Devi: Thanks for the reviews, guys! :D
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I'm not that good!
Sakura awoke early the next morning, Kenji wrapped up in her arms; he had had a nightmare about snakes again and crawled in at two in the morning. Sakura smiled gently, kissed him on the forehead, and then quietly got out of bed. She walked quietly down the hallway into the bathroom and splashed her face with cold water. She had cried silently last night and her eyes were paying dearly now. She took a shuddering breath and held onto the edge of the sink, steadying herself.
She didn't want to go live with Sasuke; she didn't want to face him. She didn't want to face the consequences of a one night stand. Sakura took one more deep breath before turning the shower on. She was lost in her own world and didn't notice when Kenji came in the bathroom. He noticed how she had silent tears at the corner of her eyes and felt tears well up in his eyes. He didn't like seeing his mommy crying- she's too strong for that.
"Mommy?" She snapped her head up and quickly wiper her eyes before smiling at her son. Her son. Not his.
"Yeah, baby?" She knelt down in front of him and quickly ran up to her, wrapping his arms around her neck.
She was slightly startled, but quickly hugged him back, her shower forgotten.
"I love you." He whispered into her neck, and she held onto him tighter.
"I love you, too, baby boy. Tons and tons." She felt tears prick her eyes but held them at bay.
She could do this. She could face Sasuke and all her consequences because no matter what, one amazing thing had come out of all this; her son. He was worth everything that had happened and what would happen.
After a few seconds more, Sakura put a smile on her face and pulled back; "Now, Kenji, I told you how we're moving today, right?" He nodded; she had told him after he woke up again last night.
"Yes, mommy."
"Alright, well I need you to go and pack a sleeping bag for tonight, ok? Make sure to grab extra underwear and clothes!" She shouted out to him as he ran into his room. She smiled lightly and quickly got into her extremely hot shower.
She sighed as the water relaxed the tense muscles in her body. If she could, Sakura would live in the shower for the rest of her time. She was fast as she took her shower, not sure if she liked her son running around the house without supervision.
She quickly got dressed and found her son in his room, playing with his race cars and running around the room. She smiled sweetly, and leaned slightly against his door frame.
She watched him for a few minutes more before heading into her, leaving the door open. She sighed as she spotted the boxes in her room; One of the Anbu must have dropped it off...
She groaned and quickly started packing her room. Her trinkets, photos, and other accessories were packed away in the first box. She looked at the clock still on her wall and groaned. It was already ten. That took her an hour, and she still had over half of her room, plus her bathroom, to pack. Not to mention the rest of the house. She sighed in defeat and called her friends.
This was going to be an all day thing.
Sakura laughed as Tenten told her another joke and quickly sealed up her box. Neji, Tenten, Naruto, Hinata, Ino, Shikamaru, and Kiba had all come over to help her back and she was grateful for the help. The girls took the bathroom, Kitchen, and bedrooms while the men took care of all the furniture. All the kids had headed over to the Nara household to be babysat by Shikamaru's mom and Temari.
"So..." Sakura waited for Ino to finish, "How are you doing, Sakura?"
Sakura sighed and set down the shampoo bottle. She looked up to see all the women looking at her, concerned.
"Ok, I guess. I just..." She groaned in frustration and pulled at her hair, "I just know that this is going to be hard and I'm going to have to pay dearly for the consequences...but..." Sakura smiled as she thought of Kenji, "It's going to be all worth it in the end."
She was suddenly attacked in a bear hug and looked up to see Tenten hugging her tightly. Sakura laughed and hugged her back, and soon Ino and Hinata had joined in. They were all laughing as they had a group hug, and Sakura let out a few happy tears, knowing she always had her friends there to help.
"Oi! How come we're doing all the hard labor and you guys are in here having a group hug!? I want in on it, too!" Naruto quickly jumped into the group and the girls laughed and squealed as he yelled about how he was jealous that they hadn't invited him.
"OI! I WANT IN!" Kiba was the next to join as he squeezed the life out of them all. Akimaru had started to lick them all and Sakura's sides hurt from laughing so hard. It was a nice, warm feeling, having everyone she loved dearly around her.
"Tch, troublesome." Everyone turned their head to see Neji and Shikamaru standing in the door way.
"Oh, shut it! You love us and you know it!" Ino called back. Shikamaru rolled his eyes but smirked nonetheless. Neji had a small smile on his face and everyone dispersed from the group hug.
"Alright, let's get a move on towards my new personal hell- I mean house!" Everyone snickered, glad to see Sakura trying to make light of it.
Several Anbu met them outside at three, as promised, and they all followed. Sakura had no idea where her new house was going to be, but she didn't think too much of it until they ended up in the old Uchiha district. Sakura swallowed, and looked around her nervously. Everyone else was tense, too, and they all watched Sakura to see her reaction. They had obviously cleaned the place up, seeing as how it looked like a brand new district. But, to Sakura, it was a dead place.
Leaves rustled in the wind, signs creaked, and dust flecks hit her cheeks on occasion. There was no life- it was simply put, hollow. No one, except for the 14 ninja at the entrance, was to be seen. Sakura sighed, closed her eyes, and continued onward. She looked behind her, and motioned for the head Anbu to lead her to her new house.
After everyone visibly relaxed, conversations started up again. Sakura paid them no mind, too busy focusing on the empty houses and shops she passed. She wanted to see it alive, though. It was beautiful as it was, but Sakura could only imagine how beautiful it would be full of life and love. She sighed in sympathy, and quietly looked at the path ahead of her. She could see the Uchiha Manor sitting in the middle of all of the district and felt awed by how grand it was. She silently wondered if that was where they were going to be staying, but quickly disregarded the thought. They wouldn't be as so cruel to put Uchiha in that situation...would they?
She then shrugged and continued to follow. After five minutes, they reached where she was going to be living for a while, and it stunned her. It wasn't the Uchiha Manor, but it was a close second. It was grand in size, and had beautiful decor. There was a black iron gate leading to the entrance, and a pond in the front. Sakura trees were all around the yard, and green grass swayed in the breeze. A cobblestone path led to the front porch, which, Sakura noticed, was a wrap around porch.
She pinched herself to make sure this wasn't a dream. She was happy when pain shot up her arm where she pinched. She could faintly hear someone chuckle and smiled lightly. Sure, it'd be Hell living with Sasuke, but this was her dream home and it would make it a little less miserable.
She watched as the gates were opened and slowly walked towards the front door, her friends following closely behind; if the outside looked this amazing, they couldn't wait to see the inside. She held her hand out for the key and it was quickly handed to her.
Sakura was beyond speechless as she entered the house. It was gorgeous, and unlike any mansion/house Sakura had ever seen. It was large, yet home-like. A staircase was on the right and led up to a balcony of sorts and Sakura could faintly see four doors. Underneath the stairs was a hallway that led to the washroom. On the left was the dining room and a closed off section, which led to the kitchen. There was another door on the left of the dining room that led down to the basement and a hallway leading to one side of the wrap around porch. Sakura could see the backyard through two sliding glass doors behind the dining table and was amazed by the view.
"You lucky twit! I'm beyond jealous right now!" Tenten exclaimed. She set down the couple of boxes she was carrying and ran up the stairs. A few seconds later and she yelled back; "YOU HAVE A HOT TUB BATH! I HATE YOU SO MUCH RIGHT NOW!"
Everyone laughed, with the exception of Neji, who chuckled lightly at his wife. She quickly came back down the stairs and Sakura laughed as she pouted.
"Looks good, doesn't it? The furniture, I mean." Everyone looked over at the door and saw Temari with the kids.
"Yeah, it's beautiful! Don't tell me, you picked it out?" Sakura asked.
Temari chuckled, "Not by myself, no. Ino would kill me if I had."
"Guilty as charged!" Ino chimed in.
The woman laughed and Sakura was suddenly attacked by tiny arms and limbs.
"Eep!" She looked down to see three kids on top of her.
Suki Uzumaki, Mei Hyuga, and her very own Kenji Haruno. Temari smirked; "They're excited to see the new house."
"Auntie Sakura! Can I spend da night~?" Suki.
"No! I wanna spend da night!" Mei.
"Mommy, mommy! Guess what I did!?"
All three continued to talk very loudly and tried to outdo the other.
"OI! Chipmunks! Who wants to help me with Akamaru!?" Kiba called.
"Me!" Suki and Kenji quickly followed after Kiba but Mei saw her opportunity and clung onto Sakura.
"Can I pwease spend da night?" She gave her best puppy dog eyes and Sakura couldn't help but laughed light heartedly.
"I'll talk to your mommy and daddy about it, ok?" That seemed to be a good enough answer, for she quickly joined Kiba and the others outside.
"Kids sure do love you, Sakura." Naruto commented, and Sakura laughed.
"Yeah."
"OI! NO! STOP!" They all snapped their attention to the people outside and laughed when they saw the three kids terrorizing Kiba with a hose.
"That's my girl!" Naruto boasted loudly and chuckles were heard throughout the room.
"Well, shall we finish getting your stuff seeing as how the Anbu already left?"
Sakura sighed but nodded at Temari's suggestion. "Let's get this show on the road."
Three hours later and Sakura was officially moved in. The whole thing had been a fiasco, that's for sure. Ino had to make sure everything was pretty inside, Naruto was Naruto, and Kiba had sprayed them all with the hose after he got it back from the kids.
But, Sakura enjoyed the time she spent with friends and wouldn't have had it any other way.
"Mommy!" She looked up from her spot on the couch and saw Kenji and Mei standing by the front door.
"Dere's someone here!" (There's someone here!) Mei pointed at the door, the other hand holding onto her stuffed rabbit.
Sakura groaned and slowly got up. An impatient knock was heard and Sakura yelled, "Hold it! I'm coming!"
She threw the door open to come face-to-face with an Anbu mask.
"Sakura Haruno, we are here to deliver Sasuke Uchiha." The way he said it made it sound like the Uchiha was a package.
Sakura sighed and stepped aside, letting them inside, guarding the children behind her legs. They both clung to pants and peeked from out behind and watched as the famous Uchiha traitor walked through the door, hands bound by metal.
He cast them a quick and cold look. They instantly shrunk further into Sakura. Said woman could feel them shiver and looked down to see them clinging to her for dear life. She picked Mei up and held Kenji closely to her side. It seemed to calm them down somewhat as they watched the five Anbu sit him down on the leather couch. He didn't seem perturbed in the least and that slightly annoyed them all. He could at least show some remorse.
Sakura quickly shut the door and led Kenji by the hand to the front of the room. Sakura stood proudly in front of Sasuke and glared harshly at him. He didn't even so much as flinch, which pissed Sakura off more.
After a few seconds, Sakura nodded to the captain Anbu and he undid Sasuke's shackles. Sasuke just let his hands drop to his sides and stared at the woman in front of him. She had two children clinging to her and noticed that Kenji was glaring at him. Sasuke was slightly taken aback at the harsh glare from the child but otherwise was unaffected.
"I'll say this one time and one time only; You are not to be alone with these children. I do not trust you in the slightest and I am only here because it is my assignment. I'm sure you already know that the Anbu will be in and around this house at all times, but there is something you should be aware of;" She got a deadly look in her eyes, "If you so much as lay a threatening finger on my son, or on any of the children, I can guarantee that you will never be able to reproduce again. I will castrate you in the most inhumane way possible. Do I make myself clear, Uchiha?" Sakura spit his name in disdain and internally congratulated herself when she saw him flinch.
"Hn." A tick appeared on Sakura's forehead but she quickly let it go. Whatever. That was as close as she would get to a yes.
"Wolf, I would appreciate if one of your men would stay inside tonight with us. He can take the guest bedroom." The captain Anbu nodded and sent the man to his right up the stairs.
"We will be outside, Haruno-sama. Tomorrow morning at eight, a new Anbu team will be here. Alert us if something goes wrong." And then they were gone.
Sasuke was watching her with a blank expression and Sakura turned on her heel, the kids with her.
"Auntie Sakura, he scares me." Even though the little brown haired girl had whispered, Sasuke still heard her. He pretended not to care, but it slightly stung.
Sakura smiled lovingly down at the two kids when they reached the top of the stairs, and answered; "It's ok, sweetie. I won't let him do anything bad to either of you. You trust me, right?" Both kids nodded, "See? Then everything will be fine! Now, let's go get changed and go to bed!"
"Awwww!" They groaned at the same time and Sakura laughed lightly. Sasuke watched as they disappeared and sat there for a few minutes more before getting up.
He scanned the house and took perimeter.
(Sakura's POV)
I watched as Mei and Kenji played and ran around the giant room. They were laughing and giggling and I was glad that at least someone in this house was relaxed because I sure wasn't.
I sighed and pulled my long hair into a bun on top of my head before settling down in the rocking chair in the corner of the room. Kenji had brought most of his toys into my room and now both children were running around the master bedroom, making a mess. I yawned and closed my eyes for a few seconds.
Kenji looked up and saw his mom asleep. He signaled to Mei to be quiet and said girl nodded. They quietly got up and headed towards the door. After they had successfully snuck out, they headed towards the kitchen.
"I want cookies!" Mei stated rather loudly and Kenji was quick to shush her.
"We have to be quiet or mommy will get mad!" Mei gasped and put her hands up to her mouth before nodding.
They both turned towards the cabinets and saw the cookie jar sitting on top of them. Kenji groaned in annoyance but quickly left to grab his bench. Mei was drooling as she looked at the cookie jar and imagined the cookies. Kenji returned quickly and grunted as he tried to get atop the counter. Mei quietly cheered him on and stood on her tiptoes to see the top of the counter.
Kenji wobbled as he stood fully and Mei gasped. "Kenji!" Again, she was rather loud.
"Sh!" He steadied himself and scolded the younger girl. She frowned and crossed her arms but was quiet as he tried to reach the cookies.
His fingers barely brush the middle of the cabinet and sighed in frustration. He tried jumping but miscalculated where he would land and a huge crash was heard.
"AH!"
"KENJI!"
Devi: Wow...this is the longest chapter I have ever written...o.o Lemme know what y'all think! And sorry for any mistakes! I was asleep when I wrote this...I'm not kidding...I typed a whole paragraph with my eyes closed I was so tired...XD Review and fave and yada yada yada! Thanks guys:)