Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto, Kakashi, Sakura or anyone from the show, manga or any other venue. Totally wish I did though. Then I'd have a bigger house....a bigger mess. . .and a bevy of people to clean it up for me. Oh wow. Now that's a drool worthy dream!

Author Notes: Ok folks I'll admit I didn't expect this story to take off as well as the Kakashi/Naruto stories do for me or even as well as my angst driven stories but come on. If you don't review how am I supposed to know if it's worth continuing? Maybe I listed it wrong in the summary? Maybe it isn't any good? I just at this point don't know. Do you want the story to continue? You have to tell me folks. Reading minds may be a Yamanaka technique but I do believe one needs to be a blue-eyed ice blond to be a Yamanaka. I'm a black haired green eyed witch so I don't qualify.

Sakura's Downfall

Chapter Three: Background Information

"It's safe, Naruto. You can drop the henge now. No one is here," Kakashi said.

A sigh and a shimmer later and Naruto stood in her orange and black suit as much a female as everyone thought she was a male. "Thank Kami," she said as she ran her fingers over her head scratching the itches out from the way it had to be bound up while she was in the village in her henged form. She turned to where Kakashi was watching her stretch the kinks out. He loved watching her stretch every time they returned home.

Giving him a quirky smile, she asked, "Enjoying the show?"

"Always," he replied, taking his mask off. He didn't need it when it was just him and Naruto. He stripped her of her jacket at the same time he pulled his vest off. They fell onto the bed and enjoyed the fact that they were together and safe from harm. Well, as safe as Naruto could ever be. Now that they were home again, he could help her relax even more and maybe they would both lose a little of their anger with Sakura over her thoughtlessness. Stroking her body, he reveled in the sensation of finally being able to sate his desires.

One of the things they had found out when the Old Hokage died was that he had been powering a very strong henge on Naruto. The henge concealed from everyone, including her, that she was in fact a girl and not the boy she thought she was. Kakashi had wondered why, when he and several other jounin had gone to assist the Hokage, the old man had insisted Kakashi go to where Naruto was and prepare to shield the child against all observers. His confusion lasted only until the old man died and the henge fell. Then he understood immediately why he, rather than anyone else, had been sent to her side. Luckily, the only ones who had seen her were the team from Sand and they were so grateful for what she did for Gaara they would never reveal her secret to anyone. He got the exhausted Naruto to Jiraiya and as soon as the old lecher saw the girl he understood immediately what had occurred. They'd hidden Naruto at Kakashi's place and both went to make immediate plans for her protection.

At that point in time, there were only five people, other than the Sand Trio, who knew for certain Naruto was a girl and not the boy she had grown up as. Jiraiya, because it had fallen to him to take her away from Konoha and get her used to the big secret and why it was safer for her to be a boy. Tsunade knew, as did Shizune, because they took care of her medical needs and saw to it all her questions about being a female, that would have made Kakashi want to crawl out of his skin and die before answering and would have had Jiraiya answering incorrectly or pervertedly, were answered honestly. They also took care of purchasing those things girls need that no boy can ever get if he doesn't have a girl in his life. Not without taking a whole load of crap or starting a round of rumors they would never be free from anyway. Shizune had worked with the girl Naruto on her taijutsu and throwing so if ever the henge should drop in battle she would not be caught flatfooted. Jiraiya and Shizune had put her through more than one battle where Jiraiya had deliberately dropped her henge while she fought Shizune just to make sure she would think nothing of it and automatically adjust her throws, punches and kicks for the new form.

Once Jiraiya had returned Naruto to Konoha, and taken on the council over her welfare, Naruto had moved in with Kakashi for her own safety. Kakashi had cleaned out Naruto's old apartment of everything he thought Naruto would want and moved it into his place for safe keeping while the teen was gone. He didn't know if it would be a male Naruto, who returned to the village, or a female one, but he knew either way Naruto was no longer safe to live alone. Nor did he want Naruto to continue to live in that dump. Everyone in the village thought they were involved in a homosexual relationship which didn't bother either of them in the least since they knew they weren't and they each knew exactly why they couldn't tell anyone the truth.

The homosexual thing had come out when Kakashi got tired of the whispered comments of horny teenage girls and told them to go away. He flat out told the girls in no uncertain terms Naruto was taken and always had been. It was nothing more than the truth but the girls didn't know that. Kakashi had been engaged to Naruto in an arranged marriage on the day of her birth so that she would have a safe and stable relationship where she was not sought after like a prize on a shelf in a carnival booth for her inheritance. Her parents had set it up as soon as they knew they were to have a little girl, and knew she would be in great demand by guys and clans who wished to use her to improve their standing in the world. Those people would not care in the least about Naruto or what was in her best interest. All they would see was a possible way of improving their own clan or family. To them, the Demon in her seal might possibily be enough to grant her children a new bloodline allowing them to propel themselves from a mere family to clan status. Add to the mix the fact that she was the sole survivior of a Hokage and attaching her to an established family would bring prestige and honor not deserved to whichever family or clan managed the feat. Both Minato and Kushina had understood that but then they weren't impressionable children either. Both understood politics and human nature. So by choosing her husband themselves, they had at least protected her from being used in that manner.

When Naruto had returned and the girls had gotten a good look at him, they had formed a fan-club. The village girls had been at a loss when the Last Uchiha had taken off leaving one of their number in what could have been a very bad position. So when Naruto had returned they took another look at him. For the first time they actually saw the blond as he was and they liked what they saw. They liked it a lot. The fact that he was polite and always cheerful with the girls so long as they obeyed the boundaries he set did nothing to deter them. Those girls who breached his boundaries were set upon by the rest of the club and taught the error of their ways very quickly. Naruto himself had set the boundaries and treated the girls like people, never disrespecting them nor encouraging them in their pursuit of him. He listened to what they had to say and did his best to subtly encourage them to look elsewhere for a boyfriend. One by one he built the girls up and sent them off to pursue the life they really wanted for themselves as soon as he found out what it was they really wanted to do. Kakashi understood what Naruto was doing but it still pissed him off that he couldn't take Naruto anywhere without a horde of girls following them everywhere they went.

The only one that surprised him was Hinata. She not only followed Naruto everywhere, much like the fan-girls did, but she helped Kakashi get rid of the tail when he needed alone time with Naruto. However, she herself never made a move on him or requested anything from him outside the occasional spar or assistance with her jutsu. Kakashi had watched enough of those meetings to know what she asked for from Naruto was exactly what she wanted. She had no sexual interest in Naruto and it puzzled him as to why she would devote so much time to following him everywhere he went. A conversation with her revealed she had known since they were eight that Naruto wore a henge and it hadn't taken her long into her teenage years to realize what the henge was for or why Naruto would need it more than anyone else. She had decided then to make sure he always had willing help should help be needed. Hinata told Kakashi, it was just what a true friend did and she was Naruto's true friend.

But after Kakashi had finally gotten fed up with the fan-club and told them all to go find another idol, he had taken Naruto and Hinata, to Tsunade and growled at her to just perform the marriage ceremony for them as he was damn tired of waiting and wading through a mass of horny teenaged girls every time Naruto left the apartment. Hinata had laughed at him and agreed that the duo did need to be married before Kakashi killed someone for coming on to Naruto-kun. And so in a very private ceremony, witnessed by Jiraiya, as Naruto's godfather, and Hinata, as a member of the elite families of the village, and Shizune, Naruto and Kakashi were married by Tsunade. Naruto was thirteen then which was young but allowable since it was arranged by her parents at her birth and since she was a ninja.

No one in the village questioned their relationship. Ninja were known to take love and sex wherever they could get it so long as they were not on a mission though there were missions where having sex was part of the life. They worked hard and played even harder but they were never really relaxed or off guard from the moment they took to the field and that was as soon as they put on their headbands. So it was understood that whenever they were open about an affair they were involved in, it was worth your life to express disapproval over it. If the couple themselves didn't make you pay for it, then chances were good their friends would. Their lives were too short for normal rules and given the unique qualities that made them successful as ninja, children of established or acclaimed ninja were highly sought after even in large clans such as the Hyuuga. Even a child who claimed a missing-nin as a parent was not considered to be a bad thing so long as they were being raised carefully in a ninja village. After all, it did take some skill to get a listing in a bingo book and the higher the bingo book ranking the more welcomed the child was. Of course it went without saying the higher the rank of the criminal parent, the more watched the child would be but the child was still a welcome addition to a ninja village.

The only thing that surprised anyone about their relationship was that the Hokage had not made Kakashi leave a deposit of his seed at the fertility bank for a future generation of Hatake. No one was really surprised that she did not require it of Naruto. After all, everyone now knew of the demon behind Naruto's seal and no one knew how that demon might twist or manipulate the seed of the teen.

That was the one thing the council had done while Jiraiya and Naruto had been gone to get Tsunade and return her to the Hokage position that none of them had been happy over. The council had rescinded the old Hokage's law so the truth could be revealed and told the village they could now tell their children the truth of Naruto's existence. They were thinking they would gain the support of the younger generation in denouncing the teen. They had been shocked and surprised to find just the opposite had occurred as the kids Naruto's age had taken on their suppositions and blasted them for their ignorance seven ways from Sunday. The teens had pretty much called all of them stupid ignorant fools who did not deserve the sacrifice of the Yondaime let alone Naruto's sacrifice if they were that damn stupid. The teens had also taken the younger children to task when they heard them blindly parroting their parents and asking them to think things through. In each case, the teens had told the children how seals worked. Demonstrations of how storage seals worked rebounded around the village until all the children understood the concept. Glasses of water and pebbles finished the task of showing the stupid just how very stupid they were. And in the Academy storage scrolls became standard teaching material in the introduction to seals lectures.

Even Sakura blasted her Kaasan over the issue, pointing out her stupidity and telling her if she wanted to despise the blond for being stupid or loud that was one thing but to blame him because he was keeping a demon at bay, which he clearly was since the village was still standing and not one person had been killed by the demon in his lifetime, made her the idiot. Haruno Kiku had sat there blinking in shock as her normally compliant and gullible daughter called her an idiotic fool and very logically pointed out exactly why she was that same idiotic fool. Sakura was righter than she knew. After everything the council had done or authorized be done to the jinchuuriki they were damn lucky the village was still standing. And if Naruto were half the demon they claimed he was the place would not be. The council would be able to point to headstones of people killed in the last thirteen years due to the demon instead of missions or from breaking the Sandaime's law about the jinchuuriki. Kiku had over the next few months come to change her opinion on the blond boy.

And so by the time Naruto returned to the village with the new Hokage in tow, there was no doubt the younger generation knew Naruto was more important to their safety than Sasuke had ever been and exactly why he was more important, though Sakura did still believe Sasuke was more important than Naruto was since he had a dojutsu and, demon seal or not, Naruto didn't. The older generation still hated him but more were ashamed of themselves over their hatred due to the badgering of their children and grandchildren who never relented in their persecution of them. The sensei of the teens had just stood back smiling proudly as their genin and chunnin took on the stupidity of the village and beat everyone over the head with it until no one could deny it any more.

But all of this had been revealed in only a few weeks. Jiraiya and Naruto had only stayed in the village for a few weeks because Jiraiya didn't think Naruto was mature enough to be a proper wife for Kakashi and he also felt that the change in the village's perception of the teen was too drastic for the kid to handle well. So they left again as quickly as Jiraiya and Tsunade could set it up. Kakashi didn't like it but he did understand. Naruto needed time to grow up and fully accept the changes. The only thing that had been established between them was that Naruto, male form or female form, had no problem living with Kakashi. She had told the jounin even before the henge had dropped she had felt a connection to him that confused her but she wouldn't explain what she meant by that at all.

As for the villagers, their feelings towards the teen were fluctuating wildly due to the actions of Uchiha Sasuke. Part of them felt it was Naruto's fault the Uchiha had fled the village to take training under the Snake Sennin but yet there were others who felt the boy could not have known the thoughts in Sasuke's head and therefore was not in any way responsible for what he had done. Demon seal or not, he wasn't a Yamanaka, as Ino and Inoichi had pointed out more than once, and therefore, mind reading was not something he could do. They were also divided over whether or not Naruto had done his best to return the dark haired boy. All in all though it was sending Naruto a very confused message and the teen was slowly going bonkers trying to figure things out.

They were gone for close to three years because Jiraiya didn't want her to return until she was grown enough to be the woman Kakashi needed her to be. Married or not, Naruto was still a child in many ways and Kakashi needed a grown-up as his wife. He had taken her to Wave and had Tsunami continue her education in how to be a female and then he had taken her to Snow so Yuki could refine her behavior even more. He doubted Kakashi would ever let Naruto take an espionage mission where she would need to be herself but still he wanted his Goddaughter to know all the proper social behavior no matter the situation. he personally would beat the crap out of anyone foolish enough to demean his Goddaughter by sending her on an infiltration mission as herself but he knew as often as he was away from the village he more than likely would not learn of it until it had already taken place. That wouldn't save the fool who ordered it but still.

It had taken Kakashi a few months to figure out what the connection must have been that Naruto had mentioned but once he had, he'd been on cloud nine waiting for word of their return. It was a very happy Copy-nin who saw them re-enter the village. He had followed them to the tower wanting to hear about their adventure as well as making sure she came home as soon as she was released to do so. Jiraiya had simply smirked at them, knowing exactly why the Copy-nin was coming with them. That night, Kakashi had given Naruto a very private and heartfelt welcome back greeting of his own.

A routine had been established so that Naruto could be herself in the apartment and they could have a normal relationship without having to fear discovery by others. But outside of the apartment she continued to be the blond headed foxy boy everyone knew. Of their team, only Kakashi knew Naruto was not a boy which really said everything about how they felt about Sakura and her ability to not only keep a secret but her ability to understand why it might be necessary to keep such a secret. Even Yamato and Sai were not told the truth of Naruto. Neither Kakashi nor Naruto saw any reason to tell them since the henge was damn near impossible to break so long as both were present to keep it active. Even if one was distracted the other could keep an eye on it. Naruto wasn't henging due to any kind of real fear from the citizens of the village. It was more along the lines of what the world at large did not know, they did not need to know and so long as the Akatsuki was still active, and looking to capture him for his prisoner, there was more reason to keep whatever secrets he could keep from them for as long as possible.

But now Kakashi knew whatever Naruto might have said about Sakura's behavior on this last mission her betrayal of him had hurt. Of the entire team, only Kakashi could have hurt the blond more than her actions had.

"Naruto," said Kakashi after they were sated for the moment. "How angry are you with Sakura? I know you understand why she did what she did so I know you aren't really angry at her for giving in to her desires."

"You're right. It isn't that. She'd be less than human if she'd been able to refuse him what he wanted, given what he was telling her. I do wish she had shown more pride in herself and at least demanded to be treated as a human being but I do understand why she let him do that to her. I'm angry because she didn't even attempt to secure our safety and, while I can understand her disregard of my life, I can not, and will not, feel the same way about her disregard of everyone else. No matter how that is sliced or diced it is wrong. She didn't even try to check for the presence of his team. And though she said he told her he left his team behind he said no such thing. He didn't speak to her at all, Kashi. You know damn well he didn't. She had no idea where his team was or what they were doing and no matter how much she wants to deny it she does know full well they are his team, handpicked by him to aid him in achieving his goal. They are not people assigned to him by Orochimaru or anyone else. He chose them and she knows it."

"For all she knew, Sasuke was merely distracting her so the team could get to each of us as we were sleeping. I may forgive a lot of crap, Kashi, but someone endangering you like that for such a petty reason as that? No. I won't forgive her for that. She knows better. She could have come back to camp, to awaken us, only to find, while she was getting her fantasies answered, her team was dying. And we all know, because of Furball, while I would most likely have survived, I can not do medical jutsu on anyone no matter how much they mean to me. But even worse was the fact that even after he left her, she still didn't spare a thought for us. She sat there in the tree and got herself off since he hadn't bothered. Then continued her watch as if nothing had happened and said nothing of it. She had three days while we traveled back here to tell the truth of that watch but she didn't. I even let her know I did know by mentioning the bath beads Hi no Sato sells and still she played innocent. Those beads are designed to cover the scent of recent sexual activity and she knows I know it because I explained it to her once before when we were younger and Anko had told me about them. I doubt if it even entered her head what the true cost of her choice could have been until we were in front of Baa-chan."

"Actually I doubt if she understands that even now," admitted Kakashi. "She never really listens to you and none of the rest of us actually told her. For all her brains, we all know she doesn't exactly think things through very well. I know you said it pretty bluntly when you were talking with her in front of Tsunade-sama but Sakura can be very dense when she wants to be."

"Hai. I know but I don't want to go after Sasuke any more, Kashi. To tell the truth, I have only ever agreed to chase him for her. Well, except for the first time. Then it was for all of us but since then. . ." She shook her head and snuggled further into his side.

"Good. I don't want him back here either. I never did. I knew from the start it was his choice to take off. He wasn't being controlled by the seal. He had a choice and he made it. I only ran after you because the village sent you after him and I knew in his mindset of the time he would try to kill you if he could. I didn't think you were ready to kill him in order to live yourself. Not for this village, the Hokage you brought us or for me. Without you. . ." He shudderred and left the past behind again. "I know Tsunade has been carefully reminding the village of all the negative crap they had to deal with before he left because of the favoritism of the council towards him. She's been preparing the populace for the announcement that Sasuke is no more welcome to return than Itachi is and for much the same reasons."

"I figured you'd be a little more upset over me giving up on him," Naruto said looking up at her husband curiously.

"Not since he put a chidori through your chest. You, I value. I always have even when I wasn't showing it. I knew even then Sasuke was the risk, to not just our team but to the village so I poured all my effort into turning him around but I knew neither you nor Sakura were a risk. You are loyal and true to your friends and your special people. Sasuke will only ever be loyal and true to himself. He will never value another for all that he did give Sakura her child. He will never love her or care for her or the child he gave her. For that reason, she will not be allowed to raise the child either."

"Huh? Why not? It is her child also."

"Because she would use the child just the same as the council used Sasuke. The child will become just another stepping stone for her to a position of power and influence she hasn't really earned. She would spoil it just as the council spoilt him. And she would point to the child as proof of Sasuke's true feelings for her and the village, based on the fact that he chose her, never understanding exactly why he did choose to use the jutsu on her rather than another girl," Kakashi explained, nuzzling Naruto's neck.

"He never did see her as a viable ninja. And you're right. She'll never understand that. But she's also wrong if she thinks he'd ever marry her. He won't. She is neither a civilian nor a viable ninja in his opinion. He told me once, when we first began sparring together, that he would never choose a kunoichi as a wife but he didn't want to explain why. I think it embarrassed him. So I checked into it. Research showed me the only time a Uchiha male married a kunoichi was if she was a threat to their own prowess in battle. Example is Sasuke's parents. Mikoto was a fierce kunoichi and becoming well known for her ability with the dojutsu on the battlefield. Fugaku was being overshadowed as people started noticing her. Since he was the head of the clan, and supposed to be the best of them, the clan arranged the marriage. What Sakura doesn't get is once a kunoichi marries an Uchiha, they are no longer a ninja. It's in the bylaws. But back to the point. Sasuke would only use that jutsu on someone he had no respect for. He would not use it on Hinata, Ino, Tenten or any other kunoichi he valued in any way. Only Sakura did he perceive as weak and useless as a kunoichi." Naruto quirked her lips and added, "But the plus side is he wouldn't have used it on a civilian either. In his own way, he does have a sense of honor. He will not destroy a civilian girl like that or dishonor a serious kunoichi." Her hands were ghosting over Kakashi's skin and distracting him from what she was saying as were his nuzzling and questing hands.

Kakashi nodded. He hadn't known about the bylaws thing but it didn't surprise him to find Naruto did. The kid had spent more than a few hours at the tower during his early childhood. "You always did understand him better than anyone else in the village. As for her, it's really her own fault he couldn't see her as a serious kunoichi. She always acted like a love struck girl whenever he was around and failed to let him see her training and skill had increased over the years."

"True but now the council will make it clear they no longer need the Uchiha returned to the village since he gave her his child. Which does fulfill his obligations to the village since he used a jutsu to make sure she will bear the child. Since the dojutsu lives on in the child, even if the child does not gain the eyes itself, he has no need to return."

"How do you know so much about the jutsu?"

"Furball. He was laughing his butt off as soon as she came into camp the next morning. Used my eyes to look her over for any injuries that might not be readily apparent."

"Poor Sakura. She's in for a rude awakening." Kakashi wasn't really paying a lot of attention to the conversation any more. His hands were playing with his wife's body and he was seriously more interested in rekindling her inner fires than Sasuke and Sakura drama.

Naruto was aware of what he wanted and she was definitely getting interested as well. But there was more she wanted to say while she had him pinned down. She did part her legs for his wandering fingers though. He smirked as he noted the movement and obliged her by sending one hand there and dragging a groan from her before she whispered, "Very. She used Shino too, don't forget. His clan may not be openly perceived as being as noble as the Hyuuga or the Uchiha but they are still well known and, in their own way, every bit as noble as the dojutsu clans. What she did to him will come back to bite her in the backside as well." She moved her hips in time with his fingers, clutching his shoulders as desire coiled through her belly.

"Well, I know one thing this decision of yours frees us to do that I have wanted to do ever since Tsunade married us," Kakashi said, tilting her chin up and kissing her tenderly. It didn't stay tender for long as need drove them deeper, each looking for more contact and the fingers between her legs dove inside her body.

"What?" she asked, panting when they broke for air. She was writhing under him, small keening sounds mixing with her panting as his fingers drove her need to match his. He paused in his speaking to nuzzle at her breasts before sliding back up her body to her mouth.

"I want a baby, Naruto." She stilled as the words penetrated her mind. He stopped stroking her body to impress on her how very serious he was. "We've been married for four years. I want to see your belly swelling with my child. To know we will leave something of ourselves behind for those who will have to survive without us should we get a mission we can not triumph over. I want to know that everything we've worked for will go to someone we chose to leave it to." Before kissing her again as she wished him to he told her, "And now would be the best time."

Neither spoke again for the next half an hour or so as Naruto made her wish for less talk and more action very clear. But eventually the conversation was resumed. Kakashi wanted her to know he really did want her to have his child now.

"Since the village will be concentrating on Sakura, no one will notice if we tell everyone Naruto left on another field trip with Jiraiya. You don't have his whisker marks and though the eyes are the same, there's enough differences in your hair that, except for a few of the clans, no one will think twice about you. We take some of the most dangerous missions the village gets. The longer we wait to have our own child the more risk we take of leaving everything we've worked for to the council's tender mercies. I don't want that. I want to leave everything to our kids; to know my Otousan's life works as well as Minato-Sensei and Kushina-sama's will go to our kids instead of into the council's greedy hands. Plus, if we have kids they can't cover up your existence. We'll teach our children why they shouldn't let anyone disrespect you."

"Um. . .I think you are underestimating how my group will see you being involved with a girl while I am supposedly gone, Love. They will not take it well at all. And though you are correct about Kiba, Shino, Neji and Hinata knowing the truth, the others will not."

"So we get Tsunade-sama to tell them but swear them to secrecy. I want us to have a child, Naruto. Our child. And since Sakura will not be allowed to take missions until the new Uchiha is born, it will be believed easily by the village that Naruto left with Jiraiya for more training as his apprentice while you take the time off to have our baby."

She thought about it and finally said, "I'm not really ready to quit being a ninja yet and the Akatsuki is still after me but I have to admit I don't want to die without leaving something of us behind me. Nor do I want to face living without something of yours should you die on me but if I am taking time off so are you. I don't care what field you work in so long as it's in the village. I won't do this without you at my side. I need you here with me." She looked him in the eye. "And you have to get Tsunade-Baachan to agree. If she says no then no is the answer."

Kakashi grinned. He was overjoyed with her answer. He already knew Tsunade would agree. He'd already spoken to her about the issue and Jiraiya had already agreed to leave town until the baby was born just to provide the cover story for them. Both had been tickled pink with the idea. Truthfully it was something they'd wanted to mention themselves but the logisitcis of how to achieve it were mind-boggling and so long as it was something neither Kakashi nor Naruto had considered would be impossible to achieve. "I wouldn't have it any other way," he assured her seriously. "I would never be able to relax if I wasn't standing with you and that would be a disaster for everyone. I don't want to do any missions while you are not able to go with me." He kissed her deeply to seal the deal. "Besides, I've gotten too used to having you at my back whether we are here at home or in the field. It wouldn't feel right to be out there without you."

The next day he took Naruto to Tsunade's office and motioned for the privacy shield to be erected. Then holding Naruto so the teen wouldn't freak out on him and hurt him for talking to Tsunade before talking to her, he informed the grinning Hokage of the decision. Tsunade gave Naruto the shot that would deactivate the preventive Naruto used to keep from getting pregnant. Upon seeing the needle, Naruto turned to Kakashi, "You had this already planned out, didn't you?" He shrugged as she shook her head and Tsunade laughed.

They talked for a few more minutes while Naruto made it very clear to her Baa-chan that she was perfectly serious about Kakashi taking time off while she was confined to the village. She said, "With the Akatsuki still after me for Furball, I need him at my side and you know it. I won't be able to use my chakra as freely as I do once I do get pregnant so I have to rely on others to fight for me. No one will fight as fiercely as he will. So he takes time off too or I don't do this."

Looking at it from her point of view, Tsunade had to agree. Though both Jiraiya and Tsunade would fight tooth and nail for Naruto they had other duties as well. And the Rookie Nine would fight their hearts out to protect their orange wearing friend but they didn't know said friend was a girl and that could change everything for them. So, from Naruto's point of view, her need for Kakashi out weighed the village's need to have him doing missions. So she agreed almost laughing at Kakashi's disgusted look when she told him he could have his choice between working at the academy, here in the tower, or in the missions room. Naruto suggested he actually check with Intel instead. Tsunade looked startled and Kakashi grinned. "Baa-chan he is still the same genius he was when he was younger, you know. In Intel, decoding things and plotting strategies, is the best use of his innate intelligence. Plus, it's out of the mainstream and with everything that has occurred recently you know there'll be people who want to hold him responsible for at least some of it. In there, he won't have to deal with the fall-out or be available for the backlash."

When they left the office without even inquiring about Sakura, though mention of the situation had been made, it only made their opinion of her more than clear to the young looking Hokage. Tsunade watched them leave and softly said, "Sakura, you fool. You still have no idea just what you did or what it is going to cost you." She had hoped that they would cool off once they got some space from Sakura and continue to stand by her as they always had but Sakura had gone too far. They couldn't forgive her this time.

Tsunade was well aware of how the Aburame Clan would feel about her treatment of their Heir and she felt a sense of dread over how they would choose to handle the situation. She remembered how she had tried to tell Sakura not to get involved with the bug-boy knowing full well Sakura did not love the boy and that he deserved someone who did love him. She also had a sneaky suspicion Sakura would freak out the first time she saw him without his outer wear and realized his bugs would be partaking of the events of the wedding night but Sakura wouldn't listen. But then again she wasn't too sure Sakura had ever had any intention of actually consumating her union with Shino in the first place. It would be just like Sakura to believe she could wed someone and keep them at arm's length while controlling their every movement. For Sakura everything was a powerplay and people were mere tools that could be used to increase one's own true power or destroy someone else's.

So now Sakura was engaged to Shino and the fact that she had voluntarily had sex with another man behind his back was bad enough. He would lose face in the clan and the village over that but the fact that she was pregnant from the encounter only made it worse. That the infant was the child of a missing nin gotten on her while she was on a mission, and not through coercion or force, would force the Aburame to react in order to save Shino's honor. Not to do so would result in a loss of social position for the whole clan as it would be seen as accepting of her behavior. None of the clans would stand up for her against the retribution the Aburame's would demand as a salve to their pride and the honor she had besmirched their clan with. Ninja might be murderers and thieves at heart but they did live by a code of honor and that code would not tolerate promise breakers. A civilian might be forgiven for breaking a promise to a ninja. Doubtful but possible. But no ninja would ever be forgiven for doing so. And no matter what she said, Sakura could not deny she had broken faith with Shino.

Jiraiya poofed into her office having gotten wind of the events surrounding the return of the team from their last foray to return the Uchiha. Tsunade told him the fall-out of the mission and of Kakashi and Naruto's decision to use this event to have their own child. His reaction was joy on the decision of Naruto and Kakashi and a muttered, "Oh Dear," for the reasoning why it was being undertaken now. He told Tsunade, "I'll stick around and help you with as much of the fall-out as I can but you know Naruto and Kakashi come before that student of yours to me. You know what she did to them would have had both of them leaving anyone else who even tried it for dead in a ditch somewhere if Kakashi didn't just bury them in the ground as he did Rin so long ago when she pulled a similar stunt. And the person she betrayed her team to was actually telling her what she wanted to hear in a bonafide effort to get her to betray her team for him."

"I know. Sakura has no idea how very lucky she is to be alive. And I have no doubt the only reason she is, is because Yamato and Sai had no idea what she truly did to tick them off and Kakashi feared the council's reaction should she not make it home with the team. That and the fact that Sasuke did not make contact with the team again. I think if he had, even the council's reaction would not have saved her life after the walk she took around the perimeter of their camp the night they left Hi. Kakashi would have seen Sasuke catching up to them as her betraying the team a second time and he would have killed her for it."

"You know the council would not actually have blamed Naruto, Nade-Hime. They know what a slut Sakura is for the Uchiha. All it would have taken was Yamato confirming she had taken that walk alone and Kakashi's word that she had died in the ensuing battle. Naruto, himself, would have killed Sasuke for them and they would have claimed he killed the Uchiha for Sakura's death."

"Maybe but it was still a risk Kakashi didn't wish to take which is why she made it home."

Author Notes: Ok this is the background I felt you had to have to understand the team dynamics of the swelled Team Seven in my merry little world of Kakashi and Naruto are a perfect pair. Don't even bother to point out to me that Naruto is really a boy. She's just fooling you. Anyway, next chapter is fully in the present time stream of the story. And don't forget to review. No reviews and bad things will happen to you. I mean it. I do have these boys of mine just itching for new territory to destroy. Either I get reviews or you guys and gals get visitors of the destructive nature. The teenager will deplete your refrigerators and cabinets while the other two wreak havoc in your main rooms.