Disclaimer: Naruto is mine, yes yes mine, and I'm the queen of England, I travel on a flying cow, and I know how to breathe under water –nod vigorously- if you believed this, I think that you seriously need to stop smoking whatever substance you use –sweat drops-
I own nothing, Naruto and co are Masashi Kishimoto's property, and he didn't want to give them to me –pouts-
Warning: In this story the Wave arc never happened, I'm going to introduce its characters in the upcoming chapters, but don't be confused they have nothing to do with that arc.
Chapter three for you guys, please enjoy!
Chapter three: Destination Stone
Written by Itooshii Koneko
Betad by MrsHellman
At 6am the members of Team Seven were supposed to meet at the main gates as planned the previous day, everyone had to wear casual clothes in case they met ninjas or Ishi travelers during their trip to the village.
Sasuke was the first one to arrive at the gates – no surprise there. He was wearing black jeans and a dark blue tank top, his dark clothing was contrasting amazingly well with his pale skin, at the same time as it made him blend in well with the villagers. The only thing that made him act like a ninja was the fact that he walked like one – controlled, easy movements. He leaned on the wall and crossed his arms accentuating the features of his strong biceps. His jeans lightly tight at his thighs gave an absolutely watering view. No one would deny it, no man and definitively no woman, Sasuke was gorgeous.
Sakura was the second one to reach the main gates, and was delighted to see Sasuke already there, she knew that Naruto would be late, it wasn't very like her, but it didn't surprise her either. She checked her appearance and approached her teammate. She was wearing a white summer dress that reached her knees; it had a tight waistline to show her slim waist and was loose around her chest to make the illusion of a developed bosom. The skirt was light and swayed graciously with the cool breeze of the morning. All in all, Sakura was cute this very morning. She wanted to look good for Sasuke, really, her objective was to make Sasuke look at her from another light after this mission. She wanted to prove to him that she could be a good girlfriend, and not as annoying as she'd appeared as in younger years.
"Good morning Sasuke-kun!" she greeted him, smiling and blushing slightly, as she took in his appearance.
"Hn." Of course, he had sensed her approaching, and saw how that annoying girl was looking at him, it was obvious that she was hoping to get a reaction out of him, and he was not going to grace her with one. That girl was desperate; she could mistake anything as an acknowledgement of any form of advance coming from her. He sighed mentally, why didn't she understand that he was not interested in her? He was very much aware of the fact that she wasn't crushing on him, but rather that she truly did fancy him. It only made matters worse for the young Uchiha.
Sakura pouted as she noticed that Sasuke had barely as much as looked at her. Well, that wasn't what I was expecting from him, she thought. She tried to start a conversation with him but to no avail, so she settled down on her little green backpack waiting for her last teammate. Naruto was really late by now – over twenty minutes – and it was beginning to make her two teammates a bit worried.
After twenty-five minutes wait, Naruto came running towards them her face flushed and completely out of breath. She stopped by Sakura's side and bent down, her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath. She wasn't wearing a goofy expression as she usually did, she looked rather confused actually.
"Baka! Why are you so late? We should have been gone twenty minutes ago, you idiot!" Sakura yelled smacking her fist on Naruto's thick skill.
"O-ow! S-Sakura-chan please stop!" Naruto shouted panting and rubbing her abused head. "I'm sorry. I couldn't wake up, I-I'm really tired, I don't understand why," she explained as her eyes wandered left and right, not daring to look up at the angered woman. Sakura noticed that the blonde was a bit anxious as to why she was tired. That's when she remembered the pills. They were taking effect earlier than expected.
"Oh that must be the pills. Sorry, I should have thought about that, you all right? Do you feel any pain?" Sakura asked worriedly as she touched Naruto's head caringly.
"No, I'm just tired," Naruto reassured her teammate and backed away, not used to the caring Sakura.
"Let's go," Sasuke replied looking at Naruto. His face was emotionless but Naruto's appearance surprised him, too used to a boyish Naruto, this girly Naruto was something different. He looked away. He didn't want to think about the Dobe's look, he didn't care about that dumb girl, less alone her appearance.
Naruto was indeed looking very different. She was wearing a white blouse with two braid-like horizontal patterns under her chest accentuating her small breasts in the slightest. Since she hated skirts and dresses; she chose to wear the orange capri pants. It was simple and feminine but not too much, and it was orange. She didn't know if she looked girly enough, and like a . . . pregnant wife, so she approached Sakura and called for her with a low voice.
"Sakura-chan," she said and looked up at Sasuke to see if he was aware of their small talk.
Her teammate looked at her and asked: "What is it Naruto?"
"D-do I look . . . Are the clothes I chose for today okay?" What the hell! Why am I feeling self-conscious so suddenly?
Sakura couldn't help but giggle, Naruto was so funny when embarrassed. "Of course! We chose your clothes together, did you forget? Besides, I thought you didn't care about your look, or do you?" she asked teasingly and took a look at Naruto's hair that was in a french braid. "Oh, I didn't know you knew how to braid," she exclaimed with an arched brow. "It looks good on you."
Naruto pouted crossing her arms over her chest, and looked away, embarrassed. "Of course I can braid, but about my question, I . . . I . . . Argh! Forget it," she just didn't want to blow up their cover. She remembered yesterday that all the pregnant women were wearing oversized dresses. That must be because of their huge belly then, she guessed, but she didn't remember what the others were wearing; she was too focused on the pregnant women.
"You realized that you may scare someone looking like that?" Sasuke said smirking like the cocky bastard he was. He was the one leading the way, but wasn't far enough to miss the little chitchat between the two girls behind him. It made him smile in the slightest as he heard that Naruto – the more boyish girl in the whole village – cared about her looks.
The scandalized blonde kunoichi launched herself on Sasuke's back, she wanted to beat the shit out of that bastard; he always kept on insulting her. Said raven had been prepared for the attack but nearly lost his balance since he hadn't been prepared on the blonde actually jumping onto his back. He grabbed her legs to keep himself on his feet. "You teme!" Sakura came to the rescue and held Naruto, but it didn't stop the angry girl from shouting.
"Shut up you bastard! I wasn't asking for your opinion!"
"Calm down Naruto! Sasuke-kun didn't do anything wrong!" but Naruto kept on struggling trying to get free from Sakura's tight grasp.
"What! He insulted me again!" Naruto looked at Sakura. How can that girl take his side? She is so blind! That guy is a complete asshole, she deserves so much better.
"Fine! But don't talk to me again you prick!" Naruto said glaring at the smirking Uchiha, who was looking down at her smugly. Oh how much she wanted to wipe that smirk from his ugly face. His features were the hottest topic among females in the village, and after a while it had become very tedious to Naruto, so she really didn't care anymore. She just couldn't appreciate his looks the way the other women did.
She puffed her cheek and ran forwards to lead the way. Needless to say, that she was now in a very, very, bad mood, and wanted to express her anger by running as fast as she could.
After running up in the trees for five hours nonstop, Sakura tried to calm her teammate's temper. "Naruto, slow down!"
No reply.
"You woke up tired this morning. Don't exhaust yourself more than you already are, we're still very far from Ishi," she insisted and she noticed that Sasuke was only looking at the blonde ahead of them instead of looking at where he placed his feet.
"I'm f-fine Sakura-chan, don't w-worry," Naruto replied looking back at her teammate and smiling sheepishly; her stuttering giving her away.
She was a bit tired but didn't want to stop, she knew that if she did, she would feel the soreness of her muscles tenfold, and wouldn't be able to keep up with her teammates. The pills were beginning to kick in as well. She was feeling a bit more tired than usual – as if she was running out of chakra really fast, and there was a pelvic soreness growing up since half an hour ago and it didn't look like it was going to dissipate any time soon.
Sasuke and Sakura were closely following her and saw how slow she was becoming; she was also making faces from time to time. That girl was too stubborn for her own good, and the young Uchiha was beginning to think that maybe Sakura would have been more suitable to play the pregnant housewife instead of Naruto. At least, Sakura knew her limits.
"We should take a break. It's been six hours since we left Konoha," Sasuke said slowing down.
"Sasuke-kun is right. We need to eat and rest a bit," Sakura agreed looking at Naruto who was sweating furiously.
"A-all right," The blonde kunoichi docilely did as told and tried to catch her breath, she was completely exhausted. I shouldn't have run so fast after all. But I can usually take more than this. What's wrong with my body?
She plopped down on the dirty ground leaning on a tree. She closed her eyes, panting heavily and trying to relax, the cool breeze caressing her heated skin felt good, and helped her relax. Slowly, the soreness of her muscles began to intensify. What the fuck are those pills? I feel like shit! she thought angrily massaging her ankles unconsciously. How am I going to fight if we're attacked? The old hag didn't think about that one, did she?
She felt a presence before her and opened her eyes slowly, coming face to face with a crouching Sasuke.
"Drink," Sasuke said, offering her some water. "Sakura is inspecting the place."
Huh! She looked around blinking. She had not heard either Sakura leaving or Sasuke approaching her. Luckily, they weren't attacked or else she wouldn't be very helpful.
"Thanks," she replied quietly taking the offered cup and drinking its content in one go. She didn't feel thirsty until Sasuke gave her that cup of water, and now she wanted to drink every drop of water they had.
It seemed that her raven-haired teammate caught her thoughts, and filled her cup a second time. He was getting worried about his dumb teammate; she looked to be in a lot of pain. He was beginning to question Tsunade's medical skills. What the hell are those pills?
"How are you feeling?" he finally asked with his usual poker-face.
"Fine. Are you worried, Teme?" Naruto asked teasingly with a half splitting grin on her still flushed face. Her tired features didn't make it look less taunting though.
"Shut up. If you need to rest, say it, or else you'll slow us down," Sasuke snapped at her, not liking being made fun of.
"This place is clear. We can stop here for awhile and rest." Sakura had arrived and looked suspiciously at her two teammates. "How are you feeling Naruto?" she asked approaching her friend.
"I'm perfectly fine Sakura-chan," Naruto replied feeling suddenly pissed off. I'm fine! I'm not weak, damn it!
Sakura didn't believe her, and crouch down by her side to check on her. She gathered her chakra on her right hand, it began to glow green and hover it on Naruto's ankles to heal her soreness. "Turn around," she ordered the blue-eyed kunoichi and began healing the soreness on her lower back and stomach as well. She made sure that the muscles relaxed so that her pelvic wasn't as sore anymore, she knew from meeting other pregnant women that it could be a real pain with the pelvic aching.
"Thank you Sakura-chan! You're a lifesaver," Naruto felt so much better, all thanks to Sakura.
"How did you know about my back?" she asked, after all she didn't say anything about it.
"It's my job to know this kind of things," the medic-nin replied, smiling at her confused teammate. It could not be easy to have these symptoms during a mission such as this. They would have to travel a lot before they were even in Ishi. It was as long as the way to Suna and a little more. "I didn't imagine that those pills could be this powerful. Now I understand why Tsunade-sama said that you're the one who's going to make them less suspicious."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Naruto asked, she was confused, what was the relationship between their cover and feeling like shit?
"The pills are perfectly simulating the symptoms of a pregnant woman, that's why you're so tired and have some pelvic pains," Sakura explained with a small smile. This is definitively going to make the villagers less suspicious. Well done Tsunade-sama! Now, she was thinking that she was lucky for not having to suffer like this during their mission.
"And when is it going to stop?" the poor kunoichi asked anxiously as she slightly rubbed her hips, they were still aching a little.
"Well, I'll explain to you what a pregnant woman feels at her first semester. But, let's eat first."And as if understanding them perfectly well, Naruto's stomach growled. She got up, blushing cutely, and rubbed the back of her head. "Hehe, okay!"
"I found some edible fruits." The raven ninja informed his teammates putting down said fruits. Naruto looked up at him with a startled expression; she hadn't even noticed that the raven left them.
"Woah! The green apples look so yummy!" the blonde squealed attacking the apples before anyone else could grab them.
Her behavior was getting weirder, and her teammates were starting to fear for the girl's intellectual capabilities, not like she had any brain cells to lose if you ask Sasuke, but it's creepy to see Naruto squeal because of green apples.
"Is she okay?" Sasuke quietly asked the medic-nin keeping his voice low so that Naruto couldn't hear him.
"Yes she is actually," Sakura replied cautiously eyeing Naruto's movements, and slightly tilting her head to figure out how Naruto had managed to eat three apples at the same time. That girl was really skilled when it came to eating.
"You sure?" Sasuke asked her slowly, still worried about their dumb teammate. It's understandable, Uzumaki always meant trouble, and the young Uchiha didn't want to take care of any additional trouble. I can't believe that I'm going to be stuck with her for an unknown amount of time that could eventually be agonizingly long. And act like her carrying and loving husband!
"Yeah, she's just craving for apples," Sakura replied. "It's common for pregnant women during the first semester of the pregnancy," she couldn't believe that she was talking to her very male teammate, about pregnancy, and she wasn't even the pregnant one.
"So good! It was delicious!" Naruto moaned rubbing her filled tummy. "Stewed apples taste better though," she added after a second thought.
"You can lie down if you want, we will stay here for a little while, so you should rest while you can," Sakura informed her blonde teammate and started to eat some fruit herself.
"Really?" Naruto asked. She didn't want to waste too much time to rest. "For how long?"
"Of course you can rest, and you don't have to think about time, just rest," the pink-haired kunoichi reassured her smiling. Sometimes, she felt an urge to protect Naruto, she didn't know how to explain it, but right now, she felt the need to protect and reassure her teammate, like a sister would do with her younger siblings.
"Okay," was Naruto's soft reply with a hint of tiredness in her voice. Twelve minutes later, the young Uzumaki was fast asleep.
"Do you think the mission will go well with Naruto in this condition?" Sasuke asked the medic-nin. "I don't think she'll be able to take care of herself in case something bad happens." He was getting more and more worried – sure, maybe she won't blow up their cover after all, but if they were identified by the enemy, Naruto was going to be their weak spot. They would see a pregnant woman, and they'd know that the rest of the team would make sure to get her away from them – unhurt.
"I think that her body is still getting used to the drug, she should be better by tomorrow," Sakura replied confidently. "If it's not the case, we will inform Tsunade-sama. However, she knew what would happen to Naruto when taking the pills. Perhaps it's not as big of a risk of getting attacked as we believe . . ." The young Uchiha nodded. Tsunade knew what she was doing; they should only contact her if the situation got way out of control.
"I don't know the extent of those pills, but if they're really effective, she'll feel like a pregnant woman for real," she added glancing at her sleeping teammate. "She should feel tired and sleepy; maybe she'll experience morning sicknesses – Tsunade mentioned that bacteria after all – mood swings, cravings and/or repulsiveness towards food; I'm going for the former."
A raised eyebrow was the only reply she got from her male teammate. He wasn't prepared for this kind of situation. He'd never in his entire life dealt with a pregnant woman, let alone a pregnant woman that acted like Naruto; extremely carelessly.
"Actually, these symptoms are the objectives of the pills, I just hope she won't be too tired and out of chakra when she needs to protect herself," Sakura looked at Sasuke and added; "Tsunade-sama thought that with Kyūbi's endless chakra, she should be alright, but we need to look after her. I'll talk to her, but I'm not sure if she'll tell us when she feels weak, she'll most likely do what she did today; keep on pushing herself even if she feels tired or hurt."
Sasuke nodded, he wasn't cold hearted, and he wasn't going to let Naruto hurt herself because of her own stubbornness. "Since you're her 'husband' – and it's part of your cover – you keep a watchful eye on her. You've got to act very protective of her as well," she said and sighed. "But, I think that she should be alright as long as she doesn't push herself to far, I just fear for her chakra rate that's all. Once at Ishi, we will see if the plan needs to be changed." Sasuke nodded again.
They had thought about different possibilities and plans, they were ready . . . but the young Uchiha couldn't help but feel insecure – so un-Uchiha-like. He'd went on several dangerous missions and always felt confident, but for this one he was a bit lost, he never had to act or play a role; a husband role and with the dobe nonetheless. He sighed mentally. He – in all honesty – had no idea what a husband should do around his pregnant wife. Speaking of pregnant, he knew nothing about it, so he couldn't really help Naruto.
He shouldn't have any doubt, he was a ninja and more importantly, he was an Uchiha; an Uchiha that never backs down or hesitates. He wondered how his father would react if he knew that his son was hesitant because of a simple undercover mission. He clenched his hands into fists at that thought; he didn't need to think about that at the moment; he needed to concentrate. Why was his father hunting his thoughts even when he was far away from him? He hated that, he knew that he was craving for his father acknowledgement, and it made him sick, he wanted to forget about his father so bad, but he kept hunting his thoughts; his dreams . . . he was getting tired.
When is he going to leave me alone? he asked himself and raked a hand through his nicely shaped hair.
"—ke, what do you think?" Sasuke caught the last part of Sakura's question. It made him mad to know that he was too caught up by his own thoughts to even notice his teammate's presence. He had to train on that part.
"We need to rest," Sasuke said to hide his lack of concentration. "I'll keep watch first, make sure to rest well. I'll get you later." His pink-haired teammate nodded believing that he had heard her. Fortunately he had said something related to the topic.
Sasuke took place on a branch hovering over their little camp, the air was hot – almost suffocating. The sun was high, indicating that it was around 2pm. The young shinobi closed his eyes to feel his surroundings, memories from the previous night resurfacing involuntarily . . .
It was the day before Sasuke was supposed to leave for his mission. Tomorrow was the D-Day. He wasn't looking forwards to it, to be honest. He was supposed to be Naruto's husband, it didn't bode well.
The Uchiha family was silently having diner, the only noises that could be heard were the ticking clock, and little clinking of porcelain dishes when bowls were being filled up. For most people, such silence would have been uncomfortable, but for the Uchiha it was common; it was welcomed.
Soon the silence was broken by the young son of the family.
"Father. Mother," Sasuke called his parents to get their attention. "Hokage-sama assigned me and my team to a new mission, and I'll be leaving tomorrow," the seventeen-year-old said.
His father nodded. "A ninja shouldn't stay inactive for such a long period. Your last mission was a month ago." Trust Fugaku to point out the negative point first, it was easy to read his unsaid words though: 'I hope you didn't slack off.'
"I was in a meeting with Hokage-sama earlier today, and she didn't tell me about your mission," he added, locking eyes with his son. "What is this mission about anyway? For how long will you be gone?"
"I'm sorry Father, it's an A-Ranked mission, I can't give any information about it," Sasuke replied professionally, he had the perfect excuse to avoid talking to his father. "Concerning the length of the mission; ten months or so, it may be longer, it may be shorter." The latter nodded clearly pleased by his son's answer.
"Congratulation Sasuke, good luck with your mission," his mother congratulated him cheerfully with a smile gracing her lips. She looked eerily much like a female version of Sasuke, while Fugaku looked very much like the oldest Uchiha heir; Itachi. "When are you going to be back then? You said around ten months? That's awfully long."
"When our job is done we can return home, and concerning the current circumstances it will take around ten months," Sasuke replied then took a sip of water. A pregnancy took a little over nine months – technically ten – so it was how much time they had on their hands basically. If they had to, they were going to use all the time given them.
"Be careful honey. Itachi is on a mission and now you as well; I'm going to feel lonely without you," Mikoto said. She was such a kind person, and a very loving mother. Sasuke wondered vaguely if Naruto would be able to act like his mother, maybe in that case, he would be able to tolerate her daily presence during the mission.
"Don't worry, I'll be back soon" Sasuke reassured his mother. Then he excused himself from table and went to his room.
He closed the door behind him before sitting down onto the futon. He buried his face in his hands, and exhaled loudly.
His father was looking down upon him.
He cursed, holding himself from crashing his fist on the nearby wall.
He wanted to ignore his father's denoted comments, but it was really hard. This mission was going to give him some fresh air, he needed to stay away from that man for a while, he was driving him crazy, and he hated being affected by him this much.
A soft knocking on his door pulled him out of his internal battle. "Honey, can I come in?" It was his mother standing on the other side, most likely worried about her youngest son.
"Come in," Sasuke replied sitting up straight on the futon, his posture a bit more relaxed than before. Mikoto always calmed him down by her mere presence, only. He was not a mother's boy, his mother was his little sunshine that's all. He rarely expressed his feelings towards her, but he knew that she understood him very well; he never had to word his thoughts with her. She was amazing just like that. He guessed that it was some of the characteristics he was looking for in a woman to marry himself one day. After all, it's not uncommon for men to look for a woman that reminds them of their mother.
"When are you going to meet with your team?" she asked approaching her son and sitting by his left on the futon.
"We're going to meet at 6am," he replied, and his mother nodded knowingly.
"I learned a new recipe from Madame Akimichi today, I'll try it when you're back then," she said smiling, completely changing the topic. "It's called Sencha Cake, a green tea flavored cake. I know you hate sweets but this one is really delicious, I'm sure you'll like it." She smiled warmly at him, and said no more.
"I'll try it when I get back," he replied, catching his mother request, she meant by that 'please come back safe'.
Mikoto knew that her son – like many other Uchiha – hated it when she asked them to be careful. She rarely ever said the words though, today was the recipe excuse.
"Great! Good night honey," she said smiling and then left the room, letting the door fall shut behind her.
The young Uchiha looked at her retreating back and smiled a little himself; he felt much better he realized. Only his mother had the power to do so. Only his mother.
A faint cracking noise was heard; bringing the young Uchiha back to reality. He looked around him and felt someone's presence coming from the direction of the river. He jumped down the tree and landed by Sakura's side. The woman was frowning at him as she sat still, looking at the direction from where the sound was coming.
"Someone is coming. Wake Naruto up," he whispered his eyes glued to the spot where the unknown person should appear.
Sakura nodded and went to wake her sleeping teammate. The dark-haired ninja took silent steps forwards, doing his best to detect the enemy's presence – to have the upper hand in case of an attack. He looked at his surroundings, calculating meticulously the distance between himself and the trees. He had enough room to use his Katon no jutsu without burning down the whole place, that's good.
Once in front of the bushes, he looked through them and saw a young man crouched down, he was turning his back to him, and didn't look like he was conscious of Team Seven's presence. A backpack was thrown randomly at the man's feet, a fishing rod at his left and a bucket at his right.
"Aha! Caught you!" the man said getting up from his crouched position, and turned around. He was holding a fish in his hands and had apparently just gotten back from the river. "AHH!" The man hollered, putting his right hand on his chest as he noticed that he wasn't alone. "Man! You freaked me out!" he accused Sasuke and bent down to pick up the fish he'd dropped.
"Sorry. I thought it was an animal or a ninja," Sasuke apologized, inspecting the man's appearance.
The man was taller than him and seemed older too, twenty or twenty-two maximum. He had dark gray hair, spiked up at the top, and matching dark gray eyes; his dark skin made his other features stand out. Sasuke noticed a weird scar on the man's chin, a very noticeable cross. He was wearing white pants and a gray kimono vest with a green belt tied at his waist. He had a built body. He was strong but didn't look dangerous.
"Hehe, it could happen to anyone! It's cool; I never really saw you around, I'm Kaiza," the man introduced himself offering his right hand to Sasuke. "I just got back from the river, got a nice catch as you can see!" he said and grinned, as he held up the fish. He'd stuck his fingers through the fish's eyeballs and was now carrying it by the head.
"Sasuke," the young Uchiha replied shaking the offered hand firmly. "We're travelers," he added gauging the man's reaction, as he stepped aside and showed the man their camp.
"Need any direction? I'm just going to prepare this fish, and then I was about to look for some worms. As you may have already guessed, I'm here for some fishing," Kaiza grinned rubbing the back of his head – both his personality and behavior reminded the raven of his teammate. "It's my secret spot, so please don't tell anyone," he finished and smirked playfully.
"I won't, don't worry," Sasuke said confirming that the man was not a shinobi.
"So where are you going?" the man asked after a while. He'd prepared the fish with salt and had then wrapped it up in bitch bark.
"Ishigakure, but we're not really sure of where to go from here though," the young Uchiha replied. The man's presence meant the beginning of their mission.
"Really? I'm from Ishi and was heading there, it's not that far away. However, people there are not used to foreigners. Can I know what business brings you there?" Kaiza asked cautiously and titled his head to the side. He didn't want to look unwelcoming, but he knew that the Land of Earth was going through a rough time of some sort, so it wasn't the safest of places.
"I'm traveling with my wife and our personal doctor," Sasuke lied perfectly, the man only smiled as he heard this. Even though Sasuke was nearly eighteen, he could pass for at least twenty-three.
"We set up camp behind these bushes, my wife wasn't feeling very well. She's pregnant," he added titling his head towards the camp he'd shown the man before. "I must join them or they'll worry about me, so if you want to, you could come join us."
"Let me give you some of my fish though, your wife needs some energy if she's pregnant," the tan man said offering three fish tied tightly with a rope through their eyes and heads; birch bark covering their bodies and tails.
"Thank you," the dark-haired ninja thanked him taking the offered fish. "Follow me, I'll introduce you to my little family."
The two men headed to Team Seven's camp. Naruto was sitting on a rock, whining about her stiff neck and rubbing her sides because of a soreness, her little nap helped her feel better, but she slept in a rather uncomfortable position. Sakura was massaging her neck and shoulders giggling. They had guessed that the place was clear and relaxed, waiting for Sasuke to return.
When said raven appeared, he nodded to his teammates confirming that the man was no harm, and signaling the beginning of the mission.
"Naruto, how are you feeling?" He asked approaching his 'wife' then crouched down at her level; he put one of his hands on her shoulder and the other one on her cheek, hoping to look credible.
For a little second, Naruto forgot that they had to act, and looked at Sasuke questioningly wondering why the hell the Teme cared about her, then it clicked and she replied smiling softly.
"I'm feeling better now, don't worry," Sasuke and Sakura mentally sighed in relief after hearing Naruto's answer.
"Who's that?" Sakura asked her teammate looking at Kaiza.
"I'm Kaiza," the older man introduced himself approaching Sakura. "Nice to meet you, I'm your guide to Ishi" he added with a sweet smile and offered his hand to the young pink-haired kunoichi.
"I'm Sakura, nice to meet you," she said shaking the man's hand. Our guide, huh? She thought triumphantly.
"You're his personal doctor, right?" the older man asked and received a nod from Sakura.
"And you must be Sasuke-san's wife," he asked looking down at Naruto who was staring at him with a very open interest.
She got up and grinned. "Yeah, I'm Naruto, nice to meet you too." Let the fun begin, she thought excitedly.