DADDY LEFT US Part 3:2

Reading guide

Italic - thoughts

'Normal speech'

"Quoted speech, words etc."

Ying9- please provide the neighbours with earplugs before reading; I don't really want them to sue one of my favourite readers and go to jail, unless they provide computers there in jail. Hahaha!!

It had been two months since Naruto had met Uchiha Itachi. And the Uchiha had unintentionally settled into Naruto's heart. Naruto hadn't been feeling well all that week and the week before that. He hadn't gone to see a doctor soon because he had found out that he had the ability to heal faster than any normal human. So he had thought that whatever it was, that was bothering him was going to disappear in no time.

He had asked the manager of the restaurant he worked at to have a day off the next day so he would go and see a doctor.

He had gone to see a doctor and the doctor's diagnosis was more than he'd anticipated for.

Doctor Tsunade looked exactly like the woman in his flashbacks, and she had greeted him with such familiarity like she knew him. Nevertheless, he didn't ask her about it. After describing the signs and symptoms of his illness, she had gone straight to pregnancy test which puzzled Naruto.

'You're pregnant Naruto-kun' she had said happily as if it were the most natural thing in the world, considering his gender.

Naruto had laughed at that. What is wrong with this doctor, is she sane to be a doctor? He thought.

'Please, can you tell me what is wrong with me?' he asked.

'Naruto-kun, you're…' she paused when she realised what she had told him and why he had laughed and asked to be told what was wrong with him.

Naruto frowned; the doctor's expression looked conflicted as if she was contemplating on telling him something very important. That was making Naruto nervous.

'Naruto-kun, do you know who you are?' she finally asked him.

'What do you mean?' Naruto didn't understand. How did that have anything to do with what was wrong with him?

'I mean do you remember anything from your childhood?'

Naruto stayed quiet for a while; he wasn't sure whether to trust the doctor with his personal life or not.

'Well, I…I don't know anything about myself up until the age of sixteen. But I keep having these unclear flashes about a dark place and a creepy looking man. And sometimes of a young me in an empty dark room with a woman that looks exactly like you.' Naruto had explained.

'I see. Then I guess I have to tell you since it has come to-'

'Tell me what? Naruto asked impatiently.

'Patient' the doctor had commanded.

'Sorry' Naruto apologized.

'Anyway, listen carefully' the doctor had said in a tone that said "I'm not going to repeat myself"

'The woman in your flashbacks is me and the creepy man… well I have to start from the beginning. Nobody knows where you came from. And Orochimaru used to be my classmate when I was in high school until medical school. When we graduated, he told me to come and find him if I ever wanted to further my medical research. Orochimaru had a secret lab where he conducted his unauthorized experiments; mostly on humans. You were one of them Naruto-kun.'

She had looked up to see Naruto's reaction. The boy had become pale. In spite of that he still looked interested. So she had carried on.

'Orochimaru had been experimenting on you since you were just a baby. He was trying to create a male that could conceive. He had worked on you for sixteen years. He had tried, I don't know, unaccountable times the artificial insemination on you when you turned twelve years old.' Naruto had looked puzzled at the last statement. So Tsunade used simple words.

'That is… he tried to get you pregnant Naruto-kun' she simplified.

'Wait… a minute, he tried to get me pregnant!?' Naruto felt disgusted, he felt dirty, dirtier that the sewer could ever be.

'Naruto-kun, not like what you think, though he had tried to one time and luckily I had walked in before he did anything scarring. Though I wouldn't blame you if you are scarred by just his attempt, heck, anybody would be scarred if touched by that man' Tsunade shivered in repulse at the thought of being touched by Orochimaru.

'Anyway, Naruto-kun, he was putting sperms in you artificially.' She finally said.

At that, Naruto felt like something had been lifted off his shoulders; the fact that he had been innocent in some part of him was uplifting.

'I had joined the research three years before you became sixteen. I was tricked. So I couldn't back out safely. Orochimaru knew I hated what he was doing and he knew I became close to you. So when he'd decided that you were a failed experiment, he had ordered me to get rid of you. He had wanted me to suffer the pain of ending someone's life that I cared for.'

'I felt guilty that I couldn't save the other people in the lab. Me and the other researchers, who were tricked as well, were not allowed to leave the area. There were rooms for the staff there. When I was ordered to kill you, I found a chance of redemption, at least just a little bit; I injected you with a drug that temporarily stopped your heart. Basically, it made you lifeless.'

'Now to get rid of the body, and that's when I had the opportunity to go to the outside world. I had driven your unconscious body to the outskirts of the town, not too far away but far enough and not too obvious for you to be found. I had made arrangements with one of my old friends to give you a job and I found an apartment in a hurry. I had written a note to you and left the little money I had.'

'Orochimaru had already erased your memories and any information about you. When I had written the note, in a rush, I just hoped that you still remembered how to read which I had taught you in secret.'

'I don't know how you can get pregnant now, when you couldn't before. But it has happened. So what are you going to do? Know that if you keep it I will help you through it. Right now Orochimaru is in prison. So you'll be safe leaving with me. Besides, I'm the only one who is trained in this. Come find me when you think about it' she had finished.

Naruto had walked out of the hospital in a daze; he didn't know where to begin. His mind was still processing the new information about himself. He felt empty inside despite just having been told about his missing part of his life. It was nice hearing about his past though it would have been better if he remembered it himself.

He had wanted to know about his past; he'd thought that it would fill in the emptiness he felt, since the day he had waken up to nothing in that hotel; the hotel he had his fortunate? Unfortunate? episode with Uchiha Itachi. Naturally, he had wanted to know about his past even before meeting the Uchiha, but he had felt that if it wasn't affecting his new life then it didn't matter.

Now the emptiness still remained.

Naruto walked towards the restaurant unconsciously, he wanted to talk to someone; someone other than the doctor, someone who would put their arms around him and keep him in their tight embrace and whisper gently in his ears that everything was going to be alright. He wanted that someone to tell him that he was not alone in this.

However, at that moment, the last place he wanted to go after his visit to the hospital was the restaurant; he didn't know how he was going to explain his "illness" to everyone. But something kept pulling him towards the restaurant…

The people at the restaurant were nice people, but Naruto didn't want to put that to the test. Naruto had made friends both among the workers and the customers through out the time he had been working at the restaurant, but they were just friends; he didn't get too close to them; it was like an automatic mental shield he had developed to protect himself from being hurt. That was a trauma he had acquired from the experiments; he just felt like he would be used and be damped afterwards. Just like Orochimaru did and now the Uchiha; nevertheless, Naruto still yearned for the Uchiha.

Naruto opened the door to the restaurant and there on a table in his direct line of his vision sat none other that Uchiha Itachi. Then and there, Naruto's conflicted mind went blank and from then on, every action he did or any words he said, were on instinct; revealing what Naruto really wanted, what his whole being longed for.

Naruto walked towards Itachi; his eyes only saw Itachi despite the men in black around Itachi. He felt certain calmness when he saw Itachi, his mind told him that he was supposed to be angry at the Uchiha, but that's not what he felt; his instincts told him that Itachi was the one he needed.

Before he knew it, he was being pulled back. He straggled to get free and Itachi saw this before he was completely removed from the table.

'Let him go.' Itachi commanded his people. Then he turned to Naruto 'and you what do you want?' he snapped at Naruto. Despite Itachi's tone of distaste towards him, Naruto took a step forward and he came face to face with the now standing up Itachi.

'Can I talk to you please' his voice couldn't sound needier but he didn't realise that.

'I have nothing to talk to you about.' Itachi retorted.

'Please.' Naruto Begged. His mind screamed at him to keep the little dignity he had left, but his instincts told him dignity meant nothing if he didn't have Itachi; he would trade everything just to have Itachi hold him again.

'Fine' was the response from Itachi.

Naruto led the way to the back of the restaurant. Before he could even make himself comfortable to say something, Itachi said 'make it quick. Whatever you want to say' he leaned against the closed door to the room; he didn't even bother to get himself in the room completely, he kept his distance from Naruto; it was as if getting close to Naruto would contaminate him or something.

'Uchiha-san… I… I… am … I am pre-'

'Just say it! If it's the money you want I will give it to you. Say your price. I should have known that you would want to be paid after sleeping with me. Just like everyone else.'

'That's not true!' yelled Naruto'

'Or maybe you thought I would keep you after having sex with you for one night. You think so highly of yourself Naruto-kun?' taunted Itachi.

'No… that's not it' the tears that Naruto had been holding back fell freely. Each word that Itachi was saying pierced Naruto like a blunt sword to the heart.

'What's not it? You mean you don't want me for my money? Humph, give me a break. If it's not the money then what? What do you want?'

'Uchiha-san. Please listen to me.?' Naruto felt desperation grip at him. Did the Uchiha realise how much of ice his words were? How much they quickly wrapped themselves around Naruto's heart like a silky thorny sash? Gentle and comforting and at the same time inhospitable and wounding.

Without realising it, Naruto wrapped his arms around Itachi and buried his tear stained face into Itachi's chest.

'Please no more. Don't say anymore… please I beg you… don't say such words anymore I cant take it. It hurts… it hurts too much…' sobbed Naruto. His throat felt dry and his body just felt weak; that with a little push, the ground would welcome him mercilessly.

Like his thoughts were his forsaken wish, Itachi shoved him away like he was a parasite.

Itachi seemed to get angrier which was not Naruto's intention.

'You think you are that special to cling to me? Tell you this Naruto-kun; you are not special, so get your head out of the clouds.' With that Itachi took out a cheque book and scribbled a large amount of money on it and threw it at the fallen Naruto. All Naruto could do was watch the Uchiha with longing eyes. Why couldn't he bring himself to hate this man?

'Don't ever come near me again' those were the farewell words from Itachi to Naruto.

After Itachi had left, Naruto picked himself up and without thinking about it; he picked up the cheque and walked out of the restaurant towards his apartment which he wished he had gone to before; instead of the restaurant.

Each step he took felt like his legs were in heavy chains shackled to the ground. He wanted to break free; break free from those shackles, the shackles that pulled at what little something was left in his heart; anymore, then his empty heart would shatter to a point of no remould. Surely there is a limit on how much someone could take such pain, right? Just like someone can push you that much to the edge before you fall off the cliff, right?

Am I that unneeded? Maybe I really am a useless thing, someone to just be used and when I fail, I get discarded. And to think I unknowingly gave my heart to the Uchiha only to be handed back to me just like that. Even my heart is useless. Wouldn't being lifeless be better?

Naruto slid against his closed apartment door. He didn't know what to feel, however there was one thing for sure that he felt. Useless. Then intuitively, his hand went to his stomach and he smiled sorrowfully.

No. I can't give up yet. I am needed; this life growing inside of me needs me to survive. So I am needed. If I am that useless the least I can do is bring life into this world, right. I am going to raise him or her myself without the help of the Uchiha. But I have to get out of here.

With that Naruto began packing his belonging ready for moving out. All that was left now was going to Tsunade. Tsunade was the one person Naruto instinctively trusted right then even after years of separation.

'Naruto. It's time to get up' called out Tsunade shaking Naruto's sleeping form a little. And Naruto's response was turning the other side and pulling the covers over his head to sleep some more.

'Wake up you brat. Breakfast is ready and you need your exercise before you become even bigger to walk.' Yelled Tsunade. Naruto groaned then,

'Granny, so early.' Whined Naruto rubbing his sleepy eyes.

'You!! Don't call me that so early in the morning!' Tsunade warned.

'Told you its too early' said Naruto clearly ignoring Tsunade's warning.

Tsunade clenched her fist. An angry vein was not very far from being visible. Naruto shrunk back a little then he got out of bed as if he didn't notice and headed for the dining room. Glancing back now and then in case Tsunade attacked him from behind.

'You brat. If it wasn't for the babies you are carrying I would have killed you or something!' Tsunade yelled from behind him. And Naruto secretly snickered. Geez now who is the brat? And thank you babies for saving my life.

It had been two months now since Naruto began living with Tsunade; making him four months along. The day that Naruto had gone to take up Tsunade's offer to live with her, he was smiling brightly, but Tsunade had seen through it. The boy was shattered inside. And as soon as she had wrapped her arms around him in a hug, he had broken down. She had comforted him, however she didn't ask much about it; she didn't want to make him cry even more.

'Say, Dr. Tsunade, how old are you really?'

'Um… how old do I look?'

'About thirty-ish…'

'Yes! It works! Naruto-kun, I'm actually 50.' she informed him.

'Really!? How come you look thirty then?'

'I know science. Can't I even use it to beautify myself?' she was shining alright.

There was silence, then;

'So you are actually a granny?'

'What!?'

'Hey can I call you granny Tsunade?'

'No!! You can't.' Tsunade had refused firmly.

'Really granny Tsunade?' teased Naruto and jumped out of her lap and run to the other side of the hospital bed giggling like a child.

'Why you…' she got up as well to chase him.

Then Naruto swayed a little from dizziness; she was quickly by his side her caring mode switched on.

'Be careful. Don't get up so suddenly, you.' She scolded.

'Sorry, I will be careful' Tsunade smiled at that.

'Well, then I have no more patients to see, so lets start the moving, we will also be living with my assistant Shizune; to help you when I'm at work okay.'

She announced happily as if she had been told that she was going to have grandchildren; well technically she was since she considered Naruto as her own.

It's like they were never separated; the way they caught up with each other. when they were still in the lab, Naruto had been the light to keep her looking forward to the next day and hoping that time will come when they will be free.

They had found out that he was carrying twins when Tsunade had done another check up. This time, knowing exactly what she was looking for.

The ninth month had come finally and it was the cherry blossoms' season. To this point Naruto had spent most of his time indoors since the seventh month when he became two big to walk too much. Luckily, they had a cherry tree in the back yard so Naruto had enjoyed the beauty of the cherry blossoms without going long distances for the cherry blossoms' viewing; what a beautiful season to bring another life into the world.

The twins were born through caesarean with no complications and Naruto's quick healing ability did its job well; leaving no scars. It was a magical moment; the moment Naruto had heard their little cries, he had cried as well. He felt needed; useful.

'Wow, they are like one person' Naruto said upon looking at their little flashed faces with their mops of black hair. They looked exactly the same.

'Are you going to know who is who?' teased Tsunade.

'Gimme a break they are my own how could I not know?'

'Anyway Naruto-kun you haven't named them yet' shizune pointed out.

'Oh, yeah, let's see…' he looked at the baby in his arms then at the one in shizune's arms.

'I got it! This one is Fuyu and that one is Natsu.' he smiled brightly.

'Why?' Tsunade asked.

'What do you mean why? Oh you mean why the names? Well Fuyu seems like the one who will have the collected stoic personality and probably other people to meet him for the first time would say he is cold like winter. And Natsu, he seems more like the bubbly kind; shining more that the sun in summer.'

'Wow, Naruto-kun that's beautiful.' Shizune nearly sobbed.

'That's just silly how can you know their personality by just looking at them?'

'Granny, that's not nice. I don't think you could come up with something like that yourself.'

'Careful brat. They are born now so I don't have anything holding me back from killing you.'

'Sorry. But that's not the only reason I have given them those names. It's like day and night; dark and light; winter and summer. So I have haru (spring) in which they are born. So now I will have my Fuyu (winter) and Natsu (summer) all the time; always. Whether in winter I will still have summer and in summer, I will still have winter. Cool eh?' he smiled.

'Silly. But I get it anyway. Congratulations, Naruto-kun. You have done really well.' Tsunade said seriously.

'Yeah, now I have more people to live for.' He smiled and dozed off; even though his body was completely healed, he needed to restore his used up energy since the start of his pregnancy.

Tsunade and Shizune had helped Naruto take care of the twins for a year when things became gloomy again in Naruto's life; one day when Tsunade had gone to work with Shizune, they never came back.