Journey of Discovery

Chapter 9 - Darkness

"Mama?" she said to herself in disbelief. Sakura's face was set in determination as she stood over Karin's body. Her eyes were focused on Sasuke.

"Papa, why is Mama here?"

"Just watch Sarada" he said softly. Karin was still laying on the ground, a small pool of blood had formed around her, and her breathing was labored.

"Sakura, huh?" Sasuke said in faux surprise.

Sakura stood tall, trying to be brave, as she put it all on the line once again for Sasuke. She told him how she didn't want to have any more regrets and would do anything to be with him.

Sarada watched slack jawed seeing this side of her parents. She stood tightly against Sasuke's side as she continued to watch the scene unfold.

"I'll destroy Konoha. That is what I want Sakura!"

"Then I'll help you! How can I prove it?!"

Sasuke slowly walked to stand over Karin's nearly lifeless body.

"You want to prove it? Then kill her" he said in a deathly cool tone. Sakura slowly pulled a kunai from below her poncho.

"Mama-"

Sarada stopped when she noticed the tremble in her mother's hands as she walked over to where Sasuke and Karin stood.

"Mama doesn't want to do this" Sarada theorized, "then what-"

Sakura stood over Karin, gripping the kunai tightly, as she tried to figure out her next move. Sasuke slowly circled behind her watching her closely before igniting a Chidori is his hand. He moved forward quickly, quicker than Sakura could react to, but before he could make contact Kakashi jumped in and deflected the blow. The two fought for a moment, Kakashi needed to create distance between the them, then he stood protectively in front of Sakura.

"So Sakura, you decided to kill Sasuke on your own then?" he said in a displeased, but saddened, tone.

Sasuke put an arm around Sarada, holding her close, "There's so much that happened Sarada. There's so much I wanted to keep hidden from you, to shelter you from, but this is the hard truth of my past."

Sarada was so consumed by her father's words she didn't hear anything else that was happening. Before she could respond she saw Sasuke and Kakashi begin to fight and go over the side of the bridge.

Once Sakura was alone she quickly sprang into action and turned Karin over on her back and ripped open her cloak to expose her wound, then she began to heal.

"Your mother didn't know Karin" Sasuke started, "but she would never refuse aide to someone who needed it; whether they were an enemy or not."

Sarada knew how true her father's words were as she watched her mother focus all of her chakra into this woman as tears fell down her face. She was crying, she couldn't believe how far Sasuke had fallen. She couldn't believe he would hurt someone like this.

A moment later Sarada found herself to be standing on the water's surface under the bridge. Sasuke and Kakashi were standing across from each other, their words not reaching her ears. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her mother standing on the underside of the bridge looking down at her father, the kunai once again in her hand.

Sasuke's face was in his hands, trying the bare through the pain in his eyes, so he didn't see her coming. She dropped beside him and was ready to push the kunai into his back but she stopped short, she couldn't do it.

Sasuke sensed her presence and grabbed her by the throat, taking the kunai from her and preparing to attack.

"Papa what's happening?!" Sasuke didn't respond. He could only stare as he was about to watch his past self almost make the biggest mistake of their lives.

"No!" Sarada cried out involuntarily. She knew her mother wasn't about to be killed but it was reflexive, she was watching a high stress situation happening between the two people she loves most. She let out a sigh of relief when Naruto grabbed Sakura just in time.

She noticed the darkness in Sasuke's eyes. He was looking at his old teammates but he wasn't really seeing them.

"Papa what's happening to you?" she asked as she looked up at him.

"This is what happens to the Uchiha who over use their Mangekyo Sharingan. They go blind."