lostmoonchild: Okay, I don't have to work so I'm going to post this chapter since in the next week we're going to be swamped with birds. Considering the fact that there's an anime convention in Rapid City, South Dakota that I plan on going to in January the smell of pheasants is worth the blood being shed (literally) just to go. For more info, check out my profile for the website.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anything else unless I say otherwise.

Chapter Nine

When he didn't move Haku could fee his muscles tearing but when he began to move around did he feel them become stronger. Was it possible that his sister had somehow managed to create a cursed seal that wasn't visible above the flesh and couldn't be detected? Had she learned from Orochimaru's mistakes and created a better cursed seal?

If that was the case then surely she figured out how to stay alive for centuries that didn't involve taking over new bodies. That had been Orochimaru's fatal mistake but surely she couldn't have found Kabuto… could she? Just the mere thought of that man still being alive after all this time was terrifying. He was fairly certain that the man knew almost as many medical jutsu as Lady Tsunade and had a feeling that most of those medical jutsu were strictly forbidden.

Haku was silent as he looked at the picture of him and Sanyu, seeing the pleased smile on her face and the barest traces of a smile on his. The amount of love they held for each other was evident in their eyes and by how they were holding each other. This was in the early stages of their relationship of course and he remembered the picture had been taken a year after Hari took off.

"Haku, you won't believe this."

"What?"

"I'm pregnant."

He remembered those two words but didn't really remember what happened next. All he knew from what Sanyu had told him was that he had fainted but he did remember the excitement that he felt as he touched her stomach and the apprehension that also came. Was he capable of being a good father or was he doomed to be a complete failure for his son or daughter?

He had Sasuke and his own father to look to for paternal advice but with his father being dead after having been in their lives for a few short years… Haku wasn't overly positive. Sasuke had done them right by taking them in and showing them how a member of the Uchiha family was supposed to act but he wasn't positive he could do the same for his son or daughter.

Haku looked at the ultrasound photo that the hospital had taken the day of Sanyu's abduction. Everything had gone fine, they said, but they saw something that they couldn't really see. The baby was blocking whatever it was as if determined to shield it from them. They wanted to make sure it wasn't cancerous but Sanyu had said that she'd talk to him and they'd discuss their options.

He frowned as he looked at an old picture of him and his sister. She had looked so happy while he had looked so sullen. Back then no one had seen the darkness that slowly consumed her and couldn't hear him screaming for help. Then by some miracle Sakura had heard him and started to help him break free while Hari had pushed their aunt away, falling into the abyss in the process.

His dark eyes flickered back to the ultrasound picture and he frowned as he inspected it carefully. He wasn't a medic-nin but was it possible… Tucking it in his pocket, Haku quickly went to the bedroom where the other ultrasound pictures were and left the apartment as fast as he could possibly go.

"You think what?"

There were days that Sakura truly wondered if her oldest nephew had sustained brain damage as a child and today was one of them. He just showed up out of nowhere with pictures of the baby in tow and claiming that there was a chance that the pictures weren't of the same baby. "Haku, the information clearly says Sanyu's name on it." Sakura pointed out.

Haku frowned and showed her the earliest ultrasound and one in between. "Just look. In the early one, there's two fetuses. In this one here the second fetus is gone." Haku stated.

"It's not uncommon for one fetus to absorb the other."

"Then in this one, there's something being shielded. What if it's not cancerous, Sakura? What if the thing being hidden by the baby is the baby that everyone thinks got absorbed?" There was hope in his voice. "She's not pregnant with one baby."

"She's pregnant with twins." Sakura's eyes widened slightly at the knowledge. "Come on, we've got to let Lord Hokage know."

Sanyu closed her eyes as she felt the baby kick her and flinched when she felt one of her kidneys getting smacked. The baby was being extremely active today and was apparently trying to attempt the Hyuuga's Gentle Fist technique. "Hey, settle down in there." Sanyu said softly as she rubbed her swollen belly. "Daddy's going to find us and help us."

The baby gave her a kick in response and she smiled faintly as she felt it moving around. Wrapping her arms around her swollen stomach, she looked at the figure that just entered the room. "What do you want now, Hari?" Sanyu questioned.

"Why?"

Their eyes met and the former Suna-nin shivered in fear when she saw the look in the female Uchiha's eyes. Her entire body was shaking as the insane look appeared to have grown more intense. "Why what?" Sanyu questioned carefully.

She flinched when Hari threw a plate full of food at her and screamed angrily. "Why does he love you and not me?" Hari screamed. "Why?"

"Hari, it's okay."

"No it's not! He loves you and not me!"

Could she reason with the woman without getting injured or killed? "He loves the both of us." Sanyu said softly. "You're his sister. He's going to love you no matter what happens. His love for me might just be fleeting but blood will always bind you both."

Hari's body continued to shake and her dark eyes were full of desire to kill. "You're lying." Hari murmured. "He abandoned me. He left me when you came into his life. You gave him hope and strength."

Shit! Sanyu felt her fear growing as the two women stared at each other. "He never abandoned you." Sanyu said softly. "Hari, I know you know how to tell if someone's lying. You know that I'm telling you the truth."

"You're lying!"

"He did some research about your mother. She was sick and treated you the same way that she had been treated." There was a softness in her voice that Hari couldn't help but respond to. "I know it's not your fault. Your mother hated you with a passion and Haku's the only one that's ever really been there. It must have pissed you off when Sasuke took off."

"Shut up!"

"Hari, it's not too late to get help. Let me go and I'll tell Naruto whatever you want me to."

"Promise?"

There was such a lost tone in Hari's voice that Sanyu couldn't help but feel her heart break a little. Maybe it was the hormones that was making her so soft and weak towards the woman that had killed so many people since she was twelve. There really was no helping the Uchiha female but that didn't mean they couldn't try to help her. "Please? Hari, think about what you're doing. Do you really want your niece or nephew to be hurt on accident?" Yeah, like pleading to the insane woman's maternal self was going to help any. If Hari did have any maternal instincts then she was willing to bet that the Uchiha woman's maternal instincts was the same as her mother's.

Hari shook in silent fury as she glared hatefully at Sanyu, clearly not wanting to give in. "You bitch." Hari snarled dangerously. "I can hardly wait for the time limit to be up so I can kill you." She pointed to Sanyu's swollen belly. "And that baby will be mine."

When Hari left the room Sanyu wrapped her arms tightly around her belly. She'd need to escape before the month was through to protect her baby. She didn't care what happened to her but the baby needed to survive and needed to get to Haku. With tears streaming down her face, she closed her eyes tightly and began to pray as hard as she could.

Family generally wasn't allowed to go on searches but as Haku looked at Hiroki he could see that they were both going not as older brothers, but two shinobi with a common goal. They nodded slightly to each other before looking at Kakashi. There wasn't one shinobi that hadn't dealt with the Uchiha twins at some point in time although there admittedly wasn't one shinobi that wanted to bring Hari back alive.

Haku wondered for a moment if the only reason why he was being allowed to go was because there was a theory that the Sharingan could counteract his mother's bloodline ability. If that theory was correct then there was a way to save Giro. If that theory was incorrect… Haku inwardly shivered. "Okay, let's go." Kakashi said calmly.

Hyuuga Neji, Inuzuka Hiroki, Hatake Kakashi, and Uchiha Sakura and Haku. Their strengths would work together perfectly and they'd find everybody soon.

They were sure of it.

lostmoonchild: Okay, I'm not sure where this is going because my muse decided to take a vacation. Something about working too hard or something but I'm sure whatever chapters suck can be rewritten when my muse comes back. Read and review!