Okay all, this chapter, we'll have some time skip, some action and plenty of drama in this instalment. I hope you enjoy. Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed and added me to their alerts and faves. It is much appreciated. Now let's get on with the chapter.
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Two Hearts One Soul.
Chapter 10 – Darkness Descends.
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A month later in the Land of Waves, two cloaked figures made their way across the great Naruto Bridge and took up residency in the woods. "Leader said to keep an eye on the Jinchuriki." One of them said ominously.
"That means no messing around with explosions Deidara." The other man said.
"Well you can't go off looking for money Kakuzu." Deidara replied back. The pair made themselves comfortable. They knew this mission was going to take a while.
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Four years later, Naruto was still teaching the students in the Land of Waves. Kai had joined the classes three years ago, and was progressing well. Naruto knew that he could teach his students so much more if he were in Konoha. Tazuna had agreed with that. In Konoha there were more students, more variety and more teachers. Naruto could only do so much as a teacher. Tazuna agreed with Naruto that some form of plan needed to be made so that the students could learn in Konoha. Naruto had finally figured it out to a tee. The students would stay in Konoha during the week, and on weekends, they would be escorted back to the Land of Waves by a ninja to assure their safety. Tsunade had arranged a home for the students to stay in, and Sai would live there as their guardian during the week. This also meant that Naruto would be going back as he had promised, and continuing to train as the next Hokage. Sai had been helping by taking these messages back and forth for the last year to arrange everything. Parents had been informed of the idea two months ago. All had agreed to it. After all, Naruto was well-trusted in the Land of Waves and they knew that he'd look after their children. The cloaked figures watched from the shadows, soon their move would be made, and would leave devastation in its wake.
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Sakura was making breakfast that morning. She looked at Kohana, who was growing rapidly. She was strong for a five year old. She never picked on her little sister. Sakura looked at her three year old daughter, Kasumi, and smiled happily at her second dark-haired child. Kasumi had her father's eyes as well as his hair and she had Sakura's face. Amazingly her forehead was rather petite. Sakura gazed at the baby basket on one of the dining room chairs. Inside this basket, Sakura's only son snuggled, sound asleep. Riku had his mother's hair and eyes and he seemed to have a much calmer temperament than both of his parents. He always seemed rather attached to Sasuke, but that may have been because Sakura made him Riku's Godfather. Sakura was meeting Hinata, Ten Ten and Ino later on.
Ten Ten and Hinata had their four-year-old children, and Ino had a child on the way. She and Kankuro were waiting until after the baby was born to get married. So in technical terms, this new arrival would be a Yamanaka. Ino was beaming with pride where ever she went.
Hinata's son, Isamu, had his father's hair and his mother's Byakugan eyes. Kiba beamed with pride whenever anyone asked him about his son. Like Kiba had Akamaru, Isamu had his own pup now. The little black and white pup was named Ruko, and Isamu never went anywhere without him.
Ten Ten's daughter, Mariko, had her father's hair and his Byakugan. Ten Ten had Mariko's hair tied into little odangos to match her own hairstyle. Mariko's personality was bright, bubbly and loud. Very like a certain knucklehead ninja they were all waiting on to come back home.
Sakura felt arms wrap around her waist and turned to look at Lee. She smiled, as Lee kissed her on the cheek, and went to sit down at the table. Kohana and Kasumi grinned widely at their father. Riku gurgled in his bassinet. Sakura sighed deeply, wondering if Akina would come and join them for breakfast this morning. Akina had lived with them since the incident that had happened just over four years earlier. She still bore the horrifying scars from that incident. Sakura had been shocked when she had seen the kind of cruelty her father could inflict. It wasn't until that moment that Sakura realised that she would never be able to forgive her father for the way he had treated her mother, or her, or Akina. She feared seeing the man. She wasn't sure how she would react to him anymore. No longer could she keep a calm face, because rage bubbled away inside of her. Akina stepped into the room so quietly, Sakura barely heard her. Kohana and Kasumi called out to her to sit down with them. "Auntie 'kina si'down wid us." Kasumi chirped happily.
"Good morning, Auntie Akina!" Kohana said. Akina smiled softly and sat in between the two girls quietly, ruffling their hair. Since the incident, Akina very rarely spoke. She wasn't the same girl that she had been, and the evidence was very clear to that point.
"Akina are you going to come with me to see Ino, Hinata and Ten Ten?" Sakura asked softly. Akina looked up at her and shook her head. "Then what are you doing today sweetie?" Sakura asked. Though Akina, was officially an adult, at the age of nineteen, Sakura couldn't help the maternal worry that always crept up on her, where her younger cousin was concerned.
"I'm going to check how everything's going at the old building." Akina said softly. Sakura smiled.
"Tell me if anything is going wrong, okay?" Sakura said quietly. Akina nodded. The group carried on with their breakfast.
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Naruto was training his five year old twins separately before his students came along. Hijiri was a serious boy. Naruto was reminded of Sasuke whenever he looked at him. Hisoka was not as serious as his twin but nowhere near as hyper as his father, except when he was going to learn a new jutsu. Both twins had the same enthusiasm for Ramen as their father. Although both children also liked to eat vegetables. Naruto assumed they got that from Sasuke. Jiraiya was sat happily in the kitchen reading over his perverted notes and giggling madly. Sai sighed deeply as he sat across from Jiraiya in the kitchen. "You know I honestly think that Ice Bastard is in love with Dickless." Sai said. Jiraiya choked on air and fell off of his chair onto the floor. He sat up and looked at Sai, the shock still apparent on his face.
"What makes you say that?" Jiraiya asked. His curiosity was genuine. Sai smiled and pulled out his sketchbook. Jiraiya glared at the boy, whom he felt an irresistible urge to hit.
"Mainly because of how Sasuke reacts when I come to the village without Naruto. He always seems disappointed and lost. He also writes letters to Naruto. Something I doubt he'd do for anyone else. I call him 'Ice Bastard' for a reason." Sai said happily. Jiraiya shook his head.
"Sai you're a strange kid." Jiraiya stated.
"I'm no longer a child in any technicality. I'm twenty-four and was a ninja before the age of eleven. ROOT has its own mad methods." Sai replied. Jiraiya slapped a hand to his face in exasperation, as they heard Naruto yelling.
"Hijiri! No using fire jutu! You might destroy the house!" Jiraiya and Sai just laughed. After all, Jiraiya had taught the boys fire jutsu. After all, as Jiraiya had said to Naruto, what's the point of genius children, with Uchiha blood, and no fire jutsu? Jiraiya looked at Sai who was sketching rapidly. He sat back down at the table, righted his notebook, and picked up a mug of coffee. He had just taken a sip when Sai decided to speak again.
"Did you know I have a girlfriend, Pervert?" Jiraiya spat his coffee out in shock as he once again fell off of his chair. Sai smirked and carried on drawing, while Jiraiya tried to consider who, in their right mind, would date a guy like Sai.
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Sakura walked down the street leisurely. She held Riku in her arms, and Kohana and Kasumi walked either side of her. Kohana had her black hair tied into a braid, and wore a green t-shirt, white shorts and black ninja sandals. Kasumi was dressed in a blue t-shirt, black shorts and the same sandals as her older sister. Her hair was tied into cute pigtails, and both children chatted to Sakura animatedly. She saw Ten Ten walking down the street towards her with Mariko, who was dressed in a red t-shirt and black shorts. Her sandals the same as the other children. Her hair was tied in the usual odangos and her bright smile got wider as she caught sight of Kohana and Kasumi. Ten Ten and Sakura greeted each other warmly. The two women watched as Mariko, Kohana and Kasumi raced around each other happily. When they got to Ichiraku's they saw Ino walking along with Hinata. Ino's pregnant belly stuck out a mile, and Ino was wearing a pair of cropped pants, and a baggy, blue, long-sleeved t-shirt. Her regular ninja sandals on her feet. She walked along with Hinata, who held on to Isamu's hand. Ruko sat on Isamu's head, as Akamaru had sat on Kiba's head so many years before. The girls ran over and dragged Isamu into the Ramen stand, whilst Hinata and Ino took their time. Sakura and Ten Ten laughed at the way the three girls had such influence over Isamu. They all sat down to eat Ramen and talk, whilst the children played happily together.
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Sasuke was checking on how the new ninja boarding house was being handled. He, Sakura and Ino had all been given a mission to keep an eye on what was going on there. After all it would be a home for children from the Land of Waves. He saw Akina walk over towards the house. "Akina over here!" He called. The girl smiled softly and walked over to sit next to Sasuke. He gave her a smile back. He treated the girl like a sister, and she treated him like the brother she had never had. Sometimes, she would talk to him. Sometimes she stayed quiet. Sakura had told Sasuke how worried she was about her. Especially recently, as Akina hadn't been going out. "Sakura tells me you haven't been going out lately." Sasuke stated. Akina looked at the ground. "Why? Is someone picking on you?" Sasuke asked. Akina looked up at him, her eyes slightly teary. Sasuke sighed and ruffled the young woman's hair affectionately. "Come on Akina, I can't help, if you don't talk to me." Sasuke said softly. He'd become a lot better with people in the time Naruto had been gone. Really, he'd had no choice. Naruto had always been able to tell Sasuke what was going on. Without Naruto there to do it, Sasuke had had to learn to communicate, and he wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing.
"Uncle Yoshiro. He brought his nephew, Watashi, to live with him and Auntie Hanasuki." Akina whispered softly.
"What's wrong with that?" Sasuke asked.
"Watashi is just like Uncle. He scares me. He's been hassling me a lot lately. Usually Sai makes him leave me alone, but I haven't seen Sai for three months now." Akina replied.
"Why didn't you say anything to Sakura? Does she even know?" Sasuke asked. Akina shook her head.
"I couldn't tell Sakura. She hates Uncle as it is. I didn't want to bring her more trouble. She already has to look after me, and she has the girls and Riku. I didn't want to make more trouble for her." Akina stated.
"She would have helped you Akina." Sasuke said.
"I know. I just wanted to try and fix the problem myself. I didn't want to make more trouble for any of you." Akina said quietly.
"You could have told me." Sasuke answered.
"I know, but you're trying to think about what to say to Naruto right?" Akina said. Sasuke shook his head. A smirk appeared on his lips.
"That doesn't mean I don't have time for you Akina. You and Sakura are like family to me now. If you ever need my help, for any reason, then just tell me. Don't hesitate or hide your problems. They get bigger if you do that. I know from experience." Sasuke stated. Akina nodded quickly and smiled wider than usual. "So how comes you told Sai?" Sasuke asked. A smile appeared on his face. Akina blushed brightly.
"Sai saw what was going on one day when he came to the village to bring his reports for Tsunade-Sama. He helped and…" Akina trailed off.
"Are you telling me that you and Sai are an item Akina?" Sasuke asked. His face showed genuine shock. Akina nodded, and her blush became an even brighter hue of red. If that were even possible. Sasuke blinked. "Well you tell him, if he hurts you in any way, I'll tear off his arms and legs." Sasuke stated angrily. His face going dark. Akina's eyes went wide at the sight. Then Sasuke's mood went back to his regular stoic, and he smiled softly. Akina shook her head, trying not to giggle at Sasuke's big brother attitude to her.
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Hinata, Ino and Ten Ten looked at Sakura, who was feeding Riku with a bottle. "I have something to tell you." Ten Ten said mysteriously.
"Really?" Sakura asked. Hinata and Ino looked at Ten Ten in interest.
"Yeah. I'm pregnant. Neji's hoping for a boy this time around. He thinks girls are more of a handful." Ten Ten replied, as she giggled. Hinata blushed scarlet, and that made the group look at her.
"You want to tell us something Hinata-Chan?" Ino asked happily. She rubbed her enormous stomach contentedly, as they waited for Hinata to speak.
"I'm also having a baby. We know it's a girl." Hinata said happily. The group discussed the news animatedly, and hoped for the best. After all, Shikamaru and Temari were returning to Konoha soon. They spent half a year in Suna, and half in Konoha. They couldn't wait to see what Shikamaru and Temari's baby looked like. They got a message from Kankuro the last time he visited, saying that Temari had given birth to a little girl, and they had called her Tenshi. Apparently, she had Shikamaru's colouring. That was all they really knew.
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One month later, the group of Ninja students were ready to leave the Land of Waves. Kimi and Shinji had decided to move to Konoha. After all, Kimi had been a healer to Naruto's students for a long time, and they knew her well, plus she could help Tsunade, by knowing all the medical records off by heart, including the records of the twins. Both boys had always been a handful. Naruto saw the twins grinning happily and carrying their own backpacks. They didn't really have much with them. Just the bare essentials they had needed. After all, Naruto had sent all the stuff the twins had back to Konoha. Tsunade had kept it all in her home until it was decided where Naruto was going to live with the twins. Kimi and Shinji had found a home over in Konoha, and Sai had done the smart thing and had bought sealing scrolls to take everything they needed back and forth with him, so that there wouldn't be a lot to carry. Carting heavy loads would make them vulnerable. Especially with all the students to look after. Of course Inari and his five class mates, were all adults now, but there was still training they were going to get before they could take the graduation exam. Naruto knew they wouldn't need to be there long. As soon as they graduated, they would get missions and would soon carry on soaring. Of that Naruto was positive. Little did they know the trouble that would befall them on their journey.
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Sasuke, Yamato and Kakashi were due to go and meet Naruto's group at the halfway point between the Land of Waves and Konoha. They started out that morning not knowing the devastation that would await them.
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Naruto could practically feel the air tighten with tension. He got Kimi and Shinji to go on ahead with the children. Sai and Jiraiya were both waiting with baited breath. "Jiraiya, go on ahead with Kimi and Shinji. We have company, someone needs to protect the students." Naruto said quietly. Jiraiya nodded. Not liking the idea of leaving them alone to fight, but understanding Naruto's choice to put the children and civilians first. Jiraiya left, and Sai and Naruto got ready to be attacked. That was when Kakuzu and Deidara appeared. Naruto glared fiercely.
"Well if it isn't the nine-tails Jinchuriki." Kakuzu stated. His voice oozed confidence. Naruto glared. Sai remained calm-faced as always.
"Hey un. Can you just give up quietly today un? I have art to get back to that I haven't seen for ages because of you un!" Deidara pointed out.
"It is your choice to stalk Naruto-kun and leave your art miss… what's your name?" Sai questioned. Deidara hissed and Naruto laughed out loud.
"I'm not a girl, you socially inept asshole!" Deidara yelled. Naruto would have been rolling around on the floor laughing if this had been any other situation. As it was, he was really trying hard to stop laughing.
"Deidara, you know big words?" Kakuzu asked incredulously. That certainly finished Naruto off. He was laughing so much that tears were rolling down his cheeks. Deidara then started throwing clay bombs at them, in the shape of birds. Of course Naruto and Sai had to take cover then.
"Thanks a lot Sai. We're going to get blasted to bits." Naruto hissed. Sai looked confused.
"Wow it takes very little to get your gratitude Dickless." Sai quipped.
"Shut up you socially inept asshole." Naruto hissed back.
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Sasuke, Yamato and Kakashi saw the group ahead of them. Sasuke looked around but saw no sign of Naruto. He didn't see Sai either. The three landed next to Jiraiya. "What's going on Jiraiya?" Kakashi asked.
"Naruto and Sai need back up. If the people who were following us were robbers, then Naruto and Sai should've been back ten minutes ago." Jiraiya replied. Kakashi looked at Yamato and Sasuke.
"Yamato, you escort this group back with Jiraiya. The kids need someone they know here. Sasuke and I will go, and back Naruto and Sai up." Kakashi said quickly. The group were agreed. Of course they didn't notice the two pairs of dark eyes that had witnessed the conversation. Hijiri and Hisoka looked at each other and snuck away from the group with only one intention. To find and help their Daddy in whatever way they possibly could.
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Naruto and Sai had been moving around for ten minutes. Avoiding the clay bombs was getting harder to do. "We need a plan. Akatsuki aren't just going to run away when they get bored. We need to face them and take them down if we can." Naruto stated.
"How hard can it be to kill a man/woman creature with an art fetish and extra hormones?" Sai asked stoically. Naruto slapped his forehead in frustration.
"It's your weird comments that got us running around like headless chickens in the first place." Naruto admonished. Sai shrugged nonchalantly. That was when they heard two very familiar yells.
"Let go of me, you creepy lady!" Hisoka yelled loudly.
"Yeah, you freaky art lady! Let go of my brother!" Hijiri added. Naruto felt his heart stop.
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Kakashi and Sasuke saw the two children that Deidara now had by the scruffs of their t-shirts. The dark-haired child was death glaring at Deidara, and had his arms folded across his small chest. Apart from that he was completely still. The blonde child was wriggling, kicking, punching and struggling to hit whatever was in reach. Kakashi recognised them from the group of children that had been with Jiraiya. "Okay, what on earth are you two doing here?" Kakashi asked the boys sternly. Sasuke saw the blonde boy stop struggling for a moment.
"We heard you two and your friend talking to Ero-Jii-Chan and he said that Daddy and Uncle Sai should have been back by now. So we decided to come and help." The blonde said matter-of-factly. Sasuke's eyes widened. He looked at the two children in shock.
"Naruto has kids?" Sasuke thought to himself. That was when Naruto and Sai appeared from somewhere. Naruto glared fiercely at Deidara.
"Let them go right now." Naruto hissed. Sasuke couldn't help but think he sounded like a mother protecting her young, rather than a worried father. The blonde child started wriggling again.
"Daddy, who are these weirdos?" He asked endearingly. If not for the situation, Sasuke might almost have laughed. This was not the time for humour however.
"Look Jinchuriki, if you come with us willingly, we'll let the brats go. Your friends can take them and go. That's the best deal you're going to get un?" Deidara said happily. Sasuke glared at Deidara.
"You're not having Naruto or those kids." He spat out. He was surprised by how angry he sounded. Deidara grinned.
"Well you can try to take them from us, but you'll fail." Kakuzu replied. Sasuke charged forward, hoping to shock them, and get them to let go of the two children. Deidara threw one of the children to Kakuzu, the blonde one, and started doing something with his free hand. He opened the free hand, and there was a bird shaped object in it. Deidara threw it at Sasuke. Sasuke noticed the bird shaped object flying towards him. He realised what it was but he knew he wouldn't be able to dodge it. He crossed his arms over his face, and prepared for an explosion to hit him full force. He could only pray for survival now.