[Episode 263439] [Episode 263439]“Welcome home!”
Those two words spoken by a voice which she’d never forget shook Sachiko to her core. The vision of the raven haired woman pushing aside the curtains to step through the kitchen doorway was almost too good to be real.
Long raven hair spilling down her back, while two long bangs framed her face, the woman looked exactly like an older Sachiko, leaving little doubt that this was her mother. Wearing a dark blue house dress with a tan apron over it, Sachiko felt walls she’d built up over the years cracking inside.
“Sachiko-chan? Is everything alright?” Mikoto asked in concern, setting the small towel drying towel on a nearby stand.
Walking up hesitantly, the young Uchiha wrapped her arms around the older woman in a hug; cautious at first but quickly enveloped in a relieved emotion. “Un… Everything’s fine, Mama…”
Caught slightly off guard, Mikoto returned the hug, rubbing her child’s back comfortingly while giving a questioning look to Sachiko’s two teammates who were still standing just inside the entrance.
Naruko was looking thoughtful at the scene while Sakura watched on with a pleasant smile on her face.
Looking back down to her daughter, Mikoto pushed back slightly to get a good look into Sachiko’s teary eyed face. “Are you sure you’re okay, Sachiko-chan?”
“Yes, Mama, I’m fine. I just…” She wiped her eyes trying to think up what to say. “I just got a flashback to when the… when everyone was gone.”
Mikoto just sighed as she ran a hand through her daughter’s raven hair. They both had wounds that didn’t heal from that event and, even now years later, she found herself crashing hard due to some random innocuous trigger, so she could empathize with Sachiko’s current emotional situation.
“I know, I know. Just remember, I’ll always be here for you. Alright?” The thirty-something mother stated with comforting certainty, smiling to her daughter. She was a little surprised when this caused Sachiko to bury her face in to her chest with growing sobs of emotion.
Wrapping her arms tighter around her daughter, the Uchiha matriarch looked up to see both blonde and pink haired girls showing different levels of unease at witnessing her daughter’s breakdown, both trying to look away without being obvious about it. Subtly, she got their attention and motioned towards the living room where they could wait while she eased Sachiko into the kitchen for some privacy.
“Did that really just happen?” Naruko whispered in amazement, still looking towards the door back to the entrance hallway.
“Don’t be stupid, Naruto! I think it’s great that Sasuke gets to see his mother again. You’ll probably do the same thing when you see yours.” Sakura snapped back in a hushed voice, glaring to her blonde teammate as she moved further into the living room.
“I don’t know…” Naruko mused, still looking towards the doorway, though with a more wistful look on her face. “I’ve never met my Mom. I don’t even know what she looks like. At least Sasuke had that.”
Now Sakura felt like a monster heel, only able to lamely reply, “Oh.”
The two girls spent the next couple minutes in a mildly uncomfortable silence, Naruko sitting down on a floor cushion to think while Sakura wandered around the room idly looking at the pictures and things displayed.
Eventually, Sakura broke the silence. “Hey, Naruto, come over here and look at this!”
Shaken from her thoughts, Naruko got up and moved over to her teammate. “What’s up?”
“I think this is your Mom.” Sakura stated, pointing to a small framed picture on a shelf.
Looking at the picture, Naruko saw a slightly younger, smiling Sachiko standing before her mother while an equally younger blonde girl stood before a grinning redheaded woman.
“That’s my Mom?” Naruko asked out, surprised that she’d be a redhead but not really sure what to expect.
“I think so.” Sakura confirmed, pointing to the younger version of the female form Naruko now had since the wishes. “I mean, that’s you, so it has to be.”
“Wow… that’s my Mom.” Naruko whispered out as she took in the image of her mother, from her brilliant smile to her blue eyes and radiant crimson hair.
Hearing sounds of movement behind them, both girls turned about to see Mikoto enter the room with an arm around the shoulders of her daughter. Sachiko was wiping her eyes with a hand but a content smile was firmly on her lips.
“So, what brings you girls over today?” Mikoto asked, acting like Sakura and Naruko over was not uncommon but still not a daily occurrence.
Having a burst of inspiration, Sakura stepped forward and spoke up, “We were looking for Naruko’s mother and thought she might have come here to visit.”
The onyx eyed mother blinked in mild surprise at that statement. “Kushina? She’s not here, Sakura-chan. If she’s not at home, she might be out doing a local mission. You’d have to check with the Hokage tower if it’s important.”
“No, it’s not that important.” Sakura smiled but waved off with a hand. “Sorry to trouble you.”
“It’s no trouble at all. You girls know Sachiko’s friends are always welcome here.” Mikoto stated with a kind smile but a slightly wondering glint in her dark eyes.
(Posted Tue, 16 Sep 2014 23:15)
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