I apologise for being away for so long. Hopefully I'll be able to post more often. ^_^ Enjoy
"Nikko!" Sakura woke her youngest daughter early in the morning. "Nikko wake up sweetheart."
Nikko scrunched her face but did wake up. Her eyes half asleep and full of questions.
"Good girl, Papa and I got called into work early, you have to get dressed and go with him today." Sakura explained putting some clothes on the end of her bed. "Come on." She pulled Nikko out of bed and helped her dress.
"Mmm~" Nikko whined, working on auto-pilot. "Papa?" Not mama?" She asked, her speech slurred with sleep.
"Mama will be in surgery all day, papa will be safer for you." Sakura explained helping her brush her hair. "There, I've put some money into a purse for you and papa today so you both can have breakfast and lunch, Sarada will be back from training and I've asked her to make dinner. Okay?" She knew Nikko wouldn't remember, she was just speaking to herself.
"Mmm. . .okay." Nikko replied with a yawn and trudged out of the room and down the stairs. Sasuke was sitting at the table, hand on cheek. "Papa~" She yawned and climbed on his lap. "Early."
"Hn." Sasuke grumped holding her in his arms. Sakura giggled at them both. Neither her husband nor her daughter were morning people. Peaceful life back at the village had relaxed Sasuke to the point where he could indulge himself with "5 more minutes". Grabbing her house keys, Sakura pressed a kiss on Sasuke's cheek and Nikko's head.
"I'm off." Sakura said quickly as her pager beeped. "Aah!" She cried. "I should've woken you both earlier!" She panicked and ran out of the house.
Nikko waved, a little more awake. "Bye mama." She said to the closed door. Yawning and stretching her arms, and hitting her father on the chin in the process, Nikko slumped on the table. With bleary eyes she took in her living room. Morning sunlight was peeking in through the kitchen window, her last art project was taking up the place of pride on the fridge door, faucet in the sink was dripping once in a long while, and the droplet would briefly refract the light, a wrapped up lunch box sat quite contently on the kitchen counter, Kawasou's jacket was thrown haphazardly on the couch… Wait, lunch box?
Then she gasped. "Papa! Mama's bento is still in the kitchen!" She shook Sasuke's shoulder a little.
"Aah." He replied. "Let's go take it to her on our way out after breakfast" He suggested helping her off his lap. Nikko nodded and
grabbed the lunch box, holding it tight to her chest. Sasuke smiled and nodded as they put on their shoes and left the house to chase after Sakura. He held Nikko in his arms to save time.
"Sakura!"
"Mama!" Nikko and Sasuke yelled together as they reached the hospital just as Sakura made it to the front gates.
"Oh!" Sakura gasped. "My lunch!" She smiled when Nikko jumped from her father's arms and rushed over with the lunch box.
"Mama." Nikko beamed lifting it out to her mother.
"Thank you Nikko, Anata." Sakura replied taking the lunch box and hugged her daughter and smiled at Sasuke. He gave a simple huff through his nose and a small smile.
"Papa." Nikko said pouting.
Sasuke chuckled short, and nodded. "Aah." He replied and gave Sakura a poke to her forehead, which Nikko gave a curt nod too. "Be safe." He whispered to her.
"Yes, dear." Sakura replied and entered the hospital.
"Papa." Nikko asked as she and Sasuke walked down the main street. She didn't like silence, she was too used to Kawauso's constant chatter. He was the more talkative and therefore, she felt, more like their mother. "Where are we going?" She frowned softly. "And why did Mama put me in pants today?"
Sasuke smiled a little to himself before he turned a soft expression to his daughter. "Naruto wants me to check on a farm that had been affected by a plague the Ootsutsuki had released to try and harm us, they found something in a crop that they think is the plague again, so we're going to check it out." He frowned. Boruto's eye could have checked too, but Naruto had strong armed him into it, and to bring Nikko with him. Perhaps he'd heard about the issue at Nikko's school? Ugh, that meddling loser.
"But why us?" Nikko whined. "Isn't there someone else who can do it?" She asked.
Sasuke suppressed a laugh. Perhaps this was why he had been told to bond more with the twins, since he still had missions that required him to leave for months on end. Just like Sarada, he had trouble bonding with Nikko. "Because of my special eye." He said, stopping them to show her. "See?" He lifted up the bang.
Nikko gasped and touched his cheek as she looked at it. "That's the one that sees things even the Sharingan can't, right papa?" She asked, her face and voice displaying amazement. Huh. So she was like Ren too. Neither one seemed to be afraid of his eye like others seemed to be. Kawauso had been afraid of it for months when he was a toddler. Nikko tried to poke it out. She thought it deeply fascinating. He pulled himself back out of his thoughts.
"Ah." Sasuke replied. Just like Sakura. . . And Itachi. . . But as sensitive as Sakura. He'd have to be careful. "Nikko," He started stopping them and crouching to her level. "I'm bringing you with me so you can see if you want to follow your older siblings path."
"I don't want to be Hokage. . ." Nikko replied, making a face. "Naruto-otou-sama is always sleepy and it makes Hima-Onee-chan sad." She looked down. "I want to be like Mama." She declared.
"She helps people. I want to do that too." She rubbed her eyes hard which made Sasuke frown softly. He remembered Sarada telling him that hers had hurt not long before she chased after him during the Shin Incident. Was Nikko's adoration for her mother going to trigger hers?
"Nikko," Sasuke said calmly, getting her attention. "If you follow your mother, you will have to learn ninja skills too."
"Like my Katon!" Nikko beamed proudly.
"Yes." Sasuke replied, trying to keep his patience. "This mission will be simple, I will look over the farm, I want you to observe and look out for anything you think I miss."
"Okay!" Nikko beamed. "Can we go, then?" She continued.
Sasuke stood up and brushed off his knees. "Let's go then." He turned to go, then he felt Nikko's hand take his and he paused, feeling a weird parental feeling that was just as strong as when he saw her make the Katon. He didn't pull away. Perhaps she wanted to stay close so she didn't get lost.
That stab of panic hit him and he held her hand a little tighter. No. So he wouldn't lose her. Not only would his other children be upset, but Sakura would never forgive him. She could forgive his past. . .But losing their child. . . He was sure she'd kill him. And he'd let her.
At that thought, he picked up Nikko and carried her on his hip. "Papa, I can walk!" Nikko complained.
"After what you did yesterday?" Sasuke snapped a little too aggressively.
"Papa. . ." Nikko replied, tears in her eyes.
Oh god. . . "No. . . Nikko." Sasuke said and pulled her close. "I'm sorry." He whispered, clutching her tight. "That's not what I meant." Maybe he shouldn't have-
"I didn't mean to make you worry!" Nikko said before he could add more. "I just wanted to get it right to show you and Mama." She hiccuped. The memories of him wanting to master and perfect the Katon to show his own father, flashed before his eyes. The level of understanding that her simple explanation had put in him made his panicked aggression dissolve into fond feelings.
Sasuke nodded. "I know. . .I know." He whispered as he continued to walk, god people were staring at them now. "You can walk when we're out of the main village." He said. "So it will be easier for me to watch."
"Okay," Nikko replied, her arms snaking to hold his shoulders. She took the chance to nap.
Sasuke didn't put Nikko down when they left the village like he had said he would, no, instead, when he found she was asleep in his arms he let her continue. She wasn't yet used to waking up so early. And being young she needed all the sleep she could get. But eventually they did get close enough to the farm that carrying her to the start of their mission wouldn't be appropriate. "Nikko." He said jostling her until she woke.
"Hnn." Nikko replied with a yawn. She rubbed her eyes. "Itchy." She mumbled as Sasuke put her down.
"Sakura will fix it when we get home." Sasuke stated plainly, perhaps it was just allergies. Did his children have those? Oh god. . .What if Nikko was allergic to something and he didn't know?! Perhaps he should have taken Sakura's book. . .
Now you haven't spent much time with Nikko since she was really little so I made you a book of things you should know just in case something happens. . .
Sakura, I don't need a book I'll be fine. She's just a kid, not some spoiled princess. . .
Oh god how he'd been wrong. "Papa?" Nikko asked frowning. "Papa, are you okay?" She pushed on his belly. "Did you eat a bad thing?"
"Ah!" Sasuke took Nikko's hands. "No, I am fine." He said quickly. "Tell me if you start to get sick or anything." He half said half ordered. Calm. Emotionless. He had to treat this like any other mission.
"Ah! Sasuke-san!" The older male farmer greeted them, his head popping up from the field of wheat. "You're early." He beamed and waded through the last few feet of wheat to greet the man. "Who is this?"
"I'm Nikko!" Nikko replied, taking her father's hand tight.
"My daughter." Sasuke explained.
"I see, I see." The Farmer replied. "Come, the problem is this way." He urged them.
"He seems nervous." Nikko whispered. "Like that time Kawauso put the towels down the toilet." She made a face. "Or when Mama caught Ren with Icha-Icha-"
"He what?" Sasuke asked, his face dark. He and Ren were going to have a talk when Ren got back from his mission. But what Nikko had observed was true. The Farmer looked spooked, as if something more than his field was bothering him. So he looked over the Wheat, checking for anything wrong. He probed with his chakra. Nothing. But now that Nikko had pointed it out, he couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong. That this below Genin level mission was about to go into Jonin level. And he didn't like that gut feeling.
Sasuke viewed the area that had been affected by what seemed like a normal insect issue, but the blackened edges of the damage was a little worrying. So he checked it over in more detail.
Nikko sniffed the wheat, it almost smelt like home, when her Mama made porridge for breakfast. She smiled and sniffed as many as she could, until she got to the diseased wheat and frowned. It smelled like Ren's bedroom the day before Sakura would get sick of it and clean it while he was out. "Is it supposed to smell like Ren's butt?" Nikko asked snapping Sasuke out of his thoughts.
"No." Sasuke replied, smirking. Really? Ren's butt? He thought. His child had no filter. He took a withered stalk and sniffed it. Yes, Nikko was right, it did smell horrible.
Nikko nodded. "I'll go get a sample from far on the other side you get one from here, Mama can check it out when she's free!" Nikko suggested rushing over to the far corner of the field where they'd entered and put a piece of Wheat stalk into a container she'd brought along.
Sasuke hadn't even had a chance to protest before Nikko had run off. She was so much like her mother-
A sudden stillness spiked Sasuke's senses. And the Farmer had gone.
As he pushed out his Chakra, Nikko screamed.
"Papa!"
"Nikko!" Sasuke roared, turning toward his daughter's cry. A cold rage covered him the likes of which he'd not felt since his teenage years. The nin who had his daughter became his target. He no longer cared about the wheat, or the Farmer. His world narrowed. Save Nikko. Kill the enemy.