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"I don't want to be the one who decides if he dies or not. I'm his legal guardian until he turns 18."

Shikamaru grew curious. He knew that after Asuma died Kurenai got custody of Konohamaru. It's her say if Konohamaru gets to live or not.

"No you're not, Kurenai is his legal guardian."

"Konohamaru begged her to sign it over to me. I've been his legal guardian since I turned 18."

Shikamaru's face dropped. They both stood there in silence, he knew how it felt to decide if someone dies or not. This reminded him so much of when Asuma died, it felt like it was deja vu on repeat.

Shikamaru pulled out a cigarette to smoke. He offered Naruto one but the blonde declined. They contented their journey to the hospital.

I walked over to Naruto to embrace him. He was still stoic and emotionless. I held on longer than usual, I just wanted him to feel loved. He was going through so much right now and yet I couldn't take it away. I just feel so helpless.

"Lady Tsunade should be back any minute. She said she needed to speak to you."

Naruto only nodded his head. We all sat down in the waiting room waiting for her to come back. Kato soon appeared with a nurse, he had some scrapes and bruises on him but it wasn't bad. He ran over to me to sit on my lap. He had grown an attachment to my belly. He loved to rub it and sometimes he would randomly place a kiss on my belly.

We sat there for nearly an hour waiting for her return. Kato fell asleep in my arms. The nurses gave him some medicine for his burns. They were minor but they said that it would cause him to feel drowsy.

That entire time Naruto sat in the corner of the room. I tried to comfort him but he only pushed me away...not physically but emotionally. I would try to hug and kiss him but he would only sit there and stare at the white wall. Shikamaru tried to speak to him but he wouldn't say anything. His demeanor reminds me of when Jariya died. Naruto was so cold.

Tsunade came back into the waiting room. She asked everyone how they were doing and we all responded that we were fine. Naruto was the first to leave his seat. That was the first time I have seen him move since he walked in here.

Tsunade looked over her notes once more before she spoke. She turned to Naruto who was breathing down her neck. "He's on life support right now-."

"What's life support?"

Naruto didn't waste any time asking any questions. Any other time I would scold him for being rude but today was different.

"Life supports keeps the human body living after a failure of one or two vital organs. In Konohamau's case, it has affected his lungs, heart, and brain. As of right now, we do not see any brain damage. That does not mean it will not appear in the near future. With that being said Konohamaru's body can not function on its own. We placed him in an induced coma so it's up to him to wake up or not. He has to fight if he wants to live."

"I'm still confused here."

"Konohamaru's two vital organs were his heart and lungs. They're both not working properly and can't supply oxygen to his brain. This could be fatal. His brain is still property working. But like I said I would not be surprised if we saw some brain damage. He went 10 minutes without oxygen and 8 of those minutes Sakura was performing CPR. If the nurses wouldn't have brought him to the hospital when they did there would have been nothing that I could do."

"Fuck! Will he survive this?"

"I can't promise you anything, Naruto. I did my part, now it's up to Konohamaru to do his."

"Can I go see him?"

"Yes you may but not all of you at once."

Naruto looked at me from across the room. His bright blue eyes had gloss across them. My heart aches for him and Konohmaru. I knew it was going to be bad but I didn't expect him to be on life support.

"Sakura-chan...can you come with me?" His voice cracked, I tried to force my brain to ignore the hurt in his voice. I wanted to be the strong one for once. We both couldn't be weak right now. He needed me more than anything right now and I was going to be there for him.

"Of course."

He grabbed my hand pulling me to the room. I used my free hand to place it over our clasped hands. It was something I learned from Naruto, he would always do this when I was vulnerable. I felt him slow down his pace as we arrived at the door. He stayed in front of the door staring at the name written on the paperwork.

I reached up to kiss his whiskers. "Whenever you're ready."

He opened the door to the room while walking. Naruto and I both walked in slowly. My chest felt tight, the burning sensation from earlier was back again. I couldn't help the tears flowing from my eyes. Konohmaru was always a loud and bright kid. Seeing him there on a hospital bed motionless and quiet really messed with me. The only thing you could hear in the room was the beeps from the ventilator and the sobs escaping Naruto's mouth.

He was crying, it was something I expected from him but I didn't expect him to break down as he did. Naruto's face was buried into Konhamaru's chest, he had one hand wrapped around his neck and the other one holding his hand.

Naruto and I both watched as his chest rose up and down. His eyes were completely shut and the color of his skin was almost back to normal. There were tubes coming from his mouth and nose. One was to help him breathe while the other one was to help him get food.

"How is he breathing? I thought he couldn't breathe?"

"That machine is keeping him alive. The term pulls the plug actually means cutting off the ventilator. That's the only thing that is keeping him alive but he can hear you."

Naruto lifted his head up again from his chest. He kept his eyes on Konohamaru.

"I'm so sorry...I failed you as a sensei. I was supposed to protect you from danger and yet you're sitting here half dead. I'm so sorry Konohamaru. Please forgive me."

Naruto kept crying. He could barely speak any words. He only could rub his head and push a few of his hair strands from his face.

I rubbed his back as he spoke to Konohamaru.

"I can't look at him in this state anymore."

Naruto walked to the door of the room. He stood in the corner and cried even more.

I stayed by Konohamaru's side, I grabbed his hand and held it close to my body.

"Listen here, you sweet boy. I'm going to need you to fight like your life depends on it. If you can defeat a pein then you can defeat this. Naruto needs you. I need you. Mirai needs you and most importantly our son needs you. I can't have my son grow up without his sensei. So fight Konohamaru it doesn't matter how long it takes, I just need you to fight."

I brushed back his fallen hair and placed a kiss on his cheek. I walked over to the corner where Naruto was. He grabbed my hand and we both walked out of the room. I took one more look back at him before the door shut. The lobby was filled with his friends. Ikura, Udon, Moegi, Hanabi, are all here now. I guess the news got out fast.

I looked around for Kato. Naruto and I were drained for the day. We needed to sleep and I needed my medicine. Naruto left to speak with Iruka while I continued to look for Kato.

"Have you seen Kato?" I asked Shikamaru.

"Yeah, we took him to Sasuke's room. He woke up from a nightmare and went crazy. Lady Tsaunde said that we should take him to Sasuke."

"Is he alright?"

"Yeah, he's fine. He fell back asleep once he was in Sasuke's arms."

"Thank you, Shikamaru."

"Sure thing. How are you doing? How's the baby?"

"I'm fine, just a little emotional. As for the baby, he's fine. He keeps kicking me in the ribs but other than that I'm fine."

"That's good. Listen...I want you to stay by Naruto's side. He needs you the most right now. I have never seen him more broken in my entire life."

"I'll look after him."

Shikamaru patted me on my shoulder, he soon left to join Kurenai sensei. Naruto was standing on the other side of the hospital talking to Iruka sensei...well sensei was doing all of the talking. Naruto was just standing there staring into space. I walked over to them to see why sensei was here before I could ask any questions. We were pulled into a room.

Sasuke POV

I have been sleeping in a room with Kato for a few months now. It was no surprise that he was having nightmares. Every night he would jump out of his sleep and cry out for his mom. He reminded me so much of myself when I was little. I would allow him to sleep with me every night because I knew how it felt to wake up with no one by your side.

My injuries weren't as bad as I thought they were. I got stitches on my head and I had some burns on my face and arms. As long as Kato was fine I was fine. I hated that the little shit grew on me. I would never let Naruto and Sakura know that. I would never harm him or let anyone else harm him...I loved him as if he were my actual little brother. Our bond reminds me so much of my brother. Kato may not have any blood relatives left but he sure does have Me, Sakura, Naruto, and Konohmaru who loves him a lot.

Kato looked up at me. Currently, he was balled up on the blankets sleeping near me "Sasuke-niichan I'm hungry."

"They're coming with your food."

"After we get food, can we go see my mom?"

He looked up at me with his big doe eyes.

'Fuck'

We all had been purposely avoiding that question. Kato still doesn't know that his mom was murdered. Naruto and I decided that it would be best for Sakura to tell him but I think It would be best if I were to tell him.

"Can I tell you a story?"

"I love stories but the last story you told me was a bit creepy. I don't want to hear your story, they are very boring sometimes."

I chuckled, "This story is a good one. It's about a boy who came from a clan of strong shinobi. They were so strong that many people feared them. That little boy had an older brother who he thought was one of the strongest and coolest people in the entire world-"

"Just like you and Naruto-niichan!"

"Yeah, the boy would always beg his older brother for attention and to help him train but he would always decline. There would be days where he would stay up for hours just to see his brother return. This happened for a few years until one day that little boy was walking home. It was late at night, the streets were quiet...too quiet. He walked into his house to see both of his parents slaughtered to death. He was forced to watch his parents die 518,400 times. When he looked up he realized that it was his older brother who did it. He begged and pleaded for his brother to stop and not to leave him but he left anyway."

"Why did the older brother leave him? He was supposed to protect him."

"He protected him from a distance. He had no other choice but to do it. He sacrificed himself for the village. Years later the now teenager would leave the village he grew up in. He was so conceived in hatred that he didn't realize that he had people that loved him back home. He went to train with some of the most powerful people in the world. He did some things that he would regret for the rest of his life. The day came where he would go on to fight his older brother. He died in battle leaving the boy all alone and lonely again. The boy would cry by himself because of how much he misses his brother."

"What happened after that?"

"The boy then would fight a friend that was more like a brother to him. At the time of the fight, he did not consider the boy as a brother. That friend made him realize that he had a family within him. He would go back home and live a life with his new family. He even got a new little brother and now he's an uncle now."

"Wow, that's the best story you have ever told me! How does the story end?"

"I don't know yet. I will have to keep living to figure that out but once I do I want you to tell people that story."

"Wait...you're the little boy?"

"Mhmm."

"Wow...so you and Naruto-niichan fought?"

"Yeah, about 5 times."

"Wait so your parents died...how old were you?"

"I was around seven or eight, so around your age."

"I'm six."

"I know."

"That's so cool...but why are you telling me this story?"

"Because I don't want you to go down the same path as I did. You have way more potential than that. You know that no matter what we'll always be a family?"

"Yeah, I know. I love you guys."

"We love you too...about your mom….she was killed a few days ago."

"No...kaa-san said she wouldn't leave me behind. There's no way that she's dead."

Kato threw the blanket over his head. He sat on the bed with tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

"Kato, your mom is no longer with us."

"You're a big stupid poopy liar head!"

"Kato…"

"I don't like you anymore!" He crawled over to the other side of the hospital bed. His eyes were stained with tears. He even had his arms crossed over his chest. "I want my mom!" He cried out. I felt a weird feeling in my chest. I knew it was me feeling bad for him. I was hurt by the fact that he was hurt.

"Come here."

Kato hesitated before he crawled across the bed to me. He crawled right into my arms and began to quietly cry. I didn't say anything, I only rubbed his back for his benefits.

The nurse came in without food but I quickly told her to leave. Kato was too upset to eat anyway.

He lifted his head from my chest. Tears were still coming from his eyes. The little sniffles from him could be heard throughout the room. "Does this mean that I can't live with you guys? Kaa-chan always told me that if she were to go then some scary people would take me away and force me to live with them."

"No, why would I make you go through that? That was the reason why I told you the story so you wouldn't have to go through what Naruto and I had to go through."

"Naruto-niichan doesn't have parents?"

"No, they died when he was a small baby."

"Does this mean I'll be as strong as you guys?"

"What do you mean?"

"We all don't have parents and you and Naruto-niichan are strong so does this mean I'll be strong too?"

"Of course."

Kato laid back down on my chest. He stayed silent for a while. I thought he went back to sleep until I heard quiet cries coming from him.

'Well, that went better than I expected.'

Kato cried himself back to sleep. I held his sleeping body in my arms. He was changing me, I never would have imagined that I would have had a weak spot for someone. Kato was breaking walls that Itachi couldn't even break. How could I love a human being this much?

Sakura Pov

Naruto never told me what happened between him and Iruka sensei. He just walked into the room and stripped his clothes off to fall asleep. He only had his ramen boxers on. He has been out for about two hours now. I was in bed with him, his head was on my chest. His arms were wrapped around my belly. I ran my hands through his blonde locks while watching him sleep. The only peace he had was when he was sleeping other than that he would be stressed out.

I was not in the mood to sleep. It was still daytime, more like the afternoon. I was tired but I was too scared to fall asleep. Every time I would close my eyes I would either see Akane's body hanging from the ceiling or that Tezo man cutting my throat. Another reason is that the baby keeps kicking me. So I was stuck with no sleep.

I felt Naruto stir from his slumber. He kept his eyes closed but I knew he was awake. His breathing was now irregular. His grip from around my abdomen also was not as tight as it was.

"Naruto…"

"Naruto…" A small smile appeared on his face before quickly leaving. I rolled my eyes, he was not about to play this game with me.

I sighed I knew he was awake. No matter how serious the situation was, this idiot knew how to make things out of a joke.

"Hokage-sama…"

I watched as his eyes shot open. The brightest smile was plastered on his face. It took me by surprise because two hours ago he was so heartbroken.

"You called me?"

"Yes, I did. Lady Tsunade said she wanted to speak with us."

"Right now?" He stretched his arms above his head, cracking every muscle in his body. My eyes shot straight for his toned stomach and his biceps. Every chance I got I would steal a glance.

'Is it hot in here?"

It felt like the temperature had risen up. I quickly cleared my throat to get rid of those thoughts in my head, "No later...I just don't know what time she'll be back."

"Mhmm."

"Are you okay baby?"

Naruto rolled on his back. His hands found their way to the back of his head. He stared up at the ceiling with an emotionless face. "I'm fine Sakura-chan. My mind is all over the place but I don't want to talk about it. It seems like every time we're together something pops up so I just want to live in the moment right now. I don't want to be sad all day. That would only ruin our day. I believe that he will pull through."

"I would love that."

Naruto and I switched positions so now I was the one who I was laying on his chest. We both stayed in our position quietly, we were both enjoying each other's company for a while before Naruto spoke again.

"Have you thought of any baby names?"

"No, not yet. I was going to wait until I saw his face...why?"

"Umm...because I have a name but I don't think you'll like it."

"As long as it's not a ramen topping then we're fine."

I joked, I stole a glance at his face to see him not smiling along with me.

"..."

"You've got to be kidding me. You're really thinking about naming our child after ramen?"

"No...I mean yes but it has a different meaning."

"Where did you find this name?" We were both sitting up in the bed now. I slid my back to the wall so I could hear the reason as to why he wanted to name our son after a ramen topping.

"Do you remember how I told you how I got my name?"

"Yeah, it came from a book that Jiraiya-sama wrote. The Gutsy Ninja."

"Right, well my parents named me after him because they wanted me to be as strong as him. The other day I was going through Pery Sage's things. Baa-chan told me that he has given her one of his old journals to keep safe. She had completely forgotten about it until a few weeks ago. She gave me the journal and in that journal, it had an outline for The Gutsy Ninja two. I was reading through the notes and the main character had a baby. Pervy Sage had names picked out like Yaku, Haruto, Saruto, Asahi, and more."

"Mhmm."

"But there was one name that stuck out to me. He wrote down the name Shinachiku."

"How did that name stick out to you?"

"He wrote about how Shinachiku would grow up to be the smartest person in his graduating class. He even stated how Shinachiku would take a liking to medical ninjutsu. He wanted the boy to be as strong as Lasy Tsunade. He wrote her medical characteristics as Shinachiku characteristics. There were also things about him wanting to help others and change the world. There were so many more things Sakura-chan and all of those things reminded me of you. Our son will have your brain but he would be named after a ramen topping like his dad but if you don't like-"

"I love it."

"What!?"

Naruto's face was priceless when I told him. He looked as if he saw a ghost. I grabbed his hands and placed them into mine. He was still speechless after my gesture.

"I want our son to have a name that means something special to the both of us. The Gutsy Ninja was one of the only books you read. The only reason you read it was because of your master. He even gave you your name. Now, Jiraiya-sama is giving our son his name. Your parents read the book and loved the name Naruto. Sadly part two of the gutsy ninja wasn't finished but I'm sure if we name him Shinachiku he would be one of the strongest kids just like his father in the book."

"Sakura-chan."

"Our son will finish the story. Shinachiku Uzumaki...I love it already. He has a story to complete so why not give him the name."

"I love you so much Sakura-chan."

"I love you more Naruto."

"Thank you for loving the name."

I pulled him into a hug. We both sat there in each other's arms.

"How could I not like a name that holds so much meaning behind it?"

"I'm so happy that you're sticking by my side through all of this. There have been plenty of times where I thought you were going to leave me. Yet, you didn't. I love you so fucking much. Don't ever leave me."

I held his face in my hands. I brought his lips to mine and placed a kiss on his lips. Naruto being the wild human being, deepening the kiss. It went from a sweet simple kiss to him devouring my lips.

We both stopped to catch our breaths. Our foreheads were touching. He pulled me onto his lap with our foreheads still connecting. I rested my head in the crook of his neck while trying to regulate my breathing.

"Hey, I would never leave you. I'm here forever. I love you too much to leave. I promised you that I would never leave your side. We're in this together. You, me, and Shinachiku."

Naruto chuckled, "Shinachiku...you're already using the name."

"Of course I am. You can't have a story without the main character's name...would you ever consider finishing the book."

"Give me more kids and I just might."

"Deal."

We both laughed, it was a genuine laugh. I was happy that Naruto was happy. I was happily in love with him. I wouldn't change it for the world.

That's chapter 22 folks! I hope you enjoyed it remember to review! I LOVE YOU GUYS!