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The eyes mirrored his own.
Sort of.
The eyes of the girl in the filthy refuse of a place he was sent into undercover were most certainly the eyes of an Uchiha.
Sasuke stared at the child, his mind numb as his mind registered the site in front of him as a mere dream, or perhaps even a nightmare. She stood there, as filthy as the place around her while her eyes flickered back to normal, her otherwise clean thumb plopping into her mouth so she might find some kind of comfort from the motion while she continued looking up at him not saying anything.
“What are you?”
“Tawagoto.”
Sasuke flinched upon hearing the foul word coming out of the child’s mouth, wishing he hadn’t asked what she was given the fact he knew she had to be of the Uchiha clan with the Uchiha eyes appearing in her head, yet she too young, being a mere babe. He swallowed. “I mean, what is your name?”
“Tawagoto.”
Sasuke swallowed, kneeling realizing the girl had been accustomed to someone calling her ‘shit’, although she and the place smelled like shit. “How about we give you a different name? A much prettier name?”
“Pretty?” The girl tilted her head. “Pretty, pretty?”
His eyes blinked, but then he blurted out the first pretty name which popped into his head. “Sakura. Uchiha Sakura.” He facepalmed and the small child did the same, but with both hands. He swallowed, tilting his head at the girl. “Anyways, that is your new name, but you’re going to come and live with me now. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
She continued tilting her head, smiling up at him. “Pretty, pretty.”
“Yes. You’re pretty, little Kura.” He almost slapped his forehead again and instead worried his lip. “You know, like a place where treasures are stored. Okay?”
“Okay.”
Not that she understood what he said, or so he thought, but she did understand him motioning for her to climb into his arms as he scooped her up. He walked out, noticing the local authorities he was supposed to be in contact with. One of them narrowed their eyes. “What are you doing. You can’t just...”
“The girl is an Uchiha, and as head of the clan she is my responsibility.”
“You’re just a kid.”
“She is my responsibility,” Sasuke muttered. “I’ll be heading back to the village now, and she is going with me.”
“The Hokage won’t have it, a child raising a child. You’re too young to be a father.”
The words stung, yet Sasuke sniped back. “Well, I guess I’m a father now, right?”
He stood strong while still in sight, but then his body trembled as the child snuggled into his arms, her small fingers twisting into his clothing out of curiosity. “Okay. Okay.”
Sasuke glanced down, noticing how she parroted his words back at him. “Yeah. It’s going to be okay. It’s going to be okay, little Kura.”
“Kuru,” the child muttered, snuggling in close. Sasuke’s nose wrinkled at the smell, but then...
His eyes widened, looking down at the child. “Wait? Did you just defecate all over yourself and me?”
She gave him a confused look, but the realization hit why the place smelled the way it did. Letting out a sigh, he headed to the nearest place he might clean both of them up which turned out to be a small stream. Setting the child down, he quickly stripped his shirt and undershirt off, flinching when she attempted copying what he did only to struggle. Setting his clothing aside, he slipped her – whatever it was – over her head, turning to wash the clothing only for the cloth to disintegrate in his hands.
A curse left his mouth, realizing he couldn’t put the clothing back on her. Glancing at his shirt, he didn’t hesitate in scrubbing it down, completely planning on dressing her in that while wearing the undershirt. The sound of someone else splashing made him set the clothing down and reach for the small child, pulling her back by her armpits. “No. Don’t do that.”
She looked up at him, before going off to sit, pulling her knees to her chest and rocking, her back to him. He swallowed, noticing how filthy she was along with all of the sores. Taking a deep breath, he wrung out the shirt to the best of his ability before pulling it over her head. He watched her squirm against the damp cloth, looking up at him in confusion. “It’s okay. Nobody’s going to hurt you. Clean clothes, okay?”
“Okay?” She continued huddling as he slowly pulled her arms into the over bulky garment before fetching some rope from his kit to wrap. He tugged her up and she teetered, quite unsure of what was going on.
“As I thought. Too long and not fitting.” He quickly sinched the shirt into a better position and let her go back to her huddled position before turning to his undershirt and pulling it on, damp as it was. “Okay. Let’s go home.” She didn’t respond, but then he motioned for her. “Come here.”
The child stood up and waddled over, completely unsure of her footing before tumbling into his arms. He lifted her into his arms and started back towards the village, thinking nothing else could go wrong.
Except, the guard at the gate took notice. “Hold on a second. Who is that girl, Sasuke? We didn’t hear anything about you bringing...” He paused, looking at the girl. “A child back.”
“She’s an Uchiha.”
“She...” The guard sighed. “Look. I know how you feel...”
“You don’t...” Sasuke paused. “Sorry. I don’t know if you’ve lost anybody or not.”
“The point I’m trying to make is that you can’t just take in a child at your age, particularly when you’ve solo missions to attend to. You’ve also made an effort of avoiding getting close to anyone, including your team, but now you want to try and raise a kid?”
“I...” Sasuke looked away. “She’s family.” He let out a sigh. “I’ll be going now.” Instead of heading straight for the Hokage’s residence, he headed for the Uchiha compound. The child leaned into him, looking around in fright. Whispering into her ear, he muttered. “It’s going to be okay, little Kura.”
He noted the fact she’d not talked since he’d told her no but didn’t know why she stopped.
“Sasuke?”
His pace slowed, then stopped, the child resting in his arms. Sasuke turned his head to look at the person who called out to him, recognizing the individuals as Sakura and Ino. He said nothing as a slight blush spread across his cheeks remembering he’d given the child Sakura’s name because he thought the name pretty, but wanted her to think herself pretty. “I’m an idiot.”
Ino pointed her finger at the child. “Who is that?”
Sasuke glared at her, then said. “My daughter.” He didn’t care what they said and started walking away. “I’ll take my leave now.”
Eventually, they arrived at the Uchiha compound, and he set her down. “This is home.”
She looked at him, confused, while he had the distinct feeling someone was following him.
“This is where all the Uchiha lived, or at least I remember them living, so this is your home, but I guess you don’t understand that.” He started towards the part of the compound he lived in. “Let’s get you cleaned up and see what we can do about those sores, okay?”
He pushed the door open with his foot and carried her into the bathroom. Letting out a sigh, he drew up a bath while Kura sat on the floor, having plopped down where he set her down. Sasuke tested the water temperature, not wanting it to be too hot or cold, but made sure it wasn’t that deep. He then stripped Kura of his shirt, the only thing she was wearing which resulted in a squeal from her, one Sasuke associated with not being happy.
Scooping her up around the waist, he dumped her into the bath, but not without small nails clawing into his arm and more screeching. “Come on. I’ve got to get you clean.”
He reached for the shampoo while she cried, the reason unknown to him as baths were something Sasuke found quite calming. He lathered up his hands and reached for her hair which resulted in her thrashing. A familiar voice made him nearly jump out of his skin. “You don’t know what you’re doing, do you?”
“Sakura!” He swallowed. “What are you doing in my house?”
“What are you doing bringing home a strange child in front of the entire village?”
“She’s my daughter.”
“If she were your daughter, you would have been like, what – nine, ten.”
“So?”
“She’s not your daughter.”
“And that’s a problem why?”
“Because it’s scandalous and will have the whole village talking,” Sakura folded her arms across her chest, giving him a rather dark look. “If they’re not already talking, Sasuke.”
“She’s an Uchiha.”
“What?”
“You heard me. I saw her eyes.”
“How is that possible?”
“I don’t know, don’t care. I just know she’s my responsibility.” He turned back to Kura. “Now if you don’t mind...”
“I do mind, but if you’re going to play house, then I will as well.”
“I’m not playing! I’m serious about this!” Sasuke said as the child continued sobbing, thrashing.
“I know you are, so let me help. Start by washing that shampoo off your hands.”
“That...”
“This is going to take two people Sasuke, but I’m going to hold her still while you were, or you’re going to hold her still while I wash.”
“Why can’t I just...”
“Because you forgot to wet her hair!”
Sasuke swallowed, rinsing his hands before coming back and wetting Kura’s hair. He lathered up his hands.
“Also, it's normal to do the cleaning outside of the bath and rise down so that other family members can use the bath after the fact.”
“I – what?”
“Just. You know. How things are done at the communal baths. It’s the same.”
“I didn’t know.”
“It’s okay. Suds down her hair, but be gentle about it.”
Sasuke flinched, worrying he might not be. He sucked in his breath, listening to Kura scream, but then when he started massaging the shampoo in, she started calming, although tears still ran down her cheeks. “There, there. See. It’s making you feel better.”
“It probably is, though the water might also be making those sore spots hurt more.”
“I – should we take her out?”
“I think we’ll be fine, but after this, let the sore spots heal up for a bit. Wait for me to give the clear.” Sakura glanced over at his shirt. “By the way. Why was she wearing your shirt?”
“Hers’s disintegrated when I tried washing it.”
“Why did you try washing it?”
“Because she shat on us both,” Sasuke muttered. “I couldn’t leave her like that, so when I cleaned my shirt, I put it on her.”
“Sasuke, please tell me you let your shirt dry before you did that.”
“I didn’t.” His voice lowered, his hands reaching for the soap, only to stop. “I messed up, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, but something tells me that you did the same to yourself.”
“Maybe you should do the next part. I don’t want to hurt her, and you’ve got the medical-nin training.”
“Okay. You hold onto her,” Sakura frowned, going to work. “What’s your name little one?”
“I...”
“Tawagoto.”
“What?” The color drained from Sakura’s face. “She...”
“Your name’s Karu now, remember? Sort of.” A blush spread across his cheeks
“What do you mean sort of?” Sakura asked as his cheeks reddened. “Is Karu short for...”
“Sakura. It’s short for Sakura.”
“What? Why did...”
“Because your name is pretty, you’re pretty and I want her to think of herself as pretty, rather than...” He sighed, watching Sakura go to work, not at all phased by what he said. “Rather than how I found her. It was horrible.”
“Given the sores and how filthy it was, I can slightly imagine what it was like.” Sakura gently washed the child, murmuring gentle things to her, but when she finished, she lifted Karu out of the bath and wrapped her in the towel. “Her Sasuke. Hold out your arms.”
“I...” He frowned. “What happens next?”
“Well, I’m going to clean the tub so it can be used properly and you’re going to go and wait for Lady Tsunade or her assistant.”
“Wait? You sent for her?” Sasuke choked, hugging Karu a little tighter which resulted in a meek mewl. “Sorry, Karu. I’ll be more gentle.”
“I sent Ino, but I told you. If you’re going to act as her father, I’m going to act as her mother, but there’s no way any of us are going to let you do this on your own.” Sakura leaned in, kissing him lightly on the cheek. “And no more trying to avoid getting close to people.”
“Yes. But Lady Tsunade.”
“Go!” Sakura pointed.
Sasuke let out a huff and went and sat on the tatami floor, holding Karu tightly as she started snuggling in close. “Oh. She’s adorable.”
His head darted up, but he swallowed. “Oh. You’re...”
“She’s my assistant,” Tsunade said, sitting down in front of Sasuke. “Where’s Sakura?”
“Cleaning the bath,” Sasuke muttered.
“What got into you, thinking you can bring a random child home?” Tsunade’s assistant sighed. “You’re worse than the Hokage?”
“Excuse me?” Tsunade glared at her assistant, who Sasuke couldn’t remember the name of. She sighed, turning her head. “Shizune is right, though.”
“She’s not random. She’s an Uchiha. I saw it in her eyes. I know it was briefly, but...” Sasuke looked at the ground. “I know it seems impossible, but it happened.”
“I see.” Tsunade sighed. “Well, it makes sense for you to take responsibility, but Sasuke...”
“Please don’t say I can’t.”
“I told you, if you are going to take on the role of her father, I’m going to take on the mother role, but nobody is going to let you do this alone, Sasuke.”
A blush spread across his cheeks while Tsunade looked up at Sakura. “Well, she’s made her feelings clear, but let me make mine clear as well.” He glanced down at Kura, expecting her to say no. “We brought extra medical supplies, but also different sizes of clothes since we don’t know how big she is. Now lie her down so Shizune and I can do a physical, but...” Tsunade’s mouth was twisted. “You may want to take a bath yourself. Sakura will act in your stead.”
“You’re not.”
“No. I’m not taking her away, but I’ll work on how to explain this to the rest of the village. Does she have a name yet?”
“Uh...” Sasuke’s face turned a bright red. “I might have, you know, picked, um – it’s Kura. Kura for short.” Tsunade smiled while Shizune looked at him in shock. “I think I’ll go and take a bath now.”
“He named her after you?” he heard Shizune ask as he made his escape, his cheeks completely red.
“Yup. It surprised me, but I’m happy he did.”
He froze, the cogs in his head not quite understanding. Shaking his head, he headed in to take his bath. Things would be alright.