Story: Reach the Sky

Type: Naruto and KHR Crossover

Pairing(s): Minato/Kushina (initial), Minato/Tsuna (eventual), Iemitsu/Nana, Gokudera/Yamamoto(maybe?)

Warning(s): For this chapter...I guess a fairly descriptive birth..? There's no real blood or anything graphically mentioned, though. Un-Beta-ed fic. Fem!Tsuna.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or KHR, its plotline or its characters. Only the plot of this fanfiction is mine and any OCs that may or may not come up.


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Harsh pants filled the air along with stifled screams and groans as a pregnant woman struggled to bring her child into the world.

The pain felt unbearable, like her insides were cramping and stretching all at once, like her bones were snapping and breaking apart to create more space for a clear passage, all beyond the normal limitations of a human. It was terrible and agonizing, but she could not bring herself to focus on the pain. Though she reacted physically through screams and moans, her mind was far too wrapped up in ensuring that her baby - her precious treasure - would come out healthy and whole, ready to greet the bewildering new world that would become its home.

And she would finally meet that lovely angel that she had been patiently waiting for, longing for as she stroked and sang lulling tunes to her growing belly.

Would it be a boy or a girl?, she wondered stifling another building scream as a particularly vicious contraction caught her off guard. Her blurry gaze shifted towards the door of the room she had been wheeled into as soon as the doctor had determined that she was almost ready for the last stages of the labour. The pregnancy had been hard on her young, fragile body and the hospital staff was taking no chances that something would go wrong. She was glad for the care, it was what was best for her child, so she would not refute it. She just hoped that-...he'd said that he would be here. With her. To greet their child.

So why? Why wasn't he here?

The pain felt so much worse when she was alone.

But she would persevere, like she always did, and she would welcome her little one with a smile on her face and nothing else. Neither loneliness nor that vague sense of betrayal would ever leak out to taint their meeting. She had known when she had agreed to marry him, love him, that he would not always be there for her - that he had important work that would take him away from her. She had loved him anyway, her heart filled - satisfied - with the time he did spend with her. But this was different wasn't it? He had promised!

Another jolt of pain and she could feel some muscles loosening. It was time.

She did not think any more of her missing husband, nor the emotional pain that was pushed back and compartmentalized. She did not think of her disappointment nor her loneliness. There was no time for that now. Her baby was almost here, she could feel that she was moments away from meeting them so she focused all her thoughts and her energy to accomplishing her task and pushed.

A mid-wife kept her calm and breathing relatively evenly by her side (where he was supposed to be - no, no don't think of that now), holding her hand and murmuring reassurances and encouragements.

The birthing took a while, since it was her first child. Her body had not learned and had to adapt as the birth happened. However, slowly but surely, a small crown emerged (or so the doctor said, but she couldn't focus properly on the words through the pain and effort) and the pain crescendoed to a peak as the skull passed through. It was the toughest, longest and most painful part of the process, but as soon as it emerged fully, the pain died down and the rest of the small body came easily.

The woman dropped onto the bed with sheer relief (when had her back arched anyway?) and watched with heavy-lidded eyes as the flesh-coloured, bloody cord was cut from her child and...where was the cry? Weren't babies supposed to cry?

Ah. There it was.

Her smile grew as a shrill wail pierced through the quiet room. My baby has such strong lungs! Just like their papa!, she giggled internally.

She waited with barely concealed anticipation as the staff checked and cleaned the baby before wrapping a warm orange (she inwardly pouted at the gender neutral colour) blanket around the tiny form. A midwife carefully walked towards her holding her precious bundle.

"Sawada-san, congratulations!", she said softly, her brown eyes crinkled in a warm smile. "You have a healthy daughter!"

A sense of wonder and awe budded within the young mother as Nana reached out to take her baby girl in her arms. A baby girl!

("Haha, what are you talking about, Nana? Of course, it will be a boy! A cute, brave little boy, just like his papa!")

Her little girl fit perfectly in her arms as if Nana had been made with her in mind. The small, round head was supported gently by the crook of her arm and the entire body placed flush against her chest. The experience made her feel so indescribably warm and so, so amazed at what she had helped create.

Her fingers trembled slightly as she traced the small, delicate features - the tiny closed lids of her eyes, the cute, chubby cheeks, the pert, upturned nose and the soft, petal lips. Motherly affection and an overwhelming sense of love filled her body with a glowing warm tenderness. It was soft, profound and timeless.

"Welcome home, Tsunahime.", she whispered. I've been waiting for you.

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Hours later, Nana was stubbornly still holding onto her daughter, basking in the motherly feelings invoked by the orange-bound bundle. She had fed her little girl soon after naming her and lulled her to sleep, crooning a soft lullaby from her own childhood.

Mama, is this how you felt when you held me?, she silently asked her deceased mother, Somehow, I never understood how you could claim to love me as much as you did...until now. Mama, I think I understand your feelings. I wish you could have been here to-

Bang! - and then, "Nana, I made it!"

Nana turned her head, startled at the loud sound, to see her husband standing there panting as if he had run across the continent to get to her. Little Tsuna also seemed to have heard the banging of the door for she startled awake with a loud, distressed wail.

Nana instantly turned to her baby, cuddling and shushing her soothingly in an effort to calm her child.

Preoccupied, she didn't notice her husband sneak closer, eyes wide in wonder at the bundle of blankets and noise in her arms.

Unfortunately for Nana, Iemitsu had no sense of tact - nor any sense at all really - so, just as Tsuna had calmed down, he exclaimed, "Ah! What a cute child! My precious baby boy is soo adorable~!"

And sent Tsuna into another fit of startled cries.

The new mother ignored her bewildered and panicking husband, and immediately set to tend to her baby. She painstakingly rocked her child, murmuring soothing nonsense until the cries dwindled into sniffles and heavy breaths and then finally, into small, content snores.

All the while, Iemitsu had watched his small family interact, calming down himself as well. He sat at the edge of the bed, as he listened to Nana's sweet voice and his boy's tiny snuffling.

As the baby finally drifted off into sleep, he sheepishly apologized to his wife for being late and for waking the little boy, taking care to talk low enough that his child would not be disturbed.

As always, his sweet Nana forgave him instantly with that loving, understanding smile. (Was it weird that he felt like the scum of the world even though she never blamed him?)

Being in his family's presence made him feel like he was curled up under a warm blanket in the morning and just like he would not want to leave that warmth to get up, he did not want to leave his family for work. Unfortunately, he knew that there would be no real reprieve from his line of occupation. He had made his bed and now he had to lie in it. Thankfully, his Boss was kind and understanding enough that he would grant him leave as vacation to see his family (though Iemitsu was sure that he would rarely take up that offer...he simply could not risk his lovely wife and his precious child- if someone made the connection...he doesn't even want to think about it).

But he really, really wanted that warmth to continue on forever...how to expand that gentle feeling...?

He almost snickered to himself with glee as he figured out the perfect solution.

"Nana~", he called with a charming smile. Nana turned her attention from Tsuna and tilted her head at him curiously (So cute!, he squealed in his mind). "What do you say, we expand our family hmm~?"

"Expand...?", her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Mah, I'm not sure what you mean, anata. But, oh! The doctor said that Tsu-chan might need some extra supervision from me, so I'll be keeping her with me in the bedroom from now on. You can take the couch for a while so Tsu-chan can be happy, ne?"

The blond gaped as his (nefarious) plans crumbled in front of him without effort. "E-eh? C-couch?! How long...?"

"Oh...", Nana smiled sweetly, "Just a few years, dear."

Let it not be said that Nana never punished her husband for his foolish ways.

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Lol, so that's the end of the prologue. This particular story just came to me...not even sure from where. My mind just saw this image of little Naru-chan going, "Hime!" and yeah...well at least now you know where the name came from (also because I'm terrible with names and titles) and why this is fem!Tsuna (also because I was just randomly browsing google images and saw a female version of Tsuna and literally squealed at the cuteness and am now kinda hooked on the idea...)

Er, don't mind my writing. As a warning, I've never written anything but lab reports and essays for bio and stuff. Creative writing - well this is the first one ever along with some other fics that I started, but they are just ideas that I haven't typed in story format, though the ideas have been there for 2-3 years already...Oh! And before I forget...I have not watched or read farther than the rescue of Gaara in Shippuden or farther than the first 10 episodes in KHR - that is due to time restrictions from entering uni and from limited bandwidth which must be used for online lectures and stuff. Whatever impressions of characters and plot I've managed to scrounge up is from briefly reading some fanfictions. Forgive me, they will likely turn out OOC because of this, but I really love these shows and wanted some way to enjoy them.

Anyway, I simply decided to write because it seems a good way let loose some stress from my studies and upcoming exams. I'm not seriously into writing, nor have I ever studied any material that would help with story-writing and so on. I guess you could say that I'm the ultimate newbie? I have also gained tremendous respect for those that do write seriously or just write creatively at all...this was insanely hard. Writing reports and essays with facts and persuasion? No problem. Writing literature review (amateur style for uni)? Done. Writing a story? Gah...so dead.

Regardless, if anyone read this, I hope that you enjoyed what my mind decided to muddle about with. Have a pleasant day, guys~