Chapter 12: Falling together

A/N- Okay, once again, doing this early. Right now, I have a HUGE shout out to werewolfofkonoha. She and I have been emailing each other non-stop in the three days that I have been home, and she just provided me with a juicy piece of information about the Sharingan. I appreciate everyone reviewing me about it, but I'm sad to say that we all had it wrong, including me. Ah, oh well. Anyway, I'm really happy about all the reviews I'm receiving. Keep 'em comin! Oh, and I'll be doing answers at the bottom of this story, as usual!

Akina smirked as she walked home with her father, whistling cheerfully. Sasuke was very disgruntled, and kept on glaring at some of the women who gave him appreciative looks. Didn't they see that he was with his daughter! Not only that, but Akina was holding tons of chocolates in her hands. From the fanboys, of course.

"I hope you're not going to eat those." He said, referring to her gifts. Akina gave him a weird look, and Sasuke sighed. "There might be a few smart boys who spiked those chocolates with a love potion." At this, the dark-haired girl burst out laughing.

"Dad, please. A love potion? We're seven!" She managed to gasp out. Sasuke's dark eyes narrowed at her.

"It doesn't matter. Girls were using that technique when I was your age." Akina carefully balanced some of chocolates into her one hand, and she made a nonchalant gesture with her free hand.

"Yeah, but that's girls. Unless I received chocolates from females in my class, which I did not, then I doubt males would even be smart enough to make a love potion. The guys all in my class sleep. I have NEVER seen one of them take a pen out and take notes. Ever." Sasuke grunted at this.

"I don't care. Don't eat the chocolates." Akina raised an eyebrow, and pouted slightly. However, her smile turned into a malicious grin. Sasuke eyed her warily, and wondered if he would learn to regret those last two sentences.

"Fine then, daddy. In order to make up for the chocolates I'm loosing, you're buying me some. This way, my chocolate will be free of potions." She smirked at him. "Unless you're into that incest stuff." The look of horror on his face was absolutely priceless. Laughing hysterically, Akina fell to the floor and started beating the snowy ground.

Finally managing to compose herself slightly, she clutched her ribs. Glaring at her, he kept on walking. Akina brushed the snow off her pants, and hurried up to him. Still chuckling slightly to herself, she didn't glance back at the fallen boxes of chocolates. Let some other poor girl fall in love with whatever random boy had given her the cursed candy. Although she highly doubted that the chocolates actually were spiked, Akina didn't want to take a chance. Her father was, after all, seldom wrong.

"Where are we going?'' She asked curiously.

"To go get you some chocolate." Akina smirked smugly. The two walked on, and headed into a tiny store that the mere smell drifting from it was enough to make Akina drool. Sasuke smirked at her reaction, and bought the girl a pound of chocolate. Grinning to herself, she and her father walked on, both heading to his apartment.

"So, dad," She began casually. Her father glanced at her warily out of the corner of his eye. He knew Akina well. She was up to something, he just KNEW it. "As you've noticed, today is Valentines Day..." She trailed off, biting off a tiny piece of the chocolate and eating it. 'What's her plan?' Sasuke thought to himself. "And I know you and mom have feelings for each other..." Her father said nothing, although he could feel a blush starting to tint his cheeks. "Therefore, dad, I expect a little brother or sister by November or December." Sasuke began to choke, and stopped.

Akina kept on walking, laughing inwardly. Oh, she was a bad, bad girl. She couldn't help it though. Not to mention, her dad actually looked like he might be considering the possibility. Hmmm, interesting...

"Oh, and by the way, mom's favorite flowers are white roses." Akina called out to her prone father, still standing in the middle of street in shock. 'Hehehe.' Akina thought to herself. Akina was smirking to herself while she nibbled on her chocolate and did her homework at the same time. Her father sat right next to her on his couch, staring at the wall and obviously lost in thought. It seemed as if her words penetrated through that thick skull of his... Well, good. Akina was tired of their flirting.

She wanted to see her parents happy together, especially after having such a turbulent past. She knew her mom had been heartbroken after her dad had left. When Akina had been a little girl, she often wondered why her mom always faked smiles, and often looked out the window late at night for long periods of time, as if waiting for someone to walk through those gates. She now knew that Sakura had, in fact, been waiting for Sasuke. Akina smiled. She thought it might be time for them to go home, well, to her house.

"Hey dad?" Startled from his thoughts, Sasuke looked at her.

"Hn."

"I think it's time for us to go to my house."

"Aa." Akina smirked as she packed up her bag, and got ready to brave the cold outside. They walked to her house in silence, and both their hands were shoved in their pockets. It was too cold to talk, and Akina shivered slightly. She hated the winter! It was so...unforgiving and bitter. She smiled sadly. She guessed her dad was winter when he was younger. At least, as far as she could tell. Akina didn't know whether to be thankful or not that she knew him now, when he was a little bit warmer, or see the changes that he had made, the hardships he had gone through, in order to achieve it.

She had only seen glimpses of it, especially in those times when her dad didn't think she was paying attention, and she could see a flash of pain cloud his dark eyes. Regret was not something she was used to feeling, and she couldn't grasp how much it must torture him. He was trying to make everything better now, though, and it seemed like he was succeeding. Akina smiled gently, and slipped her hand into her fathers. He glanced down at her, an eyebrow cocked. She merely shrugged and smiled at him. He smirked, and his hand tightened around her own. They walked into Yamankas Flower Shop, and Akina struggled viciously to keep the triumphant grin off her face. To keep herself from chuckling evilly and rubbing her hands together in a self-satisfied manner, she called out cheerfully,

"Hi Aunt Ino." The blond-haired female smiled and waved back to them. Sasuke offered her a slight nod, and went back to roaming the aisles for some white roses. Akina casually walked over to her aunt, both of them inwardly snickering at one Uchiha Sasuke.

"You know, white roses can also mean friendship." Ino murmured to the dark-haired girl. Akina nodded wisely.

"You're right. Perhaps we should tell him this?" Akina asked, eyeing her father who was scowling. Ino laughed behind a pale hand.

"Hey Sasuke?" Ino called, and he turned to look at her, clearly frustrated by not finding the white roses yet. Akina couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up. He looked like a child that wanted a lollipop but was getting refused because it was almost dinnertime. Ino smirked, obviously on the verge of hysterical laughter herself. Her lips twitched into a demure smile.

"White roses can also stand for friendship, and I think you want a little bit more than that with Konoha's little Cherry Blossom. I'd suggest getting some Amarillo's." At her words, Sasuke's face slumped in obvious confusion. Ino chuckled, and went over to help the clueless man. Akina smiled. Amarillo was significant to beauty, and her mother knew this. Her aunt must've realized that her father might not, so she elaborated. Sasuke merely smirked, and walked up next to Akina. He went to pull some money from his pocket, but Ino shook her head and smiled at the Uchiha male.

"Oh no, Sasuke. This one's on the house." Sasuke blinked.

"Hn." He muttered. "Thanks."

"No problem." Ino said cheerfully, waving them goodbye as they exited the store. Akina fought back the urge to laugh. She could tell her father was nervous, so she put a comforting hand on his arm.

"Don't worry dad, I'm sure mom'll love it." She told him soothingly. Her father grunted, but said nothing more. It seemed like a few seconds later, they were standing in front of the Haruno's door. Biting back an evil grin, Akina opened the door and looked around cautiously.

"Hide the Amarillos. Mom's sitting on the couch." She muttered to her father, who did as told.

"Hi mom. Well, I'm going upstairs and study. Test tomorrow, you know?" She said brightly, and headed upstairs. Rushing quickly, she threw her book bag on her bed and sat at the top of the stairs, a mischievous smile on her pale features. This day was going to be incredibly entertaining, she could tell. Not only that, but she had perfect view of her parents, but they couldn't see her. Hehehe...

"Here." Sasuke muttered, thrusting the bouquet of flowers at the surprised Sakura. Then, she smiled at him, her eyes lighting up. She took the flowers, and set them in a vase near the door. Sasuke fidgeted, and Sakura stood right in front of him. They were looking each other dead in the eyes. Akina smirked, trying desperately not to go down there and push their bodies together. Stupid stubbornness!

"Sasuke, what're we doing?" Well, THAT caught him off guard.

"What?" He asked in his confusion. Sakura sighed.

"This, you, me, us. What're we doing?" Akina could tell her father was still confused, and rolled her eyes.

"You kiss me as if it's nothing. Where are we? Friends? Something more?" NOW Sasuke got it. He sighed, and out of frustration ran a haphazard hand through his hair. Sakura's eyes dimmed slightly.

"I...I care about you, Sakura." He admitted finally. Her mother frowned slightly. Akina tugged at her hair, and amazingly didn't throw her shoe at her father.

"I-I don't understand, Sasuke." Sakura said quietly.

"Can we start over?" Sakura and Akina's eyes widened. Sasuke was as stoic as ever, no nervousness detected in those dark eyes of his. He was totally serious about this.

"Are you...are you asking me out?" Sakura said in disbelief. Sasuke smirked.

"Hn. Maybe I am." Suddenly, Sakura smirked coyly, and clucked her tongue.

"You know, Sasuke, words mean nothing. Actions speak louder than words.'' Her father raised an eyebrow and coolly said,

"Is that so?" Without a warning, he grabbed Sakura's shoulders and crushed her lips to his. Both of them were unaware of their ecstatic daughter who was doing a happy dance on top of the stairs. Her inner self was screaming with joy that her plan was a success. Akina changed her mind. She was a very, VERY good girl. Snickering behind her hand, she settled down and continued to watch her parents, who had just pulled away from a heated kiss.

"If you're asking me out, then my answer is yes." Sakura said, licking her lips. Akina watched her father's eyes narrow at this action before he kissed her again. Deciding to leave them alone for the time being, she headed to her room. She needed to find a book for baby names; if she was going to help her parents pick out names for either her little brother or sister. Perhaps both. Akina felt giddy. Who knew playing matchmaker could be much fun?

"Hey dad? I think I'm gonna head over to Uncle Naruto's after school." Akina said cheerfully, too cheerfully, as they trudged through the foot of snow. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at his daughter's odd behavior, but didn't say anything. Everybody was gonna find out sooner or later about his and Sakura's relationship.

"Has that Hitomi girl been bothering you at all?" Sasuke grunted. Akina shook her head. Not recently, but when she realized that her plan had backfired, she kept on hissing that Sasuke was a murder and deserved the right punishment, an eye-for-an-eye. For the most part, the obsidian-eyed girl ignored Hitomi. It would not do to start a fight in school, and so, Akina swallowed her pride.

Sasuke watched his daughter carefully, but couldn't directly gouge her reaction. So he just shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pant pockets. He couldn't wait for the nice weather to come back; it was too cold for his liking.

"Hey Akina!" A girl yelled out. Sasuke glanced at her and realized it was Ayame, the girl he had talked to the first day of school. The green-eyed girl hurried over and quickly bowed to Sasuke.

"Hello, Sasuke-sama. It's been a while." Sasuke nodded at her.

"It has." He said, and Ayame gave him a tiny smile before turning back to the other female.

"Come on, Akina, Mikoto-sensei wants us to help clean up her classroom." Akina nodded, then smirked and whispered something in Ayame's ear. Ayame's eyes widened before she smiled. She turned to Sasuke.

"Oh, and congratulations about finally getting together with Sakura-san." She said before bowing, and the two girls walked away giggling. Sasuke shook his head and walked away. She must have gotten the gossip gene from Sakura, because HE certainly never got that urge. They ought to have a book on the inner workings of the female mind; because that was definitely one book he wouldn't mind reading. Akina hummed to herself as she walked home cheerfully. Ayame walked beside her, and the two were talking brightly.

"So tell me what happened? You just told me that your parents finally got together, and knowing you, you had something to do with it." Ayame shot her a sly glance. "You were spying on them, weren't you?" Akina laughed and put her hands up.

"Guilty as charged." She giggled, and Ayame laughed.

"You're so bad, Akina. Now tell me what happened."

"Bossy much?"

"Nah, just eager." Laughing, Akina told her friend everything, from the hint to her mom's favorite flowers to her dad eventually getting Amarillos (with help from her aunt), to their kiss and Akina's happy dance. By the time they arrived at Naruto's house, Ayame was gasping for breath she was laughing so hard.

"That is so you like." She wheezed, and Akina giggled before bidding her friend goodbye. She knocked on the door and waited patiently. Minutes later, her uncle opened the door and raised an eyebrow, his mind immediately jumping to the worst conclusions.

"What happened? Did Sasuke hurt your feelings again? I'll KILL the teme!" He growled, his hands balling into fists. Akina sighed and placed a small hand over his larger one.

"Uncle Naruto, relax. I come bearing good news!" Naruto sighed, and ushered the girl inside the house.

"Hi, Aunt Hinata." She greeted cheerfully. Her aunt smiled at her.

"Hello, Akina." She replied. Naruto came over and sat next to the pearl-eyed woman, while Akina made herself comfortable on one of the beige chairs.

"So what's the good news?" Her uncle asked, throwing an arm over the length of the couch. Hinata sat back and placed her head on Naruto's shoulder, both of them watching Akina with interest. The girl smiled at their act. She really hoped she could see HER parents like that. Just the thought made her blurt out everything that had happened yesterday. The two listened with rising interest, until Akina finished with their kiss.

Her aunt had a smile on her face, and her eyes were shining with happiness. You could tell that the raven-haired woman was honestly happy for Sakura and Sasuke.

"Finally." Naruto muttered, sitting up. "It took the two of them long enough to admit their feelings for one another and get together." Akina fidgeted.

"Well, my dad never told mom he loved her..." She trailed off. Naruto shrugged.

"It doesn't matter. We all know he does. After all, he could've had ANY woman in this village to have his heir, and they would've been over the moon about it. So why did he choose Sakura, a girl who had been, at the time, weak?" Akina thought about this, a smile blossoming onto her face. Naruto watched her quietly.

"Sakura got underneath Sasuke's skin to the point where he hadn't realized he was falling in love with her. I was there, when your father first got back. Your parents had this big fight, and your father confessed that he had missed her." The blond laughed.

"You should have seen the stricken look on his face when he realized what he had just admitted. Your mother was so a part of his routine that when that routine was interrupted, he found out that he cared about her. He also cared about me, but I could handle my own. It was Sakura he was always protecting, Sakura he had finally opened up to, Sakura that he cared about more than he'd like to say." Akina giggled, feeling that giddiness that she had felt last night bubbling back into her. So much for the stoic Uchiha Sasuke, a man that had always been previously thought to be an ice-block. Who knew that all it would take would be one innocent girl to prove to be his downfall?

"Anyway, I'm gonna go share the good news with Aunt Ino and Uncle Shikamaru. Then I'll head over to Uncle Kakashi's." She waved to the both of them, still sitting on their couch. They repeated the gesture.

"I give them 6 months before they crack and Sasuke proposes." Naruto said with a smirk.

Akina was laying on her bed on her stomach, both legs bent and up in the air, eyes scanning through the words on the book in front of her. Now that her parents were finally together, she decided to flip through the books that her father gave her, containing info about the history of the Uchiha clan and their private jutsu's. The latter she would have to ask her dad about, because she would definitely have to be stronger in order to do most of these jutsu's. Her eyes strayed down to the word Sharingan, and she read with interest about the fact that every Uchiha has the ability to use their Sharingan eyes.

Thinking quickly, Akina smirked. Her parents were off together...alone...and had been for quite a couple of hours now. Perhaps she would have a younger sibling quicker than she anticipated... Tearing herself away from these thoughts, Akina bit her lip and thought of her Uncle Shikamaru, who was downstairs and probably sleeping. Could she count on that, though? And what would happen if she tried to activate her Sharingan? Would she be able to hold it, or will it only last a couple of minutes?

She sucked in a deep breath, and read on how to activate the Sharingan. Akina had seen her father use it, so it must not be THAT bad. Akina took a deep breath and relaxed her body, trying to get rid of her nervousness. According to the texts, not all Uchiha's are able to use their Sharingan, although all are born with it. (A/N- all of the info about Sharingan doesn't belong to me. I got it off Wikepedia. Also, I don't own any of the Naruto characters. Well, except for their kids. Haha, I shall make them my slaves when I'm done with this story. Erm, anyway...)

Akina also didn't know if she would be able to actually use her Sharingan, because normally it first appears when the life of an Uchiha is in danger. She was obviously in no danger, so would it still work? She had to control her chakra in order to keep the Sharingan going, that much was obvious to her.

Relaxing, Akina did everything that the book told her to. (A/N- Alright. I don't know how Sasuke feels when he gets his Sharingan, so I'm just going with what I think. If any of you have any suggestions or comments, feel free to review and correct me.) Akina opened her eyes and blinked. She didn't feel any different... Was she supposed to? Did she even HAVE the Sharingan! This worried her, and she rushed over to a mirror. Akina almost screamed when red eyes peered back at her, with one wheel in the middle each. Wait, her father had three... why did she have one? Was something wrong with her?

Hurrying back over to her bed, Akina grabbed the book and read quickly. No, there wasn't anything wrong with her. It wasn't uncharacteristic for an Uchiha to have different tomoe in each eye, it depended on their strength. She was, after all, only seven. Which would explain the lack of three tomoe. Smiling slightly, she stopped the Sharingan (A/N-However you stop it. No idea.) and headed downstairs. Just as she had previously predicted, her Uncle Shikamaru was napping on the couch.

Giggling slightly to herself, Akina made a quick sandwich and grabbed a can of soda and headed back up to her room. Glancing at the clock, she smirked. Her parents had been gone an awful long time... Well, she wasn't complaining. The sooner she had a younger brother or sister, the better. However, they would have to marry first. Akina's smirk widened. The next few months would be fun.

Sitting down at her desk, the Uchiha female jotted down notes on how to have her father down on one knee by the end of the year. Glancing down at her ''mission'', Akina nodded in satisfaction. She once again glanced at the clock and sighed. She had to go to the Academy in the morning (sadly) and thus, she had to go to sleep.

Looking over her plan once more, the dark-haired girl got into her PJ's, turned off the light, and climbed into bed. These past few days had been...interesting, to say the least. And if Uchiha Akina had anything to say about it, things in Konoha would never be dull again. At least, not as long as she was around. Slowly, she fell asleep, and dreamed about cradles, bottles, and images of her mother holding a blanket with a little bundle in it.

A/N- Tada! There you have it! Sasuke and Sakura finally get together (claps). I know everybody is like, YES! Hehe, me too. And for those idiots out there, Akina was dreaming about having a sibling . And yes, Akina finally got her Sharingan, and all on her own. Now, I'm afraid I have some bad news. I'm going away on vacation, and I won't be back until late August, early September. Even after that, I have High School, but I'll try and update just as often. Anyway, I've been e-mailing a couple of my reviewers, and they've given me some pretty good ideas for the next chapter.

So if you guys log out, just type in your name and e-mail in another review, and guarentee you'll be hearing from me. Oh, and I'm kind of disappointed that Smile didn't get as many reviews as I hoped. Feel like reviewing it and making me feel better? Okay, off to answer questions!

Odat: Thanks! I'm glad you feel that way about Surprise. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Valcov: If I get enough reviews, then I might make a lemon fic. Only if people will read it though.

Angel of Depression: Oh, I know ways it can get better. Akinaxfanboy . That will DEFINITELY make daddy mad. Hehe!

SasuSaku453: Ah, Richie, another faithful reviewer! Did this chapter amuse you? Now THAT is definitely some snickering and laughing, huh?

Sakurafaves: Hehe, glad you like the new Sasuke. Better than the ice cube Sasuke, huh? (Although they're both just as hot XD)

Book-Manga-Freak: Does this chapter answer your question?

StrugglingArtist: Eh, sorry. There was originally time skips, but I guess FFN messed that up.

Sasuke Fanatic1: There's a reason for that. I know, she was kind of a witch, but she was trying to get a jealous reaction from him, and see if she walked away, would he follow? Besides, she was talking to him, and Sasuke just kind of like, sent him away. Hehe, get it? I'm pretty sure she got that reaction from him

Tiffanylicis: They've kissed before (at least, in this story. If they kissed in real life, I'd die of happiness) Once, in Akina's room. Then, there was the make-out scene on the couch. And now this. Although I think kissing her on New Years Eve was more significant than the others, huh?

So, that's it. Seeing as how I won't be home for a while (Cheers! I'll be away from my father! YAY!) Leave me some nice reviews to come home to? Oh, and if you guys would like (although only if you'd like, cause I know it'll be a little weird) you can also request me on my myspace. Just message me first and let me know you're a Surprise (or any other story that I've written) fan. You can find me at:

www (dot) myspace (dot) com (slash) italianbabie91. But obviously you have to make all the markings and whatnot . Not sure if it'll appear here. If that appears, yay! If not, that sucks. Anyway, I've rambled long enough. See you guys in a month! Ja Ne!