Holy cow people! Thanks for all your reviews, favs, alerts, as well as all the communities that added this fic to their archive! Yay! *Author does joyous happy dance*

Well, I forgot to tell y'all something. There is a playlist for this fic that is available to stream for free on grooveshark. The link is http:/ /grooveshark. com/playlist/Song+Of+Aether/55716672

You can take out all those spaces in the link above or find the link in my profile:)

The playlist is also called "Song of Aether"

Anyway, I've decided to update two chapters in one this week, for two reasons. One: it will straighten out my numbering for all the chapters, and thus save me many headaches. This always happens when I start with a prologue.

And two, because I want to get this story rolling and gosh darn it, y'all deserve two chapters today!

Special, super awesome thanks to my beta dazynl8, for she is a jolly good beta:)

Chapter Two: Conversations

She said to me, "Sure as the wheeling of the stars

Death is the final song ringing on a poor man's guitar

Sure as the coming of winter and spring

Is the song of a sad life we all must sing."

~The Second Book Of The Songs Of Akash, Verse II

It was a blessedly quiet morning. Yuki was off with her new team doing, to quote the preteen, 'irksome missions'. Saki was learning the henge-no-jutsu in class; she had rolled her eyes at breakfast this morning and had asked Sasuke in an exasperated tone if she could skip school that day, since she already knew the jutsu to perfection (his answer, of course, was no). Meanwhile, Takeo was playing with his building blocks in the corner of the living-room in content silence. Sasuke leaned against the wall and used his chakra to observe his son playing, and not for the first time he offered a silent prayer of thanks for his overly developed sensory capabilities.

After he lost his sight, Naruto tirelessly trained with Sasuke so that the returned rogue ninja could "see" with the aid of chakra. He supposed, in the end, he also had Karin to thank for this ability. Originally it was by watching her jutsu, with his now defunct sharingan, that he was able to master secondary sight through gathering chakra impressions. It had been difficult to retrain himself to rely on chakra perception, rather than his accustomed ocular acuity, but in the end the results were worth it. He smiled at his mind's impression of his son, thinking, Some day, you will carry on the Uchiha line and name, little one. Sasuke continued contemplating the peaceful domestic atmosphere for a moment, then gently pushed himself upright and took his guitar off the stand.

The instrument had been well loved: Sasuke had replaced the worn frets twice, carved a new bridge after Saki, as a toddler, destroyed it with a blunt object, and had replaced all the tuning pegs after Takeo decided they were his new favorite teething chewy not too long ago. Sasuke still wasn't sure why the metal pegs had been attractive to Takeo in the first place— after all, if Sasuke had been teething, he would have much preferred a couch cushion or something similarly squishy— but then again, he had long ago resigned himself to the fact that all his children were, in his opinion, freaks of nature.

The blue guitar brought back a lot of memories. After all, it had originally been a gift from Sakura just after he had returned to Konoha and had been placed in solitary confinement. Looking back, playing the instrument had been one of the only things standing between himself and the ocean of madness lapping at the borders of his brain. With Naruto and Sakura's encouragement, he transferred his vast knowledge of sound jutsu— originally gleaned from his service under Orochimaru— to playing music just for the sake of sound itself, sans any jutsu or killing intent. And ultimately, it was music that had brought Sasuke and Sakura together in the end; but that is a story for another time and place.

He sat down on the couch with a sigh and plucked a few chords; Takeo looked up from his place on the floor and clapped his hands. "Mu-seek! Mu-seek!" Sasuke smiled broadly and played a happy dancing tune from one of the villages along the southwestern boarder. Takeo began to rock back and forth, clapping in time to the music. This one's got perfect rhythm...good. Sasuke's breath slowed and he began to put a little bit of himself into the song:

Sunlight streaming in through an open window, dancing through the glittering dust motes, twining its beams effervescently over a silver bowl filled with lemons. The light lent the fruit an almost heavenly halo, and the warmth filled the room with the scent of citrus. There was a warm breeze, and the red curtains hanging over the windows breathed, swelling like velvet sails. A child, long hair streaming out behind, hid in the fluttering folds, relishing the feel of the soft fabric against their cheek. Peace, as tangible as the aroma of lemons, filled the four walls along with the sunlight; it was an invisible yet felt presence, like the sound of a large, brass wind-chime singing slowly on the wind-

All at once, there was a knock at the door, startling Sasuke out of his melodic reverie. I must be getting soft, just like Saki said. I should have sensed someone coming long before they knocked. Takeo frowned at the sudden end to the music and petulantly stuck a block in his mouth. Sasuke rose, reverently laid the guitar back on the stand, and stooped briefly to kiss his son on his soft head before making his way to the door.

"Ah, Hayato, what a surprise. What brings you here?"

Hayato made a face. "I came back to the village a few days ago, but the academy here is in the middle of a lesson I already learned in Sunagakure, which is a drag, so dad said I had to practice my flute playing with you, Sasuke-san."

"Ah, that was wise of Shikamaru. Have you been practicing?"

Hayato scrunched up his face again and shyly toed the floor. "Um... a little?"

"Hn." Sasuke would take that as a no. "Come on in then."

Hayato took off his shoes and shuffled into the living room. "Hey, Takeo." The dour looking boy waved at the babe.

Takeo smiled widely and stuttered, "Hi-to! Hi-to!"

"Hey, he knows my name!" Hayato genuinely grinned at that.

"Hn. I think you gave him candy or something last time you were here. Ok, let's start with a basic flute—"

Sasuke stopped, as Hayato was completely ignoring him and fishing in his pockets for more candy to give to Takeo. "Oh look, here, I've got a mint. Can I give it to Takeo, Sasuke-san?"

"Mmmm." Hayato wasted another five minutes making a ritual of giving Takeo the treat; Takeo made such adorable happy noises though that Sasuke didn't mind. Anything that involved making his son happy was alright by him, even if that happiness came via the forbidden refined sugar that Sakura liked to deprive her children of. Well then, it's a good thing Sakura isn't here to see this...

Usually Sasuke liked to schedule the times he would give lessons, but Hayato went between Konoha and Suna so often, he let the troll have an open invite. Of course, the poor kid was often forced to come over— Sasuke suspected it was because his parents enjoyed their 'alone time'— but Sasuke knew that deep down Hayato enjoyed the lessons. At least, that's what Sasuke liked to tell himself.

It had been during Sasuke and Sakura's eighth year of marriage, when Yuki and Saki started up at the academy and Sasuke was dead bored. That's when Naruto had one of his 'brilliant ideas'.

"Sasuke-kun, we've got to put you back to work!"

Sasuke sat across from the Hokage in his office, moodily sipping his tea. "If Sakura would just let me have another baby-"

Naruto waved his hands, "Listen, I know you love being a house hubby and all, but you also happen to be one of Konoha's best ninja-"

Sasuke interrupted, "I'm done with being a ninja. The only time I'm ever going to do-"

"I know, I know, you've said it a million times." Naruto rolled his eyes, and in his best Uchiha Sasuke impression muttered, "'Naruto, the only time I'm ever going to do ninjutsu or taijutsu again is when I'm sparing with my children.' Can we stop interrupting each other now?"

Sasuke crossed his arms. "When you have something intelligent to say, I'll stop interrupting."

"Teme. What I was going to say was that not only are you one of Konoha's best ninja, but you are an extremely talented musician. I was thinking-"

"That's dangerous, thinking. I hear it can lead to your head exploding."

"Teme!"

"Sorry, I couldn't resist. Finish your thought," Sasuke replied with a smirk.

"Gah! What I was trying to say! Wouldn't it be great if we could make Konoha a center for the arts! I mean, I've already got the ninja who retired after the last war putting their ninjutsu to peaceful uses, like farming, construction, even textile production. Did you know that Yamato can use the wood jutsu to make the most amazing fabrics by-"

"Dobe. Cut to the chase."

Naruto grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, heh, heh. Anyway, I was thinking you could start giving music lessons. To the kids in the village, ninja and civilians- we've got plenty of money in the treasury, I could start a fund to encourage kids to learn music! I just think that would be the coolest idea!" Naruto was practically bouncing up and down in his chair.

Sasuke rubbed his chin. "Well...yeah. It's actually not a bad idea." Especially since Sakura had just been complaining that with two kids, they were a bit short on funds, and if Sasuke wanted to have more babies (Yes! Yes!) then they would have to figure out a way to earn more money...

Naruto grinned, "See! Then, Konoha can be famous for something beautiful, like music, and not just for military strength! YOSH!" In his excitement, the blond sprang out of his chair and began to pace frenetically, pontificating wildly with his arms. Sasuke shook his head at the overly-dramatic dobe as Naruto continued, "I think I'm going to make music a required class at the academy too, hell, if all we ever did was learn how to kill people with our bare hands, what kind of people would that make us? I think music is the key to bringing-"

"Naruto. I'll do it. Spare me the lecture."

"Oi! Teme! I was just getting worked up about it! You always ruin my good speeches." Naruto crossed his arms and scrunched up his face in a pout.

"Hn." Sasuke grinned at that.

"Um...Sasuke-san?"

"Oh, sorry Hayato. Must have zoned out there. Ok, why don't you show me what you've been practicing with your flute." Sasuke shook his head to bring himself back to present time. I really must be getting soft. All this peacetime and domesticity has blunted my brain functions.

Hayato began playing and Sasuke winced at the sour notes that followed. It was going to be a long afternoon after all.

After a grueling hour of teaching Hayato, who obviously never practiced his damn instrument at home, there was a knock at the door.

"Wait here Hayato, I'll let your dad in." Sasuke quickly made his way to the door, cracked it open, and whispered, "Thank Kami you're here."

Shikamaru grinned. "That bad, huh?"

"Worse than bad. Awful. Make your kid practice."

"But it hurts my ears," the lazy genius dryly retorted.

"Cry me a river, then build me a bridge and get over it."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "I'd actually like to talk to you before I collect Hayato."

Sasuke nodded; he had expected as much. "Hayato, will you keep an eye on Takeo for me? I've got to talk to your dad about your progress."

"Ok! Sure! Hey, Takeo, let's build a really high tower with your blocks, ok?"

Takeo started clapping happily. Sasuke smiled and exited the front door, closing it gently behind him; but his smile rapidly dissolved into a grimace as the Uchiha turned to face Shikamaru. There was a moment of silence between the two men, and Sasuke had the distinct feeling of his stomach knotting up worse than one of Sakura's failed knitting projects. And that was really saying something, considering that most of her wool hats ultimately turned into contorted mobius strips, or as Saki liked to call them, 'modern art'.

Sasuke cleared his throat, unable to bear the silence any longer, and ventured, "It's about the disappearing people on the boarder, isn't it?"

Shikamaru pursed his lips and exhaled. "Can't get anything past you, can I. I've been wanting to ask you a few questions about Madara's transport jutsu. I've never had any personal contact with it, and you are the one...who had the most experience with it," Shikamaru tactfully concluded his sentence.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Madara's been dead for over ten years...why would Shikamaru want to know about him? He felt a something akin to lead settle into the pit of his stomach, but he forced himself to speak with his usual nonchalance. "Madara had about 10 different dimensions he could teleport between. He could also teleport within our dimension through certain areas that he had marked previously with a symbol. And of course, he could de-solidify his body at will."

Shikamaru nodded. "From the reports of the last war, it seems like Madara was able to deconstruct himself and whatever he touched into small particles of matter, and then transported them to his desired destination. Would you say that the deconstructed particles moved in a circular, counterclockwise pattern before becoming transported matter?"

Sasuke did not like where this was going. "Hai. It was...kind of a swirl."

Shikamaru nodded. "Thanks. That's all I wanted to know," he murmured, but he made no motion to leave.

There was a moment of awkward silence. Sasuke passed a hand through his hair, feeling the beginning of a tension headache gathering at the base of his skull. A question formed in the back of his throat, but it died many times before he finally gathered the nerve to voice it.

"He's alive, isn't he?" Sasuke asked at last, sotto voce.

Shikamaru sighed heavily. "It's all conjecture at this point...but..."

"The people who are disappearing- do they seem to be transported in a circular swirl...?"

Shikamaru rubbed his aching temples. "Hai."

Sasuke forced himself to take a deep breath and to unclench his teeth. "I'll help however I can." In the background, he could hear their two children playing in the living-room, laughing with childlike innocence. I'll help with my life, if need be...whatever it takes to finally kill that bastard. A wave of guilt laden nausea passed through Sasuke— he discreetly put a hand on the railing to steady himself as his other hand clenched his stomach. If it weren't for me...then Madara might have been defeated long before there was even a war to begin with...let alone been able to reappear over a decade later.

Sasuke balled his hands into fists, thinking angry, barely coherent thoughts. Why him? Why now, when his life was finally functional? It's all my fault for being a selfish, self-serving asshole...no one told me to join the Akatsuki and aid them. No one told me to take on Madara as my sensei; in fact, Itachi tried to make it so I burned the bastard in a thick cloud of amaterasu the minute I laid eyes on his sharingan... No, Sasuke really had no one to blame but himself. If Madara was back, then it was certainly his fault; karma, he thought bitterly, was a bitch. Sasuke shook his head, but Shikamaru thankfully looked away.

"Thank you," Shikamaru replied softly as he lit a cigaret and inhaled deeply. "By the way... Don't tell the little lady I'm smoking again, if she found out, she would nag me to death— "

Just then, Hayato ran out of the house. "Dad! Mom says you're not allowed to do that!" He shot his father an accusatory glare and placed his hands on his hips. Sasuke, even without sight, received a sensory impression that reminded him very much of one formidable, blonde, Sand kunoichi.

Shikamaru grumbled something under his breath along the lines of, "Troublesome kid, must have a sixth sense about when I'm smoking. Troublesome wife, must have told the kid to keep an eye on me," before stubbing out the offending stick of tobacco. He cleared his throat and offered, "Let's make a deal, Hayato-kun. You don't tell mom about what you just saw, and I won't tell her how you haven't been practicing your flute."

Hayato gulped, his righteous anger instantly fading from his face. "Um...ok."

Shikamaru laughed at that and waved to Sasuke. "Thanks again for the lesson. We'll see you around."

"See you," Sasuke murmured. He stood for a moment on the front steps without moving.

Finally, he entered the house and closed the door in a daze. Takeo cooed at him from the floor; Sasuke summarily picked up his son and held him close, despite the baby's protests. A bittersweet smile graced Sasuke's face, and he kissed the baby on the crown of his head. "I love you, Takeo-chan."

The baby instantly brightened at that. "Wove ooh! Wove ooh dada!"

Chapter 3: Stars

Said I, "Surely, there is more than death

That encapsulates the mystery of life itself

For all the wheeling of the stars

You are merely taking things as they are."

~The Second Book Of The Songs Of Akash, Verse III

"Come in, come in, Red Monarch. This is Black Crow. Target is in sight, I repeat, target is in sight," Yuki stated before lowering her binoculars and jotting down the coordinates.

"Ohmygwad, Cho, I just picked like, the biggest booger," a male voice chimed in over the line.

Silence.

"Kchhhh. Ryuu. I really didn't need to know about that," one disgruntled Cho responded.

"Come on Cho, you know you want to see! It's like, friggin' huge! Kchhhh."

"EWWWW!" There was monumental feedback as Cho screamed this into the walkie talkie.

"Ouch, Cho-y-chan, that was, like, my ear!" Ryuu grimaced and massaged his offended ears.

There was an aggravated sigh from Yuki on the walkie-talkie line. "Guys? Can you two fuck-ups concentrate for once? I said, the TARGET is in SIGHT." Yuki wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead, and readjusted her position on the black rooftop as she glowered down at the communication unit in her hand. Below her, the target was pilfering some fish from one of the many market stalls. While the tall apartment building upon which she was perched offered the perfect view of the square below, between the noonday sun beating down on her back and the black tar under her feet burning the soles of her feet, Yuki was less than comfortable. Pair that with the maladroit conversation crackling over the walkie-talkie and the unappetizing stench rising up from the fish market below, and Yuki was more likely to kill the target than capture it...

Cho quickly regained her composure. "What are your coordinates, Yuki-san?"

There was another exasperated sigh. "Hello? Remember, when we're on the walkie-talkies I'm Black Crow and you're Red Monarch?"

"Kchhh. Hey guys, what was my code name again? I, like, forgot," Ryuu asked sheepishly.

"Baka! Gold Dragon. How the fuck could you forget that? It's the literal meaning of your own name. Gah!" Yuki proceeded to slap her face, which echoed comically over the communications line.

"Kchhh. Yo, Yuki-san, watch your language," Cho admonished her comrade.

"Gah! Red Monarch, don't use my real fucking name over the walkie— oh shit."

"Haha, you just cursed again Yuki-chan!" Ryuu giggled. Yuki was always riding their asses to be professional, and using proper language was one of her many hang-ups. It was especially fulfilling to Ryuu when he got their self-appointed team leader to cuss.

"FOR KAMI'S SAKE, GOLD DRAGON, BECAUSE YOU ARE SUCH A REJECT, I JUST LOST SIGHT OF OUR TARGET."

Silence.

"Shit. Sensei said we aren't allowed to eat lunch until we catch that cat," Ryuu replied mournfully as his stomach rumbled.

"Black Crow? Hey, this is Red Monarch. Sorry about that. Let's try to find the kitty again, ok?"

Yuki sighed yet again. "Red Monarch, this is Black Crow. For the purpose of this communication, please refer to 'Mr. Fluffy' as the target. Do you guys roger that?"

"Hey Yuki-chan, who's Rodger? Is that Mr. Fluffy's codename?" Ryuu inquired innocently.

Epic groaning from his female teammates echoed over the communications line.

Yuki trudged home that day in a really, really awful mood. It was almost as if her misery congealed around her to form a big, black cloud that hovered over her head and blocked out the sun. She opened the door to the house, kicked off her shoes, and stomped up the stairs to her room.

"Hey, Yuki, let's spar!" Saki called from across the hallway.

The only response was Yuki's door slamming shut.

Saki waltzed over to her sister's door and shouted through it, "Yo, Yuki, did you hear me?"

"Bugger off," was the muffled reply.

"Mooooooom! Yuki's being mean to me again!"

Sakura, who had just returned home herself about twenty minutes previously, sighed. "Saki, leave your sister alone."

"But mooooooom-"

"Saki, if you want to spar, go ask your father."

Saki bounced down the steps and turned her pouting face towards her mother. "Nah, he's no fun. How about you mom, do you want to spar?" Saki asked oh-so-hopefully.

Sakura smiled as she plopped down on the couch with a cold beverage. "Heck no. I've been on my feet for the past 12 hours doing three surgeries, two blood transfusions, and delivering a set of twins. Either rub my feet or go find something else to do." With a wicked smile, Sakura kicked off her house slippers and wiggled her feet in Saki's general direction.

Saki scrunched up her face and replied, "Mom, you have, like, the world's smelliest feet."

"Hey, I resent that, I just showered."

"No amount of soap can help the foot funk that you've—" Saki's tirade was cut short as she had to dodge a cheesy romance novel her mother chucked at her head. "Oh, forget it. Can I go play with Hoshiko, mom?"

"Sure. Why don't you see if you can invite yourself over to Naruto and Hinata's for dinner too, because if you stay here all you'll get is frozen pizza."

"Nani? How come dad's not cooking?"

"He's giving music lessons to Tadashi all afternoon. Tadashi-kun is getting ready to play a concert for Hiashi-sama's birthday, so he needed the extra practice."

"Duh, mom, how can I spar with dad like you said if he's giving music lessons! Gah! You are like, so impossible." Parents...!

Saki crossed her arms in a huff, then stomped over to the doorway to shove her feet into her hot pink sandals. However, just as she was about to open the door, a look that screamed, 'Eureka! I've got it!' crossed her face and she began to bounce on the balls of her feet. "Oh, wait a minute- did you just say Tadashi is over right now? Like, the Hyuga Tadashi?" Saki's eyes got wide. Everyone knew that Tadashi was the coolest kid in school. "Maybe I could...just hang out while Tadashi gets his lesson? I'm sure dad wouldn't—"

Sakura chuckled and broke in, "Go play with Hoshiko-chan. See you later troll!"

Saki rolled her eyes and mumbled, "Love you too." Raising her voice a few octaves, she practically shouted, "Tell Tadashi I say hi, ok? Ok! Promise you'll tell him! OK?" Saki bounced up and down impatiently as she waited for her mother's answer.

"Ok, ok!" Sakura waved her daughter off and proceeded to lay down on the couch. She heard an indignant snort and the door closing before blessed quiet returned to the living room once more. And before she knew it, she was fast asleep.

The next thing she was cognizant of was someone tapping her in the middle of her forehead.

"Mmm, nani?" Sakura mumbled. Even without opening her eyes, she knew it was Sasuke, and she idly noted that he smelled like soy sauce.

"You want dinner, Sakura-chan?"

"Hmm." She pulled on his wrists and made him sit down next to her on the couch. "Depends. What's on the menu?"

Sasuke chuckled, "Well, you were going to have me make frozen pizza, but I decided that our family needed some proper nutrition. So I made broccoli stir-fry with beef. Where are the girls, by the way?"

"Saki's over at Naruto and Hinata's, and Yuki is sulking in her room."

Sasuke frowned; he had been looking forward to having dinner together as a family. On the other hand though, at least Yuki and Saki wouldn't bicker the whole time they ate if Saki was away. "Alright, well, I'll go collect Yuki then."

However, five minutes later, Yuki refused to leave her room and Sakura had fallen asleep again on the couch. Sasuke sighed and retreated to the kitchen, where Takeo was smooshing a strawberry all over the white tiled floor. "No rest for the wicked I suppose." Sasuke smiled and scooped the baby up and plopped him in his highchair. "Looks like it's just you and me tonight kid."

Takeo reached out for Sasuke's shirt and smeared some more strawberry goo on him. "Wred! W-red!"

Apparently, Takeo was an aspiring artist.

Sasuke sighed and began cutting up pieces of broccoli into tiny, bite sized pieces for the little monster.

A few hours later, the dishes were washed, a plate of food was left in front of Yuki's door, Saki called and said she was sleeping over Uzumaki Hoshiko's, Takeo and Pookey the yellow rubber ducky were bathed in the sink, and then Takeo and Shmookey the fuzzy orange teddy bear were put to bed. Sasuke sighed wearily as he closed the door to Takeo's room and made his way back down the stairs.

Sakura was still sprawled out on the couch, a small trail of drool traveling down her cheek. Scooping her up gently, Sasuke made his way back up the stairs and deposited Sakura in bed, pulling the covers up over her prone body. He made sure to leave a glass of water and a granola bar by the bed for when Sakura woke up at three in the morning with a ravenous stomach from having skipped dinner (again). Before exiting, he brushed a stray pink tendril of hair out of her face and kissed her cheek. "Really, you're so typical. Stop working so hard all the time woman," he whispered somewhat gruffly over her unconscious form. She merely mewed in her sleep and rolled over. Sasuke smiled.

Silently, he picked up his guitar from the corner of the bedroom and made his way to the roof. It was a quiet, warm night. Sasuke found his favorite perch— the chimney really did make the perfect back support— and sat down heavily. He looked up, sightlessly, at the sky, and wished he was able to sense the position of the stars, which were too far away for him to feel with his chakra. From what he could tell from the wind and the temperature, it must have been a clear night, and Saki had said something earlier that day about it being the perfect time of year to see meteors. In fact, it had been so many years since he could see that he was starting to forget the shapes and colors of things: the viridian hue of the spring grass in the meadows, the curve of the sky as it meets the horizon, the way Sakura's eyes crinkled when she heard a really funny joke. The stars glimmering softly in the frozen velvet of night...

And then there were the things he had never seen at all— his children's faces for one. What did Yuki look like on the rare occasions when she chanced a smile? Or Saki, when she scrunched up her face in her classic, 'you have disturbed the queen of the world' pouts? And Takeo, the surely adorable expression he wore when he started dancing along to a piece of music? Sasuke shook his head to dispel his ridiculous thoughts. At a time like this, with unrest brewing at the borders of the country, and the possibility of Madara remerging, it seemed as though the simple things were the ones getting him down the most tonight.

Curiously, Sasuke wasn't too surprised that Madara might be at large, even despite the fact that Sasuke had ostensibly izanagi-ed his ass into the ground during the last war. Madara was a tough old psychopath, and he hadn't survived to be 100 years plus by being weak. Sasuke supposed he had been naïve to have automatically assumed Madara dead without having his rotting corpse exhumed properly to attest to the fact. But Madara's body had never been found after the war; Sasuke had told himself that the body was lost to the burning flames of amaterasu and simply believed Naruto when he said that Madara was really and truly dead...

However, the possibility that Madara might return often haunted his dreams, despite his faith in Naruto. Because Madara was the monster behind the scenes, who had orchestrated the demise of his clan; who had set Sasuke against Konoha; and who, in the end, had controlled Sasuke more aptly than a Suna puppeteer commanded his marionettes... Sasuke had fought this nagging awareness for the last ten years while trying to lead a semi-normal life, chalking his paranoia up to post traumatic stress and to his own damaged psyche. To say that he was feeling ill at ease for the new intel on Madara was the understatement of the century— it seemed his worst fears were being realized. Sasuke sighed again and cradled his guitar closer to his body, and began to play a slow, mournful tune.

The moon sets in the west, and in the hour before the sun rises, the night is thick and black like a smoldering, smokey fire. Murky clouds cover the heavens, obscuring any possible starlight, causing the sleeping and sighing people to feel claustrophobic in their beds, in their dreams. An owl blinks, weary at the end of a long night, but waiting to catch just one more mouse before retiring. And suddenly, he hears the tiny cheeping sounds of baby birds in the nest, sleepy sounds, the kind that come from happy, sweet dreams. The owl swoops down from his high branch slowly and studies the scene— two birds sleep soundly over the nest, their young brood tucked in beneath their soft wings.

The owl cocks his head to the side, unsure if he wants to go through all the trouble of fighting off two parents while he hunts their young, but finally his stomach rumbles and decides for him. He toes his perch with a wicked talon and then swoops down, neatly knocking the mother bird off the nest with his momentum. Blind in the dark night, she flutters wildly and squawks, while her partner lunges out, sightlessly trying to attack the intruder. But unlike the birds, the owl's eyes are trained for the night, he easily avoids their sharp beaks and small claws. He languidly flutters away, carrying a helpless baby chick in his talons, its frail cheeps echoing coldly in the seamless darkness before its call ceases altogether.

"Kami dad, that was a depressing song. Makes me want to jump off the roof or something."

"Ah, Yuki-san. It's late." he replied, nonplussed.

"Hn."

"Did you eat your dinner?"

"Mmm hmmm."

"You're welcome."

"Thanks." Yuki perched next to her father on the roof and hugged her knees into her chest. The breeze blew gently, and they enjoyed a moment of silence together.

She's so much like me, Kami help her. Moody and laconic and serious all the time. She would have been better off taking after Sakura, like Saki-chan...

"Stop thinking about me. I can practically hear you."

Sasuke snorted. "I'll think about you if I want to. You're my kid, after all."

Yuki huffed at that and replied sullenly, "I'm an adult now." She pointed to her headband.

Sasuke grinned, sensing her gesture. "What color is the band?"

"That's a dumb question." Yuki's lips were pressed in a thin line.

"There are no dumb questions, only dumb people. It's not hot pink, is it?"

"Ha. Ha. Do I look like Saki to you?"

"Now that's a dumb question. I can't see either of you, so how should I know if you look like Saki?"

Yuki slapped her face. "First of all, that was a rhetorical question. Second of all, I'm sure you have a sense of what we look like. Half the time I forget you're even blind, what with your damned chakra sensing."

Sasuke shook his head. Yuki had no idea how wrong she was. Oh, it was certainly handy to be able to sense movement and basic facial expressions with chakra, but it lacked a certain fullness. It was like trying to appreciate a colorful painting by studying a black and white line drawing of it, or trying to understand a symphony by merely reading the sheet music; it lacked emotion, vibrancy, depth. Veracity.

Sasuke shook his depressing thoughts away and instead replied lightheartedly, "Oh, you'd like it if I couldn't sense anything at all, wouldn't you brat? Then you could get away with all kinds of irresponsible things."

Yuki seemed offended. "I don't do anything irresponsible."

Sasuke retorted, "You don't have to be so upset. It was a joke. Anyway, what did you come up here to ask me?"

Yuki grimaced. "I couldn't sleep, and then your creepy song creeped me out."

"Ha. I see."

"No, you don't."

Sasuke sighed. "Figure of speech. Mom told me you had a tough day."

"How the heck did she find out?" Yuki snapped, somewhat startled.

"Mmmm, parental intuition I suppose. But now you have just confirmed it."

There was a moment of silence.

Yuki hid her head in her hands and sighed. "I don't want to talk about it."

Sasuke nodded wisely. "You want to spar?" With all of Sasuke's 'motherly' duties, which included cooking, cleaning, and watching over Takeo twenty-four-seven, he didn't often have time to train with his older children. The offer was a rarity and a real treat for both of them. As he had hoped, Sasuke sensed that Yuki was now grinning, and strangely he was filled with a painful desire to actually see her expression with his own eyes. I wonder what shape and color her eyes are when her smile reaches upwards...do the corners of her eyes crinkle? Do her irises sparkle, as if flecks of stardust and mirrors had somehow gotten lost in their depths?

Sasuke's slightly existential musings were brought to a halt by Yuki's enthusiastic reply. "Hai, otousan!"

Sasuke smiled back at his eldest daughter and raised himself up from his sitting position. "I know a good place." He told himself he wouldn't go too hard on the troll; after all, she had just had a bad day. But I won't go too easy on her either! he thought somewhat sadistically. Because really, how else would she learn if Sasuke didn't try to take the stuffing out of her once in a while?

a/n it helps me to be a better author when I get your input; please let me know what you think via the blue button below:)