.:a/n:. Hey everyone! Welcome back to SoA! Man, what a crazy week. I think the best part about it is Bjork's new album...mmmm...love Bjork. Anyhoo, special thanx to dazynl8 for her beta goodness:)

Also, I've worked a lot on the playlist for this fic, which is up at:

h t t p : / / grooveshark. com/playlist/Song+Of+Aether/55716672

It's got over 200 songs in it! You can follow the above link, minus all the obnoxious spaces, or follow the proper link in my profile. Song recommendations are always welcome: just let me know via your review:)

Last note: I briefly introduce a character from the prequel to this fic, "Aint Nobody Who Can Sing Like Me," called Akemi. If you are curious to read more about her, she makes her debut appearence in chapter 25 of "Sing Like Me." She'll be an important character later on in this story:) As always, you can check out my profile for the list of characters in this fic, which is at the very bottom of my profile:)

Here's an extra long chapter this week, just because you guys rock, and because I got a little obsessed with the excellent adventures of Saki and Hoshiko:) Xoxoxoxo!

Chapter 11

Missions

"Saying, 'Let us speak no more of death and beyond

The fate that is the final chord in life's short song;

Instead let us give thanks, and endeavor

To enjoy what little time we have together.'"

The Second Book of Akash, Verse XI

The rest of the morning went by in a whirl: he packed his things, and said goodbye to his children as they left the house for school. When he kissed a protesting Yuki on the forehead, he almost mentioned that she shouldn't use her new summoning jutsu against Madara. But then he thought the better of it: first of all, Madara's theoretical appearance was all conjecture at this point, and secondly, the possibility that he was alive at all was classified information. Sakura would have killed him if he had talked about these speculations in front of the kids; after all, the whole reason he was preparing for this mission was to confirm whether or not the rampant kidnappings on the border were, in fact, due to the ancient Uchiha. No need to worry his children at this point. He made a mental note to have a private conversation about the matter after he came back from his mission.

Sakura had taken the rest of the morning off from her work at the hospital just to help him pack. "Make sure you bring enough socks! And underwear! And—"

He stilled his anxious wife with a kiss. "Hey, I'm an elite ninja, not a kid going off to summer camp. I'll be fine," he remarked drolly.

Sakura giggled at that. "Well, you never did take the chunin test, so technically, you're still a genin..."

Sasuke sighed wearily and kissed his wife again, hoping that that would be the end of the merciless teasing. Instead, she looked up at him mischievously— "Sasuke-kun, we have about an hour before you have to leave, the girls are at school and Takeo is sleeping..."

"You talk too much." He promptly picked her up and carried her to the bedroom.

Sure, at first Sasuke had been a bit—no, extremely— crabby at the thought of going on his first mission in over a decade. But when Sasuke and Sakura left the Hokage's office, and Sakura had surreptitiously groped his ass... and then whispered the most delicious things in his ear...well, let's just say Sakura had a way of making Sasuke forget his melancholic thoughts. Maybe, just maybe, Sasuke thought, maybe Sakura and Naruto are right...

About two hours later, a slightly bemused Uchiha presented himself at the village gate.

"Sasuke, you're late!" Naruto wailed from beneath the archway, a large piece of paper in his hands.

"Sorry Naruto, Sasuke was helping me...with the laundry!" Sakura called cheerfully.

Naruto rolled his eyes at the stupid lie Sakura was trying to feed him and continued, "Check this out Sasuke-kun, this map was drawn with chakra enhanced ink, so you'll be able to 'read' it. Pretty cool, hey!"

"Hn." Sasuke sent out a few threads of chakra; indeed, as Naruto had stated, Sasuke could sense the familiar contours of the Fire Country territory in two dimensional, chakra-enhanced topography.

Naruto handed his compatriot the map and then tapped his fingers together anxiously. "Um...so...um..."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Hinata-chan?"

Naruto stuck out his tongue and countered, "Very funny. Ha. Ha. I'm just worried about you teme. Are you sure you aren't going to get lost? Do you—"

Sasuke snorted and waved dismissively in the Hokage's direction. "Please, you're just as bad as Sakura. We all know I'm not afraid of leaving this village." Hopefully no one can sense that I'm lying through my teeth.

Sakura elbowed him in the side. "Shut up, asshole. That's not funny." She glowered up at him, as if to say, 'One false move and I'll ruin your after-sex-glow with a broken nose, and no I won't heal it before you go on your mission, you inconsiderate pig.'

After ten years of marriage, Sasuke was adept at reading what was underneath Sakura's words, so he simply squeezed her hand and replied, "Sorry."

Once it seemed that Sakura was placated, he rubbed his abused side and turned to Naruto. "Naruto, I've decided to bring my mandola instead of the guitar...one, it will help my disguise, and two, it's easier to carry."

"What's a mandola?" Naruto ventured, leaning against the gatepost.

"It's like a viola, but instead of being played with a bow, it's picked or strummed. Like a lute. I'd give you a concert, but some asshole is forcing me to go on a mission, and Kami forbid if I'm late, so..."

Sakura elbowed Sasuke in the same place again. "Sasuke, don't be such an ass."

"Sorry." He sighed and held his side, which he was sure would be black and blue in a matter of minutes. Thankfully, Sakura noticed his wince and funneled some healing chakra into his aching ribs, and then for good measure funneled some chakra over his forehead to ease any possible tension headaches. When she finished, she drew him into a forceful bear hug.

"Be careful you big idiot."

"I will."

"Come back soon."

"I'll try."

She raised herself up on the balls of her feet and pecked Sasuke on the cheek. "Will you miss me?" she whispered into his ear.

"Not as much as you'll miss me," he said with a smirk.

"Idiot." She grabbed his chin and landed a forceful kiss on his parted lips. "Just...be careful."

"I know."

The couple parted with a collective sigh; Naruto stepped forward to pat Sasuke on his shoulder, which made the latter wince in pain. Sasuke ruefully thought that Naruto had a really bad habit of poking him in places that were already strained or injured as he muttered, "Ouch. Ouch. Please, that fucking tracking seal still stings from this morning..."

Naruto reeled away. "Ooops! Oh man, I totally forgot I put it there!"

"Idiot."

Sakura chuckled and came up behind Sasuke to funnel some more healing chakra into his body over the aforementioned seal as Naruto mumbled, "Well, listen Sasuke, if anything goes wrong out there, just call me via your hiraishin tattoo, ok?"

Sasuke nodded gravely. "Of course. Now will you two stop fretting over me like you're dropping your firstborn child off on their first day of preschool?" The usually sardonic tone in his voice was softened with a rare, full smile. "I'll be fine. I wasn't an S-ranked rogue ninja for nothing, ok?"

Sakura withdrew her hands from his back with regret, but forced herself to smile. "And you are ever-so-terrifying with those hobo clothes on. I just wish you could see how great you look!"

Naruto nodded. "My personal favorite piece is the chartreuse corduroy jacket with the hot pink patches on the elbows. You did a really great job with the outfit, Sakura-chan."

"It's amazing what colorful, dirty hippie clothes the thrift store had— they were even on sale! Although I can't decide what I like more, the black felt bowler hat with the green feather, or the wide leg pants with the butterfly patches!"

Sasuke sighed. "Thank Kami I'm sightless and can't see the atrocity that is my outfit. Although this gaudy polyester ensemble might make anyone else who sees me go blind... After all, Saki told me this morning that lime green so doesn't go with mauve and magenta in the same get-up." Sasuke shrugged theatrically before continuing, "You can't expect a blind guy to have decent fashion sense." He gathered his friends into a quick, somewhat awkward hug. "I'll be back before you know it. See you." And with that, he quickly turned out of the village and down the road through the Konoha forest, because if he didn't extract himself soon, he feared he would never leave.

"Don't forget to brush your teeth!"

"Bring the kids home some presents!"

"Let us know if you need anything!"

"Come back soon!"

Sasuke merely waved silently over his shoulder as he walked away.

Naruto turned to Sakura after their compatriot had disappeared on the horizon; Naruto's smile faded and turned into a look of vague apprehension. "So," Naruto ventured, "did you tell him yet?"

Sakura ran a hand through her hair anxiously. "Not yet...I'm kind of nervous to tell him."

Naruto snorted. "He must know. Either he really gets a lot of tension headaches, or he knows you've been working on his optical nerves..."

Sakura toed the ground with her sandaled foot. "I don't know. I just didn't find the right time to tell him..."

"You say he's ready for a transplant though?"

Sakura nodded. "After about ten years of working steadily on him, yeah. He's ready."

Naruto grinned. "Now we just need to wait for some old geezer to drop dead so we can 'borrow' his eyeballs!"

"NARUTO!"

"What?"

"Idiot," Sakura ground out as she hit him in the shoulder, "it's bad luck to talk like that before a mission."

"You don't really believe—"

"Just call me superstitious or something. Gah! All right, I'm going back to work before I start crying."

"Aw, Sakura-chan, you're a big softie—"

Sakura groaned and punched him in the arm again. "Idiot." She spared him a smile, then strode away towards the hospital, leaving the Hokage rubbing his abused side.

Sasuke casually waved over his shoulder. Those two are worse than mother hens.

Judging by the angle of the sun and the temperature, Sasuke gauged that he only had about five more hours until sunset. And the journey to Akash took about a day and a half. Sasuke idly unfolded the map and traced the lines between Konoha and Akash; it was pretty much a straight shot through the forest to the southwest boarder.

Akash was the first village at the entrance to the long range of ragged mountains that divided the southern half of the Fire Country from Kawa no Kuni, otherwise known as the Land of Rivers. The actual town of Akash was in the foothills, but the looming mountains above it were called the Akash ranges. A fitting name, as Akash refers to the aether and the upper realms of the sky. Sasuke hadn't spent any extensive time in the area, as it was a fairly remote and inaccessible location, but they were famous for inspiring many reclusive monks and famous artists.

Sasuke lazily gathered more chakra in his index finger and explored the coastal mountain range, whose low hills rose beginning at the border with the Mist, and then grew in majesty and might from the struggle of tectonic plates until the mountains towered over the sea as they reached the end of the continent. Most Konoha nin never traveled this far south; the main routes out of the village involved going on missions to Suna— where one would sidestep the larger mountains by traveling over the lower rolling hills on the northern border to River— or they would go on missions to Ame and Earth, which were both too far north of the more majestic Akash peaks for more people to have traversed them often.

Sasuke then found himself tracing the interior Kasai Mountains, otherwise known as the Fire Range, that divided Ame and River from Suna, turning the former into wet, lush countries, and depriving the latter of moisture by virtue of the wind patterns and the mountain range's slopes. Sasuke had always thought it was ironic that the "Wind" Range lay in the Fire Country, while the "Fire" Range spanned the length of the Wind Country, but chalked it up to someone's strange sense of humor; or more likely, an ancient Ying/Yang approach to the elements that put a bit of an opposing quality inside its compliment.

Eventually, Sasuke's thoughts turned from geography to observing the stillness around him. He could feel the last pale rays of sunlight warm his face as he listened to the soft gurgle of a nearby creek, laughing like a watery nature spirit. Above him, birds settled into their roosts and sang good evening to their feathered neighbors. A light wind rustled the trees like a hand brushing against a string of paper lanterns. He realized, with a start, that this was the first time he had been truly alone in well over a decade and, much to his own surprise, he found it extremely refreshing.

In that moment, no one was dependent upon him, and no one was issuing him orders. He was his own person; the birds sang for him alone, and the song of the gushing creek was heard only by his ears. The sound of his blood rushed in his veins, and the slight smile on his face was for no one but himself. He stood still for a moment and relished the feel of the sun on his face, a purely selfish gesture; how decadent it felt just to stand still and do nothing, without a care for anyone else!

The fullness of nature surrounded him like cloak woven of sunlight and bird song; he felt extremely centered, something he imagined a monk might feel as he meditated on the crest of a mountain. Content, Sasuke continued to walk, then gathered chakra into his feet and climbed into the boughs of a large oak tree; there, he began setting up his tree hammock.

As the last beams of light faded, however, and the songs of the birds turned into the curious screeches of bats diving for mosquitos, Sasuke found himself twiddling his thumbs, unable to sleep. His thoughts kept repeating themselves, like a needle falling into a well-worn groove that skipped at the same point on the record every time. I wonder if Sakura is getting on all right without me...I hope she remembers to pack the kids' lunches tomorrow. Did Saki get her homework done? The kid is brilliant, but she really needs someone to nag her... I wonder if Yuki has begun training with her summons? After a few moments of this, Sasuke mentally chided himself, forcing his thoughts to still so that he could sleep. But even though his mind slowed momentarily, he still found himself wistfully sighing, wishing he knew what his family was up to at that moment.

There was a knock at the door: but Hinata was busy cleaning up their dinner dishes, Naruto was fussing with Sora-chan, and Ryuu-kun was nowhere in sight. Hoshiko sighed before announcing, "I'll get it!" She stifled the urge to use the byakugan and instead glanced through the peek hole in the door. "Oh, Saki-chan, it's you!" She opened the door with a grin.

"Hey Hoshiko-chan, hope I'm not interrupting anything?" Saki asked, smiling broadly.

"Of course not. Come in!"

"Actually...I was going to ask you if you wanted to go out!"

"Um...ok, sure. Let me just check with my okaasan."

After taking a moment to get Hinata's approval, Hoshiko returned to the open door. "She says I have to be back before dark."

Saki nodded furiously, sending her two braids bouncing up and down on her back. "Great!" The pink haired girl grabbed Hoshiko's arm, and before the Uzumaki could protest, they were off.

"Um...Saki-chan, where are we going? Do you want to train, maybe?" Hoshiko took back her arm and jogged to keep abreast of her companion, hoping that indeed, Saki would want to spar. Please, Kami, make her want to train tonight! Please, please, please! Because the Spirits knew, the alternative was bound to be her least favorite activity.

"Well, I was wondering if we couldn't snoop around the Hyuga complex a bit..."

"Saki-chan! Not again!" She was afraid Saki would say that. Hoshiko moaned and slapped her forehead with her palm. This was literally the third time this week Saki had insisted on stalking her cousin Tadashi.

"Oh, pleeeeeeeease Hoshiko-chan!"

Their pace slowed to a brisk walk; Hoshiko fingered the ears of her feline communication unit (which she refused to take off, even to go to sleep), and groaned. "I'm telling you Saki-chan, my cousin is just not that cool."

Saki sighed dreamily. "But he's so...good looking."

Hoshiko covered her ears— her human ears that is. "Saki-chan?"

"Mmmm?"

"Gross."

Saki laughed breathlessly and began to run; Hoshiko squealed and followed close behind. Before she knew it, she and Saki were crouched under the bushes to observe Neji and Tadashi's nightly spar.

"Saki-chan," Hoshiko whispered furtively, "you realize it is incredible stupid to snoop around a stronghold of byakugan-users, right?"

Saki merely grinned and replied, "Tch. I'm an Uchiha. No one will be able to see through my genjutsu!" And with that, the younger girl wove a few hand-signs and concealed their location via an illusion.

Hoshiko shook her head. Just because they hadn't been caught yet didn't mean it wasn't going to happen; it was only a manner of time before they were found out.

It seemed that just as Hoshiko thought those fatalistic words, Neji frowned and paused mid-spar, focusing his byakugan on their location. Though it was childish, Hoshiko put her palms over her eyes—

But through the cracks in her hands, she could see that Neji's grimace had morphed into a grin.

"What, otousan? What are you smiling about?" Tadashi demanded.

Neji grinned some more, but didn't respond until he began sparring again, forcing Tadashi to block his moves. "Why don't you look for yourself? This will be a good test for your byakugan." Neji then paused in his attacks and gestured for Tadashi to look for himself.

Tadashi eyed his father askance, then focused his byakugan in Hoshiko and Saki's area. Hoshiko knew they should make a run for it, but she was transfixed like a deer in the proverbial headlights. She spared a glance at Saki, who was squinting while focusing on her genjutsu.

"Otousan, I see a slight chakra disturbance in those bushes..." Tadashi murmured.

Hoshiko gaped at her cousin and uncle in horror, as Neji began to instruct Tadashi in the art of seeing through genjutsu.

"Saki-chan, let's get out of here!"

Saki, ever the stubborn mule, shook her head no and continued to weave hand-signs. Hoshiko closed her eyes; she was nowhere near as talented in genjutsu as Saki, and if she left Saki's side— and her protective bubble of illusion— then she was doomed. The Hyuga resigned herself to crossing her fingers and having faith in the Uchiha's supposed forte of illusion casting—

"Oi! Hoshiko! Saki! What gives!" Tadashi yelled.

Hoshiko winced; apparently, they had been outed. So much for the invincible Uchiha genjutsu. Hoshiko and Saki emerged from the bushes looking like two guilty convicts being caught red-handed at a bank robbery.

"Um, h-hi ojisama, T-Tadashi-san," Hoshiko mumbled, bowing to each of her relatives in turn.

Saki, however, was blushing the shade of an overly ripe tomato, and was unable to comment. If Hoshiko hadn't been in trouble, she would have rolled her eyes at her friend. I can't believe she has a crush on my cousin, and that it's reduced her to a blushing fool...not to mention that because of her stupid obsession, we've just been caught stalking my cousin. How embarrassing...

Tadashi was fuming, but Neji, on the other hand, was grinning broadly. Hoshiko wondered if that was what Saki's mother called a proverbial 'shit eating grin,' a statement usually used in reference to Naruto. But she had no time for further contemplation, as Neji called, "Oi, Tadashi, trying to burn a hole through our visitors via your retinas is no way to treat guests."

Tadashi blanched, then bowed, saying as evenly as he could, "Welcome, Hoshiko-sama, Saki-san, what brings you here?"

Saki was still asphyxiating due to her own embarrassment, so Hoshiko ventured, "W-We were just observing your p-practice with ojisama, Tadashi-san. I hope we didn't cause you any trouble." Damn my stutter! It was an annoying habit she had picked up from her mother that truly only emerged when she was under pressure.

"Oh, you were no trouble at all girls!" Neji offered brightly before his son had a chance to respond. "You offered a wonderful opportunity for Tadashi to practice his defense against genjutsu. I thought he would have picked up on your presences the last few times you were here, but—"

At this, Tadashi sputtered, "What? Have you guys been stalking me?"

Neji stifled a chuckle and instead retorted, "Tadashi-kun, manners!"

"Sorry..." he mumbled, not sounding very apologetic.

Neji continued, "Now as I was saying...oh yes, I must say Saki-chan, your genjutsu is really coming along. I'd say you are just about at chunin level with your illusions."

Upon receiving the compliment, Saki opened and closed her mouth like a fish gaping out of water, which caused Neji's chuckle to deepen. Thankfully, the sadistic adult didn't laugh long, and instead turned to Tadashi and asked, "Why don't you get some tea for our honored guests?"

Tadashi schooled his features to be smooth— though it took some obvious effort— before bowing and going into the house for refreshments.

As soon as Tadashi went in, Tabby, the Hyuga's orange cat, sprinted towards Hoshiko and rubbed himself against her legs. "Hey Tabby-kun!"

The cat lovingly gazed up at Hoshiko and called, "Hoshiko-chan! You've got to help, Tadashi's been kicking me again!"

Hoshiko looked down at the cat in horror before picking him up. Saki, having regained her composure in Tadashi's absence, decided she didn't like being left out of the conversation and thus donned her feline communication ears as well. "Is something wrong with Tabby?" she asked softly, taking in Hoshiko's worried look.

Tabby fixed Saki with his best, pathetic look; Hoshiko thought it looked like the cat version of puppy eyes, though she was sure Tabby would be offended to hear her say so. "Saki-chan, Tadashi has been hurting me!"

Saki's mouth rounded into a little 'o'. How could Tadashi (sweet, godly looking Tadashi) ever be accused of such a crime? She swiveled to look up at Neji who was eyeing them askance; obviously, he couldn't understand Tabby without the proper equipment.

But before Saki could question Neji about the cat, Tadashi returned with the tea and they went to sit on the deck. Hoshiko didn't want to be impolite, but she also couldn't be quiet about cat abuse! She looked at Saki from the corner of her eye; her friend was holding the cat in her lap and listened as it began expounding on the list of grievances he had against Tadashi.

Uh-oh, Hoshiko thought with no small amount of trepidation. Saki's face was getting redder and redder, but this time it was not from embarrassment. The Uchiha's infamous temper was rising, and before Hoshiko could even lay a pacifying hand on her arm, Saki spoke.

"Tadashi-kun, Tabby here says you have been kicking him..."

Tadashi rolled his eyes and continued to sip his tea, nonplussed. "That's because he's been scratching me."

"He says because you sprayed him with water." Saki fingered her full cup of tea with obvious irritation, but made no motion to pick it up.

"He pissed on my bed."

"He says he did that because you forgot to feed him!" This time, Saki slammed her palm down on the table, causing her tea to slosh over the edge of her cup and spilling a few drops onto the table.

"I was withholding food as punishment, because he broke my favorite tea-cup."

Tabby mewed pitifully.

"Because you spilled boiling water on him!" Saki all but shrieked. Hoshiko bit her lower lip. Well, looks like Saki's crush on my cousin will have been short lived...at least we won't have to stalk him anymore!

Hoshiko looked up at her uncle; Neji was pouring tea with the best poker face he could manage, but Hoshiko could tell he was trying hard not to smile. Gah. I wished mom hadn't let me go out tonight. This sucks.

"Hot water? Oh, I was making tea. But that was an accident," Tadashi murmured in an off-handed fashion.

"BUT YOU NEVER SAID YOU WERE SORRY!" Saki roared.

Tabby nodded and stuck out his tongue at his owner.

Tadashi eyed Saki disdainfully. "It is impolite to shout." He frowned, as if to say, 'Really, have you no manners?'

"IT'S IMPOLITE TO HURT KITTIES! I'M REPORTING YOU TO THE AUTHORITIES FOR CAT ABUSE!"

Hoshiko sighed and put a calming hand on Saki's arm before breaking in. "Tadashi-san, please just apologize to Tabby-kun. It was really not nice to spill hot water on his paws."

Tadashi raised his eyebrows. "Really?" But then Neji nudged him in the side, and the boy paled. "I'm sorry, Tabby-kun..."

The cat rose, arched its back, then hissed at Tadashi before retreating under Hoshiko's chair.

There was an awkward silence that ensued after that; Hoshiko tried to nonchalantly sip her tea, but in her distress, ended up spilling a bit on herself and blushed in embarrassment. Finally, Saki could no longer take the oppressive quiet and stood. "I'm sorry, my mother said I had to be home by now."

"I'll walk home with you, Saki-chan!" Hoshiko said a bit too eagerly. She put down her tea that she had barely touched and all but leapt out of her seat.

Neji shook his head. "Thanks for coming by, Saki-chan, Hoshiko-chan. Tadashi-kun, why don't you walk the girls home?"

And despite the girls' protests and Tadashi's stony facade, Neji insisted that Tadashi walk them home. Hoshiko walked in the middle, with an inwardly fuming Saki on one side and an ice cold Tadashi on the other. It wasn't that her cousin was a bad guy, Hoshiko thought to herself; it's just that he had about as much common sense as a toothpick. The two had never been very close, but Hoshiko often sparred with her cousin, and they were often forced to spend time together at family gatherings. It would really suck if her best friend and her cousin didn't get along, after all of that. I'll try and make some small talk and make this less awkward...

"So, Tadashi-san...do anything fun lately?"

Tadashi blinked down at her. Hoshiko despised the fact that, even though Tadashi was only a year older than her, he was a whole foot taller. He coughed before replying, "It is not within a ninja's duty to have, quote, 'fun.'"

Saki looked at him quizzically, her anger momentarily forgotten in her curiosity. "You mean...you don't have any hobbies? You don't...I don't know, read manga or build forts or...do other boy stuff?"

Tadashi eyed the Uchiha disapprovingly before reciting his daily schedule, which included mostly training, eating, sleeping, and little else. Hoshiko suppressed a sigh, but thankfully, they had arrived at her house.

"No need to walk me home Tadashi. I'm sleeping over at Hoshiko's tonight..." Saki mumbled.

All too happy to have finished his duty for the night, Tadashi bowed and walked home.

Saki scratched her head. "He's...not going to say hi to your parents?"

Hoshiko shrugged. "I think normally he would, except that we interrupted his training and he is eager to get back."

Saki whistled lowly between her teeth.

"Are you really sleeping over tonight, Saki-chan?"

Saki shook her head no. "Nah, I need to be home tonight. Dad's on a mission, and I have a feeling my mom will need moral support. I just said that so idiot-face wouldn't feel the need to walk me home." Saki scrunched up her face and stuck out her tongue.

Hoshiko giggled at that. "What? Yesterday, you would have given your right arm for alone time with my cousin!"

Saki shook her head. "Yeah. That was before he opened his big mouth and verbal diarrhea came out. Tadashi is the kind of guy who looks better from afar."

Hoshiko blinked. There was a moment of silence, and then the two girls broke down in hysterical laughter.

Sakura groaned; it was the middle of the night and her stomach was rumbling. Damn stomach...damn rumbling... She reached blindly towards her nightstand for her habitual granola bar and glass of water. And she kept reaching. Finally, swearing under her breath, she switched on the lamp, and her bleary eyes clearly saw that there was no granola bar or glass of water in sight. The alarm clock on the nightstand blinked 3:30 AM in red LED lights, as if to mock her. Damn it...Sasuke always puts them out for me... Then it hit her— Sasuke wasn't home. She was on her own here.

Half tripping over herself as she made her way into the kitchen, she opened the freezer and withdrew one large tub of chocolate peanut butter ice cream. After she opened the silverware drawer, and unwittingly spilling half of the forks on the floor, she victoriously withdrew one large soup spoon and got to work on her ultimate comfort food.

"Okaasan? What's with all the noise?" Yuki yawned and stared at her from the hallway with bleary eyes.

"Om oating wace creome..." Sakura said around a mouthful of ice cream with a particularly delicious peanut butter chunk.

Yuki shook her head reproachfully. "Dad would never let you eat that stuff at this time of night."

"Mmmmm. Good thing here's not here then. You want some?" Sakura licked the spoon gleefully.

"No thanks. I'm going back to bed." As Yuki trudged back towards her room, Sakura heard another set of footsteps approaching the kitchen. Guess I can't make this much noise at night in a house full of ninja children...

"Okaasan?"

"Saki?"

"Oh my gawd, is that peanut butter chocolate ice cream? You vampire, I can see from here that you dug out all the peanut butter veins! Gimme gimme gimme!" Saki sashayed over to the silverware drawer to find her own spoon before all the good bits of ice cream were devoured. Sakura chortled at the hyperactive girl and unceremoniously swung an empty chair around for her daughter.

After spearing a particularly rich spoonful of ice cream, Saki dawdled, "Do you have your period, mom?"

"What? Um...no?"

Saki blinked up at her owlishly. "Then...are you upset because dad isn't here?"

Sakura winced and dug her spoon further into the tub of chocolaty goodness. "What makes you think I'm upset?" she asked, feigning innocence.

"You only gorge yourself on sweets when you're either PMS-ing, or you're upset." Saki nodded wisely as she stole a particularly peanut-buttery bit from the trajectory of Sakura's spoon.

"Troll."

"Dad said I should remind you to pack our lunches tomorrow. You're not going to forget, are you?"

"Aren't you girls old enough to pack your own lunches?"

Saki stuck out her tongue.

"I won't forget, what kind of scatterbrained mother do you think I am?"

Saki rolled her eyes and slammed the lid down on the ice cream. "Mom, don't eat anymore, you're going to give yourself a tummy ache." Sakura pouted, but allowed the youngster to stick the treat back in the freezer.

"Mom, I'm going to bed."

"Ok, see you in the morning."

Saki made a face. "I'm not leaving you in the kitchen unescorted. Go back to bed."

"Meh. I'm going for a walk. I'm too wired on sugar to sleep."

Saki crossed her arms and leaned against the kitchen doorway, leveling her mother a mistrusting glare.

"Fine, fine. I get it. Bed." Sakura smiled and rose from the table to ruffle her daughter's hair.

"Mom? Takeo is crying."

"Mom! Don't tell me you FORGOT to pack me a lunch! Gods, I even reminded you, dad was sooooo right."

Sakura moaned and looked over at her alarm clock. Shit muffins. It's already eight o'clock. I should have been at the hospital an hour ago... With all the ninja speed she could muster, Sakura shoved on her uniform and tied her hair back in a casual pony tail.

"Mom..." Yuki carried a wailing Takeo in her arms, which she promptly deposited with her mother. "Later, I'm going to go visit Akemi-baachan; then I'm going to go train with my team."

"Oh! I'm so glad you're visiting baachan. Are you going to show her your new summons?" Yuki nodded silently.

Akemi was not actually Yuki's biological grandmother, but was a little old lady who had helped bring Sakura and Sasuke together over ten years ago. The family had kind of adopted her. Akemi, at the ripe old age of 104, often needed help around the house, and Yuki was often the first to volunteer to visit the old woman. It was sweet, really; Yuki and the old woman had a really lovely bond. Usually, Yuki was a bit guarded around her parents, but with Akemi-baachan, Yuki seemed to be more open and receptive. They were truly fortunate to have a grandmother type figure in their lives, since both Sakura and Sasuke's parents had long passed.

Sakura shook herself out of her reverie, smiled broadly and continued, "Have a nice day hon! Here," Sakura rummaged around in her purse with her free hand and handed Yuki a bill, "go ahead and buy lunch today, ok?"

Takeo began screaming particularly loudly and Yuki winced. "Thanks mom. Later."

"There, there, kitten! Don't cry!" Sakura called to the little bundle of tantrum in her arms. Takeo sniffled and then proceeded to screech, this time directly in Sakura's ear. Sighing, Sakura pulled out another bill and ran to the kitchen.

"Told you you'd forget to pack me a lunch."

"Don't say I never gave you nothing," Sakura replied with no small amount of exasperation as she handed the pouting girl some money.

"What, I'm going to starve if this is my lunch money. What do you want me to do, eat ramen?"

"Yes. After all, Naruto ate ramen for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day growing up, and look how he turned out," Sakura intoned.

"Mom? Dad says all that ramen made Uncle-Hokage-Naruto-sama, quote, 'mentally deficient.' Money please?"

Sakura snorted. "Out. Enjoy your ramen."

As Saki scrambled out of the door, she threatened, "Oh, I am soooooo telling dad when he gets back!" Saki stuck out her tongue, and with that, was gone, leaving Takeo to wail piteously in Sakura's ear.

"Ah, Takeo-chan, I know what will make you stop crying!"

Takeo looked at her expectantly and momentarily ceased his antics.

"Ice cream!"

"Ice cweam! Yay!"

At least Takeo couldn't tell on her for her bad eating habits/parenting when Sasuke came home. Kami help them, hopefully it wouldn't be a long mission?

Because the ice cream levels in the freezer were getting dangerously low...and Sasuke usually did the shopping.

.:a/n:. As promised in many a PM, I've included more Sakura POV moments:) Please let me know how you guys are liking this fic! Any suggestions, comments or questions are always welcome via your reviews:)

Much love! =^.^=