Every footstep seemed to echo off the dimly lit floors. Shadows stretched and warped against the terracotta walls, creating monstrous shapes that seemed to burst forth with the slightest of movements.

Karumi gripped the bandaging materials tightly against her protruding belly, eyes glued to the floor as she walked. It had been almost a week since Itachi had died, and Sasuke was still comatose. Every few hours she would check on him, make sure his wounds hadn't opened up, or that he hadn't been in the same position for too long.

She couldn't bring herself to tell Hotaru and Tonbo what had happened, but even at their young age they were suspicious.

Between worrying over Sasuke and dodging questions about when Itachi would come home, Karumi hadn't fully been able to process everything. He was gone; actually gone. Karumi hadn't even been able to see his body before Madara was done with it - they'd buried Itachi during one of Sasuke's bandage changes, without allowing so much as a good-bye from his family.

Now Karumi just felt hollow, like a piece of her had been ripped away, and there was nothing she could do except put on a brave face for her children.

As she neared the room Sasuke was being held in, Karumi heard voices coming from inside, though they were too muffled to actually understand what was being said.

She waited as the sound of footsteps approached, before the door was wrenched open in front of her. Madara stood in front of her, his head tilted as if he were glaring at her through his mask. "I told him everything."

"Everything?" Karumi murmured.

"The exact details of your new family tree were left out," he muttered, shrugging. "You can fill those in if you want."

Madara moved past her, leaving Karumi to enter by herself.

Sasuke's figure sat, hunched over; his head in his hands as he tried to comprehend everything he'd just been told

Karumi placed her bag on the floor beside him and grunted as she moved awkwardly to sit in a comfortable position.

The sound made Sasuke's head shoot up in surprise, and he stared across at her with a mixture of confusion and disbelief. "Big sister?"

The words made Karumi's heart swell. The little boy who used to follow her around like a lost puppy was gone, but it didn't keep the wave of nostalgia from washing over her. "Hey, Sasuke."

"I — you — no — he...he killed you," the young man stammered, his voice breaking with shock.

Karumi smiled softly and shook her head. "It was safer for everyone if you believed that," she murmured. "But it looks like you've been mostly filled in."

Sasuke lowered his head. "I didn't want to believe what Madara said," he muttered. "But if you're here, then it must be true. Itachi was just obeying orders and I..."

His shoulders began to tremble as his voice trailed off, and Karumi reached her hand out to gently touch his shoulder.

"You meant a lot to him," she said quietly,feeling her own tears begin to well up. "Even though he was sick, he didn't think you'd have proper closure unless the two of you ended things on your own terms."

Her words didn't seem to be helping. "What will you do now that he's gone?" Sasuke asked, looking back at her, though his face suddenly blanched white. "What is that?"

Confused, Karumi followed his gaze down to her own pregnant belly. "Oh," she murmured awkwardly. "Yeah, um..."

Silence filled the air as Karumi struggled to think of anything to say.

"Is it his?" Sasuke hesitantly asked, saving her the explanation.

Karumi nodded.

Sasuke buried his face in his hands again. "Did he know?"

"Yeah," Karumi whispered. "He knew."

"And he still..." the young Uchiha trailed off, his shoulders trembling harder as his breathing became unsteady. A sob disguised as a sharp breath escaped his lips, followed by more and more, though he refused to raise his head and let Karumi see his face.

The young woman hushed him gently, rubbing slow soothing circles against his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him, careful to avoid his wounds. "Deep breaths," she urged, though perhaps the advice was just as much for her as it was for him. It was getting harder and harder to keep her composure, and it took everything Karumi had not to break down and cry along with him.

"He..." Sasuke mumbled through ragged breaths, attempting to calm himself. "He would have made a good father."

"He was," Karumi replied, nodding in agreement.

Sasuke's hands lowered from his face and his brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

As if on cue, the door behind Karumi slowly opened, and the strained grunts of two toddlers moving something heavy echoed into the room.

"Mama?" one of their voices sounded from he doorway. "Where are you?"

"I'm here," Karumi called back, shifting around to see them properly. "I'm with a patient."

"Is it Papa?" Hotaru asked, running toward her.

"We can help!" Tonbo added, joining his brother.

"It's not Papa," Karumi said softly, glancing back at Sasuke, who watched on blankly. "And now isn't really the best time."

The twins peered around her, their large eyes watching Sasuke with curiosity.

"He looks like Papa," Hotaru pointed out, and Tonbo nodded in agreement.

Sasuke averted his eyes and Karumi pursed her lips, really not wanting to lie to her boys any more.

"He's Papa's younger brother," she explained softly.

The twins' eyes lit up excitedly as they scrambled toward the young Uchiha, too fast for their mother to stop them.

"We're going to have a younger brother soon!" Hotaru chirped, practically clambering into Sasuke's lap.

"Or a sister!" Tonbo piped enthusiastically.

Sasuke sat, frozen in discomfort, clearly not knowing how to interact with children. All he could do was nod.

"Boys," Karumi said firmly. "Be gentle; he's injured."

The young woman picked up her collection of bandaging materials, shooing the twins aside as she edged closer.

"Sorry," she apologised, moving to unwrap Sasuke's dressing. "They're desperate for someone to talk to."

"How old?" he asked, eyeing the boys warily.

"We're three!" Tonbo answered cheerfully, not realising the question wasn't for him.

"I'm Hotaru!"

"I'm Tonbo!"

Sasuke stayed quiet, shifting uncomfortably. He glanced back and forth between the twins, before looking to Karumi for help.

"This is Sasuke," she introduced, feeling her eyes prickle with tears once again.

"Uncle Sasuke!" Hotaru giggled, launching suddenly into a barrage of questions ranging from how he was injured to where does the sun go at night.

Only Tonbo seemed to notice Karumi's face. He slowly moved away from his brother, crawling toward her to nuzzle against his mother's side. "Don't be sad," he mumbled quietly.

Karumi smiled softly as a single tear ran down her face. "I'm not sad," she assured him, unravelling the bandages to begin redressing Sasuke's wounds. "These are happy tears."