Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto, etc. Borrowing for the purposes of entertainment, procrastination, and basically, escapism.
Chapter 10: Steps
Sometimes, she would stand before the mirror and stare for almost an hour, because there was nothing remarkable to see except for a somewhat wan-looking girl with light-colored hair and eyes that somehow made her wanner still. There was no outward indication that this pale girl was a woman carrying a new life in her belly, was a bride-to-be in a quiet union that defied the sporadic skirmishes that erupted in the countryside against the Nameless ninjas. She looked the same still, and all the excitement seem to have come to a plateau. She still tired easily, though, could tolerate little food, and had morning sickness on evenings. Other than that, things were much the same (except for the fact that her boobs seemed to have gotten bigger, but that was Inner Sakura's observation and could therefore be dismissed as wishful thinking.)
She abandoned the mirror when she heard her mother's summons from downstairs.
"And don't dawdle, child!"
Sakura had to smile because living in her pad left little opportunity to get scolded. She rather missed it.
Her parents had been surprised when Sasuke came with Kakashi, who was the closest thing to a parent he had available, and formally asked for her. They had met before, of course, but they never knew he could speak, much less that he had such a relationship with Sakura. But then, Sakura too was impressed because it turned out Sasuke had been taught formal manners years ago. He managed to win her father over after the initial who-the-hell-are-you reaction, which the latter had perfected over the years to scare away the suitors and what-nots who dared bother his training daughter.
Old genin cellmate or not, her parents thought their hastiness to marry suspicious and Sakura had to elaborate. Their reaction was surprisingly mild, though her father's initial stone-faced expression scared her frozen, especially when the Haruno patriarch coldly requested to be closeted alone with Sasuke. Meanwhile, her mother merely told her, after a long silence, that pride and discretion were not sufficient grounds for marriage and that she rethink her decision carefully. Sakura was unable to answer, for Sasuke and her father came back then. She had no idea what transpired between the two----probably never will find out. The former seemed paler than usual, though his face gave nothing away. The latter was turning purple with stifled laughter, however.
"How does two weeks sound?" her father had announced to the room in general.
"Two weeks?" Sakura had repeated stupidly. "What's in---"
"Your wedding, of course! I like this boy. Handsome young devil. Impeccable marksmanship. Amusing, too." Then he succumbed to his laughter.
Sakura always thought her father had a rather warped sense of humor.
It had been ten days since then. Sasuke was waiting for her downstairs to walk with her and to see to preparations. It was going to be a small and simple affair, but their responsibilities as ninjas also cut into their preparation time. There, too, was an unofficial war ongoing.
When she saw him from the stairway in a freshly-washed uniform, Sakura sighed in relief. He looked pretty much intact from where she stood. Speaking of washing uniforms, she still had to account for all of hers, since most of her ninja gear would have to go into storage to facilitate her change of residence. It wasn't as if she was going to use them for a while, anyway.
You could literally drop dead...
Sakura tried not to let that thought stain the smile she greeted Sasuke with.
Naturally, he didn't smile back. He merely nodded once in acknowledgment, and moved away from where he was standing in the hallway. She met him halfway and kissed him on a cheek by way of greeting. He didn't reciprocate it, but she was sure he tilted his head slightly lower so she didn't have to stand on tiptoes. He then started out without a backward glance.
"How was your mission last night?" she asked as she caught up beside him.
"Tolerable."
"It rained pretty hard. I couldn't sleep."
"Neither could I." His face was as flat as a board.
"Very funny." She glared at him.
He smirked back. "Thank my companions for the good influence."
She sighed. "This is ridiculous."
"But necessary."
"War? Was it ever?"
"To fight back is."
"Oh, naturally." She paused. "You have to wonder what good the assassination did...since the war's happening anyway."
Sasuke started to open his mouth.
"I know the answers," she murmured before he could say anything. "That dictator would have facilitated the rise of a shinobi-controlled super power, free to mobilize both the military and ninjas against their neighbors, free to wield a more visible political power. And current alliances between shinobi nations are neutral in the affairs of war; if any one of the five shinobi countries decide to side with the Southern Crack, this would have spiraled into much bigger struggle. The Nameless Ones would be more capable of disrupting the balance between the shinobi powers."
Sasuke nodded. "They're still trying that now. Their slash-and-dash tactics are deceptively harmless seeming, but they're slowly bleeding our resources. If they manage to antagonize the Leaf enough to disrupt our other operations, that in itself is a show of power that would attract attention to them----and attention away from their other intentions."
"Do you think they'll still be able to regain control of the Southern Crack country's central government?"
"Maybe. Maybe not. That man was remarkable."
Sakura cocked an eyebrow in surprise. "The dictator?"
"His charisma could charm snakes and morons."
"Not everybody's a moron."
"Hn."
"You didn't want to have to kill him."
"I didn't have to want to."
"It's not a bad thing if it bothers you."
Sasuke stopped walking. "You're doing it again."
"You gave me permission."
He sighed. "Try to be less obvious," he said almost painfully.
"I 'm still rough around the edges. Give me time."
"Your newfound power seem to be making you too bold."
She laughed. "Am I supposed to learn a lesson from the Nameless Ones' mistake?"
"Shifts of power disturb balance. They should have been more insidious in their rise. They should have laid the groundwork more thoroughly, infiltrated the other components of the government more deeply, before taking obvious control."
"Like me."
"..." He started walking again.
"All this for power," Sakura murmured as she followed behind him. "It's disgusting."
"I thought you had gotten used to this over the years."
"It's still sad."
"Aa."
A brief moment of silence.
"You don't have to be in the front lines to fight for the village. There are other ways."
Sakura started, stopped in midstride as she took in his words, eyes wide. She had a wild impulse to smother him with a grateful embrace and to blubber on his shirt for breaking her tight self-control, but they were out in public, she remembered. And who knew if his instincts would prompt him to neutralize her attack by some deadly taijutsu.... but then she couldn't help it, and she tightly hugged him from behind without regarding what he'll think, what they'll think.
"Listen," she murmured to his back "Don't be sorry about things that are out of your control."
"..."
"I'd be fine. I'd make up the training I'll miss in no time after we have our baby. And then I'll be jounin like you." She gave him a last squeeze before relinquishing him. "But thank you. For recognizing."
He was blushing faintly. "... Aa."
She grinned at him. "Oh, look. We're here."
They entered the doctor's clinic together.
The civilians of Konohagure no Sato needed medical services, too, for more mundane things like colds and diarrhea and flesh-eating bacteria. Thus, by the busy Konoha Hospital was a complex of clinics where some of the older mednins volunteer. Five minutes before noon, a door opened in one of the said clinics. The woman waiting outside, a prim and proper daughter of the moderately prominent Mitokado family, on her way to a scheduled prenatal visit, nearly fainted dead away upon seeing the bloodless, shell-shocked face of her childhood crush. The companion of the said man would have giggled at the sight if she weren't so bloodless and shell-shocked herself. Of course, Sakura remembered quarreling with the shaken woman back in the days of Iruka-sensei's ninja academy classes. Everybody chasing after Uchiha Sasuke then had the same sort of relationship.
Sasuke obliviously passed by the gaping woman. Sakura took her cue from him and hastily trotted out the clinic, smiling at her fellow expectant mother politely. The other woman regained her sense of propriety and properly bowed back in greeting. She entered the clinic and closed the door behind her rather urgently.
Twenty-four year old Uchiha Sasuke, the unattainable one, walking out of a prenatal clinic with some pink-haired hussy who managed to ensnare him with her wiles...who wouldn't be shocked? Taken aback? Scandalized?
A bump from behind jolted Sakura out of her thoughts. She turned to cock a questioning eyebrow to her fiancé. He looked up at her, equally inquiring.
"What?" he finally asked when she continued to look at him wordlessly.
He really did look shell-shocked, she thought, suppressing a smile. She herself was overwhelmed by all the questions, all the tests, all the lectures on eating well and keeping healthy. How more stressful was it for him, she wondered, him whose powerful Fire ninjutsus or famed chidori were astoundingly useless in such matters?
"Sorry," he mumbled. He sidestepped her, and with the same pace, walked out of the complex.
Sakura had to blink. For a man who had trouble even verbalizing his shortcomings, Sasuke had certainly been apologizing to her a lot. He must be really overwhelmed by all this.
"Arg." Sakura ran after him. "What was that about, Sasuke?" she asked. "Why the sorry?"
He shot her a strange look, one a three-headed monster would probably warrant. "For bumping you."
BONK.
"..."
"Like that?" she asked sheepishly as she sauntered to where he stood. He, meanwhile, was busy peeling off a runny-nosed little urchin from his shin.
With apple-round rosy cheeks and spiky fair hair, the little boy was the most adorable thing Sakura had seen. She announced it so, calling the child a cute little piglet.
"Lady!" The boy detached himself from her hands, brown eyes flashing indignantly. "Shine not a cute piggy. Shine is strong and big-boned shinobi like DADDY!!! Mean lady's trying to EAT ME!"
Sasuke simply stared at the hollering toddler, as if it were the honorable Maito Gai doing stretching exercises in synch with dirge.
"Daddy" turned out to be Akamichi Chouji, carrying another son on his shoulders and an infant that seemed even tinier in his arms.
"Chouji!" Sakura warmly called to him, waving at the towering jounin. "Missing one?" She pointed to the three-year-old impotently kicking at the Uchiha Sasuke.
"Sakura! Sasuke!" boomed Chouji's voice. Strong and big-boned, he certainly was, and Sakura noted another child with him, a daughter who clung to his left leg.
Meanwhile, the said Uchiha Sasuke, one-time missing nin and famed avenger, merely kept staring at the boy attacking his patellae, stone still.
Chouji stopped beside the dark-haired jounin.
"Now, Shine," Chouji said. "Don't you remember Sakura-san? We had lunch with her before with Ino-san and Shikamaru-san. And what did your mother tell you about kicking people?"
"Um..." Shine stopped his kicking and crinkled his forehead as he thought hard to remember. "Ah!" He grinned broadly as he recalled his lessons. "Eat my veggies and I'll grow up strong and big-boned and kick all the biggy baddy jounis butt without breaking my toe."
Choujii scratched his head. "She really said that?"
The child nodded solemnly. "But, daddy, Shine only kicked mister's kneecaps."
"..."
"Down! Down!" ordered Michi, the boy on top of Chouji's head.
"Okay, Michi, okay." Chouji sighed. "Here." He unceremoniously deposited his sleeping newborn on the arms of the lone Uchiha. "Now, stay close to your big brother, Michi. Houki-hime, it's hard to move when you're riding my leg. Can't you walk the rest of the way?"
Sasuke stood there, frozen, clutching the tiny, dainty, soft, breakable bundle he was suddenly saddled with. Finally, he had stopped staring at Akamichi Shine. His new point of interest seemed to be on the newest member of the Akamichi brood, that kittenish thing that squirmed in his hold ominously.
Sakura sidled to his side to look at the baby. Exactly like a woman, she squealed in delight. "So cute!" she cried. "Hi there!" she cooed in a high-pitched, wispy sort of whisper. "Hi. Hi."
Actually, the baby girl wasn't the only cute thing there, she thought. Sakura knew Sasuke was probably praying for her to rid him of the wriggling mass. So she watched him from the corner of an eye, even as she oohed and ahhed over the newborn, memorizing the consternated meeting of his eyebrows, the slight downward curve of the corners of his mouth.
"Taking a walk, little Suki? Huh? Huh?" Sakura looked up at Chouji. "How the missus?"
"Resting up but feeling better already."
"On the way to the medics?"
"Yep. Shine has allergies, what with all the rain and the molds growing on dead leaves, but I'll have one of the medics look at him anyway. Suki's having her first doctor's check up----for which we'll be late if we don't start moving again."
"Oooh... And the other two just along for the day out?"
"And lunch, of course." Chouji grinned proudly.
"Oho," Sakura said with a laugh. "So it's almost lunchtime, ne Houki-chan?" She smiled at the little girl.
"Yeah," said Chouji. "And it's warmer this time of the day."
"True."
Chouji stretched. "Anyhow, we're off." He retrieved his infant from the avenger carefully. "Thanks, Sasuke."
And Sasuke was left standing there, empty-handed, as stupidly as a man with such self-possession as himself possibly could (which wasn't really much to look at, Sakura thought in slight disappointment).
"But don't think I'll forget how you stole the limelight from me," Chouji continued as he ushered his three other kids before him. "Just because you're this village's sexy heartthrob doesn't mean you can upstage the big-boned people like me whenever you please. And next time, we'll be on equal footing in terms of assets... Be well. You, too, Sakura."
With that, the Akamichi brood disappeared into the building.
With a sigh, Sakura turned back to her taciturn companion.
"Sasuke-kun," she said suddenly. "They're not that scary."
"Don't be a fool," he replied, starting to walk again.
Then.
"Four of them," he was muttering. "Five years."
"Houki-chan and Michi-kun are twins," explained Sakura.
"What happens when he goes to mission? Aren't they likely to end up killing their mother?"
"Oh, that's what rookie genins are there for."
"How could I forget?" he asked, referring to the numerous babysitting-jobs-disguised-as-D-class-missions they used to get as genins.
"My, aren't we honest today," she remarked, but then, she went to him and tugged at his arm. "Come on," she said gently. "You probably had enough shock for one day."
And so they resumed their walk.
They ate lunch at the Ichiraku's because old habits die hard and the place had always served as an official meeting place for long-missed friends who happened to feel nostalgic at the same time. Under the mild October sun and the changing leaves overhead, Sakura savored the warmth of her ramen in her mouth and the warmth of memories in her heart.
Her thoughts seeming to summon them, two other regular patrons soon arrived. Sakura squinted disbelievingly as she saw the two men together.
"Neji-kun," she greeted. "Naruto."
Ah, Naruto. She and Sasuke had a long talk with Naruto a week ago. It was a serious talk, at first, and it was mostly her who talked, who explained what happened. But then, Naruto burst out laughing somewhere along the way and the emotional heart talk disintegrated into a three-way arm slapping session. He was angry at her, he claimed, for she forgot about his birthday, even lauding Sasuke who, he said, was the only one who remembered. He blamed her, too, for his troubles with Neji. Apparently, a certain meeting of hers with the incorrigible blond in the Dorobo supermarket caused a misunderstanding between him and the Hyuuga.
Presently, Naruto was surreptitiously inching away from his impassive, raven-haired companion.
"What do you think you're doing?" Neji asked.
"Ah! Just getting chili," said Naruto. Then, as if regaining his senses, he retorted with a more Uzumaki-style boisterousness. "What do you think you're doing?" he demanded. "We're not here to waste time. Ask her!"
Sakura blinked as Neji turned a gray stare at her and Sasuke. She had seen the intense look on the Hyuga before, for she had him as team leader quite regularly. It was exactly how he looked a split second before initiating a ferocious offensive attack.
Then, it vanished.
"Forget it," he said through gnashed teeth.
"You're chickening out?" Naruto frowned even as he shoved thirty meters of noodles down his throat.
"Embarrass yourself if you wish, since that seems to be your expertise," the other replied coolly and attended to his food.
Meanwhile, Sakura continued to watch them curiously. Right then, Neji was about to ask her something, but stopped since the question apparently involved something delicate. Her thoughts wandered to Naruto's confession from five days ago about what earned him Hyuuga Neji's constant and almost hostile vigilance.
Sakura had to bite back a smile as she realized the "random" meeting's true intent. Neji wanted proof that Naruto was telling the truth, that he had indeed ended up standing before a shelf full of condoms, birth control paraphernalia, and pregnancy testing kits, because he had been talking to Sakura that fateful noon of September 23. But of course, Neji couldn't just ask her about that meeting out of the blue. After all, she was getting married to Sasuke suddenly and soon, and that had to have something to do with her pawing through pregnancy kits mere weeks before. Oh no, the shinobi genius Hyuuga Neji was not going to place himself in such an embarrassing situation. Or so Sakura thought.
"So... I heard you two are getting married next week," Neji said disinterestedly.
"Eh?" Naruto burst out beside him. "You didn't know?"
"What do you think?" the other man hissed.
"But I could have sworn you were invited," Naruto said with a frown. "I helped them glue the envelopes!"
"Just shut the hell up."
Before anybody end up with chopstick stab wounds, Sakura decided she needed to intervene. "Uh, Neji," she said carefully. "Naruto's telling the truth."
Neji loosened his hold on the Naruto's vest. "Go on," he prompted her cautiously.
"September 23," she said. "I met him on Dorobo supermarket. I was searching for pregnancy testing kits. But I left him there quickly."
"... Aa."
"I didn't want to hear things I thought he was going to say."
"She and Sasuke were having problems," explained Naruto. "Which'll be fixed soon. Mostly, anyway."
Neji shot him a look that clearly warned him to shut up. The poor man was getting more information than he bargained for.
"Don't get squeamish, Neji," said Sasuke. "It was ill-timed. Simply that."
"Yeah, right," Naruto replied sarcastically. "Don't act so cool and carefree, bastard. That didn't seem to be your thoughts last month when you were moping at the bars with me after you got back from that big mission."
Sakura stared at him wonderingly. Naruto knew about Sasuke's state of mind even before the latter knew about the pregnancy. And, apparently, Sasuke, too, had been in some sort of anguish similar to hers. Perhaps, she should ask both him and Naruto more questions later.
"That was a very nervous time, actually," Naruto added thoughtfully. "I was afraid one of them might suddenly ambush me and demand comfort sex or something."
"I understand," Neji said, ignoring the doubly punched Naruto twitching at his feet. "Thank you for restoring my peace of mind, Sakura. Meanwhile, I have two messages for you."
"Oh?" Sakura looked at him in surprise, massaging her knuckles.
"From the Hokage's office, a reminder. Tomorrow you meet with the research team leader regarding your code-breaking assignment. And the second message is from my cousin. Hinata-sama is overseeing the Hyuuga holdings in the north, but she wanted to extend her greetings."
"I was getting to that," Naruto said as he dusted himself. "Hinata-chan said something about sun sickness---"
"Morning sickness."
"Yeah, that. Hinata-chan wanted to teach you a little trick. Since she's busy I volunteered." Naruto sat beside Sasuke and reached over to take Sakura's hand. "Look," he said. "Press this place down." He placed two fingers two inches from her wrist.
"Pressure on that chakra center can help suppress nausea," explained Neji. "It'll help you feel better."
Sakura was speechless for a moment, deeply touched. Then, she smiled and said, "thank you."
"Neji," Sasuke spoke up. "The dobe and your cousin doesn't have our issues."
"Yeah," Naruto agreed. "Our romantic tale is normal."
Neji nodded. "I've been stupid," he told Sasuke. "He doesn't have enough balls to try that."
"I'm not scared of you!" cut in Naruto viciously.
"You will be, if you try anything," thundered the Hyuuga.
"Try what?!"
"Don't act innocent! I am a man, as well, idiot."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
And things went decidedly unfastidious after that.
"I've always thought you'd get married in spring, under the cherry blossoms. That would have been pretty."
Sakura silently agreed. For the simple fact that her coloring suited that particular season better, she would have loved to get married during spring. Doing so underneath her namesake was a bit much, though, she opined thoughtfully. It was a little too vain, right? A little too focused on her. Any solemn place would be fine, as long as the sound of life could be heard from outside, as long as family and friends were present to celebrate with them.
"Winter is actually very pretty, too," added Rock Lee, frowning slightly.
"Ah, yes," said his mentor, Maito Gai. "A lone flower in an icy desolation. What contrast! Understated beauty and the purity of snow!"
Sasuke and Sakura, after leaving the still arguing Neji and Naruto to their own devices, resumed their walk. Sakura assumed their day out was at an end, but he by-passed her parents' house without a word and was soon leading her toward the training areas. The trees were somehow patchy there, and it was mostly empty these days. Still, they met with Konoha's two beautiful beasts: Rock Lee, one of Sakura's long time admirers, a man no less avid as a friend and comrade-in-arms, and his beloved sensei, Maito Gai.
"Why not wait till winter, Sakura-chan?"
She looked up at Lee's question, somewhat caught unaware. She couldn't decide where his question stemmed from, whether he still harbored feelings toward her, masked by his ever-gentlemanly ways... sentimental fanaticism tempered into casual devotion, into an unselfish normalcy than no longer called attention to self. Just as what happened to her over time.
"The icy desolation does not suit her."
That reply, too, caught her unaware. It came from her husband-to-be, who, despite his efforts to quell it, had a strange sort of kindness in him.
"True, true," said Lee, nodding his head ardently.
"You young ones might not know," offered Gai. "Long ago, the brides of Konoha were brought to the northern woods by their grooms, and there in the sacredness of the aged evergreens plighted their thoth. What more? The pathway that leads therein is carpeted with red and gold, a poignant reminder that the death of the deciduous forest is no death at all, but a necessary step of rebirth."
"That was beautiful!" Lee was weeping openly. "Gai-sensei!"
Sakura laughed. "Orange does clash with my hair, though," she said ruefully.
"Oh, no," protested Gai. "When I say red and gold, I do mean red and gold."
"You'll see," said Sasuke.
"Oh," said Sakura simply. Understanding came to her then.
"But really," Lee burst out. "Why can't you guys wait till next spring?"
Sakura swallowed, braced herself, then finally asked, "Lee, why are you so keen on..?"
"Well..." Lee was blushing.
Gai slapped his student in the back. Hard. "Lee-chan is still gathering guts to ask Himiko's parents for her hand!" he announced proudly.
"That's great!" Sakura could have exploded in her relief. "The daimyo's niece? Wow! I'm sure they won't turn down the beautiful green beast of Konoha." She has once taken an assignment to bodyguard woman in question. Himiko-hime was an angelic creature dedicated to her people. She suited Lee well, a man who needed a person to take care of, to be dedicated to.
"Aiya," lamented Gai. "He won't be convinced. Why, I told them, why the wait when the fires are burning?! Youth comes and goes like the wind. And before long, all that's left are ashes to sting the eyes and induce wretched tears. Ah, youth! Why do you not see what you have before you?"
"What has that to do with us?" asked Sasuke.
"Well..." started Lee, twiddling with his fingers. "Himiko-chan had a twin sister once, but cholera claimed her."
"Poor soul," remarked Gai sorrowfully.
"And, and, it's been a custom of the Marte family for twins to marry on the same day. Himiko-chan would love to have a double wedding with her sister, but that's impossible see."
"The good thing is," added his teacher brightly. "Himiko-hime's willing to settle for any kind of double wedding. And the Marte family would pay for the reception, too. No strings attached!"
"That's... that's great," said Sakura, feeling just a tad dizzy. "Very thoughtful of them."
"..." said Sasuke.
"But you two are getting married next week," continued Lee worriedly. "And I don't think it'll be prudent for Himiko-chan to travel here, what with those Nameless One ambushes going on. And I haven't really talked with anybody who might be..." Lee suddenly brightened. "I know! I'll just talk to Tenten or Hinata."
"Very resourceful of you, my student!" declared Gai happily. "Let's do it!"
And after delivering hasty goodbyes, both student and master disappeared down the lane.
Sakura watched them, giggling. "Either way, Neji will kill him," she murmured.
"..." said Sasuke. Sakura could feel waves of incomprehension from him, despite his unfazed expression.
"Neji and Tenten had been together on and off for years," she explained. "They just recently reunited. And Naruto's seeing Hinata, remember?"
"... Aa." The waves of incomprehension wavered. Somewhat.
There was a brief moment of silence.
"Are you ready?"
She took the hand he offered tightly in hers, and they continued their way forward, hand in hand.
December 18, 2004 (3:50pm)
Almost done. I'm feeling kinda sentimental. LOL Gah. I'm bad at sustaining angst. (sweatdrops)
Actually, Naruto's birthday wasn't the only one Sakura (and I) forgot. It was on October 10. Shikamaru and Ino too had their birthdays on September22 & 23respectively. So sorry, you three.
Well, Mrs. Uchiha, lori, Analogue Cat, animEvivvErz, Zero2-the-scyther, everybody... that's it for me. Or almost it, anyway. Like, Yoka said, I kinda try to leave things implied, because... er, sometimes it comes actually comes out more waffy that way, and sometimes, I'm more comfortable with what comes out. : ) Incarus'Song, I am honored that my works deserves such attention. (Addendum: Sorry for the wrong spelling, btw) Neptune, too, you honor me. Though, I hope your finals didn't go as bad as you thought. XD Future plans? Well, I hope to write a little something on Sasuke's POV about all this. I hope to, anyway. LoL
I hope the ending wasn't a disappointment to anybody. And there you have it, Ori, Sakura won't be a housewife. : ) As for the two being too young to have kids, I guess, 24 is on the young side. Depends on the culture really. But then, physical age doesn't necessarily dictate level of maturity or readiness for a child.
Okay. There isn't much left. On to the epilogue.