AN: Hello! Thanks for your support everybody, I really appreciate it *bow*

I know I've taken an eternity to update, but as I have explained to some of you, I had tons of problems, that kept me away from writing but now I'm back.

This chapter is not betaed yet, my beta MrsHellman is really busy, but I decided to publish this version, I kept you waiting for too long, you deserve an update! Just please, don't be mad because of the mistakes, I'm really sorry, that's the best I can do, I know that there are still lots of mistakes since my English is not perfect, but I promise that they'll be fixed once my beta is done with this chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, he's Masashi Kishimoto's property.

Now back to the story guys, I'm so nervous! I hope you'll like this chapter as much as the previous ;)

Chapter Seven: Looking for a job
Written by Itooshii Koneko
Unbetaed

Kaiza had joined Team Seven and their hosts to have lunch together, and he didn't come empty handed, he –like a pure gentleman- had offered a bouquet of lilacs to Tsunami, his eyes showed so much love for the raven haired woman, it was obvious that they were madly in love with each other. Naruto wondered why they weren't living together, they were fiancé after all, she was itching to ask that question, and she didn't wait longer to ask grinning.

"It's obvious that you're head over heels in love with each other, why aren't you living together?"

Sakura coughed slightly swallowing her food the wrong pipe; Naruto was too blunt sometimes. The blonde blinked handing her teammate a cup of water, she was not doing anything wrong, right? She was after all asked to act friendly and try to learn more about their hosts. Sasuke just smirked amused by Naruto's curiosity, it was not her type to stay quiet, she had to break the silent atmosphere.

Kaiza chuckled looking at his blushing fiancé then answered rubbing the back of his head feeling a bit embarrassed.

"That would be inappropriate, we're not married yet. But we will be this fall" he then caressed his fiancé's hand and said "I still need a couple of months to finish our new home"

"You're building it?" Naruto asked raising her eyebrows.

"Yes" the older man replied nodding "I'm building a bigger house closer to the river"

"Ah, that's great! A new life in a new house" Sakura said genuinely happy for the couple.

"I can help you if you want, I'm used to help my father in building sites" Sasuke offered, it was the perfect opportunity to befriend the other man, and investigate about the village without sounding suspicious.

"Thank you Sasuke-san that would be really great" the older man replied bringing his right hand to rub the back of his head again, he hoped to finish their home alone but he was getting impatient, it was taking more time than planned, his constant trips between Ishi and Iwa were consuming his time and energy.

"I hoped to finish it this summer, but my work is getting the better of me" he explained "I spend my days between Ishi and Iwa, which leaves little time to work on the site"

"Don't worry, your house will be finished in no time, and you'll be able to get married this summer!" the blonde enthusiastically added.

"You seem very confident of your husband Naruto-san" Tazuna commented throwing a calculating glace at the young wife.

"Huh" Naruto blinked not knowing how to reply to this, the old man's look was freaky. Sasuke was right, the man didn't trust him at all.

She regained her composure and replied "of course I am, Tazuna-san. Sasuke is a hard worker and a very strong man, you'll see for yourself! Plus he's not only strong but very smart too. I'm certain that if he helps Kaiza-san their house will be ready very soon"

Surprise was not the right word to describe Sasuke's expression, he was dumbfounded, the dobe was generously complimenting him; that was a first time, he raised a refined eyebrow mindlessly wondering if she thought what she said, she looked really genuine.

Again, he felt the urge to tease her, he smiled taking Naruto's left hand and kissed her ring "You should complement me more often, I really like it honey"

The blonde turned bright red, a strong shiver went down her spine starting from the spot the raven had kissed, the feeling of his lips on her skin unbearably lingering there, her heart started beating furiously. It was his smirk that brought her back to reality; she blinked then looked down at her hand still in his. She kicked herself mentally he's acting, he's acting, Naruto get a grip! The mission; think about the mission. She recited her mantra to get rid of those annoying new reactions her body was getting. Stupid pills!

She slid her hand away from his –ashamed of missing his warmth- and looked down at her plate "Don't get cocky" she hissed trying to hide her blush with her locks.

Tsunami giggled, the couple was too funny "I must say that I've never met a married couple like you. Is it always like this or just the mood swings?" she asked looking back and forth between Sasuke and Naruto.

"The mood swings are definitively making things worse" Sasuke replied smirking.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked pouting dropping her chopsticks in her plate.

The raven didn't reply and resumed eating. The older woman in the room giggled and went back to her lunch too.

Sakura was watching the whole interaction with bitterness, she frowned upon figuring out that it was jealousy what she was feeling, she felt as if this ugly emotion was taking control over her body starting from her guts reaching her heart and made it tighten like it was held in a tight grasp. She looked down trying to control her emotions.

She knew that she was still attracted to the young Uchiha, it was not a mere crush anymore, it was love but she was not the annoying fan girl of her twelve years old self, she fell deeply in love for the young Uchiha, and promised to be patient and let the time work its magic, she would either forget him and love another man who will love her back, or Sasuke would share her feelings, she hoped for the later. So feeling a tiny a bit of jealousy witnessing her teammates intimate interaction was normal after all. It was stupid, everything was fake, but she couldn't help it.

Don't be stupid Sakura! She thought missing the calculating look Tazuna was giving her. She didn't notice that she was the center of the old man's attention.


Once lunch was over, Tazuna and Sasuke went to find Zabuza hoping to be hired in the mine. Kaiza and Inari followed them to town but left them halfway to visit Pochi, the young boy's puppy. During the little trip Kaiza had explained to Sasuke that working at the mine was tiring but the pay was good, and he promised him to ask if there was any other job available if he didn't like it there.

The mine's site was filled with workers, the ninja wondered if they still needed to hire one more person. Some were pushing empty wheelbarrows in the mine and some others were bringing ones filled with rocks and earth out of it, a group not too far was breaking the rocks into little pieces and another one at the river was filtering the earth in the water using a big flat plate in wood. They must be looking for gold. He thought scanning the area.

A bulky man approached them, he was tall and had a very muscular body, he had a pale skin, short and spiky black hair with brown eyes. His aura felt animalistic, dangerous even, Sasuke knew that the man was not any normal villager, he couldn't feel his chakra but he was sure that he was a ninja, and a dangerous one. He frowned watching the man approaching them slowly.

"What are you doing here Tazuna? Looking for a job?" Zabuza asked shaking hands with Tazuna

"No, not for me, for him" he pointed at his young guest, then added. "This is Sasuke Yūhi, he's from Konoha and came with his wife to live here, he's looking for a job"

"Konoha?" Zabuza asked sending a cold glare to Sasuke, "you're a ninja?"

"No" Sasuke retorted glaring back at him.

"And what is he even doing here?" the other man ignored him and asked Tazuna frowning.

"He has a pass so calm down Zabuza, his wife is pregnant, he needs to work" the old man didn't sound convinced at all, and all this suspicion planning over the young Uchiha was starting to annoy him.

Zabuza eyed Sasuke from head to toe to analyze his features, the boy was strong, stronger than what he looked even, he could sense that. He smirked liking the angry aura seeping out from the raven. And that was enough to Sasuke to snap, he was getting impatient.

"I need a job, not your pity. If you don't want to hire me, say it, I don't have time to waste" Sasuke growled glaring at a smirking Zabuza. He was not going to be nice with that man even if he needed to keep an eye on him.

Tazuna looked at him surprised by his outburst, while Zabuza raised his eyebrow, people were always scared of him and never dared to raise their voice at him or even frown or glare, the kid has some guts.

"I don't feel pity, kid" he answered looking down at the young Uchiha.

The Uchiha glared but didn't say anything.

"Follow me" The man ordered heading towards a small tent, it was his office at the site.

Sasuke followed him silently, Tazuna at his side. The tent had a table with scattered plans and notebooks on it, a chair behind it, which didn't look comfortable at all, a messy bed was at their left and three more chairs were in the middle of the tent, Tazuna took one but Sasuke stayed up waiting for Zabuza to say something.

"Well, since you have a pass I believe that I should trust you" He admitted looking at the young man, "you look strong, I need men in the night shift, it's from 9:00pm to 6:00am. Do you still want the job?"

"Of course" Sasuke answered.

"Be in time, the guys will explain to you everything"

Sasuke nodded and left without uttering a word.

"That was quick." Tazuna commented, but didn't get any reply from his guest.

Sasuke didn't like the idea of working at night but it could be advantageous, he would be able to wander deeper in the mine feigning being lost or sneak out to check the surroundings, he wouldn't mind work even more if it meant being able to leave Tazuna's house sooner. I won't have to share the same bed as the dobe. He didn't know if that thought was making him relieved or … disappointed. Me disappointed! He wondered where that thought came from but didn't let his mind drift any deeper into that nonsense, he opted to leave it at the back of his mind instead.


"This is the only hospital of Ishigakure" Tsunami said pointing at the huge building facing them; she was showing their female guests around the village, and since Sakura insisted on applying for a job at the hospital as soon as possible, the black haired woman started her tour guide by the unique hospital in the village.

"It's huge!" Naruto exclaimed, "I would never had thought that a small village as Ishi would have such a big hospital" she added looking at the tall and large building. It was five floors tall and looked larger than their ninja academy in Konoha.

"It looks like Ishi has a well developed health care infrastructure" Sakura stated looking at the large building and pondering the reasons behind such a big architecture in a rather small civilian village. They must have at least one secret wing left for their ninjas.

"Yes, that's one of the different reasons why living here is safe," The blacked haired woman replied proudly. "Let's go inside, I'm sure that you're eager to see how it looks inside"

They went into the building, and were greeted by a calm atmosphere and a strong smell of disinfectant, there was a receptionist desk where a young woman with a nurse outfit welcomed them.

"Oh hi, Tsunami-san, how can I help you?" she gently asked smiling politely.

"Good evening, Nana-chan, I wanted to show my friends around the village. This is Naruto-chan and Sakura-chan" she answered introducing her guests.

"Nice to meet you, I've heard about you, welcome to Ishi. I'm Nana-chan" she introduced her-self bowing politely and received the same from the two kunoichis.

"Sakura-chan here is medic-nin, do you think she can work here as a doctor?" Tsunami asked going straight to the point.

"I know that I don't have much experience, just one year, but I really like my job, I wish to continue helping people and saving lives" Sakura added hoping to be hired as soon as possible.

"You seem very passionate and that's really agreeable, but the only thing that I can do for you is to talk to our hospital manager and give her your resume, do you have one on you?" The nurse suggested with a professional tone, the smile was still in place and the distrust subtly hidden but it didn't go unnoticed by the young kunoichis.

"Thank you so much for your help. I don't have a resume but if you can hand me a paper I'll write one if you please" the pink haired girl said enthusiastically. It was for the sake of the mission but she was also curious to see what kind of equipment they had, it was an occasion not to miss to learn something new in the medical field.

The nurse handed her a sheet of paper, and turned to the blonde young woman how kept silent since she came.

"So you must be the one who's pregnant, right?" she asked smiling at Naruto who blinked in return.

"Y-yes." She replied not really knowing what else to say.

"You must be at the beginning of the pregnancy then, your belly is still flat" Nana concluded with a cheerful tone. Tsunade was right, it was kind of unbelievable to see how the pregnant detail seemed sufficient to make people trust Naruto easily, though. During a nanosecond, she wondered if that proved that she could be a nice mother.

"I'm two months pregnant" the blonde cleared nodding her head and patting her stomach slightly.

"You seem very young though. May I ask how old are you?"

"I'm 20"

"Very young indeed, your body hadn't fully developed yet" the nurse stated. They weren't sure if it was reprimand or a hint of jealousy in her voice.

"Love doesn't have age limits Nana-chan, and since her husband is taking great care of her, I don't see where the problem is" Tsunami came to the rescue and Naruto was really thankful about that.

The nurse was silent a moment then replied with what looked like a forced smile "Yes, you're right"

Naruto didn't get what had gotten into the previously sweet nurse but she knew that she needed to win her trust.

"I know that I'm very young to have a baby, that's why I wanted to settle in the best village for my child, and I heard that Ishigakure is the safest, I want him or her to be in the best school, to play in the best playgrounds and have the best entourage to grow up with" she said confidently, anyone would fall for that perfect act, she looked so genuine, even Sakura wondered if it wasn't one of her teammate's secret goals.

The nurse looked surprised at first then smiled warmly "I understand that, I've heard that you're from a ninja village, I don't think that I'll be able to live there myself. I guess that being eager to leave that unsuitable place is fair"

Naruto wanted to punch that stupid girl for calling Konoha an 'unsuitable place'. Thankfully Sakura came back and changed the subject talking about her resume.

"I'll inform you if there is any available position that could interest you" The nurse informed the medic-nin. "Now, I'll have to go back to my paperwork. It was nice talking to you" she kindly asked them to leave her finish her work.


After leaving the hospital, Tsunami showed them the shops that could interest her guests, she even asked Naruto if she wanted to buy new clothes for her or for the baby.

"B-but it's too soon" Naruto didn't know why the suggestion freaked her out so much but heck it was too weird to think about buying baby stuff. I'd like to at least keep it for my real baby!

"Oh I forgot you don't even know the baby's gender yet" the black haired woman chuckled. "We'll wait until we know if it's a boy or a girl" We? The two kunoichis wondered, their host was too enthusiastic for their liking, she looked like a future grandmother.

I wonder if that's how shopping with your mother feels. H-how my mother would have reacted if I were really pregnant? Would she pamper me and ask for shopping like Tsunami does? Naruto wondered spacing out, than came back to reality when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Huh" she blinked, she was facing a portrait of a happy family decorating a shop window, three generations together in the same picture, the happy look and smile exchanged between the mother and daughter was what attracted her the most to that portrait. She looked back to Tsunami.

"Sorry I spaced out. What did you say Tsunami-san" the blonde asked sheepishly rubbing the back of her head.

"I just asked you if you were tired and wanted to go home" Tsunami reiterated her question, looking back at the portrait.

"Oh I'm fine, don't worry" she reassured waving her hands.

"Are you sure Naruto? You're not feeling sleepy or tired, are you?" Sakura insisted.

"Of course! Let's get going" The pretended mother replied stubbornly.

"Okay. I wanted to visit a friend. She's seven months pregnant. You might like to meet her Naruto-chan" Tsunami asked them to follow her, said friend was living close to Tazuna's house.

"That would be great, I hope that we won't disturb her?" the blonde asked feeling anxious to meet a real pregnant woman, she was scared of being caught.

"Of course not, she's bored alone at home, I'm sure that she'll be glad to meet you two" the dark haired woman replied. "Her husband works at the mine and is out the whole day" she added.

Haku was Tsunami's friend. She was even more gentle and delicate than the dark haired woman. She had such a gentle smile all her features were so soft. She had long black hair, pale skin and large dark brown eyes. She wore a beautiful oink summer dress that suited her a lot. Her belly was very noticeable; it was amazing how a life could grow inside of such a petite body. She wondered if that's what others felt about her since she looked too young.

Haku was indeed very happy to have guests, especially when she learnt that Naruto was also pregnant, she started talking about how the first months were a hell but reassured the young kunoichi about the following months, what she said matched what Sakura had already told her before.

The visit was very quick but felt good for both kunoichis, the woman was very welcoming and seemed to trust them easily, she even made them promise to visit her again very soon.

When they came back home, an overly enthusiastic Inari ran towards them with a little puppy in hands. He was playing with Pochi in the garden.

"Mommy, look look Pochi is all healed now" he said shoving the little puppy in his mom's face.

"That's great," she said patting his head gently with her usual sweet smile in place.

"That's a really cute puppy you have here Inari" Naruto said scratching behind the puppy's ear.

"Thanks" the little boy thanked the blonde kunoichi blushing slightly.

"Let's go home, you must be very tired Naruto-chan" Tsunami said heading inside first.

Tazuna was in the living room reading the newspaper, he welcomed his daughter and their guests and asked about their afternoon.

"It was very nice" The pink haired kunoichi replied. "We went to the hospital, and I left my resume, I hope that they'll give me a chance" she added hopefully.

The old man nodded in reply.

"We also went to visit Haku-san, she was delighted to see us. She even gave us an apple tart since she knows that you love it" she said pointing at the napkin-covered plate. She then chuckled when her father blushed a little, as if he had been caught the hand in the cookies jar.

"Where is Sasuke?" The blonde asked noticing that her 'husband' was nowhere to be seen.

"He's helping Kaiza building the house" The old man replied and resume reading the newspaper.

"Would you like to eat something Naruto-chan" Tsunami asked.

"No it's okay" the blonde replied putting the plate on the kitchen table.

"Here drink" Sakura said handing a cup of cold juice to Naruto.

"Thanks Sakura-chan" she took the cup grinning. "I'm going to rest a little, I feel a bit tired" and with that she left to her room.

Well that was an interesting evening, she thought throwing herself on the bed, ouch my back again! She closed her eyes, she could only hear Inari's laughter and the puppy's light barking, she fell asleep a couple of minutes later.


When Sasuke came back home, it was 6:00pm, just in time to shower, rest a little and have dinner before heading to the mine for his first day of work. He didn't want to waste time chatting and headed to his room right away.

Naruto was sleeping and snoring quietly, curled up in a ball as if she was feeling cold. She wore a smile on her lips, he guessed that she was having a nice dream and vaguely wondered if it was related to ramen or being Hokage. Sasuke was staring at her sleeping form for the second time that day, he was brought back to reality when Naruto whispered "So~ cute" in her sleep. What is she dreaming about? Cute noodles?! Coming from Naruto that could be possible. He took clean clothes and went to shower, he didn't want to wake his teammate up, he knew that it was not her habits to take naps, the pills were bringing drastic changes to her body and therefore to her habits. He guessed that borrowing Sakura's books about pregnancy would be helpful to know how things would evolve in the upcoming months.


Naruto opened her eyes, she felt so much better after her nap, she went to the bathroom then headed downstairs to join the others. She heard noises outside, getting closer to the door, she recognized barking noises and giggles of a little boy. It must be Inari playing with Pochi. She went outside but it wasn't Inari playing, it was another little boy, he was the same age as Inari but had raven hair and very pale skin, he looks like Sasuke, she thought blinking to make sure that her eyes weren't playing games on her. She looked around her to see where were the others, but they were nowhere, she was alone with that boy.

"Sh-shiro, stop! That tickles" the boy was laughing trying to push his puppy away from his face. "If you don't stop you won't have any ramen tonight" he threatened with a cute pout.

"So cute!" the blonde cooed with a big grin plastered on her face. There was someone in this village who loved ramen as much as her, she guessed that they were going to be great friends.

"Mommy, you're awake?! How are you feeling?" the little boy shouted running towards her.

Mommy?. Naruto's mind went blank then all kind of questions twirled in her mind. What? Mommy? He is talking to me? I'm not his mother, he must be mistaking me for someone else.

"Mommy?..." the boy asked again when he didn't get his mother's attention.

She looked down at the boy who was tugging her white summer dress.

"I'm sorry, but you're mistaking me for someone else, are you lost?" Naruto said kneeling down to the boy's height and messing up his hair.

The boy blinked "Mommy? Do you still feel tired? I'm calling Daddy" he then ran to the backyard calling after his 'Daddy'

Naruto was starting to question her sanity; the boy insisted; she was his mother. Is it a genjutsu? She frowned, she wasn't feeling any use of chakra or jutsu of any kind around her. They must be very strong, to be able to hide this well.

"Naru" it was a familiar voice calling her, Naru?, she turned around and was met with Sasuke, she blinked then looked behind her to make sure that he was addressing her, she was the only one in sight. She felt two strong hands pulling her towards a broad chest, an arm slipped around her waist and secured her from running away. She yelped looking back to Sasuke, who's face was two inches away from hers, she blushed crimson red, his eyes were different, they were soft not the usual unemotional onyx orbs she used to deal with, it was awkward and totally creeping her out. She looked down and saw her breasts pressed against him, she felt her face heat up even more. She gulped and tried to push him away but to no avail, the raven tightened his grip around her waist and pulled her tight against him.

"W-what do you think you're doing Teme?" she growled feeling her face heat up more if that was even possible. Her breasts were squished against his chest, heck! Her whole body was pressed against his.

"Honey, please, you're still mad at me?" the raven asked with a pleading tone that the blonde had never heard before, she couldn't believe her ears.

Oh right the mission, I totally forgot about the mission but where the hell this boy came from. She wondered zoning out for a few seconds.

"Please" he added then lifted her head up slightly and kissed her gently, "It'll be okay don't worry" the kunoichi didn't really register what he just said, she couldn't think straight at all. The kiss turned off her mind.

W-what is he doing? She thought when his lips left hers.

Sasuke chuckled when he saw the dazzled look on her face and kissed her again.

"Eww Daddy! stop eating Mommy's face" the little boy shouted putting his tiny hands on his eyes to hide from the lovey-dovey scene.

Sasuke laughed "I'm not eating her face Keisuke, I'm kissing her to show her that I love her" he explained then kissed her to emphasize his words. Naruto melted in his arms and didn't push him away, she indeed liked it a lot, she wanted more even. The blonde moaned kissing him back, totally forgetting about the mission and the person she was kissing, her rival, the ice prince Uchiha Sasuke. She threw everything in the gutter and just followed her instinct. The kiss was getting passionate and would easily lead to something else more intimate.

"Naruto… Naruto"

A faint husky voice started calling her name, it sounded annoyed, but she wouldn't care she was busy shoving her tongue down Sasuke's throat.

Naruto smiled and hugged her pillow; it smelt of chamomile just like Sasuke.

"… Naruto, wake up" that same voice again.

"Sa-Sasuke" she moaned his name hugging her pillow even tighter.

The raven blushed, he knew that what he just heard was his name, she was calling his name in her sleep, and by the way it sounded she was having a wet dream! He gulped, his teammate was fantasizing about him. It looks like you're just like all the other girls Usuratonkashi. It was disappointing, he thought that she was different, but he couldn't help but wonder what was going on in her head, wasn't she supposed to hate him? She even had a hard time to get used to his presence and touches since the mission started. Or maybe she had a crush on him and was trying to hide it by the constant insults. No, she doesn't know how to lie or hide something! He concluded.

Another moan brought him out of his questioning, the blush deepened when he saw the pleasure shamelessly exhibited on her face, red tainting her cheeks. She can't be dreaming about us having sex?!... and an image of Naruto sprawled on the bed her blonde hair contrasting with the red sheets, the same expression on her face, moans filling the room while he was kissing her caramel skin…

He shook his head to clear the inappropriate images that were starting to form in his head. The half naked Naruto he saw that morning was giving more material to his imagination.

"Naruto, wake up!" he repeated with a more annoyed tone shaking his teammate harder than what he intended to.

"Huh, w-what?" the blonde woke up startled then blushed when she saw Sasuke, the ice prince that was kissing her passionately in her dream less than five seconds ago. A dream?! It was a dream.

"I-I…" she looked down to hide her blush, she still had the feeling of his lips pressed against her skin, she couldn't look him in the eyes. She swallowed the limp stuck in her throat. It was just a dream. She concluded feeling disappointed and sad, she swallowed again but this time she felt like crying, she was so embarrassed and scared by her dream, she had never had a wet dream before and out of all the guys she knew she had to dream about that bastard, he was going to make fun of her, insult her even. She blinked and breathed in to calm her nerves, but she couldn't stop the tears forming in her eyes even by shutting her eyes really tight.

Sasuke thought that she was just hiding her blush, and for once felt sorry for the girl and didn't want to embarrass her more, he let it slip, it was tempting but he wasn't that cruel, he tried to change the subject.

"They're waiting for you to eat, it's diner, so get up Dobe" but he was met with a sniffing sound. Is she crying?

"Naruto?" she didn't reply.

"Are you hurt?" he tried again.

She just shook her head negatively, her throat felt tight she couldn't even say a word, she sniffed again but tears started running down her cheeks, she didn't even know why she was crying, she was stronger than that. And to make things worse, Sasuke lifted her head up to look at her.

"Tell me, what's wrong?" he was seriously worried about her, he had never seen her cry, it must be really serious, "do you want me to call Sakura?"

She closed her eyes and shook her head once again, "can-can I… " she tried to ask but couldn't finished her question, her throat felt too tight, the melancholy was overwhelming, she couldn't understand what was going on in her mind, she just wanted to be held tight. She threw herself in her teammate's arms and cried. Sasuke didn't say anything; he didn't have a clue about the sudden melancholy. One moment she was having a wet dream about him and the moment after she started crying like she had lost someone precious.

Is she ashamed because of her dream? No, it's not something to cry about, it must be the pills. He thought, Naruto would have kicked him if it weren't those pills playing havoc with her hormones.

He put his arms around the blonde and started caressing her back, not really knowing what else to do.

"I-I'm sorry" she apologized when she came back to her senses, "I don't know why I suddenly felt so sad" she sniffed not able to look at her teammate.

She was blushing so much, "It must be the pills, are you feeling better?" he asked trying to show her that it was okay, and that she shouldn't feel awkward about the situation.

"I'm feeling better thanks" she nodded, still not looking up.

"Okay, let's have dinner, I've been hired to work night shifts in the mine, I only have time left to eat" he successfully managed to change topic.

"Really?" the blonde perked up, her eyes red and poufy. The raven mentally winced, he really didn't like the sad expression on her face.

"Yes, but I have late shifts, from 9:00pm to 6:00am" he added.

"It's going to be tiring for you" She was worried about him, he raised an eyebrow but didn't comment.

"It'll be okay, I'll be able to check the surroundings with more ease at night" he reassured then added opening the door. "Now get up, they're waiting for you downstairs"

"Okay, okay"


When Naruto joined the others downstairs, everyone in the kitchen noticed her red and poufy eyes, they exchanged looks but didn't say anything about it, they just asked her if she was feeling good and of course she said "yes". They vaguely talked about Sasuke's job but dinner was mostly quiet.

Tsunami and Sakura took care of cleaning and asked Naruto to rest, Sasuke dragged her to their room.

"I think that Naruto-chan misses her mother" Tsunami stated giving to Sakura a plate she just washed, "she looked like she was crying, and I saw her staring at a family picture when we were outside"

"Hm, well…" Sakura started wiping the plate, I know that she was not acting, the look Sasuke gave me earlier said that she was okay but I'm still worried

"Your family is welcome anytime, if she want to invite her mother, I would be very happy to welcome her in my house" the raven haired woman urged to say.

"Thank you very much Tsunami-san, it's very kind of you, but it won't be possible. Naruto had lost her parents when she was a baby"

"Oh poor Naruto-chan, she lost both parents! Who took care of her after her parents passed away?" The older woman felt sorry for the sweet blonde, loosing one parent was hard enough but both was horrible, she just wished that the girl had a decent life even without her parents by her side.

"The village had been attacked and many innocent villagers had been killed, she lost all the family she had. She was taken to an orphanage where she grew up till the age of sixteen, she started working and lived on her own in a small apartment"

"She lived on her own? But how come no one adopted her, she's such a sweet girl, I bet she was adorable when she was young" the older woman was astonished, how could they let a young girl live on her own, so many bad things could have happened to her, the poor thing had to look after herself all her life, now she was starting to understand why she was married at such a young age, she was mature but also needed to have her own family, someone who would protect her and who she could protect too. She just hoped that Sasuke was good enough for her, so far he seemed to be a good husband.

"After the attack on our village, everyone went through a very rough time, the village made sure that the orphanage was safe and nothing was missing for the children needs"

"Now I can see clearly why she wanted to leave your village when she found out that she was pregnant, she doesn't want her child to go through the same thing"

"Yes, and that's why everyone agreed to let Naruto and Sasuke go, they knew that it was not a crazy idea they got out of the blue, they really wanted the best for their children" Sakura added drawing their cover perfectly well to their host. Tsunami was nodding her head vigorously, she agreed completely to what the pinkette was saying.

"She can invite whoever she consider her family and whoever she misses, she must be feeling homesick"

"Thank you Tsunami-san I'll tell her, I'm sure that she will be delighted to hear that"


"Naruto are you feeling alright? You looked like you were crying, something happened? Are you hurt?" the pinkette asked as soon as she entered her teammate's room.

"I'm fine Sakura-chan" she reassured her friend looking embarrassed "I don't know what got into me, I suddenly started crying with no reason" she explained hiding her eyes behind her bangs.

"It must be the pills, it's normal for a pregnant woman to have mood swings and have moments when she starts crying for no apparent reason, it's hormonal" Sakura explained.

"I hate it, I'm not a cry baby" the blonde pouted, she hated feeling weak and hated crying even more, she promised herself to never cry again, she was a strong kunoichi and the future Hokage.

"Of course Naruto, but this is natural, when you'll be pregnant for real you'll feel the same thing. Those pills are really doing their job amazingly well, Tsunade-sama is really the best" she reassured her friend with a comforting smile, then added "Tsunami thinks that you're feeling homesick and want to see someone you miss"

"Actually I miss training and eating ramen" the blonde replied with a big grin.

"That's the best moment to ask Hokage to send Kurenai-sensei baka!" the pinkette suggested hitting Naruto's head.

"Ow Sakura-chan, don't hit a pregnant woman" the blonde protested caressing her abused head.

"As if you were one" the pinkette chuckled pleased to see Naruto back to her cheerful self.

"I'll try to gather as much information tonight at the mine, we'll send our first report tomorrow" the raven said than looked at Naruto and asked "Do you think you have enough chakra to summon your frogs?"

"Of course, I'm not weak Teme!" replied indignantly the blonde.

"Okay, so I'll do a full check up on Naruto and add the results in the report" Sakura added to inform Tsunade about Naruto's health condition.

"What do you mean by full check up?" the blonde asked suspiciously "aren't the usual ones full enough, is there more to check?" she asked.

"There is nothing to worry about Naruto" the pinkette replied chuckling slightly, she loved to tease her blonde teammate; she was so funny.

"Hn, I'll be back at 6:00am" Sasuke reminded his teammates about his job and left the room to go to work.

"Naruto, let's start our check up" The medic nin said taking what she needed from her bag.

She started by the usual, she checked the blonde's heart beat, her blood pressure, glucose rate, her weight. "You've lost five pounds Naruto, you have to eat more"

"I'm eating! It's not my fault if I throw up everyday" she replied pouting.

"But you have to eat more, you're a little underweight Naruto and this is not because of the pills, you were always too thin, you train hard but don't take care of your health. Now I want you to think about your health for once" the medic nin reprimanded her friend.

"O-okay Sakura-chan" Naruto docilely agreed, she felt warm whenever someone thought about her wellbeing. She blushed slightly.

The medic nin checked her chakra "It's better, probably because of the nap you took, it helped you gain more energy and chakra"

Then asked "Now tell me, did you feel any cramps or pain in your lower abdomen?"

"No, just a little back pain before taking my nap" she replied putting her hand on her lower back.

"Good. Did you bleed or had vaginal discharges since you started taking the pills?" she asked again taking notes on a scroll.

"W-what?" she cleared her throat then replied "No, no, it's not even that time of the month" she was feeling a bit embarrassed to talk about vaginas so openly.

"Okay, but even if it's the time of your period, you won't be bleeding because of the pills" Sakura explained.

"Really? That's great!" the blonde exclaimed happily, her periods used to disturb her training sessions because of the pain, especially when sparing with Sasuke and receiving hard kicks to her stomach, it was so painful that she felt like dying "Do you think I can train a little?" she asked and received a heated glare from the medic-nin.

"No! Do you want to blow up our cover? Plus, I don't know how your body is going to react to these pills at that moment, that's why I need to monitor you, so don't be stupid and do as you're told" the pinkette reprimanded going on with her check up.

"Everything is fine, you just need to eat more, now go to bed. You're lucky, you won't have to share the bed tonight" she said before packing her tools.

"Oh you're right!" she exclaimed cheerfully. "I totally forgot about that. I'm going to have a good night sleep today. Good night Sakura-chan" she would never admit that she slept pretty well even with Sasuke beside her.

By her subtle comment, the pinkette confirmed that her teammates did share the bed the night before, and it made her feel a bit jealous, she brushed if off and looked at the blonde to wish her good night.


Two hours later, Naruto was still wide-awake, she accused her long nap to be the culprit. She tossed around, recited jutsus, but nothing lulled her to sleep, she got up and went downstairs to drink water or some milk.

She was at the countertop purring a cup of milk when she felt a presence, she didn't sense any danger, she guessed that it was either Tsunami or Tazuna, she acted as if she hadn't noticed them.

"Naruto?" Tazuna whispered turning on the light of the kitchen.

Naruto jumped and acted startled spilling some milk over the countertop. "Oh Tazuna-san, you startled me"

"I'm sorry" he apologized, "you couldn't sleep?"

"Hm no" she replied cleaning up the mess she made, then sat up across from Tazuna on the kitchen table, "I thought that drinking milk would help me"

The old man examined her, he didn't trust his guests but felt that Naruto was the most genuine one. He wondered if she couldn't sleep without her husband, or maybe she was worried about something else.

"Are you okay?" he ended up asking.

"I'm fine" the blonde replied blinking. Do I look worried?

"Are you sure?" he repeated his question.

"Yes…" Maybe it's time to pull some act "… well, the baby and I are both fine, and you're all taking great care of me, I'm so grateful. Before coming here I didn't imagine that we would meet people as kind as you, I'm so relieved. But … I can't help but think about how our family is doing, I … I miss them" she replied looking down to hide her eyes wondering if she was realistic.

"That's understandable. You can invite a family member if you miss them that much" he reiterated his daughter's invitation.

"Thank you Tazuna-san, but I can't accept it" Naruto thanked the old man shyly.

"Why?" the old man asked wondering what's bothering his blonde guest.

"I don't want to take advantages of your kindness, you already did so much, I don't want to disturb you anymore"

"You're not disturbing us at all, we're the one who suggested this" Tazuna insisted. "Or is there something else bothering you?"

"Huh? No, no" the blonde replied wondering what answer the old man was waiting for.

She stood up and put her empty cup in the sink, "thank you Tazuna-san" she thanked him giving him a slight hug then headed to the kitchen door, she looked back at Tazuna and added "I miss Aunty, Sasuke's mother, I guess that I'll invite her"

"That's a good idea" he approved Naruto's idea with a slight node gaining a smile in return.

We'll inform Tsunade about this in tomorrow's report. The kunoichi thought nodding her head and slid in the king size bed. The milk really soothed her since she slept as soon as she closed her eyes.


Sasuke arrived at the mine in time, he was greeted by Zabuza who was still working, he gave him a uniform and a miner's helmet, and showed him where the tools were stored then called for a miner to explain to him what he had to do.

"Hello, my name is Suigetsu, you must be Sasuke" the newcomer introduced himself with a canine grin. He was wearing the same blue uniform that Sasuke was given. He had white hair and purple eyes, and had pointed teeth that gave him an animalistic appearance.

"Hn" Sasuke replied while starting to put the uniform on.

"Not the talkative type, I see. Follow me then" Suigetsu headed towards the warehouse. He picked two tool belts, he gave one to Sasuke and put the other one on.

"We have to dig a tunnel of 1000 meters" he said lighting up his torch entering the mine, "follow me" he said turning left then added "watch out your head, the roof is very low here"

When they reached the spot they were supposed to work in, Suigetsu cracked his neck took a sip from the water bottle he brought then said "tsk, they left the dirt behind. The team who works here in the day shift is a real pain. You take these out and I'll dig"

Sasuke nodded and started working silently. The air was thick in the mine, almost suffocating, because of the humidity and the dust. He took advantage of the situation and tried to analyze the mine every time he brought rocks and dirt outside. Many teams were working, each one was on a specific tunnel, there were at least four tunnels and he was working on the most recent one created, the others went much deeper.

When the area was cleared enough to let two persons work at ease, Sasuke took his pick and started digging where Suigetsu showed him.

"There was a guy before you, but couldn't stand the hard work. He quit after two months" Suigetsu informed his colleague with a smirk and playful look. "I wonder how long you'll last here?" he added to annoy him.

Sasuke kept on digging silently. It was a hard and tiring work, but it reminded him of their old D-ranked missions when they were genins, so for him it was easy, plus it was a form of training to stay fit.

"Let's take a break" the white haired man said plopping in the ground and drinking water generously.

Sasuke followed his example, drank water and tried to wipe the sweat dripping down his temples and neck.

"I heard that you're from Konoha. Is that true?" the man stated more than asked throwing a calculating glance at the young Uchiha.

The shinobi glanced at his watch. 2:13am, still four hours to go. Then replied tiredly "Yes"

The other man stayed silent then asked "So? Why did you left?"

"This is none of your business" the raven replied flatly.

"Okay, okay, I get it, you don't like personal questions" he chuckled then added "I heard that you settled down with your wife who's pregnant. See you can hide nothing in this village"

"There is no need to ask questions then" the raven stated as a matter of fact.

"I was just trying to start a friendly conversation, that's all" Suigetsu admitted raising his hands up in mock surrender.

"Hn" the raven replied with his trademark monosyllabic answer.

They went outside to breathe some fresh air. Suigetsu rushed to bring new bottles of cold water, he felt dehydrated.

Some workers even brought food with them, he did feel a bit hungry, he agreed that eating something would have been nice. He looked around him, the site was less crowded than during the day, obviously only few people agreed to work the night shifts. It was going to be beneficial for him, he would be able to wander around easily.

"How many tunnels are you digging?" he asked looking at the mine's entrance.

"I don't know exactly, I just know that there are four principal tunnels that have many branches. We are digging the forth tunnel, the west one, it doesn't have branches yet" Suigetsu replied accentuating his explanation with his hands.

"They are looking for gold but it seems that we can find diamonds and other precious stones" he added as an after thought.

"We get rewards when we find a new spot. You better not try to steal my spots or else?" He left his threat unfinished trying to scare Sasuke, but the latter only smirked at him.

"Or else what?" The raven asked raising a refined eyebrow.

"You wouldn't like it, so don't try me. We will play fair and everyone will be happy" Suigetsu replied showing his pointy teeth.

"Hn" was Sasuke's reply.

They resumed their work mostly in silence.

At 6:00am, a siren sound was heard announcing the end of the night shift. Everyone happily left the site and headed home.


Sasuke didn't make any noise when he came back home, he was dirty and stunk badly, so he went straight to the bathroom to take a shower.

When he went to his or their room, he tried not to make any noise. Naruto was sleeping soundly. She was hugging his pillow tightly and had somehow thrown the sheets aside. He couldn't help but stare at her bare legs.

"Sas'ke?" Naruto whispered with her sleepy voice rubbing her eyes.

"Go back to sleep, it's still early" he told her looking at the clock on his nightstand. It was showing seven o'clock. He looked back at Naruto who was looking away wearing a slight blush on her cheeks. He only had a towel wrapped loosely around his waist and was still dripping wet.

"O-Okay" the blonde finally managed to reply and hid under her sheets.

The raven smirked. Dobe, you really are like all the other girls after all. At least you're not annoying. His smirked widened. He took another towel, sat down on the bed and started drying himself off. Naruto felt the bed sink in and couldn't help but take a look. She saw Sasuke's muscular back, he was drying his hair off, she liked how his muscles stretched at every move. He bend and the blonde guessed that he was drying off his legs. His tights. She thought licking her lips.

Sasuke took his boxers that were lying on the bed, he knew that she was watching and found the situation very amusing. He kept the towel around him and slid both legs in his boxers, then stood up to put them on. Naruto jumped and looked away, she felt so hot. Then jumped again when Sasuke slid under the sheets, she blushed crimson red. She was glad that Sasuke was not facing her.

"Go back to sleep, it's still early" The raven repeated when he felt that his teammate was still not going back to sleep.

She nodded as if he was able to see her and lied down on the bed.

When her eyes started to feel heavy, her stomach churned and she started to feel sick, she run to the bathroom knowing that it was the morning sickness again. Sasuke sighed but followed her.

It was worse than the day before though, Naruto had totally emptied her stomach and when she thought that it was over, it started again but there was nothing to vomit, her stomach kept on clenching painfully. When her stomach calmed down, she felt so weak that she couldn't stand up without Sasuke's help, she looked sick with her teary eyes and pale skin. The raven helped her clean up and led her to their room.

"I hate this" the blonde mumbled tiredly. She had never felt so exhausted. As soon as her eyes drooped, she fell into deep slumber.

Sasuke had never seen his teammate so weak, those morning sicknesses were able to bring down a very strong shinobi. Women were courageous to handle the inconvenience of pregnancy during nine months and every time they wanted children. He mindlessly thanked Kami-sama for being a guy.


So? Tell me what you think about it please!