Sequel to Rogue

Heart to heart: An honest conversation

The third fight of the day came to a close, victory still standing in the youngster's corner. The kids kept their faces blank, not even a hint of their emotions spilling out. If they were gloating inside, they were doing a very good job at hiding it. Kakashi thought with a sigh, I had agreed to Naruto's condition of this fight match, thinking that the kids would at the very least be able to hold their own for a while just enough so that their parents could at the very least see that they were capable of handling the mission and stop with the suffocating worrying, but never could I have dreamed that they would all come out on top with such decisive wins, it isn't completely a bad thing as the initial goal is still achieved. Instead of via my advocacy, they're taking their positions on the mission on their own merit. A good thing, as it should shake away any last shred of doubt anyone might have about their selection. But..... He glanced back at the old generation, who were all looking in a contemplative state.......they are struggling to accept that their children had grown up enough to no longer need their protection. I hope they don't do something stupid because of this emotional struggle.

"Well, come along, Mitsuki, it's your turn now." Kakashi gestured to the blue shinobi, "Of course, Lord 6th" Mitsuki stepped forward with his usual smile, whether it was of excitement or mockery, Kakashi couldn't tell. Turning to Tsunade, he gestured his hand towards the field, " After you, Lady 5th" Tsunade gave him a nod of acknowledgement and marched forward towards the field, him behind her and Mitsuki behind him. Let's see how this goes.

Sarada stood up, dusting the dirt off her qipao. She said quietly, "I'm taking a little walk, will be back in around 5 minutes or so" Without waiting for anyone's response, she turned and started walking away.  

Sasuke and Sakura glanced at each other, turning to Naruto, he simply said, "We'll be back." Naruto, understanding the situation, just gave a nod as he and Sakura started walking in the direction that Sarada went. Seeing them off, as Naruto was turning his attention back towards the ground, his blue eyes caught the gaze of another pair of blue eyes. Bolt, the brat, was staring at him. Being caught, the boy's face held an awkward expression as he looked away. Naruto stared at his side profile for a few more seconds before turning away.

We do look similar. He wondered in his mind, looking closely, he could see some of their features were alike, the eye colour, face shape, the curve of their nose, he just lacks the whiskers and blonde hair, and he could pose as a doppelganger of my younger self. Shikamaru's theory rang in his head again: genes do work in strange ways, he could have gotten mom's red hair from me, and well, I only have the whiskers due to Kurama, it's not necessary that my kid would have gotten them too. But Himawari got them...... Naruto shook his head to clear his thoughts, spiralling now is no good when he has a fight coming. I'll overthink things later.

On the other side.

Sarada stopped in front of the roadside vending machine, looking through the options. Of course, she wasn't going to drink anything; going into a fight with a stomach full of liquid is a bad move, a rookie mistake if she says so herself. She was waiting for her parents to catch up. They hadn't made any attempt to hide their presence; they must want to talk, she concluded. Footsteps grew audible as she turned her head to acknowledge their arrival, and then silence prevailed. Asking them why they came here felt confrontational, so she waited for them to start the conversation. But it seemed that her parents were even more awkward than she was, as they kept their mouths shut as well, hoping that she would start the conversation. Sarada sweat-dropped, what kind of confused staredown is this?  

 Realising that they won't take the initiative, she decided to swallow her awkwardness and asked, "What is it, Papa?"  She swore she saw their shoulders visibly drop in relief as though the weight of the sky was off their shoulders. Her father turned to her mother, who looked down and dusted off some invisible dirt from her pants. Blue lines appeared on her father's forehead at the betrayal, causing him to slump his head in depression, and Sarada to sweat-drop once again. Just talk already Shanaro!!!!!!!! She fussed in her head. Taking a deep breath, Sasuke finally opened his mouth to speak, much to Sarada's relief. "Be honest, have we failed you?" his question, however, confused Sarada, causing her to tilt her head to the side, "What do you mean, Papa?" her mother answered her question, "Seeing Inojin's outburst, and the behaviour of all you kids regarding these fights, we have been thinking whether what we saw as love and protecting you, could it be that it was in reality causing you harm?" Sarada immediately understood what brought this on, but she still asked to confirm, "What brought this on?" Her voice was quiet, and she tried to make it seem nonchalant as though she wasn't bothered by the topic of this conversation, but one look at her parents' faces and she knew that she wasn't doing a good job so she gave a sigh and let her facial muscles relax into whatever grimace or frown they wanted to form. She still asked, to escape, hoping they wouldn't back out in the last second to spare all 3 of them the heart pain, "Do you want to hear the truth?" "Yes", they both said in unison, causing Sarada to sigh and look up at the sky, no escape, huh. Making her way towards the bench beside the vending machine, she sat down and gestured for her parents to follow suit, which they did. Hence, the Uchiha household sat on the bench with the daughter in the middle, sitting cross-legged.