Sorry it's late. Here's the next chapter anyway.


Are Naru and Neji having an affair?

Below the caption was a picture of Naru lying on a bed with her eyes closed seemingly in sleep. Behind her was an obviously shirt-less Neji with his arms around her in an intimate embrace. The pair were covered in a blanket, but the photo seemed to speak volumes.

"That bitch!" underneath the article was the screen name Cherry Blossom. It detailed the apparent nature of the affair between Naru and one of her fiancé's bandmates. "How dare she?!"

"Hina-chan?" Sasuke entered his girlfriend's bedroom with his forehead scrunched up in confusion. In the last ten months, he'd discovered that Hinata really was a gentle person but to never get on her bad side. No matter what she looked like, she was still a Hyuuga and the heiress to the Hyuuga fortune. She didn't like throwing her name around but at the same time, she knew exactly how to use her family's power to get at anyone who tried to wrong her – especially when it came to her family. "What~?" Sasuke froze at the image in the screen before him. He didn't know how to react seeing as he was looking at his bandmate and his girlfriend's best friend in a compromising position.

"It's not what it looks like Sasuke-kun." Hinata shook her head vehemently at the gob smacked expression on his face.

"What do you mean it's not what it looks like?" he demanded knowing full well that both parties in the photo were in relationships with other people. Hinata rolled her eyes and patted the seat next to her on the bed, waiting patiently for her boyfriend to take a reluctant seat beside her.

"You know that I ask Neji-nii to model for me, sometimes right?"

"What does that have to do with this picture?"

"This is part of a photo series that I worked on with Naru-chan and Neji-nii." She then began to open another file on her computer filled with pictures of the pair depicting them in various intimate situations. "This was my graduation exhibit, but it never made it to the public gallery. My mentor suggested that I keep this in the private gallery at the school. It was only seen by the professors who had to grade us."

"Then how did this Cherry Blossom get a copy of the picture?"

"Cherry Blossom is one of the students at the university." Hinata explained. "She was one of Naru-chan's models and freelance writer but Naru-chan kicked her out near the end of the school year. You might've seen her here at the apartment that day a few months back. She's the one who called the twin monsters when she heard them call Gaara-kun tou-chan."

"What are we going to do about this?" Sasuke nodded once he understood the full situation.

"We?"

"Yes, we." Onyx met pale lavender with a serious look. "Gaara's my best friend and right now, he and Naru have enough problems to deal with. I want to help."

"Well then," Hinata replied with an evil smirk. "I know just the thing."

XoxoxoX

"I'm sorry Papa," Narumi refused to look at Iruka who was staring in disbelief at the vandalism that had been done to their studio. Since she graduated, Naru had been helping out at Mangekyo Pictures since she didn't really know where to apply yet. It had been a place where some of Gaara's fans had spotted her since they announced their engagement and now that the recent article had come out the studio was destroyed.

"It's not your fault Naru-chan," Iruka tugged her close before looking sadly back at the building that he and his husband had gotten built from the ground up. The store front was smashed in and vulgar words were spray-painted over the façade. He couldn't believe that it had been done in the first place, but he was not blaming his daughter for something that she had no control over.

"But…"

"No," dark brown eyes bore into cerulean as he reprimanded her. "This resulted from a bitter girl's actions, not you." Two weeks after he'd given birth to his twins, Iruka wasn't supposed to be out of the house yet but he couldn't stand for this smear to their family name especially after something that wasn't even their fault. "We'll get her back Naru." Iruka swore and his eyes glowed with the promise he just made.

XoxoxoX

"Whore!"

"Stay away from the Rookies!"

"Slut!"

Naru kept her head down even as she pushed past the reporters shoving their microphones and cameras to her face. She had accompanied Iruka to the twins' check-up since Kakashi was held up with the suit for their studio and they were ambushed at the hospital parking lot. She had no idea how they even knew that she was coming with Iruka but now their way was being blocked by the hounds and some of the more avid Rookie supporters who still believed the article that was printed about her affair with Neji even though it had been pulled and Neji had already given a statement negating the whole issue. It had only been four days, yet it had felt an eternity to her.

"What do you have to say about the picture?"

"Are you and Neji still having an affair?" one particularly avid reported pushed forward bumping into the stroller she was trying and failing to push past the throng of people. Multiple things happened at once, her baby sister started wailing loudly at the jostling and more than four sets of hands were pulling the woman who had paled away from Naru who was suddenly glaring up at all the cameras in her face while she scooped the child out of the buggy. "I… I… Gomen!"

"I don't care what you people print about me or say about me on the news reports but stay away from my family!" she ground out as she glared at the woman who was now the center of attention.

"Gomen ne!" the reported was practically begging for forgiveness as Naru trained cold blue eyes at her. "I didn't mean to!"

"I don't care if you didn't mean to," she spat. "My baby sister almost fell off her stroller because all of you were crowding me and you were so desperate for a scoop that you felt it necessary to push your camera and microphone at me bumping her in the process. Do you know what would happen to a two-week old baby if she fell even from that height?" Naru challenged the woman who was now shaking in fear. A terror-filled silence fell over the group at the possible consequences of their actions. "All of you wanted me to know what you felt about my apparent affair with one of my fiancé's bandmates. Bad enough that you almost tried to kill a baby for it. See how you sleep at night with that knowledge." She glared at the group one more time before walking off towards the hospital with Iruka also carrying his son in his arms. They left the buggy in front of the stunned people, a silent reminder of what they had almost done.

XoxoxoX

"Are you all okay?" Kakashi fretted worriedly as soon as Naru and Iruka entered their house with the two-week old babies in their arms. "I saw the report as it happened."

"We're fine Dad," Naru smiled uncertainly at his silver-haired father who immediately scooped up Aiko and cuddled her close. "I'm sorry for being such trouble." She looked down, afraid of the disappointment she was sure would be in their eyes especially at what was recently happening to her family because of her relationship with Gaara. She had thought she could do this because her family were all behind her, but she wasn't quite sure anymore. Not if it put them in danger.

"Narumi Suki Uzumaki-Hatake," the use of her complete name had her looking up in shock towards Kakashi. Iruka would use it when he was annoyed at her and Kakashi had only done so once, when she had needed a reminder of who she was when she was younger but now, the tone in which it was used told her she was still loved despite all the drama that she was bringing into their family. "You're not bringing trouble. You're allowed to be happy yourself. Don't think for a second that you have to break up with Gaara over this. You're stronger than what these vultures are telling you and you have us behind you every step of the way."

"But I put Aiko and Akira in danger!"

"You didn't. You protected your siblings just as you would your own children, like you already do with Kyuu and Sasori."

"Dad…" bright blue eyes shone with unshed tears as Kakashi turned back to give Aiko to Iruka and tug Naru into his own arms.

"I've already spoken with Hiashi over this," he murmured into his daughter's blonde hair. "Hinata and Sasuke are all over it. Just rest okay? You need to make sure my grandbaby in there grows healthy and beautiful just like their mom and aunt and uncle." Naru stiffened in her father's arms at the knowledge that he knew something that she hadn't told them yet, but the way his hands rubbed her back and the rumble in his voice was slowly lulling her to sleep. She never noticed that he was leading them to her old bedroom or that he carried her over to the bed once they got there. The exhaustion of the last few days finally got to her and she fell into a troubled sleep.

XoxoxoX

"Gomen ne, Kakashi-san," Gaara bowed his head at the older man. "For all the trouble my relationship with your daughter has caused your family." The silver-haired man regarded his daughter's intended with mismatched eyes, but the jade-eyed vocalist met his gaze evenly.

"No," Kakashi shook his head. "Sakura has long since been a pain in our lives, ever since she came to Konoha. It just so happened that your relationship with Naru gave her a better platform to take her anger out on."

"What do you mean?"

"Sakura came to Konoha on a sponsorship program that Naru helped her get into. Her family had never been well-off and Naru offered to be her sponsor at the University. Unfortunately, she fell in with a bad crowd once she got here and she started to believe that she was better than Naru at a lot of things. Naru kicked her out of the apartment she had been paying for six months after she got here, and Sakura just spiraled downwards from then. She's been bitter about being kicked out from the school after she was caught doing risqué things in public and now she's taking it out on Naru."

"Risqué things?"

"Sakura was caught multiple times on camera with various prominent members of society like Senator Orochimaru and Pein, the editor in chief of Kunai Weekly. Most of the men she had been seen with were married and they were mostly either coming out or going into hotels." Kakashi shrugged. Gaara was disgusted at the way the pink-haired menace was taking her anger out on his betrothed, especially since it sounded like she had a hand in her own demise.

"How is Naru taking this now?" Gaara asked. He saw what she was like at home but at the same time, they had known each other for just a short time and her family still knew her best.

"Well enough for the moment." Kakashi said. "She's trying to be strong for you and the baby, but you have to show her that you can be there for her." All mockery was gone from the older man as he stared at Gaara. "She's been independent for so long, it scares her to have to lean on someone. Go to her Gaara, reassure her that you won't disappear even through all this craziness." The redhead didn't speak, he simply nodded his head and stood up. He walked towards the room where his own little family were staying and couldn't help but smile at the sight that he walked into. Sasori was laying on Naru's left near the edge of the bed with his head on one of Naru's outstretched arms while Kyuu slept on her other side with his head on her stomach and her arm around him. He closed the door quietly behind him and sat down across from them watching contently as his family lay safe within his reach in peaceful sleep.

XoxoxoX

Naru could feel someone watching her. It was what pulled her from arguably the best sleep she'd had since the article about her and Neji appeared. She could feel both Kyuu and Sasori sleeping beside her, if the size of the bodies clinging to her were any indication. She finally opened her eyes after another deep breath only to meet Gaara's own teal gaze.

"Okaerinasai, Gaara-kun," she smiled at him; but he just continued to look at her. "Are you alright?"

"Gomen ne, Suki-chan," Gaara closed his eyes as he frowned. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be in this situation." Naru was shocked by the admission and sky-blue eyes widened at her lover's expression. "If you hadn't been in a relationship with me, the media wouldn't be so interested in your life." Naru didn't speak; carefully, she untangled herself from her twins and then approached Gaara who was sitting on a chair a few steps away from the bed. "If only…"

"If you weren't in my life, I wouldn't be this happy," Naru whispered as she caressed Gaara's face, so she could meet his teal gaze. "If I hadn't met you, I wouldn't be pregnant with this baby." She took his hand and laid it on her still flat stomach. At eleven weeks pregnant, she was barely showing and yet her ultrasound with her chosen obstetrician proved that she was indeed carrying another life inside her. "I love you Gaara-kun. No matter what we face or what the media throws at us I can face it but only if you're with me." She said decisively as she continued to look into his eyes. Gaara in turn could see the truth in her words and a small smile lifted the corners of his lips.

"Aishiteru Suki-chan," he said as he tugged her closer so that she was straddling his lap and their foreheads touched.

"Aishiteru Gaara-kun." She kissed him tenderly before pulling back. "We can do this together." Gaara didn't reply, he just pulled her in for another kiss that promised a future for them with their little family.


So, what did you think?

Read and Review.

Just tweaked a few things.

0;)aLy