Soul Searching

Chapter 92

"Sasuke?" Sakura whispered.

"Hmm?" I mumbled. We were lying in bed, I was nearly asleep when she spoke my name. It helped that I was such a light sleeper or I wouldn't have heard her.  All those years of being in a confined space with Orochimaru and his experiments kept you on your toes. Old habits were hard to break.

"Does it make me a bad mother to be worried about Sarada taking the Chunin Exam again?" She sounded so unsure of herself. I could tell this had been weighing on her mind.

The room was completely black, all the stars and moon were covered by thick clouds. I reached my hand out to my side and found Sakura's. I wove my fingers with hers and gave her a light squeeze.

"Why would you ever think you're a bad mother?" I asked her softly. Sakura was the glue that held our tiny family together. She was the reason Sarada turned out as great as she has. Had she not been so strong, I don't know what would've happened to us.

"I just can't get what happened last time out of my mind. I want to be able to shield her from everything terrible in this world but I just don't want her to think I am doubting her strength."

I rolled to my side and pulled her against me. She nuzzled against my chest, the tip of her nose cold to the touch.

"It's only natural to worry. But this is the way our lives are, the lives of shinobi. Sarada will have to face that truth, just like we did. She's more like you than you realize. She's going to pass."

"Yeah but I couldn't even pass my exams the first try."

"That's really all you got out of that?" I replied deadpan.

"No no no" she chuckled, "You just have so much faith in me."

I was confused by her response. How could I not have faith in her? She held our tiny family together in my absence. She's endured so much because of me but yet has loved me unconditionally. She was the one constant in my life.

"Sakura. You raised our daughter all by yourself. You stayed strong for her and taught her everything she knows. I should be the one worried about being a bad parent."

"You were out there protecting us and the village. You're an amazing father Sasuke."

She was always so sure about me even when I doubted myself. I guess I knew how she felt. I hugged her to me tightly, "Stop worrying Sakura and get some sleep. Tomorrow is a big day for Sarada, we need to be well rested."

"Thank you Sasuke" she whispered before settling in closer to me. Within minutes both of us were asleep again.

"Time to wake up!" we heard Sarada yell from outside our bedroom door. I groaned as I squinted my eyes open, seeing that the sun was barely even up. "Wake up!" she called again.

"It's your turn" Sakura grumbled as she rolled away from me.

"No way" I retorted as I placed my arm over my eyes. A second later I felt the covers being ripped off of me, exposing me to the cool air. "Way to play dirty" I grumbled as I rolled out of bed. I trudged my way to our bedroom door, opening it slightly.

"Why are you up so early?"

"I am excited! I can't sleep any longer" she said with a big smile. I felt bad for not being able to keep up with her level of enthusiasm but I was lacking sleep.

"I still need sleep. Can you give me just a few more hours?"

"Nope!"

"Minutes?"

"Papa! I need to spend every minute I can preparing. That means I need your help."

I drug my hand down my face, begrudgingly accepting my fate. "Fine. I'll be downstairs in 10 minutes." Sarada beamed and nodded her head before running off down the hall to wait.

I walked back over to the bed and straddled the lump of blankets, pulling them down to reveal Sakura, who was smiling smugly. I leaned down over her to whisper in her ear, "You owe me big time." I kissed her temple before climbing off of her to get ready for the day.

"I'll meet you later at the arena" she said as she curled back into a ball under the blankets. Once I was ready I went downstairs to Sarada and we left to go to the training grounds.

We worked on her Sharingan use, like key moments to use it or when she should reserve her chakra. She had the natural ability of chakra control, much like Sakura did at a young age. This was crucial for the Chidori, that's why I needed to make sure she understood what her limits were.

"And I'm sure you've thought of this Sarada, but no matter your opponent, give this everything you've got. Understood?"

Unlike me, she had friends she was competing against. When I took my exam, I knew that it didn't make a difference who I fought, everyone was an enemy. I don't want her to miss this opportunity because she got matched with a close friend.

"You're fighting for yourself. Going easy does not make you a Chunin" I explained further.

"I know Papa. Don't you worry, I'm going to win this!"

I smiled down at her, proud of her confidence. "Come on, your mother will be heading to the arena soon. You need to make sure you're there with enough time to prepare and calm your nerves."

As he got closer we could hear the sounds of chatter coming from inside the arena, people flocking into the stands. Luckily we were able to avoid the crowd, participants entered in through a door on the opposite side of the main entrance.

All the participants were present in the private room, their parents had already left them to find their place in the stands. I recognized some of them but others I didn't, they were from different villages.

Much to Naruto, and everyone's, surprise they agreed to hold Chunin Exams collectively here in the Leaf instead of in their respective villages again.

"You can go Papa. I'll be fine" Sarada encouraged me. I was hoping she hadn't caught on that I was lingering, trying to wait as long as possible before leaving her. I had faith in her, but there was that small part of me that wanted to protect her from everything. I never knew I could feel this way until she came along. "All the other parents are gone. Go" she whispered.

I crouched and gave her one last hug before going. "You're going to win" I told her quietly.

"I know" she said back with a smile. Seeing her confidence, I felt ready to head out and find her mother. It wasn't hard to pick her out in the stands, she was sitting with Shikamaru's wife.

She waved enthusiastically when she saw me, a nervous smile painted on her face. I walked down the aisle for the row behind her and bent to speak into her ear, "I'm going to watch from somewhere above. I'll find you once it's over." I was too anxious to sit.

I found a private area high in the stands on the far side from Sakura. I had a clear view of her as well as the arena.

The kids all walked out to stand in a semi circle in the middle of the arena as the exams began. The announcer took a moment to thank all the participants, villagers, and Kage who traveled to be here.

On a large screen to my right they began shuffling the names to show the first match. My heart was pounding, waiting to see if Sarada's name would show up, but it immediately sank when I read the names on the screen.

Sarada Uchiha vs. Cho-Cho Akamichi