Crystal: I'm truly, deeply sorry for the late update. Writer's block had gotten to me, and my muse ditched me in a long run and so for that, another long chapter is in order. I hope it will be enough as a peace offering -smiles sheepishly-
Aside from the lateness, I thank all of the reviewers who reviewed, the readers who read and ChibiNekoSakura who beta'd. I don't know what I would do without you all! -gives a huge hug- Thank you!
Now, enjoy the chapter!
Warnings: Yaoi and M-Preg; and possible sexual contents as well. You have been warned!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything... even if I did, I don't think certain people would share with me anyway. -glares at the two pairs of crimson eyes-
Moments
Chapter Three: Underneath the Waves
"P-Pregnant?" Sakura faintly said as she miraculously somehow sat down on an armchair with her eyes wide and transfixed directly to Naruto's eyes, as if she was searching for the truth inside the blue depths. Unfortunately, no matter how much she wanted to admit she was hallucinating, she could see the truth in her friend's eyes… and how painful it was.
Cautiously, she stood up from her seat and carefully walked towards the young man, marvelling at how much Naruto had grown. He was still the shortest male out of their male friends, now the same height as her, maybe even taller by a few centimetres. His blond hair was still out place and always wild but it was now longer. The once chubby cheeks were gone and his cheekbones were defined and his blue eyes were still as exotic as ever.
Sakura slowly placed her hands on Naruto's whiskered cheeks and felt the shinobi flinch. 'He must think I'm disgusted by him… baka,' she thought and felt the defined lines of the whiskers. Why did he keep this from them? From her? Did the Godaime-sama and Jiraiya-sama know about this at all? So many questions ran though her head. She just hoped Naruto would answer them.
Releasing his cheeks, Sakura guided the blond male to the couch and forced him to take a seat. "How many weeks?" she asked softly, knowing how awkward the question is.
"Five weeks," Naruto replied automatically and stared at Sakura in surprise. He thought she would storm out and call him a liar, but she stayed…
"How did you know?"
"Kyuubi told me."
The medic nin-in training did not need more elaborations. After knowing Naruto's secret, she quickly headed straight to the library for more information. She was taken aback to see many books about the Kyuubi and other demons when they were being feared and hated. The pink-haired female found out that kitsune youkai who are male were able to pregnant. When she first read the passage, she ignored it, thinking Naruto could not really get pregnant and quickly dismissed the thought.
'Now that he mentioned it, he did tell me they were merging… can the ability of getting pregnant be passed unto him?' she wondered.
The blond shinobi on the other hand, tried not to bluntly blurt out, "Why are you still here? Aren't you most likely to look at me and disgust and never see me again?" It had been lingering inside his head. He was relieved to see Sakura stay but… did he really want to tell her what was going on? "Since we're doing twenty questions, what else are you going to ask me?" he asked quietly, wrapping his arms around his stomach.
Sakura gave a small chuckle and looked up thoughtfully. "Well… do Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama know that you're with child?" She frowned when she saw Naruto's head shake from left to right. "What? Why not?"
"Kyuubi helped conceal the baby's forming chakra," Naruto muttered. "Ero-sennin wasn't around when it happened… he was out of the village we were staying in to do a little bit of scouting…" Sakura opened her mouth and somehow cut her off. "D-Don't ask who the father is… aside from me. J-Just don't, okay?" he pleaded.
Sakura saw the look in his eyes and nodded slowly. When she could not stand it anymore, she gathered Naruto into her arms and started sobbing. She knew no matter how hard this time is right now for the blond, Naruto would not cry because of his pride, so she cried for him. Unbeknownst to her, the blue-eyed male let his tears flow. Sakura, feeling the lukewarm tears, started to pet Naruto's hair in hopes of soothing him.
"S-Sakura-chan?" sniffled Naruto, as he looked straight into the eyes of his female best friend with his own blue eyes.
"Hai?"
"Don't tell anyone, okay? Please?"
Silence ensued for a while until the blond heard his friend sigh. "Don't worry, Naruto… your secret is safe with me. I promise." She held him tighter and continued speaking. "However…
"If anything should happen, you will tell Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama, is that understood?" She felt Naruto nod and smiled softly.
'As long as Naruto is not ready to tell them…
'I will protect him.'
Neither noticed a dark figure that took leave from the nearby tree.
--
Sasuke frowned as he quickly ran through deeper into the forest. For two weeks now he had been gathering information from everywhere he can gain access to and he was getting mildly irritated since it seemed that wherever he went, he could not gain access to Naruto's information regardless of him torturing the people he was trying to get information from.
He cursed the toad Sannin for being wise and made sure they were discreet. He already went to five villages and so far not one single rumour in a conversation about them. It did not help that he had to go back to Sound soon or else his supposed mentor will send his henchmen to find and retrieve him back.
The frown in his face turned into a scowl when he thought of Orochimaru. The snake Sannin was getting a little boring, he mused. Almost every single jutsu the pale-faced freak had he already learned and it was most pathetic when every time they talk, Orochimaru would have this desperate look in his eyes, trying to convince him to stay longer so he could take over his body.
Foolish idiot. Does he not realize that he will never get his body as hard and wretched as he tried? Sure he bribed him with powerful jutsus, but did he not realize that Sasuke was merely using him so he could have more power and knowledge for his arsenal? No, the Uchiha would not have a doubt Orochimaru even had that thought pass through his brain. And maybe the thoughtless snake finally realized it - after all, he was supposed to be a genius as well, was he not? - and tightened his choice of staying out of Sound for a period of time (hence the henchmen would will retrieve him if he decided to 'wander' off).
Seeing that the sun was going to set soon, Sasuke slowed his running and carefully chose a small clearing to make a campsite. Looking through the perimeter and setting up traps that would make the simplest movement trigger it, he put the twigs and small branches he picked up and made a bonfire.
Aside from the crackling fire, everything was silent and for some reason Sasuke felt annoyed by it. Normally he would have welcomed the silence with wide, open arms but now… He shook his head and stared at the flames. As the sun sank down the horizons, a sudden memory came back to him as if it was taunting him…
-- Flashback --
The sky was as dark as it can get as they set up camp for the night. Team Seven was just coming back from the three-day mission, to drop off a few local civilians to another village and stopped to take a rest. The gathering of the firewood and scouting the perimeter had been annoying, thanks to the shrilly and loud voices of Sakura and Naruto that all Sasuke wanted to do was take a little bit of nap.
He did not know how or why he woke up again, but when he did he saw the most peculiar thing he ever laid eyes on, and that was saying something. There sitting right in front of the fire was the dunce, Naruto, looking as if he was not on patrol even though he was supposed to be. His legs were up, right against his chest and his arms were around the limbs. He was staring intently at the heated flames that one could see the reflection in his eyes.
Sasuke was fairly glad the blond was caught up in the moment and didn't sense that he was staring at him (the dark-haired youth was surprised to even know someone like Naruto could feel if anyone was looking at him at all). As Naruto kept his gaze at the dancing flames, his eyes held a look that was so familiar like Sasuke had seen it before. And it was then Sasuke realized the look was the same thing he could see through his eyes: Loneliness. Who ever thought the blond idiot could feel like that? He was so cheerful, loud and boisterous. Surely if Sasuke had not realized from before that it was his teammate then he would have used a Chidori on the impostor for impersonating Naruto.
It seemed that he fell asleep again when he felt Naruto shake him uncontrollably, hearing the younger blond whisper furiously, "Wake up, Teme! It's your turn to keep on watch… hurry it up! I want to sleep!"
Sasuke grumbled and tried to give the dunce a hateful look while looking half asleep and sat up, ignoring Naruto who was putting his ridiculous night cap on and snuggling in his sleeping bag for some well-deserved rest. The Sharingan-user drank water from his water bottle and commenced watching.
Two hours passed, which seemed like an eternity to the Uchiha, and a few more after that to wake up his remaining teammate for the last shift. Sasuke prodded onto the bonfire with a stick and added a few more to reduce the cold. His dark eyes wandered around the campsite and saw the shivering figure of Naruto as he tried to snuggle deeper into his sleeping bag.
He looked vulnerable… as he kept on sleeping, Sasuke mused. Without his cocky grin, loud voice and reckless attitude, he seemed like an innocent boy. And contrary to popular belief, the annoying dobe did not snore, much to the amusement of the stoic boy.
A helpless child… that's how Naruto looked like right now. Even with his stupid orange jumpsuit, he looked like an… "Angel," he murmured silently, and frowned immediately after he remembered what he uttered a few moments ago. He tore his gaze away from the sleeping genin and scolded himself for thinking such a ludicrous thing.
It was beyond weird, when he realized he was looking towards the sleeping boy again and let off an extremely faint smile. Even if he was asleep, Naruto could still rile him up and not know it.
Staring at the flames and relishing the heat, he decided that no matter how Naruto had influenced him or how the dunce managed him to often look at the bright side of things, it was not enough for him to stay in Konohagakure.
With the thought engraved in his head, he proceeded to wake up Sakura for the last shift and went back to sleep.
-- End Flashback --
'What the--?' Shaking his head to rid of certain thoughts, Sasuke noticed the stars shining brightly from the night sky, twinkling with mischief and wonder. Lying down on his sleeping bag, he stared at them for the longest time until he fell into an uncomfortable slumber.
--
Naruto sighed as he watched himself from the bathroom mirror at six fifty-six in the morning on a Monday. It had been two weeks. Two weeks since Sakura found out about his secret and two weeks since she promised to keep it quiet. So far, she was as silent as a mouse although there was a few times where she would give him a stern look when he would feel a slight headache or feel nauseated. He ignored the looks though, but the blond was sure Sakura was close to bursting out and pulverizing him to death.
After taking a shower and cleaning up, he went into the kitchen and placed two pieces of bread in the toaster for breakfast. Normally, he wouldn't eat anything at all, but now that his female best friend found out, she made sure that he would eat at least a plate full of the four food groups.
Supporting his head with one hand, he wondered why he wanted to keep the baby in the first place. He supposed it would be cruel to kill an unborn child… and besides, didn't he say that someday he wanted a child of his own?
'Though I never really expected it would turn out like this…' he thought bitterly, as he carefully caressed the abdomen that would soon have a bulge. Sometimes late at night, he would often think about the baby and how it would turn out…
Would he or she have the same attitude as his or her other father?
Is there even a chance it would know his or her other father?
Would Sasuke hate him even more if he finds out about his predicament? Naruto frowned when he thought of the younger Uchiha. During the last three years he travelled, he had never heard of any news about him and Otogakure. He knew Jiraiya knew what was going on about them, but he refused to tell the blond Chuunin turned Jounin instructor for some reason. He supposed it was for the better, considering there was a chance of him pursuing the rouge ninja and practically try to drag him back by his shitty ass all the way to Konoha.
Sighing one more time, he left his apartment and walked to the training grounds to meet with his new genin team. To tell the truth, he never expected for Konohamaru and the others to be still at a genin level. He thought they were already Chuunin - after all, the age of fifteen was the age where his friends had turned Chuunin and he, sixteen - but he supposed assuming such a thing made him feel hypocritical - after all, didn't he just told the old hag to not assume things?
When he arrived at the fields, he was surprised to see all three of them already waiting for him. He never told them what time they should meet, but only said that they should be there early.
"Geez, Naruto-sensei! You said we were supposed to be here early! Whatever happened to that?" Moegi complained when the only girl of the group was the first one to notice him.
Naruto cringed when he heard the word 'sensei' after his name. He was never cut out to be a Jounin instructor! To him, teaching a group of brats - despite the fact he knew the three genin from way back - was a waste of time and patience. They complain a lot and whine too much. 'Was this how Kakashi-sensei first thought when we were still a team?' he wondered amusingly.
Out loud he said, "Don't call me 'sensei', it makes me sound too old… and I'm only eighteen. Call me 'sempai' or 'nii-san', I don't care… just not 'sensei'." He sat down cross-legged and watched his students carefully. According to Ebisu, they finished chakra-control just a year ago. They mastered the walking on water and tree-climbing exercises; Moegi specialized in genjutsu and weaponry - especially in using senbon needles. Udon was a bit more on the strategic side, much like Shikamaru. And Konohamaru?
Blue eyes stared at his self-proclaimed rival to the Hokage position and raised an eyebrow. Ebisu had mentioned to him that Konohamaru had improved his stealth and was much efficient in ninjutsu. He was still loud and obnoxious - like when the blond was younger - and played a lot of pranks in honour of his name.
"So, so, Naruto-niichan! What kind of mission are we doing today?" Konohamaru asked eagerly, ready to spend the rest of the day with his 'older brother'. He had missed playing with the blond shinobi when Naruto left for a long time - not once, but twice - to travel and train. But the weird thing right now though was that, it seemed like the blond acted so differently. He never wore his orange outfit anymore - and Konohamaru knew how much his nii-chan loved that stupid clothes - and ever since he was back, he never played pranks too - and he knew how much Naruto loved annoying the villagers.
The aforementioned blond shrugged and crossed his arms. "We have no missions for today. Since I'm taking over Ebisu for now, I've never really seen the techniques you guys use right now. So… we're going to train only."
Groans were heard and the blond smirked.
"Konohamaru, Udon, you guys are up first."
--
"No, no, NO!" Naruto gritted his teeth and tried not to pull his hair out in frustration. For the past four hours, they could not handle a simple instruction! The three shinobi right in front of him might have professional skills as individuals and were childhood friends, but never in all of his life he had seen a pathetic act of teamwork! Sure, calling his students pathetic was hypocritical but regardless of the situation, at least his former team's improved!
Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon have been friends for a long time.
Team Seven barely knew each other from the beginning.
Surely Konohamaru and the others have the advantage of knowing each other for a long time for the three of them to have superb teamwork skills. He tried to not get angry - after all, it would affect the baby - and took deep breaths. It did not help either when the damn fox started laughing at the stupidity his students were acting right now. Sighing, he told them to take a rest and just lie down for a moment.
He looked at the clouds for a moment and then back at the genin. Naruto looked at how tired and exhausted they were, and they only trained for four hours! Frowning, he decided that this would not do very well if they were at an actual mission - and not some kind of mission like buying groceries or taking out weeds. They need to get out Konoha… have an actual mission; only the problem is…
It would mean that there's a chance where a certain organization would pursue him once again and he did not want for Konohamaru and the others to get involved - there were too many people who knew and were a part of it already, he did not want to put any other people in danger.
You do realize that you would have to get this baby checked by a medic-nin, right? Naruto heard Kyuubi growl, feeling more stressed than ever. It had been a while since he went to get a check up on how he was doing.
Not that he wanted to insult Sakura… but the more experienced medic-nin he could find right now were Tsunade and Shizune, and they were a part of the group he did not want to tell about his predicament.
How about that Sand kunoichi? Did she not check you the last time before you went back here?
I'm not allowed to leave Konoha yet; you know that. Naruto crossed his arms and stared at the now laughing genin. He supposed Kyuubi was right… just before he returned to Konoha, he and Jiraiya visited the Hidden Village of Sand, much to the curiosity of the perverted Sannin.
To tell the truth, he didn't really want to tell Gaara and his siblings about his pregnancy, but with all the things Kyuubi was telling him (like how there was another chakra aside from his and Naruto's was lingering there), he wanted to make sure that the stupid fox was telling the truth. Fortunately to him, Temari never asked at a lot of questions when she was examining him and Gaara seemed to be subdued. Kankuro was out for the moment and Naruto was grateful at his sensei's perverted tendencies for once.
And besides, even if he wasn't allowed to leave Konoha, Temari could still come and visit him instead, right? Kyuubi stressed it to him but scowled deeply when Naruto reasoned with him that if Temari had visited him instead then she would have to state it with the old hag.
You're starting to have a bulge, brat. Soon that old hag of a Hokage of yours will notice the other brat's chakra… it's best soon if you leave again.
Even if I have to leave, Tsunade-baba will need a good reason for me to get out of Konoha…
Exactly! I have a perfect way for you to leave… although; there would be a huge chance of your subordinates getting hurt.
Naruto shook his head and glared at nothing. No! I refuse… I won't let them get hurt. He stood up from his seat and brushed his pants, letting the pieces of grass fall off his clothing.
Konohamaru saw the blond stand up and asked, "Ne, Nii-chan… are we going to eat lunch now?" His stomach has growling for quite a while… that, and he didn't really have any breakfast this morning - aside from a piece of bread and a gulp of orange juice.
Naruto absentmindedly nodded in reply, not noticing the curious looks the younger shinobi was giving him and walked slowly behind them.
The late Sandaime's grandson furrowed his eyebrows and nudged his two best friends into a huddle. "Didn't you see that? He nodded at my suggestion, and it's only ten in the morning!" he whispered furiously. He was turning into a worrywart when Konohamaru saw how his nii-chan had a dazed look in his eyes.
Moegi and Udon both nodded at what he said, although the girl had a sceptical look in her eyes. "Well… Naruto-sempai might have a lot of things in his mind right now. Konohamaru-kun, I don't really think we should pry into his business…"
"Nonsense! Boss had been here for us ever since we were young! Didn't we promise to protect him when something bad happens to him?" The boy retorted and then result into giving his friends a pity look. "Come on, you guys! Moegi-chan… Udon-kun… don't you want to help him?"
Still not budging, Moegi turned to her other teammate and saw Udon nodding his head at Konohamaru's question. Giving a defeated sigh, she finally nodded her head and smiled softly. "Hai, of course I want to help… but remember, if he catches us and gets angry, you will be held responsible. Understood?" she asked with a stern glare, saying that she would give the most severe punishment if Konohamaru shook his head in disagreement.
Konohamaru nodded his head in excitement and jumped up. "YATTA! SUGOI DESU!" he yelled, suddenly feeling embarrassed when Naruto raised his eyebrow at him.
--
Konohamaru frowned when he watched Naruto drinking green tea instead of slurping his ramen as fast as lightning. He never really perceived his 'older brother' to be a tea-drinker, considering every time he passes by the Ichiraku, the blond would always stuff himself with ramen that it would look like he was pregnant. The fact that Naruto didn't even order a single bowl of ramen would have made the younger shinobi run to the nearest hills and scream bloody murder - even the owner of Ichiraku was flabbergasted!
"Nii-chan… why did you suddenly taken a liking to drinking tea?" he asked a few minutes earlier, when he heard the instructor ask for some of the drink.
Naruto shrugged and thanked politely at the owner's daughter when she poured him a cup. "Tastes change… just like everything else," he murmured, relishing the heat coming from the lukewarm drink. Konohamaru didn't know what that meant, but somehow he figured that Naruto's priorities changed, as he grew older… but wait,
Did that mean the blond didn't have the passion and ambition to become a Hokage anymore?
The young genin shivered uncomfortably when the thought crossed his mind. Ever since he met Naruto, he had considered him a rival to the position of Hokage, and it should stay that way. He didn't know what to do if the older blond decided to leave his dream for something else.
"Sakura-san!" He heard Moegi say, as Konohamaru saw a pink-haired woman coming towards their way, holding hands with a bowl-cut haired man. He cringed when he saw Sakura and turned back to eating his ramen.
He never liked Sakura for some reason. Sure, she beat the crap out of him the first time they saw each other, but that was not the reason why. He just didn't like her. Maybe it was because in the earlier years, she was not really on a friendly basis with Naruto, after all the older shinobi was their leader and if someone bashed his head then he or she was considered the enemy, right?
"Have you eaten this morning, Naruto?" he heard her ask, as she sat on the other side of the blue-eyed man while her boyfriend - Konohamaru remembered his name now, it was Lee - ordered for the both of them.
Naruto sighed with a hint of exasperation and nodded slowly. "Hai, hai… I ate, Sakura-chan," he mumbled and drank more tea, pouring another cup. "Lee, how's training?"
The dark-eyed man gave an enthusiastic grin and nodded vigorously, "Training is awesome, Naruto-kun! However, how come I don't ever see you in the training grounds?" he asked curiously, not noticing the sudden tensed muscles of Naruto and Sakura's worried look.
He didn't know what was going on, but Konohamaru knew he didn't like the troubled pose of the instructor. "We just came from there, Lee-san! Naruto-niichan's treating us to lunch because of a good workout this morning, it was tiring, but nonetheless awesome!" He frowned when he saw Sakura's green eyes narrowed whilst watching the blond male and sighed dismally.
As Konohamaru slurped the last drop of broth, he overheard Sakura murmuring in a chastising voice. He ordered another huge bowl of miso ramen, to make sure the two elite shinobi wouldn't catch him eavesdropping.
"You're overexerting yourself."
"No I'm not."
The young genin thanked the Ichiraku owner and sniffed at the noodles' scent. It seems that Naruto had influenced him into liking the unhealthy food. As he started plucking the vegetables away from his bowl, he continued to listen into the conversation.
"I just realized something, Naruto… you have get yourself checked over soon. As much as I would like to do it, I'm not done my training yet."
"He said I should leave again… but I know the old hag would want a reason for me to get out of Konoha… and besides, I can't really leave my team now, could I?"
'He? Leave? What the hell are they talking about?' Furrowing his eyebrows, he discreetly saw Lee joining into the other two's conversation when the topic was changed. Even though the glare was not directed at him, Konohamaru shivered in fear. Just with the lethal gaze, he knew the big-forehead lady disapproved of Naruto even mentioning, in the slightest, something about leaving and despite he didn't know what was going on, he too agreed with her.
He only arrived for almost a month now! It's not even enough time for the both of him and his Nii-chan to pull pranks on the villagers together. Frowning deeper, the words 'checked over' echoed in his mind over and over again. It sounded like the blond shinobi was ill or something; and Konohamaru did not like how it sounded.
Maybe further investigation is needed…
--
Shikamaru frowned as he watched his girlfriend's best friend fidget in her seat. Ever since she came back from confronting Naruto in his apartment, the pink-haired female looked like she was hiding something from them. He noticed during the meetings the Hokage-sama held, she would often look Naruto as if she was telling the blue-eyed shinobi to out right tell something to the leader of the village.
Normally, he would just scoff at the situation and call it troublesome - as every other thing that required moving for more than an hour, but he couldn't help that curiosity was getting to him. He blamed Ino for that. The blonde kunoichi had always been curious - it did not help either since she was one of the huge gossipers in Konoha. Saying farewell to Sakura when her boyfriend picked her up from the Hokage tower, he left and went straight to Ino's house when the blonde's mother had invited him over to dinner.
Today he asked her what Naruto said, and today Shikamaru found out nothing. Usually, he would sigh with relief and just continue on with life but he could not shake off the feeling that something was going to happen that could very well change everything.
And he had no idea how right that sounded.
"Something's bothering you," Ino mentioned when they were both by the kitchen sink; she was washing and he was drying. "You've been quiet throughout dinner and usually you and Otou-san would be talking about missions." It was true. When he entered the Yamanaka household, he hardly spoke two words to Ino's father unless the older man asked him a question he could not avoid.
He was thankful that nobody asked him during dinner - even though he was graced with curious looks - and continued on eating.
Turning off the faucet and amusingly watched Shikamaru wipe the last plate at least fifteen times, Ino grabbed his hand and dragged him to her bedroom whilst saying good night to her parents. Turning the knob open, Ino let Shikamaru lie down the bed while she sat on the chair by the vanity and started brushing her hair.
"Ino… has Sakura told you anything this past week?" The lazy shinobi stared at Ino's blue orbs when she watched him through the reflection of her mirror.
Ino shrugged and pulled her hair into a messy bun and finally faced her boyfriend as she sat down on the mattress. "What do you mean? Big-Forehead tells me a lot of things, you know." She giggled and stuck her tongue out when Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "What? It's true. Anyway… is this something about what you've been thinking since two hours ago?"
Shikamaru nodded lazily and grabbed the pale hand of his girlfriend. "Remember after lunch from two weeks ago, Sakura followed Naruto home?" Ino nodded, with her eyes having the curious gaze again as she lay down beside him. "Well, ever since then don't you think Sakura's been acting strange?"
"Like she had something to hide?"
"Yeah."
Looking at the ceiling, Ino furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head. "Well, the only time I've seen her was during last week's meeting and today's… though, it did seem like she was reprimanding Naruto last week, giving him that glare she always does when she's annoyed." She turned to her side and curled up against the lazy shinobi. "Shika, you're being paranoid too much, don't you think? Even if Big-Forehead has something to hide, she'll ask us for help if she needs it. And if it is about Naruto's sudden persona change, I'm sure she will definitely tell us… ne?"
Sighing in defeat, Shikamaru nodded in agreement and suddenly gave a murmur of 'Troublesome' when Ino left the bed and returned with a shogi board in her hand, smiling too sweetly.
"Get up, Shika-kun, you promised you'd teach me how to play, hmm?"
Troublesome indeed.
--
"Konohamaru-kun, are sure this is not illegal?" Moegi whispered furiously as she and her two best friends sat on the branches of a tree as they spied on their leader. It did not help either when the leaves of the said tree they were sitting on were falling gracefully to the ground.
Konohamaru sighed exasperatingly and gave her an annoyed glare. "You've asked that fifteen time already, Moegi-chan! You're forgetting that we're shinobi? We can cover and disguise ourselves well!"
"We're genin, baka! Any other high-ranking shinobi would sense us! Especially Naruto-sempai!"
Speaking of their beloved leader, it was surprising for the three of them that Naruto had not even sensed their presence from the beginning. Right after Konohamaru had finished his twelfth bowl of ramen - he was quickly gaining to his 'older brother's' record which was sixteen - he hastily said farewells to the blond and his friends while dragging his own to the nearby alleyway.
Continuing from then on, they followed the dark-clad male everywhere he went. But much to the chagrin of his students, all Naruto did for the rest of the day was walk around the village, through the forest, and sat by the Hokage Mountain. Remembering how Naruto used to always catch them spying on him, Udon frantically told Konohamaru that in a few minutes the blond would catch them all, despite the fact their stealth has improved.
Surprisingly for the three of the genin, Naruto even barely showed any signs of noticing their presence. Even when Konohamaru accidentally tripped over a wooden crate of potatoes, the blond had not heard it smash. All day they had followed him everywhere until they reached his final destination: his apartment. Now, perched up at one of the big branches, Moegi, Udon and Konohamaru tried to blend in with the surroundings and carefully spied on their mentor.
Unfortunately for the three of them, their camouflaging techniques were not exactly perfected yet, so even the simplest of shinobi could notice the lack of their so-called disguise. And for another unfortunate note, the shinobi (or medic-nin or whatever you want to call her and her boyfriend) who noticed them were not the simplest of the bunch either.
"What are you three doing?" The aforementioned three froze in their spots, with a look of incredulous surprise and a mixture of anxiety when they heard a female voice from under the tree.
Konohamaru was the first to look down and saw two curious - yet one of them held another look… annoyed, perhaps? - pair of eyes and gulped audibly. Of all the people that could catch them in the act, it just had to be the lady with a big forehead and her freaky boyfriend with the eyebrows. The genin tried not to yell - after all, the majority of the villagers were getting ready for bed - but why did it have to be them? He would gladly settle for the intimidating Hyuuga or the sensei of Moegi's current infatuation to see them spying on their childhood friend.
"Uhh… Heheh, Sakura-san! Lee-san! What a pleasure of surprise… what can we do for you?" the loud boy nervously laughed as he scratched the back of his head. He didn't even notice his female best friend's eye twitching until he felt pain rushing through his head.
"BAKA! Didn't I tell you we would get caught?"
"Sarutobi Konohamaru, I have asked you once and I will ask you again… WHAT-ARE-YOU-DOING-HERE?"
As Lee tried to calm his girlfriend down - he also prayed for the genin's safety… after all, however delicate his precious Cherry Blossom is, she could beat up a guy three times her size, all of them did not notice the blue eyes watching them from the window.
"Could you all please keep it down? I was trying to meditate," Naruto said, while gazing at the guilty looks his subordinates and friends gave him. The blond Chuunin turned Jounin instructor had sensed the presence of his students for a while now, and tried to ignore them (after all, they had spied on him when they were younger, it did not make any difference to him now) but when he felt Sakura and Lee's presence, curiosity had gotten better of him.
After seeing the occurrence from the outside, the blue-eyed male invited his lingering guests inside his apartment - much to his and Kyuubi's chagrin, after all they were still figuring out what to do with his check-up - and gave them a curious look. He knew Sakura was here to make sure that he ate his dinner properly and that he would drink the vitamins she prescribed for him.
But, why was Lee here? And just what the hell were Konohamaru, Udon and Moegi doing?
When Sakura and the others entered the small home of the blond, the pink-haired woman headed straight for the kitchen to make some tea. She had sneaked into Shizune's office room earlier that afternoon to get the relaxing tea the medic-nin would always brew for the Hokage when Tsunade was stressed with all the paperwork (and instead of the booze the voluptuous blonde adored so much) and thought it would help Naruto a bit, making his muscles lax and he would be able to sleep better.
Even though she was forbidden to sneak out some stuff or medicine without Shizune or Tsunade's permission, it was the only way for Sakura help Naruto. Also, right before taking the tea away, she went to the library again, going to the restricted section of the building (and only where high-ranked - at least ANBU ranked shinobi, Jounin instructors, elite Jounin, and a few selected Chuunin were allowed) to find out about male pregnancy.
Since male pregnancy is ultimately rare, the pink-haired kunoichi only found two books on the subject, but she knew it would be enough. The books she found were heavily detailed and informative that she was glad she didn't have to search for any more books. According to one of them, there were only two options of a male getting pregnant: one is to have a demon sealed inside of them and the other is rather a bit complicated. The second option required a whole lot of chakra use and can be deadly if the male who wanted to be the carrier didn't have enough chakra reserves. Hell, even the youkai vessel would be at serious risk if they got pregnant.
Coming out of the kitchenette, Sakura held a tray of two pots of tea. One was the ordinary green tea, while the other was the one she took. While kneeling down on her knees, facing towards the coffee table, the pink-haired female asked Lee to grab the other tray with the cups.
"Why are there two pots of tea? Is this some kind of party or something?" Konohamaru asked, as he opened the lids of the teapots and yelped when Sakura pinched his ear back.
"NO, the other pot is not for you," she retorted and poured a cup to Udon and Moegi when Lee came back with the tray. "It's for Naruto. Now, have you taken your vitamins?" she asked the host, who was sitting quietly in the armchair. When she saw Naruto's head nodding, she smiled gently at him and gave him a cup of lukewarm tea from the other pot.
As the green-eyed female and her former teammate talked, Lee was listening curiously as did the others. It was then when Udon had asked to use the toilet when all things came apart.
Even though with the disciplining of his female best friend, Konohamaru's impatience often left him in a wrong time and in a wrong situation. And so, when Udon left for the toilet, the dark-haired genin had been noticing something that he thought he was hallucinating.
"Ne… Naruto-niichan, are you turning fat?" he asked incredulously as he noticed a tiny, not even noticeable bump on Naruto's stomach as the blond was trying to relax into the armchair. Konohamaru knew that no matter how many plates Naruto ate, his metabolism was high; but really, maybe the aforementioned metabolism was slowing down? Is that even possible?
Choking on his tea, Naruto tried not to show his bewildered look in front of his 'younger brother' and pounded on his chest, as if he was trying to make his lungs work. He knew he was starting to have a bulge, but he also knew it wasn't visible yet! How could he have known…? He was so deep in thought that he hadn't even felt Sakura trying to soothe him.
"Konohamaru-kun, don't act so stupidly! Naruto-sempai is not in any way fat! In fact it looks like he's…" Moegi cringed in thought as she tried to think up a word that would suit the blond's predicament. "He's…"
"He's what? Pregnant? Haha, Moegi-chan! I never knew you had humorous side in you! You sure do know a lot of jokes!" Konohamaru continued laughing until he saw that neither Naruto nor Sakura were laughing with him and ceased his loud guffawing with a nervous one. "Eheheh… Ne, Nii-chan, it's not true, right? Right?"
Sakura and Naruto both looked at each other, as if they were trying to speak with their eyes. Green eyes looked persistent, while the other had an apathetic look. Unbeknownst to the pink-haired female, Naruto was also having an internal argument with Kyuubi, who was siding with her. With one more glare that was meant to say 'they have the right to know', Sakura turned towards their mini audience and gave an apologetic smile, which was mostly for her boyfriend - in any case, she had left him in the dark for a while, and she felt guilty about it and sighed.
"Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon and Lee-kun," she started, while holding Naruto's arm gently, just in case he took off to his bedroom, to comfort him that no matter what the others thought (however, she highly doubt it that they would be simple-minded with this) she was always there for him and as a simple gesture of apologizing, she finally revealed it.
"He's really pregnant."
"WHAT?" the late Sandaime's grandson yelled, as his friends looked shocked and confused at the same time. Lee nodded with understanding - realizing that it was a huge secret, and he understood that Naruto was having a hard time keeping it. The Taijutsu specialist also realized that it was the Kyuubi's doing… and he did not mind. After all, Naruto was the most surprising shinobi he's ever known, so he had to live up to his expectations, ne?
"YOSH! Naruto-kun, I definitely have no problems with this! In fact, I congratulate you on having a baby on the way! You're bringing a new life and nothing is more youthful than that!" Lee reassured the blond by giving him his bright smile and nice guy pose, making Sakura smile at him fondly and hug him while Naruto gave loosened the tensed muscles he never knew he had.
Well, that was one out of four people. Looking at his students, Naruto looked at them individually. Moegi looked terribly confused, and yet at the exact same time it seemed that she had a look of excitement (?) on her face. Udon, like Shikamaru, used his mind and tried to analyze the logics; with the eased expression, Naruto knew he finally figured it out. Now that only left Konohamaru.
The dark-eyed genin looked shocked, for the lack of a better word. His eyes were wide and questioning, and his mouth was open, speechless. To tell the truth, he did not know what to think. Sure he adored his 'nii-chan - after all, being an only child has its problems - and he would do anything for him, but… just how do males get pregnant? Not that he would ever doubt Naruto - and reluctantly Sakura - but did it not seemed too farfetched?
Konohamaru was glad he was not the only one who was curious.
"But… Sempai, since you're male… how did you get pregnant?" he heard Udon ask and inwardly gave him his thanks. As much as he would like to ask his questions himself, he didn't think he could string a few words at the moment.
Geez, didn't they know the saying, "Curiosity kills the cat"? Naruto heard the fox complain and agreed silently. There were things better left unsaid, and this was one of them. However, leaving them in the dark was also not an option. If they somehow accept the fact that he was a male who's pregnant and somehow aid him in his situation, he should inform them, right?
"You three know about the Kyuubi, correct?" Both Sakura and Lee gave the blond a worried look when Naruto mentioned about the youkai kitsune in front of the fifteen-year-olds. Sakura knew how touchy the subject was (despite the fact that she had the impression of Naruto and the Kyuubi were in speaking terms - friendly, much to her surprise) and it did not help either that Konohamaru and his gang of misfits did not know that the blue-eyed blond right in front of them was the vessel.
Moegi leaned closer and gave raised an eyebrow. "What does the Kyuubi have to with your pregnancy, Naruto-sempai?" she inquired.
Naruto closed his eyes and gave a grim smile. He knew it would come to this… he just hoped he was doing the right thing. "Everything," he whispered.
"Look, Naruto. If this makes your uncomfortable, you don't have to--"
"No, Sakura-chan. It's unfair for them to just stop the explanations, ne? And besides… they might find sooner or later anyway," the blond interrupted her and sat up properly, feeling authorized and in control. "I know this may come as a shock - hell, even more of a shock - but… the reason I can get pregnant is because of the Kyuubi.
"And the stupid fox had something to with this is because he's sealed inside of me." He closed his eyes to prevent the stares from coming straight at him. He was used to the hateful glares and the disgusted sneering, but the Konohamaru corps were like his younger siblings. For some reason he could not fathom, he was their role model, their leader and that made him feel happy. And if he saw the glares they were giving him, he didn't know how he would take it regardless of Sakura and Lee, who would do anything to kick the younger three out because they were overprotective of him, were sitting just right beside him.
But, as he exhaustingly tried to ignore the rest of his visitors and Kyuubi, he vaguely heard someone laughing. Laughing at him? Maybe, Naruto wouldn't pass it for Konohamaru to laugh at a serious time like this.
"Geez, Naruto-niichan! You sure are stupid." The blue-eyed Jounin felt an involuntary tick in his forehead. "Who cares if the stupid Kyuubi was sealed inside you? Who cares if you're pregnant? You're still my rival for the Rokudaime position! Sure, you'll be huge and fat for the next few months, but who cares? We'll still pull pranks later on… and maybe we can teach you're baby the Oiroke no Jutsu!" After Konohamaru said his heartfelt declaration, Moegi and Udon added more reassuring things to say with the girl hugging him.
Hearing the statement and try as he might, Naruto tried desperately to make the forming tears go away. He's accepted rejections - despite the fact that his own friends surprised him by still making him a part of the Legendary Rookie Nine and even beyond that - but his experience with his childhood years had taught him how to cherish the acceptance he was given (albeit because he definitely deserved it).
You can be such a girl you know that, right?
Shut up. It's the hormones, Naruto retorted viciously, when he threw a throw pillow at his 'younger brother' when he called him fat and huge. Sakura sighed in exasperation, but he knew that she was glad she didn't have to knock some sense into the three genin; in fact the green-eyed female was proud of them. They did not let prejudice cloud over their minds and stayed loyal to Naruto. Giving Lee a fond pat in the arm - he was manly crying on how sentimental Konohamaru was being earlier - Sakura cleaned up the empty teacups and pots, heading to the kitchenette while balancing the two trays together.
Dumbass. The hormones would kick in later on.
How would you know, huh?
Female youkai AND ningen does the same thing, you foolish brat.
After the pointless argument, Naruto answered the questions he was bombarded with and for once, he felt like the cheerful, obnoxious twelve-year-old he used to be. He knew that part of him died a long time ago, but he did not care.
He felt all right with the world, and it was good enough for him.
--
"Man, 'Nii-chan… your bedroom's so squishy… I think I might kick Udon in my sleep or something."
"Oh please. Konohamaru-kun, you would do it anyway since you sleep like a dog. Remember when you accidentally broke Ebisu-sensei's sunglasses once?"
"SHUT UP! THAT WAS ONE TIME!"
"Naruto-sempai or Moegi-chan, can we switch spots please?"
The blond shinobi sighed in annoyance and looked up at the ceiling of his bedroom. It was late already and somehow both Konohamaru and Moegi had a crazy idea of staying over at his apartment. Udon agreed as well, much to the chagrin of Sakura. After rinsing the used cups and other utensil, she went out of the kitchenette, realizing that it was late, thus making her angry and tried to kick the three genin out using a broomstick.
Unfortunately, Konohamaru was as stubborn as a mule and endured the beating Sakura had given him (Lee had tried to calm her down, but it took him a long time to accomplish it) and refused to leave his seat, saying that now that his 'Nii-chan was vulnerable and won't be able to move because of his fat stomach, he and the rest of Konohamaru corps would have to protect him (Naruto as well gave him the beating of his life when the younger genin had called him fat and vulnerable again). In the end, Sakura had lost the 'battle' and informed their parents about the so-called sleepover when she and Lee left (not after the pink-haired kunoichi had made them promise not to utter a word about Naruto's delicate situation).
"Remember Naruto, try to sleep properly, ne? You would need to replenish your strength, especially if that baby will be as energetic as you. Drink the tea every morning as well, do you hear me?"
And so, now sleeping in the middle of Naruto's not-so-spacious bedroom (they had even put Naruto's bed all the way to the far corner and it was still a bit cramped), they all laid down staring at the ceiling, snuggled in their sleeping bags. It seemed that sleep could not overcome them though.
"Ne… Sempai, I forgot to ask but… if you're the father of the baby… then, who's the other father?" Moegi asked, vaguely feeling the blond stiffening when she had mentioned it. "I mean, you don't have to answer but… you know…"
"Maybe next time, ne? We have more things to worry about…"
Konohamaru blinked in confused and cringed. "Like what? Do we have to get ready and buy diapers or something?"
A sigh escaped Naruto's lips again and put a hand over his abdomen. "No, you twit. I need to have a check up again soon…"
"So, why can't you just ask the Hokage? She's a medic-nin, isn't she?"
"You're forgetting the fact that the only people who knows about my lovely situation right now are not exactly a lot, meaning the old hag doesn't know… and neither does that ero-jiji!"
Udon bit his lip and scrunched up his eyes, as he said, "Then, how did you managed to get a first check up?"
Naruto ran his hand through his silky locks of hair and yawned slightly. "I went to the Sand Village first before Ero-sennin and I came back here. I got checked by Temari… you remember her, right?"
"That crazy, bossy chick with that steel fan on her back?"
"Yeah, her."
Konohamaru shook his head and inwardly felt sorry for Naruto. He remembered Temari and her brothers; and he especially remembered the day where he almost got choked to death by one of them. It was the most terrifying thing in his life - aside from being almost groped by a drunken old man when he was in his Oiroke no jutsu form - and shuddered inwardly. However, if the blond really needed the check up then he would just have to face his fears (literally) and escort the blond to Sunagakure. "Then we'll go to Sand!"
The only girl in the team tried not to hit Konohamaru - since Naruto was blocking him - but instead grunted in anger and glared at the ceiling, as if it was Konohamaru personified. "You stupid prick! Do you even think before you act? If we leave, we'll get into trouble! And if we ask permission, then we would have to explain to Hokage-sama why do we need to go to the Hidden Village of Sand so badly!"
"We could lie to Hokage-sama, Moegi-chan… after all, she doesn't need to know the exact truth, right?"
"Lie? Are you crazy, Udon-kun?"
"No."
Konohamaru sat up and stared at the blond incredulously. He never really expected Naruto to refuse since almost every thing he did, he did it without a moment's hesitation.
"You're not going anywhere and we're definitely not going to Suna," Naruto replied as he closed his eyes to avoid the surprised look Konohamaru was giving him.
"Why not?"
"You'll be in danger, and I don't want to see you all dead."
Rolling his eyes, Konohamaru retorted back. "Being a shinobi is accepting the fact that they could die on every mission. Face it, Naruto-niichan. We'll protect you somehow and believe me, we're dragging you all the way to Sand even if we have drag you by the ear."
Giving a small smile, Naruto smacked the boy in the head and told the rest of his team to go to sleep. When he could hear the soft snores from the three genin, he silently stood up from his sleeping bag and went to the window that was situated on the living room.
He was here two weeks ago. Kyuubi immediately told him when Naruto leaned his tanned forehead against the cold window glass. He concealed his chakra well, but I knew that it was the bastard's from a mile away.
Frowning, Naruto closed his eyes slowly, seeing a pair of crimson eyes haunting him wherever he went.
"You can't escape from me… you may as well surrender yourself to me, Naruto-kun. You can keep on running if you want, but all you're doing is stalling time…"
What did you think he wanted?
Gee, I don't know… maybe your ass?
"Now is not the time to be playing games, you stupid fox… even if he was here, then it must mean he's nearby…" Opening his eyes again, he left the window and lied down the couch. He could see the moonlight's reflection that was through the window and basking in the wall.
Suddenly sitting by the coffee table, a translucent, human-ish form appeared with its arms crossed and face looking grim with a bit of fangs protruding out of its mouth. Kyuubi opened his dark, red eyes and gave Naruto a questioning glance.
"What are you going to do now…?"
"I don't know."
Silence ensued the both of them, relishing the stillness around them. It was broken, though when Naruto sighed audibly.
"I wished Sasuke-teme was here though… when he was here, everything was so…"
"Simple?"
"Yeah…"
Kyuubi stood up from his seat and ruffled Naruto's blond hair, disappearing and coming back inside the deepest parts of Naruto's mind. The blond closed his eyes, sleepiness was finally taking over him and he was glad. Exhaustion was slowly seeping through his veins.
Sleep now, kit. We'll talk about this in the morning.
Tsuzuku
Next Chapter: In which the Sand siblings make their appearance, Itachi's reaction would finally be in the open, and Sakura breaks her promise.
Crystal: So, did all my hard labour paid off? -gives a curious look- I sure hope so... it took me a long time to finish this chapter; as much as I love it, I also hate it (stupid writer's block...). Anyway, please be kind enough to leave a review and I will love you forever.
Until the next chapter, minna-san!