Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me.
Faded Petals
Prologue
The wet laundry hung from the laundry lines-their damp sleeves lifting up with the soft breeze. She held the empty clothe basket and gazed at her finished work, the corners of her mouth uplifted in a small smile. The sun was warm on her back, the sunlight sending a pale halo of yellow onto her hair of cotton candy pink.
"Okaa-san."
She turned around to where a small boy stood, and the minute smile on her face widened. "Yuki-chan?"
"Is it almost time for lunch?" He spoke in a small voice, strangely calm for one so small.
"Hai.I'm almost done with the laundry. I'll fix lunch soon. Are you hungry?"
"A little." His wide eyes-an obsidian black in the shadow and a dark green in the light-looked up at her.
Her aquamarine eyes glanced at him-at his dark hair, so unlike her own, that stuck up near the back and at his small, cherub face. A face that reminded her of someone from so long ago…someone who had left without warning and had instead given her this…
She had been different before…more naïve, a little more selfish, and too innocent. She was different now...a different Sakura.
She hugged her son and beamed at him. "Okay, let's go inside. Want to help me cook lunch?"
"Hai!" His face brightened and together, they entered their house.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
Night came soon, blanketing the sky in darkness and in bright points that were stars. With Yuki asleep, she left the house, just wanting to be alone. The night air was cold and prickled her skin as she walked.
Their house was away from the other houses, a solitary shack at the border of the village, near the forests. Naruto had begged to live closer to him and Hinata but she had declined. She liked it that way-just her and her son.
She found the clearing in the forest, the same as before, with the jagged brook running through it. She squatted down by the water, shining with the moonlight that pierced through the thick forest trees. It was just her and her thoughts now…
She could still remember him, even now. She could still hear the whispers of his name in her head…Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke….She saw his face in that of their son everyday.
She remembered his face when Naruto had brought him back from Oroichimaru. She remembered his face, taunt with anger and she remembered thinking to himself that he would leave Konoha again to avenge his clan.
And he did, later when they were both seventeen. She had just finished her training with the Fifth Hokage. She was strong, but would never be as strong as him or Naruto. He could have been great even if he stayed. He could have been part of the ANBU, he could have started a future for himself. But he left. She had told him before he left that she loved him-the same way she had before. He had almost smiled and just before he left, they had been together-a night that had produced Yuki. She knew he hadn't loved her the way she had wanted him to but it had been good enough.
She didn't expect him to come back. She had waited for nearly seven years, and now Yuki was eight and he still wasn't back. She hadn't stopped waiting for him though. Just because she didn't wait by the road everyday didn't mean that she had stopped waiting.
And now, Naruto had his own family with HInata and everyone else had also settled down. They all looked at her with worried faces, asking her why she didn't bring Yuki-chan to come play with the other kids, why she didn't come socialize with them, eat ramen. But she was fine, she really was. She was happy-as happy as she could be.
The sky was turning a shade of dusty pink and purple. She picked herself up from the ground, and headed home. Yuki had always been an early riser.
The house was dark when she entered it. She heard a soft scuffling.
"Yuki-chan?" She whispered.
There was no answer. Her heart pounded a little faster and she stepped into the bedroom and saw a dark silhouette standing by her son's bed.
As dawn's rays shone through the window, her eyes widened as she saw the face. The black eyes…the black hair…Sasuke?
But then she saw the two lines that ran down the man's face and her green eyes narrowed.
"Itachi!"