This is chapter twenty four of A New Start. So far, a lot has happened. Let's get right into this! I don't own anything except my OC's!

Me: O.O I just realized I never mentioned when th-*Deidara slaps hand over mouth*

Deidara: Hush, luv... No spoils...

Me and Deidara: Happy BDay to Gaara-senpai/The fifth Kazekage!

Ages:
Sakura- 30
Sasuke- 30
Itsuki- 10
Akari- 9
Daichi- 7
Akemi- 7
Mikoto- 4 months
Hinata- 30
Naruto- 30
Minato- 10
Tsunade- 6
Ayako- 5 months
Ino- 30
Shikamaru- 30
Megumi- 10
Shijo- 7
Hiyaka- 4 months
Tsunade- 88
Jiraya- 86

Chapter 25: From Sorrow To Joy

Not long after Mikoto joined her family and Ayako was a month old, an 88 year old Tsunade was hospitalized from either fracturing her wrists or overtaxing herself during the heat. It was Ino and Sakura assigned to the case, since the two were trained by her when they were in their teens. Their husbands, Shikamaru and Sasuke respectively, were waiting in the waiting room actually having a debate about a mission they had with Kiba, while holding their youngest child.

"Milady, how're you feeling today?" Sakura asked as she entered the room to her sensei's room, being followed by Hinata and Ino. She looked up from her chart to see her sitting slightly up, looking weak, but healthy.

"Sakura... Is that you? You know I feel like I'm in an oven." Tsunade scolded lightly before coughing up a storm.

"Sorry, milady.. Would you like some water?" Ino asked, holding a glass of water while Hinata went to check the vitals.

"I want to get out of here, that's what I would like." Tsunade shot back, bringing up another coughing fit to with Hinata and Sakura had to pat her lightly. However, when she did stop coughing, Sakura, Ino and Hinata were shocked to see blood. ((I'm not a fan of medical stuff, so... Sorry))

Meanwhile, Jiraya and Naruto were hanging out in the village, enjoying a meal at Ichiraku when Naruto's cup cracked and Jiraya had a bad feeling. "Say, Pervy Sage, why do I think something bad is happening, dattebayo?" He asked, spinning to get out of his seat.

"Lord Hokage!" Shizune's voice called, clearly upset as she rushed up to him.

"Shizune? Where's Granny? Is she out yet?" Naruto asked, clearly thinking that if Shizune was here, then Granny was surely following.

"About her... You best get to the hospital immediately!" She replied as the three rushed towards the hospital.

Naruto looked at the Kage Monument and was shocked to see a slight crack on Granny Tsunade's rhombus mark on her forehead. When he and the other two burst in, he was confused when he saw only Shikamaru and Sasuke, who had just finished another talk. "What's going on, teme?"

"Hn? Dobe, do you mind, Mikoto just fell asleep." Sasuke warned, raising an eyebrow at his friend's apparent worry.

Just then, Sakura, Ino and Hinata were heard leaving a room down the hallway, where Shizune met them half-way. "Sakura-chan, I brought Lord Hokage, as you told me to..." Shizune said as they came into view. Both Naruto and Sasuke were shocked at how down Sakura looked, even if she hid her feelings from everyone else.

"Sakura-chan? Wh-what's going on?" Naruto asked again, getting her to snap out of her little daze and motioned for the two to follow her.

"Shizune, have Ino inform Jiraya and Shikamaru about the situation. You can head home yourself, you might need the rest." Sakura suggested before leading her best friend, husband and thankfully sleeping daughter into her office, leaning against her desk as Sasuke gave her Mikoto.

"Now can you tell me? Please Sakura-chan?" Naruto said, clearly wanting to know what was going on. What he, nor Sasuke, were expecting was the broken look in both her eyes and face.

"Milady... passed away... Apparently... She caught a virus when she and Jiraya went to the Land of Snow. At her age, I was surprised she returned as she did." Sakura explained calmly, something she learned from Tsunade herself as she looked at her sleeping child.

Naruto's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he heard. "But, Granny's a Sannin!"

Sakura finally looked up and the sad look made Naruto stop his protests. "Yes. Milady was a Sannin, but she was also very elderly. Even the jutsu she used to stay young started to run out faster than me, Hinata and Ino could heal. Eventually, Tsunade gave me, Hinata and Ino the remaining chakra she had left before telling us to have you, Naruto, not get so worked up and just be you." She lifted her free hand to rub her forehead.

Naruto was about to say something else when his own wife entered Sakura's office, sharing Sakura's look of sadness. "I see... Well, I gotta do what Granny wants me to do! I think today everyone should take the day off. That and I'll need to be with Pervy Sage, since he was very close to Granny." He draped his arm gently around Hinata as they left.

Sakura visibly deflated when the door closed, unable to even keep up the mask much longer. "I still can't believe how much energy it takes to keep a happy face around him." She muttered, meaning Naruto.

"Hn. I was surprised you didn't break down the instant the door closed. You looked close to breaking down at points." Sasuke said, rubbing his wife's shoulders in a soothing gesture until her head buried itself in his shirt, letting her mourn the loss of her teacher in her own way. He seemed to always be at a loss of words whenever she started crying, even when it was a part of her mood swings when she was carrying Mikoto. "Perhaps you should head home, too... Surely you could use the rest of the day off, too." Sakura's head bobbed in agreement as the two left her office, Sasuke swinging her up into his arms, not wanting to trust her walking and crying. When he arrived, he was surprised that Itsuki, Akari and the twins were home. "Itsuki, mind taking Mikoto and your siblings to the park for a while?"

"Is something wrong?" He asked, tilting his head as he took his sister.

"I'll tell you later." Sasuke promised as the kids went to the park and he carried his silent wife into the living room, reclining on the sofa and stroking her back. He thought he heard her mumble something against his shirt, so he leaned back and raised a brow. "You say something?"

Sakura hiccupped a little and tried to wipe away her tears. "I.. I said.. It's just... like me... to be.. c-c-crying... It's... kinda w-w-weak... Huh?" She sniffled and gave a very weak smile.

Sasuke sighed and shook his head. "Sakura, nothing will ever make you weak in my eyes... I'm not the idiotic kid I was back then.. I know nothing about you is weak.. Besides, I'm surprised you didn't start crying right when the dobe left." He kissed her forehead and wiped the tears she failed at getting with his thumbs.

Sakura teared up more as she gripped the hands holding her cheeks before leaning just a little to capture a kiss from her husband. Even though her teacher passed, Sakura never felt as happy as she did at that moment and wondered if she would've known how kind Sasuke would have been when they were kids. Parting, she smiled and returned to her spot on his shoulder. "You still have a way with words, Sasuke-kun.."

"Hn." Was the retort even as she felt him rest his chin on her head. "Don't let the dobe know that."

Sakura giggled lightly and smiled. "I think he figured out that a long time ago." She took the hand that wore the band that tied their lives together and entwined their fingers. "You're getting better at comforting me... You know?"

Sasuke kissed her digits and smirked. "Took me long enough. Nearly 18 years." He muttered.

"Oh, hush. You didn't mean all that back then, I knew that at the time. You just were misled by Madara." She pointed out, using her free hand to rub his cheek gently.

That made her husband smile. "Damn you're smart. I'm surprised that I was so slow to see ya."

She rolled her eyes before hearing their door open and Daichi and Akemi's chattering reaching them and moved aside, even if the kids knew that she often sat on their dad's lap.

"Kaa-san!" Daichi called before darting into the living room before his twin showed up. "I beat you, Akemi!"

"No fair! I had to take off my shoes! Itsuki-niisan, you're slow!" She teased as her older brother and sister entered the room.

"You try holding Mikoto and keeping up with you two." He stated, handing his little sister to his mother. "So, tou-san, what happened?"

"Well... Grandma Tsunade.. She's an angel now." Sakura explained gently, patting Mikoto lightly and seeing her kids do something she was proud of: taking the news and not breaking down, even if the girls had misty eyes.

"That means she's like the other ones? Watching us?" Akari asked, tilting her head slightly. At nine, she shocked everyone at how quickly she was learning at the Academy, thus graduating with Itsuki and his class. She proudly stated it was because her daddy was smart, too.

"Yes. Just like them." Sasuke said, nodding as Daichi and Akemi went upstairs for a few minutes, returning with their bags. "What's up?"

Akemi smiled and dug in her bag to show her father a slip that all Uchiha kids often had to show at the end of a semester at the Academy: their grades. "Iruka-sensei told us to give this to you, tou-san."

Sakura nearly laughed when Sasuke acted like he didn't want to, but had to. "I'm sure Iruka-sensei had a good reason." As she said that, Daichi gave her his and looked at it, not at all shocked that, being pretty much identical to Sasuke, they were passing all their classes, except for their 'teamwork' class. "Hmm. You are definitely taking after your tou-san, that's for sure."

"H-I don't know if I like that tone." Sasuke said, resisting the urge to use 'Sasuke-speak' infront of the twins. Sadly, both Akari and Itsuki had gained the grunt from him, much to Sakura's annoyance.

"What can we do, kaa-san? We don't wanna be held back!" Akemi stated, being the more out-spoken of the twins. She had the traditional Uchiha hair, with the back resembling her father's hair, with the sides being shorter than her twin's, so that they weren't confused by others, even if she were the girl. She also had the green eyes like her mother, something only Itsuki and Akari had. Daichi, her twin, was identical to Sasuke, but had his mother's straight hair and his dad's oynx colored eyes. Their hair also separated them: Akemi having a dark pink with a grey streak, a lighter version of her elder sister and Daichi having the opposite, a dark pink streak and black hair.

Sakura smiled before thinking. "Well, it took your tou-san a long time before he could work well with Naru-oji. But, I think if you and Daichi start working together, you won't be held back."

The twins lit up at the news as Daichi spoke. "Really, kaa-san? You are so smart!" With that, he and his sister went out to try to work together.

Akari grinned before adjusting her headband, having it like her mother used to have it, which made Sakura glad that at least one would have her quirk. Sakura picked up the cue and sighed. "Alright, Akari.. What happened now?" She asked, knowing the jesture meant she did something bad.

"I kinda beat up Minato..." She said sheepishly as her brother raised an eyebrow before continuing. "He said that even his own tou-san wasn't scared when he had to fight that 'Ma..Madara' person and his ego took over.." She crossed her arms and huffed, something that a younger Sasuke always did when he got annoyed. "I warned him that if it weren't for my kaa-san or tou-san, his tou-san wouldn't be here."

Itsuki shook his head in sync with his parents before Sasuke spoke. "Even though that was right, no need to beat the poor kid up."

Sakura glanced his way. "Says someone who always wanted to beat Naruto up all the time? But, your tou-san's right. I think you need to go apologize." That one word made all their kids flinch: apologizing when they knew they were right. Sasuke said it was a blow to the Uchiha pride to apologize, even though he's apologized the entire time they've been married for many things.

"But..." Akari protested before seeing her mother raise an eyebrow, which made her deflate and leave, heading to see Minato and apologize, leaving Itsuki with his parents.

Sakura went to sit down and rock Mikoto, who was awake and staring up at her. "So, how was the mission with Kakashi-sensei?"

Itsuki grimaced. "It was way too easy. Sometimes I wonder if sensei is thinking about teaching us teamwork or just finding it funny to give us difficult missions." He stated.

Sakura and Sasuke both grinned as Sasuke spoke. "That's just him. He is trying to see if you truly are our son or not. He was like that when we were his students."

"Kaa-san, when will you be back again? Everyone says you're cooler than Kakashi-sensei! Even Tsumio said so." At ten, he always liked going on hard missions to prove he was a Uchiha, even if the other two weren't thrilled. His purple hair always made girls his age fangirl over him, similar to how they did to his father, and they still do.

"Well, how about tomorrow? I have the day off, so I think I can see if we can get a mission more suitable for the team." Sakura stated, even trying to remember when she last went on a mission with her team before she realized it was before Mikoto was even conceived. Itsuki grinned and went to go help his younger siblings in their work, even joining to show them how to read the other, before Akari re-entered, grumpy as ever, plopping on the ground in a Sasuke-like sitting position. "Well?"

"I apologized, but Minato was being a big doofus. He first accepted the apology before saying niisan was a purple-haired freak! So, I beat him back up before Hinata-obasan made him apologize and told me to stop. I like Hinata-obasan, she's nice and calm.. Why isn't Minato like her?" She questioned.

"Well, he's like his dad." Sakura replied as Itsuki came in when Akari mentioned what Minato said.

"Good thing you beat him up, imouto. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have stopped." Itsuki stated, smirking like his dad used to. It really angered him whenever someone insulted his hair color, which he was actually proud of having, despite it being picked on. Being Sasuke's son, he never let it bother him until he went to practice, where he could take out the anger.

Sasuke grumbled to himself as he went to the door and opening it before anyone could ask. "Come on in, dobe." He said. Sakura and Hinata both had gotten on their cases about the whole teme/dobe thing, but it's all he and Naruto have always called each other.

Naruto walked in, Minato following with his head hung low. "Hey, Sakura-chan." He said happily before turning to his own son and looking very serious. "Now, Minato, go ahead." He motioned.

Minato pursed his lips, something he picked up from his dad, before walking forward. "Akari-chan... I'm sorry for saying your niisan was a freak..." He said, bowing.

Akari had the traditional Uchiha pride face on, not showing any emotion as she huffed and looked away. "Yeah, yeah.. Don't do it again, doofus." She said, as if it were her version of her father's 'dobe'. Getting up she went to her brother. "Niisan, wanna spar?" She asked, looking excited. Itsuki shrugged before glaring at Minato and walking outside with his sister to train, since he wanted to train before tomorrow.

Naruto sighed and ruffled his son's hair. "She's just like you, Sasuke. Almost makes me fear for whoever she dates when she's older."

"Don't start, Naruto... He's already planning that." Sakura pointed out, allowing Mikoto her pinky as the child looked around before staring at Naruto.

"Man, she's getting bigger. She's so cute, though." Naruto stated, waving slightly. "Now, I better get back. I promised Hinata-hime that I'd be back after having him apologize. I'll see you guys later. Come on, Minato." He ordered, having his son leave before him as he shut the door himself.

"Never figured he'd be so... strick with Minato." Sakura stated as Mikoto pouted a little. "Aww. Naru-oji had to go home.. He'll see you tomorrow." Heading outside, she smirked when she saw how the elder kids had included the younger two, toning down the session just so they were all even. "Alright, kids. Time to get ready for bed!" She called out, having the four run up and look at her excitedly. "What's with the look?"

"Kaa-san! We want to learn how you do that awesome punch that you do to Naru-oji!" Itsuki stated, having the others nod in unison.

Sakura blinked before smiling. "I might be able to show you before I go get a mission tomorrow. For now, it's time for bed." She promised as Akari took Mikoto and went upstairs. "That's going to be really bad when someone gets them mad.." She stated as she went to finish up the dishes, being followed by her husband.

"Hn. At least that'd teach them not to mess with them." Sasuke replied, glancing at the calendar and smirking to himself before returning to watching his wife put the dishes back.

"Just like it's taught you not to mess with me, hmm?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow in a clear way to prove her point. She started laughing at the look of defeat on her husband's face before taking her apron off and walking over to wrap her arms around his neck. "Don't worry. In Shikamaru's words, 'you're whipped.'"

"Hn. I'm not whipped.. He's the whipped one, along with dobe and the Hyuga." When Sakura pouted angrily, he sighed and kissed her forehead. Despite what he said, he didn't mind being whipped by his wife, in fact, there were points he enjoyed it. Though, he'd only admit it to her.

Well, took me about a month to work on this one, but, I did it! Next chapter will be all about SasuSaku~ Yay!
~~Skittles~~