Gravity Chapter 44 Keep Me Where The Light Is, a naruto fanfic

DNON

Hey guys. It's been a long journey and I'll leave you with a few words. Hopefully after you read you'll leave me with a few also. You may or may not remember the title of this story was inspired by the song Gravity from J. Mayer, even though it actually would be more descriptive of Sasuke's pov in the story, I think it fits rather well. Give it a listen at the end maybe to celebrate our journey together.

Anyway, thanks for sticking with me til the end. I hope you enjoy it and I can still surprise you! 3

I have a few oneshots coming up and am also working on the final chapters of Finders Keepers and the next chapter of Co9t, plus a few more chaptered tales will begin soon.

Being ill and working two jobs have squished my muse quite a bit but I'm fighting back.

Oh, btw, I have read the manga and I know the end but that really has no bearing on my stories. My stories will still all be my own. Thanks

0o0o0

Gravity~Final Chapter 44

Keep Me Where The Light Is~

0o0o0

The leader of the Rising Sun stood at the dais in the Wind palace's reception hall. His gaze moved from the empty council chairs to the bank of windows framing the grand front of the daimyo's castle. The sun shining golden on the sands of what was soon to be Kunene's sovereignty filled him a sense of supremacy. He descended the steps, thinking he'd make one last check on the Kazekage before preparing for tomorrow's journey to Fire Country.

"Our esteemed guest is resting easy, I assume?" Kunene asked his top man, Jiro. Newly risen to his position, the young man showed great promise. He had much to learn, but he was as fine a soldier as anyone could ask for—ruthless, loyal, and unshakable. They left the council room, heading for the new wing where a second guard stood watch.

Neither of them noticed the eye floating high overhead, watching them.

"No, sir," Jiro answered. "I came to inform you that the Kazekage went outside to the oasis a half hour ago. I believe the gardener is out there."

Kunene chuckled. "Nothing to fret over. The old gardener is deaf and dumb. He doesn't know anything about what went on here. And Gaara will be replaced in Suna soon enough. Uchiha will be executed and the girl too, after we harvest the child." Believing it was time to break the hold the ninja councils held over the great nations, the Rising Sun leader would use their own to do it. Once he controlled the last living Uchiha child, it would be easy to turn the infamous Sharingan against them.

"Jiro, not a word to anyone about how you witnessed that bastard Kabuto killing my brother-in-law. I'll make him pay for what he did to Hanshu with my own two hands. Both him and that scheming bitch, Karin."

0o0o0

"I see this wall's been patched recently."

The Kazekage's piercing, green eyes stared grimly at the guards he'd called into his room. The pair looked at each other before answering each of his questions and while one guard seemed nervous and quiet, the other was cocky, his impudence coming through in his mannerisms.

"The gardener tells me that the daimyo's niece visited recently and vanished suddenly. What happened to her?"

Jiro remained tight lipped. The second guard smirked, thinking the Kazekage was just another useless, elected official who would be replaced as soon as the Rising Sun was in control of Wind Country.

"I believe she ran back home to her mother."

With a swirl of sand, Gaara changed tactics.

0o0o0

The dragon's tail crashed into a building, sending more villagers scurrying and screaming as Konoha ninja tried to evacuate them to a safe place.

"I'm here to fight you, Sasuke-kun," Kabuto warned. "If you leave, I'll destroy this village as Orochimaru-sama wished."

Sasuke growled. The weight of responsibility for his village was heavy, but first, he had to protect his wife. His hands began to slip through a jutsu when a shadow blocked out the sun.

"Tsūtenkyaku!"

Tsunade dropped from the sky, her forceful, falling axe kick leading the way as she came down on the dragon's head, smashing him into the ground. Once she saw Kabuto's clones standing around, she understood immediately what sort of trouble had arrived.

"Tsunade-sama," Kakashi said urgently. "I think Sakura's in trouble."

"Uchiha, go," she ordered, taking his place alongside Naruto and Kakashi as Sasuke vanished.

0o0o0

"You're fucking crazy, man!" the guard raged, struggling to free himself from the enormous fist of sand. "Do you know who we work for?!"

The corner of Gaara's lip curled, but the small smile only made him look more callous. He'd been called crazy by many people, but none had said it to his face and lived.

Jiro watched with eyes growing wider by the minute. He'd heard so many horror stories about the former Jinchuuriki, Gaara of the Sand Waterfall—the young man who murdered on a whim, even as a child.

"Shut up, you idiot," he hissed at his partner. "Haven't you heard of him?"

"I heard all right," the second guard scoffed. "Gaara of the Sand. Defeated by a genin from the Leaf village then killed by some flaky, flying Akatsuki. Some old baa-baa brought him back to life. It took just two Akatsuki to defeat his whole village." He laughed hysterically, remembering how even the mighty Uchiha had been overpowered under ambush. "Rising Sun is legion and we will crush you under our heels!"

The Sand Coffin encasing the guard lurched and, with a sickening squelch, the laughing guard was silenced. Gaara turned to Jiro, whose skin had turned paper white from fear.

"Let's try this one last time."

0o0o0

When Karin lunged at her in the hallway, Sakura grabbed the closest thing at hand to use as a weapon in the small space—a heavy-framed picture of Sasuke and his family. She flung it at Karin. It cracked against her head as she was slashing at Sakura's stomach. The blow caused the deranged redhead to miss, the tip of her kunai just catching Sakura's hip. She retreated past Karin into the kitchen, knowing she couldn't get back to the door safely.

Sakura felt the sting in her side, even as another hard contraction made her gasp. She slid into the kitchen, grabbing a chair, swinging it at Karin when she ran in behind her. The chair burst into kindling.

"You little bitch!" Karin screeched, scrambling after her.

Feeling desperate, Sakura kept moving around the table, trying to put space between them as she looked for another weapon. Just as she reached for a drawer full of knives, the kitchen table was flipped, pinning the drawer closed, forcing her to retreat.

Backed into the corner, a painful contraction ripped through Sakura, accompanied by the unbearable urge to push. She grit her teeth, preparing to charge, gathering her chakra for a final, killing blow. Karin raised her knife threateningly. Sakura stepped toward her…and froze.

"Oh, god!" Her back seized in agonizing pain and she crumpled, nearly passing out. The chakra in her fist evaporated.

Karin crowed in victory, standing over her, clutching the kunai and grinning madly. The knife swung downward and Sakura put up her hands in a vain attempt to stop it.

Pale fingers wrapped around the red-headed kunoichi's wrist and knocked the kunai from her surprised grip.

"What the he-UGH?!" Karin's words were garbled by a handful of cookies in her mouth.

"Hello, Ugly. I think I've improved upon your recipe. Would you like to try one?"

Sakura heaved a heavy sigh and slid down to the kitchen tile. "Sai…thank you."

"It's no problem. I think you just needed to add some more vanilla and an extra teaspoon of that special ingredient I borrowed from you." He pulled a capped vial from his pocket, setting it on the counter. "I brought back the rest. I would have bought you more to replace what I used, but you didn't label it."

Sakura panted, staring wide-eyed at Sai. "You doubled the dose? Sai, that's dangerous. Too much of that herb can cause hallucinations."

Still half-choking, Karin went limp. Sai held her up and looked at her, tilting his head. "Isn't this the one who abducted you?"

She could only nod as she groaned through another contraction.

"Sakura!"

Sasuke burst through the door, sword drawn, crimson eyes sweeping the scene. The floor of the hall was littered with blood and debris. Chief among this was his family portrait, the last picture he'd taken with his mother, father, and brother before his entire clan had been wiped out—now it was shattered and torn, lying on the rug. Sakura moaned and he cursed under his breath, running into the kitchen. He brushed past Sai and kneeled next to his wife.

"Are you ok?" His eyes traveled her anxiously, seeing blood—lots of blood—and torn clothing. Her eyes were shut tight as she grimaced in pain, but when he touched her cheek, they opened. "Sakura…the baby?"

"He's coming now." Sakura blinked back tears of relief at seeing her husband safe.

Sasuke's dark eyes widened. "Now?! He's not due yet. It's too soon." He put his arms around her gently, lifting her. "Let's get you to the hospital."

"No!" she cried and he set her back down, watching her pant in agony and not sure how to help. "There isn't time, Sasuke-kun. He's coming now!" Sakura groaned again in pain, squeezing her eyes shut.

'How am I supposed to deliver the baby?! Tsunade's in the middle of a battle in the heart of the village, for god's sake. Sakura only has me and…' He looked at Team Seven's snarky artist, dismissing him immediately. Sai had his gratitude, but he would not help deliver his son, he decided, taking a calming breath.

"Sai, don't let Karin escape."

He'd just help Sakura by himself until the Hokage came…somehow. Sasuke picked his wife up and took her to their room.

"It's all right, Sakura. Tsunade will be here soon," he assured her, even though he had no idea if it was true.

Before Sai could answer, Karin woke up screaming. He stuffed another cookie in her mouth and she passed out again.

0o0o0

The former Root ANBU was listening with a thoughtful look on his face to the uncomfortable noises coming from Sakura's bedroom when Tsunade burst through the back door, the rest of Team Seven fast on her heels.

Sai didn't need to tell her where Sakura was—she followed the sounds of labor, swiftly disappearing into the other room. Kakashi looked at the mess, gathering his own clues and coming to the conclusion that Sai had come by at a good time. He nodded to the newest member of Team Seven.

"Glad to see you have things under control here, Sai-kun."

"Yo! We kicked that snake's ass!" Naruto hooted, strutting into the kitchen just as Karin came back around again. He was covered in black soot from the top of his head to the tips of his toes, his bright blue eyes standing out in stark contrast.

"SSSasuke-kun!" she squealed, tackling Naruto and clinging to him. "Let'ssss have a baaaby!"

"EEEEHH?!" He tried to push the girl away. "What is this thing?!" Naruto screamed when Karin's snake-like tongue flicked his ear. "Kakashi-sensei, help! Get it off me!"

"He's dickless. He can't give you babies," Sai informed her.

"NOOOO! SSSasuke-kuuun!"

"Shut up, Sai!" Naruto pushed Karin's face away when she tried to kiss him. "SENSEI!"

Kakashi grabbed Naruto's collar, pulling him from the house with Karin still attached. "Come, Sai. Let's escort Karin to ANBU headquarters. I think Sasuke and Sakura are going to be busy for a while."

0o0o0

Sakura screamed, Sasuke paled, and Tsunade's eyebrows knit in concern. The baby was in distress and Sakura wasn't doing well either.

"Come on. You're almost there. Let's get this baby out here to meet his family, Sakura. Once more."

"H-hai, Shishou." Sakura's voice was faint.

Sasuke was alarmed as how pallid his wife looked. Tsunade had worked on her wounds and was trying to guide her through a tough delivery, but the girl was already exhausted and had lost so much blood.

The Hokage turned off the part of her that wanted to cry, her voice becoming firm as she scolded her apprentice the way she had when she trained her. She only hoped Sakura's will could get her through this before her body gave out.

"This child is counting on you, damn it. Now bear down and push!"

Sakura gathered everything she had left in her and closed her eyes, following her master's orders silently, too tired to shout from the pain. She did what she had to before falling back into Sasuke's arms.

"He's out! Sakura! Your son is here." Tsunade cleared the baby's air passage and he let out a howl.

Sasuke felt his chest swell. "He's beautiful, Sakura." He looked proudly at his wife. "…Sakura?" Her skin was ashen. She was completely still. His heart, so full of love a second ago, skipped a beat. "No…no…Sakura!"

He shook her.

Without ceremony, the baby boy was shoved into his arms and Sasuke was pushed away from Sakura. He watched in shock as Tsunade tried to revive her.

He looked at the squalling child and placed his forehead against the babe's, closing his eyes and saying a silent prayer.

0o0o0

A door in the Uchiha house opened and a small, dark-haired child ran down the hall. The youngster pushed a chair up to the counter, sticking his hand into a cookie jar.

An arm reached around his waist, picking him up. "No sweets, Daichi. You're supposed to be getting ready to go. "

The little boy pouted. "I am ready, tousan! I was waiting for you to come out of your office!"

"I've finished my work. We can go to the ceremony now." Sasuke took his son's hand, leading him out of the Uchiha district, toward the Academy.

Near the school grounds, Sasuke's eyes roved over the crowds of excited families and notable dignitaries. He picked out the visiting Kazekage who nodded gravely at him. Gaara had taken down not just the leader of the Rising Sun—he'd disbanded the entire organization single-handedly. Sasuke returned his nod, grateful for the Kage's help, but wishing it had come months earlier.

"I wish Mommy could be here."

Sasuke placed his hand on his son's head. "Me too," he said somberly. "Come."

They lined up, entering the school with the other families, taking seats near the stage as Iruka called for order. As the ceremony started, a very pregnant woman squeezed down the row. Sasuke stood up, holding out his hand to offer his chair. He picked up his boy and set him on his lap.

"Sorry I'm late," she whispered loudly.

"Daichi was getting anxious." Sasuke winked at her.

Sakura smiled warmly at her husband before taking her son's hand. "You know I'd never miss anything as important as your older brother's graduation." Sakura kissed Daichi's forehead and looked at Sasuke, patting her tummy.

"Tsunade says were having a girl." She grinned happily at her husband, her eyes alight.

"Taichi-niisan says that girls have cooties." Daichi scrunched up his face.

Sasuke smirked at his wife over their son's head. Did she still have those naughty underwear he'd seen her wearing when he broke into her house after that mission, he wondered. That was the first time he'd truly noticed Sakura was no longer an annoying girl, but a grown woman. His ears grew warm with the memory. "Your mother is a girl and she doesn't have cooties."

"That's cause she's a kaasan."

Sasuke chuckled, taking his wife's hand and kissing it. "A daughter is a blessing."

Sakura glowed with happiness. It radiated from her like the sun.

'She's my sun,' he thought.

Surrounded by his family, Sasuke felt as if every trace of his painful past had somehow been burned away. His beautiful wife had driven the shadows from his heart with her love.

He knew there were better men than himself, but none so lucky, he believed. Gravity drew him closer to her side and he said the same silent prayer he had when his first child was born.

'Just keep me where her light is.'

A/N~I truly loved writing this whole story. Thank you, SI, and thank you, readers for completing this journey with me. 3

Reviews=Love=Author's Inspiration to write more ff.