Present

As they stepped into the village via a portal, Sasuke was glad he had made it to the village with his best friend and the two kids. It wasn’t a celebration and a welcome with warm embraces like the last time when they were back after defeating Momoshiki. With blood gushing out of his left eye and jolts of pain coursing through his head, Sasuke was back home.

He wasn’t shaken up by events that had happened. Sasuke Uchiha had always been a pragmatic shinobi. He had always analyzed probable outcomes from multiple angles. Whatever happened, nothing felt unbelievable to him. 

He was ready to die for the village, and what he had lost was nothing.

He didn’t regret any of it, but when he saw Sakura, what he saw crushed the pride that he had carried when that bold declaration rolled off of his tongue. 

Although Sakura looked calm and collected, he didn't fail to notice how Sakura's chakra flickered while she passed healing chakra to stop the bleeding. Yet again, he had troubled her.

Fortunately, as Sakura told him as she scribbled a note afterwards, despite the proximity of the kunai to the internal carotids, and the optic nerves, he would only suffer from a minimal visual disorder in his other eye. 

The lingering touch of Sakura’s fingers while she cleaned the wound was soothing. He wanted to lean more to her touch. The beeping of machines and the presence of other medics reminded him that he was in the hospital.

Sasuke didn’t want to, but Sakura insisted he should take tranquilizers. Everything had been in haze after that. When he regained consciousness, his head was still throbbing and vision blurred. 

"Naruto?"

He wanted to say something more personal to Sakura, maybe a reassurance that he was fine. Nothing came up. Instead, his concern for his best friend took over. 

Sakura sighed audibly before responding, "Naruto is doing fine. His body didn't show any abnormalities without Kurama.”

Sakura noted the outputs that machines provided, and replied, in a tone softer than before, “I made sure myself."

Sasuke sighed in relief. 

Some things hadn’t changed over years, but he realized that neither did Sakura.

When Sakura came closer to him to take a look at his eye, Sasuke tried to hold Sakura's gaze. He searched for the warmth in his wife’s gentle smile and green eyes to soothe him. Instead, he found furrowed pink brows and eyes full of hurt and worry. They didn’t speak another word as Sakura checked his wound.

It was like the time when they had traveled together. Whenever she had treated him after he got badly injured, he had always met with her silence. He couldn't deny that he had done the same this time too. 

Later that evening, the Hokage himself came to meet him along with Boruto. Although he was relieved to see Naruto in one piece, he was annoyed to see that Naruto had resumed his duties while he was still bedridden. 

Boruto came to him with his sincerest apology. It wasn't Boruto's fault, and Sasuke knew that when darkness and ignorance took over a person, they could do unthinkable crimes.

Boruto's cerulean eyes didn't reflect their usual brightness. Sasuke wanted to keep the future bright. He had given everything up for that — all those years of his life that he had spent away from his daughter. He questioned himself: Was it all in vain?  

After Boruto left, Naruto told him about the pills that Amado had given him.

“Have you lost it? Who knows what side effects it could have?” Sasuke huffed in anger. 

“It’s a gamble.” Naruto sighed.

“Dobe, he is your son,” Sasuke spat back.

Naruto sighed, “This was brought up during the Go-Kage meeting, and I assured I’ll do what needs to be done.”

Perhaps something had changed. Sasuke realised he wasn't talking to the same Naruto who had once gone against the Kages to bring his friend back. However, he wasn’t surprised. He understood Naruto’s duty as Hokage too. Naruto would not be the first person Sasuke had known who had chosen peace over family.

Naruto smiled wearily, “I don't even like it.” He paused for a moment, and spoke again, “But it’s better than becoming a monster.”

Sasuke couldn’t disagree with that either. The frown on his face disappeared as he took in Naruto’s words. He himself was ready to take extreme measures against Boruto. What infuriated him more was that in his present condition, he couldn’t do anything.

All Sasuke could do now was trust Naruto to figure out how to fix Boruto's life — like Naruto did for him. Naruto grinned as if understanding and Sasuke nodded, acknowledging it. 

Naruto walked closer to him and placed his bandaged hand on his shoulder. “Teme, get better as soon as possible. Else I’m going to fire you from your job.”

Sasuke scoffed, “As if I’m going to listen to you, Usuratonkachi.”

Naruto grumbled, his shrill voice piercing Sasuke’s ears, “I'm the Hokage, dattebayo!” 

*****

There were a lot of things that unsettled Sasuke about the hospital, and he was glad that he didn't have to stay there very often. He hated the beeping of machines, and the pity offered by nurses. It reminded him of his younger self — a criminal turned war hero, badly beaten and manipulated, barely hanging onto his life with only an arm, and with a lot of regrets, guilt, and anger. 

Now in the confines of his own room, all he could do was to feel the same emotions overflowing — only this time he could justify his sacrifices. 

Did Itachi feel this way? 

Although he had followed Itachi's path by prioritizing peace over his own selfish needs, he knew in his heart whatever he was doing was nothing compared to what Itachi had done for Konoha. It was gloriously incomparable to what small contribution Sasuke himself had made, and it hit hard that no matter how much he tried, he would always be unable to catch his nii-san. 

He picked up the scroll that was lying on the bedside table when he heard a knock on the door. It was Sarada, he knew, and so he told her to come in. 

“Didn’t mama tell you not to strain your eye?” 

Sasuke peered from his raven locks, and made out, though not very clearly, a frown on Sarada's face that resembled his. 

The gauze over his other eye made it more difficult. He was habituated with the use of one eye when he had to shut his Rinnegan off to preserve chakra. Now with one eye left, he was having problems adjusting his vision. 

He was trying to read in order to figure out how he could manage with an eye as he had managed with a hand. However, he didn’t explain this to his daughter, who had left his lunch on the bedside table. He also didn’t answer her previous question but instead threw the scroll on the other side of the bed. 

“How are you feeling today?”

"Better," he lied, keeping his expression stoic.

Maybe Sakura had been right when she offered help to fix his hair and the stubble beard scattered over his face. 

He had refused back then. What difference would grooming make when he was now missing an eye and a hand? 

He knew this feeling very well. It coiled inside his stomach when he saw his reflection in the mirror. This was the same feeling he’d felt the past when he first saw himself with his arm severed — he felt incompetent and disgraceful — though the loss of limb was a price he had to pay. He hadn’t hesitated then to punch the mirror and bleed his good hand out.

His attention shifted towards Sarada, who stood in front of him, brooding about something. He couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked Sarada, patting his hand on the side beside him, gesturing for her to sit.