Crystal: -coughs- Yeah... I know I said not all chapters are going to be long... but I couldn't resist! There were so many things to write... can you really blame me? -gives an adorable, chibi-eyed look- Anyway... this will be the last long chapter for now (-coughs- Unless something magically happens and turn my chapters into freakishly long ones) until after three to four chapters or so...
Aside from all of that, I simply thank everyone who reviewed, read and for ChibiNekoSakura... I am really sorry you had to put up with my unbeta'd chapters, but thank you for helping me avoid of making a complete ass of myself... -huggles everyone-
Have a happy reading!
Warnings: Yaoi, Language and M-Preg; and possible sexual contents as well. You have been warned!
Disclaimer: I don't own a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g.
Moments
Chapter Four: Centre of my Universe
Moegi frowned as the burning sunlight hovered above her face, as they walked slowly to Sunagakure no Sato. According to the pink-haired medic-nin in training, Naruto was not to exert his chakra, despite the fact that he had a huge chakra reserve. He was to eat every day, and the food must include the four major food groups; and the blond had to get at least eight hours of sleep each day.
And he could never leave the village until he finally confessed to Tsunade-sama about his predicament!
She knew how Sakura was overprotective of the brother she never had, and Moegi felt bad about letting her Naruto-sempai go but she was there, right? Konohamaru, Udon and she would protect the blond shinobi if something pursues them, right? 'Oh, who am I kidding? We're only genin… it would be a miracle if we get to the Sand Village safely.' She felt a tick on her forehead when she heard Konohamaru complained for the last umpteenth time about his stomach grumbling and in need of food.
'I hope Sakura-sempai wouldn't kill us for this…' she thought grimly. The three of them had completely broken her trust - well, the only female in the group knew Konohamaru could care less if the green-eyed female did not trust him because Moegi knew that even though they were technically colleagues and acquaintances, her best friend would take a millennia to build at least a small, thin line of trust towards the Haruno.
"Naruto-sempai… are we there yet?" she heard Udon asked in a raspy voice, disappointingly knowing that her other best friend finished all of his water supply an hour ago. "I really need to use the washroom."
When the blond had answered Udon's question, Moegi remembered how speechless Naruto was when they went straight to the Hokage a few days ago. Of course, he knew the three of them had made up their minds - although, the young kunoichi knew her heart was pounding in her chest so loud when they had asked for the Hokage's permission - but Moegi was sure he disagreed with their decision. She could not help but wonder why though; Naruto knew the three genin would risk their lives because they were shinobi, nevertheless, why did he sound worried, if not more terrified, when they all went to get permission to leave?
Looking from left to right, she gave a disappointed grunt when she realized that her water bottle was almost out of water and re-tied her hair as quickly as possible. Sweat was forming in her forehead and no matter how many times she wiped it off it was still forming. She was amazed at how Naruto could resist the heat, especially when the clothes he was wearing were all black. No sweat was forming on his forehead - his hitai-ate was now located at his bicep - and he seems to be lost in thought again.
Her eyes ventured over the bag the dark-clad shinobi was carrying - he absolutely refused and punched Konohamaru to the next oblivion when the younger shinobi had called him weak because of his condition - and curiosity took over her mind once again. Once again, because the days before their departure for Sunagakure, the blue-eyed blond had done something that would spark some interest even if it was a simple gesture.
-- Flashback --
Right after going to the Hokage Tower, the rest of Naruto's students had excitedly gone back to their homes to pack for their journey. Much to their excitement, it was their first time leaving Konohagakure - thanks to their previous sensei - and they had never seen the life outside their own village by themselves. It did not take much for the three of them to pack - especially since they would not need any unnecessary things in their trip - and went straight to Naruto's apartment as if a pack of dogs were chasing them.
Entering the door (the three had learnt that Naruto ever hardly locks his door - particularly because there were no valuables to steal in his apartment), they were surprised to see an empty living room and a silent ambiance. At first they thought Naruto had left without them, but when Konohamaru yelled the blond's name out loud the young genin found their mentor in his bedroom, still packing.
Moegi was the first to notice the hitai-ate lying on the mattress. It was a peculiar head protector, with a line surging through the village symbol. At first she thought that the hitai-ate was Naruto's but the line represented of being a missing-nin and she knew that Naruto was as loyal as a dog when it came to Konoha so she knew it was not his. When she sat on his bed and lifted the object, she was surprised when he took it from her at lightning speed, as if he did not want her to touch it.
"Ne, sempai… who's hitai-ate is that?" she asked, ignoring the puzzled looks she received from her friends.
It took a while for Naruto to speak, until Moegi heard his voice. "It's… someone's. I was just holding it for him because the bastard was stupid enough to leave it," he replied and looked at it longingly, as if the head protector was the owner itself. She knew that it was the only explanation Naruto will share for the day so she left him alone to pack while dragging Konohamaru and Udon back into the living room by their ears.
-- End Flashback --
'Naruto-sempai's been doing that a lot lately…' she thought when she saw the thoughtful gaze once more and gave a delighted smile when she and her team saw a glimpse of the gates of Sunagakure. They were still a few kilometres away, but at the sight of the gates made Moegi resilient to the heat and walked ahead until she was walking side by side with Naruto. It was surprising for her that despite the fact he was pregnant, Naruto could still walk ahead of them; but then again, the female genin was not surprised, after all the blond had a lot of stamina according to everyone who knew him.
Turning around, she gave a cheerful smile towards her now crawling best friends. "Konohamaru-kun! Udon-kun! Come on walk faster! I can already see the gate from here!" Still grinning cheerfully, she ignored the grumbles of her teammates and kept on walking; unaware that someone had started following them.
Meanwhile, Naruto frowned when he felt an extra chakra slowly following them from behind. His frown was a not a worried one, but merely an annoyed one. Why was he exactly following them, especially since it was no use because their pursuer knew that the blond could feel his chakra? Naruto could sense Kyuubi smirking and rolled his eyes. He motioned for his students to stop, ignoring the questioning looks they sent him.
"You do realize that stalking is illegal, right?" he said at nothing while his eyes shifted from left to right.
A short laugh echoed around them and just before Naruto could shift his eyes right in front again, Moegi let out a piercing yell.
--
Tsunade gave out a long, exaggerating yawn and stretched her arms widely as she finally finished the overloading paperwork that was sitting innocently on her desk. She was frustrated when she found out that Naruto had wanted to leave Konoha again (even though she had a feeling that Naruto was forced into wanting to leave, but dismissed the thought).
The slug Sannin gave a worried look outside the window as she saw the clouds passing by the blue sky. That weird gut instinct she was feeling for a while now had come back full force when the blond shinobi had come barging in her office with his students. Something about Naruto just screamed 'suspicious', but she perfectly well knew that Naruto did not do anything wrong.
Lines creased her forehead even more when she remembered the conversation she had with her surrogate little brother. In fact, Naruto had not even uttered a word when he and his students came into her office. The ones that did most of the talking were Konohamaru and Moegi, and all Naruto did was either nod in agreement, or shake in disagreement.
"We want to leave Konoha, Hokage-sama!" Tsunade remembered her former sensei's grandson saying. It seemed that Naruto had wanted them to taste the life outside Konoha, to prepare them for the Chuunin exams his students worked so hard to finally take; unfortunately, the reason had not come out of Naruto's mouth, but merely from his students.
Aside from the oddness of it all, the blonde female also noticed Naruto's appearance. He seemed more tense, even more so when he came back. And again, much to her chagrin, Naruto had not let her see the seal in which where the nine-tailed fox demon resided. She knew he was hiding something and even though she respected Naruto's privacy - more or less - she wanted to poke and prod a little to know what was going on with him and the fox.
"A penny for your thoughts?" a voice interrupted her musings and saw Jiraiya lounging on the seat in front of her desk. "You know, I think you're really starting to take this Hokage thing a little bit too seriously."
Tsunade felt a tick on her forehead and tried not to give her former teammate a concussion; there were much more important things to discuss and she could always beat him up later. Giving a tired sigh, she crossed her arms and looked at Jiraiya with a serious gaze. "We need to talk."
"That much I know… considering your assistant practically dragged me by my hair," Jiraiya grumbled and held his head carefully. He was by the onsen again, as usual, peeping into the women's side for his research. He was practically in pure bliss, until Shizune had come into his hiding spot and started to drag him to the Hokage Tower.
Clearing his throat, Jiraiya gave her a confused look. "I thought you didn't want the brat to leave… so why did you give him permission?" It confused him to no end that Tsunade could make such a weird decision… much weirder than the one she had made before. Despite that she could make decisions unlike any other shinobi can (being a Hokage and all) it was selfish for her to have Naruto becoming a Jounin instructor and then giving him permission to leave with his students without his consent. Didn't the both of them give a promise to each other that they would look after Naruto and his well being together?
"Aside from the obvious topic, Jiraiya… why did you not tell me that you left Naruto for at least half a year when you were away? I thought you would have had more responsibility than that!" Tsunade exclaimed and slammed the palm of her hand on the desk. She had heard from a certain Chuunin sensei about Jiraiya's reckless behaviour, and it irked her to no end that Jiraiya had not changed one bit.
How could he just leave Naruto, especially when even though the blond still seemed to have a bundle of energy, he was breaking inside?
"I was going to tell you!"
"That's a load of bullshit, and you know it!"
Jiraiya clenched his fist and closed his eyes; a migraine was starting to form in his forehead. He knew it was hard to explain, after all… he doubted that she would believe him with the excuse he was going to give her. No matter, if Tsunade wanted the explanation, he would give it to her.
"Do you want to know why?"
Tsunade crossed her arms defiantly and nodded. She would not give up and would have his explanation by the end of the day, she would make sure of it. "Go on, and make sure to not leave any details, understood?" She ignored his snort and narrowed her eyes.
"Come on, 'Nade. Have I ever left any details to anything I tell you?" Hearing the disgusted tone in her voice, Jiraiya smirked and leaned back into his seat and started to tell his story. "We've been travelling everywhere during the three years… you know that I had a few houses that I bought over the years," he paused and glared at the Hokage who rolled her eyes. "Anyway, while travelling and such we would stay in the said houses for a while, after all… walking from one place or another can get tiring and since the houses were a bit isolated, it would take some time to walk to the nearest village.
"The brat didn't mind when I would go to the village, after all… he had everything he needed in the house. He could train using Kage Bunshin, if he was bored he could summon Gamakichi as company and before when we arrived, he stocked on many ramen cups as possible so his stomach hunger was fulfilled. No one knew the exact locations of the houses except for him and I, so I never really thought anyone would take a second look on it - especially since the houses were not really properly looked after. So, from village to village we would do the same routine." He stopped and regained his breath from talking a lot.
Tsunade made an impatient sound at the back of her throat and asked Shizune to bring a bottle of liquor and two glasses, much to the exasperation of the assistant. When the dark-haired woman came back, the voluptuous blonde poured both herself and Jiraiya a glass and motioned him to continue. Thanking Tsunade and relishing the taste of his drink, Jiraiya continued on.
"Usually, I wouldn't go to the village and if I didn't leave, it would mean that I would spar with the brat, to see if he was actually training properly. Surprisingly, he was training… which lead to him knowing a few more jutsus - since it seemed that I actually had some scrolls in the houses that he could learn," he left the part where those scrolls were actually Tsunade's and had forgotten he borrowed it from her. "Everything was going fine… a year passed since then. And then, I don't know… some weird and nasty thing had happened…"
"Well? What happened?" Tsunade asked vehemently, whilst she tried to squish the urge to strangle the white-haired Sannin.
"It seems that even with our discreet travelling, the Akatsuki had quickly followed us. I was coming back from a village one time when two missing-nins had cornered me; they were looking for Naruto and was a bit confused that he was not there with me. They looked like newbies too, so I thought I could at least lose them, but I guess I underestimated them… Anyhow, it took me quite a while to lose them… hell, it took me months," he ignored the surprised look Tsunade gave him. "I know, I know… I'm losing my damn touch, and I could have easily lost them; but I don't know… it seemed that everywhere I went, they were just right there!
"By the time I came back, it seemed that nothing changed and I was grateful, because during the times where the two Akatsuki bastards chased me, I had a feeling Uchiha Itachi was nearby, and I know he would do anything to get Naruto. The second year was heavily tiring… because every damn time we would stay and rest, the same people ambushed me and while everything was happening, I finally saw something change in Naruto. The brat started eating less and less of ramen and he seemed isolated. At first I thought Uchiha and his partner had gotten to him, but he was not in heavily mentally or physically injured."
"You mean… he was not under the Tsukuyomi? Even so, maybe they were there to spy on him!"
Rubbing his temples, Jiraiya drank another glass of liquor and gave Tsunade a dirty look. And he thought she was the smartest of them all. "Would you stop acting like an idiot?" He ignored the flaming glare she gave him and continued. "Uchiha and Hoshigaki would not just sit and spy on him when the opportunity was right in front of their faces! In fact, if there were a chance they would have probably abducted him already… Anyway, as the second year was coming into an end, the ambushes were frequently happening less and less now… although, I could have sworn that as the third year of our journey came, Naruto's behaviour is just… absurd. I knew he had matured a lot - hell, he hardly even called me Ero-sennin unless it was necessary - but by the time we reached another village, he told me that he wanted a new set of clothes. Of course I thought, 'Finally! After years of persuading him of getting rid of the orange menace…' but, I thought he would reach for a different kind of colour, not black!
"Training was harsh for him; and I was pretty sure that if I hadn't interfered at some of them, he would probably die of chakra exhaustion. He was practically killing himself! I was more cautious now, and always setting up traps around the perimeter when I would leave for the nearby village - the brat surprisingly forced me to leave from time to time for my research even though now with the Akatsuki following us, our safety - especially his - were my first priority. Every time I would come back… it looked like he changing more and more; his eyes were completely devoid of emotion, he brooded a lot when he thought he was alone, and he hardly ever smiled anymore. I tried asking him once, but he never answered me.
"I knew this behaviour would probably lead to something more destructive if we kept on going, so I suggested that we return here to Konoha. He didn't seemed to mind; in fact I think he looked relieved. Anyway, we were on our way back he suggested on visiting Sunagakure of all places and I agreed, much to my curiosity. Unfortunately… what the Kazekage, his sister and the brat were discussing was a complete mystery to me. I tried asking Naruto about it, but again he answered nothing and only told me to not worry about it," Jiraiya sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "That's all I know… For Naruto's side of the story… you should have asked him."
"Did… Did it look like he was hiding something?" Tsunade asked, who was surprisingly still sober especially since the bottle of liquor was two-thirds empty already. Her cheeks were flushed, but her voice did not slur at all.
Jiraiya frowned with thought and wracked his brain. "It looked like he was… up until now he still looked like he was hiding something. What do you think?"
"Of course I thought that! Every single day since he came back, all I could think of was why did he suddenly change! When the both of you left for the first time, he was still the same Naruto who smiles a lot, brags a lot and as reckless and irresponsible as you! Why then did he have to change when you left for the second time? Why?" enraged and consumed with alcohol, Tsunade started throwing things around, not even noticing that Jiraiya was dodging from place to place to avoid the objects that were thrown his way.
The blonde female did not even realize she started to sob until Jiraiya was forced to calm her down and gathered her into his arms as she exerted all the tears she collected over the years. Shizune heard all the commotion from next door and gasped at the sight of the messy office when she entered the room. Seeing the two Sannin sitting in the middle of the room, the medic-nin cautiously walked towards them and placed a gentle hand on Tsunade's shoulder as she kept on sobbing quietly on Jiraiya's shoulder.
A few minutes later, the tears stopped and the two noticed that their leader had finally closed her eyes, deep asleep with the tears clinging on her eyelashes and tearstains on her cheeks. Shizune gave the other Sannin a questionable glance as the both of them stood up carefully with Tsunade in Jiraiya's arms.
All Jiraiya said was, "Even the strongest shinobi has to cry to release their frustrations."
--
"What the hell are you doing here?" was the first thing he was greeted with when Naruto and his students entered the Hidden Village of Sand. Standing right in front of them was Temari and she looked none too pleased when she saw the blue eyes and blond hair of Naruto.
Naruto raised his eyebrow at the question and shrugged, while looking at his companions. Konohamaru and his friends seemed to be on edge, and how could they not? Their other companion had scared them to death with his sudden appearance and now he walked with them to Suna as if nothing was wrong. He looked back at Temari and said, "Hello to you too, Temari."
Their said companion laughed with mirth as he walked ahead of them and patted the blonde woman as he sauntered pass her. "Don't be so tense, 'Mari! No wonder why you don't have a boyfriend yet," he joked and dodged the punch Temari tried to give him.
"And you! Kankuro, didn't I tell you to look around outside the village? What the hell are you doing here?" she hissed at him. Much to her annoyance, Kankuro ignored her and kept on walking towards the Kazekage Tower. Temari looked back at Naruto and his companions, eyeing the fifteen-year-olds for the first time. "Your students, Uzumaki?"
"Hai."
"What are you doing here?" Temari gave him a questioning glance as she asked him again. She knew he wasn't here just for a pleasant visit - considering the last time he visited, she and Gaara found out that the blond vessel was pregnant of all things - but she was not about to tell her that, the Sand nin wanted Naruto to admit it.
Naruto sighed and crossed his arms. He knew it wouldn't be this easy. "Kyuubi told me to come to you… I need another check up," he ignored the alarmed look Temari sent him when he mentioned the fox demon in front of the young genin.
Seeing as they were in a public place, Temari motioned them to follow her towards the Kazekage Tower. She nodded politely and greeted some of the villagers that bowed to her when they passed by. Normally, Gaara would have come right at the entrance when he could feel Naruto's chakra, but she knew her little brother had too much paperwork to finish.
Looking from the corner of her eye, she noticed the young ninjas again and smiled inwardly. Temari remembered them; the boy with the stupid looking face was the one who bumped into Kankuro in Konohagakure so many years ago and almost got strangled to death. It seemed that they had not changed one bit; they had a look of anxiety and were on the edge when she eyed them earlier. She wondered how the three of them found out about Naruto's condition, much less about the Kyuubi but she dismissed it, knowing the blond Leaf nin would just tell her later.
Entering the building, they were surprised to see Gaara waiting for them at the entrance. She smiled and ruffled his red hair - much to the secret amusement of Naruto and annoyance of Gaara - and motioned the others to come inside. "Otouto, I thought you had paperwork to finish," she stated while dragging Naruto by the arm and let him sit on one of the armchairs.
"Hn, I'm finished," was his reply as he kept on staring at Naruto.
Temari turned towards the younger shinobi. "I'm afraid the three of you would have to leave for this. Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything bad towards your sensei," she said, while ushering the three of them outside the waiting room. She closed the door and turned around, glaring at Naruto.
"You do realize that you could have simply told Tsunade-sama that you're pregnant and you would not had to come all the way here?" she stated, feeling a little annoyed at the all Naruto could do was stare at her impassively.
Naruto shrugged and closed his eyes. "Yeah, I could have… but you do realize that the old hag would kill me if she found out."
"Hardly," Temari said, but was interrupted when Kankuro suddenly entered Gaara's office. "Didn't I tell you to go and scout?" she demanded from her Kabuki-faced brother.
Kankuro gave a smirk and sat on the remaining armchair right beside Naruto and slouched. "No you didn't… and besides, I'm already done scouting. Everything's in place and nothing was disturbed… that Chuunin was just paranoid." He looked at the serious looks on his siblings and Naruto and raised an eyebrow. "Was there anything I missed? Why do you all look like somebody died?"
"Kankuro… please, get out," Temari said exasperatedly as she pointed towards the door. When he did not budge from his seat, she gave Gaara a pleading look, saying that she had other things to handle.
Gaara looked at his brother impassively. He knew he did not had to voice it out loud for Kankuro to take a hint that he was not wanted at the moment and gave a look of satisfaction when his brother had the same thought as him and left without a moment's hesitation. The Kabuki-faced man knew that even though Gaara was now tolerable, he could still get angry, and it was not very pleasant when he was.
Seeing her sibling out, Temari gave a sigh of relief and returned to glaring at Naruto. "What am I, a fucking medic-nin? You can't hide this anymore, Naruto! Just because we know this, and somehow your students know this… you can't rely on us every single time! Tsunade-sama has the right to know, and you know it!" She was glad that the office was soundproofed; yelling these things aloud would not be perfect for their situation.
"Who else knows about the pregnancy, Uzumaki Naruto?" Gaara asked, as he leaned on the wall right across from Naruto and Temari. "I hardly doubt that your students are the only ones with the knowledge."
Naruto opened his eyes and gave a vague look of guilt. He knew Sakura would kill him for leaving - after all, she was one hundred percent against it - and had a feeling that if she somehow found out, she'd leave Konoha right away and hunt him. "Aside from Konohamaru, Udon and Moegi… Sakura-chan and Lee know."
Temari raised and eyebrow in interest. "Wait… they know? I'm surprised Haruno has not beaten you into a pulp yet… I've heard that she has a temper as hot as the sun," she said while sharing a look with Gaara. "I'm even more surprised that she hadn't told Tsunade-sama yet either… is she not her apprentice?"
"Yeah… although, she didn't tell the old hag anything; she promised me."
"You know that promises were made to be broken."
Naruto gave a grim smile and closed his eyes. "…I know."
--
Kankuro grumbled as he sat down with his back hunched and face contorted into a frown. Of all the things they were talking about, he wanted to know too! Was this some sort of conspiracy? Were they planning for his demise? Opening his eyes, he saw three genin sitting right across from him and smirked inwardly. Oh he definitely remembered these three… especially the one in the middle who was trying to look fearless, but in fact the poor little boy was on the verge of peeing in his pants.
The other two on either side of said little boy was not fairing much any better as well. If Kankuro had not been sulking because he felt left out, he would have probably tormented them already. Giving them a weird glint, he stretched his arms, pretending to be bored.
"So, you're Uzumaki's students?" he started the conversation, feeling annoyed with all the silence that was surrounding the room. When the three of them nodded fervently, he smirked. "So, what brings you to Suna?"
"It's none of your business," the little boy in the middle spat out with an edgy tone in his voice. The girl on his right side however, gave an annoyed grunt and elbowed him for being so rude. She gave a small bow and apologized on behalf on her friend.
"Umm, uhh… you see, we can't really say it… right, Konohamaru-kun?" Ah, so the boy's name is Konohamaru, weird. Kankuro's smirk widened when he saw Konohamaru nod his head again.
Now he was getting somewhere. If he could not get the information he wanted from his own siblings, he would get them from somewhere else; and that somewhere else is sitting right across from him. The younger shinobi sitting right across from him were so uneasy they'd crack under pressure.
He leaned back and had a 'bored' look in his face. "You see… that's where you're wrong. I totally know what's happening inside the room, and I was just wondering if you know."
The girl frowned and gave a confused look. "But… if you know what's going on, then why are you asking us in the first place?"
'Damn,' Kankuro cursed and tried to look innocent. He about to ask another question when a yell came from the office ("DAMN IT, UZUMAKI! DON'T MAKE THIS HARDER THAN IT LOOKS!") and gave a puzzled look when worried looks were exchange between the little pipsqueaks.
"D-Do you think Naruto-sempai's in pain…?"
"Udon-kun, 'Nii-chan's strong! Of course he wouldn't be in pain!"
"D-Demo… he's pregnant, and shouldn't pregnant people be handled with care?"
Hearing those words made Kankuro widen his eyes. He did not even seem to notice that the only girl in the room slapped the heads of her friends yelling at the top of her lungs how idiotic they could be. He did not even notice his siblings and Naruto leaving the office to see what the commotion was about until he saw the blond and yelled out, "You're pregnant!"
--
Naruto stared right back at Kankuro, who was giving him an intense look. Right beside the blond was Temari with an exasperating look on her face as she stared back and forth at her brother and the Kyuubi vessel. Gaara was leaning far off the other wall, watching the scene impassively even though there was a hint of amusement in his eyes. Konohamaru was sporting a black eye and a carrying a bag of ice that was carefully put on the lump on his head whilst Udon was wearing a band-aid on his nose and Moegi looking guilty and apologetic towards the blond male but when venturing her eyesight towards her two teammates, she gave them a dirty look.
"So… why wasn't I informed of this?" Kankuro started, as he gave a suspicious look at Temari and Naruto. He did not get a chance to give the suspicious look towards his brother because the wall Gaara was leaning on was behind him. "I mean, I'm trustworthy, aren't I?" He ignored Temari when she muttered, "Hardly."
"You weren't here at the time when Ero-sennin and I visited Suna, Kankuro…" Naruto patiently said, making the aforementioned had an irritated look in his face since he was not used to Naruto acting calm and rational. "And besides, we were going to tell you sooner… right, Temari? Gaara?"
Rolling her eyes, Temari nodded while the redhead shrugged. She did not really see what the problem was; Kankuro, who was satisfied with their answers, was just being a spoiled brat as usual. She turned towards Naruto while giving him a solemn look. The older shinobi was disappointed with Naruto; he hadn't been eating well (despite the fact that Sakura practically forced him to eat every day ever since she knew about the pregnancy), he hadn't been sleeping well and he was not relaxing despite him drinking the tea Sakura provided for him. Aside from everything, the baby was surprisingly okay.
"Naruto, since you're doing a poor job of taking care of yourself, I made you a list to do every single day and you will follow that until it engraves in your head. You understand me?" Temari said while prodding the other blond with her finger. When he gave a small nod, she commenced on telling him how he should eat, the exercises he should do - since he wouldn't be able to train properly, the time he should sleep and the time he should wake up. Suffice it to say, it was making Naruto irate, even though he appreciated the gesture.
"Onee-san, I think Uzumaki Naruto and his students should rest for a while," Gaara said while leaving the room. "Kankuro will take care of their rooms… after all, you have your own genin team to look after."
"Hey! How come you don't get to help?"
"Kankuro… just shut up for a while! Gaara has work of his own!" Temari rolled her eyes one more time and gave Naruto the paper where his to-do list was written. Patting his cheek and saying bye to her siblings and Naruto's students, the Sand kunoichi left the building to look for her own students.
--
There was something missing, the pink-haired kunoichi realized as she strolled down the streets. She had been busy for the past few days, since she hadn't done a lot of work back at the Hokage Tower for the past few weeks. Busy enough that she only had the time to drag her body back to her apartment, take long bath Lee prepared for her and getting a relaxing massage from her boyfriend.
She always told herself though to check up on Naruto before, during or after work hours, but exhaustion was creeping up to her every single day that Lee once had to carry her back home (not that she minded, of course). And so, when she went to her male best friend's apartment, she was not really expecting it to be empty when she knocked on the door.
Sakura had been knocking on the door for the past ten minutes until a neighbour of Naruto had come out and told her the place was empty for almost a week now.
Frowning and ignoring the feeling of dread that was forming at the pit of her stomach, she headed towards the training fields to see if any of their friends had seen the blond. She hoped nothing bad happened to him, especially since he was now carrying a new life within him. Even though she knew perfectly well that Naruto could take care of himself, and that he's strong enough to beat many opponents, he seems so… fragile and delicate right now (not that she dared admit it right into his face). She didn't know what to do if something bad happened to the male she considered as her brother.
The green-eyed female was relieved when she saw Neji and TenTen sparring and ran towards them.
"Neji-san! TenTen-chan!" she yelled, making the couple stop their kicks and punches with TenTen giving her a warm smile and Neji a small nod of acknowledge. "Ne, have you seen Naruto?" she inquired.
TenTen shook her head in apology as she tried to regain her breath. "Gomen nasai, Sakura-chan. I hadn't seen him anywhere… maybe he's in Ichiraku?" she suggested while thanking Neji when the Hyuuga gave her the water bottle.
Sakura shook her head; the feeling of anxiety was building up by the minute. "Naruto hardly ever goes to Ichiraku anymore… how about you, Neji-san? Have you seen him?"
"Likewise with TenTen. I had not seen him since last week, I believe," Neji replied whilst crossing his arms. He gave a thoughtful look and concentrated. He did not have a proper conversation with the blue-eyed shinobi ever since he came back from his mission. When he usually saw him though, the blond was always with his genin team and training them.
Though, he wondered why was he not a part of the training regime…
"Have you asked anybody else? Maybe he was with Shikamaru or Chouji or Kiba…" TenTen trailed off, when Sakura started to shake her head saying that both Shikamaru and Chouji had a mission and Kiba was spending a lot of time training his students. "Well… what about Lee-kun?"
"He went to a mission as well. He would be back tomorrow," biting her lip, Sakura crossed her arms and looked towards the Hokage Mountain and widened her eyes. Why had she not thought about it before? Resisting the urge to slap her forehead, she said goodbye to the both of them and headed towards the Hokage Tower. She didn't even hear TenTen saying, "We'll look for you if there's any news!"
Meanwhile, TenTen leaned her head on Neji's shoulder and sighed. She felt guilty for not telling Sakura that she had seen Naruto the day he left for Sunagakure with his students. When the blond saw her, he practically pleaded the weapon-using kunoichi to not tell Sakura that he was leaving; she agreed, albeit confused at his reason why he wanted to keep it as a secret from the green-eyed female.
"Did I do the right thing…?" she asked while looking up at her boyfriend's clear eyes. The only thing Neji did was grab her hand, squeezing it tightly and led back to the training field. Thinking about this would probably just make her worry and training should distract her for a bit.
--
"Tsunade-sama!" Sakura entered the Hokage's office only to find it messy all over the place. The only thing she saw aside from the overturned chairs, cluttered paper and cracked glass was Shizune, who was cleaning silently and looking a bit worried over something.
The assistant looked up and smiled tiredly when she saw her old friend's student. "Oh, Sakura you're here. Gomen ne, but Tsunade-sama is resting right now…" she said, as she continued on neatly stacking the finished paperwork on the Hokage's desk.
The pink-haired medic-nin in training entered the office further and started to help out the older woman. "What happened here? It looked like a hurricane had a party or something…" Sakura carefully picked up the broken glasses and placed them inside the garbage bags Shizune presented her with. It really was a mess in here; it seems as if somebody had tried to abduct the Godaime away, which took a very long time trying and failing miserably. "If I may ask again, Shizune-san… demo, what happened here?"
Shizune gave an exasperating look at the wall across from the Hokage's desk - which implies that the Fifth's room was next door - and smiled towards the pink-haired kunoichi. "It seemed like Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama had another fight. I was surprised Jiraiya-sama left without any scratches on his face or any broken limbs at all…" She left out the part where they were talking about a certain blue-eyed blond. Shizune knew if the younger woman knew about Naruto leaving, she would clearly be furious (after all, Naruto hadn't said anything to Sakura about leaving… not even a goodbye).
Sakura gave a curious look at the news she found out. Usually when the two Sannin fight, Jiraiya had more or less injuries with him; it was quite peculiar to hear the white-haired 'author' not have any large bumps in the head or slap marks in the face. "How long has Tsunade-sama been sleeping?" she asked, while taking a broom and sweeping the smaller pieces of glass.
"Oh, just for an hour and a half so far… since she's been working non-stop for a while now, maybe letting her sleep for three more hours is all right. What do you think?"
"She deserves it."
They cleaned for a few more hours until someone had entered the office. Tsunade was finally awake. Rubbing her eyes, she saw two garbage bags right beside the door and her assistant and student resting up and drinking some tea. The Hokage didn't even know how she fell asleep, but she was glad she did; now she felt relaxed, despite the fact that there was a nagging feeling in her stomach…
"Tsunade-sama! How are you feeling?" Shizune asked as she poured some tea for the Sannin when she took a seat right across from Sakura.
Thanking her assistant, she relished the lukewarm drink as she took a sip. When she had woken up, a headache was pounding onto her temple like a nail was being hammered. She was fairly surprised at the neatness of her office as well. She remembered how she got angry with Jiraiya and started throwing things around. Sighing, Tsunade cradled her head and leaned on the armrest. "Where is Jiraiya?" she asked, wondering where her former teammate went.
"Jiraiya-sama came by a little earlier again to see if you had woken up, but when you hadn't he left again, saying he would be back later on," Shizune replied as she offered a slice of fruit towards Sakura who shook her head politely.
The pink-haired girl chewed her lip thoughtfully, while taking another drink of her tea. She knew asking the Hokage on the whereabouts of Naruto would be a bad idea - since she saw how stressed the blonde woman was even though she had taken a long nap - but she was very close to snapping and just yell Naruto's name at the top of her lungs. Earlier she had asked Shizune if she had seen Naruto, but the medic-nin avoided the question like it was the plague. She would either change the subject or ignore her altogether.
"Tsunade?" a voice came from the other side of the door and interrupted Sakura's thoughts as she was contemplating on whether she should ask the Hokage.
"I see you're finally awake," said Jiraiya as he entered the office with his hands in his pockets. He sat down on the last chair and nodded his head in acknowledgement at the other two. "Geez, did you know you looked like a retard when you were throwing things around?" he ignored the dirty glare the blonde gave him and smirked.
Sakura shared a nervous look with Shizune as the two Sannin bickered once again and took another sip of tea. She knew the only thing that would separate them from having a full-blown out war that would ruin the office again was news about Naruto.
Ignoring the feeling of trepidation surfacing through her, Sakura gathered up the courage and asked, "Umm, Tsunade-sama… etto, may I ask a question?" She was glad the Hokage stopped twitching and looked at her kindly.
"What is it, Sakura?"
"Umm, well… I was wondering… have you seen Naruto this past few days?" She was confused when the three people accompanying her exchanged looks. Did they know something she doesn't? "W-What's wrong?"
Tsunade sighed and clasped her hands together, placing them on the surface of the table. She knew she was not supposed to tell… but one way or another her student would have found out anyway and Tsunade wanted her student to from herself rather than other people who had bad intentions (not that Sakura would listen to them, considering she was a close friend to Naruto).
"Listen, Sakura… to tell you the truth, I'm not allowed to reveal this to you…" she started; fully knowing the pink-haired female was listening intently. "But, since you look like you would create a search mob to look for the brat… you need to know this."
Shizune bit her lip and looked at the brown-eyed woman in concern. Even though she had a complete faith towards Tsunade, she could not help but feel stressed. 'I just hope this is the right thing to do, Tsunade-sama…'
"A few days ago, Naruto came to me with his students. It seems that he wanted Konohamaru, Udon and Moegi to learn the outside world, instead of just doing missions inside the village…"
'Where is she going with this…? Don't tell me--' Sakura's thoughts were disrupted when Tsunade cleared her throat to get her attention and continued.
"So, I gave him permission to leave Konohagakure once again… For nine months, he will train his students outside Konoha like the travelling he did with Jiraiya, only shorter."
The phrase 'For nine months' echoed inside Sakura's head as she heard the impending news the Hokage bestowed upon her. She could not even think or speak anymore; she just wanted this dream to be over, or at least let it be some prank. A stupid, cruel prank both Naruto and Konohamaru created to see her flustered with worry; then she could beat the two of them up (Konohamaru most of all because she was afraid she would hurt the unborn child if she punched Naruto).
Why did he hide this from her…? Was it because she disapproved of him leaving? Of course she was greatly against it! The green-eyed kunoichi knew Naruto was independent, and he did not need any kind of assistance whatsoever, but still! With his condition, there was a great risk of him miscarrying the child!
'I know he was strong… and he was not a liability that if he was touched he would break… he could've at least told me… I know I would have disagreed but somehow he would have pleaded and annoyed me until I said yes!' She snorted softly, as she stared at her shaking hands. 'What am I saying…? The old Naruto would have done that, but this is a new Naruto we're talking about…'
The other occupants in the room looked at Sakura in perplexity. They knew Sakura would be ballistic if she found out, but they never expected her to take it calmly (albeit she started to shake a minute earlier).
Tsunade gave her a kind look and poured her student another cup of tea. She did not know what else to say to her. The brown-eyed woman was surprised, however, when Sakura gave a soft chuckle; in fact, she, Jiraiya and Shizune gave her a curious glance.
Why was she laughing?
"Naruto no baka…" Sakura whispered as she wringed her wrists that were situated on her lap. "Leaving Konoha again, without saying goodbye… When I find him, I'm going to kill that idiot… slowly and painfully…" Although she was angry - a simple level of anger was even an understatement - at her former teammate, she could not help but feel scared for him.
What if Akatsuki had found out once again that he left Konoha?
What if they were ambushed already?
Or worse…
What if the blond saw Sasuke once again…?
Subconsciously clenching her fists, Sakura knew that even if Naruto's personality changed he still kept his promise on bringing Sasuke back, despite the fact that she hoped the promise was finally buried, left alone while she and the blond would move on and forget the Uchiha. She more or less did that, with the help of Lee, and was merely worried for an acquaintance now.
Naruto, on the other hand, left for the second time to train, get stronger and look for the dark-haired shinobi… just because of that promise. That stupid promise she made him keep. If it weren't for that promise, maybe none of this would have happened…
If it weren't for that promise, Naruto would not had left for three years and he would have stayed here and moved on with her…
He would not had changed drastically; he would still be the obnoxious blond playing pranks and stuffing his stomach with ramen…
He would not be pregnant, but instead he would settle down, find a nice girl and get her pregnant instead…
'I'm sorry, Naruto… it's all my fault…' Sakura thought, not feeling a tear escaping from her eye. Wiping her eyes to make the welling tears disappear, she looked up fiercely at the confused and worried looks the elder peers had given her.
"Tsunade-sama… there's also something I want to say."
"Err, yes… what is it?"
'Gomen nasai, Naruto… but I will make things right again…'
Taking a deep breath, she looked at her squarely in the eye, a look of secrecy in her own green orbs. "You should had not let Naruto leave Konoha again…" she started, while ignoring the loud thumping of her heart.
The Hokage raised her eyebrow in interest and crossed her arms. "Oh? And why is that?"
'You don't have to carry your own burdens anymore…'
"Because… you should not have let a pregnant person leave, especially when a delicate child is being form inside of them." Sakura watched intensely when Jiraiya spat out the tea he was drinking, and how Tsunade and Shizune gave her a shocked, yet doubtful looks in their eyes.
"What you're saying is preposterous!"
"Then why wouldn't Naruto let you check the seal…? Why was he not training when he came back? Because, if I know Naruto… every chance he gets he would train from sunrise to sunset…"
'And if I make things right… Tsunade-sama and the others must know…'
Tsunade closed her eyes and rubbed her temples furiously. Pregnant? How could it be so? She knew Naruto had a chance of getting pregnant because of Kyuubi, but nevertheless… she knew Naruto would never, ever… She knew he was hiding something… but something this big? Did Jiraiya even know this? Opening her eyes once again, she already found her answer when the white-haired Sannin gave a stunned look towards the Haruno. "If he really was pregnant, then how come he did not tell either Jiraiya or I?" she asked.
"He was afraid… he was afraid that you would not take this nicely - or as normally as he would hope it to be…" Sakura replied while giving a rueful smile. "When he told me, Tsunade-sama… he cried. And Naruto never cries…"
'That idiotic brat,' both Jiraiya and Tsunade thought. The two of them would had been shocked, yes, but they would never be angry; sure, they would be mad - especially Jiraiya, considering this happened under his nose right all along - but they would do everything in their power to help the blond!
"Who else knew?" Shizune managed to ask, as she stared at the pink-haired future medic-nin faintly.
Before Sakura could reply, Tsunade gave a surprising laugh. "Let me guess," she said, while leaning on the table. "His good-for-nothing students knew, right?" When Sakura nodded, Tsunade laughed again until her eye started to twitch.
Standing straight, Tsunade went over to her desk and sat properly, as if she was ready to do business. "Jiraiya, gather every shinobi whom Naruto trusts the most," she ordered, grateful that Jiraiya immediately left. "We're tracking the brat down… even if we have to tie him up and lock him in a chakra-surged room, he will be staying back here in Konoha."
Her brown eyes looked at Sakura. "I'm disappointed with you Sakura… with something as urgent as this, you should have told me…"
"I promised him, Tsunade-sama."
"You broke it anyway."
"…I know."
'And if he found out, Naruto would never forgive me… but nevertheless…' Sakura stood up and bowed to the leader of Konoha and left the room silently, as if nothing had happened.
'I'm sorry, Naruto… for everything.'
--
"I… I'm… Pregnant."
"How many weeks…?"
"Five Weeks."
Itachi frowned as he remembered the conversation he overheard a few weeks ago. It had been weeks already, and those stupid words just kept on plaguing in his mind like a catchy song. It had also been disrupting his performance, making the emotionless missing-nin feel irritated for once.
The worse part was that most of the Akatsuki missing-nin were noticing it as well. Just yesterday, Kisame had asked him if anything was wrong. Of course he had not said anything, but he knew that the shark-faced man doubted him.
Sharpening his last kunai, he stood up and looked at the full moon. The rest of the Akatsuki either went to missions or getting themselves drunk off their asses, while he stood outside the cave entrance and was sharpening his weapons. Kisame and Deidara were inside, no doubt discussing on how to get the Kyuubi. Just thinking of the nine-tailed fox demon made him think of the blond shinobi he had mercilessly pursued.
If one had asked him hypothecally if the reason he was pursuing the blond was because he had feelings for him, Itachi would have probably used the Tsukuyomi on the aforementioned one for wasting his time. But to tell the truth, he did feel something for Uzumaki Naruto…
Lust.
Possessiveness.
Greed.
At first, the only reason he chased the blue-eyed male around was because he wanted to break Naruto inwardly. He had the knowledge of the blond being headstrong and stubborn; Itachi wanted that to crumble into pieces. Then as he continued his cruel routine, he realized that his little brother's hatred for him would increase… considering as much as Sasuke hated to admit it, the blond had crawled into his defences undetected, and the younger Uchiha would let his hatred grow if the elder Uchiha continued to 'visit' Naruto…
But, as the days, weeks, and months went by… he hated the fact that Naruto would do anything to get Sasuke back. It was peculiar for him because Uchiha Itachi was heartless… emotionless, and yet with the simple utter from Naruto about his dearest little brother, it felt as if he wanted Sasuke out of the picture. Out of Naruto's life.
When he found out about the blond's predicament, he knew had to do something about it but what? He could not risk entering Konoha again without being detected, and the worse part was that if the Akatsuki leader found out about the unborn child…
Shaking his head, he entered back inside the cave, ignoring the looks Kisame and Deidara sent him. He sat down at the far end of the tunnel where it was isolated and closed his eyes, hiding the terrifying crimson orbs.
It was then an idea came into his mind… and for some reason he could careless about obtaining the Kyuubi any longer. The fox demon be damned, he had much more important matters to attend to.
Now, Uchiha Itachi had only one mission to do:
Kill Uzumaki Naruto and the unborn child he could consider as his own.
Tsuzuku
Next Chapter: In which we take a look into the past, and see what really want to see...
Crystal: ...Umm, well... that was quite different from what I expected... -laughs nervously and ignores the sounds of a mob forming- Uhh, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and... I will see you all soon! Don't forget to review! -runs away from the screaming mob-