Something More
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter.
Chapter Notation: The necklaces are probably not canon, but I do believe that the concept behind them is rather realistic for a world like that in the series.
Chapter 19
One week later, Suki is walking around the Mist Village with Karin. The two women were doing some shopping for the baby and Suigetsu was off training with Jugo. That meant it was something of a Girls' Day Out.
It was certainly a new feeling for Suki. She had never really engaged in much bonding with other women. Sakura was just too different for her to have much of an interest in doing so while she was on Team Seven and after that, she had been too focused on killing Itachi and being Suigetsu to care about such things.
"So has the Morning Sickness stopped yet?" Karin asks.
"For the most part. It's strange. I think being here calms the baby. That or it could just be because I know the truth about Itachi now. He's no longer a threat to the baby and he or she might sense that." The Uchiha woman says thoughtfully.
All that was left really was for Naruto to inform Tsunade what was happening. If she approved the transfer, Suki was planning on sitting tight until after she gave birth and had a chance to heal from doing so. Beyond that point though, well the details were a bit more fuzzy.
"I think that you might be reading into it. The baby can't sense anything at this point. Not exactly. It may be responding to the decrease in your stress levels though." The red head offers.
"Maybe. You might want to get some vitamins and tea yourself." Suki says as they walk into one of the many shops lining the village's streets.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Karin demanded and the Uchiha woman snorts in amusement.
Karin knew exactly what she meant. There really wasn't a reason to play dumb. So Suki wasn't going to beat around the bush.
"I know that you and Naruto have grown a lot closer. I'm not really sure how you explained Kunais and Pouches to him, but I recognize those marks on your neck. Like I said earlier, those are lovebites. Naruto's never really been the type to do anything halfway. If he's doing that to your neck, you're lovers." The former Leaf Ninja says as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
To Suki's delight, Karin's face turns almost as red as her hair. Ha! She couldn't help, but feel rather smug at flustering the other woman so much. God knows, the woman had it coming.
"You're right. He's not the type to go halfway. I think that I would know, if I was pregnant though. I mean I am basically a medic and I can sense chakra changes within my own body. If I was pregnant, my chakra would have altered." The other ninja reasons as she pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose.
"It depends how far along you are. Don't say that I didn't warn you though." Suki retorts as she heads into the shop.
It was nice to be able browse various places without fear of someone trying to capture her. Not that anyone was actually going to be able to capture her anyway, but it was the principle of the thing. Though they were getting a lot of strange looks.
Suki couldn't blame them though. She and the rest of Taka were rather infamous at this point. It was likely that the villagers recognize them, but Mei had found a way to get around that by giving them each a long black leather necklace with the symbol for the Mist Village on the end of it.
"I'm not pregnant!" Karin yells at Suki.
The strange looks only got stranger upon hearing that remark. At the moment, Suki was suddenly glad that she wasn't showing much. Their reaction was making her feel more than a little self-conscious.
The Uchiha woman knew that she shouldn't care though. The necklaces would protect them. As long as they wore them, every Mist Villager would know that they were the personal guests of the Mizukage and thus wouldn't harass them.
"I want you all to have one of these. It will make things much simpler." Mei said, only six days ago.
Suki watched the older woman curiously as she handed every member of Taka, Kisame, Itachi, and Naruto a necklace. The necklace was beautiful in its simplicity, really.
Each of them had a long black leather cord and the symbol of the Mist Village at the end of them. Suki wasn't entirely sure what they were for, but she did have at least one idea in mind. Mei was offering them protection.
"They're really pretty and all, but what are they for?" Naruto asked as he traced the steel that had been carved into the shape of the Mist's Symbol.
"Essentially, they will prevent any Mist Villagers from attacking you. That's the Mark of this Village. The Mizukage has the option of giving out necklaces to distinguished guests that they want to ensure are not harmed while they visit." Itacih explained.
Suki watched as Mei gave a curt nod of confirmation. While Itachi was apparently free to wander around as he pleased, it was obvious that Mei wasn't feeling particularly forgiving at the moment. As far as the pregnant woman was concerned though, Mei still loved Itachi.
If she didn't, she would have already had him executed. No one would have questioned the decision and the Leaf would probably thank her. After all, most of the Leaf was clueless about the truth behind the Massacre and thought Itachi was a cold-blooded killer.
"That's accurate. So don't take the necklaces off." Mei finished.
"Cool! Hey, Suki. I'm digging the way that necklace looks on you!" Suigetsu said happily as he wrapped his arms around her.
Suki smiled and leaned into his embrace. It was where she felt most safe in his arms.
She felt self enough that Suki had the courage to finish her earlier train of thought. Those that did know the truth, would be happy to have Itachi gone. To them, Itachi's death would ensure that all their dirty little secrets were never exposed to the light of day.
"Mmm thanks." Suki said with a smile.
"And I think you'd look really gorgeous, wearing that and nothing else." The violet eyed ninja whispered into her ear, causing Suki to blush.
"You really are such a pervert." The raven haired woman grumbled.
She really hoped that she wasn't blushing, but Suki knew that she probably was. Her face felt hot and the young ninja was getting a lot of funny looks from her companions. Oh yeah. She was blushing.
"This is very kind of you. Thank you, Lady Mei." Jugo replied.
Jugo really as her Shield. The man would shield her from anything. That apparently included even embarrassment.
"You're welcome, Jugo." The Mizukage responded automatically.
"Ah well it feels good to be home again and now, I even got a pretty little." Kisame observed with a fang-tastic smile.
"Don't push it, Kisame." The Kage warned him and the Akatsuki Member wisely shut up.
Suki smiled at the antics and ran her fingers along the cool metal. There was something comforting about the feeling. They were safe. They were really safe.
"Thank you. You have no idea what this means to us." She whispered and Karin nodded in agreement.
"Whatever you say, Karin." Suki replies with a smirk.
Meanwhile Naruto was back in the Leaf Village. He was still in Tsunade's Office. Apparently, it was going to require a lot of paperwork to transfer Suki and Itachi to the Mist Village. Like mountains of it.
"Jugo, Karin, Kisame, and Suigetsu are out of my jurisdiction though. They're all Criminal Ninjas. If Mei wants to accept them, that's on her. She can handle their paperwork on their own." Tsunade says with a sigh.
Naruto knew that Granny Tsunade was still having a hard time processing all of this. It was hard for him to wrap his mind around as well. He couldn't believe that the Leaf would actually do something like that.
It really made him see his village in another light. He had considered asking Mei, if he could transfer to the Mist Village as well. The blonde just couldn't bring himself to do it though.
"Got it. What are you going to do about Itachi though? I know that you're granting him a transfer, but you aren't really making it public. Sooner or later, someone's going to notice that he's a Mist Ninja now." The sapphire eyed man points out.
"That's tricky. I'm not entirely certain. I'm granting him the transfer, just in case though. I don't want any legal fall out from this for Lady Mei. It's the Public Relations aspect that is going to be a nightmare." The busty Hokage mutters under her breath as she signs her name a few more times on some documents.
The Leaf was his home. It had done some horrible things, but Naruto wasn't going to leave. He was going to stick around and make sure that such things never happened again.
Hopefully, he could convince Karin to come with him. The only reason she was really sticking with Suki was because she didn't have anywhere else to go. That and Karin really hated Suigetsu. She might be willing to leave the Mist, just to get away from him.
"Yeah. I guess it's better safe than sorry." Naruto agrees.
He really did love the red head. When Naruto had started chasing after Suki, the blonde had never dreamed that he would find love along the way. He had though. Naruto had in a big way.
"What does she see in him?" Naruto asked, one night while he and Karin were in the bath at an Inn.
Taka traveled around a lot. There were days on end when they would sleep in the woods, of course. Though it was obvious that they preferred to stay at Inns and Hotels when given a choice.
Not that he could blame them. It was just much more comfortable that way. He'd rather stay somewhere with a roof over his head than not as well!
"I don't know. It's weird. For whatever reason, I guess she's happy with him though. She's lucky. As much as he is a jerk, it's obvious that in his own demented way…Suigetsu cares for her." The young woman grumbled.
"Yeah. I guess. He had better. He got her pregnant." The Leaf Ninja growled.
"I'll never have what she has. I'll never have someone that loves me that much." Karin said with a sigh.
"I'm pretty sure that you well. I mean you're very lovable! You're pretty. You're smart! You're brave and you have some really cool abilities! What's not to like?!" He asked with a grin.
He didn't expect what happened next. Karin kissed him. She really kissed him! This wasn't like at the Academy with Suki. This kiss had been very much been on purpose and soon Naruto found himself kissing back.
Karin was a really good kisser. Well actually, she was good at a whole lot more than just kissing. It hadn't taken too long after that night for them to become lovers and until his mission to the Leaf, the two of them had been nearly inseparable ever since then.
"Do you think that you could get Karin a transfer to the Leaf, if she wanted to come here?" Naruto asks.
"Yes, Brat. I could manage that. Her ability to heal people and Sensory Skills are more than a good enough reason to overlook her past. So I guess you really do take after Minato. You like red heads, just like he did." Tsunade teases him.
"Maybe a little." Naruto admits with a blush.
Back in the Mist Village, Suigetsu was walking around with Mei. Why the woman wanted to speak with him, he wasn't sure. He wasn't going to argue though.
She had been nice enough to let them stay. The Mizukage definitely hadn't had to do that, especially considering everything that she was going through. That had to suck to find out that your lover head been lying to you.
"I know that it's your child that Suki is carrying. I suppose you could call me a hopeless romantic, but I'm also pragmatic. Until the paperwork is settled, Suki can't access her family's accounts, but there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to access your family's funds. You do have a baby on the way to take care of." Mei says as she hands him a key.
Suigetsu blinks. She was actually giving him the key to his family's vaults? He couldn't believe it.
"Wow. Thanks. Yeah! This will be great!" He says with a grin.
"As she's pregnant and obviously not rushing off into any life or death battles, I expect you'll be planning to propose to her soon." Itachi says as he makes his way over to them.
Damn. Itachi was scary as Hell. How did he just sneak up on people all silent serial killer style?! It was no wonder that he head been able to take out the entire Uchiha Clan on his own!
"Well yeah. I was going to do it anyway. Don't go and get all bossy on me!" He grumbles.
"That's wonderful news. I'm sure that you'll pick out a beautiful ring for her. Though I'm afraid that I have other matters to attend to." Mei says and with that, she heads off in a huff.
"I'll admit that I certainly deserve worse than the silent treatment, but it's painful nonetheless. In any case, come with me. I doubt you know that much about jewelry and the least I can do for my foolish little sister is ensure that she gets a suitable ring." Itachi states.
Suigetsu grumbles. He didn't really know that much about rings, but the guy didn't have to rub it in. He could totally understand why Suki wanted to kill him so much now.
"Alright. Alright. Let's go." He grumbles as the two of them head off towards a jewelry shop.
"I should think that a sapphire would be a good choice. It's blue like water and your Clan is strongly affiliated with it. That and it does work rather well on a symbolic level." Itachi muses as he glances at the display cases.
There had to be hundreds or even thousands of rings on display. The sword lover still didn't know much about jewelry, but he certainly recognized some of the more prominent stones. Rubies, sapphires, diamonds, emeralds, pearls, and dozens more that he couldn't identify.
The bands came gold, silver, steel, platinum, and other precious metals as well. Some of them had engravings on them and others didn't. Honestly, he felt more than a little overwhelmed at the choices.
"She wears a size seven ring." Itachi supplies helpfully.
How Itachi knew that was beyond him. Suigetsu decides it was probably best not to question it though. He had so many choices to choose from.
After an hour or two, Itachi seems to find something that had caught his eye. Curious, Suigetsu goes to look.
"Sapphire gem. It's shaped like a heart. That will appeal to her sense of romanticism. There's a diamond surrounding either side of it. You can say that represents you and your child or children. She'll likely want more than one child. The silver band is just aesthetically pleasing." Itachi informs him.
"Yeah! That all sounds good. I'll get it." Suigetsu says as he heads over to the clerk and tells him just to withdraw the payment from his family's vault.
"Y-yes, Sir!" The terrified civilian says as he rings up the purchase and hands Suigetsu the ring.
"Thank you. Well that was easier than I thought." We should probably head back though." Suigetsy says thoughtfully and with that, the two men make their way back to the Mizukage's Building with the ring in tow.
A few hours later, Suigetsu leads Suki to a river that ran on the outskirts of the village. It was a beautiful starry night with a Crescent Moon hanging high in the sky. There were also some fireflies buzzing about. In other words, it was the perfect romantic setting for a proposal.
Well at least it was in his mind. He hoped that Suki would think so too. Damn. He really wasn't good at this word stuff. Maybe, he should have just made love to her and then handed her the ring? Maybe, that would have been better.
"Maybe, that would have been the smart move." He mutters to himself.
"What would have been the smarter move?" Suki asks as she looks around curiously.
"Nothing. Well Princess, I hope that you like picnics. I brought us some food. I figured we could enjoy a picnic by the river." He says cheerfully.
Suki smiles and kisses his cheek. Suigetsu was trying to be a traditional romantic. That was new. Oh well. She'd humor him.
"I haven't been on one of those in years, but it is a beautiful night and there's no one that I would rather be on a picnic with than with you." She tells him with another smile.
"Great!" Suigetsu says as he lays out the blanket and the food for them.
Suki nods and she sits by him. The Uchiha woman quickly snuggles up against him. This was nice.
"Mhm." She agrees as she watches Suigetsu pour them each some water.
Water because she was pregnant. It likely would have been wine, if she wasn't. That was okay though. She didn't mind the water.
As the night wore on, Suki was quite content just to enjoy a good meal with her lover and to exchange a few not so innocent kisses with him. It was Suigetsu. It was just a law of nature that they wouldn't be able to complete keep their hands off each other.
"So you know that I'm not good with the whole word thing, right?" Suigetsu asks.
"Mhm. I know. That's fine. You have other ways of telling me that you love me that are better than mere words. Why, do you ask though?" Suki asks in confusion as she idly strokes his snowy white locks of hair.
She could see that Suigetsu was nervous about something. That wasn't like him. The sword lover rarely got nervous about anything. Actually, it would probably serve him well to learn to be at least a little bit more cautious.
He tended to shoot first and ask questions later. That was going to get him in trouble one of these days.
"Well because I want to ask you something and I really wanted to be smooth about it and everything, but that's just not me. You know that I love you though and I love our family. We've got a chance to really start over here and I would like to make things more official between us." He says as he hands her a small box.
Suki raises an eyebrow as she opens it. The raven haired woman wasn't sure what was in that box, but she knew that it was important somehow. Suigetsu wouldn't be acting like this, if it wasn't.
"More official how?" She asks as she opens the box and gasps.
"You'll see. If you want, I'll just take your last name. I don't really care about that stuff. It's obvious that our super baby takes after me in abilities anyway. So I don't really care what our last names are and I know how important th-" Suigetsu continues, only to be cut off by a kiss.
A rather heated kiss at that. Well that wasn't exactly the reaction he was expecting, but he wasn't going to argue. That was most likely a yes.
With that thought in mind, he happily kisses Suki back. God that felt good. He never knew that kissing could feel as good as it did, until he and Suki became a thing.
"So should I take that as a yes?" He asks slyly, after breaking the kiss.
"Suigetsu, I'm carrying your child. What did you think my answer was going to be? That and I love you and our super baby more than anything." She tells him.
"Good. Cause we are going to throw one Hell of a party." The violet eyed ninja promises her as he kisses her forehead and caresses her cheek.
He had never actually been to a wedding before, but he knew that Mei was obsessed with them. The Mizukage would probably help him because she was as romantic at heart. That and maybe, it'd help her forgive Itachi.
After all, seeing someone get married was a beautiful thing. It might soften her up towards him. Itachi had helped him pick out a pretty awesome ring. Suigetsu supposed that he should help the jerk out.
"Mmm. I'm sure that it will. When I get a little further along, do you want to find out the gender of the baby or be surprised?" Suki asks.
"I'd like to know. I'm pretty curious. What about you? If you want to be surprised though, I'm good with waiting. I mean you are the one who is carrying our super baby. It's only fair." Suigetsu inquires.
Suki pauses as she considers that question. Did it really matter, if they knew a few months ahead of time or not? Well supposed it did to a degree. They'd know whether to shop for boy or girl clothes.
That wasn't a big concern. Once the transfers went through, she'd have access to her family's assets. That meant she could buy as many clothes and whatever else she wanted as she pleased.
"I'd be lying, if I said that I wasn't curious. I'd like to know." She says with a smile as she glances at the beautiful ring.
It was stunning to put it mildly. There was a large heart-shaped sapphire in the center. The gorgeous gem was surrounded by two beautiful round diamonds and the band itself was made out of silver. The silver shimmered underneath the pale moonlight of the starry night sky.
"Alright. We'll find out then. The sapphire is supposed to symbolize my water connection and my giving my heart to you. The diamonds are me and our super baby or babies. The silver band is just because it looks cool." He says brightly.
"Mmm it's beautiful and that's very poetic. That's how I know that you didn't make that up on your own. Who helped you?" She asks as she kisses him.
She smiles as she feels him kiss back. It didn't matter that Suigetsu had probably had help coming up with that explanation. What mattered is that she knew he meant the words that he had just uttered.
"Mmm. Alright. I had some help, but that doesn't meant that I didn't mean what I just said." Suigetsu whispers, after returning her kiss.
"I know that you meant it. I'm still curious who has been helping you seduce me? I damn sure know that it wasn't Naruto. He could never come up with something like that." Suki teases him.
Suigetsu pauses and that's when the Uchiha woman knew what had happened. For some reason or another, her brother had helped him. Probably out of some sense of guilt.
"It was Itachi." Suigetsu confesses, knowing that would likely ruin the mood.
"I figured as much. It doesn't matter though. What matters is that we're engaged and we're going to have a family." The raven haired woman promises him.
"Good. Yeah. You're right. That's all that matters. That and I should probably get you back to our bedroom. Daddy should make sure that Mommy gets plenty of rest." He grins.
Suki rolls her eyes playfully. She doubted that they would be getting much rest, but she'd indulge him. If Suigetsu wanted to pretend that he was being a responsible adult, let him.
"Yes, I think so as well. I'm so fortunate to have you to look after me, Dr. Hōzuki." She smirks.
"So you wanna Play Doctor, huh?" Suigetsu asks with a smirk as he scoops her up into his arms and carries her off.
"Mmm maybe. It could be fun." Suki says with a smirk of her own.