Fact Vs Fiction

by Anime crazed girl

Life continues on for Kirei and the Naruto Gang in the Sequel to The Actors. All seems so very well with life, until things take turn for the worse and it becomes hard to tell Fact Vs. Fiction.

25. Beginning

Fact Vs. Fiction

Summary: Life continues on for Kirei and the Naruto Gang in the Sequel. All seems so very well with life, until things take turn for the worse and it becomes hard to tell Fact from Fiction.

Disclaimer: I own the plot and my character, nothing less, nothing more. I wish I did own more.

Notes: It's been a long journey, hasn't it? Well, as sad as it is, it has finally come to an end. A happy one, but an end. I put my heart and soul into these stories, and I am glad you, the reader, has enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed writing them. I hope that once I get more put up, you will take a peak at my other stories and like them as well. I hope to have one up soon, sometime this year. I don't know when, but it will be this year.

Most of all, Thank you for sticking with me and reading my stories. I hope that your lives are going well :)

Thank you for reading and supporting me! :D

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Chapter 25 – Beginning

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Splashing some water on his face due to how hot it was outside, Sasuke ran one of his hands over his face, doing his best to relax and be a little more normal than he'd been recently.

He knew just as well as anyone he was being too friendly and smiley and all that happy stuff he usually wasn't….

But it was so damn hard to hide how happy he was when he was expecting!

Okay, well, Kirei was the one carrying the baby…but dammit, he was going to have a daughter or a son. He was going to have a family, and if he couldn't be happy about that, he wasn't sure he could be happy.

"Shit!" The Uchiha cursed quietly to himself as he threw his water bottle away and almost immediately scowled. He couldn't believe he was smiling again, dammit. Someone was bound to catch on with all this smiling he was doing!

And, unfortunately for Sasuke, the four people he didn't want finding out were the exact four people walking up to them, all of them smiles on their faces.

Figuring it was useless to try to get away, the raven sighed a large sigh and turned to face the four girls. "Oh, shit…" He cursed again.

"Aw, what's the matter, Sasuke?" Ino teased as they got closer, letting out a small giggle.

Leaning against the tree behind him, the Uchiha closed his eyes. "My life."

Sakura glanced to each of the girls, her smile widening. "Oh, it can't be that bad, Sasuke." Her voice had a tone, a special tone that just told him he was screwed.

"Yeah," Raiha continued, holding the male of her twins, Renji, on her hip. "especially when you're that happy." She had always had trouble reading the blank Uchiha, but this was so obvious that even Naruto could've noticed.

He opened his mouth to deny the statement, but Hinata, with a mischievous grin, cut him off. "And don't say you're not happy because we all know you are." She walked up to him, crossing her arms as the other girls boxed him in. "You were smiling just a moment ago."

Sasuke was not surprised to find himself surrounded when he opened his eyes and hoped they couldn't read him as well as he thought they could. "I was thinking of ways – "

Ino cut him off this time, closing her eyes in annoyance and waving her hand. "Excuses, excuses! We know it has nothing to do with hurting Naruto, so just tell us what we already know."

Keeping his cool, Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "You already know what?" He asked, hoping they didn't know.

It wasn't that he was scared of their reactions, oh no. He wouldn't mind if these four women knew, at least, when the time was right.

It was the Akatsuki and his brother that really scared him.

But, unfortunately for Sasuke, his brother and the Akatsuki already knew...so what was the harm in telling the girls?

"Oh, cut the bull, Sasuke," Raiha began, shifting her weight and lifting up her little brown haired boy so it wouldn't hurt as much. "we already know Kirei's pregnant so just tell us. Neji acted the same exact way when he found out I was pregnant and you two are pretty much devoid of emotion."

Ino and Sakura did their best to stifle their laughs, knowing the Hyuuga hit the nail on the head.

The other Hyuuga smiled, slipping beside Sasuke and gently began to nudge him. "Come on, Sasuke," She began in a sweet baby voice, smile growing larger as the raven grew more and more annoyed. "You can tell us. Come on…"

Why, oh why did Sasuke ever want to be friends with these people? "Fine!" He exploded, pushing off the tree and standing his own ground. "We're expecting, okay?"

Before Sasuke could even react, or move away, each of the girls took their turns hugging the raven – knowing well he would hate it – and congratulated him, also knowing that for once in his life, Sasuke was happy.

"Now, down to business…" Sakura began after stepping away, smile still plain on her face.

Sasuke ruffled his eyebrows, looking at her with an unnerving gaze. Oh god. They had something else planned?

"Don't worry," Hinata began, seeing his look. "It's nothing to do with you or anything…"

Ino finished for her, also smiling a wide smile. "We want to give Kirei a baby shower."

The Uchiha let out the biggest sigh of his life. Thank god he didn't have to go through any more of their conniving and convincing. "You can't." He told them, remembering those two little words.

Raiha shifted her weight once more, setting a soft glare on the Uchiha, as the others did so. "And why not?" She asked with a sharp tone. She was going to throw her best friend a baby shower whether he allowed it or not.

Looking to her something of an apologetic gaze, he gave her a somewhat smile and explained. "You can't…at least, not today." He began, looking to all the women who were scaring him – but he'd never admit it!

Their glares softened a bit more and they stepped back a little bit, giving him more room as he began to explain.

"See…" He started, letting out a large sigh as his eyes closed in annoyance. "Thanks to a big blonde birdie…my brother and his friends found out that we're expecting – "

Hinata had to cover her mouth with her hands so she wouldn't bust up with laughter right there. The others, even Raiha, had to do the same.

"And decided to throw her a baby shower right now." Anyone with the ability to hear could hear how unhappy Sasuke's voice was, and if they couldn't, they were just plain stupid.

"Oh god," The blue haired Hyuuga began through her laughter, drying her eyes and laughing even more when she found black eyes glaring at her. "you must be thrilled."

Sasuke gave her the flattest look he had and did his best to resist the urge to curse, due to Raiha's little boy. "Oh, I'm ecstatic."

---

"Ita-san, where are we going?" A very curious Kirei asked as the elder Uchiha pushed her along gently. Normally, she wouldn't ask such an obvious question, but normally, the blonde wasn't blindfolded.

Itachi let out a soft chuckle, his hand on her shoulder, gently leading her inside the Uchiha Manor. "You'll see, Kirei. Be patient."

Turning her head to where he would be if she could see, she pouted and crossed her arms. "But you said that the last five times!" She huffed, slowing her steps. "I want to know!"

"If I tell you," Itachi began with a sly smile, sharing that smile and a few glances with their friends who were waiting for them. "it'll ruin the surprise."

A smile began to form under her pout when she felt Itachi's hand leave her shoulder. "I'll still act surprised, I promise." She told him, pout fading completely when she felt a few tugs at the blindfold.

The raven let out another chuckle, this time shaking his head as he began to untie the knot of the blindfold. "I'm sure." He answered sarcastically.

"I'm really good at it." Kirei mumbled, even though she knew he wouldn't tell her. Of course he wouldn't. This was Itachi, after all. Without another word, she felt a few more tugs at her blindfold and smiled when she felt it loosen around her eyes.

A shocked look took the blonde when her blue eyes opened.

"Surprise."

"Surprise, uh!"

"Fucking Surprise!"

Shock still plain on her face, mouth agape, Kirei looked back to Itachi in disbelief.

He nodded, knowing what she was thinking. "Surprise." He smiled, setting a hand on top of her head. "I know it's unexpected from us…but we wanted to celebrate."

Turning back to the Uchiha Manor's living room that was sparsely decorated with baby signs and balloons, Kirei let out a small laugh, still not believing that the Akatsuki member's she'd grown close to had actually gone and thrown her their version of a baby shower.

Holding a small noisemaker because it drowned out Deidara's voice, Hidan did his best to smile and walked over to the blonde, forcing himself to give her a hug. "Yeah, yeah, it's unexpected and all that bullshit," He pulled away, eyes diverting from the blonde. "but you and the little bastard are a little special to us and we haven't partied in a while, so we figured why the hell couldn't we throw you something?"

Deidara chimed in, walking over and hugging Kirei. "Yeah, uh. You're like a little sister to us. Sasuke's just unlucky that he's got us as brothers, uh." He grinned. "Congrats, uh."

Kirei hugged back with both Hidan and Deidara, finding it hard to not smile. They really were like a set of brothers to her, even if she didn't see them all the time. "Thanks, you guys."

"Dei, Sasuke's just unlucky period." Sasori corrected as he made his way up, also hugging Kirei and whispering congrats.

As with the others, she thanked him, smiling as he stepped back. "So…" She looked around the group. "How did you guys find out?" As far as she knew, not many people knew, since she hadn't told more than two people and Sasuke probably wouldn't either.

"A big mouth blonde birdie told me." Itachi smirked, seeing Kirei roll her eyes.

"Yeah, and that bastard was acting way too happy." The Jashinist added, rolling his eyes. "Bastard's always been gloomy and all emo, so when he was all happy, fucking something had to be the fuck up."

The blonde laughed and let a content smile take her lips as her eyes drifted out of focus. Sasuke had been happy lately, hadn't he?

Seeing her look, the elder raven put his arm over her shoulders, snapping her back into reality. "We should probably get started and get you off your feet."

Kirei rolled her eyes and sighed. "I'm fine." She answered. Honestly, Sasuke being overprotective was understandable, but did everyone have to treat her like glass?

"Yeah, uh, you know with our luck," Deidara began as they walked over to the couches and made themselves comfortable. "the bastard will show up and complain about how long you've been standing, uh."

"Oh fuck." Hidan added as he sat on the left side of Kirei. "He'd shit a brick if he learned we'd made you stand for too long. Fucking bastard's so overprotective."

She smiled and rolled her eyes, loving how he was protective of her at times, yet wanting to smack him sometimes. "Tell me about it."

"Now," Itachi began, sitting on the end chair diagonal from Kirei as Sasori and Deidara snuggled in the same spot on the couch to her right. "we don't have much planned…this isn't a real baby shower."

"I figured that." She answered him, knowing they of all people wouldn't but together games and such for her, but merely wanted to celebrate since no one else close to them was having a baby.

"We just have gifts for you and Sasuke…and for the baby, obviously." Sasori finished, pulling his blonde into the crook of his arm.

Looking to all of them, the Namikaze turned Uchiha smiled a small smile. "Guys…" She drawled. "you didn't need to get us anything. I really…" She told them, voice pausing to find the right words to use. "can't accept them…I mean, you're like my brothers."

"It's our fucking choice if we're getting you something." The silver haired told her, knowing her intentions, but still a bit angered. She was getting a gift whether she liked it or not, dammit.

The others felt the same way, with a little less anger. They understood how she felt but wanted to at least get her something, no matter how small.

"Adding to that…" Itachi continued, his voice much softer and a little more serious. He shared a look with each of the members. "We feel responsible for Orochimaru's actions and what happened with you. As members of Akatsuki, we should have prevented it from happening."

Looking up to the ceiling, a scowl found it's way to Kirei's lips, her hands balling into fists and gripping her jeans. "Why does everyone keep apologizing to me about Orochimaru?" She asked angrily.

Each of the guys, even Itachi, stared with a look of shock, not expecting to upset the blonde. They just wanted to make up for what happened.

Closing her eyes tightly, she gripped her jeans a little tighter. "If anyone should get apologized to and pampered, it should be Karin because no one fought for her the way they did for me!"

Glancing to each other, first in concern and second in shock, the fact that Karin wasn't ever apologized too did set in their minds.

"I'm sorry, but that's not fair. Just because I'm related to Naruto and Uncle Yondy doesn't mean I'm any more important. So please, just stop apologizing." She continued, trying to explain her anger and how she felt.

"Alright, uh." Deidara broke the silence, getting up slightly, reaching over and hugging the blonde. "We'll stop."

Kirei sighed a large and deep sigh before releasing her jeans and relaxing, hugging the bomber back. "Where's everyone else?" She asked, finally opening blue eyes to look at the other members.

"As far as I know, Konan and Pein are in the mountains on vacation…I couldn't reach them so I assume they're out of service range or else, Konan would be here." Sasori answered, trying to remember the last time he tried to call them.

"I told Kakuzu not to come." Hidan began, leaning back into the couch. "Fucking bastard would probably have a fucking heart attack if he saw the money spent on the gifts anyway."

Itachi and Sasori let out a snort while a giggle escaped from Kirei and Deidara, knowing that's exactly what would happen. "Kisame's on a mission…" Itachi remembered the shy shark saying he wouldn't be able to make it. "And Zetsu…"

Kirei nodded, already knowing the schizophrenic didn't really care for her anyway. "That's okay…I'm just glad you guys made the effort. Thank you, really." She spoke with sincerity, looking to each of the guys. She may have gotten angry about the apologizing, but she really was happy they threw her a party.

They were just about to say you're welcome – at least Itachi, Deidara and Sasori were – but Hidan sat up suddenly, eyebrows creased in anger. "Okay, okay, can we open the fucking gifts now?"

Shaking her head because he was probably just as excited as her, Kirei giggled. "Yes, we can open gifts now."

Before anyone could tell her the order, or even make up an order of who was giving their gifts, Hidan bolted from the couch, heading into the kitchen to grab his gift.

The blonde let out another laugh, not knowing Hidan to ever be this excited about something, except whenever Sasuke came around.

"So you're not far enough along that the baby's moving yet, right?" Itachi asked, curious and wanting to pass the time since Hidan hadn't exact wrapped his gift yet.

Blue eyes glanced away, smile beginning to show on her face. "No, no…not yet. I'm only about 5 months." She answered, fingers playing with her nails nervously.

"About, uh?" Deidara asked, slate eyes looking to her own, trying to catch her darting blue eyes. "Wouldn't you know for sure, uh?"

The smile slowly vanished from her lips. "When I first found out…I tried to forget it."

Sasori was not the only one wearing a shocked expression on his face. "Forget it?"

Looking back to them with a pleading smile, Kirei shook her head. "It's in the past. Don't worry about it." She thanked god when Hidan burst into the room, completely unaware of the shock and wonder of his teammates.

The bag he held was nothing fancy – Kirei didn't expect it to be – nor was the tissue paper, which was actually newspaper but as Hidan set it on her lap, he explained. "Fucking bastard Kakuzu couldn't bare to spend more than nothing on letting me get something nice to wrap all the shit in."

She smiled. That certainly was Kakuzu. "That's okay." She told him, smiling to him when he fell into his previous seat. Turning her attention on the bag, she rifled through the tissue paper, being especially careful.

And she was glad, too, since the first thing she found in the bag was a set of sharpened kunai and shuriken. "You can fucking never get started to early with all the Ninja shit." Was Hidan's comment.

Kirei made a mental note to hide all of the weapons away until the baby was at least 10. Maybe 12. 13 sounded better. Yet, she still smiled because that was Hidan. She honestly didn't expect him to get anything "baby-ish".

Digging deeper in the bag, she nearly fainted when she saw pink. Pulling the pink cloth further out of the bag, Kirei could not believe her own eyes. Hidan had gone and bought two pink, glittery princess dresses. There was even a tiara and matching scepter to boot.

What was even odder – if she could imagine anything odder than Hidan buying a princess dress – was the fact that one of them was toddler size and the other was an adult size. It wasn't…for her…was it?

With a shocked look, the blonde looked to Hidan, who wasn't fazed. "You know," He began, motioning with his hand. "So that fairy Princess can play dress up with his Princess."

Itachi was the first to bust up with laughter and had to cover his mouth in some effort to quiet down. He also made the mental note of making Kirei promise him to tell him when Sasuke would be playing "dress up" so he could get some nice blackmail. Sure, he had baby pictures…but those didn't seem near enough after that.

Through her laughter at the thought of Sasuke in this pink, glittery gown with a tiara on his head, Kirei put the gifts carefully back in the bag and set it beside her on the floor. "Thank you, Hidan." She continued to laugh, hugging the Jashinist.

"You're welcome." He answered, returning the hug as Sasori let Deidara go and got up from the couch. "I didn't know if you were even having a girl, but I thought you'd have one fucking eventually, and if you don't, oh well. I'm sure the bastard will enjoy the dress anyway, dammit."

Sasori disappeared into the kitchen as well, but blue eyes remained with the guys in the room. "Well…we don't know if we're having a boy or a girl." Kirei admitted with a smile.

"Couldn't you find out by now, uh?" Deidara asked, having repositioned himself now that his Danna was gone.

She nodded, looking down to her tiny bump, smiling. "Yeah…but we don't want to know until he or she is born. We just want her or him to be healthy."

"Hah," Hidan laughed, nudging her slightly. "You're just waiting until the last fucking minute because you don't have a god damn name picked out."

"No," She continued to smile, looking up to him. "We just want to meet him or her first before we give them a name."

Watching his sister-in-law, Itachi could tell she was partly lying. There was something in her tone of voice and in her smile that told him she did have a name picked out, or at least had something in her mind. The fleeting thought that maybe she'd name a son after Daisuke appeared in his mind, but with the appearance of Sasori, he dropped the thought.

Unlike Hidan, Sasori came back with a medium sized, unwrapped box and sat down before handing it to her. "Be careful," He warned. "It's fragile."

Arching an eyebrow, a curious smile tugged at her lips before she set the box on her lap and gave it her undivided attention. When she lifted the lid off and her eyes landed on the item inside, all of her movement slowed, an awed expression coming onto her face. "Oh wow, Danna…"

Inside the plain box was an item that at first appeared very plain, but on second glance was so detailed that blue eyes couldn't absorb them fast enough. Made by hand and out of wood was a baby mobile.

It was simple, save for the toys that were attached to the strings on the ends of the mobile. Lifting up the mobile with a careful hand, Kirei examined each of the Chibi Konoha Ninja, herself and Raiha, all circling around as her hand shook.

"Danna," She began with a breathless voice, trying to see all the details he put into the small puppets. "this is amazing."

"You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find references for everyone." He mumbled, feeling more than just a bit accomplished. How could he not when she couldn't take her eyes off of it? "The Konoha puppets are interchangeable with the ones in the box…" He began, watching as she turned to him and then looked in the box. "Just in case you ever feel like having the Akatsuki puppets – "

Seeing the Chibi puppets of all 10 members of Akatsuki, Kirei's jaw dropped open before she looked to the redhead in shock. "You made Akatsuki puppets too?"

He nodded, smiling a small smile. "Yes. I also made sure to use a special sealant so the baby couldn't break them if he or she got a hold of them…and it also prevents the paint from wearing. Everything's non toxic…since I remember reading that babies like to put things in their mouths." He added, not sure of how she would react. She was simply sitting there, staring.

The blonde opened her mouth, but was silent for a few moments. "You're awesome." Smiling, she looked back to the mobile and set it back in the box as gently as she could. "Thank you, Danna." She said, hugging the puppet master.

"I'm next, uh!" Deidara cried as he jumped off the couch, being careful not to trip or crash into something as he made his way into the kitchen.

Kirei shot a sly smile to Itachi, who had been oddly silent. "So your gift is last, huh?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

He returned the smile, not wanting to tip her off to anything. The raven was sure she'd never guess it anyway, but he didn't want to take the chance. "Yep."

Before Kirei could open her mouth and pursue the subject further, there was a large thunk from the kitchen and not a moment later appeared Deidara, holding a much smaller box than Sasori's. She smiled as he ran back into the room, almost hitting the end table and jumping over the foot Hidan had put out to trip the blonde.

Steadying himself after he landed, he grinned and handed the wrapped box to the Uchiha. "It's fragile too, uh." He told her, sitting back with his Danna and snuggling close to him.

Looking at the small, equally plainly wrapped box in her lap, Kirei had to convince herself that Deidara wouldn't rig it to explode – at least in a harmful way – seeing as how Sasuke would most certainly kill him for it and opened the box carefully.

As with Sasori's gift, her moments slowed and her eyes held the same amount of awe as she picked up the clay jewelry box. Turning it every which way, she let out a soft gasp, seeing all the intricate detail and moldings of the two crests of the Uchiha's and Uzumaki's, not to mention the other symbols. "Dei, this is beautiful." She spoke without moving her eyes away.

Holding the same amount of accomplishment as his Danna, the bomber smiled. "Open it, uh." He encouraged, very excited to see her reaction.

Taking his word, she did so very warily, not wanting to break off a piece of the box or crack it in any way. Expecting some form of baby item to be sitting inside the small box, Kirei was quite surprised when the sound of a lullaby filled the quiet room. Closing her eyes, she smiled and listened to it.

"I know it's cheesy and all, un," The elder blonde began softly, figuring she liked it with the smile on her face. "But since Danna's mobile didn't play any music, I made a music box to play the lullaby, un."

The smile was inerasable from Kirei's face, she turning her head to look at both artists she held in high regard. "Thank you both." She spoke softly, but with enough emotion that they knew how much it meant.

Putting it back in the box and making sure it was secure, she set it aside, on top of Sasori's box and smiled deviously when she saw Itachi stand.

He returned her smile, although his was a little more reserved and sighed. "I'm going to need to you close your eyes, Kirei." He told her, nodding to Hidan, who sighed in annoyance.

"And why's that?" She asked with curious blue eyes, resting her elbow on her lap and putting her head in her hand.

The raven shook his head, still smiling and walked over to the stairs before glaring at Hidan. "Because it's too big a gift to wrap." He looked to Sasori and Deidara, who remained sitting beside her. "Make sure she has them closed."

"Okay, okay…I get it." She complied happily, closing her eyes as she continued to smile. She felt her heart start to race a little bit, wondering just what it was that Itachi got her. It had to be something either expensive or extravagant if he couldn't wrap it.

She felt Hidan get up from the couch and walk toward the steps, where he began to complain. "Why the hell can't you have Sasori or that lazy blonde do this, Itachi?" He whined, knowing to not give out any hints or the Uchiha would murder him.

Their voices getting quieter, Kirei laughed at Itachi's response. "Because I can't trust you and Deidara to keep her eyes closed. You know Deidara's hands would ruin the gift so it's left to you."

It grew silent and the blonde figured that Hidan was glaring, since he couldn't retort to that. It felt like minutes passed before she heard shuffling – and Hidan swearing at Itachi for making him carry something so heavy – and she pulled in a large, deep breath.

She grew even more nervous when she felt Sasori and Deidara move off the couch and with the sounds she could hear, figured they were moving the coffee table out of the way. "Can I open my eyes now?" She asked, hearing Hidan and Itachi getting closer.

"Patience, Kirei." The elder Uchiha answered her, smiling. She was getting just as bad as Sasuke. It took a few moments, but when the gift was set up just the way Itachi wanted it, the group stood to both sides of it, allowing her to see it when she finally opened her eyes. "Okay," He told her, watching the smile on her face. "You can open your eyes now."

When her blue eyes landed on the gift, it really took a moment for her to realize what she was looking at. She didn't have as much shock on her face as with Hidan's gift, or as much awe as with Sasori and Deidara's gifts, but there was a look of surprise and love.

Where the coffee table once stood was now a crib. It was obviously made of wood, the chipped blue paint revealing the timber underneath. It had no wheels, like some did, and it was certainly old fashioned.

Getting up, Kirei walked over to it, mouth now closed, eyes examining every part. She could tell that it was hand carved and hand painted, able to see variations in the Uchiha Fans that were on each bar and the sides of the crib. "Itachi…this is…" She honestly had never, ever expected Itachi to get them a crib.

"I know it's a little outdated…and old…" He began, looking over the crib and remembering watching his little brother in it. "But this crib has been passed down in the family for generations. My mother used it for us and my grandmother used it for my father…and so on and so forth."

Drawing her eyes away, blue eyes looked to black, only to find them on the crib.

"Before my mother passed, she had me promise her that it would stay in the family and that I would use it when I had kids." He continued, finally looking to her and smiling softly. "But seeing as how I'm not getting married, let alone having kids…I figured you could put it to much better use."

There were tears forming in Kirei's eyes. "Itachi…" She began softly, trying to gulp down the lump in her throat. Reaching out, she hugged her brother-in-law, biting her lip gently in further effort not to cry.

It was rather futile, because when she pulled away, she was crying and the four members of Akatsuki became frantic as to how to get her to stop.

"Oh hell, we're fucked." Hidan began as Deidara grabbed her shoulders and shook her back and forth before hugging her again. "Once the bastard finds out we made her cry, we're all fucked. Screwed fucked."

"No, no," The crying blonde shook her head, drying her cheeks. "It's the hormones." She sobbed, smiling a watery smile and looking to them. "But really, guys…thank you. I love you guys."

"Aw, we love you too, uh!" Deidara cried, hugging her once more.

The others most certainly agreed, and even though the Akatsuki never ever had a group hug, they did just this once, hoping it would get Kirei to stop crying.

To their dismay, Kirei began to cry even more and continued to blame it on the "hormones" and smile.

---

Instead of heading directly back home like Sasuke had directed her to, Kirei stayed with her "brothers" in the Manor for a while, simply catching up on old times and having fun. With how quickly she was growing nowadays, it wouldn't be much easier to see everyone she wanted to see.

For a while, everything was happy. They were enjoying themselves and laughing – usually about how to torture Sasuke or even old baby stories Itachi had damn near memorized – but as Kirei sat there, her hand unconsciously on her tummy, her eyes unfocused, mind drifting in thought.

She was sitting here, in the Uchiha living room with, probably, some of the toughest, smartest and greatest Ninja not just Konoha, but the world had ever seen. They knew things no one could possible even fathom, and for the blonde, they knew something that could possibly tie everything together.

"Cutie, are you okay, uh?" Deidara asked with concern, waving a hand in front of his fellow blonde's face.

Blinking her eyes back into focus, blue eyes snapped to Itachi. "You guys knew Orochimaru." It was a statement, because she already knew the fact, but her tone was as if she were asking.

Creasing his eyebrows and shooting glances to his teammates while she looked straight at him, he nodded. "Somewhat. Why do you ask?"

Eyes drifting away once more, this time in remembrance, she began to speak with a soft voice. "There was a member of the fake Akatsuki…you never met." She was silent for a few moments. "I myself only met him once…I knew it was a guy because of his height and his build. He…he wore a cloak all the time, one that hid is face completely."

The room was silent before one of the members dared to ask the question on their mind.

"Do you think it was Orochimaru?" Sasori was the one to ask, his voice hushed, eyes on her.

She bit her lip. "It's not logical to think it was. Why would he be involved in something like that? And if he was, why was he a subordinate? Why would he take orders from someone else?" She asked out loud. "But…they never caught him."

"What do you mean?" Itachi asked almost immediately. He knew it was years ago, but he clearly remembered he had been informed that every member had been accounted for.

She looked to him. "When we went on vacation the first time…right afterward…Nii-san got a call from Uncle Yondy and he told Sasuke that the last member was missing. He didn't think I was listening…but I wanted to know what happened."

A look of shock took Itachi's face. Minato had lied to him? But…why? Something as important as the fake Akatsuki and it's remaining members…that was of severe importance. Unless, of course, Minato wanted him not to know so that he wouldn't worry anymore, seeing as how the elder Uchiha lived in worry back then.

"Okay, so you don't think it was that bastard," Hidan began, trying to figure out just what the blonde was asking. "yet, you're asking us if we knew Orochimaru."

She rocked her head in thought. "I want to know what Orochimaru was like when you first met him." She looked to the Jashinist. "I can't help but think that maybe the cloaked member was Orochimaru in disguise. I mean, Ramada could've certainly taken over Hokage and when he did – "

"The Snake would've killed him and taken control. He didn't have to do any grunt work at all, simply lay in wait for the opportune moment." Sasori cut her off, having caught on to her thought. "Just like a snake would do."

The blonde smiled every so slightly and nodded, looking at Sasori. "Yeah. I caught Orochimaru once or twice in a cloak…but I've pushed a lot of that in the back of my mind."

Sharing yet another look, the four members of Akatsuki really did think back to when they first came together. If they could get some type of resolve for their little sister, any type, it could possibly put an end to all of this. For good.

"He did wear a cloak. Only once." The redhead began in short fragments. He only remembered bits and pieces himself, but he clearly remembered seeing the snake in a cloak. "It was when we first met as partners. It covered his face completely – "

"But you could feel his piercing gaze." Kirei completed staring at the puppet master. When she received a silent nod, she turned her look back to the floor, leaning into the couch.

So Orochimaru had been a part of her torment the whole time. He had been the missing member of Akatsuki and came back for vengeance. But now that he'd been dead for a while, everything that had tortured her in her past was gone.

Before anyone could say anything to get her mind off the subject – especially Hidan, who wanted to hear another baby story – the house phone suddenly rang, beckoning Itachi to get up and see who was calling.

A very sly, mischievous smirk slid across his lips when his black eyes saw the caller I.D. "It's Sasuke." He told his friends, glancing over to them.

"Put it on speakerphone, uh!" Deidara cried, getting up from Sasori's lap rather furiously and running over to Itachi.

Hidan was already on Itachi's other side the moment he saw the smirk and not so patiently waited for the weasel to pick up the phone. "Pick it up, dammit, pick it up!"

Knowing his brother would hate him for all eternity, he did pick up, putting the phone on speaker the moment he did so. "I know it's you, Itachi. Put Kirei on." Boy did he sound happy.

"Fuck, you don't want to talk to us, do you?" Hidan asked, smile on his face.

"Yeah, uh, are we just nothing to you?" Deidara chimed in, feeling like giggling because torturing Sasuke was just way too much fun.

Sasuke couldn't believe it. He was going to murder Itachi. "You were supposed to be home a few hours ago, Kirei. We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow." The raven decided that his Princess had to be somewhere in the room and that it was best to ignore Hidan and Deidara.

Crimson eyes became half lidded, staring at the speaker. "If you want her back so damn much, come get her your-fucking-self. It'd be nice to see your hell-hole of a face once a year, you know." He replied, smirking.

There was no way in heaven, hell or any other alternate dimension Sasuke was going over there. Not with all of them there. Hell would freeze over first. "Itachi," He began, knowing his bastard of a brother was somewhere in the room. "get her home before dark."

"Chicken, uh!" The blonde artist accused, crossing his arms.

"Pussy."

"I'll have her home soon." The elder Uchiha replied, albeit with a chuckle. He knew deep down Sasuke missed seeing both Deidara and Hidan, he just wouldn't admit it. "Love you, little brother."

"I hate you."

With a click, Itachi hung up the phone and went back to his previous seat, looking to his sister-in-law who held a very mischievous look on her face. "Kirei…?" He asked, knowing that planning look.

She first glanced to Hidan, then to Deidara, Sasori and finally Itachi. "If you guys really want…" A playful smile took her lips, tone just as playful. "I'll get him here. He won't like it. But he'll be here."

Sitting the living room of the loft and waiting for dark, Sasuke didn't know how bad his luck really was, but felt that – as always – his brother wouldn't listen to him and soon, he'd have to face the brothers he'd never admit to having.

---

For once, Naruto could not believe his blue eyes as he stood at the threshold of the film grounds, arms crossed and nose scrunched in anger. "You're late again, Teme!"

Complete in his Shippuden garb, Sasuke slowly made his way to the Uzumaki and the film grounds, his usual bag over his right shoulder and another, smaller bag over his left. "Whatever." He replied with an uncaring tone.

He hadn't noticed the smaller bag at first, but when the raven was within a meter of him, Naruto looked at the bag, tilting his head. It was too small for any props Sasuke usually brought with him, and the fact that it was pinkish in color meant that it definitely wasn't Sasuke's. "What's with the pink bag?" He asked finally as Sasuke stopped and turned his head, glancing behind them.

"It's the baby bag." The Uchiha answered absentmindedly, black eyes on his Princess who was slowly, so very slowly making her way to them. "Quack, quack, Princess." He teased, smiling.

In all her seven month pregnant glory, Kirei smiled, doing her best to keep up with her husband. "Oh hush." She told him, trying to keep her breath. She hadn't realized what a trek this really was. "I'll waddle as fast as I can waddle."

Naruto had stared at the pink bag for a few seconds after his cousin-in-law had told him it was a baby bag, but it hadn't exactly clicked in his mind that his cousin – his pregnant cousin – was here. Only when he heard "Princess" and her own voice did Naruto's eyes light up and a smile take his lips.

Sasuke knew the moment Naruto smiled, any thought of being late – let alone anything else – was completely erased from his mind. "So about being late – "

"Nee-chan!" Without a moment to spare, the Uzumaki bounded past Sasuke and right to his cousin.

Stopping for a moment to gather some of her breath back, Kirei let her eyes slip shut before she smiled and opened them again. "Hi, Nii-san…" She said breathlessly, still smiling.

A small scowl took the place of the elder blonde's smile, he holding out his arm for his cousin. "That Teme's such a bastard," He began, not able to believe Sasuke had really made her walk on her own when she was seven months pregnant! "leaving you walk all on your own."

"No, no…" She corrected, taking his arm and allowing him to lead her further into the grounds. "I told him to go on ahead." Smiling once more, she motioned to Sasuke, who smiled and nodded before walking on. "That way he can have a nice spot in the shade ready for me to sit on."

Knowing he didn't need to worry about glancing back at her because of Naruto, the raven continued into the film grounds, looking for the perfect shaded spot for his beloved to sit in.

It wasn't that he could pick just any spot – no, of course not – it had to be the perfect spot. Where it was nice and cool, but not cold. It couldn't be hot either, or allow the sun to penetrate once the ball of fire lowered in the sky. Most importantly, it had to be within his view at all times, even when they were filming.

Once he found the most perfect spot, at least compared to all the other spots, the Uchiha smiled and began to walk over to it, glancing back to his wife and cousin-in-law to make sure they knew where he was going.

When he confirmed they knew, he continued to the spot, finding that Raiha and Hinata were walking either toward him or the lunch table. "Good morning, ladies." He said pleasantly, and with a smile as he set down both bags, preparing to set up Kirei's spot.

Both Hyuuga's stopped dead in their tracks, Hinata blinking to make sure she wasn't dreaming and Raiha staring at the Uchiha in absolute shock.

As if nothing were wrong, the raven continued to set up the shaded spot for his beloved, first laying out a mat to soften the ground, then a nice comforter to make it even softer. He even added a few small pillows, should she want a nap. "It's a lovely day, isn't it?"

"Dear god…" Raiha began, mouth agape as she stared in awe.

Hinata on the other hand moved onto the blanket, going over and poking the kneeling Uchiha in the head. "Are you really Sasuke?" Her mouth was also agape.

Having finally waddled her way over to the spot thanks to Naruto's help, Kirei smiled to her two friends who seemed a little shocked. "Morning, girls." She began, voice a little confused. Why did they seem so shocked at Sasuke?

Slowly tearing their blinking eyes away from the Uchiha who was still making everything perfect, both Hyuuga's looked to who had spoken, and within an instant, everything was clear.

"That explains everything." Raiha said, smiling at the very pregnant wife of the Uchiha.

Hinata shook her head, smiling. She should've known that Sasuke was happy because Kirei was here today. "Hon, you need to have that baby as soon as possible." She laughed slightly, looking to the Namikaze turned Uchiha.

Ruffling her eyebrows, the blonde shifted her weight and smiled a confused smile. "Why's that?"

Clear eyes slid to the raven who was still fluffing some pillows and poked his head once more, grinning. "Because he's just way to damn happy."

"What, I can't be happy?" Sasuke snapped, turning narrowed eyes on the blue haired Hyuuga. "Is that such a crime?"

"Yes," She nodded, laughing as he glared at her. "I feel like the apocalypse is upon us."

"That and I can read you way too easy." Raiha added. In all her years of being here, she had always been unable to read Sasuke's emotions – although she got a little better after marrying Neji – but now it was just too obvious. "I liked emo Sasuke better."

Laughing at her husband's apparent unhappiness at being picked on, Kirei grinned and set her free hand on her tummy, wondering when she'd be able to sit down. "Well, with how big I'm getting, it shouldn't be too long before you get your emo Sasuke back."

"Awwww, but I like this one!" Naruto pouted, leaving his cousin for only a moment to walk over and pat Sasuke's head. "He's so much fun to pick on!"

Smacking the blonde's hand away, the raven snarled, setting the last pillow back down on the blanket. "Screw you guys." He growled, getting up and walking over to his Princess.

"You know we're just doing it because we love you." She told him, smiling and taking his extended hand.

A small smile returned to the Uchiha's lips as he led her onto the blanket, glaring at Naruto to move. "Yeah, but I only love you." Keeping a good grip on her hand and taking the other one, Sasuke held her balance as she sat down, knowing it wasn't easy for her to get up or down anymore.

Ah, how nice it felt to not be on her feet anymore. Sighing a rather relaxed sigh, she smiled and returned her hands to her tummy, looking up to her beloved before he kneeled. "You're already late, hun, you should get going. The Director's doesn't look all that happy."

"The Director is never happy." The raven informed her, smiling afterward. "Be good, okay?" He asked, leaning forward and kissing her forehead.

Kirei returned the smile, giggling. "Don't worry, I will. I'm not going anywhere to cause trouble anyway."

Chuckling, Sasuke smile grew a little more. "Alright." But before he left her for the day, he leaned down a little more and kissed her huge tummy, eyes set on their unborn child. "You be good for mommy, you hear me?"

Laughing this time, Kirei grinned and shook her head at her raven. "Go on, we'll be good." She assured, waving him away with her hand.

As he stood, he came to realize that everyone was still watching them with either a devious smile or a very shocked look. Either way, he really wasn't going to live any of this down, was he? Probably not, but oh well. He was happy, and that was enough for him. "Come on, dobe." He stated flatly, turning and walking off the blanket.

Naruto held one of the shocked looks, blue eyes staring wide at his cousin-in-law, mouth open. Slowly, he followed the raven. "Are you even Sasuke?"

Laughing, the two Hyuuga's found their way to either side of the pregnant Uchiha and sat beside her. They didn't have much else to do today, so why not spend it with their best friend?

"He's gonna be a good dad." Raiha said softly, watching the blonde and raven as they walked off, Sasuke glaring at Naruto. "I mean…he really seems like he's doing the best he can."

"Oh he is." Kirei answered, just as soft. "He just wants to be a better father than the one he had." He may not have known that she knew, but she certainly knew how much Sasuke wanted to be different than Fugaku.

"Well, it's good to see that bastard finally happy after all these years." Hinata laughed, shaking her head when Sasuke bopped Naruto on the head and the blonde retaliated with a punch in the arm. "It took long enough."

Laughing once more, Raiha decided enough of the little comments. It was time to ask about the baby. "Has the baby moved yet?" It seemed like a stupid question, only because movement started in the 5th month, but she still wanted to know.

Smiling, the blonde set a hand on her tummy, patting it gently. "Yes, he's had a few kicks here or there." She replied, staring down at her tummy.

Hinata arched an eyebrow. "He?" She asked, knowing they hadn't found out the gender of their baby. That was one thing she remembered Sasuke telling her. "I thought you didn't want to know the gender?"

"Or is that what you're hoping for?" Raiha asked further, seeing the surprised yet happy look on the Uchiha's face.

Her hand now flat on her tummy, blue eyes looked to the blanket for a moment in thought and then looked to both Hyuuga's. "I just want the baby to be healthy, but it's easier to say he or she than "the baby" all the time, you know?"

The two Hyuuga's shared a similar look – a look that told them the other was also thinking that Kirei wasn't exactly telling the truth – but they wouldn't press the subject. So long as she was happy, it didn't really matter if she lied about wanting a boy.

"And how's everything else? I could imagine just one baby's better than twins." The brunette asked, remembering her trials with the twins that should be arriving very soon.

Sighing, the blonde leaned back onto a stack of pillows Sasuke was so kind as to set up. "Everything's pretty good." She summed up, looking between her best friends. "I mean, my feet hurt all the time and my back's incredibly sore, but otherwise, it's been good."

"Welcome to motherhood." Raiha stated with a sigh, giving the expecting mother a less than excited look.

"Mommy!"

All three women turned their heads toward the cry of mother, finding that the Hyuuga twins were now dragging their father by his hands toward them. Neji looked less than stellar, but wore a small smile on his face.

The twins Reina and Renji were about 3 years old and were nearly the spitting image of their father. They had the dark brown Hyuuga hair – which wasn't hard to guess because their mother also had dark brown hair – and had the lavenderish-clear eyes, although theirs were a tinge darker thanks to their mother's dark eyes.

Realizing their father was holding them back just a little, the tiny hands of the Hyuuga twins let their father's hands go, barreling towards their mother and hugging her as soon as they could. "We missed you, Mommy!" Reina cried, looking up to Raiha with big eyes.

"Yeah!" Renji agreed, snuggling his mother. "Daddy wouldn't make us pancakes." He growled, glancing over to his father and giving a scowl.

"Daddy doesn't know how to make pancakes, Renji." Neji answered flatly as he finally arrived at the blanket.

"Morning, Neji." Both Kirei and Hinata greeted, smiles on their faces, happiness in their tones as they looked to the father.

He nodded and offered a small smile to both of them before sitting next to his currently occupied wife. "Morning." He replied, losing some breath as his daughter removed herself from her mother and glomped him. "I see you're looking good." He glanced to Kirei, or rather, her large tummy.

Looking down, the Uchiha smiled and patted her tummy, smile growing when she felt the baby kick in response. "Yes, we're doing pretty good."

"We?" Renji asked, sitting in his mother's lap and looking at the blonde with a confused look. "But…how're there two of you?"

"Yeah, you're not a twin like us, are you?" Reina continued with the same confused look, knowing what her brother was thinking.

"No…" Kirei replied, shaking her head as she smiled to the twins.

Hinata leaned forward, setting a hand on Kirei's tummy as she explained. "She's going to have a baby soon, sweetie. Her tummy's just big because that's where the baby is."

Both twins blinked before looking at each other, trying to understand what their relative had explained. She was going to have a baby…but it was in her stomach?

"Mommy," Renji began, looking back to his mother before looking up to her eyes. "if she's having a baby…why did she eat it?"

"Daddy," Reina began at almost the same moment as her brother, also looking to her father before looking up to him. "Where do babies come from?"

---

It didn't feel like two hours had passed – what with keeping up with the tiny Hyuuga twins Reina and Renji, along with watching the process of filming – but two hours had indeed passed in the film grounds, the sun starting to lower from it's high position in the sky.

Despite the emotionless-ness of their father and their very laidback mother, Reina and Renji were a whirlwind, pursuing their baby questions, running around damn near everywhere and climbing all over the grown ups around them.

Kirei was all smiles, happy to see the children of her best friend, but also found herself a little relieved. It seemed Raiha and Neji really had a handle on the two, but if she and Sasuke were having twins…She wasn't sure they could keep up. Actually, she was pretty sure they couldn't keep up.

It seemed as if her baby agreed with her thoughts, giving a small kick when the blonde thought about how nice it was to start with just one child. "So you like being an only child?" She mumbled to her tummy, receiving no answer.

"Talking to the baby?" Raiha asked as she wrangled Renji into her lap.

She didn't feel embarrassed about it, since she once read that a lot of mothers interact with their children. "Yeah…just about how we couldn't handle twins…I couldn't keep up with them." She smiled, laughing as Reina slipped out of her father's grasp, ran behind him and used his hair as a means for climbing onto his shoulders.

"It certainly isn't easy." The brunette agreed, keeping a tighter grip on her rambunctious son so he couldn't do the same as his sister. "But we love them." She looked to her husband, who, finally defeated, let his daughter play with his hair while she sat on his shoulders. "Don't we?"

He looked less than amused, but beneath the emotionless mask of the Hyuuga, there was a smile. "Yes," He nodded, letting the smile show through. "We love them every much."

"Even though they're messing up your precious hair?" Hinata asked, trying to hold back her laughter, hand covering her mouth as Reina tied a few strands of his hair into a "pretty bow".

The elder Hyuuga rolled his eyes and shook his head gently. "Yes, even though they mess up my hair. They're more precious than my hair."

Leaning back onto a stack of pillows Sasuke had set up for her, Kirei set a hand on her tummy, eyes shifting downward. "I don't know how you did it, Raiha…I couldn't imagine having twins."

She had had her attention on getting her daughter off of Neji's shoulders, but turned back toward the Uchiha. "It's not so bad…it's just like a regular pregnancy, just a little more exhausting."

"Yeah, but I'm tired already just by sitting here." She replied, letting her eyes close as she sighed a very deep sigh.

The two Hyuuga women shared a glance. Hinata may not have had any children yet, but she certainly knew that was an odd sign. Pregnancy and being tired went hand in hand, but to be tired merely by sitting and relaxing was not something normal. "What do you mean?" She asked with a calm voice, hoping to mask her newfound worry.

"Well," The blonde began with a sigh. "I get tired really easily anymore. Not sleepy tired…but just drained tired." She tried to explain. "Sasuke thinks it's just because of the weight of the baby, you know, because I'm such a small person. I don't know myself, but I'm just hoping it's not a complication."

"Anything else that seems off to you?" Raiha asked, also trying to hide her concern as she shared yet another glance with her cousin-in-law.

Kirei pursed her lips, thinking. "Mm…my feet have swelled a little bit and every once in a while my hands do too." She answered, looking to both of her friends. It wasn't hard to see the worry on their faces. "You don't think there's anything wrong, do you?" She asked quickly, looking between them.

"No, no." Hinata answered quickly, smiling to reassure her. She didn't want the upcoming mother to stress out like last time and end up going the same dreadful route. "We were just asking."

A small smile found its way to Kirei's lips, not completely convinced, but trusting her friends. Maybe she'd go up and talk to Sasuke, since it looked like they were going to take a break. "Okay…" Letting her smile get a little bit bigger, blue eyes glanced to her husband. "I'm gonna go see Sasuke."

The two Hyuuga's, still a bit concerned, shook their heads, smiling. They should've known she was going to say that. "Want some help up?" Raiha asked, knowing firsthand how hard it was to stand up with a giant belly.

"That would be so helpful." The Uchiha laughed, watching as the laughed and stood to each side of her. Grabbing their outstretched hands, she continued to smile as they pulled her onto her feet.

As she stood, however, the smile quickly fell from her face, blue eyes falling to the ground and becoming unfocused. She swayed gently, grip loosening on her friends hands before her eyes completely closed and she passed out.

"Kirei!" Raiha and Hinata called out, hoping to god she was only faking as they held her still.

"Come on, this isn't funny." Raiha told her sternly, both of the women gently setting her back down as Neji took a hold of both twins, pulling them out of the way.

When the blonde gave no reply, sitting once more and leaning against the pillow stack, Hinata looked to her brunette relative with a serious face. "I don't think she's faking."

Hearing his wife's name cried rather worriedly, Sasuke stopped in the middle of the scene, looking over to their spot. Eyes widening when he saw her sitting, head rolled to the side and passed out, the heartbeat of the Uchiha raced.

Before a second thought could penetrate his mind, he jumped out of the scene, almost running over to his wife. Naruto seemed to follow suit, black eyes seeing a flash of blonde and orange to the left of him.

"And just where do you think you two are going?" The Director asked angrily, tapping the rolled up script against his open palm.

Sasuke glared. He was just asking for death, wasn't he? "Get out of my way." He snarled, red eyes glancing away from his wife for only a millisecond.

Knowing better than stopping him, Naruto cut in between the two, allowing Sasuke to go. He set a hand on the Director's shoulder, assuring him everything would get finished. "I know Sasuke's lines, I'll just create a copy of him and we can finish." He told him, blue eyes watching the Uchiha walk away rather quickly. "You better tell me what's going on later!"

The raven understood, raising a salute to the blonde behind him, silently thanking him. "What's going on?" He asked before he even reached the blanket, going directly to his Princess's side. "What the hell happened?"

Hinata and Raiha were also at her sides and looked to the very concerned raven. "We don't know. She was talking about being tired and when we helped her up she passed out." Hinata told him.

"Don't waste anymore time." Raiha began, feeling like they'd already wasted crucial minutes. "Get her to the hospital and find out what's wrong."

Hearing that one little word, Sasuke closed his eyes, feeling his heart rate go through the roof. Something couldn't be wrong. Not after what they went through before and with how close they were now. Sighing a deep sigh, he ran his hands over his face and through his hair before moving to a proper position and taking his beloved into his arms.

He hadn't exactly promised her, but he told her nothing could happen to the baby. Not because it wouldn't, but because he was here.

And he wouldn't let it.

---

Sitting up in the white hospital bed Kirei had come to know rather fondly – since she was here every other day – she took a deep breath and let out a long, annoyed sigh, eyes rolling across the also white ceiling.

Seriously, was there a legitimate reason for coming to the hospital? Sure, she'd passed out at the film grounds, but that's only because she was tired. She was tired because it was hard to sleep with a giant bump in the middle of your body. That was understandable, wasn't it?

Okay…so it was a little scary that she passed out while she was seven months pregnant, but did they really have to drag her all the way to the hospital on her day off from seeing doctors?

"Don't even think about being annoyed." The raven interrupted her thoughts, seeing her roll her eyes. "You have no right to be annoyed when the baby's in danger."

She narrowed her eyes only slightly, looking to her husband. "But he's not in danger." She argued, frowning. He didn't know it, but ever since she first found out she was pregnant, she'd had a feeling.

It wasn't the same feeling as the last time – the dreadful, worrisome, upset feeling in the pit of her stomach. This was so much of a different, almost happy feeling, that she wasn't sure she could even try to describe it to him. Nothing had gone wrong so far, and if her feeling hadn't changed whatsoever, why should she think the baby was in any danger?

Sasuke looked into those blue eyes for a few moments. He'd read in a book somewhere that mothers had an almost psychic bond with their child – even if it wasn't born yet – and as much as he trusted his wife, he didn't have that feeling. He couldn't.

"I was really scared." He admitted with a calm, but soft voice. "Last time was my fault, whether you agree with it or not, and I'm not going to let anything happen to this child. Even if you cut your finger, we're coming down here to make sure everything is okay."

The blonde's frown softened considerably, to the point where she was almost smiling at him, blue eyes not leaving the black eyes that looked at her with worry and concern. "Sasuke…" She began, formulating her words in her mind. "I know you can't feel what I feel…but you don't have to worry so much. All he and I want to do is go home and sleep on the couch."

Before the Uchiha could protest, Kirei pulled the heart monitor off of her finger, sending the machine into a frenzy because it could no longer detect a heartbeat and did her best to scoot to the edge of the bed. With some effort she pulled her legs over the side of the bed, allowing them to dangle before getting ready to step off and walk right out of the hospital, Saskue or not.

"You're not going anywhere." Her husband shook his head, getting out of his seat and stepping right in front of her legs, effectively cutting off her exit. "Just stay until Tsunade comes in and gives us some form of information." He almost asked, grabbing the heart monitor and her hand, trying to put it back on.

Kirei would not let him, moving her hand away and curving her finger. She didn't want to stay here if she didn't have a good enough reason.

Sighing at his wife's stubbornness, even when it came to him asking her to stay, Sasuke let his black eyes fall to the floor, hand still holding both hers and the heart monitor, but not moving. He simply held them in his own hands. "I know you don't want to be here. I know you want to go home and sleep, especially since we're coming here every other day. But I can't experience what you can…I can't feel what you feel with the baby." He explained, voice very soft, eyes shielded from her own.

"But you can't trust my word when I say we're fine?" She asked even softer, knowing exactly how he felt. She knew how he felt – unable to experience what she was experiencing with carrying the baby – but after all these years, couldn't he believe her?

Sasuke was silent for a few moments, thinking about how to answer. Without a word he moved closer to her, setting aside the heart monitor and taking her other hand into his, eyes closing as he set his forehead against hers. "I do trust you. I trust you with my everything. But I just want to be sure. I want to know what you already do."

Smiling softly, Kirei pulled her forehead away from his, feeling him falter slightly, and simply reached up. She planted a soft kiss on his black bangs, her eyes also closed. "The baby and I are perfectly fine." She assured softly, kissing the locks above his ear.

Drawing their attention away from one another, although Sasuke was still going to argue for them to stay, the door to the room opened, allowing Tsunade, their grandmother and doctor to walk in, her heels clicking against the tile. "Not exactly." She disagreed, hearing her granddaughter's last statement.

A look of confusion and shock set in on the blonde's face. The baby wasn't healthy? But…how? How could her good, happy feeling deceive her? "What?" She asked incredulously, hoping her grandmother was only joking. "What do you mean?"

Yet, the look on Tsunade's face was not one of teasing. Her mouth was nothing more than a straight, almost downturned line, brown eyes scanning the chart in her hands. "I can't say for sure if we're right…I need to find out a few things first, hun." She assured, knowing how her granddaughter stressed easily anymore.

Before either one could ask, the door opened once more, this time revealing another familiar face. "I'm sorry I'm late." Sakura began with a smile, letting the door close behind her as she walked up to her mentor and friend. "I had to calm the nurses as to why you aren't dying." She chuckled, pointing to her pregnant friend.

Staring into green eyes, the blonde blinked, a small smile coming onto her face. "Oh, yeah," She also giggled, looking down to the heart monitor she'd taken off. "Sorry." She apologized, Sasuke's hands releasing her own as she put the monitor back on, the machine finally returning to normal.

"It's okay," Tsunade told her, also smiling at her granddaughter. She was just like Naruto, always wanting out of this place. "we know you don't want to be here on your day off. Why don't you just tell me what vitamins you're taking? Sakura can take your vitals while we do so and that'll get you out of here quicker."

Kirei smiled. The quicker she could get out, the better. …If she knew what meds she was taking. Blue eyes shifted to the floor, she giggling out of embarrassment. She had no clue what she was taking. Sasuke was the one who gave her what she had to take at exactly the same time every day.

"If you promise to get back into the bed and not waddle out of here if I move, I'll tell her what you're taking." Sasuke whispered into her ear, already knowing she had no clue about her vitamins.

Sighing, the blonde set her forehead on the inside of her husband's shoulder, thinking. "Okay…" She drawled, somehow knowing he was smiling because she'd be staying here longer.

"I love you." He kissed her locks as she had done, helping her back into the bed before walking over to his grandmother-in-law. "I'll give you her list of meds, seeing as how she doesn't know them."

Sakura chuckled as she gave him a smile, walking over to the blonde who was still trying to get comfortable. "How've you been?" She asked, still smiling as she sat on the side of the bed, reaching into her pocket to get out a small pen light.

Bringing her hand up to her forehead, Tsunade's brown eyes closed, allowing her head to rest into her hand. Of course Kirei didn't know her meds. "I should've expected that." She told her raven haired grandson-in-law, as she picked up her pen, prepared to list what he told her.

"Oh, you know." Kirei answered, doing as she was told by her friend and second doctor. She moved her eyes left and right, followed the pen light and stared at the wall when Sakura checked the dilation of her eyes. "Sore, tired, huge." She smiled.

The rosette smiled, putting her pen light away as she reached for the arm wrap that measured blood pressure. "I could imagine so." She answered, wrapping the black wrap around Kirei's arm, adjusting it and beginning to pump it full of air as she timed the pulse of the blonde on her watch. "Anything weird happening, though? Swelling, or even short of breath?" She asked, still counting.

Kirei scrunched her face, not ever liking the blood pressure wrap, and also in thought. "Well, actually," She began, blue eyes looking up the ceiling in thought. "every once in a while, my feet swell. It's not bad…I can still get a pair of sandals on, but they do swell. My hands have done it before…and I think my face has a little bit too." She answered, looking to the rosette to find her eyebrows ruffled. "Is that a bad thing?"

Sakura didn't seem to be focused, looking at her watch and the instrument on the wrap. "Your BP's a little high." She mumbled, looking up to the blonde. Her expression changed almost immediately. "No, no, it's just a little strange." She assured, smiling.

"And how have the chakra supplement vitamins been working?" Tsunade asked the raven, knowing the pills were fairly knew and had more than a few side effects. They had only given them to Kirei because of the amount of chakra her family and husband's family possessed, yet she lacked.

He smiled, remembering that first day she'd taken them. "Oh, I think they're working fine." He answered, chuckling. "She wanted to go mountain biking because she had so much energy."

Tsunade snorted, writing down the effects for future patients. "You didn't let her, did you?" She asked, not completely doubting it. She would've been small enough to go mountain biking back when she first took the pills.

"No, I just put her on a leash and let her run around outside for a while." He smiled.

"I heard that!" She cried from across the room, now focused on their conversation since Sakura had since focused on her and the baby's heart. "I'm not a dog!" She crossed her arms, pouting at her husband.

"I'm glad to see you haven't lost a lot of energy." Her grandmother told her, also smiling. Even with the symptoms she had, it was good to know that she was still relatively healthy, even if Sasuke was doing his best to make sure she stayed that way.

"No," Sakura began, pulling her stethoscope away from the belly of the blonde and getting up, returning to her mentor to add to the chart in her hands. "but she's had some swelling in her feet, hands and face. Her BP's a little high too."

The rather humorous and happy mood of the room seem to fall at her words, brown eyes looking to green with seriousness. She wrote the words on the chart and with a sigh, motioned for Sasuke to return to his wife. She followed them, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Go ahead, Sakura," She turned to the rosette, nodding. "I'll finish up with them and meet you at the next patient's room."

"Alright." The Haruno nodded, offering a rather small smile before walking out of the room. "See ya."

"Sweetie, please don't stress out too much, but you've got a condition called Toxemia." The elder blonde thought it best to come right out and say it, the chart sitting beside her on the bed, eyes fixed with her granddaughter's.

Her hands rested ontop of her large tummy, worry already filling her eyes. "Toxemia?" She asked, eyebrows knitting in confusion. "Just tell me if the baby's okay." She didn't know what Toxemia was. She didn't know if it affected her or just her child. But she really didn't care right now. She just wanted to know if he was okay in there.

Tsunade took a slow breath, eyes glancing away. "For now, yes." She saw them sigh a relieved sigh. "But left unchecked, Toxemia can develop into something that can kill the both of you."

Blue eyes shared a very concerned glance with black, her eyes then darting to the baby. If Sasuke hadn't stopped her from leaving…

"What is Toxemia, exactly?" Sasuke asked, directing his eyes to brown, also noticing that Kirei's eyes went to the same spot. "I mean, is there anything we can do?"

"Of course!" The blonde doctor replied, nodding and smiling just a little. "It's a medical condition based mostly upon stress and water retention within the body. That's why your hands and feet have been swelling. Stress and some food items can cause water to retain within the body and kill the baby." She explained.

Sasuke ruffled his eyebrows only slightly, not confused about the explanation in the least. He was more confused as to why Kirei had Toxemia. Okay, maybe her diet wasn't all that great, but what on Earth was she stressed about? She had nothing to be stressed about…or was she hiding it from him?

"The best course of action we can do is induce the mother into having the baby…" Tsunade began again, this time explaining "treatment". "But we can't do that because you're not full term yet. I don't want to put the baby into more danger by making it premature." She sighed softly, picking up the chart and looking over it again. "So, the only other thing we can do is put you on bed rest."

"Bed rest?" The younger blonde asked, half of her dreading the thought. If she was on bed rest, it meant that Sasuke could baby her all day, every day until she had the baby. "Is that the only way?"

Tsunade nodded, wondering why her granddaughter didn't seem so excited over it. "Yes. And when I say bed rest, I mean it. No going to the film grounds, no going on walks around the town. No going up any stairs and certainly, not standing on your feet for more than 10 minutes. You need to be on a couch or a bed at all times."

Tsunade honestly thought her eyes were deceiving her when she found a smile on Sasuke's face and a frown on Kirei's.

Sasuke was happy. He was ecstatic. He knew she hated it, but now he had a pure, legitimate reason to baby her as much as he possibly could. Smiling growing into a grin, he turned his head toward her, kissing the locks above her ear. "I get to baby you all I want."

Kirei was trying to hold back a smile as he kept nuzzling and kissing her, knowing he loved to treat her like a real Princess even when it annoyed her sometimes. "I know…" She mumbled, sighing.

"All day, every day…" He continued, kissing down her cheek and jaw. "And you can't say one word about it."

"At least until I have him." She countered, smiling and looking into those happy black eyes she loved. "Then you get to baby him."

He pouted playfully, kissing her forehead and holding her as best he could. "Aw, but I like babying you."

The grandmother sitting on the edge of the bed watched her grandchildren with a smile, almost not believing it. Sasuke was actually smiling, showing the side of him that not many were blessed enough to see let alone sit two feet from. Sighing and smiling, she closed her eyes, getting up from the bed. "Just let me know when you two leave, okay?" She asked, keeping her eyes closed as she walked out of the room, knowing they would tell her.

"Yeah." The raven continued to nuzzle and kiss his beloved Princess to make her smile, at least until he heard the door click, meaning it was shut. Almost immediately his demeanor changed.

He held no malice and released his blonde as he sat beside her on the bed. His eyes did not hold the same happiness and playfulness as moments before; they had an almost somber look to them. "This…thing you've got." He started, knowing she was confused by the look on her face. "Toxemia. It's mainly caused by stress. So tell me why you're so stressed."

Kirei's smile faded considerably, but didn't vanish. She should know better that Sasuke always got straight to the point. "Well…"She drawled as she took a deep breath, thinking about what to say.

"What are you hiding from me?" He prodded further, keeping black eyes with blue. He knew she couldn't've intentionally hid something from him, but she was hiding something.

Sighing, the blonde ran a hand over her face and through her hair, allowing her eyes to close even after they darted away. "I…I wasn't trying to hide anything from you. I just…" Her voice faded, still trying to gather her thoughts to explain. "You've been taking such good care of me that I didn't want to worry you with meaningless thoughts."

This time, he sighed. She was the one carrying the baby, dealing with all the pain and stress of it, and yet, she was still worrying about him. "Kirei…Princess," He said, smiling softly as he leaned, trying to catch her sight. "It's okay. I know you didn't mean to hide anything. Just tell me what you're stressing about."

Blue eyes met black, a half smile on her lips, hand returning to her belly. "I'm not…stressed or worried at all…" Her voice fell to nearly a whisper, eyes fading from focus and slowly making their way to the white bed below her. "I'm scared."

The raven beside her looked on with an almost shocked look, not expecting those words to come out of his wife's mouth. If she'd been scared, why hadn't she told him? Why hadn't she said something to him, or even, why hadn't he noticed? He was about to ask, but seeing her open her mouth, he remained silent.

"I mean…I'm certainly not scared about our future. I'm pretty sure about that." She continued, trying to explain how she felt, what was running through her mind. "But…with all the complications I've had…do you think we'll ever have a baby? And what if," She persisted rather quickly, not letting him get a word in. "there's something wrong with the baby they haven't found? What if…" She blinked, realizing her deepest and greatest fear among all the thoughts in her mind. "What if we never have a boy?"

Sasuke watched his fretting wife with a look of disbelief and a soft smile. How in the world could she ever even come up with these thoughts, especially when they weren't true? While she continued to go on with her "what ifs", he leaned toward her, raising a hand to her jaw and turning her head toward him.

Confused because he didn't seem to be listening to her, Kirei continued to ask what on earth he was doing, at least until she was effectively silenced by her husband's kiss.

"Relax." He spoke calmly after their kiss, knowing it would quiet her. Keeping his eyes with hers, and very prepared to kiss her should she start all those questions again, he continued. "You need to relax. And no more bottling up things like this. If you don't feel sure about something, tell me. That's why you're so stressed out, because you don't tell me, even if you think it'll worry me." He told her, watching as she bit her smiling lip. "Got it? No more secrets."

She pouted playfully, pretending to be annoyed as she rolled her eyes and sighed. "Yes, sir…" She answered, although she really did mean it. Kirei knew that she couldn't keep anything from him anymore…at least, not after this. If he was okay with hearing her ramblings, she'd tell him.

"And on the matter of having a boy…" He continued further, leaning close to his wife to nuzzle her neck like he always did and make her laugh and smile. "Let me put it this way: If we don't get a boy right off the bat," The raven traveled up her neck, almost whispering in her ear and smiling at her giggles. "We'll just keep going until we get a boy."

Laughing, because of his bangs tickling her neck and at the thought of how many kids they'd end up having if that happened, Kirei smiled, turning as best she could and kissing her husband. "I love you."

He was more than happy to kiss back, able to feel her happiness through the smile of her kiss. "I love you, too." He also smiled, although his was for a bit of a different reason. He loved her, no doubt, but something was just making him incredibly happy.

Kirei saw that smile and the glint in her husband's eyes. She knew what he was going to say and almost, almost kissed him so she wouldn't have to hear it.

"Now I've got a perfectly legitimate reason to baby you," Sasuke smiled, continuing to kiss his beloved Princess's cheek, jaw and neck. "and you can't complain one bit."

Sighing a playful sigh, although she didn't like to be babied, the blonde continued to smile, feeling more assured than ever. "Grrreat."

---

"Just wait right here…" One Sasuke Uchiha mumbled, examining the couch before him with expert black eyes. Everything seemed to be perfe – Ah, yes. He needed more pillows. "I need to grab a few more pillows." He said absentmindedly, completely ignoring his wife.

Actually sitting on what was left of their couch, or at least, what she had sat on before her crazed husband built around her, Kirei pushed down a column of pillows, setting her elbow on it and resting her head in her hand. "Sasuke, I'm not going anywhere." She reminded him, wondering how on earth he'd forgotten that fact. "I can't even get up with all these – " Looking over to where her husband was, the blonde narrowed her eyes.

He wasn't even there!

The soon to be mother rolled her eyes and let out a deep, deep sigh through her bottom lip, bangs moving slightly to the force of her sigh.

It was one thing when Sasuke got up from the couch and grabbed her one pillow for her aching back or feet, or when he went into the kitchen and got her a drink or food if she asked for it. Honestly, it was nice to have him caring for her like that, since her body seemed to be under such pain during this miracle of having a baby.

But this – this babying he'd started not one second after they learned she needed to be on bed rest – was a completely different sort of babying and although it showed Sasuke truly cared about her, it was overkill.

Run over, set on fire a few times, slashed and stabbed overkill.

When they'd left the hospital, he wouldn't even let her walk out – no, no, her walking was forbidden – so, she had to leave the hospital in a wheelchair. If that wasn't bad enough, he'd picked her up and moved her to the couch and had her situated within minutes.

From then on, Sasuke had gone around the house, pillaging every poor room for pillows and bringing them back to the couch. He fluffed them and then put them around her, near surrounding her in the soft feather pillows.

Kirei really didn't mind the star treatment. She liked to be babied – to a point. And that point had been crossed long, long ago.

But before the blonde could holler out to her husband and call him back – if he could even be called back from his current mission of gathering every damn pillow they had in the house – the tummy that fed both her and her baby began to grumble. "So you're hungry, too, huh?" She asked, looking down at her large tummy.

A large and loud growl answered her, making her smile.

"I agree. Some celery and peanut butter sounds good." She nodded, batting a few pillows out of her way as she began to wiggle to the edge of the couch. "Maybe we'll grab some carrots and crackers too. Those will be good with peanut butter." She continued, still making her way to the edge of the couch.

When she finally did reach the end of the couch, at least, where she could push off and actually stand, Kirei felt oddly pathetic. She wasn't even off the couch and she was already out of breath.

Sasuke was walking down the steps, having successfully rummaged through the entire closet and recovered a few more, even softer pillows for the comfort of his wife. Yet, he didn't even make it to the floor, eyes happily looking to his blonde, only to have them go wide in shock. "Kirei!" He cried, dropping the pillows and dashing to her.

Holding her hands out to stabilize herself, the blonde jumped at the sudden cry of her name, looking over to her currently freaking out Prince. "What?" She answered back, confused as to why he sounded so alarmed.

The Uchiha let out a soft sigh as he stepped closer to her, shaking his head. "Princess, you aren't supposed to be on your feet." He turned her around and set a hand on the small of her back, gently – but forcefully – leading her back to the couch. "Bed rest, remember?"

"Granny said I can be on my feet, just not for a long period of time." She replied back, pouting. Sitting on the couch was not as fun as he, or anyone, thought.

He nodded, telling her she was right. "Yes," He led her along, smiling. "And it's already been too long."

"But I just got up!" She cried back, hands on her tummy, knowing he would help her if she stumbled. "Plus, the baby's hungry. He wants some celery, carrots, crackers and some peanut butter."

Sasuke laughed and shook his head, not wavering in his leading her along. "Than I'll get it for you. All you had to do was tell me you were hungry." Turning her once more, he helped her to sit back down, making sure she was all right and fine before turning away.

"I would if you would listen to me." The blonde retorted, blue eyes looking directly into black. "You're too worried about getting all these pillows to listen." She batted a few more away, making it less claustrophobic.

Sasuke sighed, allowing his eyes to close momentarily. Okay…so maybe he was overdoing it with the pillows. Maybe. "You have my attention now, Princess. I'll head into the kitchen and get you a plate and come right back."

"No more pillows?" She asked before he could move away from her. She would be damned if it took an hour to get food because he was searching the damn city for every pillow in sight.

The raven smiled and nodded. "No more pillows." He promised, finally turning away from his beloved and heading into the kitchen, still keeping a keen eye on her. He was honestly thankful he could see her from the kitchen.

"Hey, could you put an apple and some tomatoes on that plate too, please?" She yelled with a smile, waving her hand to make sure he heard her.

Sasuke's smile grew into a laughing grin as he nodded and yelled back. "Yes, Princess." He couldn't help but shake his head as well, never realizing in his wildest imagination how much her appetite would change.

From reading a few baby books, he knew that the mother usually craved what she lacked – in her case, mainly fruits and vegetables – but he never really realized that almost everything the blonde now ate would be fruits and vegetables. Occasionally she ate what she used to eat, but for now, he would get her what she asked…

Even if it was his precious tomatoes. He could give them up for a while if it meant good health for their son or daughter. But when she had the baby…the tomatoes were his.

Kirei grinned the largest and happiest grin she had when he came back with a large plate full of every food she asked for and the jar of peanut butter, since he never put enough on the plate itself. "Thank you!" She nodded, reaching out to the tray before he even got close enough to give it to her.

"You're welcome." He laughed back, chuckling even more when she took the tray and set it on her tummy, immediately taking some celery, swiping it in the peanut butter and taking a large crunch.

"You know," She mumbled, taking up a carrot and also swiping it in the peanut butter. "I could've gotten it myself." Kirei looked up to her husband, who sat on the arm of the couch since all the seats were taken up by pillows.

"Stop it." Sasuke told her, watching as she took a slice of his poor tomatoes and ate it. "I can get things for you. I don't mind babying you."

Before taking a nice big crunch of the carrot in her hands, she used it to point to the kitchen, blue eyes on black. "But the kitchen is right there!" She retorted, pouting. "Oh and can you please get me a glass of milk?" She wasn't above complaining about getting her own food, but when she already had it, she was not getting up, come hell or high water.

The Uchiha had already learned this fact and smiled. "Of course I can." He answered, getting up off the armrest of the couch. "And yes, the kitchen is right there," He continued as he walked out of the room and into said kitchen. "but you are on bed rest."

Pouting, the blonde looked away from her husband and the kitchen, taking another bite of a stick of celery. "This isn't bed rest." She grumbled, loud enough for him to hear.

"Yes, it is." He disagreed, coming back with a glass of milk for his beloved. He did not hand it to her, but set it on the coffee table, ready to grab it when she asked for it.

She sighed at her Prince's stubbornness and, feeling her tummy stir, looked to it and nodded. "Yes, yes, I agree." She then looked to Sasuke, smiling. "He also agrees with me. It's not bed rest."

He snorted, glancing away for a moment and smiling. "How do you figure that?"

"He's been kicking for a while." She answered, taking a large chunk out of the apple.

Sasuke remained silent for a moment, wondering what it was like to feel the baby kicking from the inside. Kirei always seemed to talk about how the baby was kicking and "agreeing" with her, but he wondered what it really felt like. Well, at least it wouldn't be a long time before he felt the baby kick from the outside. "Well, the baby won't like it, but I'm going to make sure you stay put."

"I don't like it either." She pouted, devouring yet another cracker. "I'll be up and moving when you go away for filming every day anyway and you can't stop me." She said smugly, smiling at him.

He smirked in return. "I took paternity leave. The Director didn't like it, but oh well. I'm going to be here until the day the baby decides to greet us."

Kirei glanced away. So he won that argument. She wouldn't be leaving the couch in a while. But if he really wanted her on bed rest, she was going to be as happy as she could be on the couch whether he liked it or not.

Sasuke felt good after seeing the defeated look on her face, but as soon as he saw the smirk on her lips, that good feeling did not last.

"So you want me on bed rest?" The blonde asked with a devious smirk, tilting her head in a cute manner as she looked to him. "Without being so defiant?"

He raised an eyebrow. "That would be nice."

Pointing with yet another carrot, she motioned to all the pillows around her. "Move these. Except for this one," The one under her feet. "and these ones." The ones that were lined behind her back, helping to keep the pressure and pain away.

Sasuke got up slowly and warily, but did as she commanded, wondering what was on her mind. "Okay…" When he moved them aside, to one of the chairs they never used, he turned back to her.

She was still stuffing her face, still smiling that devious smile and had a bit of peanut butter on her cheek. "Sit." She commanded further, pointing with a stalk of celery this time, to the spot directly next to her.

So that's where she was going with this. Smiling softly, the raven sat beside his beloved Princess, instinctively wrapping an arm around her shoulders, since her waist was a bit preoccupied with their baby. "Okay…so now what?"

Holding the tray of food on her tummy securely, Kirei smiled and snuggled up close to her beloved Prince and rested her head on his chest. It was hard with the baby, but she could almost hear his heart in the way she used to hear it. "I think the baby agrees with me. He's settled down considerably."

"On what?" Sasuke asked in confusion as he looked down to his love, who was looking back up to him with a smile.

She took another stalk of celery and swiped up some peanut butter, reaching up and kissing him sweetly before going back to snuggling against him. "That this is bed rest."

---

Kirei sighed softly, one hand on her massive tummy, the other hand supporting herself as she sat on the near edge of her bed, she looked between the shirts on her bed.

She could be festive and wear the wool, red and green sweater thing her Nii-san had gotten her last Christmas…or the light blue maternity shirt Hinata had gotten her as an apology for Naruto's sweater. The soft white with silver designs wasn't a bad choice either, but she still couldn't choose.

She knew that no one at the Christmas party would really care what she wore – since everyone seemed to preoccupied with her tummy anyway – but she still wanted to wear something nice. "You better come out of there soon," She began to her child, smiling. "Mommy's missing her old clothes right about now."

If it could even be said, the Uchiha's tummy had grown since her diagnosis, to the point where anyone who saw her knew she was ready to pop, and indeed, Kirei was ready to have her baby.

The baby's room in their new home had just been finished a few days ago – complete with the gifts her Akatsuki brothers had given her – and, of course, she was excited to meet him. But she was nowhere near as excited as Sasuke.

When he realized that it was the 22nd of December earlier in the morning, he nearly had a heart attack. Within five days, he'd get to meet his son or daughter.

Of course, he already knew this fact since Kirei'd been having Braxton Hicks for the last couple weeks or so…but it finally hit home to him that he'd finally have a family.

His excitement was nice to see, but the blonde still trying to decide what to wear had to tell him once or twice to calm down, which was something she never thought she'd ever have to do. She knew it was probably her, but she got annoyed so easily with him anymore, especially when at first, he refused to let her go to the Christmas party.

The raven was worried, first of all, that she'd go into labor at the party, in which Kirei countered Sakura would be there to help them until they got to the hospital. She then reminded him that the baby was not a hindrance and that they should live their lives.

Kirei also pouted quite a lot and batted her eyes a few times, which always won him over.

"You know," She began softly, hearing Sasuke moving some dishes downstairs as she looked at her tummy. "you're going to have him wrapped around your little finger." She felt the baby kick and smiled. "Yes, you are. We're excited to meet you…so you better come out of there soon."

As she smiled and continued to talk to her little boy or girl, she suddenly clenched the hand on her tummy, face scrunching up in pain. It was only a pinch, but damn did it hurt!

"Another contraction?" Sasuke asked with concern as he walked into their bedroom, wondering if she'd picked her shirt yet.

She nodded slowly, biting her lip before the pain slowly faded away. "Yeah…I had another one a few hours ago." She mumbled, looking up to him and sighing before smiling again. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

He sighed as well and found a small spot beside her. Leaning toward her, he kissed her forehead. "I hate how you can read me so well." He smiled, looking into those blue eyes he loved. "Are you sure you'll be okay? I don't want you going into labor at the party…Naruto would die of excitement and god knows, we can't exist without him." He chuckled.

She giggled, nodding her head as she did so. "Yes," She answered his question, looking into his black eyes. "I'm sure I'll be fine. My water hasn't broken yet, so we're fine." She kept her eyes with his, letting her hand rub her tummy to relieve some of the leftover pain.

Watching his beloved blonde as she turned to her shirts once more, Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly. He trusted his wife with everything. He knew to trust her words and yet, there was a part of him that made him doubt. It was insanely too close – as far as he was concerned – to her due date for these contractions to be Braxton Hicks.

"You're absolutely sure?" He asked further, wanting to be completely sure that he shouldn't go get the bag, "forget" to tell Naruto and take her to the hospital.

A small sighed escaped the mouth of the blonde Uchiha, her eyes closing in annoyance. "Yes," She nearly snapped, turning her head toward him. "I'm quite sure, Sasuke." If he didn't hear the annoyance in her voice, he had to be deaf.

Fortunately, he was not. Black eyes glanced away from his wife before returning, he moving closer to her and nuzzling her neck. "I'm sorry Princess," He apologized, knowing his insecurities often drove her up a wall. "I can't help it."

She leaned closer to him, eyes still closed. "I know…I'm sorry for snapping." She knew he was just excited. After all, she was too.

He held his wife as best he could, still nuzzling her neck and placing a few kisses every once in a while. "It's okay…I'd be snapping too if I had to put up with me. Now you see why I don't get excited very often."

"Aw, but I like this side of you." She pouted playfully, blue eyes big and wide as she looked to him. "It's cute."

"Yet another reason I don't show it." He added, smiling.

Kirei continued to pout, although it was hard with the smile she was trying to hold back.

They sat together for a while, acting as they normally would – except with a giant tummy in the way – and nearly forgot they had a party to go to before Kirei looked at the time. She couldn't believe they only had 15 minutes to get dress and get to the Manor.

Unfortunately, she had a hard time trying to convince her husband to go get dressed. "Go on," She shooed him, pushing against him gently. "get something nice on." She smiled.

He complied only because of that smile, but didn't leave her side immediately. "It's not like it's going to matter if we're late."

The blonde knitted her eyebrows, blue eyes looking up to him. "Why do you say that?" The tips of her lips turned upward, knowing he was going to say something about her Nii-san.

He smirked and shoved his hands in his pockets, trying to think about what he would wear. "Well, with you and the baby around, the dobe wouldn't even notice if his own hair was on fire."

---

Per her agreement with her raven haired husband, Kirei sat on the somewhat comfortable couch of the Hokage Manor, smiling at all who smiled at her and always answering questions about her little boy.

It definitely annoyed her sometimes, how people would just come up and touch her tummy as if it were public, but she put on a smile anyway, knowing they were just curious. That and once she actually had him, she wouldn't have to deal with it anymore. There was a light at the end of the tunnel.

"Nee-chan!" Naruto cried the moment he saw his cousin resting on the couch, grin on his face before it quickly changed into a pout. "You're not wearing the sweater I bought you!" He pouted, bounding over to her and plopping down beside her.

Before answering him, she smiled and hugged her Nii-san to the best of her ability. "It didn't fit." She replied, half lying. It did fit. It only revealed a small sliver of her tummy, but it was insanely itchy. "I'll wear it next year, I promise." But he didn't have to know that.

His pout slowly pulled into a half smile. "You better, Nee-chan." He wagged a finger at her, making sure he made it perfectly clear she had to wear the sweater he got her. He spent all day trying to find something for his Nee-chan and he was going to make sure it was put to good use.

"How are you and Hinata doing?" The younger blonde asked, having not seen much of anyone for a while, since she'd been on her couch at home for the past month.

The Uzumaki smiled, sky blue eyes glancing to his wife, who seemed to be teaming up with Raiha and picking on Neji again. He'd have to join in later. "We're good. Awesome, really." He nodded, smiling even more. "Actually, we've got an announcement for everyone later."

Seeing that look on his face, that certain glow and aura about her cousin, Kirei had a pretty good feeling she knew what it was. "Oh really?" She asked, tone in her voice telling him she knew what was going on.

Before the elder of the two blondes could make her promise she wouldn't tell – even though he knew she wouldn't – the younger cringed if only slightly, her face scrunching up in pain once more. "Nee-chan, are you okay?" He asked with alarm, eyes wide.

Gritting her teeth and clenching her fists, the Uchiha nodded to the best of her ability. "Y-yeah." She mumbled, waiting for the pain to pass before explaining. "I've been getting fake contractions for a while now…no big deal." She smiled a soft smile, glancing over to him.

As Sasuke had always done with that explanation, his face was skeptical, not sure on whether to believe her. But he trusted his Nee-chan, so he would let it go. "Alright, Nee-chan." He conceded, leaning over and kissing her locks gently. He then shifted his attention to the giant tummy that held his "niece" or "nephew". "You be good for your mother while I go pick on Neji, you hear me?"

Kirei smiled and shook her head, letting out a soft giggle. "Don't worry, he's been a good boy so far."

Nodding to his cousin, the elder blonde smiled and rose from his seat. He grinned when he saw the disappointing look on Neji's face, the Hyuuga already knowing Naruto was coming for him.

Still sitting on the couch, Kirei watched her friends enjoy themselves, since she couldn't exactly get up. Sighing, she thought about her words to her cousin.

Yeah, every time she'd been asked if she was okay, she was confident in her answer. She knew she was fine…and yet…this time…something seemed weird. It wasn't a bad weird, but something was nagging at the back of her mind, making the blonde wonder that maybe…

Just maybe, this was it.

---

Watching the clock on the mantle above the fireplace of the Hokage Manor, Kirei had been completely ignoring everyone else as she watched the long hand move on the clock. She knew from reading all of those baby books that when she was in labor, her contractions would come closer and closer…

Shaking her head, the blonde shoved the thought out of her mind. She couldn't be in labor. She still had five days until her due date and plus, her water hadn't even broken! There was no way she could be in labor.

None at al –

Cringing even more than the last contraction, the Uchiha gripped the arm of the couch rather tightly. She didn't even bother to let it pass before looking at the clock.

15 minutes. 15 minutes had gone by from her last contraction and only 20 minutes before that one.

Okay, so maybe she was in labor. Maybe not. But to the blonde, who was still in pain, it was better to be safe than sorry. "S – " She tried to call to her husband, who stood only feet away from her, talking with whoever it was about the ending of the show.

Standing relatively close to the blonde, Sakura turned, able to hear the barely audible sound the blonde had made. Seeing how tight her hand was clenched and the way her nose was scrunched, the rosette walked over to her friend. "Kirei, are you alright?" She asked suspiciously, sitting beside her. "Was it a contraction?" She asked softly.

The blonde gulped thickly and slowly nodded, glancing at the rosette. "I've been having them all day." She winced, finally feeling some of the pain recede. It seemed with every contraction the pain lingered even more than the last. "The last one was 15 minutes ago."

The Haruno's eyes lit up in a special way, lips forming a smile as her jaw dropped slightly. "Kirei…" She started, smiling. "you're in labor."

Nearly scaring the two females shitless, a blur appeared to Kirei's right, on the opposite side of Sakura. "What did you say?" Sasuke asked, voice soft but excited, almost as if he was making sure he'd heard right. He didn't want to get all hyped up for nothing.

Shaking her head at her husband and attempting a small smile, the blonde Uchiha looked back to Sakura, smiling but disbelieving. "I can't be." She denied, still gripping the couch. "My water hasn't brok-broken yet."

The smile did not fade from Sakura's face. "It could have when you went to the bathroom." She answered, knowing very well that pregnant women went to the bathroom often. With a baby sitting on their bladder, who could blame them?

She could deny it to herself all she wanted, but the look on Sakura's face – the happy, but very sure look – was making Kirei think otherwise. Maybe…this really was it.

"Princess," Sasuke began, voice a little louder than he expected it to be. He couldn't help it; his heart was starting to race because he might actually be welcoming their child so very soon. "Are you in labor?"

His rather excited and loud words did not go unheard by their friends, who all but stopped their chatter to look at the couple by the couch.

Blue eyes closed for a moment, first in pain but then in thought. Her contractions hadn't stopped since this morning. Each one was closer and more painful than the last. Wincing in pain once more, Kirei nodded as best she could. "…yeah…"

With how silent the Manor had become at Sasuke's words, almost all the sound returned at Kirei's, everyone spreading their happiness and congratulations for at least her, since Sasuke was too busy smiling and gathering their things to even notice anyone else. No one really blamed him, since, after all, he was pretty excited.

Yet, as excited the normally stoic Uchiha was, there was another in the room that was even more excited.

Naruto was beside his Nee-chan within the moment she'd confirmed she was in labor, and with the largest grin anyone had seen on him for a long time, he began to pace back and forth in front of Kirei. "This is so sweet, Nee-chan!" He said, looking at her and then closing his eyes. "But we've got to find the best spot, so everyone start thinking!"

Sighing a heavy sigh to relieve some of the pain, the soon to be mother looked to Sakura and then to her Nii-san. She knew she'd regret asking – she always did – but she bit her lip and asked. "Best spot," She winced. "for what, Nii-Nii-san?"

The Uzumaki stopped in his tracks, turning only his head to stare at his sister in disbelief. As if she didn't know! "For you to have the baby, duh!"

As if reading each other's mind, both Kirei and Sasuke stopped to stare at their relative with half lidded eyes. "She's having the baby in a hospital, dobe." Sasuke told his cousin-in-law with a tone that told him he shouldn't press the subject.

But this was Naruto he was talking to, and of course, the subject would be pressed. "But it'd be so cool and awesome to be born here in the Hokage Manor! If I was born here, I would've gloated to all of you and been like, "I was born right here on this table!"!" He explained, staying relatively hopeful.

Kirei was not moved. "I'm having him in a hospital." Her words were adamant and firm.

Naruto pouted, still looking to his cousin. "But Nee-chan – "

"I want drugs, dammit!"

"And you'll get them, hon." Sakura interrupted, holding the hand of her friend and helping her through this. "We're going to the hospital." She assured, watching the blonde flinch again. "Sasuke, we need to get going."

The raven was still gathering just a few more items, reaching out and grabbing the jackets Shikamaru and Kiba were so kind to get for him. "I know, I know," He spoke, voice shaky with excitement. "I just have to grab one more thing."

Naruto, still focused on his Nee-chan's rejection, crossed his arms and continued to pout. "Well fine, Nee-chan. You won't have your baby here." Then, slowly, the Uzumaki's pout turned into a smile as he turned, looking to his wife who was standing with the group Sakura had been moments before. "But our baby will be born here, won't he, Hina?"

Everything stopped. Even Kirei, in the pain she was in, stopped and looked to wife of the Uzumaki. Hinata in return, glared to her husband, blush rising on her face. "Naruto, we weren't supposed to tell them yet!"

"…You're pregnant?" Ino was the one to ask, finding her voice before anyone else could get the shocked look off their faces.

Turning back to her friends, the Hyuuga released her glare, smile coming onto her face. "Yeah," She spoke contently, setting a hand on her stomach. "I'm pregnant."

"Not to – to be self-centered here or any – anything," Kirei began, gripping Sakura's hand with a crushing grip. "and congrats," She glanced to her friend. "but I'm kinda in – in labor here."

Smiles and wishes of congratulations were still sent the way to the Uchiha's, who, after promising they'd call to inform Naruto of his new "niece" or "nephew", left the Manor with smiles on their faces, knowing that their future was well within reach.

---

The sun hadn't even risen. There were signs on the dark horizon, reds and oranges battling their way through the receding black and dark of night that morning was soon upon them.

It had been a long, very long night for the blonde and the raven, but it came with no complications. The delivery was complete and utterly complication free: their baby was crying and healthy, as all healthy babies were.

Despite the most joyous occasion, Kirei had felt her heart drop when she learned that her child was a girl, but the drop did not last. Within that very second of the drop, it lifted and she smiled, knowing very well that she'd have a boy someday.

Plus, there was something about the dark, messy hair and the deepest blue eyes of her daughter that made her heart return from it's drop. It wasn't the boy she was expecting; the boy she was hoping for. But she'd love her all the same. After all, she was their first child, the first of their family – of their future – together.

"You should really rest, Princess." Sasuke whispered, not wanting to wake his sleeping daughter that rested in the arms of his wife, who rested in his arms. He couldn't even fathom sitting in the chair next to the bed.

Leaning up against him, Kirei could definitely feel sleep on her eyelids, but she kept them open, watching her little girl with a soft smile. "I'm fine." She replied, also whispering. "And so is..." The blonde drawled, nearly biting their lip because they still didn't have a name for her yet. "Small Lady."

Sasuke chuckled softly, black eyes flickering up to his wife's face before trailing to their daughter's dark hair. "I guess we should've picked out names before deciding on nicknames." He raised a hand, gently brushing some of his daughter's hair.

Kirei gently bounced as she fussed to her father's touch, also chuckling. "We should have…but we could just call her Small Lady until we find a name." Leaning back against her husband, the blonde let her body relax, low eyes meeting her daughter's eyes.

It was odd to see them, since they retained the deep blue of her own eyes – if not deeper – but seemed to retain the black of her father's eyes as well. But all babies had blue eyes, so maybe she'd have a different color. Either way, she had lovely eyes that certainly suited her dark hair.

The raven shifted gently, allowing his wife to become even more comfortable – and even sleep – as he watched the both of them, still letting everything sink in. It was hard, after everything that happened to them and himself in the past, to even believe that everything was happy now. That he had a wife, a family and was happy.

But there was proof this wasn't a dream and they were right in his arms.

"Kareanna." The blonde Uchiha spoke, eyes fixed with her daughter's. She was exactly sure where the name had come from, but it had popped into her mind. Turning her head to her husband, she looked into black eyes. "What do you think?"

The raven sighed softly, looking into those night colored eyes his wife had been looking into. Kareanna. Was that her name?

Smiling, Sasuke turned back to his wife, kissing her temple before leaning his head against hers. "It's as beautiful as she is."

Sighing the same soft sigh as he had, Kirei returned her blue eyes on her daughter before allowing them to close and drift off into sweet sleep, thinking about how her life and future were changing.

It was strange to think back upon that first year of coming to Konoha, where she had thought her life had ended after Daisuke…

Only to realize that her life then had only begun and now, was going to continue with the one she loved.

Opening her eyes once more before drifting of into a deep sleep, Kirei looked up to her beloved Prince, smiling. "I love you, Prince."

Sasuke had been along similar lines of thinking, although his were more centered around how this one little blonde had completely changed his life.

Being drawn from his thoughts, black eyes met her own blue eyes, he smiling and kissing his beloved Princess. "I love you, Princess."

---

They had met unexpectedly. They became friends and fell in love. The Prince had fought for his Princess and she had fought for him.

From death and back they came, never losing the love they had, and now, were going to live Happily Ever After.

~ The End ~

Before any one of the Actors had realized it, four long, happy years had passed. The show had long since ended, but the Actors who had portrayed their show-selves were still referred to as The Actors and were bounded by the ties and friendships they'd made.

Even with the busy lives of having wives, husbands, children, missions and other acting jobs, the Actors found it in those busy lives to hold a party – at least once a year, if not twice or thrice – to get together, to relive the old times.

It was a normal summer day in Konoha, one of those days were the sky was a pristine blue, the few clouds in the sky were white as white could be and the heat wasn't unbearable, the soft breeze blowing through making it rather perfect. Despite the weather and conditions being normal, this day was very special.

Today was one of those days where the Actors had promised to meet – and meeting they were, at their old film grounds, reliving the old times and making new times for themselves and their children.

After the show had ended, Sakura took few other acting jobs, wanting to pursue her true passion – medicine. It took time, but the rosette became one of the best well known doctor's within the Country. During her studies, especially in Suna, she had met her current husband, and now sat with her two daughters.

Sumiko was a bright girl at three years old – just like her mother – with brown hair. She definitely retained some of her mother's pink tinge, which shown when she was in the right light. She also kept her mother's eyes, although they were a deeper green.

Her sister would be Shiori, of course, when she was born. It wouldn't be much longer, seeing as Sakura was close to popping.

Just like Sakura had done, Shikamaru took few jobs acting after the show. He did take some – at his wife's nagging – and appeared in a few academy wining movies. As to why he didn't pursue more of an acting career, he was quoted as saying, "It was too troublesome."

His wife, Temari, could only sigh and smile, wanting to hit him, but also loving that side of her husband. Plus, she knew the main reason he liked to not be filming or on missions – actually, there were two reasons. They were the two little girls that loved their father with every ounce they had; Teruki, the elder at four who very much resembled her father, and Eri, their newborn.

Teruki had her mother's aggressive persona and it was always clearly seen when she climbed all over her father, but had her father's dark hair and eyes. Eri, whom they'd just met, had a mix of her parent's hair, but seemed to be like her father, always wanting to sleep and relax.

Shikamaru wouldn't admit it to the press, but he loved to spend time with his two little girls, making sure they weren't being troublesome to their hardworking mother and just spoiling them until his heart was content.

Kiba was another who liked to spoil his children, in which his wife always smacked him over the head for. He always complained at how they were so cute like little puppies, so they had to be spoiled. She countered with the fact that they'd turn into puppies if he kept treating them as such. She had to admit, though, it was hard not to spoil them.

Toboe and Hige, the twin three year old boys were a whirlwind without their father's help; Hige always stealing food and cracking jokes while Toboe used his innocence and "naivety" to get out of trouble easily. The twins also had help from their "elder brother", Tsume, who was an older dog saved from euthanasia by Kiba. He was quite protective of Toboe, but more protective of their one and half year old sister, Cheza.

The boys bore a strong resemblance to their father – brown hair and dark eyes – but had the facial structure and eye shape of their mother, while Cheza had her mother's light sand colored hair and deeply colored eyes.

Another little boy who resembled his mother – to the point where they could've been clones – was Ryohei, the third child of the elder Hyuuga couple. They weren't as content as they thought they were with just the eight year old twins, Reina and Renji, and decided to have another child, this one being yet another boy, Ryohei.

He was nearly three now, and had just started taking his first steps, which he proudly showed as he and his family walked toward their friends and family waiting for them at the film grounds.

The Uzumaki twins were especially excited at their cousin's first steps. The four year old boys Haruki and Hiraku had spent a lot of time trying to get their cousin to walk, particularly because their three year old younger brother, Naruto was also starting to walk.

Unknown to their mother and father, the twins had bet each other on who would walk first.

And as they raced to meet Ryohei and Aunt Raiha and Uncle Neji, Hinata couldn't help but smile, watching as her son Naruto tried to get up and follow them. She unfortunately, couldn't follow them to meet her relatives, seeing as how, like Sakura, she was also pregnant with her and Naruto's fourth child – a girl to be named Hariken.

Some were ultimately surprised at the number of kids Hinata and Naruto had had, but the raven haired best friend of the blonde was quoted as saying at a Premiere from one of their movies together, "I would've dropped dead if Naruto didn't have more than 3 kids."

Sasuke himself didn't have to deal with the matter, because he and Kirei only had their two children; the four year old Kareanna – who had her father wrapped around her finger – and their six month old little boy, Daisuke.

Kareanna had her mother's entrancing eyes – that held a dash of Sasuke's darkness – and also had his dark hair. She definitely was like her mother, though, since she could get anything from Sasuke with the right words and enough pouts.

Daisuke, on the other hand, definitely had Namikaze in him. He bore the blonde hair that was a Namikaze trait – although a little less bright than his Uncle's or mother's – and had light blue eyes. He was just starting to show a little personality, but seemed to be laid back and reserved like his father was – and as Kirei had told him, like her elder brother.

---

Despite how their parents came to these grounds to catch up with each other and reminisce on the past, the children came to the grounds to play, to talk about and boast about their futures.

It was a joy to their parents to see everything come full circle, from their childhood days when they were at the academy, boasting about how they'd be the best Hokage, the best Doctor, the best Daydreamer, the best Ninja…to now, as they achieved their dreams and watched their children dream.

It wasn't cliché enough to say that the worst chapter was over. That everything bad was behind them, done and over with. It was cliché enough, however, to say that this wasn't the end.

That their lives had only just begun and the real adventure was right there in front of them, waiting beyond the blue skies and green trees of Konoha.