LOSS [ sarada uchiha ]

05

TW: violence, gore/blood, angst

"Sarada!" Boruto's voice rang throughout the night as the three of them ventured down another empty street. There were a plethora of buildings, stores and houses that they passed by, all lights were flickered off as an indication that they were either closed until dawn or contained sleeping inhabitants. Sasuke's eye twitched as Boruto called out to Sarada once more, unaware that his vociferous tone would rouse the sleeping civilians within the vicinities of their homes. "Where are you?!"

Sasuke heaved an aggravated sigh. If he wasn't so focused on finding his daughter, he would have already snapped at the blonde Uzumaki. As irritating as Boruto could be, he cared about Sarada, so the Uchiha patriarch decided that he would bite his tongue, given that Sarada's safety was a much bigger concern than his unconcealed chagrin. Screaming into the void wasn't exactly how Sasuke would go about locating his child, but the mere possibility of Sarada actually registering Boruto's outcries and following the source of the sound is what forced him to endure his momentary ire.

     Boruto exhaled stressfully, running his fingers through his blonde curls in a slightly panicked manner. For a moment, Sasuke wondered if he realized that shouting wasn't going to make finding Sarada any easier. A comfortable silence commenced amongst the three of them, and Sasuke's headache was just starting to fade when Boruto once again found the audacity to open his mouth in a final attempt: "Marco!"

     "Polo!" Mitsuki's enthusiastic reply was instantaneous as a pleasant smile stretched his paled, serpentine complexion. For a moment, Sasuke actually questioned whether this was truly Orochimaru's son as he reflected on all monstrous atrocities the snake sannin had committed in the past, such as killing the Sandaime Hokage, nearly destroying Konohagakure, nearly killing Sasuke and his teammates—as well as the infliction of the godforsaken Curse Seal of Heaven—in the Forest of Death twenty years ago, and being a former member of the Akatsuki. He also pondered whether or not Mitsuki was fully aware of his parent's crimes, but Sasuke was in no position to criticize, considering that he was not only Orochimaru's apprentice, but he has also yet to delineate any information regarding his past with Sarada.

     The palm of Boruto's hand collided with his forehead, "Baka! That was meant for Sarada, 'tebasa!"

     Mitsuki frowned, "But Sarada isn't here."

     "Yeah, no shit!"

     "Will you both shut up?" Sasuke finally interjected, patience officially wearing thin. The two chunnin physically stiffened, their bickering having reached its culmination. "Searching street by street won't be worthwhile. If we want to find Sarada, the best way would be to split up."

"I agree," Mitsuki concurred. "However, it will take hours to check the entire city. We need to limit our searches to places that Sarada goes to on a regular basis."

Boruto's cerulean irises lit up in a concoction of hope and conceptualization, "What about the old training grounds? She's there almost every day."

"She won't be there," Sasuke replied almost immediately, frowning as the frightening depictions of his wife's lifeless corpse, bloody and horrifyingly still, pervaded the catacombs of his mind. He briefly commemorates the despair behind Sarada's cries, her tears cascading down the slopes of her cheeks in a torrent, never-ending stream, the rouge of her Mangekyou Sharingan which was awakened not even minutes upon finding out that Sakura had died. "With everything that's happened..."