Chapter Text
"Morning, Mom."
"Morning kiddo." The older woman grinned, bright and warm as every morning.
"Do I have a mission assignment today?"
"You'll have to ask Shikamaru about that. I've been working on a draft treaty with the Cloud and shunted that off to him."
"Oh?" She frowned. "What's the sticking point?"
"You know Ay." The blonde sighed. "Always after new jutsu. I swear it's like kleptomania."
"He is always looking to gain. Perhaps Shikamaru-san will have some insight with fresh eyes? Or perhaps Kakashi-sama?"
"Eugh, who taught you to speak so formally." She ruffled her daughter's hair. "Because I know it wasn't me."
"Shino-sensei was very big on respect, not that anyone really listened to him when he talked."
"C'mon. Walk with me to the Hokage office and we'll see if you're free today. Why the curiosity, if you don't mind me asking? Usually, you just wait for Neji to gather up your team and assign parameters."
Her daughter looked down at her feet, her bangs falling in her face. "I was hoping I could visit my little monument today. I haven't been out there in a while."
"I totally forgot. It's his birthday." She pulled her daughter in close. "Do you want me to go with you?"
"No, I'd like to go alone. Since you told me his story, I have some things I want to discuss, just the two of us."
"I understand. Maybe next time."
"Sure. I'm sure he'd like to hear from you."
"Alright. Finish up breakfast and we'll go."
"Where are you going, Odayakana?"
She looked up from the ground, finding Mitsuki walking alongside her. "I'm going to visit a relative."
"A relative? I thought you only had Naruto-sama."
She offered him a small smile. "I never said they were alive, now did I?"
"Ah, fair enough." He smiled back at her. They had a weird, copacetic relationship that didn't make any sense to Sarada. She didn't know herself whether this came from their strange family lives or simply their single parents. Maybe the odd looks they got from the elder generations, both of them looking strikingly similar to shinobi both from Konoha and former enemies of it. "Which relative?"
"I would rather keep that to myself for now. I believe a visit will ease the weight on my mind."
"I see. You're not going too far out of the village, are you?"
"Mom knows where I've gone. If we get assigned in the meantime, she'll know where to send you to pick me up."
"I understand. I'll leave you to your business, then. Safe travels!"
She waved him off, pulling back her bangs from her face. They were getting long again, almost to her collarbone. She was going to have to cut them again soon.
The day was beautiful and clear. She didn't bother to rush through it, just wander at a smooth place over to where her mother had helped her erect her little memorial. The birds sang and the wind was just cool enough to take the heat off the beating rays of the sun. She enjoyed days like this and could completely understand why the Naras were so fond of cloud-watching. It sounded like a good activity, but she had a destination in mind today. Perhaps she could ask Shikadai to watch with her afterward.
It was nice being out of the village and alone. Not that she was unloved, or that she was treated poorly in the village, but . . . Her mother was the Hokage, and a single mother. Naruto had never hidden anything from her, or tried to dissuade her from learning the truth about certain events. However, there was no denying the way she would get cast sidelong glances if she had her hair tied back, or if she was practising her kenjutsu and fire jutsu in the training grounds. She swore that sometimes, the village didn't think she actually belonged to Naruto - she'd heard their whispers that Naruto had been seen taking a baby from a black-haired shinobi and was in fact hiding someone's illegitimate child.
"It's not true." Kakashi told her, sitting next to her on his front porch. She trained with him sometimes, because he was the only one who could teach her the forgotten techniques. He also seemed to have a nostalgic fondness for her, like he was making up for a mistake. She felt like many people did that to her. "You're all Naruto's. I should know - I was there during her labour. Out you came, quiet as a mouse and with a little mop of black hair."
"Then why would they say that? They all seem to love Naruto, why make up these nasty rumours about her daughter? Her only daughter?"
"It's not about you, or even Naruto." Kakashi took a breath and pulled her into his side. "They don't like your father."
"Uchiha Sasuke."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Well, little one, mostly because he's not here." He smiled sadly. "Because they think both you and Naruto deserve better."
She heard the caw and held up her arm. The crow settled on it as he always did, cawing at her once.
"Why, hello there, my friend." She hummed and held out a bit of meat she'd been keeping for him. He always came when she was out of the village boundaries alone. She didn't mind being watched by him, the bird with the glowing red eye. "I'm glad to see you."
He cawed again, leaning forward to bump his forehead against her hitai-ate. She chuckled as he did his customary greeting, obligingly leaning her head down to take the nudge. He hopped up onto her shoulder, sitting there primly as she continued on.
"When I did my summoning, the crows came." She explained. "When they circled me, some of the older ninja pulled kunai on me."
"They what?" Naruto almost dropped the plate she was cleaning as she spun around.
"Yeah. They didn't attack me, but I was sure for a second they would."
Naruto grumbled what sounded like some choice curse words. "I'll handle it. I won't have my daughter threatened and isolated for something she can't control."
"Mom, who do they see when they look at me?"
Naruto's shoulders tensed, and it took her longer than normal to respond. "Your uncle."
"Sasuke had a brother?"
"Yeah. Uchiha Itachi, his older brother. Itachi was an exceptional ninja and a very loyal man. There's a lot that happened to him that I'll explain to you when you're older, but he went deep undercover for the village. Everyone thought he was a traitor, but he was following orders. Even to this day, only four people alive know about his mission."
"Who?"
"Me, Sasuke, Kakashi and Captain Yamato." She took another deep breath. "He was in the Akatsuki. That's why they get afraid when they look at you, when you do things like he would have or accomplish things that he did. But that's no reason to threaten you."
"When will you tell me? About him?"
"When you're old enough to understand why he chose to do what he did and the complexities of the situation at the time."
"Okay. Should I practise alone?"
"No!" Naruto calmed herself down. "No, sweetheart. Just do what you do. I won't allow my village to treat any more children the way I was treated."
She pulled out the red ribbon she kept in her pouches, reaching back to tie up the longest lengths of her hair. It didn't pull back the locks that framed her face, but it kept the longest pieces from lashing her when she was in battle. She looked even more like him this way, but she kept it down in the village to ease their concerns. She would tie it up out here were no one was looking.
She turned off the main road leading towards Suna into the woods. Hidden a few hundred meters into the dense brush was a small clearing, only big enough to be fully illuminated when the sun was right over top of it. Set up in the clearing was a small stone, barely knee-high, inscribed with a name and two dates.
She reached into her pouch, pulling out a single dainty red rose, a tall white candle and a myrrh incense stick. She stuck the stick into the hole in the stone, laying the rose down in front of it. She blew on the candle wick, lighting it with a touch of chakra, then using the candle to light the incense. She placed the candle in another small hole, layered in old wax, then sat back on her feet.
She took a moment to collect her thoughts. The crow jumped onto the stone, watching the forest around them for her. With a deep breath, she opened her eyes and stared down at the name written there.
"Hello uncle." She said, managing a smile. "It had been some time since I came to visit you. Mom wanted to come, but I think it's best, this time, if it's only me."
The wind passed gently though the foliage, ruffling her hair. She sighed, reaching out to brush her fingertips along the name.
"Mom told me about you. In full. About what you were ordered to do, how you did it, your time with the Akatsuki and how you died. It all makes more sense to me now, knowing just how powerful and feared you were. I wish I had the chance to talk to you in person, to hear from you what thoughts rant through your head. Mom seems to have a lot of respect for you and the sacrifice you made." She paused, cocking her head at the stone. "But more than that, I wish I had answers for you.
"I wish I could tell you whether your sacrifice made a difference, if you protected him as you intended. I wish I could assure you that the Uchiha will not be remembered as villains. I wish I could rewrite the narrative and reverse the slander, give you another option. I wish I had your guidance and patience, since you sounded exceptional.
"And perhaps it is selfish of me to wish that I could look at you for myself, to see your face somewhere other than a mirror."
She leaned against the stone more fully.
"Sasuke is never in the village. I have not met my father, which I can only imagine would sadden you. You wanted what was best for him, but I cannot vouch for him. According to Shikamaru-san, he comes into the village to report to my mom then leaves again. I don't see him come or go, and Mom never talks about him. Only when I ask questions. I'm grateful she doesn't hide anything, but I feel so helpless. I am known as an Uzumaki, as my mother and hers before her, but I can't help but feel the weight of the Uchiha clan on my shoulders as well. I am the daughter of the massacre's sole survivor, a spitting image of its destroyer, and it's lone heiress. I don't know what to do, and I could use your guidance. I could use anyone's guidance.
"There's so much more that I want to know. So much I am curious about. Not even solely of you, but of the clan, its jutsu now lost, and my crow. I want to know who's eye he has. It can't be yours - Mom told me that Sasuke has them - but it is a Sharingan. A Mangekyo, by the looks of it. I suppose you can't help me with my own eyes either, huh? I have three tomoe, but I can't seem to summon them at will."
She sighed, standing.
"Don't worry, I wasn't expecting a response. Rest well, Uncle Itachi. I will return when I can, though hopefully it will not be after such a lengthy gap."
She turned away, letting the candle and incense continue to burn. They were her favourite kinds. There was little she could share with him, but this was something, and she would take what was offered her.
She was wandering back to the village, a little more than two hours since leaving, when the crow on her shoulder took off. Odd behaviour, since it usually stayed with her until she was within sight of the walls. She decided to follow it, running into a clearing before the bird was lost to her. Perhaps it was leading her here? She opted to look around briefly before returning as she'd come. Too much dallying and she would be late for practise. Neji-sensei didn't appreciate tardiness.
Cold steel touched her neck and she froze, barely breathing.
"Who are you and how did you know I was here?"
"My name is Uzumaki Odayakana, and I didn't know you were here. I was following my crow."
The man holding the sword to her throat circled around her, his visible eye glowing red even under the shade cast by his long hair. There was only one other person who shared her eyes. Fortune favoured her, it seemed, because she wasn't the only one taken aback by the other's appearance. His sword arm slackened just long enough for her to smack the blade away and put some distance between them. He simply lowered the sword, watching her wary stance.
"So, you're Naruto's kid, huh?"
"Yes, she is my mother." She narrowed her gaze. "Are you my father?"
His lips quirked up. "By those eyes you have, I'd say I'm the only person that could be."
She checked over herself and indeed, could feel her eyes burning. She left them on. it would preserve the moment for posterity. "Are you returning with a report?"
"Something like that." He sheathed the sword, leaning heavier on one leg. "How do you know that?"
"Shikamaru-san."
Sasuke clicked his tongue. "Probably some kind of surrogate father now, huh?"
"I don't appreciate you speaking of my mother that way."
He blinked. "I suppose that did sound like an accusation. Just curious. Naruto's not so neglectful as to not provide you with proper training and role models."
"I am part of Neji-sensei's team, and my master is Kakashi-san."
"Interesting. What brings the daughter of the Hokage all the way out here?"
"I don't owe you an explanation."
He shrugged. "Whatever."
Above them, the crow cawed, then flew back the way she'd come.
"Good luck on your mission, Sasuke-san." She turned away from him, pocketing her kunai again and letting the Sharingan fade back into the dark depths of her blue eyes.
"I'm surprised you're not more curious about me."
She glanced at him over her shoulder. "You're not the brother I want to ask questions of."
She didn't get summons to the Hokage office, but she felt compelled to go there anyway. It was nearing sunset and her mother was still at work. Not an uncommon occurrence - they are breakfast together more often than dinner - but it still made her nervous. Was she too harsh with Sasuke in the forest? She knew little about him, even if what she did know didn't make her favour him. Something about him had to be upstanding, however, or else her mother would have never allowed him close enough to lead to her conception.
"I want to live up to your dream, Uncle Itachi." She whispered to herself as she walked into the empty compound of the Hokage Mansion. "I just don't know how."
She wanted to know what kind of man Sasuke was, but she had no desire to know the man personally. It felt more like she wanted enough information to approve of her mother's choice. Considering there hadn't ever been another partner in her mother's life, Sasuke seemed special. Some small part of her wanted to resent him for leaving them alone, for letting her endure the punishment for his clan's mistakes and transgressions when the people guilty of the crimes were dead long before she was born.
"What the hell do you mean you ran into her in the woods? What the hell?!"
"Like I said, I found her in the woods. She was really rather dismissive of me."
"Go figure. It's not like she's ever had a dad before."
"I'm surprised you didn't find someone else."
"Don't start this with me. I made my choice. She's my child, first and foremost. If she's not going to have her actual father, then she'll have her teachers instead."
"You know I would stay if I could, Naruto."
Her mother let out a bitter sigh from the other side of the door. "Yeah, of course I know. Why do you think I even sanctioned you to go? But you've had nothing to do with Odayakana since I got pregnant with her. I don't want you fluttering in and out of her life when it suits you. I won't let her get treated like I was. She . . . She deserves better."
There was a long pause, wherein she almost opened the door. Sasuke's soft voice stopped her.
"She looks exactly like Itachi. It's uncanny."
"Yeah, she does. She's got the Sharingan, too. She's a gentle child."
"How did she get so many so young?"
"The Sharingan activated when her cat died. It was an old stray that I let into the apartment when I lived there alone. It was by her side until she was six, when it died in her arms. The second tomoe came during the Chuunin exams, when she almost killed Himawari."
"She almost killed Hinata's daughter?"
"It was a fight. I should have known better than to let her battle her classmates. After all, Neji's other students were three years her senior. She's also very fast and had learned teleportation. But it scared the hell out of her. She stood vigil at her bedside until she awoke. Thankfully Sakura was able to heal her without any complications, or I don't think Odayakana would have ever forgiven herself."
"The Chuunin exams aren't easy for regular ninja. It must have been hard on her."
"It was. But she's strong. She got the last one when I told her about Itachi."
"You- You what?"
"She wanted to know about him. I couldn't hide him from her - Sasuke, she's been called by his name. She deserved to know why people treated her so different, so fearfully. I wish someone had of told me why I was treated like shit as a kid."
"You told me Itachi made you promise not to tell people."
"Yeah, he asked me not to tell the village. She's not the village. She's his niece, and the Uchiha heir."
"She introduced herself as Uzumaki."
"Of course. It was to save her, to hide her. She's well aware of what she is. She's fifteen and a Jounin, Sasuke."
" . . . Already, huh?"
"Yeah, already."
" . . . Do you want me to stay?"
Naruto barked out ugly laughter. "When has me asking you to stay in the village ever stuck, huh? You're a big boy, you can make your own decisions. Do what you want, but make up your mind before you interact with my daughter again."
She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Shikamaru.
"Come home with me for dinner. They're going to be a while. Then you can sleep over at Kakashi's." He said gently.
"Okay." She replied, following him out of the building with only one backward glance at the light on in the main office.
She walked around the desk, shaking her mother awake.
"Eugh, huh- What?" Naruto sat up, rubbing at her eyes. She automatically smiled when she laid eyes on her daughter. "Odayakana! What brings you here, sweetheart?"
"You weren't home for breakfast, so I thought I would bring you some and we could eat together on the roof."
"Aww, you're so thoughtful." She stroked her daughter's cheek. "Meet me on the roof, I'm just going to freshen up a little bit."
"Alright." She took the food and saw herself up to the roof.
"Odayakana, was it?"
When she checked over her shoulder, it was Sasuke standing there. "That's me."
"I . . . wanted to apologize for how rough our meeting was yesterday."
"I accept your apology." She gazed at him for another long moment. "Was there something else you wished to say?"
"I don't know." He admitted. "There's a lot I want to say, and I have no idea if it's the right thing to say."
She tied her hair back. "Then perhaps silence is the better choice."
"Are you this distant with everyone new you meet?"
"No. Did you expect me to be any more than cordial to a complete stranger?"
Sasuke winced. "I deserved that one, I guess."
"Mom won't like seeing you here unless you've decided to stay, so you should probably leave." She informed him.
He teleported away when the door to the roof opened. She returned to the task of unboxing breakfast.
She didn't see Sasuke for another year.
She visited Itachi once a month, usually with Naruto in tow, but not always. Her crow, who she named Shisui, now had his own perch in her bedroom and followed her around all the time.
"Mom? Can I ask you something?"
Naruto looked up from where she was washing dishes after dinner. It had been Odayakana's turn to cook, so Naruto washed. "Sure. What's on your mind?"
"I wanted to know about Sasuke."
The blonde shut off the sink, turning to face her fully. There was a serious expression on her face, usually reserved for mission briefings. "What about him?"
"I . . . wanted to know why he's my father." She looked down at her hands. "I mean, there had to be something you liked about him to be with him, right? What makes him so special? Why not someone else? I get the impression from some of the others that they had crushes on you when you were younger."
"Like who?"
"Shikamaru-san, Neji-sensei, Gaara-sama, to name a few." She shrugged. "Out of all these amazing men, you chose Sasuke. What was it? Why him?"
Naruto's face softened. She sat down beside her daughter at their small table and took her hand. "Have I ever told you this was the apartment I grew up in?"
She blinked. "No. It was?"
"Yeah. When I was four, the Third pulled me from the orphanage and put me here. I didn't know it, but I was watched by ANBU day and night. Jiji would some and see me sometimes, and I magically never ran out of food. He was the one who decided my last name would be Uzumaki and not Namikaze. I was already a target by the villagers and ninja told to keep what I really was a state secret, he didn't want other villages coming to try and steal or kill me. Being a Namikaze would mark me as a target of the Fourth's legacy, and he was the bane of many villages."
"That's awful."
"I didn't know any of this. No one ever told me." Naruto looked down at their hands. "Every adult but me knew I was the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. They called me a demon and hated me. I only found a few shops that wouldn't turn me away, and only one restaurant that allowed me in. Ichiraku's became the only safe haven for me outside of this apartment."
"Why?"
"It took me the better part of my teenage years to learn any of my truths." Naruto's smile was melancholy and twisted with regret. "Ichiraku's opened when my dad first got his Genin team. Minato, Kakashi, Obito and Rin were well-known and frequent customers of his. Minato and Kushina would go there all the time, until she got pregnant with me and couldn't take the smell."
She chuckled with her mom, squeezing her hand.
"Instead of meekly taking their dismissal, I decided If they're going to hate me, it may as well be for something I've done. I started being a nuisance, painting graffiti on the mountain faces, on stores that disliked me and knocking things over. Pretty harmless stuff, in retrospect, and I was always made to clean it up by the Third. It seemed like when they came face to face with who and what I really was, they calmed down. They still didn't like me, and I celebrated by birthday by double-locking the doors to my apartment and hiding from villagers that wanted to hurt me, but it was less. I wasn't kicked out of places or had things thrown at me in broad daylight. By the time I was in the Academy, it had calmed down to the point where it was just mean things said about me when they thought I couldn't hear, or my back was turned. What I also didn't know was why the ninja in the special uniform disappeared around the time I was eight."
"The special uniform?"
"The Konoha Police."
It clicked together in her mind. "The Uchiha Massacre."
"Yeah." Naruto sounded sad, weighed down by the knowledge. "Itachi was following the Third's orders, trying to preserve the village and prevent another Ninja War. With a powerhouse like the Yellow Flash gone and Kakashi on the edge of suicide by mission, they were desperate to avoid another confrontation. Sasuke was the sole survivor of the Massacre, left behind by Itachi on purpose. Not only was seeing the murders first hand traumatizing, he walked into their house to find Itachi standing over the bodies of their parents, telling him that the only reason he was being left behind was to be a pawn for later. To achieve the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. Itachi tortured him in the Tsukoyomi to ensure that Sasuke would hate him enough to seek him out as an adult.
"I had seen him around before, wandering alone after the Massacre. He, like me, had no caretakers and now no family. He didn't treat me like dirt because I was a Jinchuuriki, nor did he do much of anything. It was refreshing to be treated like any other person, and I knew immediately that any relationship I formed with him would be special.
"We became classmates when we entered the Academy. He was a very good student and I was not. He wasn't a prodigy like his brother, no skipping years or anything, but we were on total opposite ends of the spectrum. All the other girls in the class fawned over him, while I hung out with the boys, mostly. They didn't judge me much, and Shikamaru liked to take naps during lessons. I began to dislike him for the attention he got, and tried to beat him during spars. I wasn't really successful, but I think he appreciated my determination to be better and that I didn't fall all over him.
"I managed to graduate with him from the Academy, and we were assigned to Kakashi. We got along much better on the team, even though he still looked down on me and called me names. But we could both tell we were kindred spirits. We suffered through a similar experience, by different means, and that quiet knowledge united us. We saved each other constantly when missions would go wrong and bonded through our training.
"In the end, it was Itachi that drew Sasuke from the village. He went seeking more power, better training to be able to kill Itachi. Orochimaru offered him that, so that was where he went. He left the village and began life as a rogue ninja, doing anything asked of him in the promise of the strength to kill Itachi, to take revenge for his unjustly murdered clan. No one but the Hokage and the Council knew about the mission, and records of it were kept in the vault, only accessible by the Hokage. I made a promise to Sakura that I would bring him home."
"Sakura? Why Sakura?"
"She was in love with him. Or, she thought she was in love." Naruto sighed. "I'm still not sure she even knows what love is."
She nodded for her mother to continue.
"A few months after he left with the Sound Nin, I left with Pervy Sage on my own journey for strength. I didn't see him again or even hear about him until I was sixteen. Working with Orochimaru had drawn attention to him, and Orochimaru's plans to steal his body and his Sharingan were coming to a head. Sasuke killed Orochimaru when he decided to seek out more power on his own."
"But, Orochimaru's alive? Mitsuki is here?"
"Orochimaru's greatest strength isn't in jutsu or even upfront cunning, but in having many reserve plans in the case of failure or death. He's been 'killed' a couple of times, but always manages to slither his way of of permanent death. To be honest, I'm still not really sure how he does it. Sasuke left their battle the victor and struck out to seek Itachi."
"And he killed him."
"Yeah." Naruto nodded, looking thoughtful. "Though, as I got older, I began to wonder how. I fought Itachi in the Fourth Ninja War as a Reanimation and he was a very strong opponent. If Kabuto had of known how to use him better, he might have been able to capture me. I didn't understand how Sasuke could have managed to beat him alone. But then I realized something: in our previous encounters when he was alive, Itachi had been loathe to fight hand-to-hand, even though he'd been extremely proficient as a Reanimation, and quick to conserve energy by withdrawing from fights."
She blinked. "He was ill."
"Exactly. He was dying of something else, and put up enough of a fight to convince Sasuke he'd won by merit, then died of chakra exhaustion and illness at the end of their battle. But that didn't stop Sasuke. Madara found him, almost dead after the battle, and told him the truth Itachi had kept hidden from him. It made him so berserk. After taking Itachi's eyes and achieving the Eternal Mangekyo, he hunted down the people he considered responsible for Itachi's pain and killed them, starting with Danzou Shimura."
"Danzou?"
"He was one of the Council members and a friend of the Third's. But he was also a snake." Naruto scowled. "A lot of the problems in the Ninja World can be traced almost exclusively back to his decisions. The destruction of the Hidden Rain, the formation of the Akatsuki, the Uchiha Massacre, the First and Second ROOT Organizations, Orochimaru's early human experiments - they're all his doing. He is the root cause of it all. He was a usurper and a warmonger, convinced that only a world united under the Leaf would be a successful world, and all should bow down to us. He'd wanted the Uchiha dead since he took up tutelage under the Second, and he got his chance as a voice in the Third's mind.
"Tsunade was in a coma following the Pain attacks when the Raikage called a meeting - the Five Kage Summit - to address the evident and growing danger of the Akatsuki. Danzou, with his lackeys in the Council, declared himself the stand-in. Kakashi, in actual fact, was already chosen to be her successor in the case of an abrupt death, but Danzou ignored and overruled her wishes. Sasuke heard about this and decided the best place to kill him would be at the Summit, away from the village. Even if he had to deal with the other Kage, it was significantly less of a force than in the village proper.
"What no one told me was that they'd all gotten together and decided Sasuke had to die. Even Kakashi and Sakura were in on it. Sakura drugged the others and went off with Kakashi to confront Sasuke alone, finding him shortly after he'd killed Danzou. Kakashi was to be the distraction while Sakura snuck up behind him and stabbed him. Needless to say, he saw through it. I'd followed them and stopped him from killing them. Madara bailed him out of that fight, but I had his scent now. I was going to bring him home.
"We continued to clash through the year, but after his battle with Killer Bee, he dropped off the map again. By then, I had more pressing things to worry about. War was on the horizon and I had to master my power quickly, or be crushed under it. By the time the first wave of the War came, I'd suspended my pursuit of him in favour of disobeying orders." Naruto chuckled. "I can't imagine what would have happened if I'd actually listened and stayed behind in the village like Granny said to. We probably wouldn't be having this conversation.
"Regardless, the next time I seen him after that, he arrived with Reanimations of the four Hokage to assist us against the Juubi. He fought with us the rest of the War, until Madara, Obito and Kaguya were defeated. Then, he challenged me."
"What for?"
"I don't really know. To see which of us was stronger? To prove he was better, that he could be without me? He's weird. But I stepped up to that challenge - and we almost killed each other in the Valley of the End. Damn near blew our arms off trying to stick them through each others' chests. In the end, he admitted that we were two halves of a whole, and that he was tired of fighting fate."
"What did you say?"
"I told him that he would always have a home and a family to return to in me." Naruto gazed out the window, lost in the past. "He stayed, for a time. helped us rebuild. Then, he told me that he needed to wander, to search for himself abroad. I got Kakashi to sign off on the paperwork, keeping his status as a Konoha shinobi and not a missing or rogue nin."
"Did you have a relationship with him then?"
"No. He was gone for the better part of two years again, but when he came back to the village to report, he had nowhere to go. I offered to let him stay with me, to come and go as he pleased. At that time, our classmates were getting married and starting to have kids. For another two years, he came in and out at random intervals. Somewhere near the end of the second year, I got pregnant."
"And he didn't stay."
"That's not exactly true. He came back when I was roughly eight months along and was having difficulty moving around on my own. You weren't very big, but you were my first and that's supposed to be the hardest pregnancy and birth. He stayed for the next seven months with me, was there at the birth too and kept Kurama's Seal intact. He was very helpful and kind the whole time. He got up with you when I was too exhausted to. But he had to return to the road eventually. We both knew he wasn't settled enough in his mind to stay in the village." Naruto looked back down at their hands, frowning morosely. "He asked me if he was still welcome when he returned."
She squeezed her mom's hand, the pain in those words dulled but lasting. Her voice was nearly a whisper. "What did you say?"
"I told him that I wouldn't allow even the father of my child to treat her with less than she deserved. If he wanted to continue to live with me, and be a part of your life, he had to make an effort to be back in the village more often, to actually participate in the milestones of your life. If he couldn't promise me that he would do that, I would rent an apartment for him to go to next to mine and keep it. He . . . wouldn't make a promise he wasn't sure he could keep."
She looked down too, trying not to be hurt. Sasuke was a stranger, and she didn't feel her life had suffered much with his absence. Her mother loved her unconditionally, her teachers nurtured her and her friendships were strong and lasting. Even still, it was hard to hear that he had the chance to love her, and chose not to.
"Odayakana, I want you to know that this was my choice." Naruto lifted her face by her chin, a sad smile on her lips. "I chose the terms. I was alone my entire childhood. The first time I knew love was the warm way Pervy Sage smiled at me. Sasuke was and is close to my heart. I would do anything for him and I know he would for me. I . . . I love him. But none of that comes before you, my sweetest, brightest star. I chose not to have Sasuke around, because I didn't want you to resent him for not being a constant presence. I thought it was better not to have than to regret."
She felt the tears welling in her eyes. Naruto only ever wanted the best for her, only ever wanted to be the steady, loving parent she had lost. She even agreed - she didn't want to hate him for not putting in effort. She would rather not have it than miss it when it's gone.
"You're the most precious thing to me." Naruto brushed her bangs out of the way, leaning forward to kiss her forehead.
"Am I keeping you from being happy with Sasuke?"
Naruto blinked at her in surprise, the expression quickly switching to astonishment, then horror. "No! Absolutely not!" Naruto pulled her into her arms, tucking her under her chin like when she was a little girl. "Sasuke never stayed in the village because I asked him to. He never will. He will continue to follow his own path, as he always has. Honestly, I don't know if I would have ever achieved happiness with him. But he is responsible giving me the chance to be your mom, and I'll never be able to thank him enough for that. Like I said, it was my choice."
She hadn't cried since she was little, frustrated that she had too much chakra to make a normal clone. Naruto had found her in the training grounds and held her close like this, patiently explaining everything and gently wiping away her tears. She felt that way now, grounded by her mother's embrace and safe. So she cried, letting her mother stroke through her long, straight black hair and cuddle her like a little girl.
"I love you, Mom. With all my heart."
"Aww." Naruto kissed her head, lifting her face to kiss her nose and press their foreheads together. "I love you more."
She pulled back and forced herself to calm down, wiping her face and getting off Naruto's lap.
"You're plenty old enough now." Naruto stood, going back over to the dishes. "If you want to meet him, to gave him come around when he's back in the village, I'll tell him to come."
"Really?"
"Yeah. But I'll leave that up to you, okay?"
"Okay."
"Take some time and think about it." Naruto smiled at her, bright and crooked. "No rush and no judgement, okay?"
"Alright, Mom."
"If you were in position, what would you do?"
Kakashi sat back against the tree, staring up into the sky. "Take the chance to meet him properly, probably. Couldn't hurt."
"What would you do knowing him?"
"Sasuke's an odd duck, no doubt. But I also don't think he would do anything to intentionally hurt you. Or Naruto, not anymore."
"Anymore." She muttered, following Kakashi's sightline.
"Hey, don't hold grudges against him for things long in the past, things even they've worked through. He's less 'crazy avenger' and more 'kinda weird wandering hobo'."
"Confidence-inspiring."
"You asked for my opinion." Kakashi shrugged.
She chuckled. "That I did. I'll know better next time."
"That's the spirit."
"Cheeky old man." She stood, stretching. "By the way, Mom gave me all the old Uchiha scrolls, the ones the ANBU recovered from the estate and the ones recovered from ROOT. Would you mind helping me decipher them and learn them?"
"Sure. Bring them around whenever you're ready." He gestured around himself at his immaculate garden. "It's not like I'm really up to much anymore."
"Thanks." She grinned at him, offered a two-fingered salute, and teleported away.
"More and more like you everyday." He muttered, thinking back to a thirteen year old with a soft smile and wise eyes.
"Something is on your mind."
"Uh- Yes. There is." She looked down at the ground, considering her words carefully. It was no secret that many of the Rookies didn't like Sasuke. "Mom told me a few days ago about Sasuke - the whole truth."
Neji glanced over at her, but said nothing.
"She gave me the option to meet him and I am . . . unsure if I should. Kakashi told me to, but I'm still not sure."
"The whole truth, you said?"
"Yes."
"I can't speak for her personal relationship with him after the War, but I have to love for him. Should he never return, I would not miss him."
"Even his actions in the war don't affect your decision?"
"If he hadn't fought, everyone would have died, including him. He only lost if he didn't fight." Neji rebutted. "And directly after, he attacked Naruto. Again."
"Again?"
"He's tried to kill her more times than the Akatsuki did." He scoffed. "Naruto is the reason I am free from fear and destiny. Her influence alone changed my worldview. But she is too soft on him. She deserves better than him."
"I . . . see."
"That said," Neji laid his hand on her shoulder, "if I had the chance to have my father back, I would take it without hesitation. You have never known a father, only subpar substitutions." He took a deep breath. "I believe that you are the legacy of the Uchiha clan."
"What do you mean?"
"You're a rebirth, a fresh face free of the mess of death, betrayal and misery that has haunted that clan since their origin. You have the chance to live the life they yearned for, in the peace they paid for with their lives. The fact you look so similar to Uchiha Itachi, the second most infamous shinobi to come from that line, is no coincidence. You are the sublimation of the pure and just qualities of the Uchiha clan. You can single-handedly cleanse their name, prove that within their blood-soaked history, there is wisdom, kindness and boundless love. My own clan is no different, and I seek to cleanse the injustice from it, to end the internment of the Branch members." He caught her gaze, even more intense than he usually was. "You are free of the shackles of their past, but able to learn from their history. Both of your family names are strong ones, storied and dappled in spots of peace and darkness. I believe you have the strength to change the world, to lead it to an even more stable and lasting peace than your mother."
She knew her mouth was hanging open. A compliment of that calibre was unheard of from Neji. No one scaled to Naruto in his eyes, except, apparently, now her.
"Sasuke will never be able to taint that greatness, just as he didn't weaken your mother. If you feel you wish to know him, then you should. With him or without him, you will redefine the Uchiha name and forge a legacy to surpass your forebears. I have the utmost confidence in you, and I am proud to be your teacher and confidant."
She didn't want to cry again, and definitely not in public. She hugged him tightly around the waist. "Thank you, Neji-sensei."
Neji, to her continued surprise, hugged her back. "I know looking similar to Itachi has felt like a burden at times, carrying the weight of his sins. But I believe you can realize the greatness there was in Uchiha Itachi and became what he could have been."
"Thank you so, so much. I owe you everything."
He pulled back, smiling at her. "You don't owe me anything. You don't owe anyone anything. All this greatness was already inside you."
"Mom, do you have a moment?"
Naruto put down her scroll, gesturing for her to come in. "Sure. What's up?"
"I'd like to meet Sasuke."
She opened the door to the apartment without much thought, shucking off her sandals with a satisfied sigh. The mission had taken longer than she'd wanted to, and they returned well into the evening. Mind, she was a Jounin with a Jounin sensei - a Hyuuga and Uchiha, no less - so they were more than able to complete the mission to satisfaction, but that didn't mean it wasn't long and exhausting. Using the Sharingan always made her head vaguely throb too, since she didn't use it regularly, which was annoying.
"I'm home, Mom." She called out, dropping off her pack under their coats.
"Welcome home! I expected to see you earlier than this, though." Naruto answered from the kitchen. "What happened?"
"The charge couldn't make up his mind." She rolled her eyes as she walked in, mindlessly going to the fridge for leftovers. "Neji-sensei and I just gave up on trying to work with him eventually and threw him over my shoulders, taking him by force back to his village so they could sort him out. I don't know where he got the idea we were doting servants, but he was disabused of the notion by the time we got him home. Not to mention all the assassination attempts ont he worthless geezer-"
When she turned away form the fridge, knocking the door closed with her hip, she froze. Sitting on one of the stools on the opposite side of the kitchen island was Sasuke. His cloak was hanging from the coat rack in the hallway - how had she missed noticing that? - and he looked both calm and nervous.
"Hi, Odayakana." He said, offering a small wave. "Mission sounds like it was rough."
"Irritating, certainly." She suddenly didn't feel like eating. Naruto was sitting next to him, easy and welcoming as she'd always been. She looked at ease around him, as though he was no threat to her and hers.
"Sasuke, how about you go wait in the living room for a minute?"
"Sure." He got up and wandered out of the kitchen. Naruto rounded the island, pulling her daughter into a hug.
"You can call this off."
"No, no. He just took me by surprise." She took a breath. "I don't know what I expected. I just need a minute."
"Alright. But remember - you say the word, I kick him out. Come in when you're ready."
"Of course. Thank you."
Naruto kissed her nose and walked into the living room, amicable small talk starting between her- her parents as though distance between them never happened.
She took her time eating, wondering what she would say. Idle conversation lilted through the apartment, even occasional laughter. Was this what her mother had been denying herself for her sake? This intimate camaraderie? Sasuke seemed serene, collected. Perhaps her mother could have found love with him if only her pregnancy had come later.
She shook her head. Naruto had said it clearly - she made those decisions and stuck by her choices. She couldn't regret things she'd never been involved in. Neji-sensei was right; she was free to form her own destiny and rebrand the past, to learn and flourish free from danger. This was a good first step to letting to of the past and embracing the present. She took a deep breath and entered the living room.
"Odayakana." Sasuke greeted.
"I- I don't know how to address you." She admitted.
"Just Sasuke is fine." He smiled. "I think that would be best, since I'm meeting you so late in your life."
"Sasuke." She sat down in a chair not close, but not far. He was sharing the couch with her mother, looking as though he had always been there.
"I apologize for how we were introduced. It's not often someone can suss out a meeting place, and they're usually enemy nin."
"No, I understand." She assured. "I would probably have done the same thing."
"You use swords?"
"I don't generally carry them, but I do enjoy sparring with them. I probably should, however." She grimaced, thinking about her mission. "I could use the extra reach."
Sasuke chuckled. "I know what you mean. Once I started with swords, I never stopped using them. Is Sai still using his tanto?"
"Yeah. Inojin's taken up the practise too." Naruto confirmed.
"You should be proud, though." Sasuke turned his attention back to her. "Bladework is a rare skill. I can't imagine you being a poor kenjutsu student."
"I try to know something of everything, if I'm honest. Having three affinities certainly helps."
"Three?" Sasuke blinked his one visible eye in surprise.
"Yeah. Wind, fire and lightning."
"She's also pretty good at fuinjutsu." Naruto added. "Though she dropped that for a bit to learn bladework. More practical and Neji could help her more with it."
"Neji's your sensei? He's a good man and talented in strict discipline."
"I picked him because she already had a tomoe Sharingan and she would need whatever help anyone with an ocular jutsu could offer."
She tried to cover her yawn, but Sasuke caught it.
"How about you go rest, Odayakana? I'm staying in the village for another two weeks at least, so you'll have plenty of time to ask your questions."
"If you're sure. I don't want to be rude."
"I didn't exactly give Naruto much warning I was coming. Don't worry about it."
"Alright. Goodnight Mom, Sasuke."
She bowed out of the room and quickly prepared for bed, dropping onto the mattress gratefully. The low murmur of voices saw her off to sleep, and that night, she dreamed of Itachi.