Chapter Six; The Annoucement

Chika did her business inside the litterbox before she began scratching it up to cover it. "Good girl Chika." Sakura said smiling down at her before she quickly hurried out of it and bounced along the kitchen floor mewing as she did so. "It sounds like somebody is getting hungry." She said as the kitten continued mewing up at her. "Alright, I'll get your dinner for you." She said as Chika mewed even louder.

"Man, that kitten's giving me a headache. It's like having a baby around here again." Sasuke said as he entered the kitchen.

"Oh don't worry, she'll be quiet as soon as she's fed." Sakura told him before she opened up the cupboard and grabbed a tub of cat food. That's when suddenly Taki trotted into the kitchen wagging his tail. Sasuke laughed.

"I guess you heard food being discussed." He told him with a grin while Sakura spooned Chika's food into a dish. "Alright, come on. Are you hungry?" he questioned him before the dog barked and continued wagging his tail. "Okay, I'll get your dinner ready for you too." He told him while he started walking towards the laundry room where the gigantic bag of dog food was. Chika continued to cry until Sakura sat her food down in front of her.

"There you little missy." She told her gently stroking her back before she started to eat.

….

"Sasame, Hiro, time for dinner!" Sakura shouted up the stairs before Sasame quickly opened her bedroom door and raced downstairs.

"Hiro's in the bathroom. He'll be down in a few minutes." She told her.

"Alright then. Did you finish cleaning your room?" Sakura asked her daughter before she nodded.

"Yes." She replied.

"Good. Then you can help me set the table." Sakura said. A few minutes later the toilet flushed and Hiro ran downstairs into the kitchen. He held up his arms signaling for Sakura to pick him up and then she sat him down inside his chair. Everyone else sat down and then pushed their chairs in. "Sasame, do you want to say grace tonight?" she asked her before she glanced over at her and realized that she was trying to sneak a handful of potato chips and cleared her throat.

"Right, sorry." She said as everyone folded their arms and closed their eyes. "Dear Lord, we come before you tonight to thank you for this food and the hands that prepared it. Bless us all as a family no matter what life struggles we may go through. Amen." She finished.

"Amen!" Hiro exclaimed as everyone else laughed and then started piling food onto their plates.

"Wow, I can't believe that summer's almost over and that school's starting again soon. It's just my luck that I still have to go to high school even though I'm a ninja." She said.

"Yeah, well take a look at it this way Sasame," Sakura began. "at least you're allowed to start dating now so you'll have the weekends free." She told her but Sasuke simply just raised his eyebrows.

"Who said that she could start dating?" he questioned.

"Well, Sasuke, she is sixteen now." She told him.

"So? I'm her father. Don't I have a say in this?" he asked her.

"No." Sakura replied with a glare. "Because you always get too carried away." She told him as Sasuke rolled his eyes. "So, anyway," she began as she took a deep breath. "I hope that you don't have any plans for this weekend though Sasame." She told her while propping her elbow on top of the table and smiling at her.

"Why?" her daughter questioned her while Sasuke grinned and passed the pork over to her.

"Because I got us plane tickets to America." He told her.

"What!?" she cried with pure disbelief and astonishment.

"What's America?" Hiro wondered while his mother started cutting his pork for him.

"It's just about the most awesome country in the world!" Sasame exclaimed. "Good thing that I studied English for six years." She said. "What state are we going?" she wondered.

"Honolulu Hawaii." He told her with a grin. "Uncle Naruto and his family are coming too." He added.

"Wow! This is going to be awesome!" she exclaimed while scooping out a spoonful of corn and placing it next to her pork.

"Yep! It's going to be our big end of summer trip." Her mother told her while scooping out some mashed potatoes and putting them into Hiro's bowl.

…

Sasuke pulled into the kennel parking lot and parked his car before he got out of it and grabbed ahold of Taki and hoisted him up inside his arms. "Alright buddy, I know that you're going to hate me for this but it's for your own good. After all, my mother in-law is watching Chika and you really don't want to be stuck with her do you?" he inquired before setting him back down on the ground in front of him. Taki started whimpering and stuck his tail in-between his legs.

"Oh it's alright boy. You're going to have a great time socializing and playing with the other doggies." He told him before he grabbed his leash with one hand and slammed the door shut with the other one and then walking him to the door. As soon as they went inside Sasuke could hear a lot of other dogs barking.

"Name." The woman from behind the counter said.

"Taki Uchiha." Sasuke replied.

"Alright, how long do you plan to board your dog for?" she wondered.

"A few weeks." Sasuke told him.

"Okay, is he up to date on his shots?" she inquired as Sasuke nodded.

"Yes. He was just at the vets last week." He told her before she walked around the counter before Sasuke handed the leash off to her.

"Be careful with him. He's a big baby but he doesn't really know his own strength." He told her.

"Not a problem." She told him smiling at him warmly. "Come on Taki, you're going on a little vacation." She told him as Sasuke watched while she led him away trotting behind her wagging his tail.