This is an eventual SasukexSakura. Rated M for descriptions of violence and language. Very little graphic sexual content.
The story is accurate up to chapter 238 of the manga and contains spoilers.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Never have, never will.
OOO
"Wh-what?" Kenji breathed. "We're- we're in Uncle Itachi's place again? Are you sure it's Uncle Itachi's place, Miss Mizukage?"
"I think I'd know the home of my own brother-in-law," she hummed noncommittally, plucking at her cuticles with precision from her perch on some boxes, knees apart. The room was dim and dusty.
Sakura blanched when she examined the room.
Next to a blade covered with dried up blood, there was a man with silver hair, bound to a chair and gagged. His hands were stiffly tied with wires in front of him, so his captor could see his hands. He was whimpering with fright, rosy nose and bloodshot eyes. He was relatively clean looking, clad in a nicely tailored suit with fringes in all the right places. A rich man, eh? Sakura thought. However, after examining him once more, she changed her choice.
Torino's lips curled upward ever so slightly. "You've noticed, have you?" she husked, hopping down from her seat, her stiletto heels clacking with every step as she circled him like he was her prey. "Kenji, what type of man is this?" she drawled lazily, her deep voice taking on a higher pitch.
"He's a ninja! An undercover ninja!" the boy cheeped excitedly, clapping his hands together.
"Why?" Torino asked.
"His hands are too perfect. Way too perfect for a civilian. Shinobi usually have calluses all around their hands, knuckles, palms, and fingertips, along with many scars. His calluses have been rubbed down," he finished, pointing at the perfect hands. "Even civilian's have a few calluses on their knuckles."
It was true. The man's hands were smooth. Well, maybe not as smooth as they had once been since there were wires digging into them, causing indentations of pink. Some of the fingers were also crooked and swelled, indicating that they had been broken recently.
Sakura cringed, her face contorting in sympathy.
"Ah, captain," she said out of habit, facing her previous ANBU team leader. "Could we, y'know, not show Kenji...this?" She motioned to the bound man.
He blinked at her innocently. "Why, what's wrong with it, what's wrong?"
Luckily for Sakura, she did not have to explain. Torino ushered them out of the dim room, and Sakura took a lungful of fresh air, inhaling and exhaling blissfully. The room had been far too musky for her tastes.
Suddenly, a loud shriek filled her senses. "ITACHIIIII!" Torino screamed, the pitch starting low and ending on a very high note, probably an octave above a treble staff line. "SAKURA'S HERE! KENJI TOO!"
The sounds of padded running reached Sakura's ears. "Oh, my!" Haruna cried out, now slender and fit. "Itachi, it's all right! She's telling the truth this time."
"This time?" asked the innocent boy.
Sakura just shook her head.
In a flash, three men arrived; Itachi, Kisame, and someone Sakura had never seen before. Itachi looked genuinely relieved to see her.
"Sakura-san," he greeted politely with a wave of his hand. Kisame gave her a little bow. Kenji copied him for some reason, and Haruna just thought that was the cutest thing in the world.
"Aw!" she squealed. "He's adorable, Sakura. I can't wait till we have a son," she said, bending to her knees and giving Kenji's shoulders a squeeze. It was obviously a not-so-subtle hint to Itachi. His cheeks colored, and he cleared his throat.
"Come, Sakura-san," he said. "We were not expecting you. It is..." he paused," ...two in the morning. Please be as quiet as you can. We do not want to wake the baby."
Sakura's eyes brightened. "Ba...by?" she whispered breathlessly. "That's right!" She looked to Haruna's stomach, and the woman beamed at her.
"Yes," she said. "Our daughter is now two months old."
Sakura literally started jumping in place. "Can I see her?" Itachi chuckled.
"Of course, but we must get you and Kenji cleaned up first and get a good night's sleep. When was the last time you showered?" he inquired while his nose crinkled.
"Er...I think it was five weeks ago, Uncle!" Kenji replied. "Five weeks!"
Itachi shivered, obviously repulsed. Haruna threw her head back and laughed, a hearty sound filling the hallway.
"Come. Let's get you guys squeaky clean!" She chirped as she draped an arm around Sakura's waist, ushering them along. Itachi sighed.
"She's going to get her arm dirty and full of germs. She can't touch the baby then," he croaked.
The man beside Kisame sighed. "Oh, please. A little dirt isn't going to hurt your daughter."
OOO
Sakura gasped as she saw her reflection. Grime was smeared over her forehead and arms. She sported scrapes and bruises down her legs, and a furry forest was fertilizing itself underneath her arms. She didn't mind that too much though.
She looked to her son and really took in his appearance. His hair was sticking to his face and up. He had unidentified stickiness plastered over his cheeks and surrounding his mouth. Dirt covered him. Really, he was almost tan, apart from the little dots of brown.
Sakura did something she hadn't done in a while.
She laughed for no reason.
It proved to be contagious, for soon Kenji was laughing as well. They jumped into the giant tub and started splashing each other as a game. After ten minutes of playing, they began scrubbing thoroughly. Sakura would ignore her hairy pits. For now. She soon washed herself thoroughly, all horrid scents dissipating with the glorious soap of wonder.
Threading her fingers into Kenji's hair, she started kneading the shampoo in, attempting to quell the stench permeating from it. However, it was difficult. The hair was stringy and stuck together in knots. She dragged her fingers through them, trying not to hurt Kenji.
"Sorry," she apologized, exasperated. "Our hair is just so dirty; it's hard to get all the...particles out." Kenji nodded, choosing not to answer as he played with a toy boat he had found in the cabinet below the sink in the bathroom.
"Ahh, we're sinking!" he cried, as the boat went underwater. "Quick, jump off! The boat will split in half! Boom, boom!" He made motions with his hands as he made sound effects.
"You know, there's a movie like that. It's called The Titanic," Sakura informed him.
Kenji looked to his mother. "Is it an action movie?"
"No, it's a romantic tragedy," she replied. His face quickly turned disappointed.
"Meh," was the answer. Disinterested, he turned back to his ship. He concocted a story with it, and as Sakura listened to his narration, she listened intently. The kid was quite a storyteller, using lots of emotion with his words. His boat went flying all over the place, and Sakura was having a hard time getting the boy clean.
"Hold still," she demanded, and the boy whined and complained. Sakura would take none of it. She promptly snatched the boat and withheld it from him. "You can play with it tomorrow."
Kenji, now angry and frustrated, harrumphed and proceeded to give Sakura the cold shoulder. However, he was staying still, and Sakura was grateful for that. She scrubbed and lathered, making sure to get every place dirt-free.
Then she withdrew her fingers gently. "All done!" she cheered.
Kenji nodded sleepily, leaning on his mother's breasts. Her lips quirked crookedly. Really, her son was just adorable. "I'm tired," he moaned, eyelids fluttering.
"Let's get out then," Sakura said, her own eyes feeling stressed.
The two dressed in the yukatas that Haruna had stealthily placed in the bathroom. They were loose, light-fitting. Nice, really. This was the only comfort clothing they had worn for a while. They dried their hair with haste, and Sakura literally had to shove a toothbrush down Kenji's throat.
The woman of the house was waiting outside. "All done?" she said softly. Sakura nodded, hoisting an exhausted Kenji on to her hip, head resting on her shoulder. Haruna smiled softly. "It's been a long day for you two, hasn't it?"
Sorrow filled Sakura's eyes. "A long three months, if you will." Haruna's smile fell, and she took one of Sakura's hands.
"We'll talk about it tomorrow. You need sleep." She didn't let go of the hand she was holding and through a dark, narrow hallway, she led Sakura to a spare room. She brought out a key and unlocked the door swiftly, pushing it open. "We warmed the room up for you. There are extra blankets in the closet, and the bathroom is two doors down. Sorry, we don't have beds. Yet." The room looked perfect. There were two futon on the tatami mats, the moon shed just enough light through the shoji doors, and the room was indeed warm. Intricate decorations and paintings of traditional folktales filled the fusuma walls.
"Thank you," Sakura sighed as she heard Kenji moan, frustrated that he wasn't in bed yet. "Can I ask where the Mizukage's room is?"
"Oh, you can't miss it. Three halls down to the right. There may be...loud sounds coming from that room. Loud, inappropriate sounds. I wouldn't recommend taking Kenji down there." Sakura chuckled underneath her breath.
"Believe me, I know." She took her first step into the room. "Good night," she whispered, her head peeking out the door.
"Good night," Haruna echoed, waving at the rosette.
The door shut with click.
Sakura rubbed her son's back, the dark comforting her tense eyes. Kenji's soft cheek pressed against her shoulder insistently, the weight suggesting that he was close to falling asleep. "Kenji, there's a futon here. You have your very own!" she said underneath her breath.
"I wanna sleep with you," he mumbled, nearly incoherent. Due to her experience in mothering this child, Sakura could understand him.
"I thought we were too old for that," she teased quietly, grasping Kenji by the waist and setting him down on his feet. He stumbled a bit, disoriented, but he eventually found his way to a futon. Sakura quickly followed suit, the two of them snuggling together contently.
Sakura's eyelids started drooping once she hit the comfortable material. She almost moaned in pleasure.
Suddenly, Kenji spoke, startling his mother. "Mommy," he started.
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Is Mr. Uchiha going to be okay?"
Sakura felt her muscles gather into bunches. The little boy had obviously gotten very attached to his father."Are you worried about him?"
"Mm-hmm." Kenji rubbed his eyes. "Mommy, what if...what if he dies?"
Sakura sighed. "He won't die." If he's not an idiot, he won't, she added mentally. However, she did not voice that, knowing that it would cause Kenji distress. "Baby, he's very strong. He won't die from a little wound like that."
Sakura hated lying to her son. She knew it would protect him in the long run, but he wouldn't appreciate it. She could only hope that Sasuke could get some help and soon. He wouldn't die, but he overworked his body, his wounds would open again. He needed rest.
"He won't die," she whispered, trying to convince herself that it was true more than she was trying to convince her son.
For the rest of the night, she had nightmares of empty, black eyes and her hands stained with blood.
OOO
Sasuke woke up, and the first thing he registered was pain. Lots of it. It dispersed through his entire body. Sasuke tried to withstand it, but the pain was there to stay. He moaned, thankful that no one was around.
Wait, no one was around?
He shot straight up, immediately regretting it. Blood seeped into his stomach, and his stomach responded quickly to the foreign intruder. Gripping the sides of the bed, Sasuke leaned over and emptied his belly's contents. He repeated as the blood kept flowing in, retching sounds escaping from his throat. When he was finished, he weakly coughed out the remainders of the blood.
He scanned the room. There were no signs of Sakura and Kenji ever being there. They had taken all their belongings, leaving nothing behind. Not even a scent to go by. Sakura had erased all traces of ever being there. She had left.
Really, he couldn't blame her, and that shocked him. Usually, he would just get angry, but this time, it just wasn't worth it. Orochimaru probably would have killed Kenji, and Sakura, being the mother and woman that she was, would not allow that to happen to her son. Sasuke couldn't say that he would do the same if Kenji was his child, but he could understand it now, at least. Something clicked in his head, a light bulb brightening his muddy brain.
Straining his mind, he had the intense feeling that he had forgotten something important. It had large significance, but for some reason, his brain was not feeding this information to him. He knew it had something to do with Sakura AND Kenji, but he just couldn't remember.
Was it so traumatizing that he was voluntarily blocking it out?
There were few things so traumatizing. He couldn't even forget the fact that his family had been killed by his older brother. A fire burned in his stomach when he thought of Itachi, but he had more pressing things to ponder at the moment.
He chuckled and hacked up more blood.
This was going to be a long day.
He adjusted his pillows so he could lie back comfortably on them. The countless threadbare blankets on his bed would have to suffice as a source of warmth.
Sasuke looked down to his wounds. They were wrapped firmly but were loose enough for some breathing room. Out of curiosity, he unraveled the medical tape around his chest and abdomen.
He wished he hadn't.
A ragged scar defined his skin from just below his left clavicle to his right hip. The edges were brilliantly clotted, and scabs were starting to form over them. Just above his heart, a red patch existed. This scar was sparse; it could probably be peeled away. However, Sasuke didn't want to go through any more pain, so for the moment, he decided to let it be. There were also little puncture holes near his stomach, but those did not look as bad.
With this, he realized that Sakura had healed him before he left. His heart fluttered and not because of any pain or stabs.
Sakura had healed him. Granted, they were not completely healed, and he would have to refrain from strenuous activities for a while.
Why would she do something like that? he wondered deeply. It's not logical.
Yes, he realized that she had really only saved him from his impending death, but the smart thing to do would have been leave him there to become vulture fodder. Why did she do it?
If she had left him there to die, she would have escaped with Kenji so much easier, going to civilization in no time flat. Instead, she healed every single wound on his body. Halfway, but nonetheless. It baffled him.
He was the enemy. Of course, he had been nicer lately to get her to cooperate more, but it also felt good to have her be nice to him. She smiled more, her arm would brush his teasingly, and she even trusted her baby boy with him. Sasuke liked it when Sakura was gentle with him.
A new memory came to mind. One where his lips were sucking on hers insistently, and he was cold and hot all at the same time. His neck warmed. That befuddled him as well. Sakura was such an interesting and perplexing woman. If he were someone else, he would have liked to explore her more, but he was Sasuke and had duties.
With a sigh, he decided to return this favor. Orochimaru would just have to lose this fight. Sakura and Kenji could live a peaceful life, never having to worry about danger. Sasuke would make sure of this.
He would never go looking for her again.
OOO
Gosh guys. Thanks for the reviews in the last chapter! I actually didn't expect that many.
Can we make to an even 300?
Again, any feedback is appreciated.
As you may see, I am working on the length. I added more descripciones. Keheh. Even though it is only six and a half pages.
Also, you may notice that I use OC's. They're going to be here for, like, the rest of the story. So sorry if that offends you.
Most of them won't take a big chunk of the story though some will have reoccuring roles.
Are you ready to see Itachi's baby?
a'ight. peace.
