A/N: Whipped this up instead of doing homeeeworrkkk hahaaa I've never been through a corn maze bc tbh I'd get scared HAHA but I did carve a pumpkin this year so that was fun :P I feel like this is a very American thing but didn't want to make it modern au set in the US or something bc...ninja stuff LOL
"Sasuke-kun, Halloween already passed. Why are we going to the pumpkin patch now?" Sakura asked skeptically as she helped their daughter zip up her coat. "No one will be there," she added.
"That's exactly the point," he said breezily as they left the house and started walking to Konoha's only pumpkin patch.
It was usually a civilian thing — Sakura could just pick up a pumpkin at the market if she was feeling festive — so she was confused as to why her husband insisted on going at all. He also mentioned the corn maze, which was even more of a civilian activity than picking out a pumpkin.
But the idea excited Sarada, so she shrugged and made sure everyone was bundled up before leaving. Sarada held her parents' hands all the way there, chattering about how she had never been to a pumpkin patch and that she hoped there would be more candy. They never bothered taking her before because they figured she was too young to appreciate it, but hopefully the sea of orange would inspire some kind of reaction.
Just as Sakura predicted, the pumpkin patch was almost entirely empty. But Sasuke wasn't sure why she still thought that was a bad thing.
He bent down to talk to their daughter, "Sarada, go sit on that pile. Papa wants to take a picture of you."
"Okay!" she agreed easily, letting go of her parents' hands and skipping in the direction Sasuke nodded to. Sakura wanted to roll her eyes. Try as he might to deny it, her husband was so sappy when it came to their daughter.
"You'll thank me when she gets taller than you," he commented, sensing her huff.
Sakura quickly joined the winning team when Sarada got herself situated atop a pile of pumpkins, her dark hair and dark clothing standing out. She looked rather pleased with herself as she beamed at Sasuke, "Like this?"
He nodded and pulled out their camera to start snapping pictures. "Oh my," Sakura whispered in awe, "she's just so small." The scene really made for an adorable picture. As much as they bickered about to what degree they should spoil Sarada, it was moments like this where she couldn't help but want to just hand over the entire world.
She clutched Sasuke's lone arm, "I just can't take it."
He smiled to himself. He knew that tone of voice, the one that meant she was about to start fawning. "Go. I'll take some of the two of you."
Sakura jogged over, calling out in a sing-song voice, "Mama's coming for you!"
Sarada hopped off her perch so her mother could pick her up and swing her around. It had only been a moment since her daughter left her side, but she couldn't resist showering her in affection. Cutest. kid. ever.
"Come on, let's pick one to hold in the picture. Do you want the small one?" Sakura pointed to a petite pumpkin with a curly stem.
"No!" Sarada objected through a fit of giggles, "I want the big one!" Her chubby hand gestured towards a very heavy looking one that dwarfed Sakura's suggestion. Sasuke looked on, amused, as Sakura fought a brief internal battle then used her chakra enhanced strength to hold most of the pumpkin's weight in one hand, and prop up Sarada in the other.
It made for quite the picture.
After Sarada grew weary of the photoshoot, they let her wander around to ooh and aah at the other varieties. She scrunched up her button nose at the sight of gourds covered in warts and furrowed her brows when she came across white or green pumpkins. She knocked on a few and was surprised by the sound they made.
As they reached the end of the patch, Sasuke proposed going through the corn maze. He wasn't ready to return home when the family was having such a good time. And as much as it pained him to think about, Sarada was nearing academy age and would face far greater trials than a simple corn maze.
When Sarada cheered yes! she wanted to go in, Sakura just figured why not? and got ready to lead her through.
But Sasuke stopped them before entering, "Sarada, do you want to go in on your own?" They were so used to guiding her through everything, he felt she needed to gain a sense of independence before heading off to school. It seemed like a decent proposal at the time. It shouldn't be too hard if civilians frequented the maze.
Sarada eagerly nodded, wanting to prove that she was a Big Girl. She was going to be a super strong shinobi, the strongest ever, after all. She could do it.
The entrance immediately split off into three paths, so the family agreed to all try finding their way through separately.
Just to give their daughter an even greater incentive, Sakura tapped her shoulder, "Hey, how about whoever finishes first gets an extra piece of candy?" Sarada had recently joined Sakura on Team Sweet Tooth.
That did the trick of making her even more excited, so she zoomed off before her parents could even finish saying "Go!"
Sakura shook her head at the little girl. "Good luck," she said with a teasing smile to Sasuke.
"I'll be waiting for you at the end," he said loftily, filled with confidence. It was just a corn maze.
Sarada's burst of speed at the beginning quickly faded as she took in the towering stalks of corn surrounding her on all sides. They had to be even taller than Papa! She reached out and moved one to the side, but noticed that beyond the first layer, the maze walls were filled with more and more corn. The only way out was through an honest path.
A few clouds started to roll in, not unusual for that time of the year, but it only darkened the path before her and she couldn't help but start to feel a little frightened. She picked up the pace, looking for a way out so she could fetch her candy and reunite with her parents. Said parents were leisurely wandering through the maze, thinking that they would allow Sarada plenty of time to finish in first.
She'd been having fun before, but started growing tired after walking in what felt like circles. Her little legs could only go so far. Panic began creeping in as the corn swayed ominously in the chilly breeze and there was no clear path in sight. She kept hitting dead ends and then didn't remember where she had already been.
Her heart rate started beating faster and she felt her eyes sting, but she refused to let the tears fall. She was a big girl! She was the daughter of Sasuke and Sakura Uchiha, she was going to be the top student at the academy soon. She couldn't give up yet. But her resolve warred with her frustration and she just wanted to kick at the stupid corn by now.
In her desperation, she picked paths to try at random without even considering if she was backtracking. She eventually managed to reach a big clearing, which she definitely did not see before, after a considerable amount of running around. Relief flooded her system and she sprinted forward with all her might in the direction she hoped would lead to the exit.
She made her way down the long path and saw there was a left turn at the end. That must be the exit! She picked up the pace, huffing and puffing now, and made the turn without slowing down-
And then she let out a piercing scream as a large scarecrow loomed in front of her, marking yet another dead end. The scream was followed by fat tears racing down her cheeks and "Mama! Papa!" She no longer cared about looking strong, she was scared. She stumbled back to the clearing, wanting to get away from the big, ugly scarecrow.
At the same moment, her parents' heads jerked up from opposite sides of the maze as they heard her cry out. "Sarada!"
As usual, Sasuke was faster. He flash stepped to his daughter in an instant and found her crying in the clearing. What she thought was close to the end was actually the heart of the maze.
He was slightly relieved to find her alone and seemingly unharmed. His biggest fear was that someone would take her or her eyes, like what happened to the Hyuuga long ago.
He scooped her up and held her close, feeling her chest shudder as she sobbed into his neck. Sakura was there a moment later and ran to rub a soothing hand on their daughter's back.
"Sweetheart," she cautioned quietly, "what happened? Were you lost?"
She let go of her tight grip on Sasuke's collar to point in the direction of the unfortunate path and hiccuped, "Scarecrow."
I will burn this place to the ground, Sasuke thought to himself.
Sarada continued, gathering her breath now that she was in the comfort of her parents, "I-I couldn't find you. Or the way out. I just got scared…"
Sakura met Sasuke's eyes, both reflecting guilt. "It's my fault, I'm sorry," Sakura said immediately. She shouldn't have pushed her to rush through with the promise of candy. Sarada was a smart girl, if she took her time she would have noticed the subtle markers placed to guide you through.
"No, it's my fault," Sasuke said firmly. He was the one who suggested splitting up in the first place. He could admit that he overestimated their daughter. It was completely fine that she was unable to finish on her own — there was no need to test her when she should just be able to play.
Really, she was still just a baby.
He placed a kiss to his daughter's sweaty hair, "Does Mama need to heal you?" Her knees didn't look scraped from a fall or anything like that, but he wanted to make sure.
She rubbed her eyes, sniffling, "No, I'm not hurt."
Sakura smiled encouragingly at her, "I'm so glad you're okay now. We've got you. Will you let us carry you out of here?" Sarada had been wavering in between phases of clingy and "I'm a big girl, I can walk myself!" so Sakura just wanted to let her daughter do what was comfortable.
After she nodded meekly, the family quickly leaped out of the maze. "I think it's time to go home," Sasuke said quietly. Sarada could probably use a nap.
"Wait!" Sarada stopped them. She wiped away the residual tears and asked shyly, "Can I...Can I still get candy?"
Sakura's heart swelled and she couldn't help but squish her precious daughter's cheeks between her hands. "Oh, you cutie. You can have candy when we get home. You can even get a candy apple if you want!"
Sasuke didn't even argue as he carried her back to the house. A candy apple was still considered fruit, right?
A/N: is there a clear consensus as to when kids enter the academy? I didn't give Sarada an exact age bc I wanted her to be babie but also for ssk to have that overestimated moment
Anyway sorry for my lack of activity it will be busy over here for a while longer, but here's to hoping the US elections turn out decently