped his arms around her, pulling the frail girl to his chest.

"It just means you're unique."

E – Evil

That look in his eyes haunted her. The curse seal spreading over his body, marring his features. The disgusting, pungent energy permeating the air as it rolled from his body despite not being his own. The unfamiliar feeling of bloodlust she got from him. But that evil look in his eyes.

It terrified her.

He knew it terrified her. She was tense when he held her and she jumped sometimes when he spoke. It was painful, knowing that he scared her. He was supposed to comfort her. Be her rock and all that other cliché stuff he had thought was bullshit until he was with her.

As he held her stiffened body to him one night as they laid out beneath the stars, he mentioned, "I'd never hurt you, you know."

"But that wasn't you."

"I know it wasn't, but when I looked at you, I didn't feel any different. All I wanted when I was like that was to protect you, never hurt you."

She relaxed and her head tilted up so she could brush a kiss across his jawline.

F – Foreign

The feeling of being with her was something he had never expected. It was different, really. Relationships had never occupied his thoughts. He had only ever thought about them as a means to the end of rebuilding his clan. Maybe that was why how happy he felt with her, how comfortable, trusting, protective, and as if he was important to her came as such a surprise. It was such a sharp contrast from all of the anger, angst, betrayal, and inferiority he had felt since the massacre. Maybe that was why it was such a foreign feeling.

The feeling of being with him was something she had never expected. Relationships had never been a consideration for her. She had only ever thought that no one could care for someone as sickly as her. Her parents certainly hadn't wanted to put in the effort to. But with him, she felt safe and happy, comfortable and trusting, important and like someone was depending on her. It was a positive change from feeling helpless, weak, anger and hatred at herself and her parents for abandoning her. Maybe that was why it all felt so foreign.

G – Gift

"What're you doing here, Sasuke?" she asked, attempting to sit up taller as he sat on the edge of her bed. "Didn't you guys have a real mission today? I can't imagine guarding that merchant warranted absolutely no fighting. You should have gone home to rest or-"

"I'm fine," he cut her off. "Not even a cut. But you're not fine."

"It's not that bad this time, just the normal lethargy and my immune system is a bit down so I may be catching a cold, but-"

She stopped talking as beautiful orange orchid fell into her lap. The sickly girl picked it up, gently twirling the stem between her fingers for a moment. "What's this for?"

"You."

"But… why?"

"It's a gift."

"That is… unexpected."

The raven haired boy looked away. A flush which rose to his pale skin blew the cover of his apathetic voice as he said, "I missed you."

H – Honor

"That poor Uchiha boy. It still seems like it happened just yesterday, that horrible massacre."

"Still, I have to wonder why he dishonors his bloodline by keeping company with that orphan girl."

"She must be a horrid little wretch. Her parents were good people; they'd never have up and left their child unless it had been completely unruly and disgraceful."

"Oh, absolutely. The boy's parents must be rolling in their graves, seeing their son so unaware of the quality of the girl he has. And I have to ask you this, what is with all of the bruises all over her arms?" The woman paused, but not long enough to allow her friend to venture a guess before answering her own question. "Drugs."

The shock of the two older women carrying on the conversation in such cross proximity to the pair had worn off to be replaced by genuine insecurity. Her arms were perpetually covered in bruises from all of the blood she must continually have drawn for testing and all of the IVs which pumped medication and nutrients into her when she was really ill.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed Sasuke stroll over to the women until she heard him say, "You gossips should check your sources before you speak. If there is anyone's parents who are rolling in their graves, it's yours for being so utterly stupid. You are sickening."

He turned and walked back toward Manami, leaving the women with their mouths agape with surprise. Once he had returned to her side and they continued their walk, she looked up at him with a blush.

"You didn't have to defend me like that."

"It would be a dishonor to myself and the Uchiha to have let them mock my girlfriend."

She smiled and gave him a quick kiss, mindful of his hatred for PDA but not able to let his declaration go unappreciated.

I – Illness

"Sasuke, you have to go."

"No I don't. It's another bullshit mission. Naruto and Sakura can handle it."

Manami rolled her emerald eyes and attempted to adjust her pillow. Her arm was caught and prevented from slipping under the pillow by the IV in her arm. She sighed in frustration and just flopped back into her previous, slightly uncomfortable position. Sasuke wrapped one arm around her shoulders, easing her into a sitting position for a moment as his free hand shifted the pillows. Once she was settled, admittedly more comfortably, the argument began again.

"But this is all part of becoming a ninja. You can't miss out on it! Especially not for something like this!"

"Something like this?" he repeated, arching a raven brow. "You can't play it down, Mana-chan. You are really sick this time."

"It's a little worse than what you've seen this time but it's not like I'm gonna-" She couldn't finish her sentence as her body was racked with powerful dry coughs. Her hand rose to cover her mouth and when she pulled it away as the coughing ceased, the Uchiha did not miss the spattering of blood in her palm.

He scoffed, "Yeah, just a little worse this time."

"Sasuke, illness is something I've always dealt with and will always have to deal with. I already know I will only be able to go so far as a ninja. But you don't have that limitation. Don't let my constraints become yours."

Sasuke just shook his head, moving from the edge of the bed to lie down next to her, arms coiled around the thin girl. "I know how quickly things can take a turn for the worst. I'm not saying that things will for you, but I can't risk it. I came home one night from training and everyone I loved was gone. I won't come back from a mission to the same."

Manami couldn't argue anymore, especially at the implications of his sentiment. Snuggling into his side, she thought, I love you, too.

J – Jealousy

Sasuke-kun! Sasuke-kun!

The shrill, obnoxious squeals of his fangirls rang in her ears. So many girls following him, asking him to train together, trying to figure out what kind of girls he liked and doing their best to fit that mold. Seeing some of his top fans hanging from his arms, clinging to him. It had her blood boiling. It wasn't just possessiveness over her boyfriend either. It was much more than that.

Sasuke figured that her sour mood of late could be attributed to the hoard of foolish girls that practically stalked him, and felt obligated to say something about it.

"You know I don't like them," he stated. "So you don't have to get upset."

"They need to back the fuck off," she snapped, chucking a kunai at the target. "And it's not just that."

Sasuke remained silent for a moment, wondering if he should press for details. Deciding he was interested, he asked, "What do you mean?"

"I mean I am jealous of them." He quirked a brow at her as she lazily tossed a shuriken at another target. The redhead then settled, sitting on the ground gazing up at the clouds. "They have so much hope for the future. They go after you, confident in themselves and hoping for better results on their next attempt. They still dream of their ideal future with you."

"What, do you not have hope for us?"

"It's not that. Not really," she sighed. "I don't really hope for anything anymore. Why bother? I don't know how much future I have to hope for."

"But you don't know that you have only a short time either. And why would you be jealous of their self-confidence. It seems ill directed to me."

"At least they have some."

The raven haired boy shot her a sharp look. "And you don't?"

"Oh yeah, being 95 pounds, sickly pale, lethargic, covered in bruises from IVs and generally lacking femininity make for a hugely confident person."

They were silent for several minutes before Sasuke smirked. "Perhaps they are healthier, but you have something they'll never have."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Me."

The emerald eyed girl laughed so hard her side began to hurt. Finally regaining her breath, she giggled, "You cocky fuck."

K – Kiwis

"I don't know how you can eat those things," Manami stated, nose scrunching up in distaste.

Sasuke glanced at her, rolled his eyes, and went back to eating his tomato. Through a mouthful of the juicy red fruit, he shot back, "Yeah and I don't know why you like those weird things you eat."

"Kiwis?"

"Yeah, that shit."

"It's a fruit and it is one of the greatest foods ever."

"If by food, you mean shit, then I agree."

She shoved him roughly, and the half-eaten tomato flew from his hand onto the floor of his kitchen. They both stood, frozen, staring at the tomato. Manami glanced at his blank face, knowing a storm raged beneath the apathetic mask he wore. She slowly and silently began to back away, but she was too late. The raven haired boy turned and pounced on her, knocking her to the ground. Although he held his arms around her to cushion the fall, the glare he trained on her told her she shouldn't think she was off the hook.

"You're going to pay for that," he growled. The redhead let out an audible gulp, causing him to smirk before he leaned down and captured her lips in a heated kiss.

L – Lies

She knew it was a lie as soon as the words had left his lips.

"I'll see you soon, Mana-chan."

The redhead didn't know how she knew, but she did. It was a lie. She wouldn't see him again for a long time, if ever. It didn't come as a surprise, either. She was up most of the night, thinking it over. In retrospect, he had been slowly but surely pulling away in recent weeks. Not physically, but mentally and emotionally. He more and more often was lost in thought, and would absently touch his curse mark. More often, too, he would ask about how she was feeling and if she had ever gone a long stretch of time without being too ill. It wasn't until she remembered this and her answer that she grew upset.

"Define a long time."

"You know, like, months or a year or something?"

"The longest I have ever gone without being bedridden was three months once. But then I was so ill that I was in the hospital for a few weeks. Evidently, I need to be sick more regularly or my body freaks out and overloads," she laughed.

Sasuke merely nodding, falling into silence once more.

So even knowing that sickness was a constant and probably threat, he had chosen power. He had chosen power over her.

And she didn't know how she felt about that.

M – Mistake

He knew it was a mistake shortly after he arrived at Orochimaru's compound.

Going into it, he had known he would be surrounded by the worst kind of evil imaginable. He also knew that he was being groomed as the snake master's newest, strongest weapon. But he didn't care that he was being used. He cared that he would grow stronger, take down his manipulator, and avenge his clan. But he had still been disgusted by the goings on within the compound. What horrified him the most were the experiments. The sight sickened him and he tried to avoid that area of the lair at all costs.

But what he really realized was a mistake was leaving Manami behind. He tried desperately to keep her from his mind lest Orochimaru discover his strong ties to her. But sometimes at night as he lay in bed unable to sleep, he would wonder how she was doing. If she had been sick and if so, how sick she had gotten. Were they finding anything out about her mysterious disease?

Sometimes, after particularly rough training sessions or hearing the screams of the experiments, the worst thoughts came to him. Was there still no information on her disease? Was she sick right then? Was her illness getting worse?

Was she dying?

Not knowing was so much worse than he had imagined and it was a mistake to have left her behind.

N – Nurses

"Honey, you had been doing so much better during your preteen years. Now the past two years, you've just been slowly going downhill. It's like you're giving up," replied the nurse Manami had known the longest. Her name was Kanako and she was much like a friend to the now fifteen year old girl.

"It's hard to fight when there's less and less to live for," the redhead grumbled moodily, scowling at the IV in her arm.

"Manami, there's plenty to live for!" insisted Ren, her newer blonde nurse.

"Yeah, all my friends are moving on to bigger and better things and I can't. My parents left me so I'm always alone at home. I know nothing about this disease and it sometimes feels like it is absolutely destroying my body. And the most important person to me didn't care about me as much as I thought."

Kanako frowned at her sadly. "If you keep fighting, you can catch up to your friends. And they have been studying this disease from watching you grow up; they'll figure something out. And, honey, I hate to say it, but he was just a boy. There are many more out there."

Manami just rolled over, unable to continue the conversation.

O – Obliteration

The sixteen year old ninja flew through the trees, the smell of fire pleasantly following him from the explosion he had set off. He had finally become satisfied with his training and decided there was nothing left to be gained from the snake sanin. Plus, along the way he had discovered that he was more of a tool than he had originally thought. But that was inconsequential now. Orochimaru and Kabuto were dead, and now the rest of his evil minions were perishing in the flames. The avenger felt a twinge of sadness for the experiments who were also being lost to the fire. He had approached them a week earlier to make a plan for their escape, but they had decided against it. They felt no one should have access to the strides Orochimaru had made, for fear that someone equally unethical would continue his work. So now the sanin, his henchman, and the lair were being obliaterated.

And the avenger had to decide his next move.

P – Pain

Everything hurt. Her head felt like it would explode. Her heart was pounding harder than usual, creating a pain in her chest. The expansion of her lungs burned like she was breathing fire. Her stomach ached both from sickness and lack of food from being unable to keep any sort of sustenance down.

This is it. I must be dying.

Q – Quickly

He ran into Naruto purely by accident, ironically enough. The dobe had spent years searching for him, and as soon as he gave up and went back to accepting normal missions they met again. To Sasuke's surprise, the blond didn't give him a speech about how he left everyone for power and all the other crap he had no understanding of how guilty the avenger already felt about it. Instead, he shared some news from Konoha.

"I don't know if you care anymore, but Manami-chan… she isn't doing well at all." Sasuke's eyes widened before narrowing at the blond ninja, silently commanding an explanation. "From what I heard… I don't think she has much time left."

The blond lifted his eyes to his best friend, only to find him gone. Immediately upon hearing how serious Manami's illness had gotten, the raven haired teen had flown from the clearing. He had to move quickly. Faster than his body had ever moved before. He had to get to her.

R – Return

"Mana-chan," Sasuke whispered, sinking to his knees beside her bed. He grasped her limp hand in both of his, bringing it to his lips. The slight warmth gave him hope, and comforted him in that she hadn't passed. Slowly, her emerald eyes fluttered open. They roamed slowly to the side to find the avenger beside her.

"Returned to Konoha, huh?" she asked.

"I had to," he muttered.

"Oh? And why is that?"

"You," he said, lifting her hand to his cheek and nuzzling it. "I ran into Naruto and he told me."

She laughed, though it sounded more akin to a dry cough. "I see word has already gotten out. Oh well."

"I regretted leaving you right away."

"Noted." Even in her weak state, he knew she was angry.

"I thought for a long time about how I should have asked you to come with me. But then I realized that you wouldn't have been safe there and I didn't know what I should have done."

"And did the answer ever come to you?" When he shook his head, she rolled her eyes. "You lied to me and never even said goodbye. You just had to tell me, Sasuke."

He brought her hand, still grasped in his, to his lips and said, "I thought you might stop me."

"Well, I wouldn't have. Didn't I tell you to never let me hold you back from anything? I'd like to say in retrospect that I would have at least urged you to think about what taking up the offer would entail being a part of, but I most certainly wouldn't have told you not to go."

"Still, I don't regret going in a way, because I gained even more power than I thought possible and I feel ready to go find my brother. But working for that monster…" the avenger shook his head, atrocious memories surfacing in his mind. "And I miss you. I missed out on so much time with you."

"Live and learn," she muttered, her eyes fluttering closed.

"Mana?"

"Hm?"

"Is… is this it? Are you going to…?"

"It might be."

Sasuke shut his eyes, holding her tight to him. "I'm sorry."

"I knew it was going to happen probably sooner than later."

"No, I mean for not being there with you. For leaving. And for lying. For not saying… goodbye."

"Well don't fuck up and miss out on saying it this time, okay?"

The raven haired teen couldn't speak, his throat constricted too tight to allow words to escape. He just nodded and buried his face in her hair, tears falling from his eyes for the first time in so many years.

S – Survival

"What a turn-around!"

"You are a fighter, there, hun! It's a miracle!"

Manami shrugged and grinned. "No need to label it. I'm not dead and I can go home, right?"

"Yes, we can discharge you as soon as you sign your paperwork," the nurse smiled.

Only a few minutes later, the redhead was practically skipping out of the hospital and towards home. When she arrived at her home, she found Sasuke spread out on her couch. She pounced on him, giggling as his arm came around her.

"I love you," he mentioned, kissing her temple once she had settled in his arms.

"l love you, too."

T – Trysts

After her release from the hospital, Sasuke hung around her home for a couple weeks until he was sure she wasn't going to suddenly relapse into a near-death state. He then set out once again to find his brother. For two years, he searched. During that time, he would make sure to return to Konoha every few months to see Manami. Their visits at first had been much like when they were younger, though with undertones of Sasuke's worry over her health.

Eventually, the visits grew to be more appropriate of teenage couples, slowly turning the bases until his visit on her nineteenth birthday. That was their first tryst, a word much more fitting for lovers.

U – Unprepared

This wasn't supposed to happen. What was she supposed to do? Should she tell him? Should she keep it a secret? She couldn't forever. How would her body handle it? Gods, she was so unprepared for this.

V – Vengeance

He had finally done it.

Itachi was dead.

Vengeance was his.

And he felt even worse than he had before.

Without purpose. Misled. Empty.

W – Whole

"You're… what?"

"Pregnant."

"Pregnant," he repeated, onyx eyes wide with shock and his voice breathless.

He was going to be a father. His clan would live on. He could start fresh, build up a truly good name for the Uchiha. Just as his brother would have wanted.

Perhaps this is just what he needed to feel whole again.

X – X-ray

"Don't you have your x-ray or whatever today?"

"My ultrasound?" Manami laughed, her hand unconsciously moving to her five month pregnant stomach.

"Yeah, whatever."

"Yes, I do. Do you want to come?"

The former avenger grinned. "I think I would."

Y – Young

She was too young. Barely twenty years old.

Too young to die.

Z- Zeal

Her body just couldn't handle pregnancy and childbirth. As her due date grew closer and closer, she became dangerously ill. It took everything she had and more to get through the childbirth. Her last moments haunted Sasuke's dreams, even four years later.

"Boy or girl?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Girl," he answered, the back of his eyes stinging.

"Can you hold her yet?"

As if she was a mind reader, the nurse returned then, a bundle of blanket encased newborn in her arms. With a sad glance at Manami, the nurse placed the baby girl in Sasuke's arms before leaving once more.

"Hold her closer to me?" she requested.

The raven haired male complied, and her emerald eyes found their daughter. A tuft of flaming red hair was already upon her head and she had the same onyx eyes as her father.

"Wow," Manami laughed breathlessly. "We did a good job on this baby making thing."

"We did," he nodded.

They were silent for several moments. Sasuke was positive it was because Manami was growing less able to speak.

"Manami?"

"Sasuke, we both know I'm dying, so don't waste time."

He nodded, adjusting his position so he was lying against her, face nuzzled in her hair and their daughter lying across her stomach, head cradled on his arm.

"What should we name her?"

She was silent for a moment before suggesting, "Kumiko?"

Sasuke thought about it for a moment. The kanji for "ku" meant "the long time" and "mi" meant "beauty." The long time beautiful child. Manami's hope that their child would be healthy and long living, as her mother couldn't be. "Perfect."

"Promise me something?"

"Anything."

"Don't let Sakura pick out any of her clothes and don't let Lee hold her for several months."

Despite the painful tightening in his chest, Sasuke choked out a chuckle. "Got it."

"And one more thing," she breathed, her hand coming up to rest on his cradling their infant daughter. "Do whatever you need to do to be happy in life, okay? Don't let anything stop you. Take whatever missions, jobs, journeys, girlfriends, whatever, that will make you happy. You have been unhappy for far too long."

"That's not true," he corrected. He felt her hand slip on his a bit. "I've been happy every time I've been with you."

He could hear her breaths coming slowly and shallowly. The pain in his chest was worse than anything he had felt before and a tightness in his stomach told him that this was it.

"I love you, Manami. I love you more than anything and I will love and take care of our daughter like I should have cared for you."

Her hand tightened on his for a moment, then fell. He couldn't hear her slow breaths anymore.

Kumiko began to cry.

He regretted more than anything that he had left her for all those years. So much time was wasted apart. Maybe if he had been there for her more, her will to fight would have been stronger. He regretted so deeply all of the lost time he could never get back with her. He should have been more present, taken every single opportunity to be with her, he shouldn't have taken her recoveries from every bout of illness for grant, he should have done so many things differently...

But he had failed her, the love of his life. Yet even in the end, after all of his short comings, flaws and selfish mistakes, she loved him. And that just added to his intense zeal for everything remotely related to the upbringing of his daughter. He was a doting father and did everything in his power to ensure a happy, healthy life for Kumiko.

"Daddy!" the cheerful voice of the four year old girl occupying his thoughts rang in his ears.

"Kumiko?" he smiled.

The tiny redhead bounced up to him, easily climbing up into his lap on the chair he had seated himself in. "Daddy, you promised you would start teaching me about ninja stuff today!"

"Oh, I did, did I?" He chuckled at the peeved face she shot him. It was like Manami reincarnate.

"Yes, Daddy, you did. How can I be a great ninja like Daddy if I can't learn?"

The raven haired man nodded, feeling a surge of pride for his daughter. "Well, I can't argue with that logic! I have your mother's books from the academy still. She was always smarter than me, so we should probably use all of her notes and reading materials."

The young girl laughed her bubbly laugh that melted his heart and said, "Mommy was smarter than Daddy?"

"Way smarter," he nodded.

The redhead was silent for a moment, a thoughtful pout coming to her lips. Finally, she looked up at him with eyes that mirrored his own and stated, "I want to be smart like Mommy, and a great ninja like Daddy."

With a soft smile, Sasuke assured, "You will be. Daddy will help you."

He wouldn't fail her as he failed her mother.