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Chapter Text

Konoha. The thriving land that developed rapidly under the influence and rule of the Hokages. Power, wealth, and knowledge all could be obtained in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Many villages sought to be like Konoha or be in their good graces, for it greatly benefitted others to have Konoha's blessings. Konoha's blinding light of prosperity, honor and life hid the darkness that lurked in the shadows, the cracks underneath the finery. The shadows manned by the scarlet eyes of the Uchiha clan. The clan that was the darkness to Konoha's light. That was the role of the clan, to be the darkness of Konoha to protect it. The morals were gray as blood was red.

The Uchiha clan made up legions of the finest ANBU members Konoha had ever seen. Tobirama feared that one day, the Uchiha clan would rise against them and destroy the village, but Hashirama placed his trust in Madara. It took years of convincing and action that the Senju clan didn't wish for the Uchiha's extinction, though Madara eventually relented so long as they maintained their influence and power.

Many years later, the clan was still headed by Madara, alive from sheer will to continue to spite Tobirama's legacy and Danzo. Yet they could not do more against him, for who will be so willing to bloody their hands for the village in the way that the Uchiha would? They were Konoha's finest double-edged sword that needed to be appeased at times to prevent a bloody civil war.

Eventually, the clan will be led by another infamous Uchiha. Not Itachi, surprisingly, but his younger brother.

Sasuke was a merciless Uchiha, fitting to head the clan while Itachi would manage the whispers of information that fed into the clan's influence over many powerful families. They were textbook Uchiha that the others strived to be, proudly receiving the tattoos of their clan symbol after their first kills in the name of family. Both were callous at killing, though Sasuke's cruelty extended further than Itachi's strategic assassinations. Sasuke killed one of the Legendary Sannin on a long mission and revived him to prove that he could do it on a whim, had gone toe-to-toe against Madara's men during the clan's desire to find an heir. Sasuke was found sitting on the back of Madara's chosen candidate, boredly waiting with his chokuto in hand. Fugaku praised both of his sons greatly, scoffing when other shinobi complained about having an irksome feeling when witnessing Sasuke's savagery during assassinations. Fugaku was proud. Sasuke's actions rivaled that of the texts written about their ancestor, Indra.

Marrying Sakura years ago should have quelled some of Sasuke's cold heart, but instead, it intensified the sadism in heed to protect her and the family.

Especially when it came to matters concerning his wife and daughter. No love could ever compare to an Uchiha's. The degree of it showed when Sarada, their clan's little flower, melted down at the idea of someone stealing her mother away.

It happened when Sarada was getting ready to have lunch with some friends under the watchful eye of Shisui. Sasuke had made time to see her before she left, knocking on her bedroom door with a carefully wrapped gift for her. No reason, he just wanted to spoil her.

Sarada had cried grateful tears, opening the box to a beautiful black dress tailor-made for a young girl. Rather than her simple happiness and dancing around at another beautiful gift from her father, she looked lonely and depressed. He should've taken that as the first sign that something was wrong and asked. She hugged him tighter and longer than usual, than shooed him out to change.

They'd talk about it later, he decided.

He didn't have to wait long. Sarada asked him to walk with her to where she was meeting up with Mitsuki. She was holding his hand, basking in her new dress while still lost in thought. Konoha was rushing about as usual, the streets wrought with locals and tourists from other villages. In hidden corners, his clansmen were watching the population with scrutinizing eyes. Shisui was watching them from afar to start his day with Sarada.

"Papa? Are you and Mama…okay…?" she asked, her hand tightening around his. Sasuke didn't think much of it.

"We're fine, Sarada. We haven't been sick and the last thing we both need is for that to happen, especially your mother. I swear Tsunade is overworking her…" he sighed, cursing the drunkard who was supposed to be his wife's superior.

Realizing she had been misunderstood, Sarada sputtered to correct what she asked. "Not like that! Like…you know…" she trailed off, stopping in place on the sidewalk.

He stared questioningly. "What?"

"…" She squirmed uncomfortably, shifting her weight to the other foot.

He sighed. "Sarada, you know my social cues are shit."

She managed to laugh despite the tension and racing thoughts. "Haha! Sorry, Papa!"

She spoke nervously, her voice trembling as words started flowing out. "I mean…like you guys haven't been fighting-" she broke off, unable to stay subtle.

"ARE YOU TWO GETTING A DIVORCE?!" she suddenly shrieked, shocking him and causing others to jolt around them. Both her shouting and the thought nearly gave Sasuke a heart attack.

"Jesus, Sarada! What the fuck are you talking about?!" he hissed, glaring at anyone staring at them. Pure panic flowed through her veins. Uchihas never got divorced. Their devotion to their love was unmatched. But just because there weren't divorces in their clan didn't mean it couldn't start now. Sakura wasn't an Uchiha by blood, as she had been told millions of times by people who were trying to convince her not to marry Sasuke.

"A divorce! Are you?! Oh my god," she let go of his hand and fisted her hair, "you two seriously are. My world is going to implode."

She looked visibly nauseous, holding her stomach. Sasuke grit his teeth. Sarada was upset. Over something that wasn't even happening. Even if Sakura were to plan on leaving him, she would be upfront, break a door down and tell him there was a problem and if they didn't get over it, she was done. The idea was enough to make him feel as nauseous as their daughter.

"Hang on." He swept her over to an alleyway out of earshot of the public. Into the ears of their clan. "Slow down. Of course, we aren't. Your mother and I are fine. More than fine. I'll spare you the details of our romantic life. What made you think that?"

He ground his teeth. "…did she say something?"

She shook her head, still hysterical and jumpy. She wanted to believe they were okay, but her mind was riddled with undying anxiety.

"I saw a man at the hospital courtyard when I came to see her! He confessed to Mama! He said she deserved better! That he isn't a demon like you! Mama yelled at him…but…" she sniffed, tears fogging up her glasses, "…he said something I couldn't hear. And she didn't say anything. She walked away…"

"…" because she had to. Because if she acted as she would irrationally, the man would put her in conflict with the hospital.

Sarada sunk her head in shame. "I was hiding. As soon as she left, I might've…confrontedandbeathimupandranawayandcalledItachi-oji-chantopickmeup."

This man upset her mother. After shamelessly confessing and even had the audacity to acknowledge she was married. And he had the gall to insult her father? She had known men had flirted with her mother no matter how polite she was, but never had she seen it.

It disgusted her now that she lay witness to an attempt. At that moment, something took over her. The jealousy and hatred of an Uchiha. Sarada was more like her mother most times, but in moments of extreme emotion, her Uchiha side emerged. No one loved like an Uchiha. And generally no one was stupid enough to impede in a relationship that involved an Uchiha. She had seen red, shrieking like a banshee and tackling the man down. In his shock of being shoved, she let her fists fly, her eyes glowing red while he was petrified. He offered no resistance, like he had surrendered his life after seeing her Sharingan. Might as well had, she had put him under a sloppy genjutsu in her uncontrolled rage. She beat him into submission until her knuckles went raw.

By the time she snapped out of it, her hands were burning and the man had bruises and knots all over his head, heavily breathing through his mouth after Sarada broke his nose. Frightened by herself, Sarada scuttled back, frantically looking around to see if anyone saw her. No one was in the courtyard, but had anyone seen her through the windows? How could she attack someone in broad daylight?

The man's groaning broke her out of her thoughts. Fearing he would wake up and memorize her face, she fled into the shadows of the hospital, scrambling to take her phone out of her bag. She couldn't tell Papa, he'd be so furious...right?

She had held the phone to her ear, tears running down her face and her heart racing and stuttering in fear. Time ticked for what felt like eternity until her call was answered. "I-I-Itachi-oji-chan, please help me...!"

"Did he hurt you…?" Sasuke asked, keeping perpetually calm despite wanting to lash out and have Konoha searched. If Sarada was hurt on top of Sakura being harassed, he was going to have to string the man's corpse up and have Itachi's crows whisper a warning to make a full stop of this ceaseless flirtation with his wife. Harsher whispers would flutter through the wind to suggest a kiss of death would follow if anyone even touched Uchiha Sarada.

She shook her head, much to his satisfaction. "No. I'm sorry, Papa. I know you told me to watch myself in public, but I had to defend you and Mama."

The Uchiha had to be model citizens to prevent the public from comparing them to their era of rivalry with the Senju. He gently poked her forehead affectionately, making her smile weakly.

"I'm glad you're fine. When was this?"

"A couple days ago. I didn't tell you right away because I talked to Mama first and she told me not to say anything because you'd get mad. But you gave me this dress and I felt so guilty." She trembled, clasping her hands together. "Please don't be mad at me! And Mama. I promise I beat him up really bad!"

He shook his head. "I'm not mad. Not at you or Sakura. Of course not. But…" his Mangekyou Sharingan, shaped like the daffodils Sakura brought him long ago, revealed itself, "tell me more about this man…"

Sarada solemnly studied his face.

"Are you gonna get rid of him, Papa?" she asked quietly, looking around to see if anyone was watching them. His Mangekyou didn't scare her, but if the public saw it, they would immediately think an uprising was starting amidst the Uchiha.

"Did anyone see you attack him?" he asked instead. He'd spare her the details of what he'd do. She was too young to be exposed to the Uchiha's bloodshed during a time of relative peace compared to the dangers of his own upbringing.

"No. I told Jii-chan and Madara-san too. They said if anyone saw, they'd take care of it. Jii-chan did say he was proud of me and that you would be too." He noticed Fugaku had given her an actual smile and made her tea a few nights ago. He rarely ever did for him and Itachi.

Don't underestimate an Uchiha's love.

"Yes. I'm very proud of you. My little peanut." He smirked and ruffled her hair, leading to an embarrassed sputter and a snort of laughter from Shisui who could hear their banter.

"Mouu! I shouldn't have said that! Quit it!"

And here Sasuke was, a week later after he ordered for the man to be found and delivered to him personally. Itachi had all of his information in minutes after surveilling the cameras in the courtyard, then he dispersed his crows to watch and monitor his daily routine for a week to find the best time to strike. Sarada had been seen in security footage beating the man, but Itachi had all of the feed wiped as if the cameras weren't working in the courtyard that day.

Sakura was none the wiser, kissing and making love to Sasuke like she did every day. Good, he didn't want her being concerned. He takes care of their family, like he promised.

Sasuke was sitting on the wide windowsill, staring at the bountiful branches of cherry blossoms blooming and raining their delicate petals down the streets of Konoha. The same petals that he had intricately tattooed along his family's crest. They were hidden underneath his clothing and revealed themselves every night to the woman named after the beautiful flowers.

And every night when he showered off the blood of his business down the drains.

'Sakura wants us to go to the festival next month. It's been a while since we've gone out as a family. Hn,' he smirked softly, 'Sarada even has ideas for dressing up. Those two are a handful.'

As Sasuke was consumed in his thoughts of his cozy family, the man on the receiving end of his disdain was tied up and struggling on the concrete floor. He was hogtied and gagged, struggling to get out of the knots Sasuke's men had tied. Sasuke sighed. Business always called. But, his eyes shone crimson with his bloodline's signature eyes, this wasn't business. This was personal.

Sakura, his beautiful, feisty, kindhearted wife was too fucking nice and carefree for her own good. She either refused to acknowledge or glared at the leering, perverted looks men threw her way. Only Sasuke should reserve the right to ogle how her ass looked in a tight dress that clung to her curves. He and Sarada, their adoring daughter, should be the ones who received her brilliant smiles when she lovingly spoke to them. Her position as a doctor made it extremely hard sometimes to turn others down. Overblown complaints plagued the staff and licenses were put in jeopardy if people felt intimidated or wronged by them.

So many times, Sakura had to be polite. Unfortunately, idiots took that as a sign to try harder next time. Sakura told him not to be bothered, to please let her handle it because he would make things unnecessarily difficult. The Uchiha clan were ruthless, with blood trailing behind each member as they maintained their territories of Konoha in an iron fist. Sasuke wasn't the clan's heir without reason. Before they dated, he had carried out assassinations when he was fourteen without mercy, but he was methodical when it came to who he had killed. Her vindictive husband chose kills that would cause the most ripple effect and destroy the years of effort against Konoha. When he was jealous, he became more violent. She had kissed his seething expression that night and made him reluctantly promise.

Until Sarada burst into tears the other day because she saw how her mother was being treated.

Keiji Uhara. A local with no affiliation to the hospital professionally. No shinobi background, nothing of significant connection to any ninja. Just a man who frequented the clinic Sakura worked. It was always the fucking patients who were hitting on Sakura. And like all other times, the administrators suggested Sakura should have worn proper attire or de-escalated the situation and redirected the men when she felt harassed.

Nope, no longer. As her devoted husband, Sasuke's duty was to ease her fears and concerns.

Sasuke rose from his position, stretching and taking the chokuto handed to him by one of his men. Keiji began to sweat and tried shifting to get away from him while crying pitifully. Sasuke smirked darkly.

"Even if you weren't tied up, killing you would be easy. Struggling would only make it worse."

Suigetsu grabbed Keiji and sat him up to face the Uchiha heir, grinning toothily.

"You know exactly who I am, don't you?" Sasuke asked, Suigetsu ripping the gag out for Keiji to speak.

The man was trembling, his body wracked with sobs and ugly tears were flowing. "S-Sas-Sasuke-sama," he whimpered. "I-I-I wa-was foolish. Pl-please spare me..."

Sasuke sneered. "And you not only attempted to steal my wife from me, you made my daughter upset. I only forgave the flirting for so long. It ends now."

"It will! I won't ever try anything again! I'll stay away from her!" Keiji promised, eyes filling with hope Sasuke was joyously going to snuff out. He stomped onto Keiji's right arm, unperturbed by his pained cry.

"You will," Sasuke agreed, brandishing his chokuto as the steel caught the light, "you'll help spread the message."

Before Keiji could scream, the gag was stuffed back in his mouth and the last thing he saw before timeless suffering was Sasuke's Mangekyou Sharingan.

Sakura had seen countless level one traumas in her career. She had been trained and experienced to show as little emotion as possible no matter who came in. Shishui had come once when he took a sword to the chest from an ambush during a mission. She never could forget the light draining from his eyes, the blood that seeped onto the sheets from his wounds, how his family were clinging to each other while his mother screamed for her son. She didn't even flinch as she healed him even when her mind was screaming for him to stay alive, make stupid jokes, anything to show he had life left in him.

She healed Sasuke a few times at home when he refused to show up in the hospital out of pride, so she screamed at him while she took care of his wounds. That was the only time she had shown that much emotion while healing besides a couple idiotic spars between him and Naruto when they were teenagers.

She had to suck in a breath when she recognized Keiji as the latest level one trauma patient, a victim of attempted murder. His mouth had blood and saliva dripping down the middle of his bottom lip. His head was so swollen and his face was deformed from the assault that she had no idea who he was before she looked down at the chart. On his right hand, three fingers were wrapped in gauze, kerlix and tape. He was forced to lay on his stomach from the injuries he sustained on his back. To her horror, nasty splotches of third-degree burns painted all over it as three medics were using healing water style to repair the scorch marks. Thankfully, he was out of the danger zone and Sakura was asked to issue more orders for him. Based on report and bloodwork, he had been starved for days. His cheeks were gaunt and pale, looking more like Madara than a healthy thirty-year-old. Over him was a chunin getting report, but he barely spoke a word, shaking like many victims did.

"Keiji-san," Sakura breathed, gently walking towards him.

Keiji snapped to attention, looking up at her with surprising fear. She stepped back on reflex, unsure how to approach him now when she had been used to his flirtatious banter before. A confident but desperate man had been replaced by a shell. She could hear his heart sustaining in tachycardia from where she was standing.

"I-I'm sorry, Uchiha Sakura-san. I-I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'msorry I'msorry…" he repeated, mouth swollen and hanging his head to avoid her concerned, gentle gaze.

"He was found in an alleyway by the hospital," a medic whispered, gleaming with sweat from the amount of chakra she had to use to stop the bleeding from his back. "He was last seen by his brother four days ago, but apparently he told his brother that he hadn't seen him in two weeks."

Sakura whipped her head towards her. "He looks like he's been starved for two weeks. Why is there a gap in-"

She cut herself off when she finally realized what could've happened. A sinking feeling formed in her stomach as she went pale. Of course, a genjutsu.

Tsukuyomi could make the distortion of time easily. Itachi.

She struts away from the gurney, quickly giving orders to admit the man and have him undergo a further care in the trauma unit. But not from her. It couldn't be from her with how scared Keiji was when he saw her.

She was the cause of his predicament.

Immediately, Sakura was met by one of the ANBU in an owl mask. "Sakura-sama, we will prevent the report from being submitted, you have our word."

One of the Uchiha. Sakura glared at him. She married into a family shrouded in darkness, she was well-aware of this. But there was a limit to this ridiculous behavior and Itachi of all people was the last person from the clan she would expect this from.

"Where's Itachi?" she growled. On cue, her phone rang, giving her time to pause and look down to see she had received a text message from her brother-in-law. She glanced up and saw that the ANBU member had vanished. Good, because she would've throttled him if he didn't disclose Itachi's whereabouts.

She yanked her phone out of her pocket to check her messages, nearly cracking the case when she saw his casual message.

'Hi, Sakura. I'm sorry to have troubled you. I was informed you were working in the clinic today, not the hospital.'

She jabbed her response into the phone. If it broke, Sasuke's inheritance was paying. 'You asshole! You tortured this poor man for what?! He's just a lame civilian!'

'Tortured how? I simply put him in a genjutsu to think two weeks had passed.'

'You didn't slash his back and burn his back? Rip out teeth? Peel off fingernails? Beat his head in that he needs an MRI to see if he has a brain bleed?'

'Quite messy for my standards, isn't it? If he were my doing, he wouldn't be talking to you, would he?'

'Then who?'

'I'm a very good older brother, Sakura.' His text sent her reeling. Sasuke? Why would he...? How did he...?

'I'm going to kill him.'

'Listen to reason before you do.'

This family got under her skin! How the hell did she let herself get conned into marrying into it?! Foolish girl in love, that's what the fuck she was. Naruto thinking a match was enough to boil water was smarter than her decision to marry Sasuke. She married a possessive, jealous, insecure, sadistic man who was going to give her a stroke.

She grabbed her purse from her office, catching eyes with one of her assistants. "I'm going home early."

Her assistant rightfully explained to her patients that Sakura had left due to a family emergency.

Chapter Text

The clacking of heels against the shining, obsidian floor in the Uchiha complex echoed down the vast, empty hallway. Haruno Sakura, now Uchiha Sakura for the past thirteen years, was pacing down the hallway like she was going to take down her ruthless husband herself.

Funny enough, she was dressed to kill underneath her pristine white coat from the hospital. Uchiha women were surrounded in luxury and she was no exception. Her engagement and wedding ring combo adorned her left hand as it had for years, the brilliant diamonds shining in the light. The symbol of her husband's clan lay on her back. Her short, pink hair bounced against her shoulders while her emerald green eyes were fixed and focused to find the man currently on her shitlist.

Her own darling husband, Uchiha Sasuke.

When she saw house servants, they all bowed respectfully despite their bewilderment of seeing her during her work hours. She was quickly approached by one of the head servants.

"Uchiha-sama! Our apologies, we didn't know you were-"

She glared enough to silence the poor man. "Sasuke! Where's Sasuke?!" she barked.

The poor butler jolted, rearing back. "S-Sasuke-sama is in the middle of a meeting-!"

She turned her heel and sprinted towards the room her husband frequented during his many meetings with the clan.

"Sakura-sama, please wait!"

"No!" she shouted petulantly. Even though she wore heels, she was ridiculously agile. Some of their family were emerging from their training room at the commotion, shocked when they saw her running past them. The butler was pointing madly at her back, cursing his age for not being able to keep her.

"S-stop her!" he shouted.

One of the men stood flabbergasted. "How? Sasuke-sama would kill me if I touched her!"

But she ignored them all. Even when Mikoto overheard them and tried to keep up with her.

"Sakura-chan?"

Sakura didn't pause. Reaching her goal, the fine doors of the sacred meeting room, she grabbed hold of the handles and swung the doors open.

"UCHIHA SASUKE!" she roared, her appearance taking priority over whatever was going on.

She didn't care when she noticed her husband and her in-laws looking up at her with not so much as surprise, even though they were discussing highly confidential information not even the Hokage knew. Itachi, her dear brother-in-law, gave her a rare, small smile when he saw her, clearly amused and courteously silent. He didn't tell Sasuke she was coming, for where was the fun in that?

Fugaku sighed, massaging his temple. He cared for his daughter-in-law, truly, but sometimes she needed to learn to be more understanding and exercise discretion. Shisui held back a snicker, silently texting Itachi and making a bet for what she was mad about. Obito wanted to laugh, but he was also afraid of Sakura putting him through a wall, electing to just stare and hold his breath with the best serious look he could muster. Madara, head of the clan and their feared leader, was chuckling silently. Sasuke back then would have dragged her out for embarrassing him, but he wasn't the least bit aggravated. Ah, love. It took some time for Madara to get used to her barging in, yelling at his heir like he hadn't called for the deaths of dozens in the name of their family.

Finally, Sasuke. He was much happier about seeing her than he showed. Sakura had a way to make a room much brighter when she walked in. In the same breath, she could send others to Hell if she walked in with tears in her eyes. He much preferred her angry, throwing hands or blushing girlishly like she had when they first dated. Generally, he'd let her yell at him, scold him in front of the others. There was no shame in that. She seemed rightfully upset this time around. He wondered why it took her so long to find out what he had done. He was devoid of emotion when he glanced up at her, gesturing to the room when she finally stepped up against him.

"Should they leave?" he asked, smirking when he could feel her body heat.

She growled, ignoring what he asked. "How could you?!" she demanded, not bothering to explain herself to everyone. The only one who needed to know knew.

"What was it that I did?" he asked, deliberately pushing her buttons, standing up and sliding a hand around her waist.

She ignored the butterflies in her stomach from their closeness. Trying to push him away would only encourage him to do more. "You did that to Keiji, didn't you?! And you had Itachi distort his grasp on time! He thinks he's been starving for two weeks!"

"Who's that again?" Shisui asked hoarsely, trying to poke Itachi for answers.

"And why are you mad?" Sasuke inquired in an annoyed tone. He found the perfect solution to this little problem she had whenever she was out without him. Wearing the clan symbol wasn't enough.

She whacked his shoulder, cockily grinning in her mind when he showed an ounce of a wince. "Because I told you that there's nothing to worry about! I'm never chasing people! You're supposed to let me handle things like this and not get involved!"

"Ah," Shisui leaned back, understanding now, "I remember now, that one. Good on ya, Sasuke."

Sakura whirled around to glare at him. "Shisui-san," she growled in warning, "I will shove my heel up your ass if you open that smart mouth of yours again!"

"Shut up, Shisui," Itachi agreed, wanting to placate his dear sister-in-law so she'd let him take Sarada genjutsu training. Shisui rolled his eyes and mocked them silently.

Sasuke turned her attention back to him.

"Sarada was worried." His eyes brimmed with soft emotion. "I did it for the both of you."

She blinked, her anger vapored to surprise. "Sarada...?" she whispered.

"She told me she saw a man touching you, confessing to you…" his Mangekyou Sharingan flashed in his eyes, "even though you're married. Men like that don't take a simple 'no' for an answer, so I made it very apparent that you weren't interested."

She reached up and held his face in her hands, his Sharingan reverting back to deep pools of onyx. "Sasuke-kun, his back molars were ripped out with pliers. He's dehydrated and starved. He's so altered and his face was beaten bloody that they think he might have a brain bleed. He can't even sleep on his back because of the cuts you gave him. He's burned so bad that even if we heal him extensively, he'll be scarred for the rest of his life. He's even missing fingernails."

She began to cry softly, blaming herself for Keiji's suffering. "Please, don't be so barbaric. It scares me when you're like this. It's like I'm losing you whenever you give into your darkness."

Sasuke ignored his clan, holding her close and pressing a kiss to her forehead that wasn't like the cold-hearted heir who earned his reputation. "You'll never lose me. You're the reason why I'd ever come back."

She buried her face into her chest, silently sobbing. She knew that. He always came back to her. He came back to her after Orochimaru, after dangerous missions where death was certain. But how long until the hate overtook her Sasuke? Was her love truly enough?

Or was her love the reason why he still festered so much hate? And yet, this was far tamer than how he was when he was sixteen and killed Orochimaru. Before, Sasuke would have a cruel smirk on his face whenever he carried out an assassination. Now, he was so nonchalant that it was horrifying to think that it was normal.

But, deep inside her was a sick feeling that she was glad that meant the likelihood of being sexually harassed at work would lessen greatly. Even with firm rejections, some persisted. And persisted and persisted until she snaps and gets a stern talking to from up top about her treatment towards others.

Madara wasn't going to lose his lunch over the sappiness, turning towards Itachi.

"All of the fingernails?" Madara spoke with a gravelly voice. That was his sadistic pleasure to get his targets to talk. Itachi shook his head, holding up three fingers. Madara rolled his eyes.

"Soft." He coughed loudly, matching Sasuke's glare from pulling Sakura's attention away from him. "Sakura, we are the Uchiha. We have told you time and time again that we hold love to the highest regard, more so than hatred. Our Sharingan is born from emotion."

Underneath his hair, the Rinnegan glimmered in what little candlelight danced into vision. "Imagine how torturous it is for our family when others try to take that love away."

Sasuke had to agree. "Those men want you in a way only I can." His arms tightened possessively, though not enough to hurt her.

Sakura sighed as he brushed her tears away. "I'm only yours, Sasuke-kun."

His hand weaved into her hair, his eyes softening in a way reserved only for her and Sarada. "I know you are. You've always been mine. But that doesn't stop them, does it?"

"It doesn't," she agreed, ignoring how he grit his teeth at her reply. "But I promise you that it's not going to happen anymore. You aren't going to do this again, I won't let you."

She glared at him in challenge, daring him to oppose her will.

"How?" he urged, his eyes flaring crimson. "You're not quitting the hospital. It's your dream job. Don't sacrifice it to stop this bullshit."

She suddenly smiled, winking at him and batting his arms into reluctantly letting her go so she could get some distance between them. "I always figure it out! Besides, do you think I'd quit over some thirsty-"

When she stepped back, her heel snapped and a shooting pain began she rolled her ankle.

"Ah!" Sasuke grabbed her before she fell to the floor, wordlessly waiting for her to regain her balance and stand upright. Her left shoe heel dangled carelessly in the air, barely attached to the rest of her shoe.

"My heel broke..." she murmured, aghast at her misfortune today brought. Mikoto covered her mouth with her hand, feeling her pain and embarrassment.

"Oh, dear..." No one dared to even breathe or they would incur her wrath.

That's it, that was totally it. Her day was fucking ruined. This was the straw that broke the camel's back. She let out a high-pitched shriek that didn't faze her husband, wrenching the broken shoe off her foot and threw it against the wall hard enough that it broke through. No one flinched at the impact and she didn't care if they did or not. Sasuke sighed. Just when things were looking better. Though it was a welcome distraction to the earlier tension. Sakura yanked off the other heel and marched off, brandishing it like a weapon and ignoring the pain in her ankle as she limped slightly.

"AND FIX MY SHOE!" she shouted, waving the other shoe in the air as she trudged through the doors.

"Honey, you're limping!" Mikoto called out.

"I am not!" Sakura lied, trying to leave with a shred of her dignity intact. Sasuke shook his head. She was being ridiculously stubborn.

"Why fix your shoe when I can just buy you another pair?" he muttered, receiving the broken one from the shaking butler.

She rounded back, vibrating in anger. "You are not throwing money at me! I want my shoe fixed! I'm going on a vow of celibacy until it's done!"

He was not expecting her to hear him. And what the fuck kind of condition was that? His taken aback expression had the others cackling at him. Ears flaring slightly red with the hint of a blush dusting his cheeks, Sasuke rolled his eyes to act like he wasn't bothered.

Madara glared at the hole she made. "Get the wall fixed," he ordered to one of his servants, who was quickly weaving hand signs to start the process.

"Uchiha Sasuke, heir to the clan, uses powerful and forbidden jutsu to assassinate his targets. And he still has enough chakra reserves to fix his waifu's shoes," teased Obito as Sasuke studied the shoe.

"Whipped," Shisui added, snickering next to him.

Sasuke growled, almost breaking the shoe in another place. "Shut. Up."

"Quit teasing him," Itachi remarked, reaching over to pat Sasuke's shoulder. Itachi was probably trying to defend him, but Sasuke knew his brother long enough to sense the sliver of a patronizing tone underneath the gentlemanlike persona.

"In any case," Sasuke began, dropping the broken shoe on the table as the laughter began to die down, "I'm hoping this little ordeal settles the harassment Sakura has been getting outside the house."

Susano'o's purple aura seeped around him, the glare of his Sharingan shining as his muscles tensed. "I will repeat this again if it doesn't. Sakura doesn't need to know about it next time."

They'd look forward to what the outcome may be.

Sarada was doing her homework, practicing her hand signs to follow the jutsu and mouthing the names as she went. She was wearing the black dress Sasuke bought her over a week ago, focusing on her studies instead of spinning around like she would whenever she was gifted beautiful clothes from him.

She looked up when the door opened, seeing her mother looking fairly exhausted. "Mama! Welcome home!" she greeted.

Sakura smiled a little, reaching down to heal her ankle. Sarada got up, eyeing her with concern.

"Are you okay?" she asked, going over to support her. "You should really be resting, Mama, especially since you're-"

Sakura waved it off, leaning against her. "It's nothing, promise! It was just the last thing I needed to be dealing with right now."

Sarada helped her sit on the couch, sitting next to her mother happily. Sakura felt bad. She had to talk to her daughter again. "Sarada," she asked, sighing deeply and touching her forehead, "did you tell your father about Keiji?"

Sarada had bent over to get a pillow underneath her mother's foot, straightening up with a blank stare.

"Who's that?" she asked curiously, drifting off when she remembered, "...oh, right. I remember now. Yup! Sure did!"

And she was so happy about it?!

"Why?" Sakura gasped, her voice cracking when she went up an octave.

Sarada cringed. "Mama, is everything okay?"

Sakura clutched her wrist. "Honey, why would you tell him about that? You know how dangerous your father is!"

Sarada became defensive, refusing to pull away because that would mean fear. "I'm not gonna apologize. You weren't acting like yourself after you turned him down. I saw him say something else. I was worried he was blackmailing you!" she reasoned. Why else would her mother just walk away like that if she hadn't been intimidated? And by a civilian, for Christ's sake!

'It would be the most brainless idea to attempt to blackmail an Uchiha,' Sakura thought, but held her tongue.

"Nothing comes between us, Sarada. Never." She let go of her wrist, rubbing a hand comfortingly up and down her daughter's arm.

Thankfully, Sarada didn't pull away from her touch then either. She puffed out her chest. "Right. So, I was making a demonstration out of him."

Sakura twitched, smiling stiffly. "And what did you expect Papa was going to do?"

Sarada hummed in thought, furrowing her brows in a way that mimicked her father perfectly when he was her age. "I guess...beat some sense into him. For being a perv and all."

Sakura managed to chuckle a little to break the tension she was feeling. "I think you did that plenty, Sarada." She sat back on the couch, giving her a firm look. "You're still being punished for that! You're grounded!"

Sarada squirmed. She wasn't going to win this argument in any case. She had to take the punishment on the chin this time. She got up to finish her homework, pausing to turn back to her.

"Mama, what did Papa do to that man?" she asked, the memory of her talk with Sasuke coming back. He didn't say what he would do. She didn't expect it to be light either.

Sakura hesitated. Would Sarada fear Sasuke if she told her the details of Keiji's battered body on the gurney? Would that kill the image of a good, kind father she had of him?

She sighed deeply. "Your father is dangerous. The Uchiha clan has been for centuries now, starting from the forefather Indra to now. The name of our family is enough to scare even ANBU-level shinobi. Your relationship with your father is good. I don't want that to be tarnished with how he can be to the other side."

Sarada seemed to think about what she said, wisely deciding she didn't want to explore the topic further. She turned her back and went back to studying her jutsu. Sakura glanced at the Uchiha clan symbol on her daughter's back. Her black hair and Sharingan made her Uchiha genes the forefront. Her kindness not so much. Sakura hoped Sarada held onto that kindness as she got older.

They had dinner later, but Sasuke hadn't come home yet. Typical on some nights when there was quiet, tense discussions on what moves they needed to anticipate from enemy territories. After her warm shower, Sakura sighed as she laid in bed in her thin nightgown, navy blue like the color Sasuke used to wear. The day had worn her out and she received a message from Ino saying that the healing for Keiji was so extensive that even she was called due to her abilities. They had to gently introduce food to his system. Whatever he had gone through, his body was treating it like he had been starved the whole two weeks rather than the actual four days. Ino didn't have to say it, but Sakura could tell she was suspicious of the burns on his back. The Uchiha's fire jutsu were infamous, after all.

Sakura hoped Ino wouldn't pry further than that. She dropped her phone on the bed as she drifted into a sleep of memories that all included Sasuke.

Sasuke arrived to their side of the compound as the night continued on. He opened the door and slipped inside quietly, expecting Sakura and Sarada to be sleeping by this hour. He got an earful from Mikoto about what he had done, not that she didn't approve, but that Sakura had found out about it and was upset. Sasuke should have dumped him off already healed, but that led to a discussion on if the message to steer clear from Sakura would be upheld effectively.

In the end, Fugaku made a half-assed remark for Sasuke to apologize to Sakura. And to fix her shoe, which he was going to do later.

He wasn't going to apologize for what he did, just that he upset her.

Sarada was sitting on the couch in her pajamas, clutching her pillow close with a frown on her face. She brightened up when she saw him, jumping off the couch to greet him.

"Papa! You're home!" she whispered excitedly.

He smiled gently and patted her head. "I'm home. Where's your mother?" he asked, looking around to find his dinner was wrapped up nicely for him to eat when he got home.

"She's asleep," Sarada answered, hand on her hip. "I am totally grounded."

"Are you?" he asked amusedly, moving to eat his dinner while Sarada exaggerated a sigh.

"Yep. Can I go over to Itachi-oji-chan's room?" she asked, clearly expecting approval.

Sasuke smirked. "I thought you said you were grounded."

"I am," she admitted, heading to the door. He couldn't be a hypocrite now when he did the same when he was younger, sneaking out to train after Mikoto grounded him back then.

"Don't blame me if you get caught," he parroted the same words Fugaku would tell him.

The notorious Uchiha smirk was on her face, like he was staring into a mirror. "Love you, Papa! Good night~!"

She was such a gracious daughter, giving her parents some alone time. Especially since Mama...well, he'd find out soon.

Itachi opened his door to find Sarada waiting expectantly. Not uncommon, she would often seek him out to listen to stories about the family or spend time with him. He leaned against the doorframe.

"Yes?" he asked gently. Sarada held her pillow to her chest.

"Itachi-oji-chan, my favorite oji-chan," she was laying the flattery on thick and he wasn't going to question something that was true, "Mama grounded me and all, but I absolutely cannot be around her and Papa right now."

Code phrase for nefarious nighttime activity between her parents. She clapped her hands together. "Can I please sleep in your room?" she pleaded, using irresistible puppy eyes.

He shouldn't be indulging bad behavior, for a mother's grounding power was truly great. But...he loved being a good uncle.

"Of course, you can." Her smile was worth getting in trouble for later. She cheered and dove into his arms, happy for peace and that her parents seemed like they were going to be okay.