Chapter 2: Father

"Otou-san! Hurry up, I'm late!" Hisashi bellowed from the kitchen downstairs.

"Just a moment, kid!" Sai replied as he emerged from his room and down to where his daughter was. "You know how Kakashi is, never on time."

"Then why does he have to bring me to school today? Why can't you?" she stomped her seven-year-old left foot, annoyed that she only have fifteen minutes before the first bell.

"Because, your ji-chan only has today as his time-off from work," Sai explained, while gesturing for her to come so he could comb her hair.

"Yeah, right! He only likes to bring me along so he can use me get girls," she scoffed. "And, 'tou-san, I want my hair braided."

"The Hokage doesn't need any tricks to get a girl," he argued. Sai couldn't help but notice the striking resemblance of the pink tinge of his daughter's hair with the only woman he had deeply cared about.

Sometimes, when he looked at Hisashi and saw her blossomed tresses and her charcoal eyes, he couldn't help but believe she was really his, and it was from him that she got those eyes.

If she was ready then, could things have worked out fine? With him agreeing to be the father of her child, maybe today they could have been a perfect family.

In some of the books he read, it described his feelings as unrequited love. He did realize he had special feelings for her, and even proposed to her seven years ago. During those times when she was distraught and depressed enough to cut the ties with the unborn child inside her with her very own hands, he had asked her to keep it. That he'd be willing to be the father, and to support them both.

In the end, she did keep the baby, but she left it to Sai's hands for him to care alone. He was hoping he could raise the child with her. But he accepted nonetheless. It was a decision he alone had made, with no books to guide him.

But some books described his actions as martyrdom. For he knew he was nowhere near the space in her heart occupied only by Sasuke. And he knew, should Sasuke have done what Sai did, Sakura would wholeheartedly agree, even forgetting that the child she had borne was a product of her rape.

In that sense, Sai mused, she was a martyr just as he was. And that saddened him more, for nowhere – not even in those literature he'd read – that martyrs had a chance to happiness.

For martyrs die, with their faith, with their love. And through time, sonnets and songs would continue to tell their sad, sad stories. Yet could never speak of a happy ending.

"Oi, 'tou-san," Hisashi nudged. "You're so quiet, are you thinking of her again?"

"Nope. I'm concentrating on your braid."

"Liar! My hair reminds you of 'kaa-san!" she sadly whispered.

"Ohayou, Hisa-chaaan!" Their awkward moment was interrupted by Naruto's sudden entrance, almost whacking their backdoor down.

"Otou-san!" she beamed, moving away from Sai to jump at Naruto. "Now you can take me to school. Hokage-sama's not here yet."

"Typical Kakashi, huh?" And before Naruto could put Hisashi down to the floor, a loud poof of cloud appeared in front of them, revealing Kakashi in his Hokage robe through the silhouette.

"Yo! Gomen ne, Hisa-chan, there was –"

"You're late!" Naruto and Hisashi exclaimed.

"Now, aren't you two nostalgic," smiled Kakashi as he took the little girl in his arms and disappeared in yet another cloud.

"Ittekimasu, Otou-san, Naruto-tousan!"

"Damn that Kakashi, what a show-off," puckered Naruto.

"Uh, Naruto, you might need to stop her from calling you otou-san."

"Eh? Why? I'm her father, too, bastard!"

Sai shrugged. "Well, Ino said it's giving off the wrong idea."

"What wrong idea?"

"That we're gay partners," he answered bluntly.

"Gay what? Who the hell would think that just because Hisa-chan has two fathers, her fathers are gay?"

"I don't know, it really doesn't bother me, but Ino keeps asking if we are."

"Hey, bastard," pointed Naruto, "I'm not gay, and you're not, too. Or are you?"

"Maybe not. I don't want to kiss you."

"What the hell, Sai!"

"Ok, if it doesn't bother you that people –"

"Baka. Only Ino thinks like that."

"–would take us as gay couples, then it's fine if Hisa-chan has two fathers."

"Yeah. You only get to be the official dad because you look more like an Uchiha!" Naruto said, bitterly so. He was waiting for a retort, though it seemed like Sai wasn't up for it. The latter was just staring at the comb in his hand.

All talks of histories and fatherhood were something that almost always came up all of a sudden. And yet it never failed to make them cringe in pain every time.

To Naruto, Haruno Hisashi was a seven-year-old girl beaming with enthusiasm. Her youthful glow was reminiscent of her mother. To Naruto, she was an epitome of new beginnings from sorrow. A happy ending to a long wait.

Yet, despite that cheery smile he couldn't help but have just from watching Hisashi jump around and her pink, pink hair bouncing back with her, Naruto couldn't help but see tragedy in her glassy eyes.

Those midnight eyes contrasted her tamed hair in a bittersweet way. Those eyes were proof of Haruno Sakura's pain and sadness, a product of Uchiha Madara's molestations.

Still, Naruto couldn't help but wonder how this little child could give so much joy to him, to Sai, to Kakashi, his friends, Sakura's friends, despite all those history that dwelt in this little child's being?

Naruto walked towards that misplaced chair in the middle of the kitchen, to where Sai was sitting.

"Oi," he almost whispered as he patted the other male's shoulder. "You did a good job raising her."

Sai looked up, recognizing the sincerity in his friend's eyes. Through the years of human exposure via Naruto and Sakura and the rest of his newfound friends in Konoha, Sai was able to understand feelings and emotions.

He had learned to develop a few of his own, and felt pain and rejection as well as happiness and fulfillment.

And with that, he was no longer that clueless socially incapacitated individual – or at least most of the time.

"You helped me raise her, Naruto. You have been a father to as I am."

"Yeah," the jinchuuriki smiled. "And whatever happens, let's just be there for her. I know you're not as prepared as I am when she'd learn the truth."

"Yes. But what I am hoping for the most is for Sakura to let go of all that hate. When every thing's all laid out in the open, it would be her mother she'd need the most."

Naruto agreed to his words, but he could only sigh. "Hey, Sai, would you hate me if I tell you this?"

"Tell me what?" asked Sai, skeptic what the blonde had to say.

At first, Naruto hesitated. But what the hell. He'd been keeping it a secret for too long. If Sai would find out about it, in the wrong way, it might cause trust issues between them. After all, he had to know, too.

"You know Ino's suggestion to tell Hisa-chan that her real dad would be Sasuke once she gets the Sharingan?" Sai nodded, not sure if he understood what Naruto's trying to point out. "Well, you also know that Sasuke's already pronounced dead, but they never found his body, right?"

"Yes, of course I know that, Naruto. I was part of the search team."

"W-well, I don't believe he's dead –"

"I know that part, too," Sai interrupted, prompting him to stop stalling.

"– and I've been searching for him."

"What? Why? Is that the reason you've been pretending to be away for missions for months? You're just looking for him?"

"I'm not pretending, I really do have missions, jackass!"`

"So, Kakashi knows about this, too."

"I, uh, yeah, he does."

"Did you find him then?"

"No, not yet."

That's because he's dead, Sai wanted to say. Instead, he replied, "Now, how's that going to help Hisashi?"

"Um, I was thinking… if I found Sasuke, and he get together with Sakura-chan, maybe there's a chance that Sakura-chan could accept Hisa-chan, then they could be one happy family."

Sai didn't like this idea at all. "And how sure are you that Sasuke would even accept Hisashi? Madara raped Sakura in front of him. She is as much a painful memory as to Sakura. Besides, what would Sasuke think of her? His great-great- grandmother he will have to father?"

"Hey, you know Sasuke had grown to love Sakura. He would accept her!"

"Wake up, Naruto. If Sasuke were alive, he would have looked for Sakura the moment his very important revenge was completed," Sai spat out; he was standing now, towering over Naruto. "That was the only thing Sakura had asked of him. And, we both know that for the seven years we've been trying, Sakura never grew a soft heart to her daughter. What makes you think she would magically do so just because there's Sasuke?"

"I don't know for sure, but I have my faith in those two!"

"Yes, apparently, you do have a lot of faith in Sasuke that you couldn't let him go. You're doing this for yourself, Naruto. You're not doing it for the kid, or for anyone."

Naruto couldn't help but agree. But he couldn't help it, and he could only blame his inability to accept Sasuke's death and Sakura's departure.

"Just, let's all move on, Naruto. You've already chased Sasuke long enough in the past. You can't waste more years doing it again. And let's face it. Sasuke alive wouldn't do Hisa-chan any good. Being vengeful as he was, he might even kill her!"

"You still believe that, don't you?"

"Better that, than hope he's alive."

"Psh. I'm out of here," he muttered, walking past Sai and out the door.

Deep down, Sai knew he was being selfish, too, himself. He didn't want Sasuke to be alive. Telling Hisashi he's not her real father's painful enough. Having her supposed father to be alive would make her want to know him more.

And, once again, Sai felt awfully inferior to Sasuke – always being in second place next to him.

A/N: Thank you all for the renewed support. ^_^

~ Enjoy and review! :3