topsyturvy-dream I love your reviews! xD They really could use a honeymoon and definitely a long talk!
Yakitori-chan She is! Thanks for reviewing :)
Mikan26 It was a pretty saucy chapter!
For the first two days I didn't allow Sakura's words to torment me because I was hopeful that Sasuke would soon be home so I could talk to him, effectively getting rid of any doubt I might have had about us but when the night of the third day drew in I couldn't silence the negative thoughts any more. My mind travelled into our past, analysing every time we kissed, made love and said goodbye. Certain moments like the night he rescued me from Shinji bothered me more than others; he hadn't planned on coming back to me because he knew that I was in love with him but he did come back and had wanted us to have a child together, had that been a sign that I was wrong about us? I rolled on to Sasuke's side of the bed, lying my head on his pillow. Usually his manly smell relaxed me, not this time though. After tossing and turning for the next few hours, I gave up on sleep and slinked downstairs, where I stepped out onto the veranda. It must have been just before dawn because the sun was just starting to appear, the sky gradually becoming a magical mixture of pink and blue. As confused as I was, I still wondered what Sasuke was doing, If he had just woken up like I had and if he was looking at the same sunrise.
Sasuke took a breather before the next wave of enemies appeared, he ate a food pill, cleaned the fresh blood that was dripping from his sword onto the grass and did his best to formulate a quick strategy that included the other Konoha shinobi he had with him, two chuunin, a genin and one jounin. Naruto had been right to send him. If the Konoha shinobi didn't send an urgent request for help after they had been ambushed Sasuke wasn't sure how many of them would still be left. They had fought hard until Sasuke had arrived and managed to keep hold of the scroll the enemy were after but as a result most of them were injured and nearly out of chakra. Sasuke was in a similar position now himself, without rest he was running low on chakra too and his shoulder definitely needed medical attention after the strongest of the attackers had managed to land a hit on him. It was rare for someone to actually injure Sasuke but he had been trying to defend his comrades from the ten enemies bombarding them with jutsu.
He shielded his eyes as the first rays of the rising sun hit his face, announcing the beginning of the fourth day of his mission. His eyes were bordering on painful, he had over used them but, the enemies had been surprisingly strong, he didn't have a choice. Somehow they needed to get back to Konoha but most of the team were wounded and with the enemies being so relentless Sasuke wasn't sure how far his comrades would make it. There was really only one option, he had to wipe out the enemy force with the remaining chakra he had left.
"Sasuke-san, we'll guard the perimeter. Please get some rest." The jounin said and indicated to his team setting traps in the grass and between the trees surrounding them. Sasuke nodded in reply, sinking down onto the ground and leaning against a tree. So far he had made sure not to allow me to linger for long in his mind, I was too much of a distraction but with a moment's peace he closed his eyes and allowed his every thought to be consumed by me- the way I smiled, the way our bodies connected so perfectly together and the undying love I had for him that he could see in my eyes every day. He ran his fingers over his lips, thinking of the last kiss we had shared and his heart ached, he could still see the confusion and hurt on my face. He held the image of our goodbye in his mind a little longer, analysing it closely. Before he had even spoken my body had been tense, the smile that had so quickly fallen from my face was not my natural smile. Why hadn't he noticed at the time that something was wrong? The anger simmering away inside wasn't what he wanted to bring home, he had been hoping to talk to me about having another child when he got back. Ever since Naruto and Hinata had broken the news that they were expecting he had been trying to find a way to approach the subject, which was difficult because he knew how traumatic Yoichi's birth had been for me but we were good, loving parents and he wanted to give Yoichi a sibling, just like he had Itachi when he was growing up. He felt a pain in his heart again, he never stopped missing his brother. An exploding tag went off and he was on his feet in a flash ready for battle.
The man standing in front of me wasn't what I had pictured at all, when Hinata had told me about someone from Iwagakure researching great ninja for a book, who had mentioned Udon village, the image of someone much older had come to mind. He actually looked to be the same age as me, he had lively, twinkling eyes, a messy head of brown hair and a beaming grin.
"Thank you for taking the time to meet with me!" Taku's voice was loud and enthusiastic.
"No problem." I replied, returning his polite bow. We were standing outside the Hokage's office, he had just finished meeting with Naruto, who was going to be a big part of his book. Hinata had introduced us and it seemed like he was overjoyed to find someone that might be able to help him finish an important part of his book. We took a stroll through Konoha and he told us all about his book, the lengths he had gone to tracking down the most amazing ninja he could think of, how many thousands of documents he had read and how he had dedicated the last four years of his life to finishing it. Then his upbeat tone vanished as he spoke about one ninja whose past was so elusive he was struggling to find out much about him.
"From the little bits of information I managed to find out, I know that he was amazingly skilled but suddenly retired after meeting a woman called Mei in Udon village." I could hardly believe my ears, that was my grandmother's name! She had told me just before we came to Konoha that my grandfather was a ninja and that he had died in their home but I couldn't remember another time she had spoken about him, it had been a very painful subject for her.
"My Grandmother was called Mei. I never met my grandfather but she did say that he was a ninja."
"Really?" he asked, eyes full of wonder. I nodded silently in reply, the excitement I had felt talking about my Grandmother had quickly given way to grief, I had tried not to think about her since leaving Udon village but I missed her terribly.
We stopped on the bridge that was not too far from the entrance of the village and I realised that the location was making me nervous. What if Sasuke came home and saw me talking to another man? Hinata was with us but it didn't stop me from feeling guilty. Then I realised that he would probably find out anyway from the pink haired trouble maker.
"My grandma passed away months ago, they had a daughter together- my mother but she is no longer with us either and I didn't know him, I'm not sure how much help I can be to you." I had every intention of sounding as cheerful as him when I spoke but my thoughts had clearly laced my words with sadness. Hinata put her hand on my shoulder, I felt pleased to have her as a friend.
"I'm very sorry. Emiko-san. You've been a big help, trust me. Now I know that he had a family! That should be enough for my book. In return I'd like to do something for you." Me and Hinata exchanged confused glances, both wondering what on earth he could mean.
"I can teach you some jutsu! Living in Konoha you might not have met many ninja that know a lot of Doton jutsu but, given your heritage, it should be easy for you to learn."
I felt majorly conflicted. Given everything I had just discovered, it would have been an honour to train with a ninja that was from the same village as my Grandfather especially if I could have a talent for the Doton jutsu but training with another man felt wrong somehow.
"That would help with your training right, Emiko?" Hinata smiled.
How did she know? I hadn't told her about it yet so that meant that Sasuke and Naruto did talk about me after all. Fear gripped me. Sakura's words were running through my mind again. If Sasuke didn't really love me I could lose everything.
"Of course." I forced a smile onto my face. I needed to speak to Hinata. Taku suggested we meet in the training grounds the following day and I agreed, the training grounds weren't secluded, there were always others there training and Hinata would be there too.
The second he was out of ear shot, I turned to Hinata, "Does Naruto talk to you about what Sasuke says?" It must have sounded like a weird question but at that point I couldn't stop myself asking it.
"Not really. Just about you wanting to become a ninja too. I think it's brilliant! If I can help you out at all, please ask me."
"Oh..thank you, Hinata. Are you sure he didn't mention anything else?"
From my reaction she guessed that her answer hadn't been the one I was hoping to hear, she looked at me sadly and said, "There was something else."
A/n Uh-oh...what could it be? I absolutely love writing Sasuke and Emiko(Yoichi too, of course) don't think I ever want to write an ending lol! xD