Hey everybody! I'M BACK! Sorry it took soo long! I actually planned on having this out a week or so earlier but family and computer problems kept me away. But now I'm back! WOOT! This chappie isnt' as long as I intended and doesn't have much action but I wanted to put something out for you soo badly that I cut it a bit short. Well, it's not actually that short but it's not as long as I intended.

In completely unrelated news: I'M AN AUNTIE NOW!! GAH! I'm soo happy I could explode! I plan on flying down to see the little baby boo later this summer and I can't wait! WEEEE!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto but I do have a really cute niece!

CHAPTER 10

Worried Much?

Sakura sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time that day as she trudged toward her apartment building. Cradled gently in her arms was a sleeping Kichi. Sakura was astounded at how light the little girl was and determined then and there to help bulk her up during her stay at her home.

Beside her, Naruto walked in silence- a state that was new for the usually over-active blonde. Slung over his back were the two bags Kichi had arrived with earlier that day though Sakura had to admit that the time had seemed a lot longer than just a few hours since she had arrived.

The slowly setting evening sun and her grumbling stomach told Sakura that it was around supper time. She didn't think that Kichi would be waking up any time soon so it would be super for one again tonight. But tomorrow morning would be a whole other story. She had no idea what she was going to tell Kichi when she finally woke up.

Sakura wasn't exactly an expert on how to handle children. The only time she had to deal with them was during her rare shifts in the civilian part of the hospital. She just hoped and prayed that Kichi didn't freak out and run off when she woke up in a strange place with no Sasuke around to calm her down.

"What if she tries to run away?" Sakura thought in a panic. "If she's as fast as Sasuke claims then there's no way I could catch her."

Before Sakura had enough time to work herself into a mental frenzy, Kichi silenced her raging thoughts by snuggling deeper into the crook of her neck followed by sleepy mumblings. The simple gesture brought a soft smile to Sakura's face and she couldn't help but think that things would be alright.

When they reached her apartment, Sakura had to perform a juggling act in order to get her keys out because there was no way she was going to let Naruto dig around in her pockets even if he was over his childhood crush.

"Took you long enough." Naruto mumbled when she finally retrieved the keys from her pocket and opened the door. In return she gave him a look that would have sent Orochimaru running for the hills had he been alive to see it. It sure had Naruto shaking in his pants, Believe It!

It took Sakura less than a minute to get the sleeping Kichi tucked into her bed, which seemed gigantic when compared to Kichi's small frame. When Sakura had first laid eyes on Kichi in the Hokage's office she couldn't help but notice how small and fragile she was, but now she seemed even more vulnerable than before. No wonder Sasuke had wanted to protect her so badly, just looking at her would make anyone's paternal instincts kick in.

Out in the living area, Naruto was sitting on the edge of the couch bouncing a small ball off the wall as he waited for Sakura to finish. When she emerged from the room, he stopped what he was doing and turned to his attention to her in a manner that clearly said he wasn't leaving until they had a nice little chat.

If Sakura hadn't been so tired she probably would have laughed the "fatherly" look Naruto was trying to give her, but at the moment she chose to let it slide and took a seat beside him.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto started softly. "Are you sure you're up to this? Taking care of child is a big responsibility."

"It's okay Naruto," Sakura said with a small chuckle. "I think I can manage. Besides I won't be doing it alone now will I?"

"Of course not!" Naruto agreed quickly. "You have me to help you out!"

"Besides, I don't think she's going to be that much trouble." Sakura continued. "After all Sasuke's been taking care of her for some time now without any problems and he's not exactly the ideal parent." Naruto let out a low chuckle as a mental image of "mommy" Sasuke danced around his head with an apron and broom.

"What I'm worried about is what to tell her when she wakes up." Sakura confessed. "I mean what if she freaks out and runs off? What if she doesn't trust me? I'd never forgive myself if something happened to her. And of course Sasuke would be furious—"

"Sakura!" Naruto called out to stop her worried tirade. "Slow down. It's going to be okay."

"I know." Sakura murmured softly, her brow creased with worry. Naruto sighed and draped his arm around Sakura's shoulders in a comforting manner.

"You don't have to be strong ALL the time Sakura-chan." Naruto said with a small smile as he rubbed comforting circles in her back. "It's alright to depend on other people. You have lots of friends who will be more than willing to help you with whatever you need."

"But I have to be strong for Sasuke," Sakura protested. "You know how he is. If he doesn't have someone to help keep his spirits up he'll get all depressed and angsty and think the world is out to get him."

"But Sasuke isn't here right now." Naruto pointed out. "And everyone needs a moment of vulnerability, even you."

"Naruto, I'm not vulnerable."

"Then why are you crying?"

Any further protest Sakura might have had died on her lips as she stared back into Naruto's blue eyes. Her hand slowly rose to touch her cheek only to find that it was indeed wet with tears that she hadn't realized she'd shed. It was as if this sudden realization was the final breaking point and the next thing Sakura knew, she was sobbing hysterically in Naruto's arms. She hadn't even realized how much she had just wanted to break down and cry until it the flood gates were already open and pouring. So much for being strong for Sasuke.

Naruto did the best he could to comfort her by rubbing her back and whispering nonsensical words of comfort into her hair. It wasn't something he was used to seeing as he'd never been comforted much himself but he figured he'd just go with his gut instincts and everything would be okay.

"See," Naruto said with a slight grin when Sakura finally calmed down enough to pull away from Naruto's bear hug and wipe her eyes. "Even someone as strong and independent as you needs to vent occasionally."

"What about you Naruto?" Sakura said. "I haven't seen you squalling over the fact that our former team-mate and your self-proclaimed rival and best friend may be sentenced to death in the near future?"

"Just wait until tomorrow morning when this all finally sinks in, then they'll have to lock ME up to keep me from tearing the whole forest down." Naruto said with a snort.

Sakura couldn't help but chuckle at Naruto's completely honest statement. No matter how down she was, Naruto always had the ability to cheer her up; whether it was on purpose or not. She didn't know how she would have survived these past years without Sasuke if it hadn't been for Naruto's friendship and cheer.

"Well instead of destroying the defenseless trees, why don't you come over and help me do some shopping?" Sakura asked innocently.

"S-shopping???" Naruto stuttered nervously. Sakura had just uttered a word that struck fear into the hearts of all members of the male species and had them begging for mercy.

"I need to get some groceries and Kichi is NOT going to walk around in those rags any more if I have anything to say about it!" Sakura huffed.

"But me? Shopping? Sakura-chan!!" Naruto whined.

"Oi! What happened to the "being there for me" stuff you were spouting earlier?" Sakura's eyes narrowed in a silent warning that Naruto knew all to well. Narrowed eyes were followed by yelling and then hitting. And being hit by Sakura hurt as much as being hit by… well by the 5th Hokage and that hurt pretty darn-tooting much.

"Of course, I'd love to go Sakura-chan!" Naruto covered quickly. "I was just kidding earlier!"

"Good." And like that, Sakura went from scowling to smiling in the blink of an eye. "I didn't think you'd let me down."

You didn't exactly give me a choice. Naruto thought but wisely kept to himself. Any further conversation on the subject was immediately put aside when Naruto's stomach let out a ferocious growl that could have rivaled a mountain loin.

"Hungry Naruto?" Sakura asked with an amused grin.

"Just a bit." Naruto admitted sheepishly.

"Well, I was going to fix myself a little something to eat, would you like something too?"

"WA! I'd love some of your food Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted energetically only to get bopped on the head by Sakura.

"Baka! Be quiet, Kichi's asleep!" Sakura hissed in warning.

"Gomen," Naruto cringed as he scooted out of Sakura's reach. He didn't want her to change her mind about feeding him. Sakura may not be a gourmet chef but her home cooked food was better than the moldy stuff that was waiting for him at home.

"Well, come on," Sakura motioned for him to follow her as she got up and headed toward the kitchen. "You can help me chop."

"Now chopping is something I can do." The blonde ninja exclaimed cheerfully albeit quietly. He wasn't about to get himself hit on the head again. He may be slow but he's not a complete idiot, Believe It!

It was late by the time Naruto finally left Sakura's apartment with a reluctant promise to return the next morning. When the door closed behind him, it was like all the energy she had left in her body drained leaving her feeling completely empty. She just barely remembered to put the dirty dishes in the sink before throwing on her pajamas, unrolling her old futon on the bedroom floor, and crawling in.

Unfortunately sleep eluded her even though her body and mind screamed for rest. She found her self staring at the outline of Kichi's sleeping form in the dim moonlight that peaked through a crack in the curtains as a million questions swam in her head.

What would tomorrow bring? Would Kichi accept and trust her? And what was Sakura going to do with Kichi while Sasuke was on trial? She didn't exactly have a lot of experience taking long term care of anyone, especially a child. Would she be forced to cut back on her work hours, or even quit all together? No, there had to be a way to take care of Kichi and still work. So maybe she wouldn't be able to go on missions anytime soon but it's not like she wanted to be sent off while Sasuke was on trail and needed her support. Surely her friends would step up and help out. She knew Naruto would but she wasn't sure about everyone else. Surely they wouldn't be so low as to begrudge Kichi any hard feelings they still had against Sasuke.

For now she would just be content with getting to know Kichi better and allowing the young girl to grow comfortable around her. For starters she would take her out tomorrow and show her the village while they shopped. She had no doubt that Kichi would be anxious to see the town where Sasuke grew up with her own eyes. And maybe they would even meet some of her fellow shinobi and friends while out and Kichi could finally meet the people from Sasuke's stories.

Sakura slowly began to drift off, as she began to think of all the places and things she could show Kichi the next day. Maybe things weren't going to be so bad after all. Now if only Naruto would remember to get up on time and not keep her waiting. That boy had been hanging around Kakashi for way too long.

Like I said earlier; not much action but a chapter is a chapter so no complaining! The next chapter will out and about around Konoha with little Kichi-chan! I can't wait to introduce her to some more characters! WEE!

Don't expect things to get extremely action packed because this story does sort of center around Sasuke's trail (which I will try to make as interesting as I possibly can) and trails aren't that thrilling. Oh, and if anybody is good with legal system type stuff I NEED YOU! I don't know nothing and I could use some help.

PS: Just in case someone noticed and was wondering, yes I was making fun of the english version of Naruto. That "Believe It!" crap gets on my nerves. And the fact that it's all over fanfiction now because of Naruto's increased popularity is annoying too. Not that I dislike stories just because of that or look down on the authors or anything like that. I understand that it's what they're used to hearing so that's why they use it. The english version is just annoying in general, especially when you're used to the original w/ subtitles, though I'm glad they brought it over for other people to enjoy. (though did they have to butcher it soo much??) But I should stop ranting now... yeah

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FrillingFreak