A Chance Encounter

Chapter 4

Fugaku had agreed to house the family while they figured out how to get back to their own time. By time they left the station the sun was beginning to set.

It was Spring in this time; the air was cool without the warmth of the sun and cherry blossom trees were blooming all over the village.

Walking through the compound was surreal to Sasuke. He saw a lot of familiar faces pass by him as they walked to his childhood home.

All Uchiha's had dark hair and dark eyes, the exact opposite of Sakura. She was like a speck of pink in an ocean of black. He often wondered if his wife was the first Uchiha with pink hair.

They arrived at his childhood home after only a few minutes. If he thought being in the compound was surreal then seeing his old home was even more so. He hadn't seen it since he left the village at 13 years old, then just a few years later the entire village was destroyed, his childhood home with it.

Explaining the current situation to Mikoto was an interesting conversation to say the least but she believed him much quicker than Fugaku did. She saw her son in the man who stood before her and it was enough for her. She never did awaken her Sharingan but she knew the complexities of its abilities so it didn't seem so far fetched that something like this was possible.

Sasuke's younger self was at the Academy or off training somewhere and Itachi was off on an Anbu mission. He was nervous to see his big brother again but was also excited. It had been many years since he had last seen him, even if it wasn't in the best of circumstances.

They decided to wait to actually introduce Sarada until after they had time to talk with Sasuke's parents about their situation. Luckily Sarada was exhausted and was currently taking a nap in her grandparent's bedroom while they all talked.

"Sasuke you seem to be proficient with the use of the Rinnegan, what do you think was different this time?" Fugaku was referring to how he skipped through time and not just space.

"I don't know" he answered honestly. It was something he kept turning over and over in his mind trying to figure out. "We were in a high stress situation but that's nothing unusual for me" Sasuke said, more so to himself. "There have been countless times where I've used my Rinnegan to switch places or open a portal but I've never once moved through time."

"What kind of situation were you in, if you don't mind me asking?" Mikoto asked.

"Sakura was assigned a D-Rank mission in the Land of Lightning and I was escorting her. We encountered someone from our past and I used the Rinnegan to get them out of there safely, then we ended up here."

"It's possible that the stress of Sakura and Sarada being in danger caused your abilities to go out of control" his father theorized.

"Sakura and I have been teammates since the Academy, I know she can handle herself. Sarada being there is where the stress was I think."

Sasuke ran his hands through his hair, "She was so scared. She's never experienced anything like that" and let out an exasperated groan. He hated that his daughter was put into a dangerous situation like that. He wasn't lying when he said his wife could handle herself but Sarada was a child and is defenseless.

"Why were you being pursued? You mentioned you encountered this man before?"

"Yeah, back when Sakura was traveling with me when we were 19. She became pregnant so we were traveling back to Konoha when we encountered him, his plan was to take my eyes but also take Sarada after killing us."

"Sounds like this man won't stop until he gets what he wants or is killed" Mikoto said sadly. "That must've been terrifying."

"I thought I killed him then but I didn't have time to make sure, Sakura was in labor so I had to get her out of there. We weren't able to make it back to Konoha so I delivered Sarada by myself in an abandoned hideout outside of the village."

"It wasn't a good situation" Sakura chimed in, "Sarada hasn't been out of the village since then but we never expected to see him again."

"I'm happy none of you were hurt. I couldn't imagine having to give birth for the first time in those circumstances" Mikoto sympathized.

There were faint cries coming from the next room, Sarada had woken up from her nap. Being in a new place was confusing to her and waking up alone must've scared her.

Sasuke immediately stood and walked in to get his daughter. He quietly opened the door and peeked his head inside. She was sitting up on the bed, her little hands rubbing her eyes as she cried quiet tears. "Sarada" he called out to her softly.

"Papa" she cried when she saw him. She clambered off the bed and ran into his waiting arms.

"It's alright Sarada, Papa is right here" he said quietly as he gently bounced her to help soothe her tears. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his hair. Once her hiccups quieted he took her out in the living area.

He sat down next to his parents. "Sarada these are your grandparents." She turned and looked at them, her large dark eyes moving between them, "Hi" she said quietly. Mikoto smiled warmly at Sarada and held out her hands, offering to hold her. She immediately buried her face into the crook of Sasuke's neck and wrapped her arms around him.

"She's never really been around anyone she doesn't know" Sasuke said with an apologetic smile as he patted her back.

"It's alright, she probably doesn't recognize us since we appear much younger now than in your time."

Sasuke's breath caught in his throat; they didn't know that they're not alive in his time. Mikoto may not have noticed Sasuke's reaction to her words but Fugaku did.