Hope & Naivete

Eventually, Sakura couldn't stand it any longer. She left Conner in Clark's care to go seek out her mentor. They both watched her go and waited until her footsteps mostly faded out before they looked at each other.

"Did you have to pick a fight with her?"

"Pick—I didn't—"

"You're supposed to be trying to make up with her not making things worse."

Clark folded his arms across his chest. "I wasn't trying to make things worse. Look, Conner, you have to understand Sakura." Conner snorted, but Clark ignored it. "I haven't seen the two of you interact much—and I don't have to. It's obvious how much she loves you. Any decision you make she will support it unflinchingly because that's just who she is." Conner's face softened. "But if you choose to die, after you were gone it would kill her. I can't—" Clark ran a hand through his hair frustrated. "I can't let her give up hope. I can't encourage her to stop fighting. And you can't honestly expect me to believe you want her to give up on you. If I have to be the bad guy to give the two of you hope, then that's what I'll do." Clark paused then took a deep breath before continuing, "Has anyone ever told you what this means?" Clark touched the S on his chest. Conner rolled his eyes.

"You're Superman."

Clark chuckled and moved and tapped Conner's chest that sported the same symbol. "If you're going to wear this you should at least know what it means. I am Superman. But that has nothing to do with the meaning of this. This is the Kryptonian symbol for hope. This is the symbol of the House of El. This is what we stand and fight for. When we go out to fight it's to show people that they should never give up. Never stop fighting for what they believe in. Never stop wishing for a better world."

Clark couldn't decipher the look on Conner's face.

"Is hope why you're here now?" Conner has curiously.

Clark paused thinking about that. Sakura could barely look at him. She couldn't even talk to him without fighting. Did he have hope that they could someday work things out?

No. Not really.

Did he have the hope that they could get along? "She doesn't love me anymore Conner. I get that. But I don't think I can ever stop loving her. At the very least I need her forgiveness—I need yours too."

"Why?"

"Because I've wronged you. Even if I didn't see you as my son before, you're still family. We still share blood. I could have taken you under my wing, but I chose not to because of all the things I was dealing with at the time. That wasn't fair to you."

"Why are you saying all this? You don't have to pretend to like me because of Mother. You don't have to get on my good side. I'd rather she be with you than the Flash anyway. You know that."

"I do. But you never said why that was."

Conner fell silent.

:::
Wonder Woman was intrigued by Konoha, but she didn't get to see much of it. As soon as she arrived the Uchiha took her to his home and told her to stay put since she wasn't allowed to roam around Konoha unattended. Diana didn't know how accurate those words were since she made the Uchiha angry before their arrival but she could be patient for a little while, so she sat.

Diana could see Sakura all over the place. The house practically screamed there was a lady of the house who wanted order and not chaos. It intrigued Diana a little. There were framed pictures on a fireplace mantle, and she went to examine them.

The first was of the Sakura and her teammates when she was a lot younger. Sakura was in the middle grinning broadly while her younger two male teammates were by her side looking very disgruntled. Kakashi was behind them all hands on top of the heads of the two boys. Kakashi seemed very mischievous. It made her wonder what happened right before the picture was taken.

The photo on the other end was of Sakura and Kakashi. He was ruffling her hair, and Sakura was scowling. They caught her trying to dislodge his hand, but you could still see the heavy affection between the two of them.

The picture in the middle was of Sakura and her ex-lovers. In that picture, Sakura wasn't in the middle. The Uchiha took that place with the other two on his side. Sasuke wasn't smiling, and neither was Sakura, but Naruto's grin was wide and bright. Naruto looked like the only one who was truly happy in that picture. It made Diana wonder why they chose to display it if that was the case.

Diana didn't realize that she had spoken out loud until a voice answered her.

"Because happy or unhappy I love them both." Diana turned around and faced with the boy that Tsunade loved like a son, Naruto Uzumaki. "Who are you? And why are you in my home?"

He didn't recognize her. Diana wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing. Probably good since he wasn't attacking her or throwing her out. "My name is Diana Prince, and I am in your home because your Uchiha brought me here."

Confusion clouded his vision before he said, "Sasuke's back?"

Diana nodded. "He's at the hospital." Diana watched the panic wash over his face and sought to calm him. "He's fine. He's not injured." Then for good measure, she added. "Neither is Sakura."

The tension bled out of him before he said, "But why—"

It wasn't her place to tell, so she told him that

"But they're both at the hospital?"

Diana nodded. "I believe so, but I have been here for a while. So that may have changed." He looked like he was about to leave but she forestalled him.

"If you don't mind would you take me to Tsunade? It's been a while since I've seen her and I'd like to."

Naruto's eyes widened, and suddenly he was scrutinizing her closely. "You know the old hag?"

Diana was astounded by the boy's disrespect for Sakura's teacher even though he said the words 'old hag' with quite a bit of fondness.

"Sure. Why not? Can you keep up?" She wondered why he was so trusting. She could be here to assassinate someone. He gave her a sunny smile and led her out of the house, and Diana suddenly had an inkling as to why Sakura stayed with the two men for as long as she had.

He was so naïve, and yet he was like sunshine. Diana remembered the words he said to Sakura the last time she had seen him.

"You wish you could find them and convince them that whatever was wrong, you could work through it. You want them to know how much you love them, how much you need them. How even though they may always love someone other than yourself then it would be alright just as long as you have them by your side. Pain with them is always preferable to the misery without them."

She had never met a man like him.