Chapter 2: The Runaway
"You know who she is right?" a female voice asked in a hushed tone, incredulously.
"You shouldn't concern yourself with this." A rough voice grumbled.
"May be if you two stopped bickering, we could ask her what she is doing here." A man's voice, much more friendly than the last one said.
"I said don't concern yourself with this. We are not a team anymore. We just happen to run into each other. You can be on your way." The unfriendly voice said again, this time sounding a little angry.
"It's likely Sakura is unaware of this." The female voice added. Hearing her mother's name is what made Sarada want to open her eyes. The only information she could gain from her senses was that she was rather chilly. More so than she is used to. Sarada slowly opened her onyx eyes but her vision was still blurry. She blinked a couple of times to clear her vision and she was greeted with a poorly lit room. She didn't make any sudden movements, only moving her eyes around her.
The room was lit with a few candles, one candle on the bedside table to her left, another on a table across from her and the last right beside what appeared to be a wooden door. Before Sarada could gain any more information about where she actually is, the door beside the candle flew open making Sarada jump. She immediately sat up on her bed staring at a single cold dark eye. They stared at each other for a moment before Sarada recognized who this man with one lone dark eye is.
She was speechless for what seemed like an eternity without knowing what to say or do.
"You…you are…" but she was quickly cut off.
"What are you doing out of the village?" he asked, his rough voice clearly stating his authority. Sarada still didn't know what to say or how to respond. Having never met this person before and having always wanted to meet him, she struggled to find the right words to speak for the first time…to her father.
"You-you are my…father." She mumbled almost afraid to say the words too loudly. The man's expression didn't change at all having heard her call him her father. For a moment she wondered if she had mistaken him for her father.
"Sasuke, you can't talk to a child like that." The female voice from before said as she entered the room from behind her father. "Hey. My name is Karin. Does you mom know you are out of the village?" she asked as she came to sit down on the bed beside Sarada.
Sarada recognized her instantly as the woman from the picture at home. Her real mother. Sarada's eyes widened at seeing her and her heart almost beat right out of her chest as the woman with wild red hair and eyes smiled down at her.
"You alright beautiful? You look like you've seen a ghost." Sarada's eyes turned from the face of the woman to the voice coming from behind her. 'It was the playful and friendly voice from before' she thought before she came face to face with a man with white hair and upon looking at his smile she came across his unusually shaped teeth.
She immediately wanted her mother.
7 year ago
"Mama, mama!" Sarada screamed for her mother at the top of her lungs as she hugged her pink blanket to her neck. Sarada saw her mother running into the room with fear filled green eyes. Upon noticing the tears pouring down her face, her mother ran to her side.
"What's wrong sweet heart?" she asked quickly, sitting down on the bed beside her.
"Mama, there-there is a…Mon…monster in the closet." Sarada said through sobs, her small heart beating so fast and so loudly it almost hurt. Her mother's vibrant green eyes relaxed for a moment before looking at her lovingly.
"Would it make you feel better if I checked?" her mother asked gently as she tucked a stray strand of dark hair behind Sarada's ear. Sarada panicked before grabbing her mother's hand.
"No mama, they'll get you." She said as she held on to her hand tighter. Her mother smiled at her.
"I won't let them get to you. I will hit them and beat them up. You know how strong I am right?" she asked with raised eyebrows. Sarada knew how strong her mother is. All of the village and even people outside of the village knew how strong her mother is. There is nothing for her to worry about because her mama will never let anything happen to her and nothing can ever hurt her mama either. Sarada nodded her head once after which her mother stood up from the bed.
Sarada's heart beat faster and louder than before as her mama approached the closet. She flew open the closet door in an instant startling Sarada for a moment before turning around to face her.
"See? No monsters." She said and Sarada peered inside the closet from behind her mother and saw nothing but her clothes. She stared at the closet harder looking at every corner making sure nothing was in it.
She then turned to her mother still a little uncertain. Her mother seems to notice her uneasiness and walked towards her.
"How about we have a sleepover in my room today?" her mother suggested happily. Sarada immediately broke into a smile, ecstatic about the idea. Her mother picked her up in her arms in the next moment and walked out of Sarada's room.
She always loved her mother's room. It was so big with all kinds of different stuff. One of which were a picture of her parents and the seventh with uncle Kakashi when they were young. Another is another picture with her father on it when he was a little older. She liked to look at them because she felt closer to him that way.
Sarada knew that she could always count on her mother no matter what it was. She knew she doesn't have to be afraid of anything because her mother can beat up anything. Her mother was her idol.
Present
Sarada's heart ached at the memory. Her mother must be worried sick.
"How…how long was I out?" she asked facing Karin. She looked taken aback for a moment before she answered.
"Um…just two hours." She replied. For sure her mother is frantic by now. She felt guilty for doing this to her mother but she had no other choice. "How about some food?" the woman asked, making Sarada lock gazes with her. She nodded her head in reply sensing her stomach's lack of food.
Karin took her hand and walked out of the room as the man who is supposed to be her father sighed. But him and the man with the sharp teeth followed them through the dark hallways and entered the kitchen which looked much more furnished than the bedroom had looked.
The kitchen looked disturbingly normal. There was a fridge-lord knows where they get electricity from- and a stove and a sink on the marble counter and a dining table in the middle with six chairs. Karin told her to sit on one of the chairs and her father took the chair right across from her and the man with the sharp teeth took the one beside her.
She stared at her father. She had never before seen him with this much clarity. Her memories of her father were always so hazy and with his silence she didn't know whether she liked him or not.
"Do you want some coffee?" Karin asked her but Sarada was too busy as she stared at her father to look at her. Her father stared back at her as if in boredom but she didn't look away because she finally got to meet her father.
"Mama doesn't let me drink coffee." She automatically replied having remembered her mother telling her not to drink any. As soon as she said that, her father's dark eyes flickered for quarter of a second. If she hadn't been intently looking at him, she would've missed it.
"Okay then. We just stocked up. You can have milk or orange juice or tea if you prefer." Karin listed. "We don't have anything fancy cooked, but I can make you some rice porridge." Karin said and Sarada nodded her head. "Suigetsu, you better eat it this time. It's good for you. You too Sasuke." Sarada heard Karin say from somewhere behind her.
"Tch, annoying woman." Sarada heard Suigetsu mumble under his breath. "So princess, what are you doing out here all by yourself?" Suigetsu asked turning to face her. Sarada broke eye contact with her father and looked down at the table.
"Sarada." Her eyes snapped up at the sound of her father's voice, calling out her name for the first time ever to her recollection. "Does- your mother know you ran away from the village?" her father asked, his voice faltering only for a moment. She was compelled to answer at the sound of her father's stern voice.
"I-I left her a note." She answered timidly. She hesitated for a moment before continuing. "I know." She said looking up at her father's eyes. "I know she's not my real mother." She saw the surprise cross her father's eyes, his lone eye widening slightly. The sounds from behind her had completely stopped and the smile from Suigetsu's face had disappeared. "I found my birth certificate. It says my birth mother is Karin." She finished and immediately she heard a crash from behind her. Sarada didn't have to look back to know that Karin had dropped the pot on the floor.