The Red String of Fate: New Generation

Family - Sakura

Sakura was awoken by a dull pain in her abdomen and back. She thought that after her daughter was born, her body would begin to return to normal, but she was in constant pain, bleeding and passing blood clots. She turned to wake her sister, who was sleeping next to her in the master bed, only to find that she was gone. Sakura let out a slight, painful groan, holding her stomach.

"You okay, Sakura?"

She looked the other direction to find Kakashi Sensei sitting against the wall, reading a book.

"Where's Mizuka?"

"She was called away.  Are you okay?"

"Yes... no. I'm not."

He got up off the floor and sat on the edge of the bed near her.

"What's going on?"

"My entire abdomen hurts."

He placed a hand softly on her stomach.

"May I?"

He gently pulled the covers down to her thighs and lifted her pajama top to below her breasts. Her abdomen was like a deflated balloon, puffy and wrinkled. He placed a hand gently on her stomach again, and lightly pushed down in several places.

"You know medical ninjutsu?"

"Well, when you're married to an elite healer who's also a birthing expert, you pick up a few things."

"You've assisted her?"

"A few times, yeah. Usually, I'm the birthing coach. You know, holding the mother's hand and telling her she's doing great, and to push. That's when the father is absent. It was better than sitting in Mizuka's cottage, wasting my off days there alone."

Sakura laughed, imagining her tough elite shinobi sensei helping to birth a baby, which made the pain worse.

"I don't feel anything abnormal. Usually, when a woman has a baby, she's advised to rest for the first two weeks. Your organs are trying to return to their original space. As for the bleeding, your uterus is contracting back to its original size, and it bleeds while doing so. Just give it time. Have you eaten yet?"

She completely forgot to eat since they returned from the hospital earlier that day. He covered her back up before he got up and headed to the kitchen for about five minutes. Kakashi Sensei came back with a steaming bowl and, surprisingly, a baby bottle. He handed her the bowl.

"Drink this. It's bone broth and yarrow root, to help with the pain. Mizuka feeds this stuff to everyone. Watch out, it's hot."

The broth tasted good, warming her body and calming her. After the first few sips, she heard a tiny cry that shot through her head like a lightning bolt. Sarada. Before she could even move her hand to pull the covers off, Kakashi was out of the room, bottle in hand. The seasoned father returned a minute later, with a content Sarada snuggled in his arm, suckling from her bottle. He went to sit on the floor, but Sakura stopped him.

"Kakashi Sensei, why don't you come up to the bed? There's plenty of room."

He laid down, leaving about a foot of space between them, still feeding her infant daughter. Sakura laid back on the pillows and watched uncle and niece bond. Soon, she was fed, burped, changed, and back to sleep on Kakashi's chest. Kakashi gently rubbed her little back with his thumb.

"You know, Sensei, I've been thinking a lot about what happened between us years ago.  I've always thought a lot about it."

It was something that they had never really discussed.  It happened, and then they acted like it hadn't.  He sat quietly, watching his sister-in-law.

"It meant the world to me, Sensei.  I dreamed about you a lot afterwards.  You're so handsome and it was such an intense experience.  But, then, I thought a lot about your relationship with Mizuka.  I mean, you two were apart for years and then reunited, and your love is stronger than ever.  I want that, Sensei.  I want a love as beautiful as yours, and I'm confident I can have that with Sasuke."

Sakura reached over and brushed her fingers across his cheek.

"And when I made love to Sasuke and he treated me with the same respect and passion that you gave me that night, I knew I had made the right choice.  He has a hard time expressing his feelings, but he really is my soulmate."

She sighed before continuing.

"And as for us, we're so much more than Sensei and student.  Remember when you told me that nothing would change between us?  It needed to.  You're married to my sister.  We're family.  And, with Sasuke gone for now, I want Sarada to know the meaning of family."

Kakashi chuckled sadly to himself.

"Do any of us know what family means? Sasuke and I grew up as orphans, and Mizuka was abandoned. You may be the only one who knows what that looks like."

Sakura smiled.

"This may be the time for all of us to find out.  I want Sarada to be around her family, and know how much she's loved. Hopefully, that will be enough until he returns..."

Sakura watched Kakashi run his fingers gently over her newborn's jet black hair. He spoke quietly.

"Do you think he'll come back to stay?"

"I hope so."

The tears began to sting Sakura's eyes. Kakashi held out a hand to her. She took it and he squeezed her hand.

"We'll figure it out. You're strong, and you could do this alone, but we won't let you."

"Thanks, Sensei."

"You know, I told  you don't have to call me Sensei anymore."

She laughed, finishing her bowl of broth.

"Okay, but that's still gonna be weird."

She could see the smile in his eyes.

"Try and get some sleep, Sakura. I'll take care of Sarada tonight. You need the rest so you can heal."

"Thanks, Kakashi. Goodnight. Goodnight, Sarada."

She shut her eyes and laid there quietly for a bit. She inhaled deeply, and caught a whiff of Kakashi's scent. It was sweet and musky, just like she remembered. She opened her eyes again a few minutes later to find Kakashi asleep with Sarada still perched on his chest, her little arms tucked under her cheek. He was such a natural to this fatherhood thing; he looked so comfortable holding a little person, even with his tough shinobi persona. She smiled at them once more before falling into a deep sleep.