A New King Emerges Chapter 15

“I’m so happy you were able to be home for this,” said Sakura to her husband.  

Sakura, now pregnant again for the fourth time, was now a full-time mother most of the time.  She did, on occasion, and especially for friends and personal requests, support the medical needs of others.  However, it was few and far between.  With Sasuke’s entire clan gone, she never thought she would be so thankful for her mother and father still being around as they were willing to give her a hand with her children when her old shinobi life still called her.  

“The Hokage called me to her office yesterday and presented me with a C-rank mission,” said Sasuke.  “Obviously with me here, I turned it down…I thought it would be easier to deal with an angry Hokage than an angry Sakura.”

“She really got angry?!” questioned Sakura, surprised that her sensei would be upset over something as trivial as the refusal of a C-rank mission.  

“No, not really,” said Sasuke.  “It just made the story I just told sound better.”  He laughed…and so did Sakura.  

Sasuke, now 28, was one of the top shinobi in the Leaf as well as in the entire shinobi world.  Now and again he was asked to perform critical missions of utmost importance to the village…however, those types of missions were pretty few and far between.  Most of the time, just to keep his skills sharp, he was forced to take B or C-rank missions.  They were usually boring, but Sasuke always treated each customer’s situation with respect and attention and earned himself the reputation of being a consummate professional.  

Sasuke went to the entryway of their home in the Uchiha compound to get his shoes on.  Sakura disappeared towards the bedrooms.

After a minute or two of waiting, Sasuke shouted, “Are you guys coming or what?”

“Sasuke!  Can you come here for a moment?” Sakura shouted back.

Sasuke grunted in frustration.  He took off his shoes in a huff.  “We’re going to be late you know!”

He stomped back to the bedroom area and found Sakura standing outside of Senshi’s door.

“He locked it,” she told her husband.

“Senshi, will you please come out?  We’re going to be late,” said Sasuke in a forced calm voice.

“No,” said the voice from the four year old on the other side.

“Senshi, we’ve been through this before,” said Sasuke.  “You need to go to the Academy.”

“I don’t want to,” said Senshi.  

“Kasai will miss you,” added Sakura.  “He promised he’d keep an eye out for you at the ceremony.”

“I don’t care,” Senshi replied.  

Sakura looked at Sasuke.  Both were equally frustrated, but at this point just wanted to figure out what the exact problem was and get going.

“Senshi, can you tell us why you don’t want to go?” asked Sakura.

Senshi stayed silent.

“We can’t help you if you don’t tell us,” added Sasuke.  

It took a few seconds, but a low click was heard near the door handle. Senshi had unlocked the door.

Sakura and Sasuke entered to find their second son sitting on his bed with his head lowered.  They took a seat on either side of him.  

“So what is it, Senshi?” asked Sakura.  

“I don’t know anyone there,” said Senshi.  “What if I can’t make any friends?”

Sasuke snickered a little which earned him a stern look from his wife.

“Why do you think you might not make any friends?” asked Sakura.

Senshi shrugged his shoulders.

Sakura had no idea these types of thoughts were circling around her son’s head.  She knew Senshi had a lot of fun with other children, but never even noticed that not one of the kids he regularly played with were his exact age.  He was right….he most likely would not know anyone in his class.  

“That’s just silly,” said Sasuke confidently.  “There will be a ton of kids entering the Academy today.  I’m sure you’ll click with someone.”

Sakura thought of something even better.  “I tell you what….I know at least two other kids entering the Academy today.  I will introduce you to them…and I’m sure you will become fast friends!”  

“Y-you do?” Senshi questioned.

“I do,” Sakura said with confidence.  “Once you meet these two, I’m sure you won’t even think twice about not having any friends.”


On the way to the Academy…

Senshi ran ahead of his parents, looking at some of the interesting items some of the merchants had already placed on the street to sell.  

Sakura and Sasuke kept pace behind him.

“So who exactly are you going to introduce him to?” Sasuke asked his wife as they walked.

Sakura smiled.  “I actually haven’t seen these kids in a very long time, but their parents are nice enough.”

“So you fed him a line?” asked Sasuke.

“No…but I’m confident it will all work out,” Sakura answered.  


At the Academy….

Senshi ended up next to his mother’s side, practically grasping her leg as they entered the Academy grounds.  

Sakura led her family to three seats in the section where the new students and their parents were directed to sit.  Senshi sat between Sakura and Sasuke.  He was beginning to think that his Mom had forgotten that she was supposed to introduce him to someone.  

The usual entrance ceremony took place.  Sakura had to admit that the first time she went through this with Kasai, it was a little more exciting than it seemed to be for her today.

When the ceremony finished, the three Uchiha rose from their seats and Senshi grabbed his Mom’s hip hoping she hadn’t forgotten.  

Sakura looked around for the people she was hoping to see.  “There they are,” she noted.  “And wouldn’t you know it?  They’re already together.  C’mon.”

She led her family off to the right of where they had been sitting and approached a few familiar faces.

“Congratulations!” she started the conversation.  “I can’t believe they are now old enough to be in the Academy.”

“Speak for yourself, Sakura.  This is your second one to enter,” answered Kiba Inuzuka who was standing next to his wife, Dakishi.

“You are right, Kiba…and with the second I have to report that it does get easier,” Sakura laughed as she talked.  

“Is this…?” Konshu Aburame started.

“Yes, this is Senshi,” Sasuke poked him so he would come out from behind his mother.  “He’s a little shy…and a little scared.”

“Who could blame him?” Shino added.  He took a step aside to reveal his son, Yochu, also hiding behind him as well.  

Sakura bent down so she was at the boys’ level.  “Senshi, this is Yochu Aburame.  He’s going to be in your class at the Academy.  Make sure you get along with him, ok?”

Senshi became interested in the boy almost immediately and was already willing to take a few steps forward.  

“Hi,” Yochu said to Senshi.

“Hi,” Senshi returned.

“Hiiiii!” shouted a third voice and jumped between the two loudly and smacked them both on the back as if they were already best friends.

“Inuzuka….yours, right?” Sasuke asked.

“You know it!” Kiba replied with a wide smile.  “He’s not one for being shy…in fact, he is quite extroverted.”

“I see that,” answered Sakura.  

“I’m Koinu Inuzuka,” the third boy introduced himself to the other two.  “You guys want to go play?”

“Yeah!” they answered and without anyone’s permission, the three boys ran off with one another.

Sakura turned to Sasuke.  “Told you it would work out.”

“Another generation of bugs and dogs,” Sasuke lamented.

Kiba gave a thumbs up while Shino stood by his teammate looking as solemn as ever.

OlOlOlOlOlO

Having two of her boys in school allowed Sakura to spend some alone time with her newest child and only daughter, Mikoto.  Mikoto was now two, so Sakura would often spend time with her in the park located about halfway between the Uchiha and Hyuuga compounds.  She was a bit sad as there weren’t many others Mikoto’s age.  Neji and Tenten’s daughter Hana was now three, but it had been noted that the girl was hardly ever seen much.  Kiba’s daughter Rita was only one and was definitely not old enough to be playing on playgrounds such as this yet…in fact, she was probably just starting to walk.  

Sakura looked up to see Mikoto waving as she was about to go down the toddler slide on her own.  When Mikoto was born, Sakura was surprised to see Sasuke had shed a few tears.  She quickly learned it was because their daughter almost immediately reminded him of his mother.  Sakura took a good look at her daughter and smiled.  He has no idea how much he looks like his mother then because Mikoto is the spitting image of Sasuke as well.

“Do you mind if I sit here?” asked woman from behind Sakura.  Sakura turned to see Tenten standing there with a girl in her arms who was about the same size as Mikoto.

“Not at all,” she stated while moving some of her items out of the way.  

Tenten took a seat and watched as the girl ran off onto the playground to play.  She exhaled, almost as if relieved.

“Tenten, that’s not Hana, is it?” asked Sakura.  She seemed so small.

“Yes, it is,” Tenten replied with a sad smile.  “It’s a good day for her so we decided to come here.”

“Good day?” Sakura repeated, not quite getting it.

Tenten smiled.  “She’s a little sickly, that’s all.  There's something wrong with her lungs.  Neji and I keep her inside most of the time to try to prevent her from getting sick.  I bet she gets an infection and fever about once a month and each time she gets one, it lasts nearly a week.”

“Oh Tenten, I’m so sorry…I had no idea,” said Sakura.  “Did the doctors say anything?”

“No, they haven’t been able to pinpoint it yet,” said Tenten.

Sakura felt sad.  She tried to put herself in Tenten’s position and couldn’t imagine the sacrifices that needed to be made just to keep this little one safe and healthy.

“Since she seemed to be ok, I told Neji I was going to take her to the park for some fresh air,” explained Tenten.

“It’s good to get out once in a while,” agreed Sakura.  

She looked up to see that the two girls had gone from playing around each other to now playing with each other on the playground.

“Seems they like each other,” noted Tenten.  

Sakura smiled.  “And I was just thinking that there weren’t many others Mikoto’s age to play with.”

“Hana’s welcome to play anytime she’s healthy,” said Tenten.  “Just let me know ahead of time and I can let you know if it will work out.  Perhaps it is good for her to have someone near her age to hang around.”

“Agreed,” said Sakura.  “And if you guys need anything, please let me know."

OlOlOlOlOlO

The second half of the treasured twins who represented the Koshosuru clan returned home late one evening.  She still lived with the person closest to her in the world - her twin brother Sumato.  He was normally an early-to-bed kind of guy, so when he started talking to her in the pitch black living room, she was startled.

“It’s about time you got home,” said Sumato to his sister.  

She had definitely matured as she grew older, though the core of her remained the same.  She was quiet, honest, beautiful and dedicated towards her role as a Koshosuru shinobi…though now with Sai by her side, she was a little more outgoing in terms of being in public and what she would try.  

Sai had expressed his desire to date her while they were on a mission and the two of them, when their respective jobs allowed, were together all the time.  It was very unlike her to come home this late at night though.

“Sumato, you scared the crap out of me,” Kanja lamented.  

“You are really starting to worry me,” he stated, still seated in his favorite chair in the living room.  He switched on a nearby table lamp to allow some light into the situation.  

“You didn’t need to wait up.  I am old enough to take care of myself, you know,” she said to him.

Sumato stood up presumably to make his way towards his bedroom.  “It’s not the fact that you are so late that I’m worried about…it’s just the fact that you never would have been this late before.”

“Before what?” she asked.  “Before Sai?”

“Yes, that’s what I meant,” said Sumato.  It was the change, presumably caused by this man in her life, that he was worried about.

“I’m glad I have Sai,” Kanja started to get agitated.  “With you and that Tsuyoi girl and all.”

“Leave her out of this…she has nothing to with it.  Besides, I started to date her after you and Sai got together.”

“It doesn’t mean that you haven’t changed your ways to make her happy,” challenged Kanja.

Sumato sighed.  He hated fighting with his sister.  They deeply loved one another and both knew it.  This was just one more example of how the end was probably going to come sooner than later.  They were no longer each other’s worlds.  They were branching out…forming relationships they both enjoyed with others.

“Come here,” he said softly, holding out his hand.

Kanja hated fighting as well and noted the sound of reconciliation in her brother’s voice.  She grabbed his hand and he pulled her into a hug.

“I love you, you know that, right?” Sumato asked.

“I love you, too,” she answered.  “I don’t want to fight anymore.”

“Me neither, but I’m just worried that….that you and I won’t be together for much longer,” Sumato lamented.  “It’s hard for me when we’ve been together since forever.”

“….”  

“What?” Sumato asked.

“S-something happened tonight,” Kanja admitted.

Sumato broke the hug and stepped back to he could face his sister.  “He didn’t hurt you, did he?  If he did, I’ll -”

Kanja pulled down the top of her shirt to reveal a beautiful new necklace.  On it was a simple pendant with two gemstones.  

“Is that a gift from Sai?” Sumato asked.

“Hm-hmm,” Kanja replied.  “He didn’t want to give me a ring because of - ”

“You’re engaged?!” Sumato spit out.

Kanja smiled and nodded.  It took a few moments for the news to sink in.  The look of utter surprise went to one of resignation in a few seconds.  He then smiled as well, and pulled her back into the hug.

“Congratulations,” he whispered into her ear.