Haruka's ninth pregnancy was extremely difficult, and given that she was in her mid-forties, she and Indra both knew that it would probably be her last. Indra was fine with that. Haruka had already given him nine healthy and powerful children to be his legacy. He would feel no despair at the thought of his wife being unable to birth another after this one, although he likely would spend less time being intimate with her after this child was born. After all, he had no need for romance, and never had. Any affection he had for Haruka was due to her talent for ninjutsu-none of his students ever managed to surpass her, although their children had-and her capacity to bear his children and nurture them. That particular need had been filled. He had already decided that it would be Uchiha's descendants that he would reincarnate among, as his eldest child was also the only one to inherit his Sharingan from what anyone could tell. And Uchiha had already had a child with his own wife, a talented young girl from the sect with hair as black as midnight, but who nonetheless resembled Haruka in other ways. Even so, what Indra had not anticipated was the news that his brother had come to the Land of Fire in search of him on the day that Haruka went into labor. Contrary to all of their other children–save for the ornery twins–she was unable to deliver this one with anything resembling ease.

As Haruka lay on her futon, her breathing labored due to the difficulty that she was having, Indra looked out the door of their home before turning to her.

"I can't wait any longer." He told Haruka, a coldness in his voice that she had never heard directed at her before, "Ashura is already too close as it is. If I come to blows with him, it will put our other children and all of my followers in danger."

"Wait... Indra... What are you saying...?" Haruka asked weakly, her voice filled with confusion.

"I hate my brother, but I know he won't harm a defenseless woman struggling to give birth, if you and the child are even still alive when he arrives here." Indra said bluntly, "I'm taking everyone else and moving away from here."

Haruka's eyes widened in shock as she understood Indra's intentions and her eyes filled with tears. "No... Indra, please... don't leave me...! I love you!"

"I have no need for things like romance. I never have." Indra told her coldly as he walked over to her, "I'll tell the others that you and the child died. That's probably what's going to happen anyway."

"Indra... please..." Haruka begged as he knelt next to her.

"Haruka..." Indra began slowly, "Thank you."

Suddenly the world went black.

昔々

"She's coming around!" Haruka heard a woman's voice calling as she slowly opened her eyes. A woman about her own age was sitting beside her, wearing a robe that vaguely reminded Haruka of what Indra had worn in the early days after she met him. However, this was not a woman that Haruka recognized. Her eyes and hair were both black, and her hair was pulled into two low twin-tails behind her back. Her expression was deeply concerned. "How are you feeling? Are you all right?"

Haruka groaned softly and murmured in a daze, "Indra..."

"Indra?" The woman asked in confusion, looking a little shocked, but not overly alarmed.

Clarity began to return to Haruka's eyes and she became aware of what was more important in that moment. "My baby... is my baby...?"

The woman seemed a bit relieved by this question and smiled warmly at Haruka. "Your baby is all right. My husband and I got here just in time to save you both. Would you like to meet him? Your little boy I mean." Haruka nodded weakly and the woman turned as a young lady with brown hair came forward with a small bundle in her arms. The older woman took the bundle and lowered the child so that Haruka could see him. "He's a bit on the small side. I suspect that you went into labor a bit earlier than you should have, but he's healthy as far as we can tell, although..."

"What is it?" Haruka asked with concern.

"...I think I should let you talk to my husband first..." The woman said, "I'll go get him." She gently set the baby boy down and walked to the door.

Haruka studied her child more carefully. He had the same reddish-pink hair as her. That was odd. All of their other children had had either white or brown hair. None of them had ever really resembled her. He seemed to have a large forehead like she did too, although it was possible that he would outgrow that. Even though... Indra had said he had liked her forehead. "It's a sign that you're an intelligent woman." He had told her. She wondered if that was true; not about her forehead, but if Indra had liked it. Had her husband ever really loved her?

Her musings were interrupted as a man entered the room. It only took Haruka a few seconds to realize who he was. "...Ashura?" She asked tentatively.

His eyes widened slightly, but then he nodded at her, "Yes. I am Otsutsuki Ashura. And you are?"

"...Otsutsuki Haruka..."

"My sister-in-law." Ashura, sounding as if she had merely confirmed what he had already suspected.

"Yes..." Tears filled her hazel eyes, "Or at least... I was... but... when I went into labor and began having difficulties... and Indra heard that you were coming..."

"He abandoned you and the child?"

Haruka nodded and the tears began to flow, "I don't understand... We were married for over twenty years... I was his very first student..." Her gaze fell and her lip quivered, "I thought he loved me..."

"Even if he wouldn't admit it, he probably did." Ashura told her gently as he knelt beside her, "But from the time we were children, a dark presence has influenced my brother and caused him to go astray. It probably convinced him that when you were unable to give birth easily, you had outlived your usefulness, and that he had no further need of you."

Haruka sniffled, "Indra said that you wouldn't harm me, but I didn't expect that you would be so kind... with the way that he..."

Ashura looked slightly confused, "You are also somehow different than I would've expected my sister-in-law to be. Did you never bear witness to Indra's darkness?"

"Sometimes..." Haruka admitted, "But it was never once directed at me. He was incredibly strict with his students. There were those who couldn't handle that. And there were sometimes deaths during his training exercises. But when he was just training me... I wasn't afraid of his strict standards. If anything, I liked being pushed to my limits... And he would praise me from time to time... or occasionally compliment on things unrelated to Ninjutsu, although the compliments were always practical." She sniffled again. "We had nine children together. I never thought that he..."

Ashura quietly took out a scroll and held it out to Haruka, "We found this beside you when we got here. I think that you should read it."

Haruka hesitantly opened the scroll and began to read it, instantly recognizing Indra's handwriting.

Haruka,

If you are reading this, then it seems you survived, and that in itself is a testament to your strength. If the child has also survived, then he or she will be your legacy. Therefore, name the child after yourself. You don't ever have to forgive me. If you hate me forever, I have no right to blame for that. Raise the child as you will. I also have no right to make demands about that since I left you behind.

Indra

Haruka sighed as she set down the scroll. Ashura gently placed his hand on her own, "Neesan, you are welcome to stay with my family for as long as you need."

"Thank you, Ashura-kun." Haruka said with a nod, "I think I will stay. At least until my son is old enough to fend for himself. When she indicated that she wished to hold her child, Ashura carefully placed the sleeping infant on her chest. Holding him close to her, Haruka looked thoughtful. "Hey... One night, a while back, Indra suddenly vanished, and when I asked him where he had gone after he returned, he said that he had visited your father on his deathbed. What did he say to him?"

Ashura frowned, "Are you sure you want to know?"

"I don't wish to be subjected to any further illusions about my husband."

Ashura nodded in understanding before looking down solemnly, "He swore that he would destroy myself and my descendants, even if he had to reincarnate among his own to do it. When Father told me this, I vowed in turn that I would also reincarnate among my descendants until the day that we are reconciled."

"I see..." Haruka said thoughtfully. She looked deep in thought for a moment as she rubbed her child's back. "...Then I shall do the same."

"Huh?" Ashura asked in confusion, and Haruka looked up at him.

"I know that Indra will choose to reincarnate among the descendants of our eldest, who is the only one of our children to possess the Sharingan. So I will reincarnate through the bloodline of this little one, our youngest, until the day that Indra comes back to me." She looked up at Ashura with tears in her eyes once again. "Please promise me, Ashura-kun. Promise me that you'll bring him back to me someday."

Ashura's eyes widened, but then he smiled kindly and nodded. "I will. I swear I'll bring him back, Neesan. I never go back on my word."

Haruka looked at her sleeping newborn with a smile, "No matter what he says, I could never hate him. I will always love him. I will instill in you that same love... Haruno."

So it was probably obvious that Haruka was based off of Sakura. The Haruno became a clan that believed that if you truly loved someone, you didn't give up on them, no matter what. Also, the reason for Haruka's hair color is that it is that rather than being flat-out pink like Sakura's, it is closer to the color of Sakura's father. Haruno is the only one of Indra and Haruka's children to inherit this hair color, as well as his mother's eye color. He is weaker than all of his siblings not only because he lacks a Kekkei Genkai, but also because he was born a little too early, and while he survived, he was never as strong as he might have been otherwise. Women really should not be having kids at 45. Haruka never told him who his father was, as she didn't want Haruno to bear hatred toward Indra, having become aware too late of the seeds of hatred that Indra had planted in their other children.