So hello, this is my first ever post of a fanfic, I hope people will like it. Just a little something to show how life is never dull in the Uchiha house.
"I hate you! And I hate being an Uchiha! Why can't I look more like mum!?"
This was the greeting Sasuke Uchiha, dark Hokage, keeper of the Rinnengan, was greeted with when he came home from work that evening.
What he had been expecting was a distracted "Yo" from his oldest son who was too engrossed in his poison notes, "welcome back Papa" from his may or may not be present oldest daughter, his youngest son tripping over his feet to show his father his latest top score in an academy test if there was one that day and a beaming smile from his youngest child as she looks up from some medical tome she had begged her mother to lend her. Whatever he had been expecting as his welcome, it was definitely not this.
His whole body stood still in shock as he watched his youngest daughter storm out from sight, her twin brother, Kawauso, her sister Sarada and her mother all just as shaken.
"I. . . Am home?" Sasuke said to the surprisingly empty space, Ren was, as usual, unperturbed by the outburst, he was at that age Sasuke remembered well, lots of grunting and sighing and reading. Sarada was old enough to have her own place. . . Next door to his and his wife. Where he could keep an eye on that Loser's son Boruto.
But coming home to the craziness of the house, his poor wife-
"Welcome home, dear." Sakura replied, in that soft way he liked. "Dinner is almost ready, would you like me to pour you a drink?"
"Me too mum!" Sarada piped up going to her father and giving him a hug.
"Ah." Sasuke replied smiling just a tiny bit.
Sakura gave a groan. "Don't you have drinks at your own place?" She teased.
"Yeah, but I don't get to see you all as often as I like to." Sarada replied a little pouty. "With so many missions and stuff."
"And dates with Boruto, the loser." Ren huffed turning the page of the book he was reading.
"Hey!" Sarada snarled. "That's my boyfriend!"
"Pretty crap taste." Ren replied. "Ow!" He cried when he got a tomato to the face. "That's so childish! I'm younger than you, you know!"
Sasuke shook his head and sat at the table. How did Sakura do it while he was away?
Nikko slammed the door to the bathroom and pouted at the mirror, her mind flashed back to school that morning. The unwanted Uchiha! That's what the kids said to her!
Being so unwanted the least you could do is look more like your mother! One of the kids taunted. It wasn't true! She was wanted! Her Mama and her Papa had told her how much they love her and her brother. They don't lie. Her Papa doesn't lie and her Mama definitely doesn't lie.
She was a surprise. A lovely, heartwarming surprise. That's what her mother always said. Kawauso was a shock. They hadn't planned on any more babies after Ren, so the fact it became twins was a heart attack.
"Nikko!" Kawauso called from the other side of the bathroom door, banging hard on it. "Nikko come on! Open the door!"
"NO!" Nikko replied pulling the extra side vanity to the door to keep it closed. Then she spotted it. Her mother's hair dye. Well. . .Not her mothers. . .But she was the only one allowed to use it because she didn't want them hurting themselves. They'd dressed up as flowers for Halloween last year and they still had left overs. . . A thought popped into her head as she tuned out more of her brother's insistent banging on the door.
Kawauso put his ear to the door. His sister had stopped making noise so he knew the crying would happen soon. He'd seen his father's hurt look so he knew he'd have to go explain. He thought their mum would have already known, since he'd decked the kid, but she seemed to be feigning ignorance. That wasn't like her at all. "Kawauso! Nikko! Dinner!" Sakura called.
"Coming Mama!" Kawauso replied and rushed down to the dinner table.
"Is Nikko in the bathroom again?" Ren asked as he sat down. "What is it this time?" He glared at his little brother. "Who do I have to beat up?"
"Ren!" Sakura gasped. "We talked about this!"
Sasuke blinked a little at them all. "Hm?" He asked looking around at his family, Sarada seemed unaware. But Ren and Sakura knew.
"People tease Nikko at school." Kawauso replied with a sigh. "They keep saying she's the unwanted Uchiha and that no one really loves her."
Ren slammed his bowl on the table, shocking his parents. Sakura gave him a disapproving look and Sasuke raised an eyebrow.
Ren blushed at his outburst as Sakura patiently served Sasuke with a sigh. They had gone over this already. But children were cruel and sometimes Nikko was too sensitive to see reason.
"She knows it's not true, right?", Sasuke asked with concern. He could never be sure if his socially inept self had ever done parenting right.
Ren turned to his father. "It's why I kept getting into trouble father." He explained. "I. . .I also intercepted a message for you guys. . .About today."
"Huh?" Sakura frowned joining them at the table, having finally put down the last dish. "What do you mean? What message?"
"I beat them up." Kawauso replied. "They kept saying we were unwanted! That you hate us! And, and that stupid Boruto was walking by and heard and he didn't do anything!"
Sarada blinked. "Wait. . .Boruto?" She asked. "When? Where?!"
Kawauso looked away from his sister. "Like I'd tell you!" He snapped. "You'll just take his side!"
"Enough!" Sakura said in a stern voice. "I'll go get Nikko. She should be down here for dinner like all of us, she shouldn't- oh my god."
Everyone stopped, time stood still as the rest of the family turned to see what had gotten matriarch of the house so shell shocked.
Nikko stood at the bottom of the stairs, her hair not only a mess, but dyed a horrible shade of pink. She stood, on shaking legs, her skin and tunic splotched with the dye.
"What have you done?!" Sarada cried for them all. Nikko's eyes welled with tears.
"I just want to look like Mama!" She cried and rushed back out of sight.
"Nikko!" Sakura called with concern. "I'll handle this."
"No." Sasuke replied. "I got it." He stood and gave each of his children a ruffle of their hair as he left the main rooms and headed for Nikko's. He did a double take at the smell of bleach and dye. "Hn." He grunted covering his nose and closed the door to lessen the smell in the house.
A soft sound of cry pulled his attention from the bathroom and back toward Nikko's room. He and Sakura talked most nights they weren't exhausted, about the twins mainly. And about how proud they were of Sarada and Ren as the two of them seemed to be so over protective of the twins, they seemed to be extra sensitive to the taunts that people gave them about their clan, and occasionally about Sakura. He knocked once. "Nikko." He said listening to her hiccuping and her whimpering.
"Go. . .away." Came a meek response. Sasuke gave a sigh and entered the room anyway.
"Nikko. . ." He knelt down beside her bed and took her hand. The hair dye had bled into her pillow. . .Oh boy, Sakura was going to be mad. Then he took in the state of his daughter. Perhaps not.
"Nikko," He said again, putting his hand on her back. "Nikko, what happened at school today? Why is this so important to you?"
Nikko hiccuped and turned her face to her papa. Almost a spitting image of his mother, but with hints of Sakura, the set of her eyes and her nose the most. "They said mama wasn't a real Uchiha," She said eventually, once she got her breath back.
Already Sasuke could feel that familiar vein in his temple throb at the mention of his wife's Clan status. "And that was what made your brother lash out?"
"No." Nikko replied.
"Ah." Sasuke replied, frowning.
"They said. . .you don't come home much because we look too much like Uncle Itachi." Nikko continued in the silence. "That you hate us because of it, and that if we looked more like mum. . ." She turned back into the pillow.
Sasuke could feel his own rage building, disgusting children. "Hn." He sniffed.
Nikko turned back. "You. . .You don't hate us?" She got up and sat on her knees.
Sasuke looked at his child tenderly and pulled her close.
"No." He stated firmly. "I work to keep you safe, Nikko. I can't come home all the time because I want to make sure that no one can hurt your Mama or Sarada or …"
"Even Nii-san and Kawauso?" She asked abruptly with wobbly lips. He felt the hair dye drip onto his hand and seep into his glove. Ick. "Ah, even Ren and Kawauso," he agreed fondly before adding "And your mother is definitely an Uchiha." sternly, pulling back from the hug. He remembered having this conversation years ago with Sarada. Of course Nikko's extreme was tamer to Sarada's. Nikko had yet to reach the age of a temperamental teenager. Sarada, at that time, had vaguely resembled that other personality of his wife, Inner Sakura as his wife liked to call it, he had only heard about this personality but had never really witnessed it. How he wished his sunshine would stay this innocent forever, untainted by the world.
"And even though Kawauso and I were a surprise. . . You love us right?" She asked again with sniffle.
Sasuke smiled and poked her forehead. "Of course I do." He assured her. Her skin was becoming stained with the dye. "Come on, lets get your mother to fix this up,"
"Will she get upset about the pillow?" Nikko asked turning to look at the mess she had made.
"Maybe." Sasuke replied, taking her in his arms and carrying her down stairs. "Sakura." He said when he entered the main rooms.
"I put some food aside for you and Nikko to eat. Are we okay- oh my gosh it's gotten worse." Sakura waffled on rushing over. "Come on, let's get you both cleaned up then we'll work on the floor." Sasuke nodded turning to go up to the bathroom with his wife and youngest child.
"We got it mum." Ren said pulling Kawauso over from the kitchen, where they'd been helping Sarada clean up after dinner.
"I need a new pillow. . ." Nikko blushed. Sakura groaned.
"We'll fix that tomorrow. For now why don't we just fix your hair back to its normal colour-"
"NO!" Nikko replied. "No I want to look like mum!"
"Is her nose not enough?" Ren commented watching as Nikko grabbed it to hide it.
Sakura and Sasuke shared a smile. "I want to keep my hair."
"Ah." Sasuke replied with a slight amused tone.
Sakura blushed darkly and nodded. "Outnumbered." She capitulated. "Okay," Perhaps they'd get lucky and it would be a phase.
"Mum~" Ren cried from the bottom of the stairs.
"Yes, Ren?" Sakura asked before opening the door, being greeted with a waft of bleach. She and Nikko gave out a cough.
"Where are the cleaning products again?" came Ren's question which was quickly followed by an outcry of. "Ah No Kawauso! Don't get on the table!"
Sakura shook her head. "Sarada will help them. We have to fix this before it stains your clothes forever." She said to Nikko.
"I'll supervise them." Sasuke interjected hoping that Nikko would get some reassurances from her mother too.
"I love you, Mama." Nikko claimed with all the ferocity of an eight year old as Sakura fixed up her hair and her skin. It was a little red from the bleach so Sakura was also healing it as she went.
Sakura looked at her youngest with a soft expression and smiled. She could clearly remember how painstakingly meticulous she had been while she chose the name for her children. Sasuke had not been home yet but she still knew him like the back of her hand. In those long sleepless nights they had spent on their travel together, Sasuke had opened up to her. And one of the subjects had been children. Sasuke had expressed his mixed feelings about naming their child, preferably a son if they ever had one, after his late brother who sacrificed his own life for others. Specially for Sasuke himself. But he also had doubts on the matter if it was a good choice.
The name 'Itachi' came with heavy burdens. Some will see the name as prodigious and presumably compare the second Itachi's accomplishment with the first one. And some would be appalled at the thought that they named a child after a mass murderer. In any event, this would be an injustice to their child. Sakura had not forgotten that. So she had gone through quite a few books on baby names to find one which would honor her late brother-in-law in a subtle way. And Ren had found the name "Kawauso".
But the biggest surprise was their daughter. None of sonogram or blood reports had shown the second child in her womb. It turned out the twins wanted to surprise them some more and Kawauso had been hiding his sister from everyone. Tsunade and Shizune were shocked at first but had been happy nonetheless.
And when exhausted Sakura saw the wrinkly baby bringing a watery smile on her recently returned husband's face, she knew her youngest would become the sunshine of their lives.
"I love you too, Nikko." Sakura insisted. "Your papa and I love you so much, just like Sarada and Kawauso and Ren do, that's why it hurts us when you're sad, we miss our sunshine."
Nikko nodded a little. Sakura knew her face. She was thinking more. Unlike Sarada and Ren, who seemed to appear to understand everything, Nikko and Kawauso seemed to need more reassurance when it came to their father.
"There, all cleaned up." Sakura beamed giving Nikko a hug. "Tomorrow, if you like, I can teach you a transformation jutsu so you don't need to dye it."
"Really?!" Nikko asked.
"Yes." Sakura cooed. "But right now, it's bedtime, Kawauso needs to clean himself up for bed too."
Nikko nodded and toddled off to her bedroom to change herself into a fresh set of pajamas with a bright smile on her face. Sasuke passed her as he brought the dirty linen from her room to the laundry in a basket. "That's much better." He commented.
"Oh?" Sakura cooed at her husband, smirking just a tiny bit. "Were you worried your talk wouldn't work?" She asked, her voice still holding a tease.
"Hn." He said turning away and walking downstairs to the laundry.
"Mama!" Ren huffed coming into the bathroom to wash his hands. "Kawauso and I finished cleaning the spots of the floor that Nikko dripped the hair dye on."
Sakura smiled kindly and hugged her son tight.
"Ah! Mama, Squishing." Ren protested.
"Oh! I'm sorry." Sakura pulled back a little embarrassed. "I just feel so blessed to have you all in my life."
"Mama." Ren rolled his eyes. Sometimes he was just like his father, a little reluctant to accept affection, or exasperated when she showed him too much. "Oh, I already got Kawauso ready for bed using your bathroom, dad said it was okay. He's just waiting for you."
"Ah~" Sakura whined. "Aren't you all too old for me to tuck you in?" She asked before leaving the bathroom.