There was darkness - and there was darkness, a living, breathing menace out to end you the moment you let your guard down.

Every hair on Kakashi's body stood on end as they entered the pitch black catacombs underneath the caves of the Mountains' Graveyard.

He had been trained in such conditions as a recruit for Root. But whatever terror he had felt during those endless months, deep down, he had still known they wouldn't let him die too easily. He had realized what value he had for them, being young, strong, talented, reckless - to get out, he just needed to prove he could extinguish all emotions for the sake of getting any job done, that he could endure even the most extreme pressure to become a perfect weapon.

Here, the air was humming with a painfully dissonant energy whose only purpose seemed the merciless extinction of all life.

"Are we a little skittish?" Rin chuckled when Kakashi jumped as her fingers brushed against his by accident. "Just don't anger them, we'll be fine."

"Whom?" Kakashi whispered, his heart racing in his chest. Instead of an answer, her cold fingers grabbed and pressed his hand, but comfort didn't exist in this place, her touch just made him shiver violently.

He didn't remember ever being this scared.

Or maybe he did...

A memory surfaced from behind a mind door that was no longer locked. The latest war. The White Goddess. The Infinite Tsukuyomi happening around them. The hopelessness, the powerlessness he had felt, the certainty of having lived a miserable, pointless life.

"You feel them, don't you?" Rin whispered.

"What are you talking about, Rin?" Kakashi asked, hearing his voice shake. He was feeling things alright… utter despair for one. Mind-crushing fear. It felt exactly like being trapped in a Tsukuyomi only that this was real, which meant you couldn't wake up from it.

"Shhhh," she urged him, pulling him forward. They were not allowed to bring lights, she had insisted. She considered it some kind of taboo, it had sounded to him like a religious thing, not something he had a right to question.

If anything, he had expected a completely altered Rin, an enemy. Not someone whose gentle hands his body remembered like they had last sent their healing energy into him only yesterday.

But then, a faint smell hit his nostrils, familiar and terrifying.

"Rin," Kakashi said, his stomach revolting, "stop."

He managed to plant his heels into the ground and hold her back by the hand, which strangely cost him his entire willpower.

"Rin, is there a God Tree down here?"

It was impossible! But his nose was never wrong.

"A God Tree?" she echoed surprised. "What's that?"

"Were you here during the war, Rin, in these caves? You didn't meet Obito, I know that. But maybe you saw Madara? Did he talk to you?"

"Who?" Rin started to sound a bit angry. "Did you hit your head, Kakashi? I thought I cured your fever. No, I did not meet Obito, he's dead - and certainly not Madara, if you mean that Madara, he's even deader. Whatever madness you people from Konoha got involved in, it has nothing to do with me."

"Are you're sure he didn't talk to you? Maybe in disguise? He's a cunning, mean bastard."

"Kakashi, stop babbling," Rin said coldly, "the fumes must affect you too much. I thought you were stronger."

"No, listen to me!" he urged her. "Orochimaru and Kabuto brought many of the old ones back from the grave, but Madara used Obito, and he himself was just a tool of the Ōtsutsuki clan... they are in a different league, much too dangerous for us humans! Rin, whom have you talked to after you woke up down here?"

"Nobody," Rin said stubbornly. "I told you. I was all alone. For many, many years."

She pulled at his hand demandingly.

"I won't go closer to that tree," Kakashi said stubbornly, "it's pure evil."

"Pure evil?" Rin scoffed. "It nurtured me. How do you think I could have survived down here otherwise?"

"You ate from the god tree…?" Kakashi's heart wanted to stop.

"It's not a tree," Rin said, sounding like she was losing all her patience fast. "It's a plant with fragrant, nourishing fruits. They made me very sick in the beginning but believe me, when you're starving to death, you'd rather be poisoned than not fill your stomach."

For years. She had eaten from the God Tree for years. That… potentially explained things, but then again, it didn't at all.

"Someone implanted Hashirama cells into your body at the very beginning," Kakashi said, "it's the only explanation for how you could survive… survive… what I…" Kakashi faltered from the horror that he felt at the memory.

"You know that I made you do it, don't you," Rin said softly, "but it still hurt so damn much. Dying is… horrible. But I was glad you held me."

"I am… so sorry…"

Kakashi grabbed for her in the darkness and hugged her tightly. Words… those were only words, small and insignificant, they could not convey what he truly felt. If only… if only he could go back to that day. If only he could change the course of history. If only he could stay conscious instead of fainting like a wuss. And then he'd see… see what had happened. Whose body had they taken to be buried in Konoha? Who had come and taken the real one away?

Rin's body in his arms felt thin and frail. The stiffness of it made him loosen his grip slowly, then step away, his heart hurting.

"You must have suffered so much," he managed to say. But those were just words again, a mere mockery of her true hardship.

How could one remain sane down here? Unless… unless she was… lying? He couldn't, no shouldn't trust her, but how could he keep seeing her as an enemy when she healed his fever and stroked his brow like he'd always imagined a mother would?

"Dammit, Rin," Kakashi said. "Was it Kabuto? Did he find you down here?"

"Kabuto," Rin laughed, "as if."

"White Zetsu? Was he here? It can take any form it wants."

"Oh, Kakashi," Rin chuckled. "Weren't you the smart one once? Stop asking pointless questions and follow me. What does it even matter."

The command in her voice was hard to resist. If Rin had eaten chakra fruits for so long, she had to be very powerful. Kakashi shuffled on behind her, trying to probe the boundaries of his own will, finding it impossible to know how much of his current reality was Genjutsu and what was not.

He only had the questions to keep his mind focused. Luckily, there were so many.

"When did your mother find out you're alive?" Kakashi asked.

"What do you think," Rin asked back mockingly. "You know my mommy dearest. Don't you think her capable of orchestrating all of this?"

"No!" Kakashi said appalled. Orchestrating the kidnapping of her sole daughter? The insertion of a Jinchuriki by another village? Her death at his hand before the Jinchuriki could end her? The placement of her body in such a terrifying place…?

Rin laughed. "Even at your most petulant, you were much too good natured to understand true evil," she said. "It's one of the bigger surprises to still find you so… so… soft to this day. How is it even possible you have any trust left inside of you? Did your father give you so much love when you were little it lasts for a lifetime?"

Sakura, Kakashi thought, missing her with such an intensity tears shot into his eyes, as long as there is such a woman in the world, how could I not have hope? And Naruto. Who could know him and not take heart even in the darkest hour, wanting to have just a fraction of his determination? Sasuke. The weight of the world on his shoulders and still walking upright, his life a defiance against the darkest fate and the curse of hatred. Iruka. His knowledge and skill with children shaping generation after generation to hope and dream. Tsunade. Waking up every day missing the dead yet standing upright for the sake of others. ...

There were so many he trusted. The thought of what they meant to him was like a warm blanket chasing away the chill in his bones.

"All my trust is in Konoha's people," Kakashi said firmly, "you must come back. You will learn to trust again, I promise."

Rin laughed once more in response, this time it sounded bitter and mean.

"Fool," she said. "We are here."

He wouldn't get the answers he sought. Not today.

He felt a large chamber open up around them. A red, sudden glow - Rin's eyes sparkling with intense fire, reflected by mirrors from the walls. No… not mirrors. Those were…

Don't look, Kakashi managed to think right before his head wanted to split open from a pain so intense it threatened to topple him over. The world became even redder as his own eyes reacted and power surged inside of him. My own Mangekyō Sharingan… Genjutsu can no longer touch me. He gritted his teeth as he lifted his head slowly.

Rin's entire body glowed red, there were fast spreading ornaments on her face, her neck, her hands, probably her entire body, and there were little horns forming on her forehead. It was as eerie as it was beautiful, his vision enhanced by the Uchihas' powers to see more than normal eyes could see.

"What happened to you, who did this?" Kakashi gasped. "Is it a Curse Mark?"

"I did it," Rin answered, "and it's not a curse. It's a blessing."

With a fluid movement she took off her shirt, revealing a naked torso entirely covered in red, glowing markings, swirling in a tight spiral around her belly button.

"Put your shirt back o…," but despite his embarrassment to see her half-naked, Kakashi's eyes were inevitably drawn to the place where his fist had entered her body and the words died in his mouth.

Nothing.

Not a single mark on her skin other than red swirls indicating that there had once been a gaping hole there.

How could that be…?

"Fight me," she said, moving her legs and hands into a fighter's stance. "Switch on your own."

"What?"

"Fight me," Rin said again.

"No, Rin! I don't want to fight you!" Kakashi yelled. "Get dressed and get out of here!"

She started walking forward, slowly, tense and ready to jump him. As she moved, it became visible behind her in the middle of the vast cave they had entered: The God Tree. It was entirely white, ghost like. A miniature version of what had almost ended them during the War, its branches thin, crippled and bare. Emitting their dangerous fumes, berry-like fruits were sitting neatly at the top, blacker as the darkest black, yet sparkling from the reflection of the hundreds of huge, glazed-over eyes set in the cave walls.

"Dammit, Rin!" Kakashi said, "what is this place?!"

"It's my home, my sanctuary," Rin said coldly, "it's where I was made. Where they blessed me with their powers and transformed me."

"Damn those alien weirdos," Kakashi murmured, trying to judge what threat those wall eyes were going to be, was it a sentient creature? Several? Did it have limbs or just eyes? How was he ever going to fight that? "Why did they even have to come here? I'd even prefer a life entirely without chakra to this shit."

Rin attacked lightning fast, a streak of red light. But her technique… it was lousy.

"Just stop!" Kakashi hissed into her ear at her as he grabbed both her hands and turned her around before shoving her away, "are you insane?"

"Oh yes," she hissed back, "entirely."

She would not see reason, attacking again and again, very fast, but also very clumsy. Whatever power her Sharingan possessed battered against his, painful but also pointless. She had to know his own altered eyes made him immune to most jutsus?

"What do you even want?" Kakashi yelled at her unnerved.

"Freedom!" she yelled back. "I have so much rage inside… I will drown the world in it."

The scent of molten metal hit his nose and he threw his body to the side, just in time. A Susanoo appeared from out of nowhere, the orange one, making a grab for him.

"Didn't we destroy the damn thing?" Kakashi groaned, just as a second and a third appeared, one blue, one black.

"How do you do that? Divert chakra into different objects?" Kakashi wondered, losing a second staring at the three apparitions that charged towards him with the intent to end him. Portals? Teleportation. He didn't even know what his current eyes were capable of.

Something inside of him reacted without him having to actively decide, a white ribcage shot from the ground, formed flesh, formed wings, grew, grew larger than all three of them together. His own Susanoo… it meant feeling incredible pain in every cell of his body and he screamed, his voice the voice of his humanoid avatar, so loud that it dislodged some rocks from the cave's ceiling.

The eyes blinked lazily. Some seemed to wake up and began to focus their attention on them.

"What is your point, Rin?" Kakashi yelled at her as he squashed first one, then her two other imperfect humanoid manifestations.

Maybe the point was that he could not do this for long and she knew.

The chakra burn was too intense, the tattoo on his arm burning hot. He willed the Susanoo to disappear around himself, which he managed, facing Rin's glowing figure without its protection.

"Why don't you switch it on, you damn fool!" she screamed. "I want this to be done and over with!"

"What are you talking about!" he shouted back.

"The Mark! Activate it!"

"I'm switched on enough for my taste," he grumbled, "I hate fancy upgrades, everything hurts so goddamn much! I simply want you to come to Konoha with me, don't you understand? Okay, maybe I first want to decimate those vile men you keep in your company."

"Kabuto is going to pay for messing this up," she hissed as she attacked again.

"So he does work with you," Kakashi sneered.

"For me, blcokhead, for me," she said, managing to hit him very painfully in the chest because he simply could not bring himself to hurt her, not even if it happened in self-defense.

"He thinks he's all that but his medical skills are extremely flawed."

"Ah, you're talking about the tattoo?" Kakashi surmised. "It's a Curse Mark after all, huh. What happens when I switch it on?"

"You'll finally see reason."

"Reason?" Kakashi laughed. "You don't even know me. You're not Rin. You're some strange copy of her, am I right?"

"I'm not a copy!" she screamed enraged, redoubling her efforts to hit him. It was becoming harder to dodge, his limbs felt leaden and his movements were becoming sluggish.

"Could at least have solved the chakra depletion problem," Kakashi scoffed, "whatever you and that owl-face did to my body sucks."

"It's because you're so goddamn stubborn," Rin said, but it sounded almost loving.

Curse Mark or not, Rin was no match for him. But she had known that all along, hadn't she?

"The Uchiha blood. Do you know it's tainted?" he asked her, "do you know it makes us sick?"

"We've got it under control," she said but there was something on her face that said otherwise.

"It erases memories," Kakashi said, "doesn't it. What have you lost, Rin? Which memories?"

She laughed at him. "Everything that I forget, I cherish. Obito's stupid attempts to make me notice him, his jealousy when I looked at you instead. His stupid dream to be Hokage even though he was the most untalented blockhead I've ever met. Minato Sensei's gentleness that always made me so mad, who stays this nice in a war! All those stupid…"

"That's not true, Rin," Kakashi said quietly and stood still, trying to ignore the eyes all around. "I remember it all. You were such a gentle, loving person back then. And Obito loved you, he loved you so much he'd take on the entire world to avenge your death."

"But I did not love him," Rin said, standing still as well, the red glow on her body beginning to dim. "I only wanted…"

"We were just friends, Rin," Kakashi said simply.

"That's not true! Switch it on!" she said, sounding both angry and disappointed, "switch it on and goddamn remember!".

"The tattoo? How would I even do that? I don't want to be under the influence of a Curse Mark!"

She laughed bitterly. "So you have forgotten everything, even the word? What irony."

A… word? A... key!

"Shit," he said. But maybe he should be grateful. "Kabuto lied to me," he mused, "about a changed cell structure, pills that I need to survive and all that stuff, right?"

"Maybe," Rin smiled. "He doesn't like you much. I think he's jealous."

"What happens when I get rid of the Uchiha blood in my system?"

"You die."

"Dammit, Rin," Kakashi said, she never gave him the answers he wanted and he was sure it was deliberate, "and what does Sasuke know?"

"Sasuke Uchiha?" Rin chuckled, "oh boy, what a volcano ready to explode. He neither cares nor does he remember much. Thanks to him, I found Karin though, without which I'd have died a thousand time. And thanks to him and Karin's mad love affair, I now have a perfect combination of Uchiha and Uzumaki at my disposal."

"Sarada is not at your disposal," Kakashi said coldly and shifted into a different stance, "I will protect her with my life."

"Oh, no doubt about that," Rin sneered, "I saw you run around with her like a headless chicken. But sooner or later she will be ours."

"Just you try," Kakashi said dangerously.

"No need," Rin sais amicably. "I have her mother for now. The key is never to take too much of her life force or she dies. It almost happened once."

"Do you hear yourself?" Kakashi said appalled. "That's not you. You were never this cruel or heartless. You cared for everyone."

"And do you think people cannot change just because you don't?"

"I have changed, Rin," Kakashi said gravely. "That bitter, lonely, hurt boy with a deathwish… he's no longer what defines me."

"Hokage, huh?" Rin laughed. "You think just because you've agreed to that position that you've changed? Everybody's dream but never yours. Why? Because ultimately, you don't care about anything. I've always admired that about you."

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't care," Kakashi said, "I'd be back in Konoha, making sure these Sharingan shenanigans come to a quick end."

As if on cue, his vision wavered, making him stagger. There was pressure behind his forehead, mounting rapidly. Dammit. The Mangekyo Sharingan… how could he switch the damn thing off? He'd collapse very soon and wouldn't be able to move even an inch.

"Drained already?" Rin smiled cutely, but Kakashi saw the strange fear in her eyes. "So much talent, but so little stamina. Very well. You won't switch it on. Then I'll have to do what needs to be done."

She looked up at the eyes, questioningly, then turned around and walked towards the ghost-white tree in the middle of the cave. Fearless, she reached out to one of the berries and plucked it.

Instantly, every single eye in the cave opened wide, glaring down on her with unhidden anger.

"Want it?" she asked, holding it out to him.

"Step away," Kakashi pressed out between gritted teeth, "Rin, be careful!"

"No," she said, "too late for that" - and threw the berry into her mouth.

Lightning shot down from above, a bolt so thick it looked like a searchlight had been switched on. An eardrum shattering boom followed.

The blast threw Kakashi off his feet and backwards, slamming his body against a rock. All the wind was knocked out of him and he couldn't breathe, couldn't hear, couldn't see… until air, sound, and vision returned in one big rush and the thin, lifeless and pale figure sprawled underneath that horrible bush was revealed to him.

"No, no, no," he said horrified. No!

He scrambled forward as quickly as he could, on hands and knees, then upright, ready for the worst, then noticing how the large eyes around him slowly closed, one after the other.

"Why did you do that," he pressed out, "Rin, you knew… you knew what was going to happen! Why…?"

His fumbling fingers found a pulse. His eyes found her body intact.

"I've got you," he said, lifting her up and cradling her cold body against his chest, "we'll find Karin, okay? She's not far, you'll be fine. Rin, you'll be fine."

"Kakashi…" she whispered, her eyelids fluttering, "Kakashi… help me."

"Didn't I say I was going to do that anyway, you silly woman?" he murmured, "what the heck were you doing?"

"It's the only way to get away from them."

The eyes... all of them were closed now. And with that, darkness descended. Only the tree glowed white behind them, like a ghostly afterthought, a source of light that was soon gone too.

"I've forgotten so many things," Rin said softly against Kakashi's chest, "sometimes I even forget who I am. But you know what I'll never forget? The first time you came to me. If you really, really want to keep a cherished memory… you can."

He remained silent. Part of it was confusion, part of it was his inability to lie to her. He didn't find any comforting words because he did not remember. He had already met her at least once after her "death", but as hard as he tried, he had forgotten about it completely.

Her cherished memories were not his cherished memories.

If she had not disappeared for over twenty years, if he had not had to grieve for her … would things be different?

###

After the incessant rain, the weather had suddenly taken a turn for the better and then one-upped itself with a series of days so lovely and warm, people sat on the rooftops until late and left their windows open at night in an early celebration of summer's blessings.

Sakura was one of them. Drowsy but with too many thoughts in her head to let her go to sleep, she listened to the night sounds drifting into her bedroom. She heard the Anbu guards exchange a few hushed words down below. She heard the excited growls of a cat tormenting a squeaking mouse. She heard the sounds of someone handling dishes and cutlery a few buildings over, heard the joyful laughter of a woman and a crying baby that was comforted by a man's cooing.

It was good to be reminded about the normalcy of life. She had existed in a strange bubble for the last few days, one in which pressing issues and decision could be ignored, but that would soon end. She and Sasuke would have to leave the comfort of the Hokage Tower. Their old apartment was done renovating and Tsunade had made it quite clear that she wanted them out of here before she handed her duties and the keys over to Kakashi.

Who still hadn't returned.

Sakura sighed and turned on her right side, putting her cheek on top of her folded hands. She needed him here. For the obvious reason that it would end her miserable state of worrying herself sick and pining after him, but also for Sarada, who asked about him daily with mounting impatience, and even more so, for Kaeru, who was in bad shape.

Today, she had visited Ichika at the hospital. While the young woman was looking much better by the day, all her physical wounds healing well, Kaeru, who didn't move from her side, looked like he hadn't slept for an entire week.

"I quit," he had told Sakura curtly when she asked when he would go back to the Anbu.

"Talk to Kakashi first," she had cautioned him, thinking that it would be quite a blow for Kakashi to learn of such a thing and besides… Ichika needed a friendly, stress free environment and lots of counseling.

"I won't," Kaeru had said, "we'll be gone by the time he's back."

Even after her shocked outburst, Kaeru was adamant that they would leave as soon as Ichika was fit to walk long distances. What drove him to such a hasty departure, despite the obvious mental state of his sister, Sakura could only guess, but it must have something to do with Kaeru's failure to protect his sister from her tormentor and the shame he felt about the whole mess in Kirigakure.

As if Kakashi wouldn't generously tell him it wasn't his fault, at least not in substance.

Sakura sighed again and turned to the other side. Well, Kaeru needed counseling too. Like basically every single person in this village. And now she was going to be head of the hospital after she returned from her trip with Tsunade - Sakura squealed in panic inside like every time she remembered - and would not be able to pursue her dream to open up a mental hospital, be it for children or not. There would be no time for such a project. If she would even find time to sleep…

Could she maybe convince Ino to join her? But no, she would be heavily pregnant by the time Sakura would need help. Another face appeared in her mind's eye, but it made her frown. She had seen Nurun at the hospital. He was working there as a doctor by Tsunade's orders, they were always understaffed and due to Sakura's recuperation period, a temporary replacement had been more than necessary.

Gossip had it he had grown up in Konoha's orphanage and had been trained by Kabuto himself, first as a medic and then as a spy.

He was really quite skilled, the nurses had told her he was polite to them and the elderly patients liked him particularly well. Maybe she should give him a chance, Sakura thought, he hadn't done anything to deserve her mistrust. Or had he?

Sakura sighed a third time and turned back on her right side. Associating with Kabuto was enough of a reason to mistrusted someone. She would have to make sure to seek that one out before her trip to get all the intel she needed. There had to be documents and other...

There was a knock at the door and Sakura held her breath.

"Yes?" she asked after a few moments of silence.

The door opened and Sasuke poked his head in. It was almost completely dark, but she didn't need much light to recognize him.

"I heard you sigh and thought…"

What had he thought? He didn't finish his sentence but opened the door wider.

"I'm not sleeping yet," she nodded, "kinda thinking about a lot of things I need to do, things I need to organize..."

"Can I come in?"

I'd rather have you stay far away from me, Sakura thought, but nodded.

Sasuke limped towards the bed and let himself sink down near her feet.

"Very warm today," he remarked and cleared his throat.

You want to talk about the weather at this time of the night? Sakura snarked internally.

"Mhm," she agreed.

"Listen…," Sasuke began… and stopped.

"Yes, Sasuke. I'm listening," she said.

"What about… I know the move is worrying you because you're thinking… I promise you, it won't be a problem to stay there with me."

"I never thought it would be a problem," Sakura said, "you know I'm going to leave very soon."

"What about you not leaving?" he suggested hopefully. "I really need you here and…"

"As soon as Tsunade is free of her office, we'll leave," Sakura said firmly.

"She can go alone," Sasuke pouted. "She doesn't need you."

"But I'm the one who's going. She is the one who's accompaning me," Sakura said patiently. "Besides, I told you it's important. This is about a cure for something that has plagued your family for too long."

"I get that. But…"

"If you really got it, you wouldn't end your sentence with a 'but'," Sakura shook her head in exasperation. This new clingy Sasuke was almost worse than the constantly absent or the horribly cold Sasuke.

"I don't want to stay in Konoha without you," Sasuke continued and moved a little closer.

He had to know this conversation was pointless, he had tried before. Or did he think she would eventually come around? Because he had only ever known her as weak and needy. Which she would never be again, not if she couldn't help it. At least not openly.

"Kakashi will bring Karin," Sakura said viciously, "you won't have to be lonely."

"I don't want to see her! She's crazy!"

"Don't talk about her this way. Whatever happened between you two, you were attracted enough to sleep with her and make a baby. I mean… who doesn't use protection these days?"

She had learned to treat his infidelity with little bitterness only just recently, after she had talked to Ino about it until it didn't hurt so much anymore.

"I wasn't myself. I told you."

"Sarada cannot be the one who has to pay for your mistakes. She has stopped being afraid of you this week, though barely. It would help if you didn't glare at her and it would help if you could be more encouraging."

"Like what?" he sounded genuinely lost.

"Like telling her she did well."

"But she doesn't. She's an incredibly slow learner and she has no foundation whatsoever!"

"Don't you understand that children need to be treated a bit differently from adults? And don't you understand that a father sometimes has to lie to his daughter in order to get a better outcome?"

"No, I don't understand," Sasuke said. "See? I need you here. You can tell me these things and…"

A door was opened in the apartment and Sasuke grew instantly quiet.

"Auntie?" Sarada asked out in the living room, sounding scared.

"We're in here!" Sakura said, feeling relief that Sasuke wouldn't have a chance to move even closer. He had looked at her a lot in the last few days. In that way. The way that had used to make her knees weak and her mind go blank.

Actually, it still had that effect, but she no longer wanted it.

Sarada switched on the lights in the living room, like small children were want to. All of them hated the darkness for the monsters it could hide. Her naked feet made a cute sound as she came closer and entered he bedroom, rubbing her eyes sleepily. When she saw Sasuke, she frowned.

"What are you doing here?" she asked angrily.

Sasuke snorted in disbelief. "Talking to my wife? Do I need to ask your permission the next time first or what?"

Sarada pouted and climbed onto the bed behind him. "I will sleep here, Auntie," she informed Sakura and settled in beside her, taking as much space as possible.

"You can switch off the lights, Sasuke-san," she informed her own father, "we will sleep now."

"I don't believe this," Sasuke murmured.

"I need a lot of sleep," Sarada informed him seriously.

"Yes, time to sleep," Sakura said and gently stroked Sarada's head, trying not to grin at the girl's antics. "Iruka said you have quite the programme tomorrow."

"Is Uncle Kakashi coming back?" Sarada wanted to know with a yawn.

"I hope so. I really hope so," Sakura said with a firm voice. She avoided to look at Sasuke as she draped the blanket over Sarada and herself.

But she did not need to look to know that she didn't want to see his expression.

An angry, haughty, mean Sasuke - that she had learned how to handle well. But sad and defeated Sasuke… that she could not deal with at all.

Sasuke sat at the foot of the bed for quite some time, even after Sarada's deep breathing made it clear that she had fallen asleep again and Sakura's shallow one made it clear that she had not.

He left eventually, switching off the light in the living room and settling on the sofa. In the darkness, Sakura cried soundlessly until her eyes fell shut on their own.