Papa, Mama, I Come From The Future!

Why are you never here?

Sarada's P.O.V.

   Today is my dad's birthday, and he promised me he would come and visit Mama and I so we can all spend the day together. The day is almost over and there is still no sign of him. I sigh as I reach underneath my bed and pull out the present I was supposed to give him. Inside of a dark brown wooden box was a golden locket with the Uchiha symbol engraved on it. And on the inside of the locket is a picture of the three of us; mama, papa, and me. But I guess I'm not gonna be able to give it to him until he gets back; which is probably gonna be another six months.

   I just don't get what is so important about these stupid trips that he always goes on. I mean he is hardly in my life; I only see him like twice every six months. Mama and I try to convince him to stay but he always says that he needs to sort things out with certain people. He won't even listen to the Hokage, his best friend Naruto, when he tells him to stay and not leave. But he won't listen; always so stubborn.

   I slide the things underneath my bed and walk downstairs. The first thing I see is my mom sitting on the couch dazing off. Her eyes look red and puffy and they have dark circles under them. Her hair is a knotted up mess and she looks rather thin. "Mama?" I ask "Are you okay?" She didn't budge; it was like as if I wasn't even there. "Mama?" I ask again this time with a shaky voice. 

   After a few moments later she finally looks up at me. "S-s-sorry Sarada, but I'm gonna go take a little nap okay?" "Okay," was all I said. And then she slowly got up and eventually made her way upstairs. When I knew for sure she was asleep, I sprint towards the Hokage's office as fast as I could. 

   As soon as I make it to the office where the Hokage is in, I bang on the door three times. "Come in!" said Naruto. The wooden door creaks as I turn the knob and open it hesitantly. "Oh hi Sarada!" started Hokage Naruto, "What brings you here today?" I brush off my dress before I start. "Hokage Naruto-" I began, but then he cut me off. "Please call me Naruto from now on," he said with a warm smile. "Naruto," I cleared my throat, "There are some complications going on with my family right now." He scoots in his chair a little closer. "Why won't you take a seat," The blonde said gesturing towards the chair that was in front of him. I take a few steps, and then I make myself comfortable. "I'm not sure if you already know this, but my Dad hasn't been keeping up with his promises. He told Mama and I that he would visit us every few months, but we haven't seen him in about six months!" He grimaced a little, "I am aware that your Father hasn't been around lately. Wasn't he supposed to come today for his birthday?" He asked with a confused look. "Yes, and it seems to have created a great impact on my Mom," I say barely even being able to swallow. "Tell me," Naruto says folding his hands together while wearing a serious expression on his face. "Well," I begin, "it all started when I was in my room. I was holding my Dad's present I was supposed to give him while I was thinking about how obvious it was that he wasn't coming after all. I got bored so I went downstairs to go with my Mom, but she wasn't in the best state. Her hair was a mess, she looked like she was crying, and her hands were shaking a little." I pause for a moment. I don't get why it's so hard to talk about this. "And then she said she was going to go take a nap and went upstairs. I'm so worried about her, I - I don't know what to do about it. I just wish that my Dad could just stop worrying about those "people that he needs to settle things with" and just for once, just once think about Mama and me-" I hadn't realized that I was crying until my voice broke. I could feel hot tears streaming down my face. I tried to wipe them away as fast as I could; I didn't want the Hokage to see me act so weak. While attempting to pull myself together, Naruto gets up from his chair and walks around his desk towards me. Right when I was about to control myself, he wraps his arms around me and embraces me into a big warm hug; that's when I lose it. All of these years of being abandoned by my Dad finally begin to release.  These grieving feelings that I stuffed away in the back of my brain over the years are causing a horrid effect on me. Loud sobs come out of me with tears staining Naruto's shirt, but he didn't seem to mind. I am so glad I have him here; he is like a father figure to me.

   After a while of more tears and sobs, I finally found a way to stop. Naruto releases his embrace and scoots in his chair to sit directly in front of me. "Listen Sarada," Naruto says putting both hands on my shoulders, "are feeling a little better right now? Because I need you to listen carefully to the words I'm about to tell you." I look up at him and nod. "Okay, I think I have figured out a way to bring your Father into your life," he says. My eyes widen, "How?" I ask getting anxious. "Keep in mind that this will be like a mission, but you don't have to do it if you don't want to." I nod in agreement. Geez just get to the point already. Naruto takes a deep breath in before starting again, "How do feel about time traveling to the past?"