What Makes a Man
:| :| :| Ugh. I'll explain later
Naruto stared at Kakashi and Tsunade with pouty eyes. "Do I have to go?"
Kakashi ruffled his hair harshly. "Yes. This is the best way the council will trust that you keep this village safe."
Naruto deflated. "When I'm hokage, the counsel won't have as much power as they used to. Especially not the power to order a child to kill their family."
Tsunade nodded. "And we will thank you when it happens."
Naruto smiled and fiddled with this cloak. "Let's just get this over with. Whatever they have for me, it won't kill me."
The three walked silently in their their stride. When Kakashi opened the door, he nodded solemnly to Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane.
Naruto stopped by the door to observe them slightly. To him, they'd been in council forever...and that was the problem.
They stood slowly and bowed slightly. Tsunade and Kakashi bowed the same angle while Naruto half waved with a bright smile. "Hi, guys." he stated.
The silence that overtook them had been awkward. It hung in the air like the suspended moment before a falling glass shattered on the ground. The silence was like a gaping void, needing to be filled with sounds, words, anything. The silence was poisonous in its nothingness, cruelly underscoring how vapid their greeting had become. The silence was eerily unnatural, like a dawn devoid of birdsong. Silence clung to them like a poisonous cloud that at any moment could choke the life from them. It seeped into their every pore, like a poison slowly paralyzing them from either speech or movement.
Naruto blushed hazardly at the way Koharu bit her inside cheek, the way Homura's saggy eyes opened to half seeing.
Kakashi smiled oddly beneath his mask. "Sit, Naruto."
The blond nodded and sat into a seat of his own, right across from the elders. Beside him, Tsunade and Kakashi.
They sat quietly for a moment as Koharu poured her tea. Naruto stared at the way her pale wrinkled lips took in the liquid, the constant trembling of her hands. The first problem he saw was a clear one.
"Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze." Homura stated.
It was only when Kakashi pinched his leg that Naruto's odd eyes drew from Koharu's trembling hands to the trembling eyelid of her teammate.
"We see that the village as well as countless other villages have chosen you. They have chosen you to be a savior and to be hokage. But, are you fit to be?"
Naruto bit his lip and nodded. "Yes."
Another silence.
"What will you change when you become Rokudaime?"
Naruto leaned back and crossed his arms with his eyes closed. "Well the first things I'd do is get you two off the pedestal."
The elders gaped and so did Kakashi and Tsunade. They hadn't expected Naruto to be so bold and outright state that he disliked the elders.
"A fool that only looks wise then." Koharu stated in a shameful manner, as if she couldn't believe it.
Naruto leaned up and shook his head. "No. Just because I can laugh in rough times doesn't mean I'm an idiot. There are reasons why I think it's time for you two to go."
"The first is that you are extremely old. Your once agile and alert minds are beginning to blur at the edges. Memories once sharp and crystal clear for you are now disappearing into fog, being erased, as if they never happened at all. Time being a thief is truer than anything. It's stealing everything you two ever were and there's nothing you can do about it.
The only reason you have been kept here is because of your power." Naruto laughed bitterly. "And trust me, there are more instances where you've let you power get the better of you. Once when Danzo was alive, he cast judgement that more than half of the Namikaze clan be murdered by an eleven year old. You too agreed. Your greed for a say in things has gotten the better of you."
They continued to stare at the blond haired male. "And while I did say I wanted to remove you two from the council, I didn't say I wanted the council gone. When I'm in office, each of Konoha's clans will have a representative on the council. And there will be as many civilian representatives on the council."
Koharu sat baffled. "There are fifteen known clans in Konohagakure."
Naruto nodded. "Then there will be fifteen civilian representatives."
"How do you expect to have 30 members on a council?"
He smirked. "Easy. We'll need a bigger room."
Tsunade nodded in pride. "It sounds reasonable."
Naruto smiled at the praise. He was doing well so far.
Koharu scrutinized the Namikaze. "How can you say these things? Do you not respect what Konohagakure was built up-"
Homura raised his hand. "I believe he is right, Koharu-san."
"What?"
"Look. His points are valid. We are older and we cannot let go of the guilt we have for agreeing to the death of our most beloved hokage. And while Namikaze-kun's words of the old are not subtle, he holds a deep understanding of our own troubles."
The blond nodded happily as Homura turned to him. "You seem to know much about what's best for Konoha, Naruto."
The blond nodded. "I've seen red war become redder. I've seen the ups and downs of the world. My mother used to read to me all about the previous wars. The sins, the negatives. I've seen molestation, murder, and I've killed part of myself. I'm history myself. And if I don't know what's best for the world, how in the hell did I view it?"
Homura nodded, but Koharu shook her head. "What about the Sasuke boy? Will the villagers accept him if he's fiance to a man?"
Naruto stood sharply and pointed at her. "And this is why you won't be here. Your old views of the world are gone now. The world isn't as it used to be. Don't you ever talk about my relationship with Sasuke Uchiha again. What I do with my fiance is my business and if the villagers want to praise it, let them. If I want to marry a man just as powerful as me, I will. If I want to have children with a man, I will. And dammit, if I want to have sex with a man, I will. And there is nothing that you can do about it. You worry about what I'm doing for the village...not what the fuck I'm doing."
Koharu gaped as Kakashi pulled his student down. He sat rigid with fury, and jumped at the mention of Sasuke.
Homura calmed his teammate. "Very well, Namikaze. In three weeks, you will become the seventh hokage of Konohagakure. You show an immense strength and knowledge when it comes to dealing with the world. We will be gone once the day comes; however, there is one last task you must complete."
Naruto nodded. "Anything you throw at me, I'll take. Because goddamit, I've seen the devil grab Chi by the throat and it almost stopped the existence of humanity. It didn't scare me. I'm not backing down." He stated sternly.
Kakashi pat his shoulder with pride. "What did I tell you? Didn't I say he was something?"
Homura nodded and Naruto even caught Koharu's head moved up and down slightly.
"You will be placed into a series of trials. Some simple, others deadly. This is the first time we've done this, so we can't state the chances of success."
"But you assumed that I'd win because of my power." Naruto spoke.
Homra nodded. "Yes. These trials will go on for a series of four weeks. During this time, you will have no contact with anyone, family or friends. The trials will be held on the border between Uzushiogakure and Konoha."
Naruto turned his head to the side. From Saiken's memories, the blond knew that the land was dangerous and uninhabitable. It had been mother of many wars and the burial of bones and flesh. It wasn't somewhere anyone wanted to be.
"When do I go?" he questioned.
Koharu looked up finally, satisfied with their decision. "You leave tonight."
The blond nodded. "I don't know what this is about. But, I want you to know that if you're attempting to kill me, it won't work. There are far worse things that have attempted to kill me."
He went to the door and held onto its latch, thinking of Haruto. "I can't even kill me."
Naruto yawned as he walked into the Namikaze home that he and Sasuke shared. Gaara still lived in the home however since Naruto felt the boy had to stay with him until he found an actual life of his own.
Sasuke sat at the table, chewing diligently on an apple. He wore nothing but a loose kimono. "Hi." He spoke quietly as soon as Naruto reached the kitchen.
The blond removed his cloak and sandals. "What's wrong?"
Sasuke sighed. "You have to leave tonight." He mumbled.
"Why do you always know things just as I do?"
When the blond sat down, Sasuke crawled into his lap. "Tsunade-sama tells me. She's not allowed to tell me what's happening or what's going on, but she does tell me that you won't be here."
Naruto sighed and kissed the raven's jaw. "That old old hag."
It became clear that Sasuke was annoyed when he made no notion to react to the kiss. Usually, he would stare at Naruto and repeat his actions or nuzzle. But today wasn't usual. His pretty face flushed red. Naruto knew what really angered him.
Nowadays, his fiance was always worried. He worried that Naruto might get harmed. The Namikaze remembered a time where Sasuke loved the idea of the blond becoming hokage.
"I just….I hate that they try to overwork you. They've never done it with other hokage's before."
Naruto smirked. "No other hokage was like me, were they?"
Sasuke sighed. "I'm serious, dobe. It's annoying."
"Of course. The elders make it their mission to be over the top. I've already established that they're leaving office when I'm in."
Sasuke looked down at the interlock of their hands. "When we were younger, I was alright with you becoming hokage. But now I feel that It's so fucking dumb."
Naruto knew his fiance would say something like such. When the flash of annoyance came so did a bad idea. And his bad idea was dwindling the hokage position.
Naruto sighed this time. "Sas, the fucking job's not dumb. It's only tough because obviously I have to protect the village. That's all."
Sasuke stood and stormed away, his arms crossed, muttering words. "Fucking idiot."
Naruto remained seated as Shukaku's words filled his head.
"Will you not follow him?"
'We're only going to argue further.'
"Yes, but this time you leave."
The blond stood solemnly, ready for the fight. It was almost as if Sasuke liked arguing with Naruto. Getting him riled up. They'd gotten so angry before, there were more than few instances when they left the house bruised and bloodied.
When the man walked into his room, Sasuke was angrily fixing the sheets. "I don't understand why you're so angry at me...for doing things that protect the village."
Sasuke growled and stormed over to him. "I don't care about you protecting the village! I'm pissed because all you do is laugh off my concern!"
Naruto laughed bitterly. "Concern? Some fucking concern when all you do is say dumb shit about it. Anytime I'm doing something dangerous, you don't show concern. No, Sasuke...you bitch and moan."
It wasn't until Naruto stepped back and felt the stinging in his nose, the scattering of blood attempting to find air, the bone chilling winter that he realized Sasuke had fucking punched him.
He stared at the Uchiha for a moment and the latter just glared. "Because you need a moment, dobe, and I'm not going to give it to you."
They stared longer. If there was one thing Sasuke hated was when he was treated like a girl. And Naruto did nothing but honor his wishes.
The Namikaze reached out and punched, letting the fight ensue.
Punches and bodies were thrown just as clothes were ripped. Both men felt blood boiling underneath their bruises.
Yells were thrown as well as screeches of hate. And yet, neither hit a vital place on the other's body.
It had gotten to the breaking point when they broke the dresser and ripped their curtains.
Sasuke punched Naruto once more, but the blond had successfully kicked a pale shin, making Sasuke fall onto the bed.
In anger, he straddled the Uchiha, angrily gripping his jaw and forehead. "The fuck's your problem?" he hissed.
Sasuke said nothing as he stared up with angry eyes. Instead of speaking, the raven reached his legs slowly around his boyfriend's waist, letting the blond feel everything through the loose silk kimono.
Naruto got the message quickly as he kissed Sasuke heatedly, completely ravishing his mouth. He moaned into the Uchiha's neck when a hand slipped in pants.
Stopping, Naruto stood to remove his clothes and Sasuke's kimono, leaving them both flushed and bare.
Sasuke yelped as Naruto lifted him by the butt and rested his back against the wall. "Naruto." he whispered as he watched his fiance stroke himself.
"Yeah, babe?"
"Please don't let me fall."
The plea made Naruto freeze in his moments and look up. "I'm not, love. You're flying right now and I've got you."
Sasuke nodded and brought Naruto closer. "Please hurry."
Naruto smirked softly and leaned in for a kiss. "I've got to prepare you first. You know I keep growing."
Sasuke punched the blond's chest. "Ass." he muttered.
To the savior's own astonishment, Sasuke began to prepare himself. When they caught each other's eye, the raven smirked and pulled his fingers out. "Ready now, sexy man."
Slowly, the blond pushed in, letting Sasuke adjust to the wall location. They waited for a moment, both whispering and laughing quietly to themselves.
"I love you." Sasuke whispered.
Naruto kissed his nose. "I love you more."
"I love you most."
"Well I love you mostest."
Both laughed quietly as Naruto began moving, groaning in pleasure.
Their movements were always swift and silent, but their voices came mighty and needed. It was Sasuke who remained vocal as Naruto buried his face in the pale chest.
Without warning, Naruto lifted Sasuke and moved to the bed, placing his hands on both sides of the Uchiha's head.
Sasuke moaned as he placed his arm around the tan neck and pulled closer. "Naruto."
The blond groaned as his waist suddenly tightened and he came inside his lover. His ejaculation came long into the Uchiha.
Sasuke laughed as Naruto blushed and kissed him. "Fucking horse." he muttered.
Naruto said nothing as he continued to push in and out slowly then. He buried his face into the other's neck.
Sasuke came soon after and he bit Naruto's shoulder playfully. "Get off of me now." he joked.
Naruto said nothing as Sasuke squirmed.
"Is something wrong, dobe?"
Still nothing. It was only when a snore left Naruto, Sasuke realized he was asleep. The Uchiha groaned and pulled Naruto out of him. The blond made no move.
Sasuke yawned himself. "I'll let your big ass sleep on me. Just this once."
Just as he felt sleep take him, he felt Naruto's arms tighten around his waist and his drowsy voice. "Thank you."
Naruto awoke at night to the sound of Gaara and Sasuke speaking in the kitchen. Without hesitation, the blond went to shower.
He'd have to leave soon and this mission would be bigger than any he'd been on. It was the final step and with everyone behind him, he'd win.
He had his family in Konoha and he had them in other villages.
He already changed half the world and he had to finish.
He knew his ideas were deemed radical to the village elders, but changing the world meant changing the way they once approached so many things. The hard part was finding the courage to walk away from the well trodden path - repeating the same old things would mean repeating the devastation.
To Naruto, change was for the brave of heart, the ones with a true desire to make the world better for all of them. He had to be creative and know that complexity and intelligence weren't the same things; sometimes simple was smart.
The blond sighed as he picked up his cloak, smiling as he noticed that Sasuke had cleaned it for him.
When he reached the kitchen, Gaara looked up from his food and smiled. "Hi, aniki. I heard you had a trip."
The blond nodded and sat across the table, watching as Sasuke stood and retrieved his plate.
"Yeah. They said I'd have to go through some tough trials for a month or so. They said they'd be tougher than anything. And that's all. I'm officially naming them 'the blank trails.'"
Gaara nodded. "Did you tell the elders off?"
Naruto reached over and ruffled his brother's hair as Sasuke sat his steaming food before him. "Thank you, love. And yes. I told them I wasn't going to back down. Because God damnit, I've seen the devil grab Chi by the throat and it almost stopped the existence of humanity. I'm not backing down."
Gaara laughed hazardly while Sasuke simply shook his head with a smirk.
"But, I swear I'll complete this and come back to you guys in once piece. I won't lose, you hear?"
Gaara nodded and Sasuke just sighed.
"Sasuke. You know I have to do this." Naruto spoke, grabbing the soon to be Namikaze's hand. "And you know I'll come back alright. I already told you, I won't die on either of you."
Sasuke smiled. "I know. I know you're too fucking extra to die. I know they can't take you down. You need something hard in your life, adventure. I know you need to spread your wings and test your strength. I understand. Doesn't mean I have to like it."
Naruto laughed. "Good. I'm alright with that." The blond stood. "I should probably get going. I'll get to land between Uzushiogakure and Konohagakure faster."
Sasuke tensed. "They have you going to the cemetery of the living dead. What the hell are they going to throw at you?"
Naruto laughed and kissed the other man. "I'll be fine, alright?"
The blond ruffled his brother's hair and grabbed his bag. "Gaara stay on your toes. Love you."
When they waved, Naruto was gone. He had direct orders to go to his destination. And he would.
It was still night when the blond reached the dreary land. He looked around the vacant lot.
"All Seeing Ripple!"
The shockwave of light sent out gave no sign of life for the next forty miles. Naruto was alone in the ironic grave.
As he set up camp near a dead tree, the man wondered how land could be so full of death and mourning, but so vacant. It was a fucking no man's land and the elders obviously thought it would either kill his soul or scare the hell out of him.
Naruto sat against the tree, crossed his arms, and closed his eyes. "I'm not afraid of a fucking graveyard." he mumbled.
"But you killed me."
His eyes opened slowly and his brow raised. He could see no one, bit there was surely someone speaking to him.
Before him, a shimmer rised, as if the air in front of him was being warped and twisted. Then, in a flash of pale, silvery light, a man appeared before him. A man Naruto recognized well. He was dressed in old fashioned clothing, crisp white shirt, black pants, ans a plain kimono.
Naruto once saw the man everyday. He was in an old painting. One his father stated had been in his study way before his own father was born.
Naruto held no relation and frankly, he knew the man couldn't be real.
"You killed me too."
The blond turned his head to a woman, standing to the side and smiling; face gone, hair burned off.
The blond performed his all seeing ripple again, but could not see the two when doing so.
It wasn't a genjutsu, but it wasn't real either. Naruto stood, partially annoyed. These were random people who'd died here in this land.
"You must be my first test."
The old fashioned man looked to the ground as it rumbled and more dead bodies stuck from them. "It is hard to kill what has already been murdered."
Naruto pulled out a sealing scroll. "Who's dumb enough to kill a zombie? I'm not going to kill you."
Naruto sealed the last of the fifty bodies into his scroll and collapsed against the tree once more. He was panting and tired as hell and being honest with himself, he had no idea the trials would start as soon as he arrived.
"I had no idea either. It shocked me, too."
The blond nodded at Chomei's words. Sending a silent prayer to Chi for the sake of his family and the world, Naruto closed his eyes.
Creak
The blond opened his Ichibi eye and kept the normal closed. He had almost forgotten to be careful. He was of course, sleeping above a mass grave and only Chi knew if the bodies would notice the extra weight.
The next morning, Sasuke and Karin walked through the village slowly, taking in scenery they'd seen thousands of times.
Sakura was out for the evening, so Karin had chosen to spend the day with her cousin's fiance. It wasn't much a win, however, because Sasuke only ever spoke a paragraph in Naruto's presence.
The best she could do now was coax Sasuke into believing Naruto would be fine in dead man's land even when she didn't know either.
"I'm sure he's probably kicking ass out there. And when did you hear about it? I thought people aren't allowed to hear about missions."
Sasuke shrugged. "Tsunade-sama tells me or Kakashi tells me. Whichever one. They know I'm usually worried about him.
A little girl ran over to them and waved. "Hi, Namikaze-sama."
Sasuke smiled curtly and waved as the little girl ran off. "Does everyone know about it? We haven't even gotten married yet."
Karin laughed. "Gossip of the village, I tell you-"
Before the woman could go on, a male ANBU member bumped into her.
"Hey, goddamit, watch where you're going." The redhead growled.
The ANBU member turned around and Karin stepped back in shock. He looked oddly similar to Sasuke. Pale skin, dark features. The only difference was the fake smile he had plastered onto his face. If Sasuke didn't like something, he wasn't just going to fake smile about it.
"I am sorry. I was rushing on my way to find someone."
His dark eyes trailed to Sasuke's. "Hello, Uchiha-san."
Sasuke glared. "Do I know you?"
"I am Sai, under ANBU. You were a hunter-nin there, no?"
"I still am."
Sai nodded. "I hope you and your husband are okay. After all, the success rate of his trials are at five percent."
"My husband?" Sasuke mumbled, not sure if this ANBU was talking about his dobe or someone else.
Sai smiled and nodded. "Yes. It is the most prestigious ANBU who created the trials and frankly I don't think your dickless husband will survive."
Sasuke would already be at the hokage tower demanding answers as Karin and a few others escorted Sai to the hospital. In Sasuke's eyes, the emotionless man was lucky his Amerasu only scorched his arm and shoulder.
Sai would heal in a month.
Naruto punched himself in the head. "Get out of my head." He mumbled.
He didn't know what he ate, but the elders had strictly told him what to eat for his second test. Everything had been going well. He ate the food, sat down, and then it happened.
They had slipped drugs into his food, but he didn't know such. He was angry and bitter.
Once more, he looked up, watching in horror as Itachi's corpse hung upon the branch above. He couldn't take it. Everyone kept dying and in more ways than one.
He was trapped in a ward and he knew it would get worse.
"You're crazy." Someone mumbled.
Naruto turned, watching a man with no face. He laughed haphazardly, finding it funny that the faceless thing was staring at him.
"I'm not crazy. Don't you see him. That's my fiance's brother. He just killed himself. I've seen them all kill themselves. And they get taken by those things. So if you know what's good for you, man, act dumb. Mess your head up on medication or something. I did that... it works, man."
The jinchuriki's back began hurting right from the base of his spine to the tail bone. Saliva pooled in the back of his mouth. His staff was now gone.
Naruto was alone.
Heart pounding ready to explode, the blond eyes scanned the faceless being for signs of help. Nothing.
"Help me." Naruto pleaded, head pounding in delight.
The man did nothing, only watched as Naruto's back arched out. As foam dripped from his eyes , nose, and mouth.
He continued to watch. Standing in his own shadow, hunched beneath a cloak as black as the night.
From the inky folds extended a withered brown hand, clasping a bamboo cane that clacked onto the pool of blood beneath him.
Naruto jumped at the being, but fell straight through him. He growled and scratched at his arms. "Stop! don't walk through him, Haruto! It's rude!"
The man vanished and the pain came next. It was physical and Naruto was pushed onto the ground.
He looked up at the men, remembering their faces when they first touched him.
"You're a pretty thing aren't you?"
"Fucking demon." They mumbled.
They leaned down, kissed his ear; kissed his neck; pulled his pants down.
It was all in his head, but Naruto couldn't get over it. In his head, his molestation was happening all over again. But in reality, he crawled upon his knees pleading and sobbing, foaming at the mouth.
The panic started like a tightening of the chest, as if the muscles were trying not to let another breath in, but instead die. Then his breathing came, shallow, lungs unable to move much against the suddenly heavy ribs.
Naruto's mind became static, thoughts making no sense, replays of horrors once forgotten. Before the blond knew it, he was sitting on the floor, limbs unwilling to work at all.
He watched as Haruto crawled over to him. It was was years ago, before the breakdown, before someone told him they loved him me and his mind broke just for hearing the honesty in their voice. How could they say such a thing when he never could?
It was only when Haruto's knife jabbed into his stomach repeatedly the blond began to scream in horror.
Sasuke jumped back from the globe, not bearing the look of horror on his fiance's face.
He'd come to the hokage tower, demanding to know just what they were doing with his lover. He didn't expect to find Naruto naked and bloody upon the ground, screaming and clutching his stomach.
"Why?"
He whispered as Kakashi put the globe away. Tsunade sat down too, obviously not taking the visual well either.
Kakashi sighed and pulled down his mask. "I had no idea the elders allowed this. I was told they would be simple trials. I'm just as shocked as you are, Sasuke."
"Those elders have too much power." Sasuke hissed, wiping his eyes. Chi knew what Naruto was going through and only she could bring him out of it.
"We know. This is why Naruto already issued them to go."
Sasuke sat, feeling faint and saddened. "My idiot. He's probably out there fucking dying and no one's out to help him. What test was this?"
Kakashi grabbed a file. "Death. The elders sent drugged food to Naruto's location. The drugs are usually used in hospitals for people who do not want to be put to sleep during surgery. Highly induced with chemicals. He must have saw someone dead and that blood hallucination must make him see himself getting killed by someone."
Sasuke grabbed his face with his single hand. "I can't right now. What's the next test?"
Tsunade gulped. "Children." She whispered.
Sasuke stood angrily. "They know Naruto loves children. They're targeting him. He'll be traumatized if he has to kill a kid. This doesn't help. They know Naruto is good enough. They want him to be mentally unstable."
Sasuke opened the door. "You tell those elders that if Naruto Namikaze does not become hokage due to an unstable condition or some traumatic things he's seen, this village and everyone in it is going down."
A week passed for Naruto and the blond sat, pouring water over himself. He was dehydrated and hungry for the most part.
The blond bit his thumb weakly. "Summoning: Foxes; Mori."
The white fox that appeared was Naruto's forest and plant fox. Unlike the others, Mori was able to provide him with edible plants and vegetables.
With one look at him, the fox nodded and placed her paw down, creating seaweed, spinach, daikon, and sweet potato.
Naruto chewed the sweet potato first, feeding some to Mori. "This is why I love you guys. You're all life savers."
Mori smiled. "Don't worry, Naruto-kun. You'll be hokage in no time."
When Naruto observed the fox closer, he could see the tremor in her legs. She did not feel comfortable standing in the graveyard.
Rubbing her head, he smiled. "Go and head home then. Can't have you distracting me."
The fox smiled and dispersed, leaving Naruto alone.
"Please help me."
A child's voice. So again, this was a mental test. But this time, they had gotten into his feelings. They had stolen his emotions.
The elders; alternating his fears with their peering eyes. Preying upon his heart. They were vultures, their wings dull realities. How could he change them? Love them? Or deem them wise? They stole families and from him, the dream to be normal?
"Please help me." The child whimpered again.
Naruto closed his eyes. It was only a test. If he did not look at the child, he knew it was surreal.
Then a croaky voice spoke. "Hold still, you little bitch."
Naruto stood angrily and turned. "Leave him-"
The blond froze and stepped back. It was like staring into a mirror. He didn't know if the elders had somehow found a way to manifest the future, but Naruto was sure this child before was his son.
The boy looked just like him, except he had two whiskers marks and his clothes were a simple red and black tracksuit. His hair was a bit leafy.
He was being grabbed by five men. "Hey!" Naruto screamed. "Leave him alone!"
The blond ran forward, his rasengan in hand. Just as he struck one of the men, all dispersed.
His rasengan struck the boys stomach. "I.."
The boy's eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry for what I did."
Naruto nearly fainted. But he stood strong, knowing that it was only a test. And if it were real, the only reason it happened was because he wasn't alert.
When that much was realized, the boy smirked. "Kidding." And then he dispersed. He'd been through death, murder, and now children.
Naruto huffed. That had been the easiest test yet. And it shocked him because it involved children.
And yet, why had the child looked so much like him? It was almost as if Chi were telling him something.
Sasuke threw up for the third time this week into the toilet. "I'm just having a bad week is all." He muttered to his older brother and younger.
Gaara shook his head. "Idiot. Having a bad week won't make you sick. You need to go to the hospital."
Itachi nodded and held Sasuke's hair tighter as the nineteen year old once again let clumps of acidic disgust leave his twisting stomach. "Naruto's going to hate coming back and finding you untaken care of."
"Why can't Gaara just help me? He's a healer." Sasuke mumbled, finally feeling he had no more to donate to the toilet.
The fourteen year old sighed anyway. "Alright, but if I find something serious, we're not taking you to the hospital. You're going to Tsunade."
Both man and boy helped Sasuke to his feet and took him to his bed.
"Just sit still, Sasuke-nii."
Itachi walked to the bed and picked up Nekoda, bringing her over and sitting.
With one look at the Uchiha, Gaara froze. "That can't be right."
Nekoda hopped from Itachi's lap, and ran over to Gaara, confused that he seemed so focused. "Unca Gaa."
Gaara rubbed her face. "Hold on, Neko."
"What is it?" Sasuke mumbled in a tired manner. He just wanted to eat and sleep.
Gaara came closer. "I don't know how I didn't know before when I'm a sensor type just like my brother."
"What?"
"Sasuke...I'm sensing another chakra signature in your...stomach. I'm not sure. I….."
Itachi gapsed. "Are you saying Sasuke is pregnant?"
Gaara looked even closer. "That's exactly what I'm saying. The chakra is faint, but it's there, Itachi-nii."
"Then it's serious. We need to get to Tsunade."
"Why?" Sasuke questioned, slightly afraid. He didn't know if he would ruin Naruto's goals with the child.
"Because, Sasuke. Inside you is not just a regular child. If you are pregnant, that child can carry light release or even the chakra of all tailed beasts in Naruto. We have to see Tsunade."
Naruto breathed deeply as the people over him pulled him down into the ground. They explained that Chi held a Kemetic way of taking people to their place of rest.
He had to go through such a way. It was moreso a test of being buried alive.
The jackal before him stopped. "Here, your heart will be weighed against the feather of Maat. If your heart ways down, ammut shall devour your soul. If not, you will be led by Chi's son to you mummification processing."
Naruto spoke his sins and was pushed gently by Abebe, Chi's oldest child. "We must pick your organs out with needles and wrapped you in loin."
Naruto nodded and laid down, his eyes stinging as a needle was pushed into his nose and they began plucking out parts of his brain.
Being buried alive wasn't so bad when he once went through it daily.
Sasuke sobbed into Tsunade quietly. "I just...I wanted him to be hokage and he won't pay attention if he knows I'm pregnant. He'll lose his privileges."
Tsunade sighed. "You know that won't happen, Sasuke. Naruto loves you with his life and he knows how to multi task."
Gaara nodded. "Kakashi did it."
Sasuke sighed. "I don't want Naruto to know until I'm ready."
Tsunade nodded. "Of course. But you must. He'll be back in three weeks. You'll be a month along. It won't show, but be careful."
Sasuke nodded. A month. A month was all he had to figure out what he'd do now.
Naruto's Returning
Sasuke had his weight under control his whole life until pregnancy, then he has lost it big time. He craved food so much, nothing unhealthy, just many more meals than usual. Where he wouldn't normally have eaten after dinner she was back for a bowl of rice by midnight and snacking on crackers and cheese before bed. His mother had told him not to worry, and all it was going back soon.
His weight wasn't so much worried about. Of course, it was odd, but there was nothing odder than having a child in him. Shuffling so much. He knew it was Naruto's baby.
Water dripped down harshly past my shoulders, through flaxen hair, and continuing over his small stomach. It expanded out to prove that another being resided within me. Two heartbeats within one slender body. His back began aching as his entire weight relied upon it and his nipples were always red and swollen.
The man looked down at the stretched skin with red vein-like tendrils seeping across the sides, reminding him of an eyeball. Soft white skin, red lines drawn along it. His heart banged loudly against his chest when Naruto's smile crossed his mind, the water from the head of the shower screaming louder, trying to overpower all other noise.
He wanted the baby out, into his arms. He hated this state of silent lethargy, this waiting. He felt trapped. He wanted to zoom to winter, to early next year, to the birth.
With a sigh, Sasuke turned the water off and hopped out of the shower. Throwing on a large t-shirt.
He froze as he walked into his bedroom, almost tearing up at the soft smile of his fiance. Naruto looked up, scratched and bruised, but there. Everything about him was bruised, but it was still with him and that was what mattered the most.
To the blond's surprise, Sasuke screeched and jumped upon the Namikaze's lap, throwing his single arm around the tan neck for support. "You're here." He cried.
Naruto placed his arms on Sasuke's jumpy waist. "I told you I would be. How've you been, beautiful?"
"Alright." Sasuke mumbled, closing his eyes in relief. "I met this guy and I punched him because he called you dickless."
Naruto laughed. "We both know that's a lie. And you, teme. Standing behind me."
"Always. Did you pass the trials?"
"With flying colors. They nearly killed me physically and mentally, but I lived and I'll live to tell the tale."
Sasuke smiled and adjusted. "I missed you."
"I missed you too. The ceremony is tomorrow, if you want to come."
Sasuke hit his chest. "Usuratonkachi, why wouldn't I come?"
Naruto shrugged and rubbed his lover's stomach. "I don't know. With the baby and all."
Sasuke tensed. "Baby?" He whispered.
Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Hold on." He looked to Sasuke's stomach. "Yeah, Sas. You're definitely pregnant. When I came, I could feel two signatures on the bathroom. When you came out, it got stronger."
Sasuke blushed. "I was going to tell you when I was good and ready. I was just scared, you know? Who told you?"
Naruto raised a brow. "No one told me."
"Then how'd y-
"I'm a sensor type, remember?"
Sasuke sat shocked at first, then he felt embarrassed that he forgot Gaara's words earlier that month. Naruto was a sensor type too and he'd felt the baby all along.
"Does it feel real?" He whispered.
Naruto looked odd and kissed the Uchiha. "Too real. But I would be more surprised if I hadn't had help with a child during my trials. It was the craziest thing ever, teme."
"Those damn elders...giving you those trials. I saw them."
"I hope what you saw didn't scare you."
"Well, you're here now and that's what matters."
I'm a little annoyed right now. I tripped with my laptop in my hands and head phones on. The laptop is fine, but the downfalls of not having bluetooth headphones suck. There's a small piece stuck inside my computer and I can't hear anything. Urr. And on top of that, I'm late. Well, I hope you guys liked this chapter. Don't hesitate to review. Uuugghh.