Exodus Part 3
By EDelta88
Yuki no Kuni, A.S. 1113
Uzumaki Naruto was a naturally warm person. She was cheerful, she enjoyed being kind and helping people. If you let her, she would talk your ear off about everything and everything for hours at a time.
Uzumaki Naruto was also, quite literally, a human space heater… which was a mixed blessing.
"Stupid Snow Country," Naruto murmured, glaring out the window of the room she was sharing with Sakura at the fat snowflakes drifting lazily through the air.
See, the thing about being warm all the time is that you never learn to tolerate being cold. In most cases, it's never a problem because you just generate enough heat to ignore it. However, on those occasions where the conditions overpower your constitution, you aren't accustomed to dealing with it.
"Stupid river," Naruto grumbled, trying to get comfortable under her veritable mountain of blankets as she tried to ignore the bone-deep chill that had stubbornly clung too her since her impromptu bath in the middle of the frozen wilderness.
She shouldn't have been able to fall through the ice in the first place! The ice was nearly five feet thick in some places but somehow, she had found a well-used watering hole hidden under a thin sheet of ice and a layer of snow.
"Stupid wind," Naruto hissed, curling into herself in a vain attempt to consolidate body heat and warm her fingers and toes.
She'd only fallen in up to her waist before recovering and had changed into fresh clothes almost immediately, but the moisture she hadn't managed to remove and the steady winds of Snow Country had stripped her of her usual protective surplus of body heat. Worse, they'd been only a few kilometers from their destination and close to nightfall. So, she hadn't been able to work in a little extra physical activity to compensate.
"Stupid Kakashi-sensei," she muttered, flopping petulantly as she glared at the ceiling.
Kakashi-sensei had assured her that she wasn't in any danger. She had avoided hypothermia for the most part and her body temperature was "normal enough." She would simply be a little uncomfortable.
"Screw this," Naruto decided, snatching her favorite wool blanket from her nest and wrapping it around herself as she padded out of the room and across the hall. Slipping silently into the boys' room, she took a moment to let her eyes readjust to the gloom. Then, ignoring Kakashi-sensei's untouched bed, Naruto marched right up to where she could see Sasuke's head peeking out from under a thick quilt and crawled up onto the mattress next to him.
"We're on a mission, dobe," Sasuke grumbled, not even bothering to open his eyes.
"I'm cold," Naruto whined as she burrowed underneath the covers.
Sasuke cracked a single eye open to stare at her. "You're never cold," he replied, his tone caught somewhere between denial and curiosity.
"Tell that to stupid Snow Country and its stupid snow," Naruto hissed venomously. "And it's stupid booby-trapped rivers and its stupid warmth stealing wind."
Sasuke quirked a brow at her. "I thought Kakashi-sensei said you were fine?"
Naruto huffed and slipped her hands under the hem of Sasuke's nightshirt, very pointedly running her clammy fingers up his spine.
Sasuke's brow ticked ever so slightly higher. Naruto's fingers felt… almost normal, maybe a little cool, but nothing noteworthy.
Except that Naruto always, always felt like she had a fever.
"No funny business," Sasuke ordered, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her close.
Naruto gave an appreciative hum deep in her chest as she buried her nose in the crook of his neck, molding her body to his as she mischievously whispered, "This would work better without clothes, you know."
"Hn," Sasuke grunted, ignoring the way her breath danced over his skin and her words went straight to his groin.
Naruto grinned victoriously as she felt the results of her efforts. Then, she gave a contented yawn and quickly drifted off to sleep.
Sasuke released a long, calming breath and soon followed her.
Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai Barracks, A.S. 1122
Sasuke woke with a start a moment before the light in his room flicked on.
"Uchiha! Grab your shit! Border patrol just reported a spike of the Kyuubi's chakra East by South-East off the Sansho peninsula!"
'Naruto!' Sasuke thought, snatching his weapons and gear as the pleasant contentment of his dream of their mission to Snow Country faded, buried under a sea of worries.
They hadn't been so much as a peep about Naruto other than the times that Jiraiya had made sure to be seen with a decoy of her over the years. Ignoring those few red herrings, there hadn't been a single sign of her…
And now she had gone full jinchuuriki on someone.
Adrenaline hummed in Sasuke's veins as he strapped his sword to his back on the way out the door less than two minutes after being woken up. 'You better be alright or I'll kill you myself, usuratonkachi,' he thought with a scowl as he dashed down the hall to meet the rest of the team.
Hours Later…
Team Shikamaru reached their destination in record time, crossing the sea to the Land of Eddies with relative ease with a little help from Sasuke's eagles. They had made plans to perform a systematic search, hoping to find evidence of Naruto's presence or, ideally, a trail that might lead them to her. Instead…
Instead, they walked into a warzone.
"Holy fucking hell..." Kiba whispered as they all stood on a hill overlooking what used to be a lush coastline bordered by hills and forests.
Now it was a barren stretch of mud pockmarked by craters, charred stums, and splintered wood scattered over a warped landscape.
"You can say that again," Chouji said as they all took a moment to just appreciate the sheer devastation that now surrounded them.
"I have something," Neji said. "It's… distinct, but I'll need Sasuke to confirm."
"Right," Shikamaru grunted. "Chouji, Kiba, Akamaru? Split up and search the area while we check this out. Stay in sight of each other."
The rest of the team nodded and scattered.
"This way," Neji murmured, leading the team toward an anomaly.
What they found…
"Fuck," Sasuke hissed, staring down at the black fire lining the bottom of one of the craters as it turned the sand to glass.
Shikamaru grimaced. "Sasuke, is that…"
Sasuke nodded. "Amaterasu," he confirmed, already scanning the area with his Sharingan active.
"Well, fuck," Shikamaru muttered, echoing Sasuke's sentiments.
"Uh… guys? I think I found something!" Kiba called over the radio.
"Please tell me it's a body in an Akatsuki cloak?" Sasuke responded as he adjusted his throat mic.
"Well, you got the cloak bit right," Kiba answered. "Looks like someone was playing with fire and wasn't very careful!"
Sasuke, Neji, and Shikamaru exchanged frowns at that.
Naruto had been absolute shit at fire ninjutsu.
"Kiba," Shikamaru called. "Confirm, the cloak has fire damage?"
"Oh yea, most of it's gone!"
Shikamaru scowled in thought. "Chouji, meet me near the center of this mess and start setting up base camp," he ordered over the radio. "Everyone else, spiral pattern search and meet us in the center. Give me the description and location of any other anomalies you find. I need to map this shit."
With a few hurried affirmatives, everyone rushed off, carefully combing the battlefield for anything interesting as they went and relaying it to Shikamaru as they went.
Almost three hours later, they met at base camp to find Shikamaru glaring down at a sketch of the area as if the meticulously marked and cataloged information on it had personally offended him.
"Bad news?" Kiba asked.
"This makes absolutely no sense," Shikamaru muttered.
"What about it doesn't make sense?"
"Neji, you're sure you only found the Kyuubi chakra here?" Shikamaru demanded, stabbing a finger at the point near the center of the battlefield.
Neji nodded.
"What the fuck, Naruto?" Shikamaru hissed, scrubbing his hands over his face.
Chouji looked up from the pot where he was stewing curry. "Anyone have any idea why he's getting so grumpy?" he asked, pointing his ladle at Shikamaru. "He started muttering about the time you guys figured out that someone had used a ton of seawater for a jutsu and is too wrapped up in his own head to tell me what's going on."
"Naruto wasn't part of the fight," Sasuke answered, surveying the battlefield once more with a thoughtful frown.
"What makes you say that?"
"Not enough tracks," Sasuke replied. "She abuses Kage Bunshin the way Kiba abuses the free tissues in the barracks-"
"Oi!" Kiba cried even as the others chuckled.
"-but the tracks make it look like there were only two people fighting. Four at most," Sasuke explained. "Also, there's a lot of damage to the area but absolutely none of it is from Rasengan. There's no way Naruto could get through a fight like this without using it at least a few times."
"Which means she was either being transported through the area and someone intervened," Shikamaru concluded, still glaring down at his paper. "Or… she is the one that intervened."
Kiba nodded. "Considering the body-shaped dent where Neji found her chakra and the tracks around it? My money is on her jumping in to stop the fight."
"Yeah, that sounds like Naruto," Chouji chuckled, shaking his head.
"I'm inclined to agree," Neji spoke up as he massaged his temples.
"Two months of mission salary says she adopted a pair of S-Rank criminals," Sasuke drawled.
"No bet!" the rest of the group chorused. They'd learned their lesson after he'd fleeced them with that bet on their way to the Land of the Moon.
In their defense, they'd had no reason to believe the outlandish rumors about what Team 7 had done in the former Land of Snow.
"So…" Kiba sighed, staring down at Shikamaru's map. "At least one Akatsuki agent fought a fire user. At least one of the people fighting was Uchiha Itachi. Another is a person who likes overpowered water jutsu… and near the end of this, Naruto jumps in and flexes her jinchuuriki mojo to end the fight but doesn't do any fighting herself?"
"More or less," Shikamaru replied.
"She wasn't a sensor type, was she?" Neji asked.
Sasuke shrugged. "She was never tested as far as I know," he replied. "But considering the scale of things? She wouldn't have had to be too close to notice."
"But she would need to be in the area," Neji observed, his eyes straying to the horizon.
"Where are we anyway?"
"Just south of the ruins of Uzushiogakure," Shikamaru replied automatically. Then, not a second later, a shrewd, contemplative look crossed his face before glancing around the group. "You don't think…"
Kiba blinked, confused. "What?"
"It's certainly possible," Neji admitted. "As far as I know, no one has inspected the ruins in quite some time."
Sasuke gave his teammate a dull stare. "You're telling me that, in the time since she went missing, no one has thought to check her ancestral home?"
"That is what the reports say," Shikamaru replied, frowning thoughtfully.
"Well, no one ever accused military intelligence of actually being intelligent," Sasuke grumbled sullenly, though his words lacked any real bite.
Shikamaru's lip twitched, suppressing a smile. "That said, given what we've found here? It's more likely that whoever did investigate simply didn't find anything… or didn't tell anyone."
"One month's salary that she convinced them to help her?" Sasuke asked with a smirk.
"No bet!" everyone cried.
"I need a new team," Sasuke complained even as he suppressed a smile. "You guys are boring."
"Nah, we're just wise to your scam," Chouji chuckled.
"Never bet against Naruto," Kiba chipped in, affecting a sagely tone. Then he sobered. "But seriously, guys. What are you talking about?" he demanded with a look of consternation.
"Uzushiogakure was the ancestral homeland of the Uzumaki clan," Chouji explained. "They're thinking that Naruto might have been hiding there the entire time and either someone dropped the ball or someone in Konoha is helping her stay off the radar."
"Hiding in a place so obvious that everyone with half a brain would think it was a stupid idea?" Kiba drawled. "Yeah, that has Naruto written all over it. How does she always pull this kind of shit and get away with it?"
"Talent," Chouji quipped.
"More like the devil's luck," Sasuke murmured, shaking his head as the others gave him odd looks. "Remind me to tell you some of the stories about when Kakashi took us gambling."
Two Days Later…
"What? Ain't no girls livin' alone in these parts. Ain't safe! Or practical, neither! Though, I s'pose if she was a ninja like yer say'n she were, maybe that wouldn't be s'much a problem? But still, I ain't seen no girlies like that round here."
"You're sure?"
"You kiddin me boy?" the old inn keeper laughed. "Exotic girl like that with blonde hair? She'd stick out like a sore thumb in these parts! The boys two islands over would be talking 'bout her. She'd never get a moment's peace!"
Sasuke nodded, offering the man a polite smile. "Thank you for your time."
"Sure thing lad!" the old timer replied before wandering off to deal with another customer.
Sasuke sighed, sullenly scratching another settlement off his map as he made his way out of town.
The decision had been made to split up in order to cover more ground. Shikamaru himself had headed north to see if he could find anything in the Disputed Territories and sent Neji had back to the mainland to check through the ports. Meanwhile, Kiba and Chouji had gone to the Land of Hot Springs to sniff around and chat up the local merchants respectively in case Naruto or anyone else involved in the fight had passed through. Which left Sasuke to double back, double checking the Land of Eddies as he circled south.
So far? No luck whatsoever. The closest he'd gotten to a lead were a few fishermen who had noticed the fight and given it a very wide berth.
"You'd think people would remember a boisterous girl with bright blonde-"
"Having some trouble?" someone asked.
Sasuke whirled around, Sharingan glowing malevolently to face the voice without a presence as he started a string of hand seals...
"Don't be foolish, this is merely a Kage Bunshin," Uchiha Itachi chided as he stared lazily back at Sasuke from the trees that bordered the road. "And we are very much alone."
Sasuke paused, eyes flicking around to confirm they were in fact alone. "Itachi…" Sasuke growled, glaring daggers at his brother.
"Otouto," Itachi greeted, meeting his brother's gaze dispassionately. "...You've gotten taller."
"That does tend to happen after a few years," Sasuke drawled, smirking as he realized that he was actually taller than his brother by an inch or so. "You know, puberty and all that. Vegetables and exercise. That sort of thing."
"You have my sympathies."
Sasuke quirked a brow at his brother. "Of all the things… puberty?" Of all the shitty things in his life, his brother chose to offer condolences about puberty?
Itachi shrugged. "Between the two, objectively puberty was worse," the S-Rank criminal quipped.
After all, there was no therapy for puberty.
"What do you want, Itachi?" Sasuke demanded tiredly. "I'm not in the mood for your games today."
"There is something you should see," Itachi told him seriously. "There is a small country due south of here. I believe you are familiar with it."
Sasuke frowned. South? That was… "The Land of Waves?"
"Yes," Itachi confirmed with a curt nod. "It has grown exponentially in recent years and has become a favored port for trade and resupply. I'm told it's something to do with the taxes… In any case, when you visit-"
"I never said I was going to-"
"When you visit," Itachi repeated emphatically, "pay close attention to the goings on in the northernmost settlements of the island. I would also suggest that you take care not to be recognized as a shinobi and especially not as Uchiha Sasuke."
"What am I looking for?" Sasuke demanded suspiciously.
"Something of great interest to you… I'm sure you'll know when you find it."
Poof!
"Sometimes, I really want to gut him," Sasuke growled, shaking his head in frustration even as he turned south toward the Land of Waves. The cryptic bastard never gave him a straight answer to anything! Not about the suspicious reports he'd found in the Anbu archives. Not about the suspicious shit he'd found hidden in the Uchiha district. Not even about Sharingan! Even after he'd had the audacity to kidnap Sasuke, trick him into awakening Mangekyo Sharingan, and transplant their eyes, he got nothing! Not a single useful answer! He was beginning to suspect that Uchiha Itachi didn't understand how to give a straight answer.
Nami no Kuni…
Sasuke massaged his temples in frustration as he continued through his third port settlement as he considered (not for the first time) that Itachi had sent him on a wild goose chase for the fun of it.
Nothing.
No one here even had a reason to think about knowing anything about anything outside their little slice of the world. As far as they were concerned, they fished, they traded, and they did chores. Most of the people he'd met were so downright boring that half of them didn't even know how to read!
'Just a few more and then I'm going to break for the night,' Sasuke decided as he selected a pair of merchants that had a particularly delicious-smelling selection of smoked salmon and prayed for a miracle. "I'm looking for anyone who might know something about the incident south of the Land of Eddies?" Sasuke asks as he pays for his fish.
The younger fishmonger snorts. "Good luck with that. There ain't many people who go near those parts anymore. Th' say it's haunted and the maelstroms make if dangerous for fishin' on a good day."
"What about that little lass you were sniffin' after? Nami? She goes out that way, doesn't she?" the elderly man chips in as he writes down their transaction
"Hell if I know. She refuses to speak with me anymore," the younger man says a little bitterly. "But I wouldn't put it past that crazy shrew. You'd think having a child out of wedlock would have calmed her down and put some sense in that head of hers."
The older man just laughs. "Still sore she turned you down, eh?" he chuckled with a knowing smile. "You're both better for it, boy. Free-spirited girl like that ain't never going to settle down and be a good little wife. Too much energy. Too many ideas. Too many things they want to do. Takes a special kind of crazy to get in bed with that sort, and you? You ain't it, ha!"
Sasuke only just managed to suppress a victorious cry. Finally! Finally, something that might be useful. Thrill-seeking fisherman? That sounded like the exact sort of person that would brave the whirlpools and stick around to watch a fight between high-class ninja. "Do you know where I might find her?"
"I wouldn't suggest it," the fishmonger replied, giving Sasuke a sour look. "She ain't good at taking orders."
Sasuke blinked, nonplussed as he stared at the other man.
The surly fishmonger glared back as his old partner rolled his eyes behind him.
Sasuke frowned. Well, that was just… Then understanding struck him and he had to suppress a laugh. Oooh, the fishmonger thought he was competition! That was just precious. As if he couldn't toss him into the sea without much effort. Even if there was any chance of this closed-minded punk having a chance with… Nami? That sort of attitude and insecurity would chase away any woman. Honestly? It was kind of pathetic. "Just point me in her direction and I'll be on my way," Sasuke said as he fought valiantly to keep from rolling his eyes.
"You ain't—' the fishmonger started only for the old man to cut him off.
"Jus' take the east road," the old timer told him. "You'll have to keep an eye out though. She lives on a cove just outside of town. Easy to miss if you don't know what you're looking for."
'Smart,' Sasuke thought as he thanked the older man. A young woman living alone would be a tempting target. One living in an isolated dwelling… well, that didn't bear thinking about. Keeping her home out of sight would keep passersby from taking advantage.
Shouldn't be that hard to find if he knew what he was looking for.
Well, either this Nami was some kind of idiot savant at camouflaging structures or Sasuke was absolute shit at finding them.
"Damn you to the pit, Itachi," Sasuke sighed as the little town came back into view.
He'd gone miles up the coast, miles of checking every little inlet he saw, and not a single sign! Then he'd done it again on the way back with Sharingan active and still he had found nothing.
This was all Itachi's fault. Sasuke didn't know how, but he was sure his brother, wherever he was, was laughing at him.
Groaning in defeat, Sasuke cast around for a solution and the closest thing he got was a group of children playing in a field just outside the village. "Well, beggars can't be choosers," he sighed, shaking his head as he scanned the field. Most of the older children were playing a game with a ball. They probably wouldn't be too helpful if he interrupted them. There was a group of girls off to the side…
That were all whispering to each other and casting quick little glances at Sasuke as they giggled.
'Yeah, hell no,' Sasuke decided as he walked closer. He did not need that kind of attention. There was one kid off by himself, a younger kid with black hair that was playing some kind of game in the dirt with sticks and marbles.
That would have to do.
"Hey there, I'm Sasuke? What's your name?" Sasuke greeted as he walked up beside the boy and made a show of being interested in the game. It almost looked like the marbles were fighting each other around the sticks? Huh, maybe he'd ask about that.
"I'm Kairyu," the boy replied, not looking up from his game.
"Nice to meet you Kairyu. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" Sasuke asked, frowning when the kid didn't look up or answer him.
"My mommy said I shouldn't talk to strangers," the boy explained when Sasuke didn't leave.
Sasuke chuckled. Don't talk to strangers? Good advice, but not very effective though. "That's very good advice. Your mother must be a very smart person."
"Yup! She's the greatest!" Kairyu chirped happily as he tossed a marble into the dirt, bounding it off of one of the sticks and hitting a different colored marble out of the circle drawn around the game.
"But, you know, I introduced myself, remember?" Sasuke pointed out, crouching low to be closer to Kairyu's level. "So, I'm not really a stranger anymore, right?"
"I guess..." the boy admitted, still keeping his eyes on his game. Sasuke thought he could see the boy frowning. "But I still don't know you so good. So, I dunno…"
Sasuke considered moving closer, moving into the boy's line of vision, but decided against it. Eye contact and showing benign body language could help, but pressuring people while fishing for information caused problems and Sasuke didn't want to risk causing a scene. 'Well, at least his parents aren't raising a total fool,' Sasuke thought grudgingly. He was young, he could learn. Hell, maybe Sasuke would give him a little advice about how to safely handle new people before he left. "Alright buddy, I can understand that… are your parents around? I still have some questions, maybe they could answer them?" he tried. If the parents could raise a child this suspicious, maybe they had noticed something he could use.
"Mommy's working, she's a fisherman!" Kairyu informed him happily.
"What about your daddy?" Sasuke tried. Hopefully, the boy's father wasn't dead, that would make this really awkward. "Is he around? Maybe I could talk to him?"
"Nope, never even met him," the boy replied.
Sasuke winced. 'Smooth, Uchiha. Real smooth,' he thought caustically. "I'm sorry to hear that," he responded, injecting real sympathy into his voice. After all, he knew better than anyone what missing family could feel like.
The boy shrugged. "It's no big deal," he said, sounding like he genuinely didn't mind. "He's a ninja! But mommy says he's far away and really busy so I can't see him till I'm older."
Sasuke Blinked, surprised by the boy's candor. "When you're older?" he asked, somewhat confused as a curious thought struck him. "How old are you anyway?" When was this kid's mother planning to introduce the boy to his father? When he entered the academy?
The kid paused tapping his chin thoughtfully as he counted on his fingers. Then, with a wide smile, he turned his bright crystal blue eyes up at Sasuke and said very proudly "I'm seven but I'll be eight soon," he chirped proudly.
Sasuke barely heard him, frozen stiff by the boy's eyes...
Naruto's eyes.
Then the moment of shock passed and Sasuke's mind started racing. 'Seven plus a few months… eight. Eight years,' Sasuke calculated as a steadily growing feeling of dread spread through him. 'No way. That can't be it…' he thought desperately as he studied the boy. The boy had jet black hair, as black as Sasuke's, that swept back in a wild riot of chaos that could have come from the Uchiha or any of a dozen other clans. He had a jaw and cheekbones like Naruto's but Sasuke couldn't be sure without a picture to compare to. The eyes though… he knew those eyes and he dreaded what they could mean.
Because, if he was right…
If he was right, the safest thing for everyone would be the anonymity of ignorance. If he was right, the best thing Sasuke could do for Kairyu would be to leave this island and pretend he'd never returned to the Land of Waves. Sasuke couldn't reveal a secret he didn't know.
But he had to know.
"Kairyu, what…. What's your mommy's name?" he asked, unable to stop himself.
The kid looked at him like he was stupid. "Mommy's name is mommy," the boy told him.
Sasuke choked on a hysterical bark of laughter.
It was just so perfectly childish. So perfectly-
"Kairyu!"
Sasuke whipped around at the shout, hand instinctively straying toward his weapons hidden beneath his clothes before he stopped himself as his eyes fell on the woman who could only be Kairyu's mother. She was Sasuke's age, just barely shorter than him, lithe but powerful. She held herself with a balance and confidence that betrayed a certain level of military training. Her hair was a glossy black like raven's wings but had a familiar wildness to it. Her cheeks looked smooth and unblemished, but the shape of her face and her eyes…
He knew them. He knew them intimately.
"Kairyu… come here," the woman ordered, staring Sasuke down as she beckoned her son to her.
Sasuke swallowed thickly, a painful lump forming in his throat as he watched Kairyu jog up to the young woman. Her tone had been soft but commanding, kind but brooking no argument. It was a tone Sasuke remembered his own mother using more than once.
"Sweetheart," she murmured to the boy as she handed him a few coins, never taking her eyes off Sasuke. "Why don't you run into town and buy a few sweets for dessert? Your new friend and I need to have a little chat, in private."
Kairyu frowned looking between his mother and Mr. Sasuke. Then he gave a shrug. "Okay, mommy," he said before running off. Leaving the two adults alone.
"Naruto..." he murmured, hardly believing that it was really her.
"Sasuke," Naruto acknowledged guardedly. Then she turned away, careful to keep him in her peripheral vision as she strode away from him. "This way," she said, leading him away from the other children and into the wilderness.
Sasuke followed without a word, watching her weave through the trees at a pace that was just a little too quick for a civilian as she continuously scanned their surroundings. 'She's making sure I'm alone,' he realized. Not that he could blame her. The last time they had seen each other hadn't exactly been peaceful.
Then she stopped, turning to face him, eyes flicking to either side one last time before turning her full attention on him.
Neither of them spoke at first, they just stood there studying each other.
Finally, Sasuke broke the silence. "You… you look good," he observed, unable to think of anything better to say.
The corner of Naruto's mouth twitched. "Thank you, I've been… staying in practice."
Sasuke couldn't help the laugh that escaped him at that proclamation. He really didn't know why he was surprised. Because of course, it didn't matter that she was on the run or that she was trying to keep a low profile and her child, nothing and no one was going to keep Uzumaki Naruto from her training. "Of course, you have," he chuckled, wiping his eyes of the beginnings of tears.
Naruto quirked her brow in a way that was just so very… Naruto.
Sasuke snorted, rolling his eyes. "Some things never change, eh?" he chuckled.
The corner of Naruto's mouth ticked up as she tried not to get distracted. "I guess so," she replied with a sad smile. "Then again, some things do," she continued, watching him closely. "Don't they." It wasn't a question…
It was a challenge.
Sasuke glanced off to the side, toward the village… toward the spot where Kairyu had vanished. "Some things do," he agreed distractedly.
"What are you doing here, Sasuke?" Naruto demanded, her voice soft but commanding.
Sasuke shrugged. "We found the remains of a battlefield-"
"We?" Naruto interrupted, her eyes flicking around them suspiciously.
"Shikamaru's team. We're the only ones who really know about you. So, whenever something comes up, we're the ones Tsunade sends to check it out," Sasuke explained. Then, when she didn't seem to relax, "They're… not close by."
"Then why are you here?" she demanded, eyes narrowed suspiciously.
Sasuke shrugged helplessly. "Itachi showed up out of nowhere and… said there was something here I should see."
Naruto scowled thunderously. "Of course, he did," she muttered harshly. "Of course, he did! Why wouldn't he? The meddling mother hen. Oh, I'm going to strangle him the next time I see him."
"Naruto?" Sasuke ventured, momentarily putting aside the knowledge that she was apparently in contact with his brother to the point that she expected to see him sometime relatively soon.
"What?!" Naruto barked.
"Kairyu… he's yours?" Sasuke asked in a brittle voice.
Naruto tensed, turning away and refusing to meet Sasuke's gaze. "Yes," she answered, her voice hard, possessive.
"Is he-" Sasuke's voice failed him for a moment, caught behind a painful ache in his throat. Swallowing to clear it, he took a deep, fortifying breath and tried again. "Is he… mine?"
"Yes," Naruto whispered, still refusing to look at him.
The world went fuzzy at the edges as Sasuke suddenly found it incredibly hard to breathe.
Yes.
Yes, Kairyu was his.
Yes, Kairyu was his child, his son.
"Why-" he started only to come up short as the full scope of her answer hit him. He was a father. He had a son! He had a family but… "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't trust you," Naruto replied, finally looking at him, watching him.
Sasuke opened his mouth to argue but came up short, unsure what to say. Because what could he say? What reason had he given her to trust him? To really trust him? Sure, he had saved her life once or twice but he'd also been a jealous, self-absorbed, self-serving, little prick. "I would have changed," he croaked, struggling with the growing lump in his throat.
Naruto smiled sadly. "I couldn't take that chance," she told him, her eyes shining with regret.
Sasuke swallowed thickly. "I've changed now," he told her, begged her with the barest sliver of hope. She wouldn't even have to take his word for it. She could ask anyone. She could ask Tsunade! Or Shikamaru! Or-
"But the village hasn't," Naruto told him, unknowingly interrupting his thoughts with such abrupt violence that Sasuke felt it like a physical thing.
"Oh…" Sasuke murmured, feeling suddenly cold, hollowed out. Even as Naruto closed the distance and hugged him tightly, he felt as if someone had reached into his chest and scooped out his heart.
"I'm sorry, Sasuke," Naruto whispered against his chest. "Maybe someday…"
Sasuke's arms tightened around her, his eyes screwing shut to stop the tears. When had he hugged her back? Why was he crying? Why did it hurt so damn much?
And all because of the village.
"I'm sorry Sasuke, maybe next time?" Itachi told him with a sad smile.
All because of the village.
No.
One word, one idea, a spark of defiance. He had a chance at something he thought he would never have again, but it was already slipping away. He had already lost years and he could lose so much more…
No.
No more.
Never again. No one would take his family from him. Not here. Not now. Not ever.
Never. Again….
"When?" Sasuke rasped, holding her out so he could see her.
"What?" Naruto wondered, blinking up at him in surprise.
"When is someday?" Sasuke demanded as he fanned the spark into a roaring inferno. "When can I bring you and Kairyu home?"
Naruto stared up at him, shocked. She stared at him like she'd never seen him before. She stared at him… like she'd never even considered the possibility.
"If the village is the problem, I'll change it!" Sasuke told her earnestly, his hands drifting up to gently grip her shoulders as he leaned down so they would be eye to eye. "I'll do whatever it takes. Tsunade's made it look like you were traveling with Jiraiya, so it-it can't be that hard? If you need protection, I'll rebuild the clan's alliances. Shikamaru and the others could help me! And I'll get the military police up and running again! Whatever it takes? I'll do it. I'll become Hokage just so I can give you the damn hat myself if I have to!"
Naruto gave a little snort of laughter at that. "There are no shortcuts to becoming Hokage," she told him scoldingly.
"Then come back and work for it!" Sasuke demanded pleadingly, gripping her desperately like she might vanish if he let go. "Come back and… I'll stay home! I'll take care of Kairyu while you work on becoming Hokage. I'll get better at cooking and I'll keep the house going. You can pick whichever one you want! I'll get Kairyu to school and pack his lunches and I'll make you ramen every night if that's what you want."
Naruto rolled her eyes. "Sure, you will," she drawled.
"I'm serious," Sasuke told her. And he was. Fuck Anbu. Fuck being a ninja. Fuck the village. If wearing a frilly pink apron and learning to cook ramen was what it took to have his family with him? Woe be to anyone that tried to stop him.
Naruto blinked, staring up at him. Then she blinked again, her head canting curiously to the side as she eyed him critically. The way he was looking at her reminded her so much of their time as gennin. Those times when she and Sasuke left to fight- "Oh…" she murmured as the breath rushed out of her body. Because she recognized the way he was looking at her. This was the same look of determination he wore when they fought together, when it was just Naruto and Sasuke against the odds. "You'd give up being a ninja for us?"
He'd give up his revenge?
"Yes," Sasuke promised, reaching up to cup her cheeks in his palms. "If that's what it takes? Yes, Naruto. A thousand times, yes," he told her as he stroked his thumb over the hidden lines that marked her as the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki.
"But… you love being a ninja," Naruto murmured uncertainly.
"I'll stay in practice," Sasuke quipped, echoing her words from earlier.
Naruto gave a startled snort, rolling her eyes at him. "Of course, you would," she chuckled.
"Of course, I would. I have to be ready for when your enemies come to call, Hokage-sama," Sasuke chortled.
"We'll certainly have no shortage of those," Naruto sighed, her humor evaporating in an instant.
Sasuke scowled. "I'll kill anyone who threatens our family and if that's the whole village?" he whispered with absolute sincerity. "I'll burn it to the foundations and start over again if I have to. Just tell me… tell me what you need?"
"Sasuke," she sighed, shaking her head. "It may be my dream to be the Fire Shadow, but I don't really feel like ruling over a city of ashes."
"Then I'll just give you the hat after I've rebuilt everything."
Naruto rolled her eyes. "Again, that's not how it works."
"Fine, I'll avoid burning the whole village to the ground," Sasuke sighed.
"How generous of you."
"I certainly thought so."
"You're ridiculous, you know that?"
"Says the girl with an entry in the Bingo Book warning everyone about her Therapy No Jutsu."
Naruto choked on the startled laugh that escaped her. "W-wait, really?" she gasped, struggling to control herself.
Sasuke grinned wolfishly. "Kirigakure is convinced that you have an undiscovered bloodline of some kind."
Naruto goggled at him. "How the hell did that happen?!" she cried as she was seized by another fit of giggles.
Sasuke shrugged. "Tsunade started it," he explained, shaking his head in exasperation. "She was feeding the rumors about what happened with Zabuza when you left, but I'm pretty sure Sakura and Kakashi-sensei are meddling for their own amusement at this point."
"Sakura?" Naruto wondered dubiously. "Our Sakura?"
"She's Tsunade's apprentice," Sasuke told her.
Naruto blinked owlishly at him. "She actually stuck that out?" she wondered in disbelief. Sakura? Who would bitch and complain if she couldn't get through her full hair care routine? THAT Sakura?
Sasuke shrugged like he couldn't quite believe it either. "You would not believe the shit she gets up to these days."
"Holy shit," Naruto breathed. "I guess some things really do change."
"Yeah," Sasuke agreed. "They do."
Naruto watched him cautiously.
"I'm not the only one who wants you back, Naruto," Sasuke assured her. "You aren't alone. Just tell me what we need to do."
Naruto broke his gaze, glaring out at the water. For a moment it seemed as if she might refuse to answer, but then she turned back to him staring resolutely up into his eyes. "I want Kairyu to be able to walk through the streets at night and be safe," Naruto told him, her voice like tempered steel, cold and hard and sharp. "I want him to be able to buy anything he wants at a fair price. I want him to be able to shout from the rooftops that he is Uzumaki Kairyu and be proud to say it. I want him to be able to tell everyone I'm his mother and not be afraid of how people will react. When that day comes… you can take us back."
"You promise?" Sasuke murmured as something warm and wonderful bloomed in his chest.
The corner of Naruto's mouth twitched. "You have my word," she told him.
Sasuke's eyes went wide in surprise. Then, without hesitation, he pulled her close and drew her into a searing, desperate kiss.
It was a simple thing, just words, but…
"I never go back on my word! That's my ninja way!"
Everything else faded away, narrowing down to just Naruto and Sasuke. Just the two of them getting lost in each other and the promise between them. For a moment, a single wonderful moment, everything was right and in that moment the world seemed to tilt on its axis, the future forever changed as something changed between them.
"I'll hold you to that," Sasuke murmured when they finally broke apart.
"You'd better," Naruto replied breathlessly as they held each other. "The ramen out here is terrible."
There was a beat of silence and then they were both laughing. They were laughing so hard it hurt. They were laughing so hard they cried, clutching each other for support.
"If it's that bad, why didn't you start your own ramen shop?" Sasuke managed to gasp out.
"Are you kidding? I'd eat myself out of business!" Naruto snickered. "Besides, too obvious. I'd be found out in a week."
"That long?"
"I was being generous."
"Downright charitable," Sasuke agreed.
"Oh, shut up," Naruto told him as she punched him in the shoulder.
Sasuke chuckled at the half-hearted abuse. Then he sobered. "I don't suppose I will be able to come back?" he muttered, already knowing the answer.
Naruto shook her head sadly. "As soon as you leave? Kairyu and I will be gone by nightfall," she told him honestly.
"You know I wouldn't tell anyone… right?" Sasuke asked, watching her. "I wouldn't risk either of you like that."
Naruto cupped his cheek, very pointedly staring him in the eyes. "Not willingly," she agreed, offering him a brittle smile.
"Right," Sasuke muttered. "Right."
Everyone broke… eventually.
"Then…" He licked his lips, clearing his throat. "Then can I stay for tonight?" he asked hopefully. "We could tell Kairyu that I'm an old friend? Or that I was low on coin and rented your couch?"
"We don't have a couch."
Sasuke winced. "Oh, um…"
"But you can stay anyway," Naruto told him, with a mischievous grin. "Just for tonight."
"Just for tonight," Sasuke agreed.
Just for tonight.
Then he had work to do.
A/N
Notes: a reader asked why I was referring to Naruto as 15 years old in previous chapters. In short? Health reasons. Even with fancy ninja Magic, pregnancy is dangerous and becomes exponentially more dangerous the younger the mother is. For reference, everyone is a little aged up. In this story's canon, Sasuke and Naruto are the oldest (between 6-12 months older that the other rookies) and 1 year older than the listed year. So, if the year says A.S. 1113, Sasuke and Naruto are both 14 years old. If the year is A.S. 1120, Sasuke and Naruto are 21.
Kairyu - depending on how you write his name, it translates either to Sea Current or Sea Dragon. A bit of a nod to family themes.