Child of the Leaf
Chapter Nine
by operadeglace
"Sakura… you're pregnant."
Sakura's eyes widen, then, unexpectedly, she starts to chuckle.
The chuckle turns to giggling, which then morphs into a gut busting laugh which causes Sakura to hold her sides.
"Hahahaha! I never knew you were a practical joker, Tsunade-sama!"
Tsunade narrows her eyes seriously, her face a stone. Her apprentice wipes her eyes free of tears as she calms down.
"That's impossible. We use protection every time…"
"…Sakura-chan… Sakura-chan… "
Then she remembered the one night that started it all. She was so desperate, so needy and emotional… so forgetful…
'Crap…'
There was a small moment of silence between mentor and pupil as Sakura's hands brushed against the round object in her pocket. Slowly, she withdraws the orange and draws her knees up into a sitting, fetal-like position.
"But, I'm only seventeen."
She starts to cry, and as cold as Tsunade tried to be, she couldn't help but feel pity for her dear student.
"Naruto… Sasuke… "
Streams of tears flowed from her eyes as she felt her world coming to an end.
'Sasuke… I will have no chance with him ever.'
'He will never love me if he knows that I've already had a kid.'
Her Inner Sakura resurfaces after lying dormant within her to battle her fragile mental state caused by Sasuke's departure from Konoha…
'You idiot. You love Naruto, don't you?'
'He loves you with all his heart, and yet you think about Sasuke first?'
'But, I've loved Sasuke before Naruto… wouldn't that make me a terrible woman if I just give up on him?'
'You're a terrible woman for forgetting whose baby is in your womb…'
'What am I going to do?'
'Shannaro! Naruto is a fool, but, he is perfect for you.'
'And Sasuke isn't?'
'No!'
'How do you know that?'
'Smell that orange.'
Sakura brings the fragrant fruit to her nose.
It seemed as if a million memories speed through her mind.
'How many times has he saved your life?'
'…'
'How many times was he willing to sacrifice his life and happiness for your happiness?'
'…stop.'
'How many times has he shown you he's loved you without words?'
'Stop, please.'
'How many times has Sasuke done ANY of that for you!?'
"Stop! STOP! No, no, no, no NO!"
Sakura screams out violently, the orange dropping with a thud onto the bed. Tsunade is startled at the pink haired girl's uncharacteristic behavior. She seemed… mentally unstable… so much so that the godaime was terrified on the inside.
"Sakura, calm down…"
'Your obsession with Sasuke will ultimately hurt Naruto, who is the innocent in all this. You're using him and hurting him. You're only good for using and hurting him.'
Inner Sakura split into a darker, venemous version of itself. It was at that point that Sakura, herself, had an epiphany.
'I love Naruto, not Sasuke.'
'It's too late. Your addiction to Uchiha Sasuke has caused too much damage. He is a permanent fixture in your heart.'
'Because of your needy, desperate actions, you used Naruto, and now he is bound by that child growing inside of you to a useless woman who will only bring him pain… who has only brought him pain…'
"Please… stop! Stop, stop, stop…"
Sakura whispers to herself, her face still hidden in her hands. Tsunade allows the situation to unfold, unsure of the next step she should take.
'Too late. Damaged. Broken. Useless.'
'I love him.'
'If you really love him, you will let him be loved by someone who wholeheartedly loves him, not halfheartedly like you.'
'Hinata…'
'Right. Smart girl.'
'My heart hurts. I can't even think about it.'
'Tough. You have no choice. You brought this upon yourself by being weak.'
'If Naruto finds out you're pregnant, he will want to marry you. His life will be over. He will be too distracted to become Hokage.'
'He's already turned down missions to take you on dates. Dates! Imagine if he found out you were having his child? His dream would fade and be forgotten.'
'He doesn't deserve that. You don't deserve him.'
"SHUT UP!"
Sakura rebels against the voices in her head and slams her fists down angrily at her sides, sending a tremor through the floor to where her mentor was standing.
She smirks triumphantly as her mind is clear once more. Her grin fades as soon as she feels something cold and wet against her hand. As her eyes focus on the object from which the moisture originated, she starts to convulse slightly.
She had smashed the orange.
It wasn't just crushed, it was pulverized.
The beautiful, comforting, little orange was decimated.
'I love you so much, Naruto…'
She couldn't help but to pick up a few tiny pieces of peel and cradle it in her palms.
'I love you… so I will let you go.'
Of course, Tsunade was greatly alarmed at her disciple's behavior. There she was, pregnant, talking to herself, and hugging fruit bits.
Sakura returned to 'normal', and spoke with a very calm, measured voice.
"I am still in love with Sasuke. This baby was a mistake."
Tsunade's brow furrows.
"It was a mistake?"
Sakura nods unconvincingly.
"I don't love Naruto, at all. I just use him to feel good about myself."
She continues to nod in agreement with her words, although they are pure lies. The older woman swipes her hand through the air to halt the younger one's speaking.
"If you think I'm going to stay silent about your pregnancy, I will not. Even though you are my pupil, I refuse to keep Naruto's child from him—"
Sakura cuts her teacher off abruptly.
"There's a special procedure that they have in Sunagakure."
Tsunade's eyes enlarge in recognition.
She knew the exact medical procedure Sakura was talking about. Suna had used it for centuries to keep bloodlines pure from illegitimate children.
"Sakura… please, think about this…"
Holding little pieces of orange tightly in her hands, she stands firmly on her feet, giving her mentor a determined look.
"I have. I'm going to Suna."
—
In the present, Sakura's body twitched in Ino's arms as she replayed the painful events in her past within her unconscious mind.
At that moment, Naruto walks through the open front door, his face beaming with pride. He saw Ino seated on the floor of the living room but could not immediately see Sakura lying in front of her.
"Ino! I'd like you to meet my son!" He says proudly, his arm around Shinachiku's shoulders, shaking him slightly.
The boy blushes, a small smile on his face as his father's arm tightened around him.
A look of annoyance spreads over Ino's face.
"You idiot! That's Shinachiku."
Then she saw the smile that the two males shared with each other, and she realized with much astonishment that Shinachiku was, in fact, Naruto's offspring.
"Who's his mother..?" Ino asks, dumbfounded. In her heart, she knew exactly who the boy's mother was.
"Sakura-chan." Naruto's smile widens, his face growing as red as his son's.
"Where is Sakura-chan? She needs to see our boy!"
The shichidaime looked supremely happy as he said her name.
Ino leaned to the side to show him her fainted friend.
Suddenly, Shina felt the weight lifted from his shoulders as the man in the white coat rushes over to the pink haired woman and scoops her into his arms.
Shinachiku watched his 'father' tenderly cradle the woman to his chest.
"Sakura-chan! Are you okay?! Can you hear me!?"
She stirs slightly, her emerald eyes fluttering open.
"N-Naruto..?"
He sets her gently on a nearby couch and kneels next to her, clearing stray pink hairs that obstructed her face with his fingertips.
'This must be my mother, then.'
He took a moment to admire how beautiful she was now that he could see her up close. His heart swelled with pride, for some odd reason…
'We have the same eyes…'
Shinachiku felt that strange burning return as he witnessed his real father lovingly tend to his real mother. He could tell that he adored her, and it made the young ninja so happy that tears sprung to his eyes involuntarily.
It was then that Sakura's eyes locked with Shina's identical ones.
"You're… you're so beautiful." She whispers, immediately knowing who the boy was. Her hand reaches out to the teen weakly, then she loses consciousness once more, her body going limp on the couch.
"I need to get her to the hospital. Let's go, Shinachiku."
Naruto collects Sakura into arms once again as he runs and jumps off of the balcony outside the front door.
"Thank you for all your help, Ino-san!"
Shinachiku nods to Ino and leaps after his dad.
Ino stands up, dusting her skirt and turns to find Salada frozen in place with a surprised look on her face.
In her hands, she held a full glass of water.
—
"Tenten, you won't believe what just happened…"
Ino, with Salada in tow, arrives at Tenten's weapon shop, looking like she had just seen Shikamaru in a pink tutu.
"You're early! We're not going out for another couple hours, and I'm not ready to go yet, Ino." The weapons specialist stands up behind the counter and walks over to her blonde friend.
"We have to cancel tonight. Naruto just took Sakura to the hospital and I'm taking Salada-chan there right now."
"But, it's her birthday! What's wrong with her?"
Ino looks quickly to the young girl who stands silently at her side, holding her cheek warmly with one of her palms.
"Can you go look at the shiny weapons at the front of the store while your Aunt Tenten and I talk really fast?"
Salada smirks, readjusting her glasses before setting off to the display near the entrance.
Once the girl is out of earshot, Ino grabs Tenten's shoulders excitedly. The dark haired woman looks at her friend strangely.
"I just found out that Sakura and Naruto had a baby together!"
She was always a glutton for gossip and juicy rumors, but, this time her suspicions were confirmed.
"Didn't I tell you something was going on between them!?"
"Yeah, but that was a long time ago…"
"Or so we think! Listen, we can't tell Hinata yet. I don't know how she'd handle this…"
Tenten winced as she heard footsteps exit the back room of her shop. Ino looks over her friend's shoulder and stutters in greeting to the newcomer to the conversation.
"H-Hinata… what a surprise!"
Naruto's wife was in the back room, and judging by the look on her face, she had heard everything…
-End of Chapter 9.
—Story by ODG
Darn you, little squished orange. NS-blocker. lol
