Hours later, Sasuke found himself sitting in his assigned room, lying on his bed, and staring up at the ceiling.

After the meeting, he'd followed Sakura for a little while, even escorting her and the still-sleeping Hana back to their own room. Sakura had originally bent down to pick up the child, but Sasuke stopped her, informing her that she should save her strength and that he could do it.

He'd watched as Sakura bit back the remark that was on the tip of her tongue and paused, nodding toward him, her expression softening and a smile forming.

Honestly, Sasuke knew that she was more than capable of carrying the child back to their place herself, but he couldn't stop himself from being selfish. He didn't know why, he just needed to hold her; he needed to know that she was there and she was alright. He couldn't explain it.

Now, he was simply lying there. Shikamaru had knocked on his door a short while ago, inviting him to go to the cafeteria and get some dinner. Sasuke had declined with a shake of his head and then promptly resumed staring blankly at the pale yellowed ceiling.

He couldn't stop thinking about that night in the forest. He'd never blacked out in a battle before. Never.

It was just the sight of Sakura getting injured, right in front of his eyes no less with blood pouring down the side of her face, that set him off. He couldn't shake that picture from his thoughts, and as he tried to remember anything beyond that, the only thing he could distinguish were the screams of his teammates telling him to stop.

For all he knew he'd only been out of it for a few seconds. Although it had been enough time for him to nearly destroy half an acre of the forest.

Turning his head to the side, he let out a long breath of air. There was no window in the room. There weren't any windows in the entire compartment either. He remembered Shikamaru mentioning that they were below ground and in the center of the building. Hadn't he said something about it being a security precaution? Sasuke couldn't remember, although he did silently wish that he could look at something other than the plain room he sat in.

A knock at the front door almost made him sit himself up and exit his room to answer it, although he decided at that moment that he didn't feel like conversing with any of his comrades. Turning onto his side, he placed his pillow over his head, trying to drown out the sound.

The knocking continued for a few more seconds before a voice yelled out to him.

"I know you're in there! Answer the door!"

He found himself on his feet and in front of the door in seconds. Opening it slowly, he peered around it to see Hana standing there, bouncing eagerly on her feet sporting a large grin. Behind the child stood Sakura, smiling sheepishly at him, "We didn't wake you, did we?"

"No," he said, his voice cracking as if he truly had woken from a nap. Clearing his throat he shook his head once more before looking back down at the excited girl in front of him.

"Do you wanna go get dinner with us?" she asked, still bouncing in her spot before him.

He watched her strangely as she moved, wondering why the hell she couldn't stand still. But as he watched her he thought back to his days in the academy, and back to a certain blonde-haired idiot he knew. He supposed it was a thing that kids did; although Sasuke could only quietly hope Hana hadn't picked up too many mannerisms from Naruto.

"Mom said Kiba-san isn't in the building right now, so it'll be okay!" She said, as if she needed to coax him out of his room.

Sasuke wanted to scoff at the statement; as if that dog-man could keep him from going anywhere.

Instead he nodded to her, staying silent even when Hana let out an excited squeal and held onto his hand tightly, pulling him out of his doorway and down the hallway. Sasuke shot Sakura a confused glance but she merely shrugged, smiling the whole time.

He found himself getting dragged down to the cafeteria and was soon listening to the incessant chatter of the 7-year old girl.

As they ate she talked about her favorite foods and her least favorites. She went on about how much she missed her old bedroom for a good five minutes and then spent another ten describing the room to him in vivid detail.

"You'll see it when we get back to Konoha, and I can show you our whole house too!"

Sasuke locked eyes with Sakura for a moment before quickly breaking the eye contact, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. Having the child talk so nonchalantly to him about coming back to the village made him feel uneasy.

Thankfully, the subject switched to how much she missed playing with Naruto and Hinata's son, Kenji. She soon started telling him a few stories about the 'adventures' that she and the toddler have had. Sasuke didn't know why he found himself actually paying attention to the child, but he figured that it was better than staring at a wall for hours on end.

After the meal he expected to go back to his room, but was instead dragged once more by Hana in the opposite direction.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see!" She sang, skipping along as she led the way. Sasuke looked behind him and at Sakura for an explanation, yet she didn't reply. Again she only smiled.

When they made their way out into the courtyard, Sasuke only wished that he'd chosen to go back to his room.

Soon enough, Hana had managed to sit him down beside her in the sand and was currently showing him how to make sand castles.

"No no!" Hana yelled, grabbing his hands and pushing them back into his lap. "If you do it like that the whole thing is gonna fall!"

Sasuke tried to glare at the child but all he managed was a semi-stern look. Frowning, he wiped his hands on his shirt, watching as the sand fell all over his lap.

"You've got to pat it down," she instructed, "like this!"

Sasuke sighed and leaned back on his hands, placing them once more in the sand below them. He didn't care at all about how to make a damn sandcastle. But he couldn't pass up the opportunity to spend time with Hana.

After all, he didn't know how much more time he'd get to spend with her. There were still people he needed to track down…

"Well isn't this a sight?"

Sasuke bit back an expletive at the sound of Kakashi entering the courtyard. He couldn't see the man yet, but he could just hear the teasing tone in his voice.

Hana turned and smiled toward Kakashi, waving a sandy hand toward him. "Hi Kaka-san!"

"Hello," he greeted, waving back toward her. "What are you two up to?"

"Sand castles," she explained simply with a point of her finger down to the mushy pile of wet sand in front of her.

"Ah, I see that." Sasuke watched as Kakashi walked over toward where Sakura sat.

Sakura had been sitting on a nearby bench, watching them interact for a good while without saying a word. He watched as she smiled up toward Kakashi and patted the space beside her for him to sit.

"Yeah but my dad isn't very good at them," she said matter-of-factly before turning back toward her 'castle' and adding another few handfuls of sand.

"Tsh." Sasuke rolled his eyes before standing himself up. As he straightened up, sand fell from his body, some of which landed on Hana below him.

"Hey! Watch it, I'm sitting here!" She lifted her arms and placed them above her head as if to guard her from the incoming sand.

Sasuke didn't reply. He only brushed as much of the sand off of his body as he could. After about a minute, he gave up; he'd have to wash his clothes and shower when he finally got back to his room.

Being careful so that he didn't knock over any of Hana's 'castles'—which truthfully all just looked like oddly shaped piles of sand—he walked around her and over toward where Kakashi and Sakura sat.

"Having fun?" Kakashi asked as he approached the bench.

Sasuke fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Move over," he muttered before sitting down beside the older man.

"How are you guys liking the Hidden Sand?" Kakashi asked.

"It's nice," Sakura smiled, leaning back as she watched Hana play. "It's quieter than the Leaf, but I'm just happy to be sleeping in a real bed again."

"Better than sleeping in the woods," Sasuke mumbled under his breath. Crossing his arms over his chest he found himself looking past Kakashi, studying Sakura's face.

She looked so content. So happy.

"Ugh! It's no fun making sand castles by yourself, you know!" Hana said pointedly, looking toward the group of adults sitting there, watching her.

Sakura let out a light laugh before standing up. "I'll help you out."

Hana's face lit up as she watched her mother approach. "Okay! But you need to let me show you how. Were you watching when I was teaching Dad?"

As he watched the two interact, Sasuke couldn't help but become immersed with the sight. They were both smiling and sitting in the sand and goofing off and giggling and he could've sworn he'd never seen anything more genuinely wonderful in his entire life.

"You did it."

Sasuke tore his eyes away from the two playing in the sand to look inquisitively at Kakashi.

"You brought her back."

"Of course I did. I said I would."

Kakashi smiled, "But you knew as well as I did that the odds of that happening were slim."

Sasuke sighed, looking away from the man. "Less than slim," he agreed, muttering the words quietly as he watched Sakura once more.

"Does she know?"

Sasuke frowned, not removing his eyes from the sight before him. "Know what?" he asked suspiciously.

"How you feel about her?"

If Kakashi had wanted his attention before, he now had it completely. After the question had left his mouth Sasuke's head snapped towards him, looking at the man with a startled look.

"I'm not an idiot, Sasuke," he watched as Kakashi looked back toward Sakura and Hana, watching them playing around in the sand. "I see the way you look at her."

Sasuke berated himself mentally as he tried to shrug off Kakashi's comments; there was no way he'd been that obvious. But the more he thought about it, he realized he couldn't just brush it aside.

"So?" He replied stubbornly, again looking away from Kakashi. He started idly picking at the side of the bench.

"So, what are you going to do about it?"

Sasuke had to resist the urge to laugh in his face. He'd been asking himself the same question even since he'd found Sakura days ago.

He could choose to stay with her and Hana after this whole mess was dealt with; he couldn't even deny that it was the most appealing of all his options. He'd be able to watch Hana grow up and he could try to repair his relationship with Sakura and he'd hopefully even be able to work toward becoming a Leaf ninja once more.

It would be so easy for him to choose that option, but at the same time it would be so hard, too.

He didn't even think he was close to deserving any of the love Hana and Sakura (supposedly) had to offer him. As he watched them play with the sand, his chest ached. They were so beautiful, so pure and angelic and god they were perfect.

For some reason, he just couldn't picture himself with them, as a family. Attempting to imagine it was just like drawing a tornado in the center of a perfect spring day: it just didn't belong.

Sasuke didn't belong with them. He could feel it with every ounce of his being. Of course he wanted to be with them, more than anything in the world in fact. But he knew, just like always, all he'd bring to them would be pain.

"I don't know." He admitted, his eyes still focusing on the bits of wood he was picking off of the bench.

Thankfully, he watched in his peripheral vision as Kakashi nodded in understanding. He'd actually expected to get scolded or lectured, regardless of what his response would've been; it was something Kakashi had always done in the past.

He had to remind himself once more that he wasn't a child any longer. Of course Kakashi wouldn't treat him like one.

"Do you have any idea what you'll do after all of this?" Kakashi asked after a few minutes. "After Masaru is defeated."

Sasuke sighed again before halting his hands and leaving the bench alone. "Not really."

"Hm," Kakashi appeared to be thinking to himself, perhaps of what to say next. He paused though, not speaking for another long couple of minutes. "I'm sure you'll figure it out."

Just as Kakashi was finishing speaking, Sasuke watched as Sakura stood back up and walked over toward them with Hana following close behind.

"I'm done with sandcastles today." She stated to the group, with her hands on her hips. "I need a shower," she complained as she brushed at her clothing, struggling to rid herself of all the sand.

"After that we'll be going to one of the recreation rooms down in the lower levels," Sakura explained. "Do you guys want to join us?"

Kakashi shook his head, "Can't. I only stopped by here to say 'hello'. I've got reports to write and letters to send back to Naruto."

"Tell Naruto-san I said hi! Please!" Hana begged excitedly. "And tell Hinata-san that I miss her and Kenji! Oh and Osamu, too!"

"Actually," Sasuke said, suddenly remembering something, "we saw him on the way to finding your mother."

"What! You did?! Why didn't you say so!?" Hana ran up to him, grabbing and pulling on his hands excitedly. "What did he say? I know he was on a mission with Tenten-san last time we were in the village! But no one told me if they were going to tell him if I was okay or not and—"

"Hana," Sakura put a hand on the bouncing girl's shoulder, urging her to calm down.

"Sorry," she smiled sheepishly at her mother before turning back toward Sasuke, smiling widely up at him, waiting for him to continue.

"He knows you're safe."

"Did he say anything when you saw him?" She asked hopefully.

Sasuke wanted to groan at her over-excited curiousity. But when he thought back to the child—the son of Asuma and Kurenai, and the grandchild of the third Hokage—he sighed tiredly. He supposed she could do worse…

"Not really. He just asked if we found you," Sasuke shrugged, "that was about it."

"Oh," she said, the disappointment clear in her face and her tone.

Sasuke shot Sakura a wry look, to which she only smiled back at before looking back down toward Hana. "It's alright. You'll see him once we get back to the village."

The little girl groaned, "I just wanna go back now."

"Come on," Sakura said, placing her hand on Hana's back and ushering her back towards the building. Before they got too far, she turned back toward Sasuke. "You coming?"

It would be so easy for him to say no and to retreat back to his room, but as he looked at the girls, he realized that he didn't want to. Not in the least bit. Glancing at Kakashi, the older man smiled, nodding toward the two waiting for him. Breaking eye contact Sasuke walked over to Sakura, following her lead.

As they walked he was silently thankful for the fact that they had Hana with them. The entire building was like one huge maze, and thankfully for some strange reason, Hana seemed to have memorized each and every hallway and stairwell in the damn place.

"So," Sakura said after a couple minutes of silence, "When we get back I suppose I'll have to thank Tenten for harassing those guys for the information." She grinned toward Sasuke, who only shook his head in response to her humor. "Lee got to spend some time with her right?"

Sasuke nodded, then let his curiosity get the better of him. "Why?"

Sakura looked at Hana, who was too busy counting the tiles in the floor as they walked to be paying attention to their conversation. "I was just wondering. After the war, things sort of fell apart for the two of them."

"How so?"

"Well, Neji died. Guy-sensei was killed. The war took half of their team from them," she explained in a hushed tone. "It really did a number on Tenten."

Sasuke was shocked. He'd known about the death of the Hyuuga, but he'd been entirely unaware of the demise of his old master's rival. Thinking back to the overly-energetic man, he almost felt guilty over the fact that he was ignorant about his death.

"I see."

"Every now and then, she gets a little over-worked and has to take a couple months off. But if she hangs around Lee she's usually fine," Sakura explained further. "It's kind of sad. They pretty much just have each other. Neither of them have any other family."

Sasuke found himself thinking hard once more. He'd never realized that maybe he hadn't been the only one without a family as a child. But he had been so self-centered and deranged that even if he had known he was sure he probably wouldn't have cared or shown any sort of empathy.

"I didn't know they were an… item," he said, searching for the correct terminology.

Sakura let out a laugh, "No, they aren't. They're kind of like brother and sister I guess. Sort of like Naruto and I."

As he nodded in genuine understanding he let his eyes wander ahead of him, only to see Hana running down the hall. "Where is she going?" He asked flatly.

"Huh?" Turning her head back in front of her, she let out an expletive under her breath. "Hana, hold up! What are you doing?"

"Before we go back I want to tell Temari-san about the sandcastles I made today!"

Quickening his pace, Sasuke half-heartedly attempted to keep up with Sakura, who was running toward the 7-year-old. Hana, oblivious to anything going on around her, reached out ahead of her and grabbed a doorknob, swinging the door wide open before Sakura could tell her not to.

Before he was there, he heard a couple startled shouts from inside the apartment. Upon recognizing the voices, he froze.

"Shikamaru, you were supposed to lock the door!"

"Damnit! What the—"

"What are you two doing?" Hana asked innocently from the doorway, staring into the apartment with a confused yet slightly frightened look on her face. "Shikamaru-san what are you doing to—"

"Hana!" Sakura reached forward quickly, slapping a hand over the young girl's eyes the moment she reached her. Sasuke then watched as her own eyes trailed into the room, yet quickly averted themselves from she saw what was inside.

Sasuke could only imagine what Hana had just walked in on…

"Oh goodness, I'm so so sorry!" Sakura stuttered out a response, turning her head toward Sasuke and shooting him a panicked look. Her face was red with embarrassment, and as she locked eyes with him, he could still hear the commotion coming from inside the apartment.

"Close the door!" he heard Shikamaru shout from somewhere in the apartment.

"Oh! Got it! Okay!" Pulling Hana back with her, her hand still covering her eyes, Sakura shut the door quickly, slamming it closed before turning back toward Sasuke, her face still shocked.

"Please tell me they weren't…?" he asked, cringing at the thought. He looked down at Hana, who was now trying to pry her mother's fingers from her eyes, and swore to himself.

"Yep."

"She saw everything didn't she?"

"Yep."

Sighing heavily, he looked from Sakura, toward the now-closed door, and back towards Hana.

"What! What were they doing!? Ugh, mom! Let me go!"

"Nothing! It was uh—nothing at all."

"I'm not an idiot! Don't treat me like a baby."

Finally freeing herself from Sakura's hold, Hana placed her hands on her hips, glaring up at her parents.

"You don't need to worry about it, sweetie." Sakura said. Sasuke could only wish that Hana would simply drop the subject. He didn't even want to think about what she'd seen, let alone try to explain it to her. When Sakura shot him a desperate look, he shook his head in response.

Oh no. He'd only known about being a father for about a month now. There was no way he was going to talk about that. Not on his life.

"Just tell me what they were doing!"

"It's uh—they were uh…"

"Forbidden jutsu."

He hadn't meant to say anything, but the idea popped into his head and he couldn't stop himself from blurting out the words. After he spoke he paused, waiting for the child's reaction.

"A forbidden jutsu?" Hana thought to herself for a long moment. "If it's forbidden then why were they doing it!"

"It's a… very dangerous… very secret jutsu. That's why we can't explain it to you. You shouldn't have seen it." When Hana gasped in fear, he figured that maybe his ridiculous excuse would work.

"That's why you aren't allowed to talk about what you just saw," Sakura added on, continuing with their desperate attempt to explain the situation and to change the subject. "If you do, it could put them in danger."

"Why were they performing a forbidden jutsu then?" Hana asked with a whisper.

Sasuke couldn't believe it. She was actually falling for it.

"It's something that we aren't allowed to tell you about at least until… you're a teenager." Sakura said, thinking to herself as she worked out her end of the 'explanation'. "But you need to understand that you weren't supposed to see that, okay?"

"Got it," Hana confirmed with a nod of her head, still whispering up toward her parents. "I won't say a word!"

Sasuke and Sakura let out a collective sigh, meeting eyes with one another.

"I'm going to uh, go shower now." He said, trying to excuse himself from the awkward situation.

Sakura nodded, "Right."

"I'm gonna take a bath too!" Hana said, "We'll get you after I'm done and then go to the rec room to play, okay!?"

Sasuke was relieved at the fact that she'd forgotten about their little situation; for the time being at least. He followed them up to their floor but parted ways once he reached his room.

After entering his room, he looked around the place with tired eyes before running a hand over his face.

He didn't think he'd ever get used to this whole 'being a father' thing. As he thought toward Sakura, he could only hope that she knew what to do with future situations similar to that. Just dealing with that one… circumstance, was enough to make him wish that he'd been elsewhere.

But as he sighed he realized that he'd need to get used to all of it—the good, the bad, even the cripplingly awkward—if he was ever going to attempt to raise her.

As the thought crossed through his mind, he froze. He hadn't exactly decided if he would remain with them after everything was taken care of.

But he supposed he could always prepare himself, just in case…

A/N: This is one of my favorite 'filler' chapters that I have, for obvious reasons. The next chapter will be a bit longer. Probably. Maybe. Eh, fuck it we'll see.

Anyways, I'm still accepting fanfic recommendations, so please don't be shy! Reviews are, as always, appreciated.