"Dad?" Sarada's mouth hung wide open.
"Um, hi?" Sasuke wasn't quite sure what to say.
"Wow, I never thought I'd see the day when you finally came home." She said with amazement. Sasuke stared at her closely. Those red glasses....Wait a minute... an Uchiha??? With glasses??? Unheard of!!! Of course, Sasuke kept these thoughts to himself because didn't want to be harassed by Sakura again. Then for a moment, no one said anything. All three of them were trying to make sense of what was happening.
I have a daughter?
He actually came back?
I have a father?
Finally, Sakura broke the silence. "Well, why don't you two go and get to know eachother? Perhaps over dinner?"
"...."
"Can we get Ichiraku ramen? Mr. Naruto says its the best!!" Sarada said with a grin. Naruto. Sasuke hadn't heard that name in ages. Just the name brought back so many fond memories.......
"It's settled then!" Sakura's sharp voice snapped him back to reality. "Sarada, go put some real clothes on. I don't want you going out like that."
"Oh yeah, ehehehe...." Sarada looked down at her baggy plaid pants and white shirt. She ran to her bedroom to get changed. She was excited to get to know her dad, but also a little bit apprehensive. What he wasn't a good person? After all, he left her mother. She began to wonder if she really wanted to get to know him. Sarada slipped on a black blouse and jeans and ran a comb through her hair. Time to find out who her father really was.
—
Both of them hadn't really spoken since they got to the restaurant. The waiter came and went, and the silence continued. Sarada knew that Sasuke wasn't going to start talking first, so she decided to try and start a conversation. "So, are you excited to eat?"
"Um, yeah. It's been a while since I've been here." Sasuke replied. Yes!!! I managed to squeeze not one, but two sentences out of him!!! Way to go, Sarada!!! "Are you excited? to eat, I mean."
"Yeah. This is one of my favorite restaurants!" Sarada said. This was going great!
"Here you go." The waiter said and gave Sarada and Sasuke their meals. They both began eating. What a relief. Now I don't have to talk. I'm too awkward. Sasuke thought. But I also want to be a good dad and prove Sakura wrong. And maybe I can get close to Sarada!
—
They both ate for a while. This time, Sasuke was the one to break the silence.
"So, who is on your team, Sarada? I assume you're on one?"
"Mitsuki and Boruto. Boruto is Naruto's son."
For some reason, the words "Naruto's son" made Sasuke's heart drop. He wasn't sure why. "Why the long face?" Sarada asked.
"Oh! Nothing, nothing. I always look like this! Heh. Heh." Sasuke said awkwardly.
"Okayyy."
They both continued eating for a few more minutes until Sarada finally asked the question that was bugging her the whole night.
"Why did you leave mom?"
Sasuke almost choked on his ramen.
"I was on a mission, sort of."
"What kind of mission?"
"I don't think that's relevant." Sasuke replied quickly.
"What do you mean it's not relevant??? You were gone for twelve years and you still don't think it's relevant?" Sarada was starting to get angry with her father.
"It's complicated. I will explain it all later."
"I want to know now! Why can't you tell me??" She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes.
Sasuke noticed.
"Sarada..."
"Maybe this wasn't a good idea. I'm probably better off not knowing you anyway." Sarada said, feeling defeated. She got up to leave. Sasuke wanted to call out to her, but he couldn't find the right words. As he heard the door close, he knew one thing for certain.
I'm a bad dad. Lol.
