Chapter 30
"Hello Sasuke," Kakshi said as he entered the Uchiha house.
"What do you want now?" Sasuke demanded as he walked back and resumed packing.
"I've struck a bargain with the council, one which I believe you, Sakura and Sarada will benefit from." Kakashi seemed smug about his claim and it had him lifting a brow at his former mentor. Just what was going through his mentor's head he didn't know.
"And what is that?" Sasuke demanded sharply. He didn't like this, he didn't like this at all, however, he didn't care so long as his daughter and wife were safe.
"You will finish off Ōtsutsuki, and not return before you do, when you have completed that mission you will be free of the council's control and your family as well. Until you defeat the Ōtsutsuki though you will be under the council's control. But because they do not know about Sarada, you and Sakura should play your cards right then when you return all of you will be free of the council. It's simple enough, but should you return before completing the mission, Sakura and if Sarada is with her, they will be staying here and you will stay away until you complete your mission.
"This was the best I could do for you and your family and not reveal Sarada's existence to them all," Kakashi informed him.
"Hn," he nodded in understanding.
"Keep your family safe, keep them both alive Sasuke, if you fail… you will not need to worry about the council for I will be the one you have to worry about." Kakashi's dark eyes were serious and threatening. If Sasuke had had any form of fear for his former teacher then he'd have been worried. However, he had long since lost a lot of his fears, and right now he felt a slight fear of Kakashi for he was clearly determined.
"I will not be the one to fail, I will tell Sakura about this deal from you before we leave."
"Good, oh, and Sasuke, keep up whatever you've been doing to raise Sarada, she is the sweetest child I've met so far," Kakashi said as he walked away from the house. Sakura was going to like this deal, it wasn't as if he'd ever actually return here until he was free of the council. Besides he still had Sakura and Sarada to think about and to take care of.
"Who was that Sasuke?" she called out.
"Kakashi," he answered as he walked back up to his wife who had most of her poisons and weapon packed.
"Oh? What did he want?" she asked as her pink head poked out of what had been his room.
"He wanted to give us some information," he answered.
"Oh, what about?" she asked.
"I'll tell you when we have Sarada as well," he said softly as he poked her seal. She just sighed and then darted back into the room to continue her packing. He just smirked at the sight of his wife packing up her stuff quickly, his wife, and his family, the thoughts pleased him.
Sakura smiled as she waved her friends off at the gates, her husband just scowled as he walked away. She rolled her eyes, said her goodbyes and then she found herself running after him. He caught her hand before he pulled her along with him. She was excited to see her daughter again.
"Hey Suigetsu!" she called out when they were finally close enough to him. He flinched a bit from her and she smirked bit at his fear, served him right for bringing Sarada to the last village she needed to be in. "And hey baby!"
"Am I no longer in trouble?" Suigetsu asked her as he handed Sarada to her.
"No, you're still in hot water! Hey sweetie! How have you been?" she asked as she bounced her daughter on her hip. "However, you've been forgiven for the time being. Do it again and I'll break every part of your body."
"Okay! Will never do it again!" he assured her.
"Good, thank you Suigetsu for watching over Sarada, and thank Karin for me as well," Sakura said with a wave as she carried her daughter off and walked with Sasuke. Suigetsu was fast to run off and she smiled as Sarada hugged her neck tightly then.
"So what had you and Kakashi spoke of?" she asked.
"Nothing much, but apparently he has made a deal with the council and if we succeed, we are free," he told her and she stared at him with wide eyes then.
"Oh? And what is the deal?" she demanded eagerly as she held her daughter tightly. Sarada was tugging on her hair, Sakura smiled and toyed with the short locks of ebony. Sarada reached over to Sasuke and tugged his cloak then, Sasuke took his daughter as she reached for him, she nodded in acceptance.
"We eliminate the Ōtsutsuki clan, we return free, return before then and we get separated. The council has agreed to the terms Kakashi set up," he said softly as he bounced Sarada in his arm. She giggled, she chuckled when he winced at his daughter pulling his hair.
"That's great! All we need to do is beat the Ōtsutsuki clan and we'll be free to come home! Hopefully before Sarada should start in the Academy!" Sakura declared.
"You still want her to be a shinobi after all the pain I put you through?" he asked her ludicrously.
"Well, I want her to have options, and she is an Uchiha so whether you like it or not she will need to learn about the chakra she has and learn to control it," Sakura stated matter-of-factly.
"Really?" he asked.
"Yes, in fact, she's already master of running up and down trees with her chakra. She will need to learn about her heritage and her chakra, the Academy is the best place for her to learn about her family and what she is capable of," she decided. "Learning in the Academy is the best option, and when she comes to graduate she can choose her own path."
"Alright," he nodded.
"Good, now let's get started on our mission," Sakura declared. He sighed and gave his daughter a knowing look.
"Well, they seemed eager to leave," Naruto grumbled.
"Give them space Naruto," Hinata sighed as she bounced her son on her hip. She was feeling exhausted with this new pregnancy and competing with her toddler for energy.
"Well, I'm curious about what they are up to," Naruto grumbled.
"If they wanted to tell you then they would tell you, but I think for now they just want to be left alone," Hinata admitted.
"Hey, did you… did you notice anything… odd about Sakura while you two were handing out?"
"Odd?" Hinata asked.
"Yeah, her chakra, it was different, I was curious if you noticed anything different about her," Naruto admitted. Her chakra had kind of felt like Hinata's when Hinata was pregnant, which was odd to him, for she hadn't even acted differently. Hinata, when pregnant, was very different, exhausted all the time, and hungry all the time.
"Not really, she seemed… normal for Sakura," Hinata shrugged.
"Did you use your Byakugan on her?" he asked, Hinata had seen ever pregnancy in the village and said the chakra flowed differently.
"Yes, and no I didn't see anything odd about her chakra networks, she was pretty normal for what I remember of her, maybe she had more chakra stored up if that's possible but I didn't see anything odd about that," Hinata admitted.
"Hm," he mumbled. This was odd, he could swear to her chakra feeling like Hinata's while she was pregnant, and he was never wrong about chakra readings.
"Why Naruto?" Hinata sighed.
"Well, I just… well, it was something Kakashi said, and well, that feeling," Naruto admitted to her. He had been puzzling over it, especially after the meeting, and just saying goodbye he had been heavily focused on Sakura's chakra to see if he was feeling it right… and he had.
It was faint, but mixed in her own chakra had been another chakra.
"Naruto, she would tell you if she was pregnant, and she'd be pulled off the mission, no one would let her stay with him for a mission this dangerous. It'd be too dangerous for a pregnant woman," Hinata pointed out.
"I know, it's just, Sakura doesn't seem to know when things are too dangerous," Naruto grumbled. She was always running head first into danger, she may be a medic but she never shied from danger. If anything, Naruto feared she ran after it. No matter, there was no way Sasuke would ever let any child of his be put in danger; not with his desires to restore his clan.
"But you should trust Sasuke to know," Hinata whispered to him.
"I know, but…"
"I know, now I'm going to go get a nap, you take care of Boruto," she said and shoved the toddler at him. He blinked as his wife disappeared behind a door and then he was laughing to himself, she could be so forward about her wants or her intentions. It was sexy as hell!
Sakura made it about two weeks on their journey before she found herself sicker than a dog one morning. Her body was hunched over as she knelt on the forest ground throwing up. A small hand patted her back when a large hand moved her hair back.
"I'm alright," she promised her daughter assuredly and her husband who was stroking her back.
"Uh-huh," he grunted.
"I am," she insisted as she sat back, her chest heaving.
"We're stopping at an inn," he informed her as he carefully maneuvered her and Sarada up into his arm and against his chest. Sarada was resting on her chest, her arm was draped around his shoulders and then she was being carried off at a ridiculous pace.
"You're being foolish," she mumbled against his neck. Her daughter rested her head on her heart.
"Perhaps," he conceded but it didn't seem to slow him as she closed her eyes with a sigh again. She'd love to say she felt fine but all she felt at this moment was woozy, she didn't like feeling this way and she figured she probably ate something that was reacting with her and her stomach too well. And before one leapt to the wrong conclusion:
She Was Not Pregnant.
She had just had her cycle literally two days ago, she had taken her birth control religiously since having Sarada; and even before having Sarada, and on top of that she had had a blood test done when she had been home in the village; mostly for a screening of illnesses and possible diseases but pregnancy was cover in that test when she had admitted to Ino that she and Sasuke had a very active sex life. So she was certain that this time, she would not miss a pregnancy. Besides, Sasuke also used protection every time they were together, it was important to the both of them.
"You're going to be alright Sakura," he assured her.
"I know, I'm sleepy though," she sighed and let the sleep overcome her. Sakura did not feel the need to be awake when she and her daughter were safe with Sasuke.
Sasuke looked his wife and daughter over very carefully when he got them to the inn, there was no other chakra in Sakura but he didn't exactly rely on that as a hind; after all, how else do you think they had gotten Sarada!?
Looking at his daughter and wife he sighed as he sat on the inn bed beside them. She was sleeping soundly now and Sarada was resting on Sakura as well, they were fine. Perhaps he was just over worrying about this, she'd be fine tomorrow. He knew that, she would always be fine, she was his wife after all, and she was probably the most resilient woman ever born, after all she had loved him despite everything he had done to her.
She was going to be fine.
She had to be fine.
