This is an eventual SasukexSakura. Rated M for descriptions of violence and language. Very little graphic sexual content.
The story is accurate up to chapter 238 of the manga and contains spoilers.
I have posted this chapter again because I updated late last night, and you probably did not get a chance to see the message before others started flooding your inbox. I apologize. For those who have already read it, it contains the same content so you do not need to read it again.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Never have, never will.
OOO
"Mommy! Mommy! I made a hundred percent!" Kenji cried out cheerfully, holding the test out and up. "Aren't you proud of me? Aren't you proud, Mommy? Look! Look! Look!" Sakura chuckled and lifted her son into her arms.
"Yes, Kenji. You did well. I'm proud."
"You know what? You know? Iruka-sensei, he said that I made the highest score in the whole class! The highest score!" Kenji often had a tendency to repeat himself. Sometimes two times or more. Overall, he seemed like a very happy child, and he did not cry often. Except when there were bullies.
And there were a hell of a lot of them.
If Kenji fought back, the mother of the mean child would walk to Sakura's house and demand an apology. Sakura would promptly tell them to suck it. The mother would then post a complaint to the Hokage, who would promptly yell at them for bullying his nephew.
The Hokage was, of course, Naruto.
"Uncle Naruto took me out to ramen today. At I-Ichi-tabu," he stuttered. Sakura frowned in confusion for a moment but then she realized what her son was talking about.
"At Ichiraku's?" she asked. Kenji nodded his head vigorously.
"Yeah, there, there!" Naruto loved Kenji dearly, almost like his own son. In place of the actual father, he helped Kenji develop basic skills, and Kenji was most definitely at the top of his class.
Now, if only he could make a friend or two.
Or maybe just one. That was fine, too. People knew who his father was, but they were forbidden to talk about it to the new generation, but that didn't mean that they wouldn't stop their children from interacting with him. Most of them hated and were disgusted by him, but they didn't even know the reason why. But it didn't matter. Children learned how to hate by the older folk. That much hadn't changed since Naruto's time.
Sakura looked at the clock, finding that her chicken was still about an hour premature. "Kenji, why don't you go out and play? You can come back in an hour and eat dinner with Mommy." Kenji's face brightened.
"Okay! Bye, Mommy!" he shouted, bolting out the door after giving her a brief kiss on the cheek. Sakura smiled at his fading figure then headed back to work.
Life was hard as a single mom. Sakura took on shifts at the hospital and did work as a field medic. Every time she went on a mission, she was worried she wouldn't make it back. Who would take care of Kenji?
Okay, her parents would, but that didn't mean she wouldn't worry. Kenji was the world to her, and she didn't want him to end up a depressing shell of a person like his father.
Kenji had dark (red) hair, onyx eyes, but he looked more like Sakura than Sasuke for now so she was grateful for that. Not too many could tell, but she could see the beginnings of a long, narrow face and nose. True to her word, Tsunade had kept his father a secret, but pretty soon, everyone would be able to tell. Especially with his hair starting to stick up.
OOO
Sakura heard a thud outside. Screaming. Crying. She hurried to her front door, her stomach churning in anticipation.
"-told you to never come near my daughter again, you filthy, little rat!" a female voice shrilled.
"Mom, I wanted to play with Kenji."
"Honey, you're mistaken. You could never want to play with someone like him." Sakura could feel the disgust behind the voice as if it was tangible. She felt herself get more and more angry as she stepped out onto her porch. With a sharp eye, she glared at the mother. Sakura spotted a fresh, bruising red mark on Kenji's face in the shape of a hand. His lower lip was trembling, and tears threatened to spill.
"What did you do?" she asked the mother calmly.
"Sakura! I've told you time and time again to keep your son away from my daughter!" the mother screeched, her little girl tugging on the expensive skirt that she did not deserve.
"Mama, I already told you. I want to play with Kenji!" she cried out. "Why can't I play with him?"
"Darling, he's not someone you should play with. Go play with Kaoru instead."
"But Kaoru's mean! I like Kenji!" she whined.
"No! His father's no good, and the apple never falls far from the tree!" she hissed, glancing at Sakura. Something burst within her, and she imagined forty-six ways to kill the woman without getting caught.
"Go away," she said gravely.
"Before I kill you."
The woman gasped and ushered her daughter home, whispering and scolding all the while. Sakura sighed and looked at her trembling son, his clothes dirty and stained. She bent over and dusted him off, wiping the tears from his face. "Sweetheart, you okay?" Kenji was silent so Sakura decided not to push the issue as she healed the now purple bruise on his face.
"Mommy, was Daddy a bad person?" Kenji asked, a frightened look on his face. Sakura froze. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish, not sure what to say. Should I tell him the truth or just feed him more lies?
"Yes, Kenji. Your daddy's a very bad person," she choked, tears of her own stinging at her eyes. Seeing her son's disappointed look, she forced herself to smile. "But baby, you're nothing like him." His face brightened, and he beamed at her, latching onto her neck. "Kenji, you're a little big for this now, aren't you?"
The chicken was forgotten and had been burned.
OOO
"Sakura-chan, are you sure you want to leave?" Naruto asked, his mouth open in surprise. Sakura nodded.
"Naruto, the cat will force its way out of the bag one way or another. Besides-" she looked out the window "-there's nothing left for us here." Naruto gazed at her, wanting to deny her request but knew he couldn't. He sighed, giving in.
"All right, Sakura-chan. You win." She gave her best friend a soft smile, truly appreciative of his answer. "One condition. You have to send us updates every month, and you have to come back to visit."
"That's two, Naruto."
"You know what, I don't care. If you don't send us an update every month, I am going to assume the worst and send a squad out searching for you. Anyway, if you need any help, you can just shoot me a hawk."
"Naruto-"
"Yeah, they'd be dead, wouldn't they?"
OOO
"You're LEAVING?" sobbed Ino. "After all this time? Didn't we mean anything to you?" She let out a howl and blew her nose viciously on the tissue. Sakura rolled her eyes.
"Ino, you're being overdramatic. Of course you meant something to me. But-" she looked at her best friend's comfortable room one last time "-I have to do what's best for Kenji. Ino nodded, her eyes puffy and nose red. "I'll visit," Sakura reassured with a shrug.
"You'd better!" her blonde friend snarled, tackling her with a hug. "You'd better take good care of my nephew; he'd better be in one piece when you two get back!" Sakura just laughed.
OOO
"Kenji!" Naruto boomed. "Got all your stuff?" Kenji nodded enthusiastically, a grin spread over his face. "You excited, buddy?"
"Yeah, Uncle Naruto! Mommy says that we have more o-o-oppatunyunaties now!" Kenji cheered, throwing his arms in the air. Naruto looked puzzled.
"Do you mean opportunites?" he asked, ruffling the young boy's hair.
"Yeah, yeah! That!" Sakura smiled at the boy, shifting her backpack to a more comfortable position. After taking a long, good look at her son's nose, Sakura finally turned to her mother.
"I'm leaving, Mom," she whispered before crushing the older woman with a hug. The embrace was tight and heartfelt, and Sakura let go when she felt complete. Her mother patted her hand, squeezing it.
"Sweetheart, I'm fifty-two years old. I would like to see my grandson from time to time before I croak," she reminded, voice raspy from twenty years of smoking.
Sakura huffed. "Trust me, Mom. Stop smoking, and you'll live forever." Her mother just cackled at that. "I wish I could see Dad off before I go," Sakura lamented. Her mother just shook her head.
"He'll cool off eventually, honey. He can't be mad forever." Oh, yes. He can, Sakura thought, but she dismissed it with a nod. Sakura and Kenji switched places, Kenji starting to talk animatedly to his grandma.
"So Sakura-chan. This is it, huh?" Naruto asked timidly. "You know I love you, right?'
Sakura nodded. "Yes. You've only told me a thousand times," she chuckled half-heartedly. Naruto grinned, but it fell quickly.
"You know I'm in love with you, right?"
A pause. "Yes, Naruto. I know," Sakura said softly. Naruto swiftly enveloped his teammate in his arms, his much larger form completely dominating hers. Sakura knew she would miss this. Breathing in the scent of his shirt, she wrapped her arms as tight as she could around him. After a long while, they separated, neither of them feeling satisfaction in letting go.
"Well, bye, Naruto." Sakura waved at her friend, taking her son's hand. He shook his hand almost violently at his grandmother.
"Bye-bye, Grandma!" he cried out, smiling so wide that he could barely open his eyes.
Sakura took one last glance at the village she grew up in before walking forward on to her new path.
OOO
Sakura and Kenji had moved into a little country village where everybody knew anybody's business. It was impossible for anyway to keep secrets, due to the large percentage of gossipers, so Sakura had to keep most information about herself private. She ran a small clinic, barely got any tough customers, and if she did, the customer would probably receive some public humiliation. So all in all, life was good. Kenji had even made some friends, one girl, Kara, and one boy, Kyou. He called them the "three Ks." It was absolutely adorable.
But the situation changed.
Naruto sent a shocking were rumors going around that Orochimaru found out that there was an Uchiha heir. He wasn't sure who it was, but he was going to find him so in the future, he could repossess the body. Sakura decided that it wasn't safe to stay in one place for a long time. She just didn't know how to break the news to Kenji. They had only been there for three months, but he already had a strong attachment to the village.
"Kenji," Sakura called out nervously. "Come here." The boy skipped up to his mother, his eyes gleaming in anticipation.
"Mommy?" Sakura was silent at first but then sighed, rubbing her temples with her fingertips. "Mommy, what's wrong?"
"Kenji. Sweetheart, we're in danger in this town." It was true; this town was startling close to Otogakure and Yugakure. Kenji's eyes widened. "We have to leave."
"I don't want to go," he said, shaking with pent up anger.
"I'm sorry, baby."
"I'm not going!" he roared, exploding. He kicked a table, causing it to topple over. "I won't go, I won't go, I won't go, I won't go, I won't go!" His face turned quite red, and he was gritting down on his teeth. Sakura attempted to pacify him, but Kenji would have none of it. Finally, Sakura threw her hands up, having enough for one day, and decided to play an unfair, yet true, card. Orochimaru wouldn't only attack Sakura and Kenji; he would attack the whole village. It was an unsubtle power play.
"Kenji, if we don't leave, Kara and Kyou will be in danger." That made Kenji freeze in his tracks. His eyes widened exponentially, showing fear for his friends' lives. "Whether you want to leave or not, I care for the people in this town. I will drag you out of here kicking and screaming if I have to."
Kenji was silent, gathering his thoughts. He sat on the bed, twiddling his thumbs and swinging his legs. He never looked up once at his mother, but it was clear that he was thinking over her words. Sakura knew it would only be a matter of time before he begrudgingly agreed. Finally, he spoke.
"Do we have to?" a quiet voice whined. Sakura smiled sadly at her little boy.
"Yes." She plopped her son into her lap. "I'm sorry, baby."
OOO
Sasuke will make an appearance next chapter.
Thank you to those who reviewed, alerted, and faved. If you could do so again, it'd make my week. ;)