They were meeting outside the western Konoha gate. Much to Sasuke's dismay, he would be in the past longer than he had expected. He had hoped it would be a quick in and out situation, but he understood there was no safer way to track down Sarada than this.
Sasuke was hiding in a tree, waiting for his father to make it out, it was a difficult spot to be put in, he had not seen his father since he was eight years old. Sasuke's desperation to find Sarada, and his relief at his father having an answer had not been enough to blind him from the realization of who he had stood in front of. Sarada came first, his feelings, his emotions were not important and that what he had to keep telling himself.
He could pretend to be calm, pretend to be unaffected, he had done it as a bratty teenager he could do it now. His father showed himself ten minutes later, a frown on his face, but he kept moving forward, not acknowledging Sasuke, it wasn't hard to tell why, Sasuke could sense someone following his father. Sasuke wanted to roll his eyes, of course his father's sudden exit from the village would raise some suspicion.
Sasuke followed after his father, careful to keep his chakra steady and hidden. After thirty minutes they were no longer being followed, his father called out to him, "if we are lucky they will think your chakra is of an affair partner not of an enemy."
Sasuke moved down from the trees to walk on foot, his father had not taken to the trees just yet. "Was I that noticeable? My wife has taught me to control my chakra better." It was not easy to be taught chakra control by Sakura, perfection came so easily to her that she didn't know how to teach it
"Son, I could sense you without trying to the moment we were within one hundred feet." It was so matter of fact that Sasuke felt he had to defend himself again.
"My wife said I improved."
"But she didn't say you did a good job did she?"
Sasuke felt like he was eight years old again, "I guess not."
They kept moving they couldn't move too fast just yet; a sudden change had the potential of alerting the shinobi that had been following them. Fugaku could tell it was a struggle for Sasuke to stay calm, he still made the same face as adult as when a toddler Wanting to lighten the mood he began conversing, after all they had to be careful, but they are two Uchihas nothing they couldn't handle if they were discovered, "are you going to erase my memories of this meeting or alter them?"
"Neither, your memory will only be able to unblocked twice," Sasuke began, he had enough confidence in his own abilities (and Sakura's guidance) to be open about it. "Once by a sort of key, but once they are gone the door will shut and the memory will remain blocked to you."
A key, thought Fugaku, "A sharingan." He hadn't meant to voice his thoughts out loud. "Whose?" Fugaku asked, because he doubted his son had many options, Fugaku trusted very few men to let them in his mind, and one of them stood before him, but at the same time was currently in diapers.
"There's not many options of people you and I both trust, but it cannot be mother," Fugaku was ready to protest, but Sasuke stopped him, "do not forget that I am married and with a child of my own. I know how easily it is to trigger the sharingan." Any further protest died on Fugaku's lips, "I trust Shisui, and Itachi."
Fugaku wondered for a moment how his lively toddler grew up to be so serious and stern, Sasuke had always taken more after Mikoto, from personality, to looks. Yet, the man before him was almost a mirror of himself. "I'd rather jump off a cliff to my death before letting Shisui in my head, no telling what damage he would do. As for your brother, it is quite a personal matter, he may not be the best choice."
"I get it," began Sasuke, "I wouldn't want my daughter in my head either. There is no telling what she could find there. But, the only people that I trust that currently have a sharingan are Kakashi, Shisui, and Itachi."
"Itachi it is then." They walked in silence for a few moments, which Fugaku didn't mind, but this was his adult son he was with and he couldn't help but be curious. "You said the first time the memory would be unblocked I still would not have access to the memory, what of the second time?"
"It will be yours to keep the second time," before Fugaku could ask how, Sasuke continued, "When my wife was younger she had two souls in her body, at least that's how she explained it to me." There was so much medical terminology in her explanation that Sasuke had been too embarrassed to ask her questions. She had assumed that having Orochimaru as a sensei meant Orochimaru had taught him some medical knowledge, she was wrong. Now he was in too deep to correct her embarrassed to correct her.
"Basically when she was twelve she was able to break free from the body possession jutsu, because she heard a trigger, and this soul that she carried was strong enough to remove the Yamanaka from her."
Fugaku laughed, it was small laugh. He was impressed, Sasuke realized, as he should be and continued, "this idea was hers before I came here, she isn't from a clan, or anything. My wife is civilian born; which is why she believes that everyone has the potential for that second soul. She has over our time together explained to me much of how the mind works."
"It would be very useful to go in with the sharingan with that knowledge," he paused and decided it was safe enough to change their trajectory, he began heading east. Sasuke close behind him, "very dangerous for our enemies."
"Once Itachi goes into your mind, there will be a separation, even if Itachi uses his sharingan on you again, he will not be able to see it, and if anybody else tries, it would be like when my wife removed the Yamanaka from her." Fugaku almost felt sorry he had been curious, to know your soul would be split, was a strange thing. "Once the right triggers occur the memory will be unblocked, and you will return to as you were."
"You said your wife came up with this?"
"Yes, it's a first time use so I will be putting other barriers as well, if my daughter makes her way to you, we will have this memory to go back to."
"If my granddaughter," Fugaku stopped himself, the word felt wrong. He was too young to be a grandfather, "if she finds her mother's family first, then what?"
"You said it's drawn to blood, my wife doesn't have a lot family in Konoha. It will likely place her nearer the Uchiha compound."
They moved to the trees, feeling far enough away from the village now to move faster, as they moved through the trees, Fugaku thought of two more questions, but began with the first, "you have brought up you wife quite a bit, what is she like?"
He paused, unsure of what to say. "She was Lady Tsunade's student, she runs the Konoha hospital and opened clinic for children. The first of its kind, she can make a mountain crumble with her fists." He could tell his father about her kindness, her warmth, her temper. He could have even mentioned they were in the same genin team, and her crush, or even of how foolishly blind he had been to his own feelings. Sasuke wanted to speak to his father of all these things. He wanted his father to know of his life. Yet he found himself unable to say the words, "she is a great mother, Sarada loves her. I often feel like the third wheel around them."
"She seems strong, good. Uchiha's need to be strong, the world can be cruel to those of our clan. You choose well."
"No," this much he had to correct his father on, "she chose me."
"And you are luckier for it I presume." The silence was answer enough.
"You haven't asked her name." Sasuke said, he thought his father would have asked that first, try and identify her.
"What good would it do me to know what toddler is my future daughter in law? We shall meet when the time comes." Then with a shift in tone Sasuke had not expected he added, "if we ever do."
Sasuke said nothing, stopped on a tree, forcing Sasuke to stop as well, and in the same tone asked, "it wasn't a mission, was it?"
Sasuke couldn't look at his father, but he could not lie either, "no."
"Your mother too?"
Again, he refused to look at his father, and tears threatened to fall, "yes."
"Did Itachi take care of you?"
Once more he could not look this time the tears were coming, "to the best of his ability." It was the truth that Sasuke had struggled to accept.
Sasuke felt his father hand on his shoulder, he looked to his father, "how old were you?"
"Eight." His father looked away, but Sasuke had caught the tears in his eyes.
"I'm sorry," his father said, and they continued on their way in silence.
Itachi watched the silence with adult Sasuke next to him. The silence begging him to break it so he did, "why? You can change it, you can keep them alive."
Sasuke looked at him with a softness he did not want, "changing the past will mean many unknowns. Including Sarada's existence, I would never gamble with Sarada's life in any capacity. For that I ask that you forgive me."
The cold returned then, the Sasuke in the memory slowing down at first it was hardly noticeable, then more and more. Causing Fugaku so slow his own pace, eventually Sasuke' s chakra slipped causing him to start falling. Fugaku as if expecting it caught Sasuke before he could fall. "We need to rest up. Looks like time travel uses quite a bit of chakra."
Sasuke was frustrated, but did not deny it. "More than normal dimension hopping at least, but we can't afford to stop."
"It is also of no use to us if we get the scrolls, find the date and you have no chakra to get to her with. There's a small Clan hide out nearby, it's a little off path, but it's better than you passing out from chakra exhaustion." He gave Sasuke a pointed look, leave it to his son to be so irresponsible with his health.
A/N: better late than never. These last few years have been something... well if you follow Beginnings it hasn't been too long since we last met up... but things that happened on my personal life, since I last updated deaths, and lots of them. Since the last update i did try to write, in fact this chapter was supposed to be from Sakura's perspective of not being able to find Sarada, but that feeling hit a bit too close to home and i didn't want to go back down that rabbit hole. so I restarted this chapter.
Anyway as always enjoy and thank you for reading, and I would like to add sorry for the wait... at this rate see you guys in four years for the next update.