Work Text:
The Yamanaka summer picnic was held every year around the same time in early autumn in the central park.All the official members, extended family, and close friends were invited if they were in town. Into stressed over everything much more than she needed to; her husband and son usually made themselves scarse for a couple of weeks before the day itself. If they didn't, she would rope them into her madness.
This year, Sai and Inojin took refuge with Sasuke and Sakura, believing it to be the calmest place possible that Ino might not find them. Sakura swore herself to secrecy if Ino asked about them. For the first two days, it seemed like a good idea.
Of course, being so close to Naruto's family meant it really wasn't as good of an idea as they had thought. It didn't take long before Naruto figured out they were there, and he just had to come over and start blabbering about his new grandson.
To be fair, Sai knew a little bit about the Renge Clan. He had to, seeing as he had teamed up with several of them over the years. Inojin knew a bit, too, seeing as Ino made sure he socialized with all her friends' children before they even went to school. They knew who the founding members were, and that there was time travel involved, but they didn't really know how it worked.
They didn't know how all of the relations worked, exactly. Yes, the members were primarily Hatake and Haruno, but there were Uchiha, Uzumaki, and Namikaze, too. They knew Minato and Kushina we're Naruto's parents, and that Sora and Yoriko were the children of the second Sakura and Kakashi. That meant Sarada was technically their half sister. Sarada had grown up with Boruto, Himawari, and Sora, so she considered them to be her cousins. They knew that Himawari had decided to stay in the past with an Uchiha and had recently had a son with him. The boy's name was Fugaku.
They didn't understand why Sasuke kept glaring at the baby when Naruto and his family came over for a visit.
"Sasuke, why do you show distain for the baby?" Sai asked when they had a moment alone in the garden outside. "You seemed to enjoy seeing your own grandchild far more. Is it because of his father?"
"Hikaru-san is not the problem." Sasuke answered vaguely.
"Is it Himawari-san?"
"No."
Sai watched Sasuke carefully. The man was looking around as if expecting someone else to be there. Sai reached out with his own senses. Yes. He could feel another presence coming closer. Another Uchiha stepped outside, looking just as put out as Sasuke did.
"Hard to believe, isn't it, ototo?" The other Uchiha gave Sasuke an empathetic smile devoid of any actual joy. "We have to try and be happy for them anyway. They do not know what we know about him."
Sai studied the man's features carefully. He knew he should have recognized him. Something seemed off, though. When the man called Sasuke "ototo," it clicked. This man was Uchiha Itachi with a few extra pounds on him. Muscle, mostly. He looked healthier than Sai remembered from a Bingo Book photo he had Sean over a two decades prior.
"Who is this?" Itachi asked.
"My name is Yamanaka Sai." He introduced himself, but not warmly. He wasn't sure how to act right now. He knew Itachi as an enemy, but Sasuke seemed to calm down around him the moment they saw one another.
Itachi gave him a scrutinizing look. "Is that so?"
"Sai does not know his parents." Sasuke told him, unsure if Sai would. "He was Root."
"Then why the name Yamanaka?"
"My wife's name." Sai supplied.
A light went off in Itachi's eyes. "Excuse me."
Sasuke and Sai shared a look as Itachi made his way back inside.
"What was that about?" Sai asked Sasuke.
"Let's find out." Sasuke went inside after his brother, Sai following.
They got inside in time to see Itachi and Sarada walking out the front door at the slowest polite pace to be considered hurried. Sakura caught them in the living room.
"What happened out there this time?" Sakura asked, annoyed.
"We were going to ask Itachi-san the same question." Sai responded. "He didn't like my name."
Sai didn't look away from Itachi and Sarada as they went outside. Sarada's chakra flared a half second before Itachi's. Both reddish in tint. Sakura and Sasuke were u bothered by it. They figured Itachi was just leaving, Sarada seeing him off. But, the pair came back into focus again in the same moment, wearing different clothes and worried expressions as they looked through the door at Sai.
Itachi stood still as Sarada walked back inside. "Mom, Dad, Sai-san. Can we talk in private?"
"Sarada, that would be rude. We have guests." Sakura told her. "And where did you go?"
"Mom, please! I'm exhausted and I miss my baby." Sarada whined.
"Alright, fine!" Sakura huffed. "Let's take this to my bedroom so people will leave us alone."
The five of them made their way upstairs. The moment the door shut, Sarada started talking. "Okay, Sai, do you remember anything at all about your birth parents?"
Sai thought hard for a moment. It had been thirty-nine years since his parents had died and Danzo took him in at the age of three. "My mother was… as pale as I am. My father had brown hair. That's all I know, and I'm not sure it's true."
"Well, you got that right." Sarada pulled out a picture album. "Look at this. We found your parents. When I told your father who I was, he handed over everything he had of you. Sai… they wanted to keep you safe. They didn't die. You were dying. Danzo promised them he would save you, but he told them you died. Like he told you they were killed. I mean… they were killed a few years later, but that's beside the point."
Sarada kept her hand in the book, holding it closed. She wasn't sure she was quite ready to do this now that it was just them. Sai pulled gently on the book. "You can let go now, Sarada."
"One more thing…" Sarada looked at her father. "Dad… you're going to want to see this, too."
"Are you implying I knew him?" Sasuke asked, coming around to stand by Sai so that he could look at the book with him when Sarada let it go.
"There's a baby picture of you towards the end." That was all she would say. Slowly, she let go of the book. "You guys might want to sit down for this."
Sai opened to the first page.
The page was for a family tree, starting with the name of the person whose early life would be documented through the photographs and other items farther in. The name said Uchiha Shiroku. Siblings, Itachi, older brother, and, obviously added later, Sasuke. Parents were listed as Fugaku and Mikoto. Sai looked up at her, part of him hoping she was wrong.
Sasuke's eyes snapped to Itachi. "We had a brother?"
Itachi nodded, remaining still. "He was sick, like me, but from birth. He was not expected to live. We held a funeral for him when you were one."
"What does this have to do with me?" Sai asked, hoping against hope. He had been happy with things as they were, in general, but a part of him had always wanted to know where he came from. He didn't expect anything like this, though.
"Just look through it, and then we can explain more."
Sai turned the pages. A birth certificate. Ultrasound images. A couple pictures of a very young Itachi playing with his mother's pregnant belly. A newborn photo. More professional photos taken six months later, and then a first birthday party. A few cards to commemorate the day. Some finger paintings that were more of a mess than anything. A lock of jet black hair from the first haircut. The first lost tooth. Pictures of Itachi and Shiroku with their parents. A baby shower for a third child. Itachi and Shiroku did the gender reveal by painting their hands and placing it on their mother's stomach. A second birthday. More cards, but the pictures this time were taken in the hospital. Shiroku was staying there. Itachi and Shiroku meeting their baby brother, Sasuke. A death certificate. Pressed flowers and a condolence card.
"This simply proves that Sasuke and Itachi had another sibling." Sai commented, allowing Sasuke to take the book and skim through it again.
"Itachi and I found you in Danzo's facility and traced your movements back over the years. We found the day he took you. We went back more and found the room he took you from. The name on the door was Uchiha Shiroku." Sarada explained. "That was not easy by the way! If you want more proof, I can do a DNA analysis on you and then. I can take you back to talk to Fugaku and Mikoto. When they found out you were still alive, they were both happy and pissed off with Danzo. They were going to confront him the next day."
"Did they?" Sai asked her.
"Uh…" Sarada hesitated. "They um…"
"They didn't make it." Itachi spoke the words carefully. "At least they died knowing we were all going to be alright eventually."
"I don't believe this." Sai rejected their story. "People often say that we look alike, but I refuse to believe that we are brothers. Hatred is said to unlock the Sharingan. I have had moments of pure rage and anger in battle. I watched the man I called my brother die. I am not one of you."
"Unless he took your eyes, too, and replaced them with another's." Itachi suggested. "You know what he did. He took an eye from my best friend."
Sai looked back at the book. Pictures of a person at two years old hardly showed the adult they would become. That hair could have been his from any time it had been trimmed. He thought of another way. "Sasuke, Itachi-san, I know one way that I might believe you or prove your story false. We do as Sarada suggested earlier. But, I ask that Hatake Sakura perform the testing."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"Let me get this straight." Hatake Sakura's brow furrowed as she took the hair samples Sai brought to her office, a few strands in each collection bag. "You want to test these four samples to see if they're all the same person for a police case?"
"Something like that." Sai didn't want to give her details yet. "I think the samples come from at least three related people, but it could be more. This is… an off the books sort of thing."
Sakura crossed her arms. "We talked about this. If you want me to help you on your casework, you have to go through the proper channels. Which means getting Uchiha Sakura or your wife. I don't do that anymore. I just do paternity testing for regular people."
"I know. This isn't work related."
"Then what is it?"
"My family. They may have found me. I want to be sure." Sai admitted. "I need a completely blind review of the DNA sequences in these samples. I know which one is mine."
"You really do do your due diligence on these things, don't you." Sakura relaxed. "Who are the other samples from?"
"Two may be my brothers. The fourth is supposedly mine as well, from a first haircut as a toddler. I wish to know if this is true or their wishful thinking."
"Good idea then." Sakura looked over the hair samples. "It's been a really long time. Why wait so long to talk to you? If it is them, that is."
"They believed I died as a child." Sai told her, sitting down at her desk in the lab as she went ahead and started processing the samples. "It makes sense. It follows Danzo's M.O."
"What are you going to do if this turns up as a match?"
"I'm going to ask you for two more favors if it is."
"Oh? And what would that be?"
"I need a positive or negative result first, Sakura. If it is negative, I will let them know they did not, indeed, find their brother. If it is positive, I will ask my other favors."
Sakura nodded. "I get that. Tell me, how do you want this to turn out?"
"I am unsure. There are benefits and downfalls either way. It would be interesting, though, if they are correct."
"How so?" Sakura was curious what he meant.
"I am a water style user, technically. They both specialize in fire styles. But, they did mention their mother trying out using her chakra based attacks with paint."
"Do you think she might have been trying to teach you before she died?"
"It's possible, if it's true."
"Could they think you're their brother because their mother had a similar calling to yours?"
"No. That isn't what caught the elder brother's attention."
"What did?"
Sai shook his head at her. "If I tell you anything else, you will guess who they are. I don't want your opinion to color the results."
"My opinion can't change someone's DNA sequence." Sakura smiled at him, letting her machines take over the processing as she came to sit down across from him at the desk. "Or, I could just tell you that Sarada was here ten minutes ago."
Sai careful kept his face neutral. He could still tap into his programming from his youth if needed.
"And that look says everything!" Sakura laughed at him. "Come on. Tell me the truth. What is it you want me to help you with if it turns out you really are Uchiha Shiroku?"
Sai kept his neutral expression. "I want to see my parents before they die. I want to talk with them."
Sakura was sympathetic. "If I could have spent more time with my parents, I gladly would have. But, Sai, maybe you should ask Sasuke and Itachi about them instead. They… the Uchiha Clan were going to try and take Konoha by force. Did you know that? Do you understand why Itachi and Obito did what they did?"
"You speak as if you are certain of the results already. I don't care who they were, whether it was the Uchiha or anyone else. I would like to spend one day with them, at least, as a family. I want to have real memories of them. Is that so bad?"
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Into had everything set up perfectly on the tables. Five tables in a line, plates, napkins, utensils, and bowls on the first. Meats on the next. Sides on the third, then desserts on the following. Drinks and ice on the last. Even though she knew it would be decimated in seconds once everyone got hungry, she was proud enough of her work to go ahead and take a picture.
"Why do you do that every time, Mom?" Inojin asked her, startling her before she could check her camera to be sure the picture has turned out good enough for her tastes.
"I like organized, pretty things, of course!" Ino smiled at her son, pulling him into a tight hug. "I missed you! Is your father around? He's been hiding more than usual this time of year. Where is he? I want kisses!"
"He should be here, soon." Inojin looked around, spotting his father and friends on the street. "There he is. Um… do everyone a favor and let him talk first this time. He's got something to say and has been practicing since yesterday."
"What?" Ino was worried. "Bad news?"
"Not exactly." Inojin looked uncomfortable. "It's crazy complicated, and he made me promise to let him tell you himself."
"Oh, fine!" Ino marched out of the park and right up to Sai, Sakura, and her family. There was another man with them that she didn't recognize. "Damn, forehead! You picked up another hot one! Who is this?"
"Ino," Sai talked to her before anyone else could respond, "I need to tell you something before everyone shows up."
"Yeah, Inojin said you had something important to say. So, spill it! What's going on? Are you alright?" Ino forgot the stranger and focused on Sai, taking his hands in hers. Sure, she still pretended to fight with Sakura over men every now and again, but she really did care most for her husband and son.
"I know who my parents were." Sai swallowed. He had gotten so used to being able to show his emotions over the decades that he had almost completely lost the ability to hide them from Ino. "And… I have brothers."
"That's awesome!" Ino jumped up and down, showing her enthusiasm for his discovery. "Will they be coming today? Do I get to meet them! Has Inojin already seen them?"
"They're here already." Sai looked at the people he was walking with. "Sasuke-san and Itachi-san."
Ino froze. "What?"
"My name…" Sai struggled a moment. "I still wish to be known as Yamanaka Sai, but my birth name was Uchiha Shiroku. I'm a year older than I thought I was. Two years older than Sasuke-san, three years younger than Itachi-san."
"Y…you…" Into was at a loss for words. She felt herself getting dizzy. "Are you… sure?"
"I had Hatake Sakura compare DNA samples yesterday." Sai nodded, grabbing her hands a little tighter as she started to sway a bit. "I realize this is a lot to take in. That is why we came early."
Ino wiped a few tears from her eyes and really looked at him again. "Well… we all did say you looked a lot like Sasuke. All the girls who used to fight over him started fighting over you. Now we know why, right? Oh, Sai, I'm sorry! I'm happy you found out, but I'm sorry about your parents!"
Sai had to take a half step back as Into rushed into him with another full force hug. He brought his arms up around her and returned it just as tightly. He let it go on for a full minute before gently pushing her back. "You know Sasuke, but you haven't met Itachi yet. Have you?"
Ino shook her head, steeling her nerves. "Fuck that asshole!"
"Sorry. I'm not into blonds." Itachi replied sarcastically, reminding her he was actually there.
Ino's eyes went wide as she took another step back to see him more clearly. Sasuke was beside him, he and Sakura sharing a snicker. She recovered quickly. "At least your brothers and niece have good taste!"
"Sasuke does. It is yet to be seen if Sarada and Sai's choices are any good. Uchiha have high standards." Itachi countered.
Ino looked at him carefully. "I might like you after all. As long as everything Sasuke has said about you is true, we can call this a truce for today. I have an event to host. You all coming or what? And, where are Sarada and Boruto?"
"Probably still trying to get Kushina into that dress you bought her." Sakura finally spoke.