WARNING(S): Mentions of nuclear war and death, mild blood/gore

Explosions still riddled the horizon some nights, rendering the already-smoky skies ever darker as the land's inhabitants roamed the ruined landscape. Nuclear weapons had been expended fairly quickly, and in their wake came those still looking to fight a doomed war with whatever firepower they still had.

Sakura glanced upwards as she felt another earthquake rock the bunker slightly. Those still alive had learnt to ignore the worst of the bombs that still went off. Morbid as it was, you either kept moving or suddenly you didn't have to worry about it anymore.

Their meager rations were beginning to dwindle, and more than once she thought about heading out to secure some more, but then her five-year-old would want to go with her - and the last thing she wanted was to subject their child to the horrors outside. It had been almost a week since she'd seen her husband, and her daughter was getting restless. Sarada had taken after him so much. The precocious child took to everything at a startling rate - everything that had been left for the next generation, anyway. Sakura tried her best to raise their daughter, but most days were filled with wonder about the surface and lingering fears about what would come next.

"Mama," said the girl as if on cue, sidling up to her mother with big midnight eyes, "I'm hungry."

"Just a minute more, and dinner will be ready," Sakura answered, reaching down to pat her head.

It should've been concerning to think about just how well the little family was acclimated to the disaster, but the first explosions had impacted the earth only four years prior. The mayor had moved as many people as possible into the doomsday bunker under the city, but by that point so many had died that they were able to take in refugees from other towns. Even now the numbers of the living dwindled more and more every week. Soon it would be nearly empty.

Some part of her still blamed the government for what happened. A larger part of her had just accepted it and stopped worrying.

A dull clang from above made her daughter perk up. "Is that Papa?"

"Maybe," She answered, glancing up from the knife. "Why don't we go see?"

Wiping her hands on her apron (mindful of the bloodstains), she grasped Sarada's hand and walked with her out of the communal kitchen.

As soon as they got to the long hallway separating the rooms of this floor, a familiar figure staggered towards them, long dark hair loose from its hair tie.

"Papa!" Sarada cheered, running as fast as she could towards the exhausted man.

"I'm back," he wheezed, extending his arm towards the little girl. He caught her as she stumbled into his legs, wrapping her little arms around them. He tried his best to smile at his wife as she followed behind.

"You sure took your time," she commented, wiping off his dirty cheek before pressing a kiss to it. "Did you run into trouble?"

"Only some bandits, but I made quick work of them." Grunting, he let go of his daughter and reached under his cloak, pulling out a bag.

Sakura's eyes lit up and she took the rations. "Oh, thank you. Any word on Naruto?"

Sasuke shrugged, which definitely was cause for concern. If he'd seen the blond anywhere, he would've passed on a message.

"Well, anyway," she shook her head, grasping his shoulder, "Dinner's about ready. You wanna go wash up and join us?"

Sasuke nodded, and Sarada pouted as she let go of his legs.

"I'll be in as soon as it's done," he told the little girl, eyes soft.

"Okayyyyy," she grumbled.

Sakura stifled a laugh as she took Sarada's hand, letting Sasuke head into the washroom ahead of them before making her way back into the kitchen.

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A/N: Let me know what you thought!