A/N: Well, here's chapter seven, which was accidentally uploaded into my story, "Scared, Are You?" by mistake. I am such a moron. But please...no pity. Just remember I love you guys for reviewing. I have more reviews for this story than any of my others. I just hope that the rest of the anti-Sasuke sadists don't kill me now. Sorry guys, no more puddles of Sasuke-goop. Naruto has decided to get him all better before his sentence is carried out. Whatever that might be.

Legal Stuffiness: I think we've been over this before. I dont' own Naruto. Baka.

Last time…

The silver-haired man blinked. What is going on? Is Naruto finally realizing his potential? How did he grow so much in such a short time? Kakashi laughed. He had captured Sasuke, even though he had never been able to beat him before at anything, and he had made the Godaime agree to his terms. "Kid's full of surprises."

Chapter Seven: Uchiha Legacy

Ino stood on the outskirts of Konoha. She watched as Itachi's dark figure receded into the distance. He had left her, as she knew he would have to. She swore that she would not cry. But as she looked down at the coat in her hands, she had to fight very hard not to. He had left the Akatsuki coat with her. It was his pledge to return. He would come back, one day. When, she did not know, but he would. He would always come back.

She turned back to the village, walking slowly, and laughed to herself. "You always have had the worst luck with men, Ino." She was talking to herself, which made her laugh harder. As she entered the streets of the village again, people stared at her. She was, after all, carrying Itachi's coat. She ignored them. Naruto had told them nothing, but what were they to think, since she was the only one who had accompanied the Uchiha to the edge of town?

None of it mattered to her. She walked through the streets, looking people in the eye, defiantly.

Six weeks later

Shizune nodded. "He's nearly back to his old self, Naruto." Sasuke sat up, looking over at Naruto. The blonde-haired young man smiled. Their relationship had not recovered fully from the events that happened seven weeks prior, but it seemed that Naruto was serious about having him healthy when it came time for the trial. The date of the trial was set for a week from today.

Naruto had brought a few things to the imprisoned Uchiha. He had taken him some clothes, and a few photographs. Sasuke had pasted the photograph of Sakura on the wall, and said prayers in front of it every morning and night, asking for her forgiveness. During the hours when he could sleep, Sakura haunted his dreams, and he would occasionally wake up in the middle of the night, calling her name.

Before he left Konoha, Itachi had come to see him.

"Little brother, be thankful for this second chance. Your friend must care greatly for you, or he would not be doing this." He had looked up at his brother, and seen a great sadness in his eyes. "Do you still want to kill me, Sasuke?"

"Do you truly regret what you did?"

"More than anyone could imagine, except perhaps you, brother. You live with that burden as well, now." His brother's eyes seemed to cloud over, and then he seemed very peaceful.

"Have you found the peace you seek, Itachi?" Itachi's eyes turned once again to his face. He nodded. Sasuke had thought as much. "How?"

"Love." And then he had gone.

He still didn't understand what he had meant by that. Had he found love? Had he learned what love was? Did he mean that he really loved their family? Sasuke sighed. Shizune poked him between two of his ribs.

"What are you sighing for, Uchiha? You better be glad that Naruto did what he did."

"I am, Shizune-san, and I'm grateful. I was just thinking."

Naruto watched as Shizune teased Sasuke. The medic-nin had taken a liking to him. Only Sasuke could add members to his fan club even while in prison for murder. The young jounin rolled his eyes. "Ok, ok. That's enough. Ino asked me to come and get you, Shizune. She isn't feeling well."
Back at Ino's apartment, Naruto sat on her couch, and waited for the two women to come out of the bedroom, where Shizune had been examining Ino. They emerged after nearly half an hour. Both women looked stunned. "Well?" Naruto said testily.

"Um, Ino, would you like to be the one to tell him?" Shizune looked cautiously at the other woman.

"Of course. Naruto, I need you to do me a favor. I need you to find Itachi for me."

Something in Naruto's brain wasn't working correctly. He didn't make any connection between Ino not feeling well and him needing to find Itachi. "Why?"

She smiled slightly, amused by his confusion. "Because I need you to tell him that the Uchiha line is still alive. I need you to tell him that he's going to be a father, Naruto."

That something in his head that hadn't been working suddenly began to work. "Oh, whatthehell? You mean you're pregnant?"

Shizune sniggered, and Ino walked over to him and smacked him. "No, baka, I'm developing a new jutsu. Yes, I'm pregnant. I need you to go and tell him. He can't come back here, but I want him to know."

"But Ino, I can't leave now. Sasuke's trial is next week. I have to be here." Ino's eyes caught on fire. "Ah. I can go after the trial, ok?" Thinking frantically, he said, "Shizune, should she be exerting herself? A lady in her condition should take it easy, right?" Ino and Shizune looked at one another. Shizune grudgingly nodded. Ino stared daggers at Naruto. He silently thanked Shizune that she had agreed with him. "I'll go as soon as I can, Ino. I promise."

That seemed to placate her. His head was swimming. After a minute or two, it seemed to sink in that Ino was having Itachi's child, and the thought really didn't seem that odd anymore. "Ino, you know what to name it if it's a girl, right?"

She smiled. "Sakura, of course."

Shizune smiled, and asked, "What if it's a boy?"

"I guess I'll name him…Itachi, after his dad."

"Why not name the kid Naruto?" He smiled insolently at her.

Both women looked at him, and said at precisely the same instant, "One's enough!" That made all three of them laugh. Shizune gave Ino some medicine for her morning sickness, and then she and Naruto left. They walked down the street, and Naruto was feeling in one of his old trouble-starting moods.

"So, Shizune-san, are you going to see Sasuke again today?"

"I have my orders to check him twice daily, yes."

"Orders? What orders? I only remember the Hokage telling you to go once a day." His tone was full of suggestion. She looked at him with her eyes narrowed.

"What are you insinuating, baka?"

"What does that mean? Stop using such big words, Shizune-san." He was preparing to run, because he knew she was going to hit him soon.

"Shut up, Naruto."

"Shizune, do you like him?" Naruto was serious now.

"I don't know." She was watching the ground as they walked. "Does it matter? He's probably going to die soon."

His anger rose, flooding his face. "Of course it matters! Even if he is going to die, you should tell him. Especially if he's going to die. He needs us, Shizune. Tell him." She was still watching at the ground, refusing to look at him. "I have to go home now. When I go to see Sasuke tomorrow, I hope that he's happy." His statement was more of an order, and Shizune looked at him, her mouth hanging open.

As he walked, he thought of what had happened the day they took off the chakra beads.

"Raido, lock the door." Naruto turned to the man, nodding. As the key turned in the door, he looked over at Kakashi, who was leaning on the wall in the corner. Sasuke sat on the bed, and had just finished his first meal in more than a week. "Alright. Like I said, I don't know what's going to happen. Just keep an eye out for anything strange."

He reached for the beads, and as his hands touched them, he felt the overwhelming amount of chakra that had built up within them. Swallowing audibly, he took hold of them, and unwrapped them quickly from Sasuke's neck, effectively canceling the jutsu. Sasuke fainted, and Naruto tried but could not let go of the beads. The chakra flowed into him, flooding his tenketsu, and he swayed on his feet. "Ka-Kakashi, um, I'm feeling a little sick."

The feeling passed quickly, but he still felt a little odd. His former sensei pushed himself off of the wall, chuckling. "Have we learned our lesson about creating new jutsus?" Naruto nodded. "You two…" He shook his head. Naruto pushed himself to his feet.

"Now. We have a lot of work to do, Kakashi. When he wakes up, we have to get him back to his former strength." When the silver-haired man began to protest, he said, "That's enough, Kakashi. We have to. Sakura would want it this way."

Naruto walked into Sasuke's cell to see a very stunned Sasuke sitting on his cot. "Oi, Sasuke. What's wrong with you?" The dark-haired young man turned his eyes to Naruto. He saw in those eyes surprise and shock.

"Sh-Shizune-san was just here." He pulled nervously at the collar of his shirt. Naruto wondered for a moment what had happened. "She kissed me."

Naruto laughed. "And?"

"And what?"

"And did you like it?" Naruto had his characteristic smile plastered across his face, the one that meant trouble.

Sasuke's shocked look evaporated. "Of course I liked it. Why wouldn't I?" His eyes narrowed at Naruto. "Are you starting on that shit again where you think I'm gay?"

Naruto held up his hands in a defensive gesture. "Oh, so you're not, then? I mean, I know that you lived with nothing but men over in the Sound Village pretty much, and Orochimaru seemed like the type to like boys."

The dark-haired young man stared daggers at him, but he blushed. "Oh, he did. I had to sleep with one eye open for a while. Then I had exploding tags around my door at night. Then he stopped trying. Bastard." Sasuke shivered in disgust, sticking out his tongue.

Naruto's old liking for his friend was beginning to return. He decided to let him in on Ino's condition. "Sasuke, I guess I should congratulate you." The other man looked at him in utter confusion. "You're going to be an uncle."

"Huh? Itachi?"

The blonde shinobi nodded. "Uh-huh. Itachi…and Ino."

"Ino? You mean Yamanaka Ino, that annoying girl that Sakura was always bitching at?" He stared incredulously at Naruto. Naruto simply nodded. "But…he can't come back. He's a missing-nin. What will happen to the child?"

"I suppose that the kid will end up a Yamanaka. Ino's mom and dad don't know yet, but I'm sure they'll be furious. Then again, she doesn't seem to care. She even said she'll name it after him if it's a boy." Naruto sat on the cot next to the stunned Uchiha. "Then again, if you're given an easy sentence, you could help out once you get out of jail. Just think about it. 'Uncle Sasuke.'"

Sasuke wrinkled his nose. "I don't have much choice in the matter. I'm going to be an uncle, alive or dead. In any case, the Uchiha will live on." He laughed harshly. "I can't believe that my brother…Ino? Damn. I never really saw anything special about her, but whatever floats his boat, so to speak. Shit. Naruto, you know I was a total jackass, right?"

Nodding, Naruto said, "Yup."

"And you know that now, I would never do those things, right?"

"Yup."

"I guess I have to be grateful to him. Itachi, I mean. He helped me regain my sanity, even if I had to go insane first." He looked behind himself at Sakura's picture. "It hurts. Looking at her. But I need that pain. I need to remember it. I still can't believe that I killed her." His shoulders slumped, and he ran his fingers through his now-long hair.

Naruto smiled, squeezing Sasuke's arm. "You know that girl? The one we crashed through her window?" Sasuke nodded. "Well, I'm kind of…with her now." Sasuke's eyes widened.

"You work fast, Naruto."

"Uh-uhn. She made the first move, not me. I didn't trust myself with her, because she looks so much like Sakura. Then I let her sleep over while her window was being fixed, and I woke up to see her stark naked in my bedroom. It just kind of fell into place from there." Sasuke's eyes bulged.

"You're not serious."

"As a heart attack."

"What are you two talking about?" The two men turned their heads guiltily toward the female voice coming from the doorway of the cell. It was Ino. Sasuke stood quickly from his seat on the cot, and rushed as over to Ino.

"Is it true, Ino?" He asked excitedly. Man, Naruto thought, he's really psyched to be an uncle. She smiled, nodding. Sasuke looked happy. He turned to Sakura's picture on the wall again. Shaking his head, he said, "I know she's doing this. She has to be. How else would you explain everything that's been happening?" All three of them seemed to agree, without saying anything. They'd all been thinking it, really. Naruto looked over at the picture on the wall. She seemed to be smiling wider than before.

Kakashi and Kurenai, Hinata and Neji, Naruto and Risa, Ino and Itachi. Now, apparently even Shizune and Sasuke. Sakura most definitely was taking a hand in things. All that was left was for Tsunade to find a man, and then things would get a little too happy. But then Naruto thought about it for a moment, and realized that the chances of Tsunade-baba ever finding a man willing to put up with her violent attitude was slim to none. That is unless Ero-sennin ever got through to her.

"It is, and as soon as your trial is done, and you're able to get on with your sentence, Naruto is going to go and find him. He has to know." Ino now seemed worried. "He's your brother. How do you think he'll react?"

Sasuke frowned, shrugging. "It's been a long time since he left. I really couldn't say. As far as I know, he'll want to visit as often as he can. I know that if it was me, I sure would." His tone had become one of envy. It was clear that he did not expect to live much longer, even if he did get a fair trial. He was not the favorite person among the people of Konoha. Not only did he leave the village, but he took over Orochimaru's position at the head of the village of Sound. While having been in that position for only one year, he had tried to carry out some pretty nasty plans, though none of them really worked. As an evil mastermind, he was a complete failure.

In the capacity of the leader of Sound, he'd always thought that Kabuto would be better. Now, since he was back here and on the verge of being executed as far as he knew, the silver-haired medic had most likely stepped in to fill the void. He licked his lips nervously. "Naruto?"

"Hmn?"

Sasuke turned to him, and said, "I think, if I know Kabuto, that he's planning something."

The sunny-haired man jerked upright, his face going from a lazy smile to a serious frown in an instant. He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I lived and worked with him for a long time, Naruto. I think I know a situation that he would find opportune. It would be prudent for the village to be on the lookout for him, I think." Sasuke was fiddling with the hem of his shirt, twisting it back and forth in his hands. He had developed a nervous habit of wringing whatever cloth was nearest him since his sessions with Itachi.

Naruto rose quickly, walking purposefully to the door. "Raido!" He yelled, and the other jounin came running. "Lemme out. I gotta go and talk to the Hokage." The man smiled, his scar twisting. As he turned the key in the door, he leaned close to the man's ear and whispered something to him. Then, he took off at a run, making for the Hokage's tower.

Ino looked at Sasuke and shook her head. "He's not the old Naruto anymore, is he, Saskue?" The dark-haired man shook his head. It would seem that he was not the old silly Naruto anymore…or at least not entirely. The woman smiled, nodding. "I guess that Risa is a good influence."

"Tell me about her, Ino."

A/N: UH-OH. Did I just turn Sasuke into a decent human being? OOPS. That's really out of character, isn't it? evil grin But it's ok. It's all for a good cause.