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Chapter Text

Sarada Uchiha was a smart 5-year-old child. You could ask anyone and they would tell you the same thing (except for Boruto but he was just jealous so his opinion doesn't matter anyway). Her Uncle Naruto would always tell her that she gets her intelligence from her mama rather than her father. Sakura would always chuckle after that and would get very quiet like she always did when her father was brought up. Yes, Sarada was very smart and she learned very quickly to never, ever bring up her father if she could help it. She didn't like to see her mama sad but she couldn't help but have questions. Was he a good man? Was he strong? Uncle Naruto said he's a bastard, but what does that mean?

Sarada Uchiha was stuck. She had so many questions and nowhere to put them. She laid in the darkness, all tucked in bed. Her mama came in and read her a story an hour ago. Sakura was barely keeping her eyes open to finish the story, so Sarada knew that she was already softly snoring in the next room. Sarada sighed loudly and stared at her ceiling. The light from the full moon cast the shadows from the tree onto her walls. She watched them mindlessly dance on her walls, thinking about her father. She was alone.

And, then, she wasn't. A man was sitting in the chair that her mother had left a short while ago. He sat ramrod straight, a hand on each of armrest. His eyes were red with swirling black dots. She sat up sharply, breathing quickly. She tried to wrack her brain for what she should do so she did what she always did when she scared, she opened her mouth to scream for her mother. "Wait," the man said. His voice was soft and kind. "I'm not here to hurt you. You can see me, right?" His long hair fell briefly in front of his face, which he impatiently flicked behind his ear.

She swallowed and nodded. "Who are you?" She was terrified but she had yet to see Sakura look frightened.

"You don't recognize me?" His voice sounded sad and a little far away. "Has my foolish little brother not told you about me? Surely he has at least one photo."

Sarada cocked her head and furrowed her eyebrows. She slowly shook her head.

"Well, that's not surprising, I suppose. It's a dark story for someone so young," he nodded.

"Sorry, but who is your brother? Why should he have told me about you?" Her voice sounded frustratingly young to her ears so she tried to put on her best serious face. It was her imitation of her mother's face whenever she fell and needed a bandage.

The man smiled widely, an expression that filled Sarada up with joy. It was like watching a flower bloom in front of her eyes. "Your father. I'm your Uncle Itachi."

Sarada gasped quietly. She hopped from under her covers, sitting upright. Her feet were swinging off the edge of her bed. "Father? You know my father? Can you tell me about him?" Her heart was pounding in her chest. If what this man said was true, maybe he could tell her about her father. He did not look sad when he talked about him.

"What do you mean? He has not died, has he?" With this sentence, his voice and face changed. Though his voice was calm, there was a danger detectable to someone even as young and untrained as Sarada. It was scary, like a frozen river. One wrong step and she was certain she would drown.

Though, the question confused her. Shouldn't his own brother know that he's still alive? "No," Sarada said carefully.

"Then, where is he?" His face betrayed no emotion. Sarada became increasingly nervous.

"I, um, I don't know," she admitted, hanging her head.

This bewildered her uncle. He blinked several times, the tomoe in his eyes spinning wildly. "You are an Uchiha, yes?"

Sarada beamed. This was one thing that she was sure of. "Yeah! I'm Sarada Uchiha. Mama says that we are the strongest clan ever."

A laugh escaped from the stoic man's lips. "Did she? And, who, may I ask, is your mama?"

"Sakura Uchiha," she said proudly. She loved her mama a lot.

"Sakura, hmm?" Itachi leaned back and closed his eyes. "Good for him."

"Can you tell me about my papa now?" Sarada asked nervously.

"Sarada, why don't you know about Sasuke?" Itachi sat back up, his eyes trained on the young girl. Sarada's eyes widened.

"Sasuke?" She whispered to herself. "Is that his name?" She exclaimed.

His jaw clenched. "Sarada, why don't you know your father?" His voice was no longer calm. It was angry.

Sarada swallowed. She felt ashamed. "I, um, I h-have never, well," she stuttered out. She took a deep breath and, as quickly as she could, said "I have never met him." Tears began to well up in her eyes. She desperately tried to get rid of them. Only babies cry and she didn't want her uncle to think that she was a baby.

Itachi's nose flared. "What do you mean you have never met him?"

Sarada awkwardly wiped a tear falling from her cheek. "Mama says that he's protecting the village. She says he loves me very, very much but he has to stay away." She bit her lip as another tear fell.

Itachi stood up quickly and began to pace. His footsteps were soundless, only the wind creaking through the nearly empty house could be heard.

"Uncle Itachi?" Her voice was soft.

"Hmm?" he hummed without looking at her. He continued to pace back and forth.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, looking down.

This stopped him. He stared down at her. His red eyes intimidated her. "What for?" His face softened at seeing her tear soaked face.

"Well, Uncle Naruto says that papa is gone to protect me. Which means that it's my fault he's gone," she sniffed and looked away.

"Sarada Uchiha," his voice commanded her to look at him. He knelt down beside her bed, eye level. Sarada was alarmed by how he looked. His eyes, though terrifying, were so tired, like he had been woken up from a nap he desperately needed. "Listen to me. You have done nothing wrong. Your father should know better than to leave an Uchiha unprotected in Konoha."

His comment irked her. She didn't like that he was underselling her mama's strength."I'm not unprotected. I have mama!" she exclaimed defensively. "And I can protect myself. Like, today, Boruto pushed me so he could get to the swing first and so I punched him and he cried." She smiled.

Itachi smiled softly. "Boruto?" He asked.

"Mmhmm," she nodded. "I don't like him but I have to share my toys with him when I visit Uncle Naruto and Aunt Hinata." She pouted.

"Ah, the jinchuriki had a kid, then. With the Hyuga heiress, no less," Itachi nodded, standing back up.

"Jinchuriki?" Sarada asked.

"Mm, ask your Uncle Naruto about it later." Sarada nodded in response. "Sarada, I can't stay much longer."

"Wait, you're supposed to tell me about my papa. Is he strong? Is he a good guy? Is he nice? Is he funny? Can he-?" She rambled.

Itachi smiled sadly. "Sarada Uchiha. Your father is one of the best men I have ever met. When he comes back, be gentle with him, okay?" Sarada nodded.

"But-" It was too late. He was already gone.
***************************************
Two weeks later and she was sure it was a dream. She had never heard of another Uchiha and certainly never heard of a man with red eyes. She knew there was a teacher somewhere who had red eyes but she was a woman and was definitely not an Uchiha. So, she decided that she was dreaming. She was, after all, very smart for her age.

Of course, that was all until she saw Uncle Naruto again. She was supposed to stay the night for a play date with Boruto who she hated. Really, her mama had to work an overnight shift and did not want to leave her all alone. Sarada had learned what these "slumber parties" were a long time ago.

Her papa had been on her mind all day. She sat on the living room floor, bored, as Boruto played on his dumb game system. The front door creaked open, announcing Naruto's arrival home. "Hinata?" a deep voice called out.

Her Aunt Hinata smiled brightly. "Naruto? You're home already?" She placed the dish she was washing down in the sink to run to the hallway. He met her there, picking her up and spinning her around with a kiss. This was the ritual they did every time Naruto came home from a long mission. Sarada always found that to be very romantic but always watched the scene with a stone in her stomach. She wanted this for her mama.

Naruto glanced in the living room, leaving a blushing Hinata in the hallway. "Boruto, come give your old man a hug," he commanded playfully. Boruto popped up, dropping his system on the ground.

"Dad!" He squealed, jumping into his arms. He hugged him tightly. Naruto placed a few kisses in his hair.

"Oh, I missed you, so much." He squeezed.

"Daddddd, you're squishing me," Boruto whined.

"Sorry, sorry," he laughed, setting him down. He glanced at the young girl sitting in the middle of his floor. "Ah, Sarada! How are you doing, kiddo?" He affectionately ruffled her hair.

"Fine. Thank you," she responded while trying to straighten her hair back in place. Her mama taught her manners, unlike Boruto who was rude.

"Ah, it's so scary when you're formal. You sound just like Sasuke," he laughed. Her face fell and Naruto quickly began to panic. He rubbed the back of his head with his bandaged hand. "Oh, Sarada, I mean-"

"Uncle Naruto?" Sarada swallowed.

"Hm?" He looked at her nervous expression. "What's wrong?"

"What's a jinchuriki?"

A glass broke in the kitchen. Naruto jaw clenched. The playful expression was gone from his face. He had his adult face on. Boruto looked confused. "Where did you hear that word?"

Sarada blinked and bit her lip. "My Uncle Itachi," she answered truthfully.

Hinata gasped in the kitchen, walking to the living room slowly. Sarada did not like all the attention being on her.

"Sarada, honey, did you say Uncle Itachi?" Hinata asked softly. Sarada nodded. The two adults exchanged a look.

"What do you mean, your Uncle Itachi told you?" Naruto asked carefully.

"Wellllll, a while ago I was in bed and a man was in my room." Naruto's expression suddenly turned downright scary. Waves of anger and disgust rolled off of him. "Um, he, um, said that he wasn't going to hurt me and that he was my Uncle Itachi." She barely managed to finish in a whisper, looking anywhere but Naruto's face.

"Naruto. Calm down, you're scaring her," Hinata whispered. "Sarada, what did the man look like?"

"He was tall and had black hair. It was long. He had lines on his face. He had red eyes with black dots that spun around a lot," Sarada explained. "He was kind of scary but he was nice to me."

Both adults stared at her for a minute. Sarada became increasingly uncomfortable. "She's lying," Boruto announced, unhappy that no one was paying attention to him.

"Shut up, I am not!" She said punching his arm as hard as she could. He moaned in pain and made a mean face towards her. "I swear, Uncle Naruto."

Naruto barely spared Boruto a glance. "I believe you, Sarada. What did he say to you?"

"Hmm," she hummed as she thought. "Nothing really. He wanted to know about papa and mama. He thought that papa might have died because I didn't know him. He wasn't very happy that he left me alone in Konoha, but I told him that I have mama so I'm not alone. I told him I could defend myself because I hit Boruto and made him cry."

"YOU DID NOT, YOU BIG LIAR!" Boruto screeched but neither Naruto nor Hinata looked away from Sarada.

"Then, he wanted to know who Boruto was so I told him that Boruto is someone I have to share my toys with when I visit you guys. And then he said that the Jinchuriki had a baby with the Hyuga heiress. And that's where I got the word from. He wouldn't tell me what it meant and that I had to ask you." Naruto looked different than Sarada ever remembered him looking. He looked dangerous, a stark contrast from the fun-loving goof she was used to.

"Hinata, I need to go talk to Kakashi-sensei and Sakura. Watch the kids." And, then, he was gone.

"Wait, dad, what's a jinchuriki?" Boruto yelled at the thin air. Sarada looked worriedly at Hinata but she just smiled motherly.

A couple of hours later, Naruto came back into the house with a bang. "Sarada," he called. Sarada looked up from her book.

"Yes?" she answered walking to the hallway.

"Get your shoes on, the Hokage wants to talk to you." Naruto looked agitated.

"Am I-Am I in trouble?" She asked quietly, sitting down to slip on her shoes.

He smiled. He looked like her fun uncle again. "No, silly. He just wants to talk to you." Looking at her face, he quickly realized why she was so worried. "Don't be scared. He's old but he isn't scary. Actually, he's lazier than Boruto, if you can believe it."

Sarada giggled at that. They exited the house, holding hands, and began walking to the Hokage office. She had never been before but her mama always pointed it out on their walks. It was a tall red building. She got more nervous the closer she got. She clutched her Uncle Naruto's hand tightly. He smiled down warmly at her but when he looked up, he looked serious.

They entered quickly and she was ushered into a large room with a lot of open windows. It was already dark outside so the lights of the buildings lit the streets. She swallowed, looking at the man in front of her. So, this is the Hokage, she thought to herself. She swallowed again, squeezing Naruto's hand tighter.

Kakashi smiled down warmly through his mask. "Ah, you must be Sarada. My, my, you've grown. You look just like your father," he exclaimed happily. Sarada frowned. It wasn't like she wasn't used to this. Anywhere she went, people always compared her to her father. Usually, they just cooed over how much she looked like Sasuke. But, even a child as young as Sarada felt the heated glares of people in the streets. She never built up the courage to ask her mom about why people seemed to hate her so much before she even talked to them.

But, again, there was another person who knew her father better than she did. It seemed like every person in the village knew her father. She felt a deep sadness welling. Shouldn't she know her father better than an old man behind a desk? Shouldn't she know her own father better than the woman at the tomato shop? Shouldn't she?

Naruto glanced at the downhearted young girl. As much as his heart ached for her, there were more important things to discuss. "Yeah, uh, why don't you tell Kakashi-sensei what you told me, Sarada," he offered, pushing her forward.

"Uh," she began. Before she could get any farther, the door to the office cracked open, nearly bursting off the hinges. Sarada jumped and turned. Her mother stood in the doorway, her chest heaving. Her green eyes examined every inch of her daughter in front of her. She kneeled down and hugged her deeply, standing up. She turned on the dime and faced Naruto.

"Naruto, you idiot! You don't leave a message telling me that my daughter has an emergency! And! Not! Tell! Me! What! The! Emergency! Is!" Each word was punctuated by a punch. "I thought she died, you moron!"

"Sorry, Sakura. I guess I should've worded that better, huh?" He chuckled rubbing the back of his head with his hand.

"Ah! It's just like old times!" Kakashi exclaimed. Sarada just watched the scene curiously. It's not usual to see her mother so childlike.

At the sound of Kakashi's voice, Sakura turned and stood by her daughter. "Hey, what is this about?" Sakura directed her attention to the Hokage.

Kakashi crossed his fingers in front of him. "Well, young Sarada here was just about to tell us."

So, Sarada recounted what happened again, doing her best not to stutter. None of the adults looked away or smiled at her. She was very nervous, her heart in her throat.

"Well, Kakashi-sensei? What do you think?" Naruto ventured.

"Hmmm," Kakashi hummed in thought. "Well, Sakura, is this the first you're hearing of this?"

Sakura nodded, glancing at her daughter and back up to the Hokage.

"I thought it was a dream," Sarada explained, guiltily. She didn't mean make her mama worry.

"Did he say anything else?" Kakashi asked. Sarada shook her head quickly. "Did he ask about the village?"

"No," she responded. "Just about me and papa and mama."

"Sarada, honey, did he try to touch you at all?" Sakura looked anxiously down at her daughter. The room suddenly felt like the air had been sucked out. Kakashi's eyes narrowed and Naruto sucked in a breath. Sarada didn't really understand.

"No. Not even once. He just sat in the chair and paced, mostly." A silent sigh of relief resounded through the room.

Kakashi sat in silence for a moment. "Okay, here's what we're going to do. Naruto, send word to Sasuke."

Naruto nodded. "Should I tell him to come back?"

Sarada's heart began to pound. He could come back? "That's not necessary," Kakashi waved it away. Just as soon as she had her hopes up, they were squished back down. Sarada tried to not look disappointed. Sakura began unconsciously to run her fingers through Sarada's hair.

"We are going to have ANBU circle through for a while, for...protection." He worded his sentence very carefully. Sarada was annoyed at the level they were taking care to make sure she didn't get scared. She wasn't a baby.

"Sarada, if he comes back, you must let us know. For now, operate as though it were a dream, do you understand?" She nodded. "Tell no one else about this. Sakura tells me you want to be a ninja." Sarada nodded enthusiastically. It was her dream. "Well, a big part of being a ninja is keeping secrets. This will be good practice. Promise?"

Sarada smiled a toothy grin. She could do that.

Chapter Text

Years passed and Sarada eventually forgot all about her Uncle Itachi. She was too busy making sure that she did the dishes, making sure that they had enough paper towels, planning the dinners for each night. She started school and threw herself into her studies. She couldn't afford to fail. That would only add to her mother's plate which would simply not do. She had no other choice but to succeed.

As Sarada stared at her ceiling, she thought about the past week. She had finally met her father and it nearly put her mother in trouble of being killed. But, at the very least, her father was home again. Her mom practically begged her to go to bed early so she could get some alone time with Sasuke. Sarada's heart swelled at the idea of her parents being together but the look in her mom's eye felt strange to her. Sakura had always been a pillar of strength, of independence. She hated that Sasuke had such a strong effect on her.

Or maybe it was a good thing? After all this time, the only man that had made her mother blush had been her father. Perhaps that’s just what love is. She tried to remember what Hinata looked like when Naruto came home, but she couldn't.

She sighed to herself. She knew that she needed to get up and get dressed in her pajamas, but her thoughts were too heavy. So, instead she laid on top of her covers and stared at her ceiling. Something about this felt strangely nostalgic but she couldn't place the feeling.

"Sarada?" A voice called from somewhere in her room. Immediately, her ninja training kicked in and she had a kunai in hand (any good ninja knows to keep a kunai under their pillow, just in case). Her sharingan was activated without her knowing it. She was perched on top of her bed, her entire being focused on the threat in her room.

The sight of the man who claimed to be her uncle made her blink. "Who are you?" she asked, still wary. This wasn't a genjutsu... at least she didn't think so. She couldn’t be sure. She's not even a genin yet, after all.

"I do believe we've met before," his voice lilted, clearly bored.

"I know who you say you are but that isn't possible," Sarada asserted calmly. Her kunai had not dropped an inch. She was still in defensive mode. Her eyes were trained on the young man in front of her but her brain was quickly running through possible strategies to get out of the situation alive. Shino Aburame was a good teacher, to say the least.

"You doubt that I am Itachi Uchiha?" he asked, almost amused. He looked the same as he did when she was a child. He stood in front of the window, facing her. Sarada knew the spot in front of where he was standing should creak if he were to step forward. If she could get him to take a step towards her, the floor would creak and would alert the two very capable ninjas downstairs that there was someone here. For now, that should be the best plan of action.

"All of the Uchiha clan has been killed except for me and my father," she said carefully.

His red eyes seemed to shine at her statement. "You are not incorrect." He quickly looked her over. "You have grown. How long has it been?"

She unclenched her jaw. "A couple of years," she said, lowering her kunai.

Itachi looked at her eyes and his posture changed. "I see you've developed the sharingan," his voice was sad.

Sarada relaxed and sat on her bed. "Yes," she said.

"No one hurt you, did they?"

"No," Sarada said. "Not...not really." Itachi tilted his head, urging her to continue. "It's just my father," she said uncomfortably.

"What did Sasuke do?" Itachi said, taking a step towards her. She paused. Her plan had worked perfectly. She purposefully pretended to drop her defenses to get him to step forward. She waited for the creak of the floor board, but it never came. He took another step. Still no sound. It was strange, she couldn’t even hear the soft breaths that indicated that he was breathing. Could he actually be…dead?

She looked away and tried not to seem disappointed that her plan had failed. It was too late to do anything drastic. If she yelled, he would kill her within in an instant. The only thing she could do is stall and hope her parents would come save her. As if he knew what she was thinking, Itachi chuckled but she tried to ignore him. Instead, she answered his question begrudgingly. "It's a long story."

"I have a few minutes," he offered, sitting in the same chair as before.

"It's just that..." she paused, organizing her thoughts. "I met him for the first time a couple of days ago. And it wasn't what I expected, I guess."

"Oh, how so?" Itachi prompted.

"Well, he tried to kill me," she said with a nervous laugh.

"What?" Itachi looked concerned. Sarada supposed she should have expected that reaction.

"He didn't know who I was, to be fair." Her voice broke. "But it's not even just that! He's a strong ninja. And he's so stoic. And he makes my mom blush."

"So, what's wrong?" Itachi asked.

She swallowed. "It's just that he's my father! And he's fantastic!"

"I don't see the problem," Itachi stated simply.

"The problem is..." Sarada paused. "Is that why he didn't want me? Because I could never be as strong as him?" She furiously tried to blink away her tears but they fell anyway. "I'm not a legendary war hero. I don't have whatever that purple eye thing is. I've never made anyone blush before." She pouted and pulled her knees to her chest.

"Sarada," Itachi began. She looked at him through tear-soaked eyelashes and, if Itachi had a heart anymore, he was sure it would have broken. He felt strangely paternal for being dead. "Has your father ever told you about the time that we practiced kunai throwing?"

"No," she whispered.

"I used to be pretty good at throwing kunai and your father wanted me to teach him. We used to practice in the woods. One day, he attempted to hit a target behind a boulder and ended up spraining his ankle. I had to carry him on my back all the way back to our house." He smiled softly. “I know to you, he’s a legendary ninja, but to me, he’s my foolish little brother.”

Sarada sniffled. “So?”

Itachi sighed. “So, to other people, he’s a legendary ninja but, to me, he will always be a seven-year-old trying to catch cats. And to other people, you may be the next generation of Uchihas, which is a lot of pressure. But to him, you’ll always be his daughter. I know no matter what you do, he will love you.” He spoke with such finality, there was no question in his mind.

She wiped tears off of her face. “I guess,” she said in a small voice.

He glanced at the kunai she was still clutching in her hand. “So, are you a ninja now, then?”

“I’m going to the academy. I’m not a genin, yet,” she shrugged.

“I see,” he said, nodding. An uncomfortable silence fell for a moment.

“Uncle Itachi?” Sarada asked.

“Yes?” he responded, flicking a strand of hair out of face.

“How…how did the Uchihas die?”

“Has Sasuke not told you yet?” She swallowed sharply.

“N-no,” she answered. “I’ve only just met him again and I wasn’t sure how to ask.”

“Mmmm,” he hummed in thought. “He should be the one to tell you the entire story but for now I can answer your question. I killed them.” He said it casually, as if he was telling her the time of day.

She jumped up in response. “What!?” she screamed. “What do you mean you killed all of the Uchihas?”

“Exactly as I said. I was the one who ended their lives of the entire Uchiha clan, including your grandparents. The only one who was saved was your father.”

“You killed them all, by yourself?” she demanded.

“Mostly. I had a little help,” he chuckled. “To be fair, I was a bit of a prodigy. Not that it does me any good now.”

“B-b-but why? Why would you do that?” Sarada nearly cried. She could have had grandparents who knew about sharigans. She could have had cousins. She could have had someone who would tell her stories about her father. Maybe she wouldn’t have had to feel so alone, to bear the burden of being the last Uchiha in Konoha.

“I was ordered to,” he answered. His face didn’t betray any emotions.

“By who?”

“By Konoha.”

Sarada felt bile rise to her throat. There’s no way her village would order to extermination of the Uchiha clan. She tried to imagine her fun-loving Uncle Naruto doing something so vile and it just didn’t add up. “You’re lying!” she shouted, too loud. Her father had to have heard that.

Sure enough, her door was flung open and there stood her father. His cloak was off but he had his sword in one hand. Itachi looked at him, a smile rose to his face. Sasuke grew up a lot. And he had the rinnegan? That must be the purple eyes his niece was talking about! Happiness swelled in Itachi’s chest. “Sasuke,” he sighed. After years of worrying, seeing Sasuke healthy (though minus an arm, which he was certain would be an interesting story) was like a drink of water after a year in the desert. It was all he could hope for.

“Sarada?” Sasuke asked simply.

“Papa!” she exclaimed.

“Sarada, who are you talking to?” he asked cautiously.

“You can’t see him?”

“See who?” Sasuke asked, narrowing his eyes at his daughter.

Itachi’s smile never fell. “He can’t see me, Sarada.”

She looked at him. “He can’t?”

Sasuke walked to her, placing a hand on her head. “Release,” he attempted.

Nothing changed. So, he definitely wasn’t a genjutsu. “He’s still here, Papa,” she whispered.

“Who?” Sasuke asked, looking around the room, sharingan spinning wildly.

Sarada took a sharp breath. “Uncle Itachi.”

Sasuke’s face changed. “Where did you hear that name?”

“He told me,” Sarada answered.

“Tell him he’s my foolish little brother,” Itachi said.

Sarada cleared her throat. “That again?” she asked him. He nodded. “He said to tell you that you’re his foolish little brother,” she said slowly, as if it were another language.

Sasuke froze. “What?” his voice small. He had a look on his face that Sarada didn’t think was possible for him. He looked like a child again.

Itachi rose and walked to his younger brother. Itachi almost scoffed, his brother is now older than him, a thought that was very strange indeed. “Sarada, I have to go again,” Itachi said sadly. He stared at his younger brother and, if he could cry, he was certain he would be sobbing. He didn’t want to leave. He wanted to stay. He wanted to talk to his brother, to laugh with him again. He wanted to tell him he was loved.

“He says he has to leave again,” she said. Sasuke, as if he could sense it, was staring directly into Itachi’s eyes, though he could see nothing. She swallowed the lump in her throat. Itachi poked Sasuke’s forehead and then was gone.

“Sarada, is he still here?”

“No,” she shook her head. “He…well, he…”

“What?”

“He just, kind of, poked your forehead and then he was gone.”

Sasuke didn’t move. He was eerily still, it didn’t even look like he was breathing.

“Does that mean something?” she asked, unsure. Her mother alluded to something better than a kiss but it couldn’t be that…could it?
He nodded. Still staring in the spot where Itachi had been.

“Papa, what’s going on?” she asked desperately. Who was that, really? Why was she the only one who could see him? He couldn’t be a ghost, could he?

“That was Itachi Uchiha,” he said his name with such a reverence, it was almost a prayer, and Sarada’s breath caught in her throat at the emotion he conveyed.

It wasn’t until he was leaving the village again, that Sarada understood the forehead poke. She was trying to be brave. She didn’t want him to leave, she just got him back. What if he never came back? What if he died? What if he changed his mind and decide that they weren’t good enough and-

Then he poked her forehead, disrupting her thought. And she understood. He would never be the father that played with her like Naruto did with Boruto or talked for hours like Aunt Ino and Inojin did, but Sasuke loved her just as much. And that was enough.

Chapter Text

Sarada sat back in the computer chair she had been sitting in for hours. Her neck ached, her wrists hurt, and her eyes had long since stopped focusing on the words in front of her. She unclenched her jaw (a bad habit she never could break) and looked at the ever-ticking clock on the wall. It was late… too late. She subconsciously twirled the ring on her finger, thinking of Boruto at home with their children. A promise she made when she accepted this job was that she would always come home at night. Some things were more important than a job title.

Though, she reasoned, she never truly thought that she was going to be Hokage. She wished for it nearly her entire life, she trained for it, fought for it, bled for it. When the previous Hokage told her she was the next in line, she was almost in shock. She knew it would happen in theory but the realist in her never thought she would see the day. Konohamaru-sensei nearly had to catch her from fainting. The man just smirked, as if Sarada didn’t know that his reaction was the exact same way when Naruto passed the mantle onto him.

She had only been in the position for a day but she was already encumbered with forms and papers and problems. She was beginning to understand why Naruto had so many shadow clones. She sighed and stretched, her back popping uncomfortably.

Then, she heard a chuckle from behind her. Quicker than the human eye could follow, she had a kunai, her entire body facing the direction of the sound. The sharingan in her eyes were spinning wildly.

Itachi Uchiha stood in front of the window, facing his niece. “Sarada Uchiha,” he said with amazement.

Her face softened, dropping her kunai. “Uncle Itachi,” she smiled.

“You’ve grown,” he remarked. She certainly had. If memory served, last he saw she was around thirteen years old. She was a full grown adult now, having long since went through all the changes of puberty.

“Yeah. It’s been almost twenty years since I’ve seen you last,” she said softly.

He nodded in response. His eyes met the Hokage hat that was placed on the desk in front of her chair then back to her. “An Uchiha as the Hokage. I never thought I would see the day.”

Sarada laughed a little gleefully. “Yeah, me neither. Though, technically…” She awkwardly shifted her weight to the other foot. Itachi cocked his head. “Technically, I’m not an Uchiha anymore.” She held up her left hand, a shiny ring glinting in the moonlight.

Itachi’s eyes widened. “Who?”

“Boruto,” she said simply.

Itachi’s smile nearly broke his face. “That idiot Boruto, huh?”

“Shut up,” she said playfully. “We have two kids, a boy, Sadakuto, and a girl, Sawako. Sawako is a spitting image of Papa. Sadakuto looks like his father, of course.”

“Do they have the sharingan?”

Sarada shrugged. “They’re a little young to find out. I hope I never know.”

Itachi nodded. “You can’t protect them forever, though.”

Sarada’s eyes went hard. “Who’s going to stop me?”

Itachi’s laugh was strange but beautiful. “And your father? What does he think of being inlaws with the jinchuriki?”

Sarada’s face fell. She took in a shaky breath. “He died before we got married. He died a while ago, actually,” she said simply. She tried not to cry. Yesterday was her inauguration day and Sasuke never left her thoughts the entire day. How would he feel? What would he say to her?

“Died,” Itachi said softly. His face held no emotion but Sarada knew it reflected her own. “How?”

“In a fight, of course. Lord Seventh always used to say the Gods themselves would have to come drag the bastard to hell or the next twelve generations would have to put up with his dramatic ass,” Sarada said with a sad laugh. “It was just some leader of a group that wanted world domination or something. Lord Seventh went crazy when he found out. We had to rebuild a whole section of the city, actually. Shikamaru Nara had to physically drag him off that guy’s corpse. It was pretty brutal to watch, really.”

Itachi watched carefully. “How old was he, when he…”

“43,” she said. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

“So young.”

“Older than you,” she retorted.

“True, but I was always meant to die, so he could be happy and he could be safe,” Itachi said, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the window.

“Can I ask a question?” Sarada said hesitantly. She had a question on the tip of her tongue ever since the last time she met him. He responded with a quick nod, still not opening his eyes.
“Would you do it differently? If you could? Would you go back and live a full life?”

Itachi opened his eyes. He searched her face. She knew how she must look to him. She was the Hokage but she was terrified and sad and lonely. She had a family whom she loved very much, but in many ways, she was still the five year old begging for someone to tell her who her father was. It seems she never really got the answer.

Itachi tilted his head. “Of course I would.” Sarada breathed in sharply. “But wouldn’t you change something in your past? Surely yours is not unblemished.” This gave Sarada pause. He was correct, of course, almost annoyingly so. “But it’s not possible. I killed almost everyone I ever knew or loved. I caused pain in the one person I promised to protect. I did it for him, my foolish younger brother, but I was thirteen. I thought I knew what I was doing but I didn’t. I made decisions that were permanent at an age that I should not have been making decisions. I joined the Akatsuki as a spy. I had my own brother kill me. Given the chance, I would choose differently. But we all would, wouldn’t we?.” Sarada nodded slowly, absorbing his words. “Now, let me ask you a question. Do you think he was happy, in the end?”

Sarada swallowed. “I don’t know. I hope so.”

Itachi looked at her. “I hope so, too. He would be immeasurably proud of you, if he were here.”

“He would?” she asked, a ploy for sarcasm, the hope in her voice peaking through.

“Of course. I know my brother well. Your inauguration day would have been something he would attend in secret. He would remember your face getting your hat for the rest of his life, if he had been alive. I know he’s looking at you now, so proud of you. And your children, too, I’m sure.”

Tears began to leak from her face. Something about his presence made her feel so young, although she was now older than he had ever been. She sniffled, rubbing the tears from her cheeks. “Hey, Uncle Itachi? How does this whole thing work anyway?”

“This whole thing?”

“Yeah, you being a ghost. Why can only I see you? Why do you only appear randomly? What is-?” Before she could finish her thought, the door creaked open.

“Okay, okay, stop pushing, she’s right in here,” Boruto’s tired voice rang through the room.

“Papa, you said we could see her at 8:30 but it’s 9 now, and…” Sawako’s complaining stopped when she saw her mother. She shrieked and ran into her arms. Her son did not share the same enthusiasm but smiled just as widely.

Boruto grinned sheepishly at her. “Sorry, Sarada. The kids wouldn’t stop complaining about you so I brought them here.”

Sarada laughed gently into her daughter’s hair. “It’s fine, you all are always welcome here.” She sat Sawako down and looked at her son. His eyes were puzzled, as though he did not understand something. He was very much like his mother in the way that everything he experienced needed an answer. His eyes roamed in the space that Itachi took. She breathed a soft gasp.

Sawako pulled on the edge of her shirt. “Mama, who is that?” she asked, pointing towards Itachi. Itachi smiled softly at the young girl, no more than five. She had gentle cheekbones and raven hair. Her smile was sweet. Her eyes held an innocence that he would have once died to protect.

“You are quite right, Sarada. She does look immensely like Sasuke,” Itachi said. It was a knife in his lungs and blessing he never thought he would receive. It was almost a carbon copy of the child he once knew.

Boruto looked uncomfortably at his family members. “Who are you talking about, Sawako?” He sounded concerned as though he was concerned she was having a hallucination.

“The man by the window, dad,” Sadakuto said, nonchalantly. His blue eyes and blond hair almost gave Itachi a flashback of a certain simple minded jinchuriki.

“What man? There is no man by the window,” Boruto exclaimed.

Sarada smiled widely. She made eye contact with her uncle.“Sawako, Sadakuto, this is your Great-Uncle Itachi”

“Who’s that, Mama?”

Sarada’s eyes never left Itachi’s. “It’s a long story...But it's a good one.”