Sasuke woke the next morning to what he was sure was the sound of animals thundering through his house. He went to rub his eyes and cringed at the faint smell of bleach that still tainted his skin. Ick. It took him a moment to remember why. "Nikko." He huffed with a small smile on his lips.
"Mama! Ren stole my drink!" Kawauso's voice shrieked from the dining room.
"I did not!" Ren's voice followed. Sasuke groaned with exasperation. Then he felt the first rumble. He sprang up like a bullet and quickly threw on a pair of pants and a shirt, ready to break up whatever brawl had started in his house. He had to be a united front with Sakura.
"OW!" Ren roared. "Mum! He Bit me!"
"Kawauso! Kawauso let your brother go!" Sakura cried.
"No! He stole my drink!" Kawauso replied his hands both gripping a tuft of his brother's hair and his shirt, with Sakura pulling him away by his waist.
Nikko was low key curled in the corner eating her rice while watching the scene play out.
"Enough." Sasuke's voice broke through the fight.
"Anata!" Sakura cooed pulling away first. "You're awake!"
"Who can sleep with the fifth ninja war in their own house?" Sasuke snipped back giving his wife a sneaky tap on the behind as he went to get a drink from the fridge.
Sakura blushed darkly and grinned into her hand.
He sat down with his drink, sipping it slow, and without a word. When his two unruly sons began to growl again, he opened his eyes to glare at them. Ren noticed the change first and settled to his spot at the table. Kawauso made a face and sat as well. "Nikko." Sasuke said after another sip of his drink.
Nikko looked up from her corner and brought her bowl back to the table and sat down next to her father. Sakura sat down next and started on hers, after a long moment Sasuke gave a nod. "Hn." He smiled small. "Better."
"Once we're all finished can you all help me clean up?" Sakura asked the children. When the boys began to moan, Sasuke put his cup down and smiled at his wife.
"Ah." He replied. "We will help."
Nikko gasped. "I can't!" She said. "Nee-chan said she was going to teach me something!"
Sakura beamed, it was wonderful to see Sarada spending time with her siblings. While she was a doting older sister to her siblings who wanted to help them with everything she could, her jonin status and position as Hokage's apprentice hardly left her with any time to spend with her siblings. So when the chance was provided, it was usually milked to the fullest. "Then once you're finished, wash your face before you go. And be safe, okay?"
"Yes mama!" Nikko replied then beamed up at her father.
""Hey! How come she gets to leave?!" Ren asked, his tone offended.
"Because she didn't make a mess of the kitchen and this room." Sakura replied, her tone sharp. "And you woke up your father too early! You know he likes to sleep in on nights where he comes home later than normal!"
"Forgot that old people needed more sleep" Ren gave a smug smirk to his father who scowled in return. Kawauso snickered in the background, trying not to choke on his juice. Sakura shook her head in exasperation and turned her focus to her youngest daughter.
Nikko left the table and put her bowl in the sink before she went to her father and tapped his arm. "I'm going now papa." She said smiling brightly up at him.
"Ah." He said and poked her forehead. "I'll see you soon."
Nikko beamed and went to her mother and gave her a hug. "Bye mama!"
Sakura held her daughter close and kissed her cheek. "Be safe."
"I will." Nikko chirped. "Bye!" She waved at them then rushed to the front door and put her shoes on before rushing to meet Sarada at a lake. Why she wanted to meet there, Nikko wasn't sure, but she liked the water. It was strangely calm to her.
"Nikko." Sarada's voice jolted her out of her daze.
Sarada was so tall! Nikko hoped she would be that tall one day. "Nee-chan!" She cried and jumped at her sister, who was standing out by the pier that jutted into the water of the lake. Sarada grabbed the hyper girl and twirled her around while Nikko shreaked in delight. "Why did we meet here?" She asked after Sarada gave her the usual forehead poke as a greeting.
"I'm going to teach you a jutsu that papa taught me. I want you to surprise him." Sarada explained mischievously.
"Can't you keep teaching me the one mama taught you?" Nikko asked. "The one where we can punch really strong?"
Sarada gave a sigh. "Later, I promise. But this one is equally important. It's the signature technique of our Uchiha clan." She continued. "I promise once you get this down you'll be able to use mama's ability a lot easier."
Nikko gave a pout, she wasn't convinced but she supposed Sarada was the older sister, perhaps she knew best? And she did say it was their clan's technique. Learning it can not be bad. Sarada put her sister down and then showed her the stance that made performing jutsu safe for the moment. There was a good reason as to why their clan's signature technique was practiced over a large body of water. DANGEROUS with all caps. If not learned in safety.
"Ready?" Sarada asked. "I'll show you the hand seals first, then once you have the hang of it we'll move on to the next step." She began with serpent, tiger, boar, horse, then tiger and produced the fireball over the lake.
Nikko started at it with her eyes widened. "So big." She breathed, amazed beyond explanation. Though it was not her first time seeing her clan's famous Fire technique, this was the first time she had seen it up close and in detail. Sarada repeated it two more times and in slow motion so that Nikko could get the hang of it. Nikko watched it from the start, right up to Sarada's deep breaths and nodded. Determination was set in her eyes and she made the seals, faster, and faster, until she felt pressure in her belly and chest then took a deep breath.
"Katon! Goukakyuu no jutsu!" Nikko cried pushing as much force out of her belly as possible, only to get a small 'ppft' and a fireball the size of her fist.
"Not bad for your first try Nikko." Sarada praised. No way in hell she was going to tell her baby sister that her own first fireball had been the size of a beach ball. It was crucial that her confidence did not shake.
"Again!" Nikko snapped in response. Sarada blinked.
"Okay," She replied. "One more time." She supervised again as Nikko made the seals and took her breath before letting out another, fist sized ball.
"Again!" Nikko shouted.
"Nikko, enough!" Sarada insisted. "This Jutsu consumes too much of your already small chakra reserve. Mama and Papa will get worried if I bring you back sick!"
"No!" Nikko replied and tried again. This time, the ball was even smaller. "Aah!" Nikko screamed and kicked a sizable chunk of wood out of the pier. Sarada blinked in surprise. Did Nikko just do her version of Cherry blossom impact? She was pulled out of her musing by Nikko's frustrated, "Why can't I do anything?!"
Sarada gave a sigh. "Nikko come here." She waved her back to the grass. Nikko gave a sniff and rushed to her sister, only to be halted by a forehead poke. "Ow!" She whined.
"You forget, you're only a little kid. You'll get it eventually. Just have patience. For now, be happy that you have it at that size, okay?" Sarada ruffled her hair lovingly and gave a smile so reminiscent of their mother that Nikko was immediately soothed. "Come on, let's go get you some ice cream, you're lips are looking raw." Sarada picked her up and carried her up the stairs to the road. "We'll show them once you get it really big, okay?"
Nikko nodded, snuggling in her sister's arms. Maybe she could use it at the size it was to torment the kids who bullied her? She grinned wickedly. Yeah. . .Next time they teased her or her mama, they were going to see how much of Uchiha she really was...