Okay, this is a fanfic that was actually inspired by reading the one shot fic "Illegal" by the fanfic author intoxication. So I have to give this particular author credit for the fact that I even thought of this. For those who wish to read that fic it's on my faves list, okay? Anywho, please R&R or something. I hope y'all like this fic.
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Second Best.
Chapter One – And So It Begins.
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Sakura Haruno looked in the mirror at herself. She glared as she saw the cause of her pain, sorrow, and shame, all wrapped in one neat little package.
What was it she saw?
The bump her stomach had become of course. Sakura was pregnant.
Who was the father?
Sasuke Uchiha, of course, it had to be, who else could make such a fool of her and yet still get away with it?
Sakura had spoken to Sasuke since their one night of passion. She had found out she was pregnant, she had told him. He'd just laughed. He'd told her he'd come for the child when it was born. She however, was unimportant. That had broken her heart. But despite that, she would not let Sasuke take her child. This was her child. She wanted to raise it. She wanted to teach it all the right things to believe in. If Sasuke had his way, this child would forever be seeking revenge like he did. No. She would keep her child, and love it, and give it a good life. No matter what happened. She was five months along. Now all she had to do was work up the courage to talk to someone about it. She knew her best option was Tsunade. Tsunade was the Hokage, and her mentor. Tsunade would know what to do. Tsunade would help her. Sakura was sure of it. So, with a knot of nervousness, gnawing in the pit of her stomach, she left her apartment and headed towards the Hokage tower, before she lost her nerve again.
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Tsunade was sat in her office, behind her desk, trying to finish off all the paperwork she had for that day when she heard a loud, resounding knock. "Come in." Tsunade called. She found herself smiling, as she looked up to see Sakura walking into her office. Sakura was a favourite pupil, though Tsunade knew she shouldn't have favourites. Shizune and Sakura had always been her favourites. They, above all others, had been the best of her students. Not that Tsunade had taken on that many students.
"Sakura, it's been a good month since I actually saw you. Are you alright?" Tsunade asked. Sakura's tongue poked out and licked her lips, in a nervous gesture. One that Tsunade recognised, from Sakura's days as her apprentice. She knew that Sakura had something to tell her, and that whatever it was, it was something Sakura seemed to dread.
"Not really Tsunade-Shishou." Sakura said quietly. Tsunade could see Sakura's anxiety, very clearly. She knew Sakura well. If Sakura had been severely ill, she was sure that Sakura would have come to her. Tsunade waited a few moments before breaking the silence.
"What's wrong Sakura?" Tsunade asked. Sakura took a deep breath, then exhaled.
"I'm pregnant." Sakura replied. Tsunade let a moment pass. Then two. Then three. Then four. It was Tsunade who was nervous to speak now.
"And who, might I ask, is the father?" Tsunade finally asked. But she had already guessed the answer, before it left Sakura's mouth.
"Sasuke is." Sakura answered. Tsunade looked at Sakura, could see that Sakura was still anxious. But Tsunade needed to ask her these questions. She needed to know where the village stood, with regards to Sasuke Uchiha.
"Does he intend to live up to his responsibilities?" Tsunade asked.
"In a way." Sakura said. Tsunade saw the tears start trailing down Sakura's cheeks. "He says he will come and take my child after it's born. I'm not important to him. But I want to keep my child Tsunade-Shishou. I don't want him to take it away from me." Sakura sobbed. Tsunade got up from her chair and went around to the front of her desk to hug her pupil. At this moment she felt a great sense of maternal instinct for the lost kunoichi in front of her.
"Don't worry. We'll do everything in our power to make sure that Sasuke doesn't take your child away. Your child will be a citizen of this village, as you are. No one has a right to sneak in here and take a member of our village." Tsunade said. She tried to soothe the crying girl as she thought of how she could possibly make this situation any better.
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Four months later, Sakura was in absolute agony. "What made me want to keep this baby again?" Sakura thought in her head as she heard Tsunade telling her to push. Sakura bit down on her lip and pushed with all her might. She heard Naruto telling her that everything was going to be okay, and she had the extreme urge to yell at him. But this wasn't his fault and he did come to the hospital to support her and be a good friend. If Sakura were honest with herself, Naruto was one of her closest friends. She pushed again, but it apparently still wasn't enough to bring her child into the world. She felt the end of another contraction and tried her best to take deep breaths.
"Sakura, one more push should do it. I can see the baby crowning." Tsunade said. Sakura felt more pain as another contraction started.
"It'll be over soon Sakura-Chan." Naruto said soothingly. She grabbed hold of his hand and pushed with all her strength. It felt like a herd of cattle stampeding through her body. Then nothing at all. She heard the wailing of a child. That was when she finally felt relief. No more pain. The baby was here. She then realised she was still gripping Naruto's hand. He winced as she let go.
"I'm sorry Naruto." Sakura said sheepishly.
"It's alright Sakura-Chan. Just don't ask me to come into the delivery room with you again. I think you've broken my hand." Naruto said. Although Sakura could tell he was joking by the big grin on his face. Sakura found herself smiling.
"You're the one saying you wanna know what labour will be like because you intend to propose to Hinata-Chan and want children." Sakura said, with an amused look on her face.
"Uh… I did? I think I'm gonna rephrase that. No children. Ever." Naruto said. But Sakura knew he was still joking. She looked over to see her wailing baby being cleaned up.
"Is my baby alright Tsunade-Shishou?" Sakura asked.
"Well he's a boy, and he's perfectly healthy Sakura." Tsunade said quietly. Sakura sighed with relief and exhaustion.
"What are you gonna call him Sakura-Chan?" Naruto asked.
"Hiroki." Sakura replied.
"Wow, I'm an uncle already." Naruto said.
"Who said you're going to be uncle?" Sakura asked. Naruto shrugged.
"Well if you don't want me to be then I guess, I'll just be that friend of Mum's, that feeds him Ramen." Naruto said happily.
"No. Uncle Naruto is fine." Sakura said. She tried not to giggle at the bright look of enthusiasm on Naruto's face.
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Three days later, a sound-nin returned to a large looking house. It looked to be dark and rather imposing, as the male sound-nin entered the house, and made his way up the stairs. He stopped at the room at the top of the staircase and knocked. "Enter." A female voice called. The sound-nin walked into the room, to see Sasuke Uchiha with his wife, Mitsuko, and a two-year-old boy was sat on the floor playing with a kunai.
"Sasuke-Sama, I went to Konoha as you requested. I waited for the birth of Sakura Haruno's child and came to report as you asked." The ninja said quietly.
"Well, what did she give birth to?" Sasuke asked.
"A male. Just as you predicted. The child has been named Hiroki. He's apparently healthy. They've prioritised security since the child's birth." The sound ninja said. Sasuke glared at this.
"She must have had the guts to tell Tsunade what my plans were." Sasuke stated irritably.
"Well I told you, you shouldn't have told her until after the birth." Mitsuko said airily. She flicked dark hair over her shoulder. "But you wouldn't listen to me." Mitsuko added. Her piercing grey eyes glared at Sasuke.
"Well Mitsuko, it's not like you were keen on raising a child that wasn't yours." Sasuke said. His voice filled with bitterness.
"You have a strong son right here Sasuke-San. But her child may be strong too. You have been taking children from other women for the last two years. You have ten sons. Even if Ryo is the eldest. Let this one get away and it could come back to haunt us." Mitsuko said. A cruel smile on her face.
"What would you suggest then Mitsuko? You know, as my wife, I will listen to your counsel. But the restoration of my clan is also important to me." Sasuke said. Mitsuko smirked then.
"Wait for about two years. Then go and take the boy. He may be used to his mother but tell him his mother is dead after you take him, and he won't try and run if he thinks his mother is dead. That and the security won't be so great after two years. They'll think you've given up." Mitsuko said. Sasuke smirked.
"Well we shall see soon enough if you're right, Mitsuko." Sasuke said. He looked at the ninja still standing there. "My orders are to return to Konoha, keep out of sight. Watch over the child, and his development. You return when security has become weaker. Then I will go and get my child." Sasuke said. The two-year-old sat on the floor, looked up at his parents, confusion written on his face. Then went back to playing with the kunai in his hands.
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Sakura looked after her son and time seemed to fly by. It had been two years, and he grew bigger and stronger everyday. And the best part was that he looked like her. The only thing that reminded Sakura of Sasuke, in her son, were his jet-black eyes. A sure sign that one day, Hiroki would use Sharingan. She was sat on the grass this particular day. It was a couple of weeks before Hiroki's second birthday, and Sakura was sat with Ino, Hinata, Ten Ten and Temari. Temari had arrived from Suna to give a report on new Chuunins. The group watched as Naruto talked to the other guys, and Sakura watched Hiroki running around, with Naruto and Hinata's one-year-old son, Arashi, toddling after him. Hiroki came running up to Sakura, and jumped into her lap, a whirl of pink hair and a big smile. "Hi Mamma!" Hiroki yelled cheerfully.
"Hiroki calm down. Did Uncle Naruto give you candy?" Sakura asked. She knew Naruto was soft on the children and wouldn't have been surprised if he'd given them candy, in spite of the fact that neither of the children would sleep afterwards. Hiroki surprised her by shaking his head.
"Unca Nawuto said when I'm seben I can be a ninja like him and you, Mamma, and Anti Hin'ta" Hiroki said happily. Sakura bit at the inside of her cheek, not sure what to say at first. She wondered if Sasuke had once been as idealistic as Hiroki now was. Then replied gently to her son.
"Yes, you can Hiroki. But you must remember that being a ninja means caring for others." Sakura said.
"Like Awashi 'totou-chan?" Hiroki asked.
"Yes, like Arashi, Hiroki." Sakura replied. The small child cocked his head to one side and thought about it for a minute.
"Well if you can care 'bout ebwyone, and Unca Nawuto and Anti Hin'ta can care 'bout ebwyone, den I can too." Hiroki said happily. Sakura smiled at the enthusiasm in her son's eyes.
"Yes, I'm sure you can do it Hiroki." Sakura replied. She hugged her son close to her, and no one knew that this touching scene had been witnessed by a sound-nin who had been watching them for two years, just as he had been ordered to.
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The sound-nin travelled back to Otogakure thinking about how he would tell the information he had stored up over the last two years. He once again walked into the mansion and up the same stairs. He once again knocked on the door and heard a female voice tell him to enter. He saw Mitsuko sat on the sofa in the office, and Ryo sat by her side. The dark-haired, Sasuke, look-a-like was glaring fiercely at this intruder to his peace and quiet. Sasuke sat behind his desk. "Sasuke-Sama, I have returned as you asked. The security has weakened, and your son grows stronger every day. But…" Here the Sound-nin trailed off.
"But what?" Sasuke asked.
"The child will most likely be reluctant to be trained in the way you wish to train him. He is rather soft towards other people and sensitive to their feelings." The Sound-nin replied. He actually hoped that maybe, if Sasuke thought the child weak, he might not take the child from his mother.
"Having Sakura as a mother, and Konoha as an influence, would do that to a child. With me he'll learn not to be soft." Sasuke said. His voice angry. Mitsuko smirked evilly. Ryo didn't seem to understand what his parents were thinking. They were happy that was all that mattered to him. "You hear that Ryo, soon you'll have a new brother and training partner." Sasuke said. Mitsuko scowled angrily, her cheeks turning red with anger.
"You can't possibly think to train that brat with our son?" Mitsuko asked. Her anger became more evident in her eyes, with every word she spoke.
"Yes, I do. It's the only way he will learn to be any better. He's had her influence for far too long. He needs my influence now, if any hope is left for the brat." Sasuke said. Mitsuko made to open her mouth but Sasuke silenced her with a single hand gesture. "There is no discussion about it Mitsuko. The brat will be trained with Ryo. That is the end of it. What is his name again?" Sasuke asked.
"Hiroki, Sasuke-Sama." The Sound-nin replied.
"Make the preparations. We will leave in two weeks time. Find the best men you can. But only four. We need to be small, in number, to go unnoticed." Sasuke said. The Sound-nin left the room, with a feeling of dread deep in his stomach. He knew Mitsuko hated all the other children, but he knew that Hiroki would be the most hated of all Sasuke's other children. Hiroki was a good-hearted child and the sound-nin dreaded what the child would feel when told his mother was dead. That and Sasuke was already favouring Hiroki in certain ways. Seeing how Sakura was with the boy, made him want to go and tell the Konoha ninja what Sasuke was planning. Whether or not it meant betraying Otogakure. At least one child would grow up loved. Then again, he knew that as soon as he left to do such a thing, Sasuke would know what he was up to and would hunt him down before he could even get to Konoha, and he would be killed. Sasuke would get his own way no matter what, but maybe, just maybe, he could help this child. "Kabuto?" He looked at Sasuke then, his silent reverie over for the moment.
"Yes Sasuke-Sama?" Kabuto replied.
"This will be done with the utmost accuracy. I don't like my plans to fail. You understand." Sasuke said. He gave a wave of his hand to dismiss Kabuto and Kabuto left without another word.