considering this was originally part of the previous chapter, here it is.

Previously...

Another damn when he realized that while Sakura's out in a mission—possibly a dangerous one without him to protect her—he was left to do a housewife's chore.

vii.

While he was thankful that he didn't have to answer Sakura's awkward questions, he wanted her company. No, he wasn't missing her. It was just... her presence was like—

["We are a family of Shinobi..."]

Sasuke closed his eyes. The voices in his head were annoying as hell. It was like his head was playing host to a forum of sorts. A forum between two people, a man and a woman but sometimes, a boy and a girl. They appear in his head during the day, while dreams occupy his sleep at night. Sometimes the voices even overlap in his dreams. It was quite exhausting actually.

The dreams. He was beginning to doubt whether they were really just dreams; they seemed too real to be just dreams. Also... there was one time when he saw... his younger self, his parents.

He wondered whether should be telling all these to Sakura. After all, she was the one responsible for his psychoanalysis and she told him to tell him if anything comes up. In the end he decided against it. He didn't really want her poking around his head.

.

He fell asleep with Chichi resting atop his chest on the sofa and he couldn't deny the warmth such a small being could be so soothing and calming. Again, the thought if this was his child, would it feel this good? Or would it feel better? He didn't think there was anything better than this.

Sasuke was aware the baby wasn't his; heck, he'd never done it. Besides, Sasuke knew that the baby was undeniably his brother's, he just wanted the confirmation that Sakura seemed to have became an expert to avoid.

The identity of the mother was still questionable though. Sasuke refused to believe that simply because the baby was in Sakura's care that she was the mother. The green eyes the boy possessed were a given fact that the mother had green eyes. It didn't mean it had to be Sakura, though. Simply because she also had the same colours of eyes that she was the mother.

Yeah, a voice sneered in his head, keep telling that to yourself.

Sasuke also liked to add the fact that Sakura's figure was not like that of a woman who underwent through pregnancy, not that he was ogling her. Not to mention, he'd never seen her... breastfeed the boy like he'd seen mothers; it was always through bottles.

The young uncle looked down at the boy that was his nephew, who was still fast asleep on his chest. His older brother sacrificed his life for his, for the village... and how he was dead, leaving a son behind.

["Don't you remember what Shisui-san told us? About a Shinobi's duty to his own village?"]

Ignoring the woman's voice in his head, Sasuke decided that he would raise the young boy to be a strong Shinobi stronger than any—

"He will grow up to be a Konoha shinobi, far stronger than his father and those who came before him," a woman's voice was saying, her tone lilting teasingly.

"I will hold you onto your word," a masculine voice, quite familiar, softly uttered.

The darkness began to fade into a blur that was familiar to Sasuke; blur he came to associate with deteorating eyesight.

"I will name him after you..."

Despite the blur, he could still make out the familiar woman's figure. But though her long hair was no longer the crimson that was remarkable of her clan instead replaced with the dark ebony locks that the Uchiha clan was renowned for. A smile touched his lips when he saw that her eyes were still the green that they always were.

He couldn't believe that he was still impressed after all these years with her exceptional chakra control. To be able to perform a henge and maintain it for ten years with the little chakra she currently possessed due to the several chakra seals she placed in her own body to live as a civilian was simple remarkable.

Sometimes—no, he always hated himself for dragging her into this mess. Because of him, she could no longer return home; everyone thought her to be long dead—

"You're making that face again, 'Tachi-kun."

"That face?"

"Yes, that face when you are thinking about things you shouldn't be thinking."

"A—"

"I chose this, Itachi."

"Do you love me?"

Onyx eyes gazed unwaveringly into emerald, searching for the answer he knew he'd find in her eyes.

tbc.

apologies to people expecting a chapter where sasuke would babysit a kid; i skipped it because i want to get on the story. and thanks to all who reviewed!

note(1): i really felt guilty about demanding reviews but i was a bit depressed and needed some words of encouragement—the new fic i'm working on makes me literally cry tears.

note(2): uhm, about longer chapters. i think i can accommodate faster updates, but not longer chapters. i am terribly bad at transitions between scenes and i thought that jumping from chapter to chapter would help cover that up. btw, expect staggering updates after Christmas; worse, before Christmas even.

next chapter: the truth about the baby. or at least, the parents' identities. (dammit! this was supposed to be my xmas gift to you but ugh... well, i love this fic too much and you are guys are becoming increasingly supportive. and luckily i already finished ix. so xi. should be the new xmas update.)

[reviews are highly appreciated.]