Chapter Text
Clenching her fists harder, Sarada could hear her own head thump in throbbing pain. Her chest heaved as she forced herself to get up from the mud. Focusing her eyes, she viewed her surroundings, waiting for the next strike. The forest was an excellent place to ambush the target. Yet, however hard she looked, her mother was nowhere to be found. All she could sense in her red vision was the rain almost ready to pour.
Internally, Sarada winced. She told her stubborn mother that it was going to rain soon, but she insisted on going to training anyway. Wasn’t she a doctor? Surely, she’d know that being in the rain can cause a fever. As an official ninja of Konoha, watching her health was an utmost priority. She, Boruto, and Mitsuki could be sent on a mission any day now. Konohamaru-sensei always went on about how much experience mattered in the real world. As the heir of the Uchiha clan, Sarada refused to be benched on her team. Her teeth clenched together as a light rain started to drown her.
Her sharingan flickered periodically as Sakura ran towards her with a punch in hand. Quickly, Sarada moved aside but fell once more on the ground. Sarada let out a small cry as she felt her weight crush her ankle. Without even blinking, her mother was already kneeling by her side.
“Let me see, dear. How good, it’s just a twisted ankle. I thought it was worse,” Sakura stated in her professional manner. Getting up, Sakura extended her hand to Sarada.
“You can lean on me on the way home, dear. I know you don’t like being carried. It should heal within two days,” Sakura added with a sheepish smile. Sarada gasped.
“Two days? Mama, what if I get called on a mission?” Sarada fought back.
“Oh, it’s no big deal, Sarada. It’s not like the old days. I’m sure missing a D-ranked mission is alright. Besides, you already get along so well with Misuki and Boruto,” Sakura confessed with a whimsical smile. It always brightens her day to see her daughter hang out with her teammates so much. The boys didn't have Sasuke’s thirst for revenge or Naruto’s desire for acknowledgment, and Sakura was forever thankful. It meant their days of youthful peace would last longer. It was unfortunate that she might have sit one mission out, but their friendship wouldn’t falter either way. And besides, with how clever her girl was, Sarada must have known the real reason for D-ranked missions anyway.
“Just heal me already so we can get out of the rain,” Sarada replied with a deep frown. At the familiar sight, Sakura couldn’t help but ruffle her hair.
“Sarada, I’m sorry, but I’ve got to save my chakra for three surgeries this afternoon. I wish I could, but one of them is complicated and will take a lot of my chakra,” Sakura explained in the most motherly voice she could muster. Seeing Sarada in pain stung, but as cruel as it was, she wasn’t always going to be there to heal every small injury. For her own good, Sarada was just going to have to toughen this one out. She remembered the wise words once spoken by Lady Tsunade: to be a strong ninja, they must learn to withstand whatever happens on the field.
“This wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t gone training today! I told you it was going to rain! Now I’m going to get a broken leg and a fever! We shouldn’t have gone training today, or at least not with you! This was all your idea!” Sarada barked. Despite her better judgment, Sakura could feel her head boil.
“Excuse me? I’m a busy woman, Sarada. I can’t just train you whenever you want. I saw an opportunity, and we took it. Time is the essence of Sarada,” Sakura insisted back. Everything had to go exactly as her mother wanted it to be. It was so unfair. She had the right to choose when and how she trained. This whole mess was her fault.
“I never asked for your makeshift sharingan training. It’s so stupid! You don’t even have a sharingan, so stop telling me that doing it wrong!” Sarada hissed. Sakura gasped.
“My training for you is not stupid, Sarada! Don’t argue back with me on this. And control your emotions. To reach your full potential with the sharingan, you need better chakra control. Even your father agreed on this,” Sakura scolded. Sakura hated pulling the “Kakashi card” as Lady Tsunade often did when she was training, but as an adult, she understood why. If Tsunade wasn’t as hard as she was, Sakura would have never reached the heights she did now.
“Says the woman who chakra-punched our old house down. Or the woman who faints all the time whenever she sees Papa! Agh! Chakra control this to chakra control that! Mama, you do realize that doing any jutsu is going to require using chakra, right? Let me use my damn chakra!” Sarada shouted back. At her daughter’s feral stare, Sakura nervously laughed. Sarada was technically true, but as her mother, she knew she could be better. Deciding not to escalate the situation further, Sakura stood up, reaching her hand out.
“Alright, let's stop this for now, dear. Let's go home and dry off. I promise the next time we train, it won’t rain. You're getting stronger day by day, Sarada,” Sakura cheered. Like most of their arguments, a hug and sweets at home usually did the trick. After all, her own daughter was a sugar gremlin just like her. However, Sarada slapped her mother’s hand away and stood up on her own.
“Sarada?” Sakura questioned with a concerned face. Not even glancing at her mother, Sarada slouched her back and walked away. Silently, Sakura followed her limping daughter home. As cute as she was, it came at the cost of being equally as stubborn, too.
Tired from the day, Sasuke was relieved he finally made it home. He almost forgot their new address until Naruto reminded him. While their old house was closer to the Uchiha district, Sasuke honestly preferred their newer home closer to the center of Konoha. The past was the past. Now, he needed to live in the present and protect the future.
Gripping his heavy bag and unlocking the door, he put his wet coat on the hanger. He expected to hear Sakura’s and Sarada’s usual banter, but to his surprise, there was barely any noise. If he didn’t know any better, he’d assume they weren’t home if not for the lights inside. It was past dinner time as he strolled into their open kitchen and living room. Sakura was in the kitchen writing something down as Sarada read a book on the couch.
“Oh, welcome home, darling. Would you like some dinner? I can warm you up with a plate,” Sakura greeted. From the strain in her voice, Sakura seemed tired today. He supposed it must have been rough at the hospital. Yet, she seemed somewhat dejected from her usual self. He had a million ideas on how to energize her once more, but concluded right now wasn’t the best time.
“Thanks, but no need for that, Sakura. I ate out with Naruto at Ichiraku’s ramen store. The dobe had a lot he wanted to talk about,” Sasuke declared. Sarada huffed at the way her father addressed lord seventh. Why his greatness wasn’t clear to her father, Sarada had no idea. Sitting down on the couch beside her, Sasuke finally noticed how raised her leg up on the pillows and that it was bandaged. Piecing it together, he wondered if this was why Sakura was sad.
“What’s happened to your leg?” Sasuke questioned. Sarada stopped reading and turned her head to her father with an uninterested face.
“I slipped in the rain and sprained it,” Sarada answered as a matter of fact.
“Why were you training in the rain?” Sasuke curiously asked.
“Because Mama made me too. Honestly, I don’t even know what she was thinking. If I get a mission tomorrow, I'd better be healed up by then. She won’t even heal me!” Sarada complained. Clearly upset, Sarada pouted her lips. He knew his daughter wasn’t usually whiny, but he supposed kids this age are usually worse. How Kakashi handled the three of them at once was beyond himself. And honestly…even if Sarada was going through a moody phase as of late, he held a laugh as she seemed so much like the girl Sakura used to be. Yes, she was more serious about training like he was, but her girlish attitude sometimes gave him a bittersweet sense of deja vu. Everyone always tells him how much Sarada looks like him, from her hair, face, and eyes, but all he could see in her every day was Sakura.
“I’m sure she has reasons for Sarada. Training in the rain isn’t that bad an idea. Now, if you ever go on a mission in the rain, you’ll be extra careful,” Sasuke stated, wagging his finger slightly. Sarada clicked her tongue.
“Whatever, you always take her side. I didn’t even want to go at that time. I want to focus on sharingan training, not rain training,” Sarada lamented, going back to reading again. Sasuke’s eyes widened as she folded one of the corners of the books she was reading. She even had the same habits as Sakura. Well…better her habits than his supposed. Even if this one in particular did annoy him to some extent.
“Sarada, listen to me. I’m not always taking her side. And I think rain training is just as important. Once, I took a nasty fall during a mission under Orochimaru from slipping in the rain, and I don't want you to go through that,” Sasuke commented in an attempt to defend himself and Sakura’s actions. It was arguably one of his most embarrassing memories while he was away for the first time. But, if it helped Sarada see reason, he’d spill his secrets. He could still hear the snake’s laughter at his broken leg echoing in the underground caves.
“Sasuke, you left a bag in the front. Should I put it upstairs on your desk?” Sakura asked near the door, further away.
Cursing himself that he forgot, Sasuke shouted out, “It’s alright, dear. I can do it.” Suddenly, in the corner of his eye, he watched Sarada quickly jump out and limp to the door. Regardless of being just a room away, he already knew what was going to happen, sharingan or not. So much for trying to be reasonable. He heard pushing and shoving, and the small stitches of his bag holding on for dear life. Sasuke sighed. He wondered if there was a stubborn requirement to be considered a Uchiha because Sarada and Sakura clearly met the mark. Sasuke made his way to the doorway and cleared his throat, preparing to sound as charming as he could be.
“It’s ok, girls. I’ll take it from here,” Sasuke said with a small smile. He even threw in a rinnegan wink.
“No!” Both Uchihas yelled at him.
“Give the bag to me mama! I can put it on Papa’s desk,” Sarada shouted.
“Hands off, dear! Mama’s got it!” Sakura yelled.
“H-Hey! Watch it!” Sasuke hollered. All of a sudden, the bag started to glow a pearlescent white.
“Get back!” Sasuke yelled as he shielded them from the glow, but it was too late. His hands burned against the light. Under his arms, his grip tightened on both of them, but their weights had somehow shifted.
With the light finally disappearing, he glanced at the two and was at a loss for words. He checked his daughter and wife simultaneously. Sarada’s nervous eyes skirted around her elongated limbs and long raven hair past her hips. The clothes on her body clung harder to her skin, unlike his wife’s, who drowned her. Sakura was stuck between shock and embarrassment. Every time she opened her mouth to say something, she closed it again, taking in the whole situation. He watched as Sakura’s smaller hand tried to reach Sarada’s shoulder with a ruby ring almost falling off her finger. It felt as if he time-traveled once again.
“I’m an adult…” Sarada murmured in a tone Sasuke could only describe in awe. He supposed every genin wanted to be an adult as soon as possible.
“Sarada, whatever you’re thinking of, drop it. Let’s go to Naruto’s office and fix this,” Sakura warned and suggested with her arms crossed. If she bit her lip any harder, they’d surely bleed. Like him disapproving of his younger self, it was unspoken that Sakura also hated the younger her who chased him around. It wasn’t really until the chunin exams that Sakura started to become a ninja. Yet, he couldn’t help but pat her head similarly to the way Kakashi used to. In his opinion, no one should hate such an adorable sight, even Sakura herself.
Hearing the zipper move, Sasuke watched as Sarada took out the turtle from the bag. He and Bourto traveled not that long ago, but he didn’t know it could reverse ages, let alone switch them. The turtle appeared to be sleeping. Sarada poked him a couple of times, but it looked like he wasn’t waking up any time soon. If things got worse, they might have to go to Orochimaru. But right now, he trusted Sakura, and he shouldn’t scare off his wife or kid. Gently, he took the turtle from Sarada.
“We’ll go see Naruto in the morning. Sarada, go to bed, and if you need a change in clothes, grab something from Mama’s closet. This will not last forever, so...enjoy being an adult while it lasts,” Sasuke stated. Excited, Sarada ran up the stairs in big strides, giggling all the way.
“And people said you’d be more of the bad anbu in parenting…Sasuke-kun,” Sakura lamented with a teasing grin. Rolling his eyes, he led them to the living room. She may be smaller, but her intellectual mind was still the same. Across the couch from each other, they prepared themselves to figure their mess out together.