After Sasuke left, Sakura spent the rest of the night playing with Kiyoshi and making a simple dinner of grilled fish and rice. She sat Kiyoshi in his highchair and set his food out in front of him, "Now what do you say?" Sakura asked while raising her brow. Not knowing what exactly to say, Kiyoshi shook his head and started eating his food, and Sakura just huffed at his lack of response.
So she began eating her food, and a few moments of quiet passed by before she heard a small "Mama" coming from her little boy. This caused her to perk up and ask "What was that baby?" with a smile forming on her face, wanting to hear it once more. "Mama!" Kiyoshi said with a giggle, delighted with himself for finally being able to say the full word.
At the sound, Sakura couldn't help the stray tear that fell from her eye, overwhelmed with joy at her son speaking his first true word. And she couldn't help but take Kiyoshi out of his highchair and bring him to her lap for a hug. "I knew you could do it," Sakura said, while cradling him close to her chest.
After dinner, Kiyoshi had his usual bath and practiced his new favorite word the entire time. "Mama, mama" the little boy cooed happily, " Yes baby?" Sakura said, with all the patience in the world. He then reached his small arms out to her, signaling that he was done in the bath and wanted out. So Sakura grabbed a soft towel, and wrapped it around him as she picked Kiyoshi up and took him to his room.
As she was dressing Kiyoshi for bed, Sakura noticed his small, hazel eyes beginning to droop. So she decided to forgo his nightly bottle as she finished fastening the buttons on his pastel yellow onesie. She then picked Kiyoshi up and began gently rocking him back and forth in her arms, while humming a soft lullaby.
After about ten minutes, she felt his breathing slow down and body relax, so she placed a tender kiss on his forehead and laid him down. "I love you, goodnight sweetheart" she whispered, as she quietly shut the door and then headed to the bathroom to herself ready for bed.
The next few days went by smoothly for mother and son, Sakura worked on getting Kiyoshi on a schedule that worked best for him. Which consisted of Kiyoshi having his bottle while Sakura had her coffee, then they both got dressed and had breakfast together. The rest of the morning was spent playing, reading books, and practicing new words, then Kiyoshi would have his mid-morning nap. Then when he woke up, they'd have lunch, explore Konoha, play at the park, and Kiyoshi would have another nap if he was tired enough. Lastly, they would have dinner together and then go through Kiyoshi's usual bedtime routine.
With that Kiyoshi was more comfortable and had more structure in his life, so Sakura decided that it was time for him to meet his grandparents.
Sakura and Kiyoshi were having their usual lunch together when she asked, "Kiyoshi would you like to meet your grandparents?" in a hopeful tone. But the little boy was puzzled at the question, not understanding what exactly grandparents were. Sensing his confusion, Sakura said "Grandparents are mama's parents" she explained. "Mama" Kiyoshi said with a laugh, while pointing at her. "That's right, grandparents are my mama and papa. We can meet with them
tonight if you want" Sakura offered, as she wiped some food off his mouth. "Mmmhh" Kiyoshi replied excitedly, as he kicked his legs back and forth in his highchair.
As the sun began to set, Sakura dressed Kiyoshi in a pair of green cotton shorts, sandals and a short sleeve black shirt with a Konoha symbol on the front. Sakura was in her usual red tunic and black shorts, and made sure to repack the diaper bag with extra clothes and necessities. "Are you ready to go?" Sakura asked her son, as she slung the diaper bag over her shoulders. She got her response in Kiyoshi reaching his small hand out for her, and she grasped onto it with a smile as they headed out the door.
When they arrived at her parents house, Sakura used her spare key to let them inside. "Mom? Dad?" she called out tentvently, "There you are Sakura" her mother replied back, as she came out of the kitchen. "Hey mom" Sakura said, while placing her hand on Kiyoshi's head as she felt him hugging her leg, knowing he must be feeling nervous.
"And who is this?" her mother asked, while kneeling down to match the boy's height. "His name is Kiyoshi, will you say hi? Sakura asked him, but all he did was bury his face in her leg and hold onto her tighter. "Why don't we sit down, and give him a chance to get comfortable?" Mebuki suggested, so the three went and sat on the couch.
Sakura and Mebuki began catching up about everything under the sun, while Kiyoshi curled up into her lap. As they spoke, Kiyoshi periodically peaked his head out to look at the new woman but quickly turned back into Sakura's chest when they met eyes. "Would you like a snack from the kitchen?" Mebuki asked the little boy, in a gentle tone. He perked up at the mention of snacks, but he looked up at Sakura for reassurance first. "Go ahead, I'll be here" she said with a smile, and kissed his forehead before sitting him on the floor.
"This way Kiyoshi" Mebuki said, leading the little boy into the kitchen. "Would you like a cookie? I made them fresh this morning" she offered, while holding out a plate of chocolate chip cookies. Kiyoshi shyly nodded his head and picked a cookie off the tray, and then took a small bite. His hazel eyes went wide, as he said "mmm" while smiling, enjoying the sweet taste of the cookie. "You're just like your Mama, she's always loved eating sweets too" Mebuki said with a laugh, "Mama!" Kiyoshi said happily, with chocolate all over his face. He then ran back into the living room, and Mebuki just smiled and grabbed a few napkins before heading into the living room as well.
But Kiyoshi was not prepared for what he saw in the living room, "Kiyoshi! I'm so happy to finally meet you" Kizashi exclaimed from his seat next to Sakura. The little boy immediately tensed up, feeling nervous again, he dropped his cookie and ran up to Sakura. He stuck his arms out, lip quivering slightly, so she picked him up and held him close. "Did I do something wrong?" Kizashi asked, worried he had upset the boy. "You're fine dad, he just gets nervous around new people," Sakura explained, while running her hand up and down Kiyoshi's back.
The three adults started talking together once more, Sakura told them about their trip, and her parents asked her all about Kiyoshi. "So what made the Uchiha tag along?" Kizashi asked,
skeptical about his intentions. "Sasuke-kun wanted a chance to show me how he's changed, and he truly has," Sakura said, trying not to blush at the thought of him.
At the sound of the dark haired man's name, Kiyoshi looked up and said "Saaa" in a hushed tone. "That's right, we'll get to see him soon," Sakura said with a genuine smile. Content with the answer, Kiyoshi finally turned to look at the man next to Sakura. "I'm sorry Kiyoshi, I didn't mean to scare you like that" Kizashi said, while rubbing the back of his neck, he then added "I hear you like fish? We could take you to feed the koi fish at one of the ponds around here if you want" Kiyoshi smiled once he heard the man say "fish" and he eagerly nodded his head in agreement.
The four of them then headed into the kitchen to begin preparing dinner together, "Would you like to stir the soup Kiyoshi?" Mebuki, asked the little boy. In response the little boy stuck out his arms to the woman, so she gently picked him up and gave him the spoon, which he gladly took and began stirring the soup around.
After dinner was made, the four sat down together with Kiyoshi in the middle of his grandparents. They had miso soup, tempura shrimp, with onigiri, and more cookies for dessert. Throughout the meal Kiyoshi told his grandparents all about the trip to Kirigakure as best he could. "Mama and Saaa, muah" Kiyoshi said, while giggling uncontrollably. Sakura's face immediately heated up, due to the memory of Sasuke's lips on hers and what her parents would think.
"Sounds like my little girl finally had her first kiss" Kizashi said with a deep laugh, "That's an interesting detail you left out Sakura" her mom said with a quirked brow. "It was just a few kisses in the moment, it's not like we're together or anything" Sakura said truthfully, even though it stung.
"I see, well don't let him lead you on, he's either committed to the both of you or not" Kizashi said sternly, wanting only the best for his daughter and grandson. "Thank you dad, I will remember that" she said while grabbing onto his hand, before continuing, "But it's getting to be his bedtime so we should probably head out" Sakura said wistfully, not wanting the time with her family to end. "Alright we'll see you both out" Mebuki said, as they all got up and headed to the door.
"Will you say bye-bye to grandma and grandpa?" Sakura said, while kneeling down next to Kiyoshi. He then ran up to the pair and hugged each of their legs, and they gladly returned his embrace. After he let go, Sakura hugged both of her parents goodbye and told them they would be back soon.
Sakura carried Kiyoshi on their way back to the apartment, knowing he was tired after a long night of fun. Once they were home, Sakura changed into an oversized hoodie and cotton shorts, and then gave Kiyoshi his usual bath.
"Did you like grandma and grandpa?" Sakura asked, while washing his hair. "Geee" Kiyoshi squealed joyfully, as he splashed around in the bubbly water. "I'm happy you do, they love you a lot," Sakura said genuinely, while grabbing a towel and wrapping it around him.
She did his usual nighttime routine and dressed him in a light grey onesie adorned with white clouds. She then set him on the ground and said, "Race you to the kitchen" in a silly tone. Kiyoshi then took off as fast as his small legs could take him, which wasn't very fast at all. But Sakura let him win of course, and made his bottle once she got to the kitchen after him.
Once the bottle was ready, Sakura gave it to Kiyoshi and took them both to the couch. She sat them down on the couch and Kiyoshi curled into her chest while steadily drinking his bottle. Sakura wrapped a warm blanket around them and turned on a movie, and the two spent the rest of the night there until she took Kiyoshi to bed and then finally herself.
The next few days went by peacefully, and Sakura was looking forward to Sasuke coming back to them. She had gotten ingredients at the market to make some of his favorite dishes, all of them including tomatoes of course. But much to her dismay, the end of the week came and went, with no word or appearance from Sasuke.
She did her best to stay optimistic the following week, knowing that he had a lot to do now that he was back in the village. But before she even realized it, three months had gone by without a word from Sasuke.
In those three months, Kiyoshi had grown so much and was now 16 months old, his speech had also improved greatly. He even made friends with some of the kids his age at the park, and loved to go down the slide with them and play soccer. Sakura had also introduced him to the rest of the Konoha 10, as well as Kakashi, Shizune, and Tsunade, who were all immediately wrapped around his finger.
Sakura had also become more confident in herself as a mother, better than ever at understanding all her son's words and needs. She even became friends with some of the mom's of the children that Kiyoshi played with at the park.
But even with all the good things going on, the absence of the dark haired man never left her mind. She just couldn't understand why he hadn't come back, especially after the way he had left them. All she could do was hope he was safe and healthy whenever he was, even though she couldn't help but be angry with him.
It was another usual afternoon for Sakura, who had just laid Kiyoshi down for his nap. And she was now cleaning up the living room, which was littered with toys and stuffed animals, when she heard a hard thud against her front door. Slightly alarmed, Sakura took a kunai out of her holster and walked towards the door. Preparing for the worst, she quickly opened the door and was ready to attack, but instead was completely shocked at the sight before her.
Sasuke was slumped against the side of the wall outside of her apartment, and was wounded almost as bad as he was after his battle with Naruto. Blood was running from his eyes, he had stab wounds in his chest and legs, and several of his fingers were broken on his one hand.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura almost screamed, as she quickly kneeled down next to him to better assess his injuries. "Sakura, I'm sorry" was all he could croak out, with a raspy voice. "Please just be quiet right now" Sakura said with tears in her eyes, as she pulled his arm over her shoulders and brought him into the apartment.