Only Time Can Tell

ANOTHER UCHIHA: STUBBORN STRENGTH

FILLER 6

ANOTHER UCHIHA: STUBBORN STRENGTH

SASUKE UCHIHA

"Sarada!" I said in shock as she burst through the door, Boruto plopping to the floor beside her. Her eyes go from her mother to me to her mother again, and her eyes widen with horror and tears. Sakura's hand turns cool in mine. I look down at her, her face finally peaceful. She looks beautiful like this, when she's not feeling any more pain.

"Mama!" Sarada cries and runs towards Sakura, tears overflowing. "No! No! No! Mama!!!" Sarada pours over her mother, her warmth raging again me. She grabs Sakura's other hand and holds it to her cheek. "Mama no!" She cries her voice cracking. "No!"

"Sarada-" I touch her shoulder but she shrugs me off.

"You call yourself a ninja?!" She screams her eyes turning red with Itachi's Sharingan. "How can you say that when you couldn't even protect my mom?!"

"Sarada-" I try again but she stops me.

"She loved you! She loved you more than anything! Wasn't there anything you could do to save her?! Bastard!" She punches me in the chest but it feels hollow, her fists don't carry any energy, she feels empty inside.

"I still do love him, silly." Sarada whirls around, her eyes turning back to their normal color.

"Mama!" Sakura coughs as Sarada wraps her arms around her.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow." Sakura says muffled by Sarada's hug.

"Mama!"

"It's okay. I'm fine..I just... had to rest for a bit..." Her eyes close again and I breathe a sigh of relief. I was terrified when her eyes closed on me like that. But then her eyes snap open in horror. "My baby!" She looks to me with panic in her eyes.

I smile weakly. "He's beautiful, Sakura. He's just so stubborn he didn't want to speak at first."

"Gonna give me a heart attack." Sakura sighs and settles back against the pillows. "Where is he?"

"You can hold him now." Karin says pulling up besides Sakura and hands her the bundle that is my son. "You weren't joking when you said he would be stubborn. I think he has a quiet streak after Sasuke." Karin blushed. "I think he'll be quite a heart-breaker when this little guy grows up." Something warm fills me, tremendously pleasant. The warmth grows to every nerve in my body. Love. This is my son. Sakura's arms wrap gently around him, his cheeks still flushed with fresh life.

He's beautiful. His chest rises and falls steadily enriched with the life that Sakura has given him. My head involuntarily turns to the side when I see that on his head are tiny tufts of pink hair. He's like Sakura. His eyes flutter for a moment and he looks up at me. For a moment I'm terrified that he'll be scared of me. I'll admit that I'm not the easiest person to immediately accept, and that my appearance tends to frighten small children but his response makes me smile.

He smiles his toothless smile and reaches out to me, his chubby hands searching for me. His eyes are like mine but they have something I lack. Warmth. Did I look like that when I was little? Did my eyes hold the same warmth and life as his? Sakura is crying again holding her baby in her arms. She looks up at me wiping her tears away.

"What do we call him?" Her eyes are earnest, and the brightness in them doesn't hint to the incredible labor she just went through. She is indeed the Queen of Childbirth.

I smiled with warm tears in my eyes. "What do you think?"

"Hm..." Sakura smiles down at our baby. "What about Chikara?"

"Chikara?" I smile. "Sakura..."

"It fits doesn't it? It has the Chi from Itachi's name, and some characters from mine too...unless you don't like it?"

"No. I love it Sakura." I reach down for the first time, drawn in by my son's magnetism. I touch his cheek gently and he doesn't squirm at the cool feeling but rather his eyes close in content. "We name our son 'Chikara' because his mother was able to bring such a stubborn Uchiha into the world."

Sakura reaches out and takes my hand, holding Chikara in the crook of her arm, her hand is warm in mine. Never have I seen so much life in one place. My son. His cheeks are warmed as he makes tiny hiccuping noises in his mother's arms. One tiny hand reaches out and I take it, his tiny little fingers wrapping around my fingertip.

"So how does your first handshake with your son feel like?" Sakura says smiling at me.

This is my family. I have been blessed. Sarada's back pressed against my chest as she coos at her younger brother, Sakura's eyes gaze up at me, her warm hands holding our son. Even the numbskulls standing outside the doorway are making ridiculous gooey noise, not coming any closer knowing for sure that I would deck Naruto just like the last time with Sarada. I look down at my son's tiny little hand. Is he destined to the same awful fate that I went through as a child? Will his childhood be tarnished by tragedy and ripped apart at the seams? I look over at Sarada who gazes down at her little brother with love in her Uchiha eyes. She will take care of him. No matter what happens to me. Uchiha are strong, I remind myself. Chikara's grip tightens around my finger and I smile. "Amazing."

A/N: 'Chikara' means power, capability, or influence. The name includes the character of 'chi' from Itachi's name, and 'ra' from Sakura's name. Sasuke entrusted his son with this name knowing that his son will accomplish not only great things but good things, that's what gives his son his 'power'. I really liked this name because it ties to Indra's influence on Sasuke's life too, and it also has 'Chakra' in the name! I had a really hard time choosing names, but this is the one that I ended up with. Please don't hate me! I think it's a beautiful name for a Uchiha. What do you think of Sasuke's complete family? Well that was about it for the ANOTHER UCHIHA arc! I hope you enjoyed it! You will be seeing Chikara again very soon!