Disclaimer: I do not own the original Naruto characters used in this fiction, just the couples' kids.
Parents:
Sasuke & Sakura—Kiku and Daisuke; Neji & Tenten—Cho and Ryuu; Naruto & Hinata—Kitsune and Naien; Shikamaru & Temari—Shikarou, Tomoko, and Takara; Kiba & Ino—Misaki (and Shiroko); Itachi & Hana—Katai (and Chairomaru); Kakashi & Kurenai—Rei; Gaara & Matsuri—Yua; Unknown—Raiden, Osamu, Manako (and Aoko), Soshina, Takeshi
Ages:
Kiku, Raiden, Cho, Osamu, Katai, Manako, Rei, Takara, Tomoko—all 16; chuunin
Daisuke, Misaki, Kitsune, Shikarou, Ryuu, Yua—all 13; genin
Parenting 101
Story 38: Still Silence
An announcement is made.
"We're running out of time," Shikamaru anxiously reminded his audience, mainly directing his comment towards the sixth hokage sitting across the table. Naruto nodded, looking at the familiar faces, each resembling their own version of distress or worry.
Hinata sat to his right, Matsuri to his left, while the rest of the table was occupied by their dearest loved ones—Sasuke, Sakura, Ino, Kiba (with Akamaru sitting behind him), Shino, Chouji, Neji, Tenten, Lee, Sai, Shikamaru, Temari, Itachi, Hana, Kakashi, Kurenai, Gai, Shizune. Was it risky to have so many people involved in such an underground matter? Some people would think it was, but Naruto placed absolute trust in every single person sitting with him at that moment. Besides, depending on the reliability of their information and the progression of their undergoing plan, he may have to tell the entire village of the crisis at hand, which he hoped it wouldn't come down to, though the chances were slim.
"Yes, but certain things just cannot be helped," Temari reminded her husband, placing a hand on his shoulder.
He nodded. He knew that already—they all knew this already—but everything about the situation was unsettling.
The odds…
As his mind listed the many odds, the reality of the situation, and hundreds of possible outcomes, Shikamaru tensed and absently wrapped his arm around Temari's waist, pulling her flush against his side. She gave him a worried glance but simply rested her head on his shoulder, fully understanding.
And the mood seemed to be reaching everyone else as well.
Neji took hold of Tenten's hand which had been resting on the table, interlacing their fingers.
"Having to risk the kids' lives…" Neji muttered.
"It will be entirely their choice," Naruto reminded, though the look on his face already showed he knew the answer. "Everyone has the option of saying 'no.' However—"
"The kids are too prideful for their own good," Sakura reminded, chuckling humorlessly as a nostalgic look crossed her face. In her mind, the image of Kiku and Daisuke's smiling back at her caused her to feel the tears coming on. "They'll all say yes—each and every one of them."
Sasuke placed his arms around her shoulder, and she turned her body to face him, leaning against him for support.
"A psychotic death wish," Hana mumbled, shaking her head.
Itachi placed a hand on the small of her back.
"Or an act of bravery," Ino reminded softly as she petted Akamaru as she often did when she was emotional and overwhelmed, a habit she'd form during the time she and Kiba had been dating.
Kiba nodded in agreement. "I doubt any of us would have said 'no' in a situation like this."
"That's due to how they were raised," Gai reminded. "How will they be able to think of their own safety when their village needs them?"
"They'll want to be the ones doing the fighting as well," Shino added, "otherwise I doubt they'd be able to forgive themselves."
"Reminds me of us when we were genin and chuunin," Chouji said.
"Then they will fight until there is no one left standing," Lee declared, absently nodding, though everyone knew his words rang truer than expected.
"How much time do we have left?" Matsuri suddenly asked as she looked at Naruto.
He thought for a moment. "If our information is fairly accurate, then we have until the end of next month."
"That soon?" Shizune gasped.
"About six weeks… give or take a few days, obviously," Kakashi said, "but we'll have to work fast."
"We're probably estimating a week and a half to two weeks maximum to move the villagers," Sai reminded, "and then all that's left is—"
"Waiting?" Kurenai interrupted, sounding doubtful. "It can't be that… easy."
Shikamaru scoffed. "Taking on the Black Knights is easy?"
"No, not that part," she corrected, "but moving the population of two entire villages, plus everything they'll need—"
"The area we're using is fairly resourceful, maybe even more than Konoha is," Shikamaru explained. "Remember? It was the same area we used to evacuate the villagers during the last battle taken to Konoha. The difficult geography will be enough of a challenge already for people who don't know their way around, so it is less likely for an attack to occur while we're gone. And accommodating for Suna's population and needs, they'll still have enough land and then some left."
She didn't seem too convinced.
"Taking care of the villagers will be the easiest part compared to everything," Hinata reminded. "The most unbearable part will be the waiting."
"It was no different last time."
Everyone's heads snapped up at the voice, startling the audience for two reasons: 1) the voice did not belong to any of them in the room, which meant somebody had been able to get in and hear them without them noticing, which made 2) this "somebody" had obviously been good enough not to have been heard, or they had just been too careless to have heard them.
Heads whipped around to face three familiar standing there, smiling back at them.
"Shishou!" Sakura exclaimed, half-surprised and half-ecstatic.
"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune nearly shouted.
The blonde's smile widened.
"How come they're so many of you for a meeting like this?" Jiraiya questioned, grinning.
"Ero-sennin!" Naruto yelled.
Jiraiya frowned for a split second, muttering, "Still haven't gotten rid of that nickname, I see," before being enveloped into a hug by his former apprentice.
Sakura stood up, bringing Sasuke up with her as he hadn't yet released his hold of her, and she and Shizune rushed to Tsunade's side, causing her to laugh.
When Orochimaru and Sasuke's eyes met, the atmosphere changed. It was a slight, faintly noticeable change—one someone wouldn't have paid any attention to if they weren't looking in their direction. Their eyes were both blank, with an unreadable expression; it wasn't one of admiration and a kind of love like Sakura, Shizune, and Naruto were greeting the other two of the three Legendary Sannin, but it wasn't one of hatred either. It was hard to put it to words.
But then Orochimaru's lips curved upward ever-so-slightly in the faintest of smiles, and Sasuke's eyebrows rose before returning a slight smirk.
Naruto, Jiraiya, Sakura, and Tsunade noticed this exchange, but did nothing to point it out, and just smiled.
"We didn't think you'd be arriving so soon," Hinata admitted, rising to her feet.
Surprisingly, it was Orochimaru who responded.
"We'd already been headed in this direction," he explained. "Which brings us back to the matter at hand…"
Tsunade nodded, serious once more.
"Sit down—we've got a lot to discuss."
The easiest part was the planning. Devising a plan that would keep the entire population of both Konoha and Suna hidden in a safe, comfortable place that still provided their every need before a possible raid by the Black Knights—that was the easy part, Naruto had declared. The hard part?
Telling.
Delivering bad news is never easy. Sooner or later, and most likely more than just a handful of times, everyone has to go through the experience—the thoughts, the emotions, reliving the memories—of having to announce bad news. Having to see the reaction on the person's, or people's, face(s) after delivering the bad news comes second only to the real torture: having to look at their face before the revelation. Seeing their faces, whatever emotion they may be feeling, or however they look, and to watch that be tainted and sucked out by the bad news was the hard part.
That's what it felt like for Naruto as he stood atop the Hokage Tower before a sea of Konoha villagers mixed with the visiting Suna personnel. Hinata and Matsuri stood to his left with their hands on Kitsune's and Yua's shoulders, who were both trying very hard not to become emotional as they had prior to.
Several feet behind him to his right stood Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya.
He looked down at the faces below, instantly picking out his dearest friends and family that stood amongst the crowds. Those particular faces were also abnormally stiff, their lips pressed together in a tight line as they were bracing themselves for hearing the news yet again.
Naruto took a breath to settle himself, reliving just hours before when they revealed their confirmations to the kids.
Daisuke curled his hand into a fist and angrily slammed it into the tree. Ryuu squeezed his eyes shut and began to shake. Shikarou gulped, hard, muttering to himself. Rei looked both angry and helpless. Takara's eyes watered instantly, as well as Tomoko's, and Takara threw both hands over her mouth while Tomoko just shook her head slowly, mouthing "no." Misaki began to shiver, tears brimming in her eyes, and she leaned into Katai's shoulder for support as she sniffled. Katai left her, though he looked livid with rage. Chairomaru and Shiroko growled lowly. Kiku and Cho instantly paled and stiffened. Kitsune broke down and sobbed somewhat hysterically, collapsing onto her knees. Yua dropped to her knees, too, holding Kitsune, though tears streamed down Yua's eyes as well.
Thinking of Kitsune's meltdown had caused a lump to rise in the back of his throat, which he tried to swallow down.
Right now, he was supposed to be a leader.
The atmosphere was tense. Everyone below seemed to be expecting something bad—the situation just gave that sort of vibe off.
"Everyone," he spoke loudly, silencing the soft murmurs below. "There is no easy way to say something like this, but it seems that Konoha will no longer be safe."
His words echoed through the sky as if he was speaking with a microphone. You would've heard a pin drop on the other end of the village. It was almost as if even nature remained quiet for this. He almost lost it when he saw Kitsune flinch from the corner of his eye, though he took another deep breath and continued.
"The Black Knights are a terrorist group, though they have remained underground for the past few years. For those of you who have heard of them—they had been highly underestimated. What we have seen them do over the past few years is only a fraction of their capability, and they grow stronger in both ability and numbers every day. And by the end of next month they shall arrive to make Konoha their battleground."
Fearful murmurs broke out below, only to be immediately silenced when Naruto continued talking.
"Their motives are vague and unclear, but we are sure of one thing: so long as they're coming, it is no longer safe for all of you to remain here. We've planned for months ahead of today, but the successfulness of this plan is dependent on your cooperation and trust in us."
He looked over his shoulder at Hinata, who wore a pained expression as she nodded and stepped forward.
"Along with the Godaime Kazekage, Sabaku no Gaara, we have devised a thorough evacuation plan. It requires that all personnel be evacuated from Konoha within two weeks prior to the predicted arrival of the Black Knights. The entire population of Konoha, as well as Suna, shall be joined together. Where you shall be relocated is a place that has been prepared specifically for the likes of this type of situation. It is well-hidden, and large enough with enough resources to provide more than enough for the population of both villages for almost two lifetimes. You shall be heavily protected by the ANBU personnel, and you can live your life without fear of harm."
She lowered her head slightly, placing her hand back on Kitsune's shoulder and squeezing it comfortingly.
"The forces of both Suna and Konoha shall remain here and fight. Whether or not we come out victorious, the remaining survivors of this fight—all of you—will help create a new village that no longer divides the population of Suna and Konoha, but instead brings them together."
Naruto stepped forward once more.
"But remember: no matter what the outcome of this may be, Konoha and Suna shall never die. They shall remain alive in your souls, always and forever; as many leaves there are on every tree upon this planet, as many grains of sand there are upon every inch of land upon this earth, and as many heartbeats of their people."
After hearing everything from Naruto—the news, then the speech—Kiku almost felt sick with herself as she used the commotion that followed to allow her, Cho, and Sakura to slip away undetected. It was starting to get late. The dark blue sky would turn black within less than an hour. The moon and stars were becoming visible. But, for some individuals, the night was only the beginning of the chaos about to ensue.
As they reached the section of Konoha's boundaries with no personnel present to watch at that moment, they came to a silent halt.
Cho and Kiku turned to face Sakura, and the silence pulsed between them was weighed down by so many things. All of the lies, and betrayals, and deceptions, and mistakes… they all seemed meaningless as everything boiled down, once more, on one decision.
Sakura pulled them in, hugging them each tightly but with trembling hands, before kissing the tops of their foreheads.
"Be safe," she said quietly but sternly. She placed her hands on both their cheeks. "Remember: absence makes the heart grow fonder. So hurry back. We will always love you and we will always be proud of you, no matter what decisions you make, or whatever path you choose. Never ever forget that."
They both nodded.
"I love you," Kiku whispered, hugging her mother tightly once more.
Sakura hugged her back just as tightly before releasing her grip. She held her hands all the way, tightening her grip. Kiku squeezed back. It wasn't until Kiku had loosened her grip, and her form slipped out from her mother's grasp, dropping from sight and disappearing into the darkness, did Sakura finally let go.
Quote from Chapter 37: "Would you like to stay for dinner?" – "Would you like to stay forever?"—from Mulan
Okay, I lied.
Raiden ISN'T in this chapter.
But that's okay, because to compensate for my horrible, evil, cruel lie, he appears in the Chapter 39, which I posted together with this!
Now GO! Click the button in the bottom left corner and READ DAMNIT (pardon my French :D)
Everything will be explained at the bottom of Chapter 39.
Thank you for being such wonderful readers!
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Ciao! Au Reveoir! Zai Jian! Hasta Lavista! Ja Ne! Goodbye (till next time, at least!)