Author's note; Thank you everyone for taking the time to review in the last chapter. Bit of an early update, just because I'm on a roll with chapters at the moment. Next chapter is still on the 24th, to keep somewhat of a schedule. Please note the warning below. Depending on how quick I write this, there may be more weekly updates. We will see how I go. Also, a kind friend of mine is doing a commission for a cover, I'll post it as soon as it's done. It looks so good so far.

Edit: Since some lovely guest reviewers cannot read the trigger warnings below, i have completely omitted the offending scenes from this story. The full version is on AO3 under the same name. I warned before and after the scenes, and i said at the start of the story to not continue if you are not comfortable. while in my opinion they are not hugely graphic, i do understand others point of view that what i can deal with may be comPletely different. i may edit this chapter to make more sense without the scene, maybe not. ill see when its not midnight lol.


Paradox
02. Parentage

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trigger warning: heavy topics in this chapter – ie. Inferring of rape. Has been lightened, but can still trigger people. Please be careful if you are not comfortable with this topic – it is not graphic in a sense, but can still cause offence. Do not bother reading ahead if this makes you uncomfortable as there will be further discussion of it in this story.

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Sakura was annoyed, beyond peeved. Her daughter was meant to be on a mission, but no - she decides today was the greatest day to be skipping. Now, she has to explain this situation to both her and the two boys. And how was she even meant to do that? She was sure that it would come out while they were looking for what they needed to get these two back, but… not now. She glared at her daughter heavily, but the girl as focusing on Sasuke. Sarada was a smart girl, of course she would piece it together - considering she would know who Naruto was. The kid wasn't Boruto, after all.

Sarada, in seconds, had slammed Sasuke against the wall with her strength, as Sasuke's own kekkei genkai rose to the surface, "You! How dare you come here in this form!" the girl pushed him closer against the wall, and Sakura heard a crack.

She ducked forward to stop her daughter from killing her father, "Sarada-chan, stop."

The young girl slumped, letting Sasuke go, without giving him a final shove, "Mama - why are they here? What is going on? Is this some sort of twisted joke?"

"Sweetheart," she said soothingly, "Please go and talk to Boruto for the moment, I need to sort out a couple of things," Sarada opened her mouth to object, "No. You're not staying. But I promise I'll tell you everything over dinner, okay? I just need a moment with Naruto and… Sasuke."

Sarada pouted her lips before deactivating her kekkei genkai, and Sasuke allowed his own to fade. 'Have I and Sakura…?' It… made sense, but why wouldn't his older self be here and supporting them both. Instead, he was out and trying to take over the world it seemed. Still, he figured that she would have been the one that would bear his child.

The girl growled before making her way out of the house, slamming the door on her way out.

Silence fell over the three.

"Whoa… is that your kid?" Naruto broke the silence, almost stupidly.

Sakura nodded, "Yep. Sarada-chan. She's… a good kid normally. I'm surprised she came home now. Unless they got dismissed easily… worst of all days to be doing this. I… would have said something," this was more towards Sasuke, who she was still not looking in the eye, "but I didn't want to overload you both with information."

"Wow! Sasuke-teme of all people has a kid, a cute one too," Naruto said, grinning. "Congrats, Sakura!"

Sasuke nearly slapped him upside the head for the comment.

So… the sharingan did get passed on too. And the girl was strong, his body could feel that. She could have crushed him if she wanted. However, the glasses? Bad eyesight? He wondered why. The Uchiha hardly ever had bad eyesight, but he supposed that they did normally keep their couplings in the clan originally to keep the sharingan as pure as possible.

Still, his eyes flickered to Sakura who was looking at her feet. Was this why she was ignoring him? Not talking to him as much? Was it because he had seemingly abandoned her and her child? That… wasn't his way. Nor was it the Uchiha way. Something had seriously gone wrong with his future self, that was for sure. The Uchiha took a heavy breath and took his attention away from her for the moment.

"You also have a rather cute kid, Naruto," Sakura chided, grinning happily at the information.

"Excuse me, what!?"

Sasuke huffed.

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Sakura rested against the cabinet behind her. "Sasuke, I need to speak to you about something."

'It's better that he knows… he needs to understand what he becomes… Maybe something can be changed in him. I hope.'

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Sasuke blinked at her, she was finally focusing on him for real. Her eyes were… hurt. A lot of hurt. Pain. It was something he was very used to. It was all he had felt when his clan had been destroyed before him, and then watching it in his head? Agony. What had harmed her this much? He supposed it was him, considering her attention was on him. But that look had faded quickly, as her attention fell onto Naruto once more.

The Uchiha nodded his head to what she had said. He needed to figure out what was going on, particularly with her. It must have been something extremely bad.

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"You liar!" Tsunade accused, pointing a manicured finger at the current Hokage who was sitting up and reading his usual orange book.

The masked shinobi grinned beneath his mask, "Hey, I said I was in a meeting. Technically, I wasn't lying."

Sure, sending his clone to a meeting probably wasn't the greatest idea, but sometimes one needs a day off. Kakashi was feeling particularly lax today, and today was a hot and sticky day. He didn't want to be in and out of meetings all day. Kakashi was just bored.

Tsunade huffed before pinching the bridge of her nose, "Well, you really need to know this one, Kakashi."

It had been a while since Tsunade had looked this serious, even with what was going on around them. It had been a moment of peace, nothing had come into the Country of Fire, which means Sasuke and his goons weren't around for the moment. Kakashi was allowed to relax every now and again, but definitely do not be mistaking his laxness for lack of attention. His eyes narrowed, and 'Kakashi the Hokage' not 'Kakashi the pervert' was in full effect.

"Explain."

The blonde crossed her arms, "Well, Uzumaki Naruto is back from the dead…" she paused, "And Uchiha Sasuke has returned."

Kakashi already had an idea of what he was going to do to Sasuke, but Naruto? Where had Naruto been all this time? When he had left at eighteen, he was due to become the next Hokage. He had wanted to bring Sasuke back, or to put him down for good. That was the last of his goals outside of being Hokage. Kakashi still remembers the happy grin that Naruto had given him, and the confident thumbs up.

Instead, he found his body where the boys had clearly fought. That was an image he would never get out of his head.

The Hokage had believed that his students would be back, and if Sasuke had to be put down… then so be it. It was better, at that point. But Kakashi now regrets highly of letting Naruto go. He should have told him to let it go, or have gone with him. Maybe, if Kakashi had gone, what's happening now wouldn't have happened. The silver-haired man sighed.

("Sensei…" she wailed, "What did I do wrong?"

"Nothing, sweetheart," he gently murmured, "You did nothing wrong, this wasn't your fault…"

Kakashi made a mental note that he would kill him the next time he saw him. Sakura didn't deserve this, she was the last person who deserved this…

His ex-student was a monster, he had left her like this… Cold and alone in the dark, clearly injured from his own rough wants.)

Her cries back then had nearly kept him up at night for a long time. It was heartbreaking. The poor girl had suffered that night. Kakashi would kill him, that was for sure. He wouldn't get any second chances, and Sakura wouldn't even be able to stop him at this point. He felt his own sharingan burn at the thought, the mangekyou manifesting below the mask. He was pissed.

Even worse when the girl found she was pregnant a month and a half later… and the bastard wasn't there. Not that he would have known or cared, he had lost himself to his own power… that was obvious. Insanity was etched into his features the last time Kakashi had seen him. He had even tried to kill Sakura. The Land of Iron was such a long time ago, but it was so clear to Kakashi. He should have ended Sasuke then.

He felt a warm hand on his shoulder, "Calm down, Kakashi. Breathe. I understand, but…"

'No, you really don't. You didn't see her. All you know is that they had met up at some point, not that Sakura was fucking raped.'

She had been ashamed to even try and tell Tsunade, her own teacher. She didn't even want Kakashi to know, but he was the only person that she trusted with this. Even Naruto at the time didn't have a clue.

Still, Kakashi took a heavy breath – albeit shaky from his violent anger. He needed to think, and see what was going on.

"You see, this isn't the Naruto and Sasuke that you would be expecting," Tsunade started, "They're not from this time."

'What? How?'

The blonde continue, "They're twelve years old… We thought it could have been a genjutsu, but no… it's something else entirely. It's actually them. They're at Sakura's now."

Frowning, Kakashi tightened his fists, "You left them alone with her? What are you thinking?"

Before vanishing, Kakashi caught the look of astonishment on the former Hokage's face. While Kakashi did respect the woman, she didn't always think these matters through. Although, he knew that deep down, that she didn't know what had occurred between Sakura and the missing-nin that plagues the world now. However, his own anger kept him from saying anything to her – that and Sakura's tearful cries to not tell anyone.

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"Naruto," Sakura said coolly, tapping her index nervously against the porcelain table, "Can you… leave for a moment…" she noticed Naruto's look of dismay of being left out – 'Trust me, Naruto… this isn't something that you'll want to hear.' "I need to speak to Sasuke-kun about something. In private."

The blond huffed irately, before marching his way up the stairs. He ducked his head down, "I won't be gone long, okay!?"

Boisterous as always, he stomped upstairs before seemingly finding himself in one the rooms upstairs.

Her emerald eyes flickered over to the second last of the Uchiha. He seemed almost nervous, as if he felt the heavy burden of what he was about to be told. Sakura didn't even know how to begin to tell Sasuke about Sarada's conception – does she tell him in detail or just say it? She lived that time nearly every night currently, the nightmares were brutal and she was afraid that Sasuke – the Sasuke of her time – would come for her. He had promised that, but never seemed to keep it.

'Sasuke keeps his promises.'

"What is it? You mentioned that you had something to tell me…" Sasuke trailed off, his dark eyes hyper focused on her green nails. They were slightly chipped, but were a brilliant colour.

She swallowed.

"It's… about how Sarada came to be," she murmured, leaning heavily into her chair now, unable to keep his gaze (not that she had been able to – she was somewhat afraid of him, even though he wasn't the Sasuke who had harmed her), "I… we, after what had transpired in the Land of Iron… after you killed Danzou… I was on my own…" she said, her voice shaky.

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'Where is she going with this?' Sasuke mused to himself, anxiety filling his chest and making it hard to breathe – was this why she was different with him? Something had scarred her, that was for sure.

Sasuke swallowed his anxiety away, "We met?"

"… Yes."

"What happened…?"

Sakura covered her eyes with her hand, hiding her expression from view. Sasuke found himself standing up to comfort her (odd), but he decidedly stayed put, just outside of his chair. Now was not the time…

"We…

"I found you… or you found me," she said softly, "I… I don't know… why you did what you did then, but…"

Sasuke's eyes flickered to red as his emotions bubbled under the surface, thoughts running through his head. He was being bashed by his own thoughts, haunted. He knew, but how could he say it. This was why she was avoiding him, even if it was only slightly. He was always used to always having her attention, but this was wrong. Why would he do such a thing?

"I… don't think you were in your right mind," she murmured, ever so slightly, "It was… You tried to not, but I… I think your own desires stopped you from… stopping. And I…" a broken sob escaped her lips, "I couldn't stop you."

He raped her. The very girl that he had always tried to protect. But… he was the monster. Not anyone else, he couldn't protect her from himself. He was too evil. That was for sure.

Sasuke barely had time to register his own thoughts, as nausea bubbled in his stomach, but he was – like before – pinned with a chokehold. Black and red met his own features. The mismatched eyes of Hatake Kakashi. The older man's other hand roared with the Raikiri, but Sakura must have gotten the other man off of him before Kakashi could land the final blow.

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"Sensei – please!"

"I found her like that! After you did that to her!" Kakashi roared, anger spilling out from years of guilt and heartache for his female student.

(He had always thought she was the most annoying out of the bunch, including Naruto. She was so weak… but he regretted never teaching her more or giving her more attention when she was younger – and even as she got older. It was always about Naruto or Sasuke. Never about Sakura.)

The copy-nin kept his distance for a moment, out of respect for Sakura – indeed – this boy was not the Sasuke that had left Sakura in the forest, pillaged and destroyed. No, but he would eventually become him. There was no way out of the Uchiha's curse – his anger and hatred finally turned him into a monster who only cared about vengeance, for something that no longer existed, and went against his brother's wishes. The very brother that Sasuke had wanted to once kill, who then became his 'reason' for wanting to take over everything and destroy the Leaf from the inside and out.

Kakashi hated the boy, regretted ever teaching him. He should have focused on Sakura or Naruto, but the boy reminded him so much of himself. His regrets were so long, that his own hatred for himself possibly outranked what he felt for Sasuke.

("Kakashi-sensei," she snivelled, wiping her eyes, "I'm pregnant."

'You just had to go further than this, Sasuke,' the older man mused stormily.

He found his arms wrapped around the younger woman as she screamed silently. He would support her as well as he could, and they would sort something out.)

The sharingan morphed into his mangekyou, and Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise, no doubt having not known of his abilities. The mangekyou was always taxing to use, but if it rid Sasuke of the world, then…

"Stop it!" Sakura growled, half-heartedly slapping her teacher, "This isn't him."

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Sasuke found himself on the floor, the burden of what he has just found out weighing heavily on his mind. The nausea in his stomach was still there, and it took him everything to not violently puke onto her clean floor.

He tried to imagine in what situation he would –

("Ne, Sasuke-kun, you did really well today, I think," she hummed softly, giving him a vibrant grin.

He didn't really say much, but he agreed. His fire jutsu was becoming stronger the more he used and experimented with different techniques. That and the chidori was a great new tool in his arsenal. He was very thankful to Kakashi for teaching him such an ability.

His dark eyes flickered onto her, who was quietly eating her ramen as Naruto was carrying on about his own achievements today.

This was… nice.)

'No… never.'

Sasuke's eyes flickered onto his old teacher. He had… aged. Wrinkles beneath his eyes, but everything else was hidden behind his mask. His hair was shorter, and his clothing was now ebony rather than the military greens he had been used to.

"Give me one reason to not kill him now, Sakura," Kakashi snarled, focusing on his student, "Why do you continue to protect him, after everything?"

Sakura rubbed her eyes, glaring at her teacher defiantly, "Because without him I wouldn't have my daughter! Don't you dare take her from me, Kakashi!" she snapped.

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(Kakashi was second to hold the little girl. He had not been happy throughout Sakura's pregnancy, and her unwillingness just to abort. But as soon as his eye made contact with the little girl's…

Well.

He was smitten. She was pure. She looked a lot like her mother, but had her father's colourings – slightly tanner skin, and dark eyes with a shaggy patch of black hair.

She was beautiful.

He would protect her. The both of them.)

Kakashi exhaled.

He had forgotten about the little girl that he had practically helped Sakura raise. It was only for his own respect of the Uchiha clan that he had taught Sarada about her sharingan and all of the jutsu that were to be learned by the Uchiha traditionally. She… was different to her father. A lot like her mother. She had her moments, but Sarada was not evil.

She was a genius as well. She picked things up quickly.

But she cared for everyone around her. She wanted to become Hokage one day. And he would help her get to her goal as well as he could. He was her mentor, her trainer, her protector… He wanted to do right by this girl, and maybe one day he would forgive himself for his own short-comings.

Sarada deserved to live.

But Sasuke… Sasuke definitely didn't.

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When Kakashi finally seemed to relax, albeit still on guard, Sakura sighed. She wiped away her remaining tears. Kakashi just wanted to do right by her, that she knew. However, Sakura adored Sarada, even if her conception was not… what she had wanted. Sarada was, on the other hand, what she wanted – what she needed. Her little girl was so pure and good.

She cared about her teammates and would throw away her life without a heartbeat. She was a new start to the Uchiha.

"Sakura, I –" Sasuke opened his mouth.

"No. Don't say it," Sakura said, "C… Can I speak to Kakashi-sensei, just for a moment?"

She watched as Sasuke nodded his head, his eyes wearily watching his once-teacher. He was intimidated by the current Hokage, that was for sure. Sakura couldn't blame him.

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Sasuke made his way up the stairs, feeling heavy and disgusting. He could just end his own life now and everything wouldn't be so fucked, but he still had to kill his brother. He wasn't sure if that was selfish or not, but Itachi needed to be put down for his crimes – but so should Sasuke? He didn't know how to feel – how he should feel. It irked him, a lot.

"Sasuke-teme," Naruto whined, opening the door when he heard approaching footsteps, "You guys took ages! And what was the racket with downstairs—"

The dark Uchiha leaned against the wall before sliding down, dragging up his knees and covering his head. Naruto seemed to be surprised, but offended that Sasuke didn't answer him and kicked him softly against his foot. Sasuke didn't really make any motions to answer at all. He needed to think about this – maybe take his frustrations out on a tree, or something.

Was it his right to even tell Naruto?

He took a heavy breath before looking up at the blond ninja, who seemed to now have a bit of a worried expression on his face. The younger boy knelt down to eye level.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked softly, his usual obnoxious voice almost as quiet as a mouse, "Normally, you would have snarled something rude at me for kicking you – even gently."

'I… need to talk to someone about this… and Naruto probably is the only one here.'

His mouth felt dry, "I… I raped Sakura."

It was the first time he had said it audibly, without it being spelled out or implied or just straight up said to him by Kakashi.

Naruto's eyes went wide before he sputtered out, "N—No way! You wouldn't do that to Sakura-chan!"

"But I did."

He paused.

"… Are you sure? Did she tell you this?"

Sasuke nodded.

The Uzumaki let out a shaky breath, "I… You wouldn't do that now?"

Giving him a look, Naruto nodded. The younger boy stood up straight and seemed to think to himself for a moment. Sasuke watched silently as Naruto's face registered a few different expressions.

"I… Then stay that way, yeah? We need to change things… this can't be how things work out, right?"

Sasuke let out, "I agree. We… need to do something about this."

Naruto was most likely dead, and Sasuke had hurt Sakura in the worst way he possibly could. The Uchiha needed to change things, badly. He was sure that he would always hate himself deep down for having even gone so low. Had Sasuke killed Naruto for power? Why had he harmed Sakura in such a way…?

("You didn't seem like you were in the right mind…")

Was that really an excuse though?