La-a-a-ast chapter! I actually enjoyed writing this hope story, so I hope you enjoyed reading it. (Insert smiley face)
Reviews:
TriGemeni: Yea, your right, she may have gotten off too easily, but I really don't want to write another argument, so I touched on it in this chapter, does that work? And yes, he let her off easy at the time because she was hurt, and despite how other fics portray him, I think he has some heart and will tend to her first before yelling at her. Thanks a bunches for your reviews and opinions!
LittleLetty: Er… what's the end of it? http/littleletty. … dot what? I would like to see them. Perhaps you could e-mail it (insert smiley face)
Paperman: I'm so happy you liked it (get it? Happy? Fic of happiness? Ha ha? Sorry, it's a little late…) I'm actually kind of sad it's ending too, I was actually thinking about writing one with the kids, but those tend to get out of hand. Anyway, thanks a lot for the reviews, I look foreword to them. Hope you like this chapter!
Yachtzee: Well, no, now it's six chapters. Thanks (insert smiley face). Yes, it's a great thing to find Christian anime fans.
Only Secret: Well, I really don't know what too say. (hands you a bag of your favorite cookies) You're so awesome! (note blushing) Thanks a bunches upon bunches! I wrote about half of this after I read the review, does that count? Thanks sooo much! You're an awesome reviewer!
Vamprincessmyiu: Oh, you have no idea. Well, I suppose it's not just being a senior, it's having a job too that's the killer. But, hey, that's life I guess. Thanks for the review!
AnimEvivvErz: Hee hee, thanks! Yea, actually that "Messed with the wrong team" Was my favorite part of the whole story too. I was thinking of writing a story like that, got any ideas? Er, anyway, I'm really glad you liked it and thanks a lot for the review(s)!
Grey tears: Yes, I'm gladyou appreciate it. That's what motivatedme to write the story, I was rather sick of the OOC. Ooo, side note, one of my many pet-peeves are AU where the characters are OOC. What's the point! It's just your own fan fiction with the same names and look-alikes (and sometimes not even)! AHEM, so yea, I'm glad you liked it. He's not TOTALLY in character in this chapter, but there wouldn't be any SasuSaku if he was in character. Hope this meets to your standards.
Rel, Shy-lil-Dreamer, k-chan, kurama-kawai, luv's-lyric, allyluv, Honou no Megami, Sagitarious Devil, Crystal Renee, Dzai, x h a r u n o x, little-Haruno-Sakura, A devil in Heaven, Aussie Gurl, Sabishi Tomo, tatatsumari, SerenityMelody, crazy, mariana Uchiha, aKiRe 11, sillymail, direwolf1427, Darkhope, charl: Everyone, thank you MUCH for your reviews! I really appreciate it! I'm glad we can all appreciate the ICness and such. I enjoyed writing this and I hope you write more, so any ideas are welcome. Hope this last chapter meets up to the expectations, so read on and enjoy!
P.S. Special thanks to Jessica for e-mailing me and getting my butt in gear!
HEY! So, you all like my works right? Well, I would appreciate it if you'd give me ideas on a new Team 7 fic (preferably not something that's been done multiple times). So, ANY ideas would be great! Or hey, maybe I'll write a quick Christmas fic. I'm getting in the mod – Christmas music! sighs Oh the beauty… anyway, Thanks, and enjoy the fic!
9 Months of Happiness
.:Epilogue – Their happiness:.
The night sky was bright with shining stars this night. It was special because there had been many storms as of late, and the small pink-haired girl certainly couldn't wish on stars you can't see! She was ecstatic this night because of it and had more energy than usual. Her short, pink hair was tied up tiny, messy pig tails on top of her head than flew behind her as she raced just out of the reach of the other's hands. The other boy –black hair, dark eyes and all – chased after the girl, mumbling under his breath finding it hard to believe how he was a top ninja yet couldn't catch this six-year-old. "Stay still!" He growled playfully under his breath, just loud enough for the girl to hear.
The girl hopped onto the couch and began jumping on it, a large grin spread on her face. "But the stars are out tonight! I want to stay up and see them a-a-all!" She spread her tiny arms out to emphasize her point.
The older boy shook his head and stopped his chase. "You can look at them from your window in your room, now please…"
The girl pouted and folded her arms across her chest. "You're mean!" Her face suddenly brightened. "I know!" She began bouncing on the couch again in her excitement. "Will you teach me how to be big and strong like you, Keiji?"
Keiji felt a small smile tug at the corner of his lips. Very few people could make this phenomenon occur – and his little sister was one of them. His mother always said he was too much like his father. He chuckled answered, "Tomorrow." He suddenly appeared in front of his sister and grabbed her before she could run away. She shrieked happily and wiggled in his grasp. Ah, yes, he missed his sister while he was away at missions.
"Keiji, I thought you were supposed to put Rin to bed, not provoke her into more spastic energy moments." An older Sakura stood in the kitchen doorway with her hands on her hips. For a short while, her left eye twitched out of annoyance and her inner voice was just aching to lash out, but time and experience had taken its toll. Her attitude had calmed down and she was more patient (with a few exceptions). She had certainly matured as she had gotten up in the ages. Granted, she hadn't gained any weight having to run around dealing with four kids, but age lines were beginning to show and the wrinkles crinkled further when she smiled. "Rin, why don't you let your brother put you to bed and I'll be upstairs to tuck you in."
"Will you tell me a story?" She smiled hopefully at her mother. She caught her mother nod just before she disappeared into her room with her brother trailing behind.
Sakura sighed contentedly as she turned back to the kitchen. "Almost done." She rolled up her sleeves and continued her task of drying the dishes she had been previously doing before she was interrupted by the racket. The house had been a little empty as of late and Sakura was honestly thankful her youngest daughter was loud tonight to make up for it. Her other two boys – twins - Kisho and Mitsu, were on their first long term mission and would be gone for a week or so. Sasuke was also on a mission and wasn't due back for another four days. Fortunately, her oldest sixteen-year-old son, Keiji was home for a little while before his next jounin assignment. Sighing again, she hung up the towel. Yes, she was suffering from an early empty nest syndrome. Still smiling though, she put away the last dish and admired her clean kitchen for it would only be like this for an hour –tops.
"Mommy!" She heard an impatient young voice. Sakura appeared in her daughter's doorway with a finger on her lips.
"You don't have to be so loud!"
"I want a story, mommy!" Rin said, quieter this time. Excitement made her daughter's face glow brightly. Sakura smiled and sat beside her son on the bed.
"What story would you like?"
"I wanna know what happened when I was born."
Sakura groaned. "Rin, you've heard that story thousands of times." It was true, ever since Rin heard Sakura was pregnant again, she'd asked many questions and asked multiple times how she herself was born (so she could be prepared, she said)
"Alright." Rin said, she looked around the room, almost looking for the answer. Her gaze stopped at her big brother. "What about Keiji? What happened when he was born?"
Sakura smiled, ah yes, she knew this one well. So, she sat back and leaned against the wall, and pushing back a loose strand of be hair, she began her tale. "Well, you know he was born soon after that attack on Konoha by the sky village…"
(8.5 Months)
It was two months since the last attack on Konoha. There seemed to be a sense of peace roaming the area – and not just Konoha, the surrounding villages as well. Most of the ANBU and jounins found that their job time seemed to be cut down and missions were fewer and far between. After the last battle, most were grateful for the time of rest, though there were still those who were naturally restless. But, most were okay with it. Hinata, for one, was thoroughly grateful for this break. It made it much easier for her to watch Naruto and make sure he didn't get himself into too much trouble so he could fully heal.
Once Sakura had healed enough, she was released from the hospital and Sasuke took her home. By then the shock of what had taken place had worn off and both realized the other was okay. It also then fully occurred to Sasuke that Sakura had disobeyed him and nearly gotten herself killed because of it. Sasuke immediately scolded her for disobeying him and gave her one if his good hard stares. Sakura took it rather well, she only yelled once or twice (maybe three, but whose counting?). In the end, everything was rapidly returning to normal – with a few exceptions.
Morning came all too soon and Sakura cursed her inner clock. Green eyes cracked open just a little bit to check the clock. 7:30 a.m…. as usual. Sakura closed her eyes again. Her body usually woke her up at this time for some odd reason and usually it was okay, but lately she'd been finding it increasingly difficult to find a comfortable position to sleep in. Her eyes opened again and she pushed herself into a sitting position. Beside her the bed was empty – no surprise there. Sasuke-kun was usually up this early training and other such things. He had been training more than usual to keep up his skills during the weeks he didn't have a mission.
Oh well, time to get up. Sakura struggled to scoot over the side of the bed. "Oh," She groaned, "I can't wait to get this baby out of me!" She frowned down at her large belly. "You're going to be a big baby, aren't you?" A finger playfully poked the side of her belly and in response she felt the tiny kick. Sakura smiled, all the pain and frustration gone for the moment and it was just her and her baby. "I hope you're going to be cute." The put a finger on her lips as she continued to talk out loud to her stomach. "You have cute parents, so you probably will, but who will you look the most like? Well, as much as I love my hair," She absently mindedly tucked a strand behind her ear. "I hope you don't get it if you're a guy. You'd probably never live it down. Anyway," Sakura's mood lightened as she began to push herself off the bed, "It's time to go get some breakfast."
"Talking to yourself again?" Sakura's attention was turned to her smirking husband leaning on the doorway with a tray in his hands.
"I wasn't talking to myself." Sakura replied indignantly, "I was talking to our baby."
Sasuke's smirk never left his face as he made his way to Sakura's side. "Hn." He stopped at the side of the bed. "Sit back." He ordered. Sakura did as she was told, watching him with wonder and curiosity. Once Sasuke was satisfied she was comfortable, he placed the tray on her belly. "Eat." He ordered again. Sakura stared at it. Sasuke frowned, slightly annoyed. "What's wrong?"
Sakura didn't mean to be so suspicious, but it worried her and she pointed at the food on the tray. "What's this?"
Sasuke's frown increased. "It's breakfast."
"You made breakfast?" Sakura was still suspicious, she wasn't sure what of, but it worried her. Was her husband dying? Was something wrong? Was he being nice to be able to let her down nicely about something? To his dismay, she voiced her concern.
"What?" His voice was deadpane and disbelieving at the same time, arms folded across his chest.
"Are you dying or something?" She asked again. "You've never cooked, not to mention clean the room." She was referring to the night she came back upstairs after attempting to sweep the downstairs area, (which resulted in ultimately giving up about halfway through), and she found that the room was much cleaner than when she had left it.
Sasuke's expression never changed as he shook his head with disbelief. "I spoke with another doctor and they said that extrnuous movement can quicken the pregnecy time." He continued before Sakura could jump up and start doing exercises. "Which means you may be in labor longer or worse, the baby being born before it's ready."
"Oh." Sakura calmed herself. "So you're doing all this to help out?"
Sasuke nodded. "There also seems to be a lack of missions, so I have more free time." He said. "You seem to be having trouble sleeping as well. However," he added, "Don't expect this after the baby comes."
Sakura gave him a genuine, warm smile – one she reserved only for him. "Thank-you, Sasuke-kun. I really appreciate it." She was truly thankful. She recognized how rare and out of character this was for him, and she was going to enjoy it while it lasted.
---
Sakura saw these changes in Sasuke. It wasn't always big and it wasn't always obvious. It was something only the observant Sakura who had lived with the man for a year now would notice. He was nicer – not nice mind you – but nicer. Sasuke was more willing to do things around the house ("What else am I supposed to do?" Was his excuse time and time again, which was true; he was restless and Sakura knew it). There were other things, like he would say more words other than 'hn' or a simple nod and he was more patient.
Of course, not to say everything was perfect – certainly not! Sasuke still had a tendency to ignore Sakura at times and she would be hurt and annoyed (especially as her due date got closer). Often she would either run (or waddle as the case may be) to Naruto, Kakashi, or Ino and once she got the attention and some reassuring words from them, she was okay and things returned to their rightful order.
As she got bigger, Sakura became slower and whinier. Now, Sasuke wasn't a very patient man. He never claimed to be, and he tried his best, but during the last month Sasuke could only take so much as the whining got worse.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura would whine. He would look at her as an acknowledgement and she would give him a pathetic look and say something like, "I'm tired, could you go make dinner?" or "Sasuke-kun, the floor is getting dusty and I can't move very well, could you do it?" sometimes, "Do you think I'll ever loose this fat?" or even as the time came even closer, "Sasuke-kun, help me up!"
As stated before, Sasuke could only take so much, and so, Sasuke, not having many missions available, had taken up 'camping out' (as stated by Kakashi) at the Hokage's office until he got a mission. He didn't neglect Sakura, he just needed to get out once in a while. When he was home he did his part, helped her out of bed when needed, things like that - especially during the last couple weeks.
Now, it had been two weeks since Sasuke's last mission and he was getting restless again. Sasuke was currently making breakfast for himself and Sakura while pondering how different life would be and how grateful he would be once the baby came. He kept his indifferent expression as he carefully climbed the stairs to their bedroom. Sakura was sitting up, her back resting on the backboard of the bed. She was eager to eat. Sasuke winced at the bags under her eyes. He would often wake up at night from her movements, trying to find a good position. She wasn't the only one anxiously awaiting the end of the pregnancy. "Here." He handed her the tray. Sakura said a quite, but careful thanks. She still wasn't quite used to Sasuke bringing her food. She ate in quite while Sasuke stood over her for a moment until the silence was broken by his deep voice.
"Sakura," He said, "I have a mission." Sakura looked up in surprise. He waited for her to swallow the current food in her mouth.
"How long will it take?" Her eyes were wide and sleep-deprived, "You'll be sure to be here around the due-date, right?"
Sasuke gave her a 'Don't-be-stupid' look and nodded. "It'll only take three weeks at most, and when I come back it'll only be about a week or two from the due-date. It'll be okay. I've read that most babies come late anyway." He stepped away from her, revealing that he was already dressed and ready for the mission. Sakura sighed and nibbled at her food. She'd like to say she wasn't hungry anymore, but the baby in her stomach was saying otherwise. She heard Sasuke sigh and continue. "However," Sakura looked up at him. "Just as a precaution, I've asked Naruto to come watch you."
Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure it'll be okay?" Sasuke was entrusting her to Naruto? She loved the fox-boy dearly, but he wasn't the best housemaid – although, she thought wickedly, he would wait on her hand-and-foot.
He gave her a reassuring nod. "He'll be staying her until I return and I've asked Kakashi and Ino to check up once in a while."
Sakura nodded her consent. There was a moment of silence until Sakura looked up at her husband with big, watering eyes. "Are you sure you'll be back in time?" Sasuke's lips curved downward slightly as he nodded again.
"I will." That said, he grabbed this mask that was resting on the dresser and left the room.
"Sakura-chan, good to see you're up!" Naruto paused what he was doing to smile at Sakura who had finally appeared from her nap and sat down to join Naruto in the kitchen. "Can I get you anything?" Naruto was eagerly looking through her cabinets.
"Naruto," Sakura sighed, "the ramen is in the top cabinet on the far left." She pointed to the direction, one hand still supporting her chin. She lazily watched him swipe the noodles like he was saving them from a painful death. Sakura rolled her eyes slightly. "Are you sure you don't mind staying here?" Sakura asked again. She wondered how he could deal without being surrounded by ramen and mess for however long he as here. Naruto stopped his pillaging to look at her with noodles dangling from his mouth.
"Oof cershe."
Sakura's nose wrinkled. "Naruto, swallow before you talk!"
He did so. "Of course, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said with a grin. Sakura smiled. Same old Naruto.
"So," She drawled out, "Which spare bedroom do you want?" She asked, getting up to prepare the bed.
"The couch." Naruto looked nervous and Sakura raised an eyebrow.
"Naruto," She said as a matter-of-factly, "Don't be stupid. We have many guest bedrooms, pick one."
"The couch." Naruto said again, this time Sakura noticed he was sweating.
"Naruto, are you okay?" Naruto nodded nervously, thinking about the conversation that had taken place just one hour ago.
….
Sasuke eyes lazily trailed to the door. Someone was knocking and he could only guess who would knock so eagerly. He let out a small sigh and walked over to open the door. Surprise, surprise, the blonde ninja jumped into the house with great excitement. "I'm here, Sasuke!" He grin was as big as ever. "What can I do for my Sakura-chan?"
"Idiot." Sasuke snapped irritably. "You're here to make sure she can get around okay and to help her out. Don't be your usual stupid self." His lips went into a straight line as he reluctantly opened the door wider. "I should have asked someone else." He seethed as he closed the door behind Naruto. Truth be told, he asked Naruto because he was one of the few both Sasuke and Sakura trusted. Kakashi was the other one and he had been going off and on missions lately.
Naruto whooped loudly and Sasuke hit him from the back of the head. "Idiot," He gritted his teeth. "Sakura is sleeping upstairs." Naruto chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his head.
"Whoops, Sorry, Sasuke-jerk. I'll try and be quiet. Now," He picked up his bag and began to go towards the stairs. "Where shall I be sleep-"
"On the couch." Naruto stopped abruptly and turned to stare at Sasuke.
"On the couch, Sasuke-jerk? I'm the guest! Don't I get a bed?"
"Here are the rules, idiot." Sasuke continued, ignoring Naruto. "You are not to step foot into Sakura's room, nor are you to sleep anywhere near her. I don't trust your Jiraiya infested mind."
"I know, but," Naruto whined. "the couch?" Sasuke turned and gave Naruto one of his famous glares.
"If I hear you didn't listen I will use your ramen stash at your house as my new target practice." Naruto's eyes widened.
"Sasuke-jerk!"
Sasuke made no other response but grabbed his pack by the door and lazily waved to Naruto as he walked out the door and disappeared.
…
"The couch…" Sakura repeated, getting Naruto out of his memory. "Are you sure?"
Naruto nodded firmly. "No problem, Sakura-chan!" I will protect my ramen!
It was coming closer to the end of the third day and Sakura was perfectly happy sprawling out on the chair and reading a good medicine book. She heard a shuffle and something almost trip. She put down her book, annoyed that her precious reading time had been interrupted. "Naruto," She said irritably, "What are you doing?"
"I've got an idea, Sakura-chan!" Naruto appeared before her with his hands behind his back.
"Hey," Sakura said slowly. She watched him pull out the object he was hiding. "What are you going to do?" Naruto gave her his best smile as he inched closer to her.
"Haven't you heard it helps babies if they listen to music? I want your baby to listen to the best music there is!"
"Naruto," Sakura's face scrunched up. "You're head phones are shaking, what are you playing?"
"Just the best band ever, Nirvana!"
"No!" Sakura swatted the vibrating machine away from her stomach. "That's too loud and violent for my child!" Naruto persisted.
"Of course it's not, Sakura-chan! This'll get the baby all worked up!"
"Exactly!" Sakura sighed out, exasperated. "I don't want my child to be a hyper manic like you, or some psycho-pathic killer!."
"Oh," Naruto looked at her skeptically, still holding out the headphones and CD player to her. "So you want it to be like Sasuke-jerk?" Sakura felt a blush go to her face…. Wait… why was she blushing? She married the man!
"I do," She winked, "With a little bit of me!" She grabbed the CD Player and turned it off. "Now," She said calmly, "Go find me some Kelly Clarkson or something."
It had only been a week and Sakura was thankful she never married Naruto.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY KITCHEN!"
Naruto whirled around form his position by the counter. He gave her one of his best smiles. "I was trying to find more ramen, but I didn't want to wake you up and ask you-"
"SO YOU EMPTIED ALL MY CABINETS!" Sakura stood in the door way of her kitchen in all her pregnant glory. Her mouth was agape as she surveyed the damage. Indeed, Naruto had destroyed the kitchen. In his attempt to find his ramen, he had taken all pots, pans, bowls, napkins, seasonings –everything. And in the center of the mess was Naruto, still smiling at her, nervous sweat dripping down his face.
"You know, sometimes my ramen gets hidden behind some of my dishes. Besides," Naruto grinned, completely forgetting Sakura's anger as he picked up an odd gadget that was sitting on the counter beside him. "You have some fun stuff in here. What is it?"
"Naruto…" Naruto's excited fingers stopped playing with the new toy. He slowly turned to face Sakura. Her head was bowed so that her bangs covered her green eyes –he was sure they was shooting flames. He tried to back up even farther into the cabinets.
For Sakura, she could feel her old inner self lashing out inside her head, spitting out words and phrases she didn't know she knew – and hoped she would forget them soon. Once again, she glanced at the mess caused by Naruto. She noticed the spilled flour on the floor, the sugar that was tipped over and slowly mixing in with the flour. Naruto even had some on his shirt. Beside him, the cinimon was all over the counter and covering some pots as well. "Naruto," She said again. Her face shot up, shooting angry glares, "YOU-" She stopped and took in a sudden deep intake of air.
There was a sudden silence. Naruto catiously peeled himself away from the counter. "Sakura…?" He ventured. Her eyes were wide and her mouth gaping.
"Naruto." Her voice came out as a chocked whisper. Her hand clutched a nearby chair so hard that her knuckles began to turn white. Naruto stepped closer to her, a questioning expression on his face.
"What is it Sakura-chan? Do you need help with something?" He looked down and suddenly scrunched his nose. "Ew, Sakura-chan, if you needed help to the bathroom you should have asked a while ago instead of freaking out."
Sakura closed her eyes, ready to hit him on the head when another pain shot through her stomach causing her to sink to the floor on her knees with a cry. "Sakura-chan!" Naruto cried, and ran to his friend. "What's wrong?" Sakura's arms wrapped around her stomach and she looked up and Naruto.
"The baby's coming Naruto." There was a moment of silence and blue and green eyes blinked at the other. Then –
"WHAAAAAAT!"
-Click-
"Yo! I'm not here or I'm ignoring your call. Please don't all again, I'll call you if I care to."
-BEEP-
"KAKASHI-SENSEI! I KNOW YOU'RE THERE! … … JERK! PICK UP THE PHONE! …. …. … Sakura-chan said she'll get Tsunade to confinscate all your books if you don't-"
-click-
"What is it, Naruto?"
"Sakura-chan is in labor and I don't know what to do."
"Hm."
"DON'T 'HM' ME!"
"NARUTO," Kakashi heard from the other line, "GET OFF THE PHONE AND TAKE ME TO THE HOSPITAL!"
"There you go." Kakashi said calmly. "I have other things I need to do."
"But-" There was a cry of agony from the other line making Kakashi wince. "Ah, Sakura-chan, don't go yet!" Naruto's voice was getting distant "Wait for me!"
Then all was silent. Kakashi sighed and looked at his phone. "Good luck Naruto." He mumbled as though Naruto could hear it. Kakashi only let out a small chuckle before he disappeared.
"Uchiha, Sakura." The brown-haired nurse scanned over Sakura's chart at the end of her bed. "Isn't your baby due next week?"
"Yes." Sakura answered. Her voice was flat and sullen. Sweat was already beginning to form from previous contractions and boy was she ever annoyed. This baby wasn't supposed to come for at least another week or two – not that she didn't want it out of course, but Sasuke wasn't here, and a panicky Naruto had to bring her here. They just weren't ready. 'Weren't we just saying you were ready for the baby to come out?'
'Shut-up.' She answered herself.
She found herself longing for her husband – either for his comforting presence, or to kill the man who did this to her.
"Hey," the nurse continued, not even phased by Sakura's irritation. "You work in the normal hospital, right? I think I've heard of you. The powerful Sakura, student of the Hokage! Fancy meeting you here!" The nurse smiled at her. If Sakura had been even in a little bit of a better mood, she might've smiled back, but right now, the nurse's cheerful attitude was irritating her.
"When will this baby be out?" Sakura asked through clenched teeth as another contraction hit. The nurse shrugged lightly.
"The doctor should be in soon." She explained, "In the mean time, is your husband here?" Sakura shook her head. "Do you want someone in here?" Her gaze moved to the closed door. "More specifically the young man that's been sitting in front of the door trying to listen in." Her voice was mildly amused. Sakura, if course, knew who this overly anxious boy was and nodded her consent. She'd just have to settle for her second best friend.
But would Sasuke-kun make it in time?
Crickets were chirping happily, ignoring the rest of the world. The trees rustled lightly in the gentle breeze and the night sky shown brightly with glittering stars. Everything is as it should be – so why did Sasuke feel so nervous? His deep gaze fell onto the rest of his camp. They were all standing in a circle, discussing their next move. It wasn't so serious of a mission that everyone had to be on their guard. Really, it was just a simple surveying of a certain incident that could possibly lead to harder fighting, which was why they were there (and because the ANBU hadn't been getting much action as of late.)
Sasuke sighed behind his mask, vaguely listening in to the conversation at hand. There was an ANBU across from him with a dog mask who was constantly making jokes, easily distracting the rest of the team. Though their identities were supposed to remain unknown, Sasuke often found it hard to not know how some of the people were. And so, he found himself less interesting in the conversations when they didn't anything to do with him or what they were supposed to be doing on their mission. What really interested him at the moment was the nagging feeling in the back of his head. Something…
His head whipped to the side catching the attention of a few of the members in the circle. Sasuke's eyes narrowed behind the mask as they scanned the area. His eyes finally stopped on a figure leaning on the tree. Sasuke quickly recognized his chakra and his shoulders relaxed from their tense position. He turned away, suddenly uninterested.
"You know, I could sense you all a mile away. It wasn't hard to find you." The figure commented, lightly.
The one with the dog mask covering his visage mockingly pulled it up and revealed the ninja's smirking face underneath. "This is practically a chunin mission, I hardly think this requires all our senses."
The figure leaning on the tree smirked and pushed off with his foot, walking towards the group. "Well, you didn't even sense me. Who says you'll sense an enemy?"
The dog boy huffed lightly and crossed his arms, choosing not to say anything. "Kakashi," One in a bull's mask beside Sasuke asked impatiently, "Why are you here? We're almost done with our mission ahead of schedule."
"I'm sure," Kakashi nodded. " Fortunately, I'm not here to check on you or anything. I just have some urgent business with Uchiha here." Kakashi lazily gazed down at his former student. Sasuke frowned, face still hidden behind the mask. Why would Kakashi come all this way to find him? The first thought that came to his mind was worry for his wife, but no, he shook his head. She was fine… right? He had left her with the idiot Naruto. His face never turned towards his old teacher, but all the same, Kakashi knew he was listening inventively. "You should know," Kakashi continued, purposefully drawing out the reason, "I came here to bring you back to Konoha. Someone requests your immediate presence." Sasuke's face scrunched up behind the mask, and though he couldn't see, Kakashi could just feel the irritation and worry dripping from the skilled ninja. "It's Sakura."
That certainly got his attention. Sasuke's face whipped around to stare at Kakashi's amused eye. "What?" He voice was deadpan, but laced with worry. Kakashi's smile only grew wider behind the cloth as he patted Sasuke on the back.
"Sakura's in labor."
"Breathe, Sakura-chan, Breathe!" Naruto watched her anxiously. Her breathing was labored and her face was contorted in pain.
"I am breathing!" She hissed. Her hand waved about, trying to grab something firm, and Naruto took the hint and gave her his hand. She took full advantage of this and squeezed it as hard as she could, as though it would ease the pain, or maybe transfer it to anyone of the opposite sex.
"Sa-Sakura-chan…" He whimpered. Finally, Sakura's grab loosened and she was breathing better. "What was that?"
"Her contractions are getting closer together." A nurse in the room explained, "The baby should be coming soon." She smiled cheerfully at the red-faced Sakura. "And you're going to be a mommy! Aren't you excited?" She was answered by a death glare from Sakura. "Well," The nurse said after a moment of silence. "I'm…" She looked around the room for something to change the subject. "…going to go check and see how that doctor is coming along for you… okay?"
Another contraction hit and Sakura gripped Naruto's hand harder then before. The nurse, smile politely, then quickly ran out the door to complete her self-appointed task.
Three hours later, Sakura was officially declared "in labor" and certainly ready to have the baby. Naruto was happy, as was Sakura, until she realized that this meant more pain. Naruto had escaped from her grip an hour ago and proceeded to encourage her from the other side of the room where her violence couldn't reach him. "It's okay, Sakura-chan, it's almost over." He assured her. He winced as he watched her try to breathe as she was told. An especially hard pain hit and Naruto swore half the hair in the room was sucked into open mouth. "Sakura-chan…?" He ventured.
"WHERE'S SASUKE-KUN!" Sakura's scream echoed through the room. Naruto hung back nervously.
"Why do you need him, Sakura-chan?" He gave her a nervous grin from his position five feet away. "I'm he-"
"I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!"
Naruto stopped and back away farther, trying to melt into the wall. "M-Maybe I should wait outside and look for him." He gave one quick nervous laugh, then disappeared out the door faster than he had ever run before.
Shikamaru sighed slightly, his hands folded across his chest. "Will you calm down, Ino?" He asked, irritated. Ino was pacing in front of him, ringing her hands together. "Sakura will be fine."
"Of course," She said, "I just want to know what my god child will look like!" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at her.
"YOU'RE going to be the godmother?"
"Well, yeah!" She stopped pacing and put her hands on her hips, "I'm Sakura's best friend!"
"Really," Shikamaru drawled out, "The one who always calls her 'Big forehead girl' is her best friend. What about Hinata over there?" He tossed his head in the general area that the Shy girl was sitting, trying to avoid being noticed. Hearing the conversation, she blushed with pride at the thought. Ino shook with rage.
"The kid needs someone who knows fashion and proper etiquette in its life!"
"And you do…?" He barely had time to duck before a shoe went flying where his head just was. "Hey! Tch, how troublesome."
"N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata finally made herself known and jumped up as her fiancé entered the room. Five pairs of eyes were focused on the blonde boy. Ino was there, anxious to hear anything on the baby. Shikamaru sat up straighter, slightly interesting, but only here because Ino had dragged him along. Hinata of course was there, as was her new sister-in-law, Ten Ten, also representing her husband who was currently on a mission (she was sure he was secretly glad to have missed out on all the excitement). Lee was also there, almost in Naruto's face, anxious to hear of his Sakura-san's health.
"She's… okay…. I think…" Naruto's face was pale, and he was sweating at the thought of all the pain his Sakura-chan was going through.
"But, Naruto, I though I heard my beautiful flower withering in pain!" Lee persisted.
"She's in labor, you idiot!" Ino snapped. "Of course she's in pain!"
"Someone once described labor pains as grabbing your bottom lip and pulling it over your head." Shikamaru's comment caused all eyes to stare at him. Lee and Naruto visibly paled at the thought and the other girls just winced, knowing they'd go through the same thing. Shikamaru simply shook his head and muttered another, "How troublesome."
Ten Ten sighed, breaking the silence. "So, where is Sasuke, anyway?"
-Poof-
"Yo." Kakashi appeared, as timely as usual, with his former student beside him, mask still on, hiding the anxious face.
"Speaking of…"
"Where's Sakura?" Ah, yes, the blunt Sasuke, getting right to the point. Naruto pointed the door at the end of the hallway.
"You better hurry Sasuke-jerk, she's about to have the baby." Sasuke stepped smoothly over to the door, to even pausing to change from his ANBU outfit. "Oh," Naruto called to him, just before he entered the room, "Beware of her death grip!"
Sasuke was surprisingly calm. He had read up on the labor process and knew the pain that it involved. However, this didn't stop him from worrying when he heard Sakura's agonizing moan. He tried to open the door, but found it locked. His brow furrowed with annoyance. This door was blocking him from getting to his wife who was in obvious pain. His stomach was doing weird things and he didn't like it. 'This is normal labor.' He reassured himself. He knocked on the door and waited two seconds. No one was coming so… he pulled back his fist, ready to waste this barrier – and the door suddenly opened, revealing a very surprised and scared nurse.
"I-I'm sorry," She stuttered, "You must have the wrong room, there's woman in labor here." Sasuke quickly lowered his fist, feeling very foolish. He berated himself for being so nervous and worried.
"I'm her husband." Sasuke answered, sounding much more collected then he really was. The nurse eyed him skeptically.
"Alright. This is slightly irregular procedure, but since you don't have a lot of time, you can come in without a scrub on. Just," She shoved to plastic gloves at him. "Put these on." Sasuke was going to protest, but he heard Sakura moan again and thought better of it. She would kill him if she knew he hurt the nurse just because she made him wear gloves. So Sasuke put them on as calmly and as quickly as possible and pushed the nurse away to get into the room. The doctor was there between her legs, hands out and ready, encouraging Sakura. Beside him was another nurse, checking Sakura's vitals and making sure that everything was as it should be. Another nurse was beside the doctor, ready to get him anything he needed, and in the middle of it all was Sakura. She was sitting up in the hospital bed dressed in the typical hospital gown with her legs up in the stirrups. Her face was drenched with sweat and her energy was seeping out of her quickly. Her green eyes were shut tight as the doctor kept her going with words like, "It's almost there. I can almost see the head." Her green eyes opened briefly, sensing the familiar aura enter the room and she turned her head to glare her husband.
"This is all your fault." She hissed. "You had better appreciate this because I'm going to kill you after." Sakura closed her eyes again, sucking in more air as she pushed with all her might. Sasuke, despite everything, felt a small content smile show on his face. Somehow, Sakura's comments reassured him that everything was going to be okay. He slipped the mask off and walked over to her bed side to grab her hand.
"I can see the head!" Sasuke heard the doctor say. Sasuke squeezed Sakura's clenched hand, still not saying a word.
"Get it out!" Sakura breathed, pushing again. Tears were running down her cheeks and she was breathing hard. Sasuke found himself leaning down closer to her ear and saying,
"Sakura," He whispered firmly, "You're a Uchiha now, you can get through this and we can go home." That said, he straightened himself up again and continued to let her squeeze the circulation from his hand.
"Almost there!" The doctor updated them again. "One more push!"
Sakura took a deep breath, praying that this baby would be out and she could feel normal again. Pushing with all her might, she finally heard the baby's loud and unhappy cry. Immediately, she released Sasuke's hand. And let herself fall back onto the bed and enjoyed not having to do anything.
Sasuke found himself pulling one of his rare smiles and he watched the nurses clean up the bloody mess and wrap it up in a fuzzy blue blanket. The doctor took the baby and handed it carefully out to Sasuke. Sasuke blinked slightly, not quite sure what he should do. It occurred to him that he really never handled kids before. "Congratulations," The doctor grinned. "It's a healthy baby boy." Sasuke reached out and held the baby just as he had seen the doctor do. Sure, he'd read up on these things, but it wasn't quite like the real thing. He watched the baby's red face get redder as it's tiny arms flailed about as though trying to swat some invisible fly. His tiny nose scrunched up and the baby started crying even louder. Sasuke felt himself start to panic lightly. Why was it crying? What did he do wrong?
"Sasuke-kun," He heard Sakura sigh. "Let me hold him." Sasuke turned to her and with a gentleness he didn't know he possessed, he handed the baby down into Sakura's waiting arms. She smiled and cooed at the baby, causing Sasuke to wonder if something had happened to Sakura's brain while she was in labor. "What's his name?" Sakura asked, not breaking her gaze with their baby. Sasuke was silent a moment, trying to think. Sakura took this silence as her turn to put in her thoughts.
"What about Kaoru?" Sasuke didn't look at her.
"No."
"Tama?" Sasuke frowned.
"That's a cat's name."
"But it's cute!" Sakura protested. She matched his gaze. Finally she sighed and continued. "Mitsu, Kisho?" Sasuke was silent again.
"No yet." Sakura blushed at the thought of what that meant – then thoughts of what she had just gone through went through her head and she was about to give Sasuke a piece of her mind for making her go through this torture, but Sasuke spoke before her. "Keiji."
"Keiji?"
"His name is Keiji." Sakura, in no mood to argue, just smiled and turned her attention back to the silent baby her arms. Keiji was almost smiling at them now, watching both carefully. Sakura grinned at him and gently poked his nose. "You're going to be a smart baby."
"Of course he is." Sasuke snorted. "He's my son." There was no comment from Sakura as she continued to coo at the baby. Sasuke watched the two, a small smile once again forming on his lips (Sakura saw it from the corner of her eye and thought to herself 'I don't think he's smiled this much in one day'). It was then, watching in son and wife together that he came upon a conclusion. So, after he had affirmed this to himself, he leaned down and picked up the baby as gently as he could and placed it in the cradle of one arm while resting his other hand on Sakura's head, telling her to rest.
Once Sakura's eye were closed, Sasuke brought the baby's ear close to his lips so that he could whisper something for his ears only, "I'm happy with this." He whispered, and probably wouldn't admit it to anyone else for a long while to come either, but that's just Sasuke.
"I'm really happy for you and Sakura." Hinata said it so quietly that Sasuke almost didn't heat her. She was walking behind Sasuke with Naruto beside her on their way to the Uchiha house.
"Yea." Naruto confirmed, but louder than his fiancée. "And if you mess this up, I'll kill you, jerk." Sasuke chose to only glare, but not comment, he was entirely too tired.
"So, Sakura and the baby get home tomorrow?" Hinata changed the subject. Sasuke nodded. They were now up the sidewalk of their house. Naruto grinned eagerly.
"Hey, do I get to babysi-"
"No." Sasuke opened the door and walked in, not bothering to invite them in knowing they would come in anyway.
"hey, jerk! You didn't even let me finish!" Sasuke pulled the mask off his neck and onto the couch. He walked over to the kitchen to get a drink.
"No." Sasuke stopped in the doorway.
"Why not?" Naruto whined, coming behind him. "Hey, jerk, are you listening?" There was a pause of silence. Naruto winced and glanced over at Sasuke. He winced again when he noticed Sasuke's eye was vaguely twitching.
. "Naruto," Sasuke said slowly, his voice straining to be calm, "What happened to the kitchen?"
Sakura sat on beside her bedroom window, gazing longingly out into the rest of the world. Rin was finally asleep, and surprisingly enough, Keiji was asleep right along beside her. Sakura smiled softly. No matter how old they got, Sakura's children would always be her babies.
Sakura's hair was down tonight. She ran her hands through it lazily, brushing it out. Lately it had been up in a bun just because her long hair got in her way. She did this as she watched the stars in the sky twinkle brightly as though winking at her. Sakura smiled again. Rin and herself certainly shared the love of the sky. Sakura loved to listen to the nightlife and watch silently. In fact, it was when she listened so well, it was then she could hear every little thing that went on around the house.
"How was your mission?" She asked, not bothering to turn her head form the mission.
"Fine." Sasuke answered. Sakura felt the bed dip on the other side. She stopped her brushing and leaned back, knowing he'd be there. Their backs met and both stayed there before one spoke.
"Rin wanted me to tell her about Keiji's birth." She heard Sasuke snort and she smiled. "I guess you remember it then?"
"Hn." Was his short answer. Sakura really was learning to interpret these things.
"I guess it's a good thing we started out with a good kid or we might never have had more than one." She smiled, remenicing of times past. Sasuek snorted again.
"They're Uchiha's. They're all good."
"You didn't have to be with them all the time."
"Hn."
"Or," Sakura continued, still resting back to back, "Maybe you're scarier."
"Doubt it." Sakura's eyes burned and she turned her head slightly to meet her husband.
"What was that?" he said nothing, smirking to himself. "Oh," Sakura sighed. "Shut-up." She sat straight up and maneuvered herself so that she was lying in bed so that her husband could crawl in beside her.
"I missed you." She whispered in the darkness.
"Hn." Sakura smiled.
"You came home early this time." She turned towards him now, grinning, waiting for the answer she wanted.
"Good night." He closed his eyes. Sakura pouted, but shifted over closer to him and rested her head on his chest.
"I love you." She whispered.
"I love you too." He responded. "Now go to sleep."
Sakura smiled softly, waiting for her eyes to get dreary. Her thoughts went back, far back, to when Tsunade had asked her the question that had plagued her mind so. Sure, they had their troubles, and though she loved him, she didn't always like him very much when she was upset with him. But, she wrapped her arms around him and smiled as he subconsciously returned the gesture, all in all, she was truly happy.
(side note): Er… if you noticed, it kind of changed moods in writing half-way through or so. I realized I seemed to be getting off track and into lazy writing, so…yea… I tried to fix it. Sorry if it threw you off.
Well, there it is folks! FINALLY! Yes, I know. Once again, I apologize for the delay. I haven't been available much lately.
So, thank-you for reading and I hoped you enjoyed it!
Once again, do you have ideas for a new story? I would like to do a Team 7 fic, but I don't want something cliché, any ideas would be appreciated!
Smile, Jesus loves you -so review! (Hey, I made a rhyme!)