I've been reading a large amount of Sakura and Sasuke stories lately, so I wanted to try my own SasuSaku.
Warning: (gasp) People are actually in character!
Anyway, hope you enjoy!
9 Months of Happiness
.:Are you Happy:.
To the common person, there was nothing amiss with the trees, only a slight breeze whisking their hair in the face, nothing strange or abnormal. But to the trained eye, one could detect three figures hopping about on the trees above. Their movements were smooth, graceful but quick and to the point, no breath or movement was useless or unimportant. Every position that their joints were in had some specific purpose or reason. Speed and stealth were everything. This was the way the jounins moved.
A smile graced the last jounin's face. This was her first mission and she was excited – well, as excited, as her stomach would allow. It was abnormally queasy. At first, she guessed that it was nerves – this being her first jounin mission and all, but now she questioned her original judgment. Her eyes narrowed. No, she wouldn't concentrate on the pain. She fiercely bit her lip, concentrating on that pain rather than the feeling of nausea that was building in her stomach.
Her gaze rested on the figures in front of her. 'Not much of a view' she sighed. Not that it would ever change. She was a healer-nin, and therefore put either last or at the very least middle, she was not expected to do the majority of attacking, her job was to back people up and heal them when necessary. Boring job sometimes, but she still loved it. In front of her was the ever-graceful Shikamaru and some other jounin she didn't quite catch the name of, not that it was that important. Another smile passed over her lips at the thought of Ino's reaction when she told her that she was going on a mission with her boyfriend. She wasn't too happy to say the least.
'Back to the present' Sakura narrow her eyes slightly. She was falling behind. She would NOT cause the mission to fail on her first time because of some stupid nausea – but wow was it hurting! She fought the feeling that was rising in her chest. Oh no, it was coming. 'Nonononononono!' She chanted in her head. She was slowing even more. She closed her eyes, not wanting to look down at passing trees beside her. It wasn't helping. She opened her eyes and saw Shikamaru and the other jounin had paused and were waiting for her to catch up. Even from there Sakura could feel Shikamaru's scrutinizing gaze study her. When she finally caught up with them, she stopped beside the trunk of the tree to lean on it, trying to stop the dizzy feeling.
"Sakura," Shikamaru started, "You don't look so good."
"I'm alright," She mumbled. "Don't stop the mission just for me."
"What's ailing you?" The unknown jounin sounded irritated, and she didn't blame him. She was irritated with herself.
"I-I don't' know." She admitted, she allowed herself to sink down on the tree to her knees. "I think I'm gonna –" There it was. She only had a moment to turn away before hurling over the side of the think branch. She winced; watching the puke fall the great distance, praying no one was bellow.
Shikamaru made his decision. "We should head back if Sakura isn't feeling well." He sighed and added 'How troublesome' as an afterthought.
Sakura immediately stood up and shook her head, regretting it immediately. She paused to lean back again against the tree. "No, I'll go back. I don't want you to stop."
"Sakura," Shikamaru patiently explained, "As jounins, we still stick together, that hasn't changed. It's only a mission to investigate the Flyer Country."
"But –"
"No buts." Shikamaru put up his hand. He mumbled another 'how troublesome' and turned to head back to the Leaf Village, moving at a slow pace. The unknown jounin followed without question and Sakura only a few seconds behind that, silently thanking Shikamaru for the slower pace. She was still fighting the growing nausea in her stomach, but it was no longer the top miserable thought,
'Sasuke-kun is not going to be happy.'
She was 20 years old for crying out loud! You think she could at least handle a stupid stomachache! She was feeling rather pathetic right now. "This is so STUPID!" Sakura cried. She was more than frustrated. Once again she bowed her head in front of the hokage. "I greatly apologize Hokage-sama, it's my fault, I don't know what's come over me."
Tsunade was silent and thoughtful for a moment. "I wish you would have informed us before you set off for the mission." Sakura winced.
"I thought is was just nervous jitters, I'm sorry." Her head was still bowed so she did not see the Hokage's thoughtful smile.
"Shikamaru, Godo, I want you to take someone else and resume the mission. You two may go, Sakura, you stay here for a moment." Shikamaru and Godo bowed respectful before leaving the room. "Have a seat Sakura." Hokage gestured to the seat in front of her desk. Sakura obediently sat down. Her head had lifted and was watching the Hokage with interest. "I wish to speak with you about something, Sakura, about Sasuke."
Sakura let out a breath and let herself flop back into the chair, her rigid posture forgotten. THIS lecture again. She resisted the urge to role her eyes. She was 20, she could take this with grace and as much respect as she could muster…. Hopefully… "What, Hokage?" Tsunade resisted the urge to comment, but she expected this.
"I cannot help wonder if what is happening is the right thing for you. Are you sure? Is this affecting your missions?" Tsunade was staring Sakura in the eye. She was seriously vocalizing her concerns for the ninja's welfare.
"I'm perfectly fine." Sakura stated. She was very sure of herself, though slightly bitter, but she refused to let it show. "It really doesn't make much difference anyway." Tsunade narrowed her eyes.
"That's what I'm concerned about. Are you sure you're okay with everything?"
"Yes!" Sakura announced, a little too exasperated, but all this 'concern' was getting on her nerves – and it wasn't just from Hokage-sama either. She knew they meant well, but… "I'm fine! I've already said yes!"
"Sakura," Tsunade leaned it, her eyes met with Sakura's and a frown was evident on her face. Wrinkles were beginning to show and Sakura wondered how old she was now. "Sakura," She repeated with utter seriousness, "Are you happy?"
Silence.
Tsunade knew she hit a mark with that one. Sakura felt a frown grow on her face and she looked away from the Hokage. "I don't think it really matters, Hokage-sama." There was a slight coldness to her voice that made Tsunade frown even more. "Can I go now please?"
"Yes."
Sakura stood up and turned to go to the door. Before she took a step, she turned to look at the Hokage, "I will tell you this again and again if I have to, I do not regret marrying Uchiha Sasuke." And she was gone. Tsunade sighed and rubbed her temples.
"Sakura," She muttered, "That doesn't answer my question."
It was a silent walk home, to the Uchiha mansion. Her stomach wasn't hurting anymore, but the pain in her heart wouldn't go away.
"Are you happy?" She repeated the question to herself. She wasn't entirely sure. Sasuke wasn't what she thought he would be, at least in her younger years. She still loved him, yes, but she'd accepted the fact that he was colder and an icebox. She still tried to get him to open up of course, but she just tried to be his friend instead of clinging to him every second of the day. Maybe he just didn't want a girlfriend; maybe he just wanted a friend! At least, that was her theory…
"Sakura?" Sakura turned from her sitting position on the bench to see the object of her affection behind her. She smiled and motioned for him to sit down beside her. He did so with swift, silent movements. There was a comfortable silence for a few minutes. They both watched as the snow gently fell around them. The ground was already covered with a blanket of white.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" She commented. Sasuke said nothing – as usual. She didn't really expect one either. He was still as silent as ever, but she had accepted that and stopped trying to get him to say everything on his mind. She knew if he wanted to, he would. It wouldn't help anything if she just made him annoyed by pestering him every single hour. In time, it actually worked. He spoke to her more, started conversations. He even admitted openly that she and Naruto were friends and he didn't mind spending time with them, although he didn't always willingly (she still did force some things.) All in all, he still was a loner, but she could accept that, and she knew he appreciated it. In face, she knew he was building the right words to say something to her right now, so she was silent and let it build as she continued with her thoughts.
It had only been what, four years now since he returned? She was happy that he was back. They had finally convinced him that Orochimaru was up to no good, and he finally accepted it. Itachi was still out there, at least that what everyone thought. Not much had been heard about him for a couple years. Most hoped that he had just keeled over and died from an evil overdose, but others were pessimistic saying he was just biding his time or waiting and planning for a perfect moment, and probably right. But no matter, Sakura felt the corners of her lips curl up.
Sasuke-kun was back and that's all that mattered.
"Sakura."
"Yes?" She encouraged him.
"You know I have my goals." Sakura felt her heart drop into her stomach. He was leaving her again. He was leaving the village again! This time they won't be so forgiving if he decided to come back. No, she mentally shook her head and nodded for him to continue. "To kill Itachi and to build my clan." Sakura nodded, wondering where this was going. Sasuke took a deep breath and continued, "You also know that the one is on hold due to lack of information." She winced. What would happen if information turned up? "However," She watched him carefully as he reached into his coat to bring something out. "I can do something to fulfill the other goal."
Wha?
"Sakura," He looked her in the eyes.
No way…
"You're the only girl that I trust with this job."
Job?
"Will you assist me in restoring my clan?"
WHA!
"Sasuke-kun," Sakura started, trying to slow down her heartbeat and rapid thoughts, "Are you proposing to me?" He almost winced, almost.
"I suppose. I would not do it out of wedlock. That will only disgrace the names of Uchiha and Haruno clans."
Sakura closed her eyes to gather her thoughts. Sasuke-kun had just proposed to her. Sasuke-kun had just proposed. Sasuke. Had. Just. Proposed. Other thoughts began popping into her head, and she voiced them, "Would we have a wedding and everything?" He slowly nodded.
"I suppose if you wished it, however, I'm not paying a large amount for it."
"Okay," Her voice was becoming more excited, "Will you talk to my mom?"
"If it must be done."
"What-" A thought entered her mind. A stray thought, something that she really should have thought of first. It was something important, something that had been nagging her since he started, but she didn't quite know was it was, but now, now she knew, and now was as good as time as any to ask. "Sasuke," She asked, trying to show her seriousness by leaving out the –kun. He listened. "Do, do you love me?"
It was a simple question, one that should be answered right away when one purposes to another. Yes, it has deep meaning behind it, and those three words put together had powerful feelings attached and should not be taken lightly, however, they certainly should be thought about before popping THE question! "Sasuke," She tried again, disturbed by the silence, "Do you love me?"
"I do not know." He answered slowly. Sakura knew the smile was long gone from her face. "If it is any consolation," He continued, "I do trust you enough with this task of raising the Uchiha children, and I trust no one else enough to do this."
"But," He throat was dry, "What if you find someone you love or trust more than me?"
"I will not be unfaithful, if that is what you're implying."
'Of course not.' Sakura thought bitterly, 'He's the human ice cube, he's incapable of love.' "Why now?"
"Because I would like to fulfill my goals as soon as possible, and since I am an ANBU, I would like to secure my clan if anything should happen."
Sakura was silent. She felt like throwing up. He didn't love her. He proposed to her so he could fulfill his stupid goal. All he cared about was his stupid clan. Still, this was Sasuke-kun she was talking about. The fact that he admitted he trusted her enough did give her a warm feeling and she knew that was as close to a 'I love you' as she was going to get form Sasuke-kun, but still, she had her doubts. Would she be happy? Would he be happy?
"Sasuke-kun, are you sure about this? Are you sure you want to live with me for the rest of your life? That you want me to be the mother of your children?" She stumbled on the last phrase a bit. Sasuke knew she was nervous.
"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't."
'True' She thought. 'He was always so sure. Alright then.' She looked into his deep black eyes and accepted his proposal.
Of course, there were many, many, MANY objections to the wedding and 'Are you sure's? She appreciated it, she did. And it was cute at first, but you think they'd get the idea after all. She always wanted to do something to help Sasuke-kun, and here she was doing it. Naruto and Kakashi were the least happy with it. They both knew Sasuke and whether or not Sakura or Sasuke told them why Sakura was marrying the human ice cube, they still knew the reason and they weren't happy. Sakura knew they threatened Sasuke a few times, and she loved them for it, but it was her choice and she had made it.
She did have a wedding, and it was small. Kakashi walked her down the aisle because her father had died a few years ago, which was fine with her. Kakashi was always a father and brother figure to her. Naruto was Sasuke's best man and Ino and Hinata her maids of honor (she couldn't choose between them). So, Naruto got to usher two women down the aisle, something he was not opposed to (though Ino wasn't thrilled and Hinata just blushed like mad whenever it was mentioned). It was cute a traditional. Sasuke was still the icicle as usual. There wasn't much emotion behind his words, but Sakura didn't let it bother her. He had let her have the wedding, which was more than she'd hoped he would.
The reception was… interesting… Naruto got drunk and, no, Sakura grinned to herself, that's a totally different story in itself, and it involves most of the girls. Lee had cried of Tenten's shoulder most of the time. Neji felt pity on her and told Lee to pull himself together while he took Tenten away to dance (that was another interesting site as well, he didn't last very long, but Tenten was grateful). Sasuke was silent, big surprise there, but Sakura was happy, not ecstatic, but happy.
She was not happy right now.
It was dark in the house. She took it as a good sign. Sasuke had been on a mission for the past three weeks. He didn't even know she was a jounin yet. She wasn't looking foreword to telling him that she had failed her first mission on account of nausea. Speaking of which, she turned on the lights, dumping her bags on the kitchen table to the right. She made her way through the dark house and into the nearest bathroom. She turned on the light and shut the door, she didn't know why, it's not like anyone was in the house, but just for her peace of mind…
She opened the cabinet and pulled out a little box. Sasuke had bought it for her the day after they got married. She was kind of annoyed at his hastiness, but why should she blame him. This was the reason they got married, was it not?
"99.9 accuracy huh?" She read aloud. "Let's try it."
Two minutes later she was staring down at the stick her hand fighting with herself on whether or not she should be happy.
BANG BANG!
"Mrs. Uchiha?"
Sakura groaned and slowly sat up, rubbing her face with her sweaty palms. She blinked her eyes open and looked around, trying to take in her surroundings. What happened? Oh yes, after her little 'discovery', she just decided to collapse on the couch just for a second. A second meaning two hours of course.
BANG BANG!
Sakura groaned and let herself fall back onto the couch. 'I don't want to move. I'm pregnant now, remember? Let the pregnant woman be!' She let out a satisfied sigh when the banging on her door stopped. But no, it was replaced by something much worse.
"SAKURA! OOOOOOOOOIIII! SA-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-AK-U-U-U-U-U-U-U-URA-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A!"
Sakura moaned and forced herself to sit up. She stifled back a yawn and quickly fixed her hair before shoving herself off of the couch. The noise continued.
"SAKURA! IF YOU DON'T OPEN THIS DOOR NOW I'M GOING TO HAVE TO OPEN IT FOR YOU!"
"Darn it, Naruto!" Sakura snapped, suddenly getting her energy and racing for the door before Naruto got to it first. "I'm coming!" She pulled it open just in time to see a figure come bowling past her and ram into a wall. Sakura sighed and shut the door before going over to check on Naruto's status. She knelt down beside him with an affectionate smile on her lips. "I told you to wait, you weirdo." Naruto grinned up at her while rubbing his head.
"You weren't answering so I was making sure you were okay since Sasuke-jerk wasn't here."
"Thanks, Naruto," Sakura patted Naruto's head. "Now what did you want? I hope you didn't wake me up just to check on me."
Naruto's blue eyes widened as he remembered his purpose for waking her up in such a manner. "There was an attack not far from here on our ninjas! They need you're medical abilities right away."
Sakura gave an affirmative nod and immediately stood up. She raced to the outside door, grabbing her medic bag on the way. "Naruto, clean up a little around here, will you?" She yelled just as she ran out the door.
"Mrs. Uchiha! I'm glad you could make it!" Sakura was greeted by one of the first medic-nins that saw her. "There was an ambush on a large group of ninjas that need your expertise. They need to be healed enough so we can move them to the nearest hospital without loosing too much blood or causing other complications." Sakura nodded and examined the surroundings.
It certainly looked like an ambush. There was blood everywhere, not to mention a few body parts thrown about. Sakura winced; this was not going to be pretty. She tried to size up the situation as she opened her medic bag to sort through it. There seemed to be ten wounded, two of them had wounds that weren't even wrapped up yet. She could only assume that it meant they were already dead. Most of the field medic-nins were inexperienced ones with weak chakras, oh yes, she would have fun with this little mission of hers. She would certainly need a longer nap after this.
"Mrs. Uchiha? This way please, he needs the most attention." The ninja brought her to a boy who looked about fifteen. He had a large gash run across his stomach and on his arm. The gash in his arm was so deep it looked like she just needed to pull a little and his arm would come off. There were many cuts and bruises covering his body and the one across his stomach looked like it was infected.
"Was there any poison?" She questioned. The ninja nodded.
"Yes, however, only three were infected." Sakura suddenly noticed the girl beside the boy and smiled. The boy's good arm was extended in such a way that she knew he fell on top of her while fighting to protect her. Ah, those were the days. But now wasn't the time to reminisce! She knelt down beside the boy and moved her hands above the boy's stomach, concentrating all her chakra on cleaning out the poison. The ninja watched in awe as blood continued to pour from the wound, but it was glowing with Sakrua's chakra, signaling her healing jitsu was working.
"There." After a few moments her hand stopped glowing. "The poison is out and this wound is okay." She moved to his arm and did almost the same procedure. Slowly his arm connected together enough for it to heal without too much trouble. Once she was done she got to her feet and began instructing the ninja on what to do. "I've closed his wounds enough that they shouldn't bleed too much more if properly taken care of. Dress and clean all his wounds and properly bandage them up. I'm going to work on the others, please point me in the right direction." The ninja was in awe. So this was the great healing nin. He'd heard a lot about her. She was not only skilled in battle, but her healing powers and chakra control was simply amazing! But one shouldn't expect anything less from someone who was trained by the great Hokage herself! Although, it was debated on whether or Sakura was surpass even the great Tsunade.
However, even all-great healer-nins get tired and Sakura was no exception. She was quickly fading and she knew her chakra was low. The first three poison victims had taken a lot out of her. Poison usually required a lot of energy, which was why she finished them first. She healed another ninja and wiped the sweat from her forehead. Only one more left. She crawled over to the last ninja. This one was in bad shape as well, she'd probably only just make finishing this one, but she had to do it. A job was a job and she had to do it well. She had to finish and patch this one up, at least enough so it was safe to move them to the hospital. So, once again, she put her worn out hands over the girl's wounds and mumbled a few words under her breath. She could just feel her energy seeping away. Enough! Her body cried. She pulled her hands away and let herself fall back onto her butt, supported herself with her arms. She was so tired. "I'm done." She announced weakly. A few ninjas walked over to pick up the still unconscious patient and take her to the hospital. A soldier-nin bowed his thanks.
"You're services are no longer needed, Mrs. Uchiha. You may go home and rest now. You look like you need it." He turned away to follow the others. Sakura was left alone, sitting on her butt now, everyone was cleared and taken to the hospital. "Okay," She mumbled to herself. "Time to get up." She tried to push herself up, but she found she didn't have much energy left, so she just sat there, panting. It slowly dawned on her that it probably wasn't a good idea to sit in the woods by yourself when people were just attacked in this very area. So with that in mind (and she thought she was hearing things around her) she managed to push herself off the ground. She was breathing heavy, she knew. There wasn't much energy left, but she did manage a step towards home, now only 4,999 or so to go.
Wait, she really heard something that time. 'Oh, no!' She cried, too tried to cry for help, 'I can't fight back! I'm a sitting duck!' but she had to make an effort! Slowly and painfully, she used the last of her energy to reach for her kunai. 'Turn around!' She screamed. No dice, she wasn't moving. All the energy she was burning just trying to stand was rapidly leaving her and she was beginning to see black spots in her vision. "I give up." She mumbled and let herself blackout and fall into waiting arms.
Gee, if I couldn't be more predictable… anyway, there's more coming. It's not the totally usual 'Sakura is miserable while married to Sasuke and he apologizes'. I promise, there's more plot to it than that and certain things happen (wink wink) I'm excited to write about Sakura's mood swings (Insert evil laugh) HA HA Haaaa… anyway… I have the whole plot lined out and it's pretty interesting if I do say so myself, so please review and tell me if you like!
Just would like to note that I'm not sure about those baby detectors – things (name escaping me at the moment) so I didn't want to describe it or things like that. (seeing as how I've never had to use it…)
Review!
Smile, Jesus loves you