Only Time Can Tell

TOMATOES

Just a really short chapter, it was fun for me to write, and I hope you like it too! I love Sasuke and his tomatoes (though they're not personally my favorite ;) ) 

CHAPTER 43

TOMATOES

SARADA UCHIHA

I sat there, watching as my father tried again and again to hit the spot on that tree. Of course, he finally made it, but watching him work so hard...it was almost impossible to imagine my father actually failing at something. He grinned happily once he had finished, looking up in pride at the three kunai stuck in the trunk. Then he turned from the courtyard to leave. Once he left, I felt my presence being drawn to him. I got up, and surprisingly-this time- it wasn't as difficult. I followed him into the hallway of the home, as his naked baby feet pattered against the wood. He turned into a room and I followed, still unsure about whether or not I could be seen by people.

"Sasuke." A woman said from inside. "Have a seat, I'm almost done. Do you know if your brother is eating with us tonight?" She was beautiful. She had long black hair, and she had kitchen grease smeared on her cheekbone from busying herself. She wore a long tan apron, and a gentle smile on her face. Her eyes were the same black as my father's. There was something about her that made my stomach sink. I knew something horrible was going to happen to this woman.

"I doubt it." Sasuke scoffed. "He's always busy."

"He does everything he can, Sasuke. You have to understand that he's doing his best for the village and for the clan. It's a lot to ask."

"I know mom..." Sasuke sighed, burying his face into his crossed arms at the table, sinking into his chair further. Mom...he had called this woman mom....that would make her my...My eyes started to fill with tears. This is my grandma.

A part of me had always ached for a complete family. Like everyone else. That I could have my complete family there during Christmas or at my birthday. That I could see all of my family around me, to tell me when I've done something good, even to scold me when I've made a dumb decision. I had watched when it was Boruto's birthday...how his mother and sister came eagerly to pick him up after school. How his father always made an effort to make it in time for cake.

My mom did her best. I know she did. She tried her best to make sure I had a complete and happy childhood, but there was always something missing, even before I was old enough to know...I knew that there was something missing in my life. There was something everybody had that I didn't. A complete family. Someone had taken them from me.

I watched as my grandmother turned back to the stove, and slowly churned a bowl full of something. I knew that whatever she was making must smell delicious. Once she was done she set a steaming bowl of it in front of Sasuke and he picked over it.

"Sasuke..." She said her lips tightening. "You need to eat it. You skipped lunch today!"

"I was training!" Sasuke protested, stirring his chopsticks through the soup. "You put entirely too much sugar in this mom."

"It calls for that much sugar!" She frowned. "Your brother loves it."

"Can't we have something with tomatoes?" Sasuke complained, setting down his chopsticks. Grandma pouted, crossing her arms over her chest, a ladle dangling from her hand.

"Okay, if you eat at least half of it, you can have a few cherry tomatoes. But I swear..." She said her expression softening a little. "If you eat this many tomatoes, the plants won't grow fast enough to replace them."

"Then we need to grow more plants!" Sasuke argued, finally eating some of his miso soup. "Tomatoes are my favorite." He said quietly.

She turned away and began to wash the dishes waiting patiently in the sink. She looked out the window over the sink while she worked. "It irritates me how your brother and your father always show up so late to dinner or not at all...it spoils it." She muttered scrubbing at a pan. "It's always cold by the time they make it back from their meetings."

Sasuke slurped more of his soup, grimacing at the sweet taste. He looked down into the bowl. "Can I have tomatoes now?" He turned the bowl so his mother could see. She rolled her eyes but then turned the counter and grabbed a couple of cherry red tomatoes out of a bowl and plopped them into the soup bowl. "No!!!" Sasuke groaned quickly fishing the tomatoes out of the soup bowl. "Now they're gonna taste all sweet! Agh!" He said popping one in his mouth. At first he recoiled but then slowly began to chew. "Fine..." He said looking up at his triumphant mother's face. "They're fine I guess."

"Ha!" She grinned turning back to her dishes. Sasuke quickly popped the rest in his mouth and with a mouthful stood up and called back to his mother.

"I'm gooung aout en teh feeleds tooo tehrain ma!" He said waving back at her pulling on his shoes quickly.

"Be safe!" She smiled without turning back. "Make sure you're home by dark! Love you!"

"Louv ya too ma." Sasuke muttered quietly his mouth still full, closing the door firmly behind him. Sasuke pattered out of the house and into the courtyard again, taking a moment to look up at the kunai stuck in the tree. Itachi had promised to train with him...

I followed him out of the compound, his tiny legs somehow carrying him faster than I could walk...I found myself jogging behind him. The entrance to the compound opened up into a street, with lots of people. My heart began to sink. Men and women were all busy at work, in shops and walking to various destinations. But I noticed that painted on each of their backs was the Uchiha crest. They were all...my family. All of these people. I had cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents...family. Who could have done this?

"Hello, Sasuke!" A woman said warmly.

"Hey, Auntie." Sasuke said blandly brushing quickly past her. "Gotta go."

Is this how my father let them by? Let his family slip through his fingers? Is that why he watches me so carefully now. I wonder if he thinks back on these moments and imagines the words he could have said, and what he could have done to keep it from happening. I watch his back now as he races out of the Uchiha compound, and stand next to the people he left behind.

"He's so much like his brother." The shopkeeper said wistfully, turning back to her store, the Uchiha symbol on her back shining brightly in the evening light. "I think that one day he'll do great things." She has no idea.

Could it be tonight? I turn to her, a chill running down my spine as the bond between my father and I pulls me away from her. Could tonight be the last night? Her last night? Will this be the last time she mentions my father's name? Could tonight be the end? I turn back to my father, my bond pulling me towards him as his back disappears in the distance.

"I will stop this."