Sasuke's POV

Across from me, my daughter sits silently. Her hands together on the table, and her fingers twirling around. Even though I told Naruto I would tell Sarada that night, I couldn't. Not when she came running out of the school so happily. So I waited til the end of the school week. Thankfully Ino hasn't come by yet.

She hasn't said anything since I told her about Ino coming back. All she does is stare down at the table. "I'm sorry for not telling you this earlier. I didn't know if I should, but she isn't planning on going anywhere, so I wanted you to know in case you accidentally met her."

Sarada moves her view back to me when I talk. "We can do whatever you want about this. If you don't want to see her, I'll tell her to leave. If you do... you can." Before finishing my sentence, I bite the inside of my cheek because I hope she doesn't want to see her.

She continues to keep quiet, not answering me and staring back at the table again. In order to stay quiet, I bite my cheek again, fearing that if I don't, I will say something I shouldn't. The small child raises one of her hands to her mouth to chew on the white tips, which is a habit she used to do, but not a lot anymore. Normally I would lecture her for doing something so gross, but not now. I don't really care.

Outside, you are able to hear the voices of other people walking past the apartment to get to theirs, mumbling something about an embarrassing moment one of them had at work. Their voices get lower as they walk farther away, leaving the two of us back in the silence.

"Was she the person you were yelling at the other day?" Sarada finally speaks. I recall the morning after seeing Ino for the first time in a while. I remember lashing out at her, holding back a little, but not a lot. She heard that?

"Ah."

"I thought you were fighting with Sakura. She hasn't been over in a bit too. I was a little nervous."

"Sakura and I are fine." The hand by Sarada's face falls back down again. "You don't have to answer now. Let's have dinner." I try to move on from the topic and rise off my seat to go to the kitchen where our meal is sitting in pots, already finished. "Do you want any gravy on your mashed potatoes?" I ask her.

I wait for Sarada to answer while grabbing a plain white plate and adding steak and some steamed broccoli. "I want to meet her." The spoon I was using to pick up the broccoli lands on the pot, creating a loud crash as I drop it.

My fears are happening. Why? Why does she want to meet her? "Papa?" In order to brush off dropping the spoon, I grab it again and finish adding food to the plate. As I walk back to the dining table, there is my daughter with a bit of concern planted on her face. I put down her dinner gently in front of her and force a smile on my face.

She doesn't seem to believe it though, but I ignore it anyway. "What do you want to drink?" I ask her while walking back in the kitchen to the fridge.

"Milk is fine." Opening the fridge, I find containers filled with washed vegetables, some leftovers, many condiments, and juices and milk. I grab the last thing and place it on the counter then reach for the cupboard, where I am shown many glasses. I pick the front two and fill both of them with the cold dairy product.

After setting both cups on the table, I go back to the kitchen to make myself a plate, and soon, both Sarada and I are sitting silently, eating what we have. I look over to Sarada to find her picking at her food instead of eating it. "Are you not hungry?"

"No I am," she responds and stabs the steamed broccoli and puts it in her mouth. I don't believe that.

"Sarada, what's wrong?"

"...Do you not want me to meet her?" Sarada's big beady eyes glance at me, making it unable to lie.

"My feelings about her shouldn't matter. I asked you if you wanted to see her, and you said yes. So I'll call her after we eat." I assure Sarada the best way I can without saying something bad, like how I don't even want to be in the same city as her.

Sarada lets out a simple okay and resumes eating her food, no longer picking at it. She may be able to eat now, but for me, the ache in my stomach causes any appetite I might have disappear.

Once both of us finish dinner, Sarada sits down on the couch with some hot tea in her ladybug mug, watching whatever kid show is on at night. After placing all the dishes in the sink, I move myself out of the kitchen and through the hallway, where I find the door to my bedroom.

Quietly so as not to interrupt Sarada, I enter and close the door behind. Inside, my phone lays on the nightstand next to my bed, charging. As I lay down on the bed, I unplug it from the charger, making the screen turn on.

The first thing there is a text message from Sakura that was delivered a few hours ago. Most likely when I was cooking.

Sakura: Hey Darling! Just checking in with you! Hope you're doing alright.

When I read her message, I can hear her cheerful voice in my head, and her sweet smile glowing towards me. For some reason she took a lot of days off this week, so I haven't been able to see her as much as I want to. It hasn't even been a week, but I miss her a lot. However, I need to get through this Ino shit first.

Sasuke: Sarada wants to meet her, so we probably won't see each other for a little longer. Sorry.

Once I send my text, I click away from our chat immediately, since she probably isn't on her phone now. The next app I click on is the calling one and right away, the keypad pops up, staring back at me.

I turn back to my nightstand and open the top drawer, there the tiny paper Ino left hides, untouched and a bit haunting. Steadily, I type in the number into my phone. I can't believe I'm doing this, but there is no other option.

After I press the call button, I bring the phone to my ear and nervously listen to the ringing that blasts into my ear. "Hello?"

"Ino," I say a little prickly.

I can hear Ino on the other line let out a sudden gasp when I talk. "Sasuke?"

"Yeah."

"I can't believe you actually called." I feel the same. "I thought you would have thrown away my number by now."

"I would have," I respond honestly. "But I thought I should speak to our daughter about this first, since I doubt you are going away. Sarada wants to meet you."

At first, Ino doesn't say anything back. I suspect she is standing there with her mouth hanging open because of what I said. I was like that too when I heard those words leave Sarada's mouth. "Are you serious?"

"When am I not serious?" I blurt harshly.

Just like before, Ino doesn't speak until some time has passed. "W-When can I me-et her?"

Ino stuttering makes me roll my eyes. "As soon as possible." So the sooner you can leave.

"I can't do it tomorrow. I have work, and I have more photo shoots in the morning on Sunday. What if I come by after that?"

"Fine."

"Okay! Great! This is good, it will give me some time to prepare. Maybe I should bring something. What kind of desserts does Sarada like?" At this point, I can't keep hearing her aggravating voice anymore. You're her mother! You should know what kind of desserts are her favorite.

As grating as I can be, I yell, "She's a kid! Just get any kind, it won't matter!" And hang up the phone. Once I press the end button, I chuck the phone down on the bed, and let myself fall down completely on it while letting out a large sigh.

Sunday's gonna be hell.

Sakura's POV

Having to close the restaurant is always obnoxious and a pain. People always seem to take so much longer to finish eating, and right when you are ready to rest your sore feet and get ready to leave, there is always someone coming in at the last minute, wanting service. The only bright thing about the closing shift is that it is more quiet... sometimes. But I had no way to deny closing since I haven't been at work a lot this week. Might as well take the shift no one likes to do

As soon as I got home, I hopped into the shower. The warm water and peaceful aura helps relax the aches I feel in my back, and makes me feel refreshed for bed. While I apply some cherry blossom scented body wash to my loofah, I can't stop thinking about Sasuke and Sarada once again. Why can't I stop thinking about them? Every time I try to stop, I end up thinking about them more.

After rinsing all the body wash off, I wash out the conditioner that is still in my hair, then step out of the shower and dry myself before wrapping the towel around me. When I walk over to the sink, the mirror is completely damp from the hot water that had been running for a while.

With my right hand, I clear off some of the moisture so I am able to see my face. The dark circles under my eyes seem to be less black, but bigger. I also just realize how pale and lifeless my skin is.

Maybe I should talk to someone about this. It's never good to keep it in. Plus, I'm not good at hiding it. Hinata noticed pretty quickly that something was wrong. I should have talked to her, but on the other hand, this isn't my business that I should spread.

I continue to contemplate my thoughts while brushing my teeth, and once I am done, I walk out of the bathroom with the towel still on and my hair still wet. I first put on some comfy clothes along with Sasuke's sweatshirt, and then turn on my phone. That's when I find a message from the one who has been on my mind.

Sasuke: Sarada wants to meet her, so we probably won't see each other for a little longer. Sorry.

I can feel my heart sink after reading that. While at work, I took a quick minute to send out a text to him. I guess he just saw it.

Sakura: Don't worry. Just make sure you get some sleep. Love you.

Once again, I will be having a difficult night sleeping. Realizing this, I walk in the kitchen and set up some water on the stove so I can make tea. With the phone still in my hand, I take another look at social media seeing if anything has changed. Nothing has.

Ever since I moved here in this new apartment, I've discovered how silent it is when you're alone. Which gives you more time to your thoughts, and that's the last thing I need right now. I never knew how much I would miss hearing my parents argue about some dumb shit that doesn't matter.

Finally the water heats up after a bit. I then slowly pour it into a mug and add a tea bag. Instead of going to rest on the love seat, or maybe even my bed, I find myself walking over to the sliding glass door that leads to the balcony.

The cold air of the night quickly hits me, and since my hair is still wet, my neck and head feels a lot colder than normal. To try to minimize the cold, I wrap the sweatshirt's hoodie over my head.

While leaning on the balcony, I observe all of the lights coming from the cars and buildings, along with the many stars in the sky, and the full moon. It is quite beautiful. It's been a while since I have taken a moment to note the surroundings.

However, that calm atmosphere is stopped by the ringing of my cell phone. I pull it out of the pocket of the sweatshirt to see that my mother is calling. She has been calling everyday once I moved out. "Hello?"

"Hey Sakura, how was your day?"

"Tiring," I say truthfully. "Work was long."

"Have you been eating well?"

"Yes mom."

"Have you been sleeping well?"

"..."

"Sakura?"

Whenever she asked me that, I would normally lie, but not tonight. Not anymore. "No I haven't."

"Why is that? Are you homesick?"

"No. It's Sasuke." From that point on I tell my mother about everything that has been going on from Ino knocking on his door to that text I just got. Once I finish, she lets out a sigh that sounds like she is saying, 'not surprised that this happened.' It reminds me of the fight I had with her a while ago when I first started dating Sasuke. She mentioned trouble was going to brew. Not this exactly, but trouble. "Well, what do you think I should do?"

"I have some advice, but you're not gonna like it, Sakura."