Chapter Text
five years.
five whole years since sasuke last stepped foot in konoha. he kept in contact with shikamaru and suigetsu, but gradually, he lost contact with sakura. he assumes she’s busy pursuing medicine hence why they lost connection.
sasuke was not the man that he was. he no longer uses his looks and charms to get what he wants. almost losing itachi made him realize how short life is. thanks to the uchiha wealth, itachi was able to get medication to get rid of the cancer cells in his body.
for the whole five years that he was not in konoha, not once did the topic of relationships or love life go through his head. maybe because he was busy being the main caretaker of his brother, or maybe because he’s waiting for a certain someone.
currently, he’s at the konoha general hospital for itachi’s check up. his doctors advised regular check ups to make sure the cancer cells don’t show back up. while filling out the documents, he felt someone bump into his legs.
“awe…” sasuke then turns to the thing that bumped him, it was a little girl.
a little girl who suspiciously resembles him a lot.
same hair color, eye color, it was as if he was looking at a mini version of him. but before he could ask the little girl, a tall man came and swooped her away. “sorry, she got lost for a minute.”
the man looks familiar, too familiar. like he has seen him before. sasuke’s not really good with faces and names, especially of men. but this person seems like someone he should know.
“sarada! baby, i told you to not run!”
wait. sasuke knows that voice.
he can recognize that voice even if it was miles away.
“... sakura?”
sakura’s world stops. surely it’s not uchiha sasuke standing right in front of her and naruto right now. she has to be dreaming. but she knows sasuke. her heart knows her. the countless nights they spent together, she can recognize him even if she’s blindfolded.
sakura knows sasuke like the back of her hand.
“sakura?” he repeats, also not believing what’s happening right now.
for five whole years, sakura hid the fact that she was pregnant with sarada. pregnant with his child. it was easy to hide it. it was easy to never reveal it on social media, especially since auntie kushina and uncle minato — naruto’s parents took her in without hesitation. it just happened that naruto was the one babysitting sarada right now.
sakura continued her path on being a doctor, currently she’s at her residency period. it was because of the support of the uzumaki family that she was able to pursue her dreams despite having an unexpected child.
to be quite honest, sakura just wished sasuke would never find out. sarada is four now, and she’s been growing up just fine without a father, as she’s surrounded by love from her uncle naruto and uncle sai.
but it would be selfish and foolish to deny sasuke his right. moreover, she can’t really hide it. sarada is a carbon copy of him. not a single hair color or eye color was passed to sarada, a true uchiha in every sense.
“mama, who’s this?” sarada breaks the silence.
sakura just wished the ground would swallow her right now. sarada is a very advanced child, with an unmatched intelligence that makes her more mature than an average kid. she can also talk better than an average four year old.
“this man looks like me, mama. he even copied my hair!”
which was true. sasuke now has long hair that is almost the exact hairstyle as sarada, making their resemblance truly uncanny. of all the days she had to see sasuke, it just happened to be the day where naruto was babysitting.
sakura’s parents knew of her pregnancy, and to her surprise, they weren’t disappointed by the very least, they were aware that some accidents happen and they are still proud of her trying to navigate life even though sarada wasn’t planned.
it was purely selfishness as sakura knew sasuke does reserve the right to his own child when the time comes, but she couldn’t think of tying him down to her like that. she clearly didn’t know the extent of sasuke’s feelings for her.
“mama.. are you okay?” sarada’s tiny voice broke the uncomfortable silence between the three adults. gears were definitely turning in sasuke’s brain, he’s not a fool.
“mama is okay, why don’t you go back to the play room, hmmm? mama’s lunch break is ending soon.” sakura says and kisses her daughter on the forehead. naruto then walks with sarada, leaving the two alone.
the atmosphere and tension could cut a knife. there’s no hiding now.
this whole thing was an accident. sakura didn’t want to burden sasuke with a child, especially since his older brother was already sick at that time. she believes, and still does, that it’s better this way. it’s better for sasuke to live in oblivion when it comes to sarada.
clearly the world had different plans.