Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke studied me for a moment before nodding. It was too much of a coincidence not to be that guy from the beach. He squeezed my hand as the subtle burn of regret niggled away in his mind, telling him that he should have killed that man after he had approached me. He knew regret was a useless emotion, he couldn't change anything. All he could do was try and rectify that mistake and make sure he protected me and Yoichi.

"Tell me exactly where this happened. I'm going to head out and-"

"No, Sasuke!" I protested angrily. Not only would I be beside myself with worry but I would also have to explain to Yoichi and everyone else that attended his party that Sasuke wouldn't be able to be there.

"Emi, it's my job to protect my family. That's what I need to do." His hand slipped from mine and he pulled his black cloak around his shoulders.

To my surprise Naruto stood by my side, blocking his friend's path. He understood how badly Sasuke wanted to protect his family but he could see how that need was clouding his judgement.

"It was hours ago, it's not likely he's still there and besides…" Naruto flashed a huge grin and threw his arm around my shoulders. "You're needed here."

Sasuke looked between us, his eyes gradually softening, his fists unclenching into fingers yearning to grasp me and hold me tight.

"If it's the same guy, he's spoken to Emi. He probably knows what Yoichi looks like too." Sasuke said gently. He no longer looked like a man focused on destruction but a man searching for an answer.

"So what? He's got to go through you and me, Hinata...well, the whole village actually!"

I truly understood why Naruto was Hokage, his strong words put me completely at ease. I suddenly felt like I actually belonged in Konoha and not just because I was married to Sasuke. Releasing an exasperated sigh, Sasuke removed Naruto's arm from around my shoulders. He had tried to make peace with the friendly gesture but in the end he couldn't help himself.

"Do you want me to stay?" He asked me, gazing deeply into my eyes.

For a moment I didn't say a word. Of course I wanted him to stay but at the same time I didn't want him to do anything he didn't want to. That was how things had always worked between us afterall. I never wanted to be the one that held him back or stopped him being his own person, if I did there was a chance he would resent me for it and that's the last thing I would ever want.

"What do you think?" I asked with a smile, smoothing his hair from his face and looking between his rinnegan and activated sharingan.

He opened his mouth to reply to me but quickly closed it again, reminding himself that Naruto was present. It wasn't at all surprising that he didn't want his best friend to hear the sort of sweet things he liked to tell me. He suspected Naruto would tease him but the thought never occurred to his friend as he watched us together, he was just happy to see that Sasuke was no longer suffering in darkness, he was thriving in the light.

"I'll send a team out tomorrow morning to see what else we can find out. If they find him they'll let you know and then you can do what you need to do." Naruto said, patting his friend on the shoulder and heading for the door. "The food smells amazing by the way, Emiko! Can't wait to try it!"

"Of course. Only the best for the Hokage!" I beamed.

With his hand on the door handle, the other scratching his head, Naruto turned back to us, "Sakura wanted me to ask about Yoichi's party…"

"No." Sasuke replied bluntly.

"She's invited." I giggled at Sasuke's exasperated expression. If Naruto was coming to Yoichi's party, it didn't seem right that the other member of team seven wasn't. Before we left Taku had told me about their date, with that in mind I didn't see a reason not to invite her.

When Yoichi came home from the academy a couple of hours later he brought his friends with him, not just a couple but about twenty other kids. Their parents started to arrive a little later, flooding throughout the house and into our garden. They complimented our home, the food and Yoichi, not just as a skilled ninja but as a polite young man. My heart swelled at their kind words, most of all from how highly they spoke of the little Uchiha we were raising. Sasuke surprised me. He stayed by my side and participated in every conversation we had and he kept a pleasant smile on his face the whole time! When Sakura and Taku arrived I was sure that he wouldn't be able to maintain his friendly exterior but he greeted them both very quickly before hesitantly leaving me with the new couple to find Yoichi, who had been calling his name.

"We bought Yoichi a gift!" Sakura announced, handing me a gift beautifully wrapped in sky blue wrapping paper.

"Th-thankyou." I said, a little shocked by her gesture.

I stayed and chatted with them both for a while, Taku wanted to tell me about how much progress he had made with his book and Sakura eagerly told me about some of the other dates they had been on in the time we had been away. She didn't mention Sasuke once and when he rejoined us she seemed more interested in talking to me. I was relieved that she had found Taku, it was one less thing to worry about. My thoughts turned to the current danger in our lives as Taku tried to convince Sasuke to be featured in his book. Judging by his physical build he was strong. There was no way for me to gauge just how strong he was but the way he carried himself suggested he wasn't a man that was used to losing a fight. His eyes had been cold and piercing, his very presence extremely intimidating. Would Sasuke be able to come out of a fight with him completely unscathed? If he knew Sasuke, it was likely that he was aware of the Sharingan and Rinnegan. What if he had found a way to fight a user of both unique doujutsu without being affected by them?

"You can decide exactly what I put in. How about just a paragraph?" Taku was still pleading with Sasuke, his voice snapping me back to the party.

"No, thank you." Sasuke refused again.

Taku was very lucky to have caught Sasuke in such a patient mood, another other day I really doubted that he would have let the conversation continue as long as it had, especially when he was convinced that the hidden stone ninja had a thing for me. Yoichi came bounding towards us with a small army of his friends.

"Is it time for cake yet?" He asked me, his friends echoing the word cake excitedly.

Aside from eating, Yoichi and his friends had spent the majority of the evening following Naruto around. I don't think there was a kid in the village that didn't admire the Hokage.

"I think so." I agreed after pretending to consider it for a while.

The kids all cheered and ran off to inform everyone else that it was cake time!

Surrounded by friends and neighbours we started singing the loudest happy birthday song I had ever heard. Yoichi was blushing the whole time, his eyes sparkling as the candles flickered in the darkness. Sasuke made sure the expression he had maintained the entire evening didn't slip but I could see the emotion swimming in his eyes. I didn't have anywhere near the same level of self control, it took everything I had not to burst out crying at the beautiful, heartfelt moment playing out in front of my eyes. Sasuke sliced into the two tier cake and we began handing out slices, which took a while but finally everyone was enjoying a piece.

Naruto, Hinata, Sakura and Taku stayed behind to help us to clear up but the boys decided to take a break and disappeared into the garden, sitting on the veranda with some Saké.

"Typical." Sakura laughed, handing me yet another stack of dirty dishes.

"You can take as much home as you like, Hinata." I said, gesturing to the rest of the cake.

"I couldn't do that. You made it, Emiko. I'm sure Yoichi would like more too." She replied, blushing.

"He would eat cake for breakfast, lunch and dinner if I let him. Besides this is his second one, we had another when we were away. Honestly you'd be doing me a favour."

We all ended up sitting down and having another slice anyway while we chatted. Hinata was telling us about how her pregnancy was progressing and that she was finding herself always hungry.

"Are you going to be having any more children, Emiko?" Hinata asked me, placing another forkful of cake delicately into her mouth.

"We're trying at the moment." I blurted out.

My face started going red, realising what I had just said. It probably didn't sound the same to them, but to my ears it sounded like 'Yes, me and Sasuke are having loads of sex at the moment.'

"Really?" Sakura replied slowly. She looked out into the garden at Taku, an idea forming in her mind.

"So, how are things going with you two?"

Sakura smiled at my question, she had been looking forward to telling me how quickly things had been progressing in her relationship.

"Really good! I'm so happy...I kind of feel like I need to thank you, Emiko. If we didn't have that chat, I don't think I would have even agreed to go out with Taku but I'm so glad I did. He's such a nice guy, he's generous, kind and in bed he's-"

"Sakura-san!" Hinata gasped.

Sakura laughed but wasn't deterred by Hinata's shyness, she was very comfortable bragging about the intimate details of her relationship.

"Oh, Hinata. It's not like all three of us aren't doing it!"

"Yes, but…"

"I bet Naruto's quite clumsy. He is, isn't he?" she went on, making Hinata's face go redder and redder.

"N-no. He…" Hinata replied quietly, unable to get any more words out on the subject.

"And Sasuke, well, I always imagined he would be gentle and kind of shy." she whispered.

Why had I taken a mouthful of drink when she said that? I started spluttering, choking on my water, unable to hold back a laugh. Hinata buried her face in her hands. Sasuke, hearing the commotion poked his head through the open doors to check I was alright. Without making eye contact with him, I gave him a thumbs up confirming everything was okay.

"I'm that wrong?" Sakura shrieked.

Images of Sasuke throwing me against the floor and screwing me until it hurt flooded into my mind. No, he was not a shy lover.