Daisuke

Chapter 14: Enter, Daisuke!

BE WARNED! : I do switch in between Japanese honorifics as well as American slang. This is done on purpose. It is to show the influence Daisuke has had through his family(blood related and not) whom all spawn from Japan. Daisuke, having never set foot on Japan soil, has picked up this trait from all who take care of him.

"Daisuke-chan! I'm home!" A lovely, now twenty one year old Haruno Sakura calls to her small son as she enters back into her apartment after a long days work at the hospital. After a little under four long, hard years of constantly studying and working under the watchful eye of her mentor Tsunade, Sakura managed to become one of the head doctors in the hospital as well as a honors graduate of the University. Being a single mother and all, there were times when things got rough between school and house life. Trying to juggle the care of a baby while studying wasn't the easiest thing to do, but somehow with the help of her trusty male neighbors, she managed to pull off the role of motherhood thus far.

"Kaaaaaa-san!" A tiny boy sprinted with excitement from a room not too far off and soared instantly into his mother's loving embrace. Engulfing the small boy into her protective arms, she squeezed the adorable boy and left kisses all over his chubby cheeks. She loves this boy with all her heart and couldn't ever imagine her life without him. He is her heart, her reason for getting up every day and the reason she can never stop smiling not matter how hard life may get.

"Ne! Ne! Kaa-san, do you have to do that? ...What if someone saw?" The cute little boy pouted as his voice dwindled full of disapproval. He turned away while a blush stained his pale cheeks in attempts to hide it from his mother. Even though he had a lot more energy than his father ever did, the child's personality hints frequently of Sasuke even though Daisuke has never been around the Uchiha man.

'Must be genetics…'

"I'm sorry, Daisuke-chan! You're just…TOO CUTE!" Sakura squealed twirling around with her son in her arms to his dismay. Giving up, the boy sighed in defeat and hugged his mother back. He couldn't deny a hug from his mother! He didn't understand the reason why, but Daisuke began to feel embarrassed when his mother fussed over him, ESPECIALLY in public. He wanted to push her away but at the same time he wanted the attention and the love she offered.

Placing the boy back down on the ground gently, Sakura patted his spiky black hair with affection. Daisuke had turned out to look just like his father as she predicted. The same eyes, same hair, same color of skin, everything! Daisuke was a miniature Sasuke in every sense of the word when it came to looks but Sakura, even if that was true, she is damn sure that she isn't going to let him inherit his cold, distant attitude towards people. Lately, Sakura has been seeing changes in social interaction between herself and her son along with his classmates so she just has to make sure he doesn't fully morph into the now cold-hearted Sasuke.

'Hell no…I will never let that happen. He's too sweet and has too much love to turn his back on anything or anyone. Cha!' Inner Sakura did a fist pump.

"Did you have fun at school today?" The pinkette set her purse and some groceries down on the nearby table and Daisuke followed when his she glided from the living room area to the kitchen. Swinging back and forth on his heels he nodded a simple "yes",

"Yep! We learned about numbers today and did crafts."

Sakura opened the refrigerator to tuck the last item of her small shopping trip into the door,

"Wow, Daisuke-chan. That sounds like a lot of fun."

The padding of heavier footsteps caused Sakura to silence their conversation and shift towards the opening of the room.

"Welcome home, Sakura-chan." A strong voice called from the entrance to the kitchen. Daisuke's face immediately lit up at the voice as he ran to the man happily to jump into his arms.

"Sasori-san!"

The pink haired woman smiled at the interaction played out between the two males and directed her attention to the tallest one,

"Thank you again for picking up Daisuke-chan from school today, I really appreciate it Sasori-kun. I was swamped at the hospital with the flu virus going around the city and all."

Sasori smirked as he held the boy in his arms, patting his head spiky hair with affection, "Don't worry about it. You know I'm always here for you. Plus, I like being around Helper-chan…"

Daisuke's face scrunched up like he tasted something sour, "SASORI-SAN! Don't call me that…" He whined and stuck out his tongue. Sasori liked to make fun of his name by translating it into the English meaning and then playfully tormenting him with it. It wasn't Daisuke's fault that his name literally means "great help", Sasori just liked to tease him because he likes the different, exasperated reactions he gets from the child.

Sakura smiled back gratefully between the two, for a moment imagining Sasuke in Sasori's place. Would he be as loving?

"Sasori-san, can we go back to coloring? I want to finish making Kaa-san's picture!" He hurriedly whispered into Sasori's ear, cupping his small hands together so his mother wouldn't listen in. Hearing every word her son had said, Sakura sent Sasori a knowing look telling him it was alright for him to stay a bit longer.

"Did you want to stay for dinner, Sasori-kun?" She asked the retreating man as they went back to Daisuke's room to finish the project. Sasori turned his head towards the beautiful lady regretfully,

"I'm sorry Sakura-san, I won't be able to join you this evening for dinner. I have to meet up with the others for a business meeting."

"Don't worry about it! It's fine with me! I just wanted to do something for you in return for watching Daisuke-chan." Sakura sent him reassuring grin. Sasori nodded back and then disappeared with the almost four year old into the room. Sometimes the red haired man felt like he was taking over Sasuke's place and becoming a father-like figure to Sakura's son. Sasori had grown deep feelings for Sakura over the years and didn't mind taking care of her child, he even enjoyed it. It made him feel a little better knowing that he could at least take hold of Sasuke's mistake and fix it to make the pinkette happy and feel supported. Glancing over to the boy whom flopped down on the carpet to finish the last of his coloring, he silently wished that maybe one day…after Sakura's heartbreak healed a bit more….Daisuke would call him "Tou-san" instead of the usual "Sasori-san". But how much longer was Sakura's heart still going to hold out for Sasuke to come find her? Would he even still be interested in her? Would he care that he had a child?

"Um, okay Sasori-san! I think I'm done! What do you think?" Miniature Sasuke gleefully held up his masterpiece with the utmost care. Sasori studied the picture, tilting his head which he knew riled up the boy.

"Hn. Sasori-san, you're looking at it the right way…" Daisuke huffed and turned his tomato-red face away in attempts to hide it from the man. Allowing a chuckle to escape his lips, Sasori grinned mischievously,

"I know."

Less than a second later Daisuke was stomping out of the room with Sasori following his steps. Walking over to the door way, he waved a good-bye to Daisuke before giving his farewell to the child's mother.

"See you later…Sakura-chan." Sasori playfully grinned over his shoulder as he walked out of the apartment. The pinkette rolled her eyes and went back to preparing dinner.

"Even after all this time Sasori-kun…why are you still after my affections?" She wondered. Deciding the moment Daisuke was born, she knew that she would never have any man other than Sasuke to fill the role of being Daisuke's father. He was the rightful person and even though he wouldn't ever come for her, she knew that she would never be able to put a man in the father role in place of Sasuke for her son. It wouldn't be right to herself, Daisuke, or Sasuke (even though the dumbass didn't know about Daisuke-chan). Sakura had heard numerous things from her loyal friends at home regarding Sasuke's whereabouts and the more she heard the more concerned she became for her ex-lover. Somehow Sasuke morphed like a chameleon into a whole new being…becoming more introverted and shutting everyone out of his life constantly. Sakura over heard many stories from Itachi on how his younger brother would lock himself in his new study and stay there for hours no matter what, drowning himself in paperwork for the Uchiha Corporation. Like herself, Sasuke had finished college earlier than expected and was now one of the top leaders next to Fugaku in the company.

A small tug on her apron alerted out of her thoughts towards her son's extended hand holding a colorful paper up to her level.

"Kaa-san! This is for you!" Daisuke shoved up a piece of paper towards Sakura so she would grab it and take a look. Wiping her hands clean of the juices of the meat she was cooking at the stove top on her pink fifties' inspired apron, Sakura curiously lifted the picture up to her level to take a better look. What she saw made her heart clench with love. In the center of the picture was herself holding her son's hand while around them were pictures of Itachi, Kisame, Sasori, Tobi, Deidara, Naruto, Ino, Hinata, and Mikoto standing around them with smiles shining contently on their faces. Under each person was a label to describe who they were such as the men whom had "Uncle" labeled underneath them, her label read "Mama" and under Daisuke was a label "Me". Underneath Ino and Hinata read "Auntie" and under Mikoto read "Grandma". What was written at the top of the picture is what got Sakura to tear up. It read,

"My family."

When he didn't get an immediate response out of his mother, Daisuke hesitantly tilted his onyx eyed gaze upwards and sheepishly moved his foot around in circles with his hands folded neatly behind his back,

"Do…you like it?"

Falling to her knees softly, she embraced her son tightly with her face buried in his cherry soap scented hair, "Oh Daisuke-chan, I love it! Do you want to help me put it up on the fridge?"

His face lit up with happiness as Sakura scooped him up with care to stick the picture on the refrigerator with strawberry themed magnets. Nuzzling her nose to his with affection, Sakura continued to hold him in her arms for a moment longer, never wanting her growing baby boy to leave her arms.

"I'm glad you like it Kaa-san." Daisuke blushed, burying himself into her shoulder to hide his embarrassment from his mama.

"Oh Daisuke-chan, I absolutely, positively, adore it! What made you want to draw all of us?" Sakura wondered aloud as she combed through the boy's hair with gentle fingers. Daisuke shifted his face out of her neck to confess why he made the drawing,

"Well, Ryou-san was drawing a picture of his Tou-san and Kaa-san so I wanted to do the same thing…only…I don't have a Tou-san so I thought drawing that picture was better…" Sakura's baby boy rambled on cutely with his head still rested on her shoulder and his little body rested against Sakura's hip.

Building up the courage in his mind to ask a question he had been dying to ask finally spilled out in barely a whisper,

"Kaa-san….why don't I have a Tou-san like all the other kids at school?" Daisuke curiously yet sadly asked his mother as she continued to hold him. Glancing down to her son he looked incredibly sad which in turn caused herself to feel the same emotions.

Sakura sighed and took her child over to the kitchen table to set him down on a chair. She knew this day would come but the single mother hoped it wouldn't be for a long, long, time, maybe when Daisuke was thirteen? Well, there goes her plan of avoiding the subject for the next decade.

Daisuke folded his hands neatly upon his lap and stared up at his Kaa-san with wide dark eyes, expectantly waiting an answer. Bending down to his level,

"Daisuke-chan, you do have a Tou-san."

His chibi eyes widening, he was about to leap out of the chair with a sudden urge to find his father, "Where is he Kaa-san? When can I meet him? I want to meet Tou-san!" Daisuke jumped up and down at the thought he actually had a father and he would meet him. When his mother didn't reply, the smart three year old was wise enough to realize something was wrong. Sakura's conflicted emotions flashed amongst her face- sadness, regret, love, longing.

"Kaa-san…?" Daisuke frowned, reaching out both his small hands to place on either side of Sakura's face. Lifting a hand up to cup the boys' in her grasp, she closed her eyes as a tear drop danced its way down her cheek.

"Kaa-san, please don't cry…" Her only child pouted and tried to wipe his mother's tears away. Not being able to hold her tears away, she burst full out in them and felt instantly so pathetic in front of her child. She wasn't supposed to show weakness in front of him!

"Oh Daisuke-chan…" Sakura leaned onto his shoulder and picked him up, taking in the clean scent of his shirt. "I'm sorry for crying…it's just that…I love your Tou-san very much." Sakura explained to her son truthfully. "You have a Tou-san, but he's very far away…" She began but was cut off.

"Why?" His curious voice interrupted. 'Is my Tou-san really that bad to make Kaa-san cry?'

"Umm, well, you see, Tou-san is on a very important trip…a very long trip…" She began very hesitant, trying to make up a story that would seem believable to the three year old. Even for his young age, the pinkette knew he wasn't stupid and could instantly spot a lie. Being at the top of his preschool class, he excelled in everything they taught him-his teachers even suggesting placing him in kindergarten early because of the ease and speed he presented when learning something new. Her son was a natural born genius and that instant thought made her swell with motherly pride.

Daisuke scrunched his face in thought and tilted his head to the side, "When will he be back?"

Gulping the forming lump down her throat she replied, "I…don't know."

"I-if I'm good…do you think he will come home?" He questioned his mother as he grasped onto her shirt still trying to think of ways he could get his father to come back from wherever he was. Daisuke was incredibly determined to meet his Tou-san, it just wasn't fair that all the other kids at school had Tou-sans and he didn't. Some of the children, being children, had made fun of him for it but with his inherited Uchiha glare and the threats from his uncles, the children backed off and never made fun of him again. He had also been made fun of using the traditional Japanese honorifics in names but those children were shut up with the same glare.

"Maybe…" Sakura trailed off, trying to get a hold of herself. The two stayed in silence for a few moments before Sakura remembered she had been in the middle of cooking dinner.

"AH! The curry!" Sakura shouted as Daisuke jumped in surprise and covered his ears at the outburst.

Poor little Daisuke kept glancing his gaze up at the clock periodically throughout his day at preschool. He didn't pay much attention to anything the teacher said and during play time he forced himself to color vigorously so time would pass faster. If it weren't for his fan girls he would have finished his picture of a cat….

He replayed the scene over and over in his head from what happened this morning and became even more impatient as he kept glancing at the clock. 'Why can't school be over with already?!'

"Daisuke-chan! Time to wake up sweetheart!" Sakura peeked her head into her son's blue room with a smile as she laid her eyes upon him. Her sweet baby looked so peaceful sleeping in his small bed…she didn't want to wake him! Unfortunately, baby had to wake up for school so she had no choice but to waken him.

"Uhhh…" Daisuke groaned and turned over in his bed to pull the covers over his head as a barrier. His spiky chicken hair stuck out in a complete mess, "Kaa-san…I'm sleepy…"

Sakura rolled her eyes at the excuse and suddenly imagined a teenager Daisuke ignoring her pleas to be woken up. The pinkette sure hoped that he wouldn't get worse into the future.

"But Daisuke-chan…I have a surprise for you…."

Instantly, the boy was sitting up in his bed with wide doe eyes and energy protruding from his form like he had been awake for hours, "What? What is it?"

"You'll have someone special pick you up from school today." Sakura bubbly replied as she skipped away, knowing that her son would try and follow her.

Sure enough the boy threw off his covers and chased after his mama, "Kaa-san! Tell me who!"

Unfortunately for him, no matter how many times he asked that morning, he just couldn't pry the answer from her.

'GAH! Who is going to pick me up from school today?!' Daisuke 'hn'ed for the millionth time as he laid on a blanket for 'nap time'. Daisuke, nap? Tch. He thought himself too good for nap time so he just kept rolling from side to side and pretended he was asleep so the teacher wouldn't scold him.

"Pst! Daisuke!" A small, pale girl with blonde hair pulled into pig tails and green eyes whispered to his right. Rolling his eyes, he turned his body and faced the girl with one dark eye open. Staring at her to speak he saw her pink stained cheeks,

"I…I…"

Arching his eyebrows, Daisuke waited patiently for an answer.

"I….I think you're cute!" She finished quickly and then rolled over to face the opposite direction from her crush. Blushing himself, Daisuke turned back around to his previous position so their backs were facing each other.

He should be used to this by now! All the girls in his class had said similar things to him throughout the year…he needed to pull himself together! After all, a three year old has priorities… like coloring…or playing ninja!

"Alright children! Nap time is over! Line up with your things and we'll call out your name when your parent arrives for you!" A young twenty-year old teacher happily informed her students. Daisuke never stood up or ran so fast.

Grabbing his back pack and his jacket, Daisuke raced all the other kids so he would be the first in line. Typically, he didn't care which spot he had in line, but today was a special occasion!

After all the children were lined up neatly, the teacher opened the door to reveal a devilishly handsome man wearing a casual, tight black short-sleeve shirt and jeans, standing right in front of her.

"I'm here for Daisuke Haruno."

Blushing like a maniac, the teacher stumbled Daisuke's name off of her lips.

Running up to the entrance to the classroom, Daisuke gasped with surprise and leaped into the man's awaiting arms,

"Itachi-Oji-san!"

Scooping up a miniature version of his little brother in his arms, Itachi stalked away from the many hungry glances mothers (young and old) of the other students were giving him.

Strolling leisurely down the street, Itachi carefully held his nephew's small hand in his as they walked down the concrete path way, dodging numerous pedestrians. Sneaking a glance down at his nephew, Itachi chuckled and felt like he was walking with his younger brother like they had many years ago.

"Ne, Daisuke-chan, do you want to go to the park?"

The small child beamed up at his uncle like he had said a magic word, "YES!" He hopped on both of his feet, bouncing along in the direction they were headed. The two Uchiha rounded the street corner and stumbled upon Daisuke's favorite park that was home to various types of playground equipment and beautiful scenery. Daisuke's little hand practically dragged Itachi (with surprisingly a lot of force) towards the swing set and made him sit in the swing next to his.

Swinging back and forth Daisuke laughed in that pure, bell-like ringing sound Itachi couldn't get enough of. Starting to push his swing himself, Itachi came to the realization that he had forgotten how much fun the playground could be. Being an adult himself, Itachi hadn't had a reason to wander onto a playground for years until his nephew was born. Pondering over that thought, Itachi thought back to the day when Sakura went into labor.

"AHHHHHHH! It hurts!" Screams echoed through the walls of the hospital as Sakura, whom sat in a wheelchair, was being pushed by Sasori down towards the maternity wing. Itachi, Deidara, Tobi, and Kisame still clad in their business suits from their meeting with their brand new company 'Akatsuki'. Deciding that it was best for Itachi to move forward in his career, he deemed that doing it with his best friends was a smart decision since he didn't even have to worry about the family company. Sure, Itachi still held some power in their influences (Itachi wasn't THAT horrible to walk away from the company), the oldest Uchiha offspring just decided to make his own business that surely would be a competitor with his family's at some point in the future.

"I'm... GOING TO KILL HIM! Ohhh, the next time I see you, Uchiha Sasuke, YOU ARE DEAD MEAT!"

All five sets of eyes landed on the screaming pinkette in sheer horror when they started to get an earful of how exactly she was going to kill him. Sasori attempted to cover her mouth when she got to the part about chopping off his balls with a butcher knife.

"Ah, Sakura-chan...I don't think that's appropriate for this settting..." He tried to reason with her as passer-bys stared on at the scene with appalled eyes at the way the woman in labor was behaving.

"FUCK THEM." Sakura gave the finger out boldly at anyone who dared stare at her. For the next 10 hours, profanities could be heard nonstop while the pinkette went through her labor. Only when the crying of a newborn silenced the screaming did the nonsense cease.

Itachi would never forget the love-filled look as Sakura laid eyes on the baby handed to her after he was all nice and cleaned off. She held him to her for hours, not letting anyone take him away from her. Itachi figured it was Sasuke's fault that Sakura was afraid she would lose Daisuke too.

Daisuke's swing halted as he keenly observed a father play with his son (a little older than himself) on the monkey bars, teaching him how to switch from bar to bar with so much care. Intrigued, Daisuke watched the interaction further as the boy kept falling off but was constantly being cheered on and encouraged to try and try again.

"You can do it son!"

So mesmerized, Daisuke didn't notice the halt on Itachi's swing and the sad face he wore to go along with the action.

"Daisuke-chan, is something wrong?" Worry and compassion laced into Itachi's deep, resonating voice.

"Itachi-Oji-san," He began without taking his eyes off the father/son duo. "Do you know my Tou-san?" He asked full of sadness and dejection. Daisuke didn't like the feeling he got in his chest when he saw children act so happily around their fathers. Sure he had his mother, but it just wasn't the same.

"Ah," Itachi looked towards the monkey bars with no expression, "Yes, Daisuke-chan. I know who your Tou-san is."

"Y-you do?"

Itachi could hear the excitement and wonder in Daisuke's tiny boyish voice, "Yes, Daisuke-chan. Your Tou-san is my Otouto." Alarm raised in Itachi's blood stream as he could already hear and feel the wrath of which was Haruno Sakura. He already could hear her piercing, toe curling voice now…yelling at him for revealing the big secret surrounding Daisuke's father she wanted to keep locked up in a box.

"Oi, kid. The things I do for you…willing to sacrifice myself to your mother for telling you the truth…"

"Your…Otouto?" Daisuke crooked his head to the side in wonder at Itachi's telling words. Daisuke had no idea Itachi had a younger brother.

The curious movement that the child always used when he was confused was a sure sign that this kid was truly Sakura's son. They characterized the same mannerisms frequently, aware of it or not.

"Yes. Daisuke-chan, I'm your only blood-related Oji-san, the others are merely close, family friends."

"Wait..so.." Poor Daisuke's little brain was whizzing about in a frenzy trying to take in this information but his heart was still set on knowing one thing, "...where is my Tou-san?"

Itachi bit the inside of his cheek to think up an excuse like Sakura had done before but the look in his nephew's eyes steered him away from that idea completely. The child had every right to know where his father was and if they hid the truth any longer, Itachi was sure Daisuke would turn his backs on them in the future. Lying to the boy would get them no where.

"Ah, Daisuke-chan, he lives in Japan."

"You mean, he lives where Kaa-san grew up?"

Nodding in confirmation to the boy's questioning, Itachi continued "Yes, Daisuke-chan. I see him from time to time but he is a very busy person, working and traveling all the time I mean. I haven't had a decent conversation with him in years..." He mused more to himself than directed to Daisuke.

"Does Tou-san...love me?" He squeaked, tears forming in his eyes, gaze now turned back to the father and son walking away from the equipment to head towards the ice cream stand, laughing together like they didn't have a care in the world. He wanted that! He yearned for a father so bad!

"Aa. Daisuke-chan...your Tou-san...doesn't...Aa...know...about...you." Itachi stumbled over his words not knowing how to say them without confusing the child's head further. This information was too much for an almost four year old to take in and Itachi was sure he didn't understand them.

Jumping out of his rubber patted swing, Daisuke clenched his fists into balls with determination like the word was boldly written across his forehead,

"Hn. Itachi-Oji-san, I'm going to meet him! ...Can you help me?"

A/N: Hooray for early updates! Muaha, I love cliff-hangers. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter :) Leave me with your feelings and thoughts, I only try and make my writing better. This time skip was intended to more-so skip the times where Sasuke and Sakura were apart and didn't have anything to do with each other...now with the time-skip done...you can expect Sasuke to appear in the EXTREMELY near future *cough* *cough*.

I have recently become obsessed with a SasuSaku doushinji "Lost Promise" written by Delilah88 on DA. Unfortunately, it's not originally written in English BUT I was able to find an awesome translated version on YouTube. I'll post the link to my profile page! It's honestly one of the best showcases of SasuSaku artwork I have seen...ever.

Until next time lovelies!

~WindPretear