Author's Note:

Yay! I have managed to keep my schedule so far with Launch week of my novel, and still managed to get another chapter for this done, as well as proof and revise an old 3 chapter Hermione/Snape story I did way back when. *phew* Busy busy. Still have 2 more chapters to the novel to put out this week, and hopefully two more for this as well. Slowly nearing the half point of the story (Aka- the end of the first part- Dang this thing is going to be ridiculously long hehe) I would like to answer more questions on this, but if I did I think I would give away too much, so I am going to keep my lips sealed with this one. :)

For anyone interested in checking out my Wattpad for my novel, InheritantS: Mark of the One, my user name is AndilDraco

As always, reviews are always welcome and serve to inspire :D

Naruto

Fwum-pf!

CRACK.

The bed I was laying in rumbled me awake as the sound of explosions registered in my mind. I sat up with a gasp. What was going on? There was a strong pressure on my shoulder that shoved me back into place on the bed and I looked over to Temari. What... What was going?

She was dressed in her ninja suit, her fan gripped in her hand while she stood next to the bed in a guarded pose. "Stay put."

"Temari, what's-"

"Shh!" Her mouth thinned out into a deep frown and her hand twitched on her giant fan.

Something happened. Something bad had happened. I fidgeted. I was the Hokage. I was the one who was supposed to protect the village, it was me that-

Fwum-pf.

Crack.

There was a stronger rumble in my bed and I froze as I heard the sound of shattering glass. My heart caught in my throat as the sound reverberated in my head. No. I slowly turned to the small bookshelf that I had placed my small treasure, the beautiful sculpture that Gaara had made for me. I felt sick. Gone. It was fucking gone. I growled at the broken glittery mess on the floor when I leaned over to see it, ignoring the semi-silent protest to my movement that Temari gave. I knew in the back of my mind it was wrong to feel more angry that those bastards had inadvertently broken my precious sculpture than I was for them attacking Konoha in the first place. I probably shouldn't be Hokage, really.

Seriously though, low chakra or not, if any of them broke into my room I what give them something to regret for that. Bastards. Gaara had to have worked hard on that and it was mine, he gave it to me. Now it was gone.

"Stop fussing over a god damned trinket. We are going to have to-"

Crack! Rumble.

"I need to get you somewhere that is more safe than this. I was hoping to keep you here, but the explosions are getting closer. You are far more important than some stupid piece of glass, even if Gaara did make it." She swiftly swung her fan up around her shoulder to her back and strapped it into place. She bent down and slid her hands beneath me.

My breath hitched in my throat as I realized what she was about to do. "Temari..."

"I'm sorry, Naruto." She didn't allow me to respond as she lifted up.

I screamed as I felt my ribs move inside my chest at the movement, then the scream reduced down to a groan as she settled me against her chest. How... How small had I become for her to be able to even do that so easily. The thought was only brief before she moved and I hissed to the movement. My mind was consumed with pain and trying to bear it. My body was battered and broken and I hadn't even been able to move in the slightest for the four days since Hakuto's exam.

I tried to focus on my thoughts about the events of the past few days, at least what I had heard of them. I groaned at a particularly jarring step and I leaned further into my carrier. Breathe. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Bear it. It would be fine. Not much longer. Distract myself.

Temari had mentioned that an army had been spotted splitting up just outside the land of fire not long after Sasuke had arrived. That the Hokage did nothing about it. Just shrugged it off.

Maybe it was a bad idea to have had him take the position. Maybe I should have just programmed him to step down and work at being a descent father for once.

Rumble-Crack!

I vaguely noticed a tree falling in the path Temari was running and it barely registered when she jumped to miss it.

However, I did notice when she hit the ground when a sickening shockwave emanated from my ribs and down my spine followed by deep nausea, dizziness, then a fading away of the world around me.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

My entire body ached, but my ribs, they outright throbbed. I didn't want to open my eyes, I felt comfortable besides the lingering pain that had followed my trip to wherever it was that Temari had taken me. I heard hushed voices, unfamiliar ones and I allowed myself to open my eyes and take in my surroundings. I looked up at what looked like a cave wall, similar to the sight I had seen when I had been trapped with Gaara.

Gaara. Did he know what was happening? Would he? It was still three days away before the issue of communication could even be touched and brought to the attention of Suna, then who knew how long before a new amended document would take to fully pass through. How long, now that the village was under attack, would that even take now?

I swallowed before gaining the courage to move my head enough to see fully where I was laying. The explosions were muffled by the thick stone of the cave and I hoped it would be enough to keep us safe. I forced a hand to my stomach as I looked down. Temari was holding onto her fan which stood by her side and she was whispering to somebody. I strained to see who it was, but Temari's fan was blocking my view. I also couldn't hear what they were saying. It was bugging me. If I had enough chakra I would send in a clone to eavesdrop on them. I smirked at the thought. I missed it, making clones for all my whims. I could never use many for paperwork, their memories were always too much of an overload when they finished their work. One, maybe two at most, but they could handle every other aspect of my life easily.

Including the things that were most important. What should have been most important. I wonder, how many of my family photos were not of me? How many of them were taken with clones that had taken my stead in a lame attempt at making my family happy?

Too many. I clutched over my stomach. Different. If... If I could...

I would be different, I would put everything I had into raising this little miracle growing inside of me. Be a better mother than I could have ever thought of being a father. She deserved that. Parents, to be doted on. Who would be there. Even if Gaara couldn't do it, I would. If I was allowed that chance, I would definitely do that.

Temari finally moved and I seen that Shino was standing next to her. I felt the blood drain from my face. Just great, the bug freak would be the one to see me without makeup, without a wig. Of all the people to see me, it would be one of the ones that would be able to figure out my identity without much thought.

Honestly, that guy creeped me out, he was pretty weird. Probably why Hinata hung out with the guy so much. He looked over my way and nodded to me. Temari took the cue and looked behind her and she smiled at me. She came over to me, followed by Shino. "Naruto." His raspy voice was casual, as if it were natural to see me in the state that I was in.

"Shino." My voice was weaker than I wanted it to be, but at least, in spite of all my changes, I at least thought I still sounded like me. That much I was able to keep. For now anyway.

"I thought as much, Temari here would neither confirm or deny my suspicions, but my bugs, they do not lie."

I gave him a small hum. "Figures you would be here."

He frowned at me. "My class was assigned to evacuate here to the underground caverns near the Nara complex. It was hardly my intention to see you here."

I snorted at that. I had barely had a conversation with the guy in the past few years, in spite of him spending more and more time with my wife as the kids grew older. "Himawari isn't in your class."

"No, I thought it to be a conflict of interest." His voice was monotonous and his visor was as annoying as ever. Such a freaking creep.

"Why in the hell would it be? Boruto was in your class, at your request if I remember right."

"That's true, but it was different then." He crouched down next to me and rested his arms on the bed.

I had the sudden urge to stop speaking to him. I wasn't exactly sure why, but I had a bad feeling about where this was going. I couldn't stop the words I said next, "Why?"

He sat motionless for a moment, then shifted slightly. "Hinata."

My heart raced as I realized something that had never occurred to me before. "You love her." It was a statement. All the times that I had spent with their team, all the times I had spied them talking. I remembered that they would smile as they chatted away, I always assumed they were just talking about the kids or their old missions.

"Yes."

I swallowed. "Did you know?"

"Do not get me wrong, Uzumaki, but are you referring to your current state? I have no idea what is happening to you."

"No, about Hinata."

He leaned in closer, his lips tight. "What of Hinata?" His voice deepened with worry.

I couldn't help the smile that ghosted on my lips. So many years. So many years we had both lost holding onto something that we shouldn't have. "Hinata is no longer married, Shino. She annulled our marriage officially on my birthday." I reached a hand out to him, knowing now that he was likely part of the reason she had went forward with it. "Hey Shino, keep them safe for me?"

His forehead wrinkled a little hinting at his confusion at my words. "Naruto, what is going on with you?"

I whimpered a little as my arm moved enough to jostle my ribs before I was able to connect to his arm. "I might be dying. Something weird happened to me, but it's alright."

"What happened Naruto, what do you mean you could be dying?" It was him who grabbed my arm this time, tightly.

I gave a half laugh. "Didn't know you cared."

"Naruto." It was Temari this time, she was giving me a hard look.

I sighed. "I'm pregnant Shino." I looked up, not wanting to look at him as I confessed to the man who may have done something similar with Hinata. That thought twisted my stomach and I swallowed it down, knowing it would be hypocritical of me considering. "Hinata... She..." I choked on the words a moment, "She doesn't know. Not the full extent of it. I don't want her to know the whole of it. I don't want her to hurt because of me, not any more than I have put her through."

"I have not yet pursued her."

"Hmm?" I looked back to him and blinked.

"I just wanted to let you know. She has never been anything but faithful to you. She loved you, very deeply, I know."

I stared at him. Well, that was an unexpected reaction. "Well, that made one of us." My words were a little bitter.

"I at least had that figured out, otherwise it would be difficult to explain how you became pregnant." He paused, "More so difficult to explain."

"I'm a girl."

"I noticed." Another moment of silence. "Why Temari?"

My fingers twitched. He wasn't exactly the first person I really wanted to confess my undying love for the Kazekage to. Ah well, circumstances. "Gaara."

He jerked away from me and I followed him with my eyes. "Are you mad? This could start a war."

"I will personally be taking Narumaki to Suna once her health is well enough for her to travel." Temari was staring at me from her place, fan still in hand.

Shino looked to her. "I doubt they will allow it, Naruto is the Hokage."

Temari didn't take her eyes off of me. "They will have no choice, bug boy." She smirked and slid her eyes his way, "Unless they want a war."

He looked back to me, his mouth thin. "The Hokage is currently on the battlefield, what can I do to help?"

"Keep my secret, for now, just keep my secret." I looked back up to the cave ceiling and allowed myself to fall back into sleep, feeling exhausted once more.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

When I woke Shino was gone and I still wasn't entirely sure that it was a good idea for him to know about my secret.

He loved my wife. My ex wife. Hinata.

Did she think of him the same way? If she did, how long? How long had I fooled myself into thinking that I could be the only person for her? That we would be forever. That I in turn could love nobody else other than her.

What fools we had been. Tears slid down my face as I thought of it. Gone. All of it, everything was gone. The innocent love we had shared. I had accepted it, needed it. I had needed her. She was the one who helped drag me out of my personal hell after Neji had died.

He never should have died. I hated him for that, it made me so angry, that he would allow himself to die for me. I never fucking asked him to. I never asked anyone to. Why in the hell did they all go so far for me? I wasn't worth it.

Gaara. Gaara was the one to bring the lands together to protect me. I knew his reason why, I didn't like it, but I knew. He was so angry with me, the look on his face when I had showed up that time... What had I seen then? Fear? Worry? Maybe both. Did he...

Did he love me then? Was it really possible? I looked over to the woman who was guarding my little space in the Nara caverns. Temari. She seemed to think it would be possible, and to be honest, I was starting to think she was avoiding trying to find away out of a forced marriage with Gaara. I gave a small sigh at the continued barrage of dull thuds. More explosions. I hoped it would be over soon. The sooner this ended, the sooner the communication network would be back up. Then, we could figure out a way to get me to Suna, to Gaara, to the only hope at survival through this.

So I could hold her in my arms. See her eyes. Count her little fingers and toes. Hear her voice. Yes, I needed to hold onto that hope. Just a few more weeks. I could hold on for just a few more weeks.

I felt weird. Like... Like there was a tickle in my stomach. Just below my navel, where the baby was growing inside me. I froze. What... What was that? I brought my hands there. Was she ok? Had anything happened to her? Another little tickle, it was kinda weird. Like there were little bubbles popping deep inside of me. "Temari!" I looked over to her. "Temari, I think something is wrong."

She looked at me, seen where my hands were and rushed to my side. "What is it? Tell me."

"I can feel... I feel something... Do you think she is ok?"

She stared a moment then broke out into a wide grin. "That isn't a bad thing at all." She laughed.

"What is it then, why are you laughing?" I glared at her. It wasn't funny. Something was going on with my baby, and I didn't know what.

"Calm down, you are fine." She knelt down and placed her hand on my abdomen. "She is just moving, letting you know she is in there."

I looked down to my stomach. That feeling... That weird little feeling was because she moved? I gave a small laugh. She moved. She was alive, maybe even thriving safely inside of my body, blissfully unaware of all the things going on outside of me. "Does that happen a lot? Do they move a lot?"

She smiled. "Yeah, she will, so you should get used to that feeling." She stood back up. "You really weren't around much for Hinata's pregnancies were you?"

I frowned at her. "She was private about it, thought the entire process was embarrassing or something like that. I never thought so, I wanted to know more. It was kinda weird, you know, having a tiny person growing inside of her. I seen her stomach grow, and I think she only had me feel Himawari kick just before she was born. It was kinda weird feeling." I paused, "Hey, do you think Gaara will want to know? Be involved I mean."

She smiled. "Probably. You know as much as I do he has a bit of a childish fascination with things, he will likely have that with this."

I gave a small hum as the odd little feeling dissipated. I frowned. "She stopped."

"Don't worry, alright? She will do it again."

I rubbed the skin over where she was. "I hope so. I really hope so."

I stayed there feeling oddly relaxed. She had moved. My little girl moved and somehow it made me love her even more. How was that even possible?

More thuds of explosions, this time making the cavern rumble a little. My brows furrowed.Please, they need to defeat them. My daughter's life depended on it. Boruto and Himawari's lives depended on it as well.

Thud, scrape, thud. Rumble.

I swallowed. This... This didn't seem good. I looked over to Temari, the worry creeping onto my face. "Tem-"

I wasn't able to finish my sentence. My breath left me in an instant and I gasped desperately for breath, clawing at my neck as air left me. Wrong.

Everything was wrong. Something happened. Something bad.

Something very bad.

I fell to the floor and my body convulsed, pain shooting through my body. Something was wrong.

Oh gods, something was very wrong. There was a terrible pulling sensation, similar to when Kurama had been yanked out of me so many years ago. But it was different.

Very different.

I clawed at the floor. Something was being taken from me. Something important but I couldn't tell what. I moved my hands to my skin, trying to stop whatever it was from leaving me.

Wrong.

Pain.

Bad.

Very Bad. I needed... I needed... Anyone.

I pleaded for help. Something wasn't right. I heard a muffled 'pompf' with a flash of red and black before a great wave of loss overcome me. Gone. It felt as though a giant hole was torn through my body and...

It was... I was...

It was dark.

Drip.

Drip.

I opened my eyes and found myself in front of my old friend Kurama. I stared at him. Why... Why was I there? "Kurama?"

He opened one giant red eye. "Hey kid, before you say anything, I get it. I know how you are. I won't argue with it. However... I won't let us die either. I can't let you siphon any more of my chakra, or all three of us die here." He came down to my level, his nose nearly to mine.

The stench of his breath invaded my senses and I felt myself panic. He... He wasn't going to... "You can't hurt her!" I screamed it at him. No, not him too. I had to protect her, I had to.

"Forgive me." With the words he jabbed me hard in my chest and I was filled with a large burning sensation.

I gasped for air, as my vision faded away and I fell before him. "Why..." I felt weak. Weaker than I had ever felt. Unable to move.

"To save us all."

It was the last thing I heard before I fully lost consciousness.